He could be direct, but something told him LeAnne was used to that, which would get him nowhere fast. Dorian would have to be creative to get her interest and her trust.
Doing so would take knowledge and time to gain insight into her personality—time that he did not have. Without time for research, he needed to find something they had in common, something to talk about and make that connection. If he was lucky, he could hear her talk to herself or catch a brilliant insight through her thoughts.
Dorian closed his eyes and concentrated on the conversations around him. Behind him, a couple made out in a booth. He heard the sticky sound of their smacking and rumble of her moans. Dorian turned his attention in a different direction, getting similar sounds mixed with boring chitchat.
“Michael, I’ve said it a million times: I’m sorry. I can’t do more than that.” The voice was female.
Dorian’s ears practically perked up. He turned all his full attention toward the conversation, toward the farthest booth in the row against the wall, hoping his mark was involved. Learning more about the padrone could only help get the job done faster.
“We can’t discuss it in here,” the male voice replied in a voice so low that only someone with Dorian’s special level of hearing could make it out amongst the chaos of the club. “Just get control of it, Tori.”
“I’ve tried,” she whispered in that awkward human way. “I don’t know what’s happening. I can’t stop.” Her voice trailed off, heavy with what sounded like confusion.
Michael sighed. “I believe this may be a result the bond he and I share. You and I are so closely bound that it’s possible you’re feeling the creatore-progeny relationship, which would be quite confusing for a mortal. Combined with his gift for attracting women, I can see how your resolve would be weakened with him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” She was angry.
“I’d hoped I was wrong.” There was a substantial pause.
“So you aren’t upset? We’re cool with everything?” she asked.
“I understand, but I still don’t like it.”
“Can we fix it?”
“No.” Another pause. “And I believe the effect goes the other way, too.”
“Jonas?”
“Unfortunately.”
“What about Elena?”
“She’s noticed, and she’s trying to understand.”
“Oh my God. You’ve all been keeping me in the dark?”
“Until I knew more.”
A sniffle came. Then Dorian heard what sounded like a kiss on skin. Sheesh, he thought, but kept listening. The drama was annoying, but they were telling him the padrone’s weaknesses: namely, his compagna and Jonas.
“You do know I’d give you anything you asked,” Michael said.
“Yes.”
“But I cannot share you with him.”
“I would never ask you to do that.” Tori sounded shocked. “I wouldn’t share you either. Plus, I’m pretty sure Elena would eat me alive.” Either she huffed or sniffed, Dorian wasn’t sure. “I don’t want him like that.”
“It’s all right to admit it, Tori.” Michael sounded defeated. “I feel what you do, remember?”
The sniffles came faster. She was bawling.
“Don’t cry.” There was a kiss. “Victoria, I love you. More than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
“I know. I love you, too.”
“Would it be easier if we kept our distance from them?”
“No! Are you kidding? He is your garante.”
“Please don’t dismiss what I offer so quickly. I’m incapable of dealing with a—a betrayal.”
“Michael, I am not going to let you weaken the cosca because of me.”
“There are few options.”
“What if you turn me?” Tori asked.
“Out of the question.”
“But you—”
“Enough.” Michael interrupted. “I won’t ruin your life. You are too sweet to be honest about what you’re feeling. I will deal with it, inamorato. All I ask is that you acknowledge my sacrifices.”
She sobbed again.
Dorian fought the urge to scream out, Just turn her, already! If Tori was Michael’s compagna, and Jonas was his progeny, she had to be bombarded by his emotions for Jonas. Humans where overwhelmed by those centuries-old sentiments. The link between a padrone and his compagna was always strong enough to drive some insane. Humans seemed to lack the ability to process the feelings immortals dealt with nightly. In this case, the fatherly love Michael felt for Jonas, and anything else he felt for his progeny, had become a love-lust mixture within Tori. It was a twisted version of the same basic emotion. If the vampire hated someone, their human hated them even more. This was the way for all such unions. Tori, in her current state, would easily murder for him (and Dorian wondered if Michael had taken advantage of that yet).
Dorian sat up and put his head in his hands. He massaged his forehead to ease the ache that bloomed there. The pain always accompanied focusing too hard for too long. Of course, the dramatic drivel of Michael and his human only made it worse. Those two were their own soap opera. Though in this case it would be called As the Coffin Turns, All My Ghouls, or Days of Our Unlives.
“Sir?”
LeAnne’s crisp voice pulled his head up from his hands. Dorian took a long whiff of her sweet scent and smiled up at her.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes.” He blinked at her. How had she seen him? “I have a headache.”
“Need an Advil? I have some in my purse.” She gave him a warm smile.
“No. Thank you. I’ll tough it out.”
She shrugged. “The music probably isn’t helping.”
“No. I think not.” He turned his persuasion toward her and smiled. With a foot, he pushed the chair next to him out from under the table. “Since you were kind enough to offer, may I buy you a drink?”
She held up a martini glass. It was half full of pink liquid. “Already working on one. Thanks, though.”
Dorian groaned quietly. He was sorely out of practice with straightforward female persuasion. He’d never thought there would be a time his gifts would weaken him, but now was that time. So, he quit whining and sat up straighter. “Care to join me?”
By some miracle or divine intervention, LeAnne moved into the chair beside him. “I am tired of sitting by myself.”
“Good. I could use the company.” Dorian concentrated. When her eyes finally locked with his, he willed her to do what he wanted with that same spark he used to manipulate all humans. “Accompany me outside for a smoke.”
She stared at him, her face relaxing just a tad.
He smiled, proud of the triumph, and waited for her to comply.
She stared for several seconds, then shook her head and took another drink.
Dorian looked at her, wondering how she had managed to slip from his psychological grip. He took a deep breath and tried again. “LeAnne?”
She looked up at him.
“Walk outside with me.”
Again, she seemed caught up for just a moment, then shook herself out of the trance and took a drink. There was something unusual about the human that left him with more questions each time he tried. She was clean, almost pure, and she could resist mind control. The last made him wonder what else the petite woman could do.
For a brief moment, he assessed the situation. LeAnne was on their turf and under their protection. Michael was just yards away. To get her outside, he would have to take her of her own will and slip out quietly. He focused for a moment to see where the padrone was in his conversation with his girlfriend and heard only smacking. Good. They would be busy for a while.
He sat up and gave LeAnne a smile that had worked on plenty of women before. “I’m sorry, but my head is killing me. I ne
ed to step outside. Will you join me?”
LeAnne glanced around, obviously unsure whether she should leave or not. If Tori was smart, she had warned her friend to stay put.
“I just need a cigarette. I won’t be long, if you’d like to wait here.” He stood.
She slid from her chair too. “I’ll go with you.”
Dorian held his arm out for her to take, and she did. Getting her outside was easier than he’d thought. No one gave them a second glance, even without the use of his gifts. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, he smiled to himself. As fast as things were moving, he would have time to feed and plot out how to use Jonas. There was explosive tension between the padrone and his garante that would ignite soon enough. When it happened, there would be plenty of time to catch Michael without his muscle. Time to kill him.
* * * *
LeAnne walked beside the guy, questioning her own intelligence. Five seconds and she was venturing out into a dark alley with him—but he was so handsome in a disheveled sort of way that contrasted with the calculating vibes she got. His skin was pale, almost translucent, except for the ruddiness of his cheeks, which almost looked like he was blushing. It was a British sort of complexion. His dark auburn hair was on the long side of short. It stood in all directions on top and made him look like he had been running his hand through it, but the rest was neat.
“Cold?” he asked in a distant tone.
“Nah.” LeAnne lied. She was always cold.
“If you change your mind, you can wear my jacket.”
“Okay.”
They walked halfway down the alley and stood next to the building where the wind whipped up the stretch between buildings and blew a stray Coke can against the wall. He struck his lighter and held it up to the white stick until it glowed and a puff of smoke came out. She watched, wondering what the appeal was, but didn’t ask. She was too busy trying not to look like she was freezing.
When he put away the lighter and looked down at her, he smiled. “Don’t smoke, do you?”
“No.” She looked up into his bright green eyes. “I haven’t even asked your name.”
“Ri—Dorian.”
The way he said it, she almost thought he didn’t know his own name, but she liked the sound of it. Dorian. The name was kind of dark and exotic, like Drake or Damian.
A stiff breeze whipped past them and LeAnne folded her arms over her chest, fighting a shiver.
Dorian gripped the cigarette in his lips and slipped off his coat. Without asking, he wrapped it around her shoulders. It smelled like him, of soap, cologne, and cigarettes. “Do I get to know your name?”
She smiled up at him again, slipping her hands into the too-long arms of his coat. “LeAnne.”
“Nice to meet you, LeAnne. Come here often?” He laughed at his own joke.
She laughed, too. “First-timer.”
“I was guessing so.”
“Why? Is it that obvious I am out of place?”
“You don’t look like them.”
She wasn’t sure if she should be offended or flattered. She opted for the latter. “How so?”
“You’re…different.” He took a draw from the cigarette and blew out a smoke ring. “It’s a good thing, I promise.”
The tension melted out of her shoulders with the confirmation that he was complimenting her. “Thanks. I was beginning to wonder if I just had ‘newbie’ stamped on my forehead.”
“Not quite.” He moved closer, taking another draw from his cigarette. “New in town or new to the club?”
“The town.” She glanced down. “I just got divorced and had to find a new job.”
There was a moment of silence between them, and then she felt the tips of his fingers underneath her jaw. Dorian raised her face until her gaze met his. “There is no shame in that.” His voice was soft, almost caressing and his stare made her whole body relax into a strange vulnerability she had never known. It was intoxicating. “The man who let you go was a fool.”
She gave him a sad smile, but it was the best she had at the moment. “Not in his eyes.”
Dorian looked at her, surprise evident on his face that actually looked genuine. “He’s too stupid to know, so his opinion doesn’t matter. You’re a beautiful, intelligent woman who was too good for him.”
“Or a psychotic, money-grubbing bitch.”
Dorian’s jaw flexed. He slid up in front of LeAnne. “You are beautiful.”
His gaze was a little too intense, and she let out an uncomfortable giggle. “You’re too funny.”
“I’m not joking.” His hand moved her hair away from her ear. The soft, barely there touch of his cool fingers on her cheek gave her chills. Then, he placed his arms on each side of her, trapping her against the wall. She leaned back and tried to breathe in steady intakes, but her heart was pounding. He leaned down, so close that she could smell the cigarette smoke on his skin and the mint in his mouth. “Tell me his name, and I’ll make him sorry.”
LeAnne’s heart melted with the sincerity of the words. She leaned forward just enough to meet him. She let her eyes drift close just as his lips touched hers. He kissed her in slow, careful brushes of moist flesh. Inside her, her mind raced and heart sped inconceivably faster, but her muscles relaxed. In all the years she had been married, not once had James kissed her with such gentle fervor.
She wished silently that the moment would go on forever, just before his hands slid to cradle her face. His lips pulled away from hers with a wet pop. She took in a shaky breath and leaned forward, chasing him. He kissed her again in the same relaxed pace. The longer he spent kissing, the more a different tension grew inside her, heating her core, until she was ready to throw him to the ground right in the alley.
LeAnne wrapped her hands in his lapels and leaned back, pulling him against her. Smashed between the alley and his body, she deepened the kiss. Dorian let out a soft grunt and let himself go. His mouth crushed hers and tongue explored her mouth until she was sure she would suffocate in the carnality.
“Ahem.”
Dorian pulled away, breaking the spell in which he had wrapped her. He turned his right, toward the club entrance, and she followed his gaze to see Jonas standing there, his pale arms crossed in front of his chest. He did not look happy.
Chapter Four
Dorian fought the urge to tell Jonas to fuck off, but only because he knew it would end his relationship with LeAnne right there and halt his plans to fulfill his mission. He leaned farther away from her, but kept one hand on the wall beside her.
“I apologize for interrupting, but Tori would like you to wait at the bar for her, LeAnne.”
She groaned but didn’t move.
The vampire looked agitated and stared straight at him. He could urge her to stay outside, but it would guarantee Jonas’s opposition to their involvement, creating a wrinkle he did not need. Dorian glanced down at her.
She looked up to him, defiance clearly written all over her face. “I’m not leaving,” she whispered.
“Please, go on in. I need to talk to him for a few minutes.”
“Go ahead,” she said, folding her arms and straightening her back
He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. “In private.”
For a brief moment, LeAnne looked confused. Then she gave him a quick kiss, turned, and walked away. As she passed Jonas, Dorian heard her whisper, “Fuck you very much.”
Jonas’s eyes never left Dorian, and he didn’t acknowledge the insult.
As soon as LeAnne was out of sight, Jonas barked, “Who are you?”
“Dorian,” he said. “And you are?”
“Garante of this territory. Jonas.” He eyed Dorian, assessing him. “I’ve seen you in here another night.”
Dorian nodded. “I heard this was a haven.” In short, it was supposed to be a safe house for their kind.
&
nbsp; Jonas stepped closer to him, less than two feet away. “And why have you not presented yourself?”
“My apologies,” he said with a bow of the head. “I was unsure where to find you until tonight.”
“Now you know.”
Dorian nodded again.
“A few basic rules. Follow the Alleanza to the letter,” Jonas said.
“Always.”
“Rules are rules. Break them and die.”
“Understood, garante.”
“And the human is off limits,” Jonas added.
Dorian swallowed down a growl and forced himself to be polite. “I am truly interested in her.”
Jonas folded his arms in front of his chest. “She is family, and we know almost nothing about you.”
Dorian stood straighter then and fought back a smile that came with seeing his opportunity, the trigger to get Michael’s approval. “Allow me to court her in your presence if you don’t trust me. There is something about her—she could be my compagna. Can you stand in the way of such a thing?”
As soon as the lie came out, he knew the words were actually true. It shook him, but he swallowed down the weakness with a dose of she’s-gonna-get-you-killed.
Jonas nodded. “If the padrone allows it, there will be no blood.”
“Okay.”
“One of us must be present.”
Dorian nodded.
“She cannot know what we are.”
“Agreed.” He moved forward, took the vampiro’s hand and gave him a formal greeting: a bow and quick kiss on the inside of the wrist. “Thank you, garante.”
Jonas folded his arms back across his chest. “They tell me you’ve hurt her, I’ll gut you.”
“Understood,” Dorian said.
“Follow me inside to meet your padrone.” Jonas turned and walked back toward a side door.
Dorian followed, stifling a sneer. Michael was not his padrone. He served no one, but he would play the good peasant to get closer to his mark. Jonas was a formidable hurdle, as was LeAnne. The first would take a bit of creative manipulation to jump. The human would be easy to manipulate, but doing so and leaving would hurt her. An ugly little thought inside him said it might hurt him too, but he had to stay focused. Too much was riding on this one: his life, his reputation, and most importantly, his daughter. LeAnne could not be an overwhelming distraction. Just get in, take out Michael, and bring Tori back, he told himself.
Dorian Page 4
