by Various
“I’ll keep you just for that.” She stretched languidly when he began to ease her tiredness. “Heels are a nightmare.”
He massaged her calves and her feet with sure, strong fingers. She had delicate, soft skin everywhere. He even liked the sexy little arch of her foot.
“How long has it been, exactly, since you last ate?” he asked while trying to hide his real fears.
She dropped her head to rest, breathing deeply. “I don’t know. Since Thomas’s attack? Maybe? Maybe he did something when he pummeled the crap out of my stomach.”
Alarm slammed into him. That happened days ago. “No, honey. I made sure you were whole.”
“What happened during the concert? I know I heard a scream in my mind.” Her anxiety for what happened was mellowed from his massage.
She must have been aware of what he had seen even as hard as he tried to keep the walls strong between them. That worried him almost as much as her not being able to eat, but her question hung in the silence waiting for an answer. He took a minute to build an explanation so as to not upset her. “A woman was hurt. She was taken to the hospital and will be released.”
Titania straightened on her seat, studying him with monumental effort. “Attacked? Like me? Is she all right?”
“She will be fine.” He continued to rub her legs, hoping she would dismiss it. People had problems at concerts everywhere.
She rested a hand on his leather-clad shoulder. “Diego. Tell me.”
He paused, then rested on his haunches. “She was attacked and suffered an injury, but she will be fine.”
“And her attacker?”
“He was dealt with,” he replied, his tone revealing nothing. “He will not harm anyone again.”
“Thank you, Diego.”
“I protect you. Period.”
She laughed a light, airy sound. “You sound so formal when you say it. I hope I’m not too much of a chore.”
“A challenge, perhaps. Never a chore.” His grin matched hers while a searing knife began to slowly shred his stomach, all of it hidden behind the show of relaxed conversation.
Centuries had passed since Diego’s conversion. He had forgotten certain details. Like the inability to eat. He had been careful to only give her a few drops. He was certain of it. Thinking about it now, he was positive that one sharing was what had created the mental path between them. Yet, would it have been enough to harm her? To inhibit her own ability to eat?
Guilt choked him. What had he done? Had he doomed her after all? Was it possible? Could he have given her too much? With that thought struck a new one.
Had he done it on purpose?
Diego kept his head bowed in shame. He knew in his heart it was possible. To cure his loneliness with her vitality, to remain forever enraptured in her beauty. Feeling her against his palm, he became swept away by self-loathing and emotions that were crushing at that moment.
For a man who had lived by his honor and honed his control to the slightest detail, his greatest mistake of all could be dying before his eyes.
Chapter Nine
Titania’s lashes felt heavy. Her entire body felt leaden. How long had it been since she’d eaten? Had it really been that long? Her hours were so unorganized that she rarely thought much about it. She was used to eating when she was hungry, but lately she hadn’t been. No wonder she was exhausted. Diego was right. She needed to eat, regardless.
Either that or go see a doctor. She shook her head once, rolling it silently. No, no doctor. She hated needles. They always wanted to take blood. She hated that. She would like to keep the pints she had, thank you very much.
She groaned softly when Diego found a particularly tender spot on her foot. The man just earned himself a raise. No one ever gave her a foot rub.
“God, that feels incredible,” she managed. She raised her head. He was bowed in front of her, thinking, absorbed. She touched his hair. “Diego, where are you?” Her fingers curled into his thick mane as he looked up.
“Right here, cara.”
Her stomach liquefied at the rumble of his voice. “No, you were far away. Where were you?”
“Remembering.” His lips lifted in a sexy way, a faraway glint in his gaze. “A long time ago.”
Her gaze floated over his features. “I’m turning into a melted puddle of goo,” she told him on a contented sigh.
His features relaxed, the harsh cut of his mouth disappearing. “That was the aim,” he replied, chuckling with a knowing smile.
Her hand drifted to his lips, touching them with a fingertip. She admitted it to herself. She loved his mouth. Loved the way he could make her feel. Loved his kisses. The man had the sexiest mouth on the planet.
She watched, enthralled, as he parted those lips and gently lapped her finger into his mouth. Her breathing hitched, feeling the damp heat, the strong swirl of his tongue over skin. Lashes fluttered when he suckled on her finger, drawing her deeper.
“You taste like heaven,” he whispered when he let her go. “Everywhere.”
She groaned when the only thing she could think of was his kiss. She needed his kiss again.
“Cara,” he said, his voice so rough it slid down her spine like lava, dragging sparks in its wake. “Cara, you cannot look at me like that.”
“Like what?” She found his gaze, bright winter-gray. She could swear she saw lightning deep inside those compelling eyes.
“So innocent, so sexy,” he told her, rising to his feet before her. His hands were gentle, pulling her into his body. “You look at me, your eyes are so deep, and I know I have to kiss you again. Just tell me no, cara. Help me,” he pleaded, lowering his lips to hers. “Because I know I cannot fight this. Not any longer.” A primal hunger vibrated in the air around them.
Her hands trailed up his arms, found the ends of his hair, and twisted it through seeking fingers. Titania didn’t know if he held her up or if she was even standing on her own feet. It ceased to matter. “Kiss me, Diego.”
Heat coiled at the first tender brush of skin. His arms locked around her, immovable bands of iron. His lips burned. She had lost touch with anything beyond the feel of him and where he pressed into her.
The length of his solid body formed to hers, and every inch screamed for more. Molten heat filled her as flames licked hungrily beneath skin. His mouth held her as captive as his arms.
She whimpered once and his tongue took over, mating, devouring. He nibbled and nipped at the softness of her lips. Stars exploded in her vision with each heated meeting of skin. His hands moved, cradling her as he possessed her, fingers finding the wealth of her hair, gripping the fullness tenderly.
He traveled to the corner of her mouth, paying special attention to the edge of her jaw. Her head fell back without reservation, her entire body igniting under his touch. Heat grew and spread. Need was rising. Something wild called to her, his whispered voice the beacon to her passion-filled mind.
Diego’s mouth made a damp, heated trail, his teeth scraping, returning with his lips, coursing shocks throughout her body. She moaned when the sinful feel of his teeth raked nerves beneath sensitive skin.
He groaned, whispering dark words of passion, Spanish love words that barely filtered through the ecstasy of his caresses. He laved her pulse with his tongue, and liquid heat filled every pore. She shuddered as sensations bombarded her.
Diego stiffened in her arms, a low growl of anger rumbling from his chest, then he grew silent on the next heartbeat. He changed positions, cradling her. “We are about to have company,” he explained, his voice tight, his body tighter. He pressed his cheek into her hair, both trying to step away from the edge they teetered on.
“This can’t keep happening,” she whispered into his chest. Her body was on fire, needing. “I lose control whenever you kiss me. Your mouth should be outlawed.”
His chuckle was low, rife with masculine assurance. “I knew you liked my mouth.” He guided her to sit in her chair once more. “You need to change, cara, then eat.”<
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A knock on her door echoed in the room and Houston popped in, Laney trailing after. Diego stood against a far wall, his arms crossed when she found herself in her chair. How did he do that? Wasn’t I just in his arms? She ached in places that told her she had been, but she couldn’t remember sitting down.
“Does he have to be with you constantly?” Houston barked when he spotted Diego.
She scooped her hair away from her neck, still feeling flashes of heat from his kiss. The man should be outlawed, definitely. “We were talking, Houston. I was going to change when you knocked.” Houston kept Laney to his far side, an arm around her. Protectively. What was it about Diego that drove Houston up a wall?
“Well, he can wait outside while you change.”
Her arms fell to her sides in exasperation at his superior tone. “Really? He can? Is it all right with you if I do change, Houston?” She stood from her chair, refusing to acknowledge the slight tremble in her legs. She locked her knees, ignoring how tired she really felt. “Because the last time I checked, I didn’t need someone’s permission to put on jeans!”
“Tani,” he said, his eyes widening with hurt.
She refused to acknowledge the wounded look. “I’m tired of everyone acting like I’m three years old. Christ, I know I’m different. You never let me forget. Everyone wants to put me on a shelf, and I’m tired of it. David’s been watching me hard for days. Justin looks at me like I’ve grown two heads. You won’t even let Laney talk to me anymore.” She blinked, keeping the building tears at bay. Her night had been a rollercoaster of emotions since she’d awakened in the hotel and there wasn’t more she could take. “Just get out. Go away. Take Laney out and be normal. Lord knows you can’t with me.”
“Tani, that isn’t true.” Houston tried to defend himself.
“It’s not?” she shot back, her hands fisting. “You have known me for years, Houston, but for days, you’ve been treating me like a second-class citizen. I’m sorry, and you know what? I don’t have a single clue why I’m apologizing.” She crossed her arms, waiting for his explanation, and doubting she was going to agree or like it.
“You know why,” he told her through a tight jaw. “So don’t get all bitchy at me.”
“So you can’t trust my judgment either, and I thought you were my best friend.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “You know I am your best friend, but damn it, Tani.” Houston’s gaze was beseeching, a shadow of hurt still lurking. “You allowed him into your life. I promised your mother I would keep you safe, and you did this.”
“I did something good for him, and he is helping to protect me from the one I ticked off. Gee, why does that sound so bad?” Her lips curled in sarcastic derision, her arms holding her together.
“It’s more than that, and you know it.” Houston purposely looked over at the relaxed figure leaning against the wall. “I’ve never heard of one like him acting like this. Attachment isn’t exactly your style.”
Diego shrugged, having witnessed the entire argument. “I am different, but she is safe. With me and from me.”
“Can you promise me that, Diego?” Houston faced him fully, confronting him.
Diego cleared the small dressing room to stand right behind Titania, his body posture protective where he stood with her. He placed a firm but gentle hand at her waist, his arm hooked around her. She wanted to lean into his solid strength immediately but forced her legs to hold her up. She was not a weak woman.
“She is the safest woman, or person…” Diego drawled with meaning, staring nearly eye to eye with Houston, “in this room right now. She is in danger, and I intend to keep her safe. Brakka is not the only one interested in finding her. There is another in this city who has targeted your entire band.”
Houston snorted. “How do you know that?”
“I discovered them when I first arrived, and felt the twisted intentions again during the concert, but could not locate the source. There were problems during the concert that had to be dealt with.”
Laney shivered. “See? I told you,” she said quietly. “I didn’t imagine it.”
Titania was surprised to hear her sounding almost accusing. Houston had never dismissed her talents.
Titania caught Diego’s attention switch to Laney. She kept her gaze averted.
“A woman was attacked,” Titania explained. “Diego took care of the man responsible.”
Houston scowled straight at Diego. “Like you?”
“Yes. He has been…dispatched.”
Titania almost shuddered at the cold flatness in his words.
“Look, I want to change, and I can’t with an audience.” Titania also wanted to sit down for a few minutes.
Diego dipped his head, murmuring into her ear. “Breathe, cara. I will be right outside.” “I will know if you need me,” whispered through her mind, followed by a gentle caress of his thumb against her neck in comfort.
Houston waited, letting Diego walk out of the dressing room first, and she sank into her chair when the door closed behind them all. This was getting more confusing by the moment. Even Laney was avoiding her now, but at least Houston and Diego had talked. She just didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.
Her head sagged to rest on the chair while she tugged briefly on her bottom lip with her teeth in frustration. Why would Houston be convinced she was in danger from Diego? She knew Diego wouldn’t hurt her. She stared at the ceiling, her arms crossed limply across her middle. Why did Houston distrust Diego so much?
“Because he knows I can hurt you, deeply. He knows the type of man that I am, and he fears for you.”
“Just what kind of man are you?” She let her eyes drift shut, unable to fight it, gathering the energy to change.
“I am ruthless, relentless. He called me a killer. He is correct.” There was no regret in Diego’s voice. It was a fact, nothing more. “I have killed, and I would do so again if it meant protecting you.”
She pulled herself out of the chair, letting the gown she wore fall into a puddle at her feet. She slipped it onto its hanger for wardrobe and found her jeans and a blouse. “I knew you were dangerous. I’ve known that since the night I broke up the fight. Does he really think I am that clueless?” She was annoyed again as she searched for her sandals.
“No, honey. He knows what I am. That makes all the difference.” His voice was low, soothing.
She froze, positive he let something slip unintentionally. What was she missing? “What are you?” she asked cautiously.
“A very lonely man who has selfishly laid claim to a beautiful woman of light and compassion.”
“Why are you so lonely, Diego? I have felt it within you many times. Almost desolate.” She did a graceful topple into her chair, calling out when she was done. The door opened before her voice had disappeared in the air. As if he knew before she had spoken. She realized with a quirk of her mouth, he probably did.
Her breath caught at the stunning picture he made striding through her door. Long, black, leather coat, dark jeans. His black boots. Even the curl of his hair, remembered so soft in her hands, made her heart leap.
“Why, Diego? Why do I sometimes feel your loneliness so strongly?” she asked.
He leaned against the wall, frowning. “You need to eat.”
“And I have to wait for the others. We stay together. So tell me.”
He rolled a shoulder, his arms crossing nonchalantly over his chest. “You understand what it is like to be the only one like yourself. To not talk with another about yourself. To know none would understand.”
She nodded. She did know.
“I am the only one like me. I live by my own code of honor. I have never met another who has lived like me.”
He said it simply, a stark truth, but there was no mistaking the agony of his solitude, the pain of being so constantly solitary. She could feel every moment he had spent alone through his memories. Dark lonely nights. An eternity.
She offered a hand. He ca
me without hesitation, and she made herself stand in front of him. “You’re not alone anymore, Diego. I understand. I do know,” she told him, her fingers holding his tightly.
“Cara, you are looking at me again.” His voice wrapped around her, held her close, though he only held her hand.
A giggle bubbled up. “I am? I didn’t know.” Fires ignited when he smiled at her. She slapped a hand over his lips. “You have got to quit that.”
“What?” It was muffled behind her palm, but she felt his suppressed laughter in the way he trembled.
“Smiling. I can’t take it.” She knew his smile grew, pressing into the center of her hand. “You’re bad, Diego. Just plain bad.”
“Never said I was good,” he teased. Then to prove it, he swept his tongue across her palm and sparks raced up her arm. “Come on, honey. They can catch up. I need to see you eat.”
For the first time, she caught the note of worry in his tone, but she shook her head. “I need to go to the hospital and see the woman who was hurt first. I shouldn’t take long, but I have to do something.” She felt his body bow closer, an acceptance, though it was not what he wanted. His next question proved it.
“Then you will eat?”
She gave him an honest answer. “I will try. I think I am sick, or getting there or something.”
His expression was brooding as he placed a gentle hand to her spine and led her into the hall to join the others.
Titania told them her plans to go by the hospital as the limo began to pull away from the exit doors of the stadium. Streetlights glowed through a damp fog, giving a murky, eerie feeling to the night.
“Shouldn’t you wait until tomorrow?” Laney asked. She never once glanced toward Diego.
Titania shook her head. “No, she’ll be released by morning. If you want, go ahead and send the limo back. I’ll keep Diego with me,” she said.
Houston held Laney protectively under an arm on the seat across from her. She was getting a little tired of the distrustful gazes aimed at Diego. He had done nothing to prove he deserved this treatment from Houston. She just didn’t understand Houston some days. Diego stared quietly out the window, as if none of it concerned him.
