In a heartbeat, the deadly hound had him pinned to the ground, the acid from his teeth dripping onto Dante’s flesh with searing pain.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered. “You smelly, slimy piece of crap.”
Reaching up, Dante was preparing to grasp the demon’s throat and rip it out when there was a sudden whoosh of air, followed by the sickening crush of bone. He blinked as the hellhound tumbled to the side, obviously dead.
“Are you hurt?”
Like a vision from a dream, Abby was leaning over him, her face smeared with muck and her hair hanging in limp tangles, but her expression was one of gentle concern. Dante took a moment to savor the enchanting view before reluctantly pushing himself up to his elbows. Turning his head, he regarded the twitching demon before returning his attention to Abby.
“Nice swing, love,” he murmured, taking in the rusty pipe she clutched in her hand. “Demon killer extraordinaire, in fact. Almost as good as—”
“Say the name Buffy and I’ll stake you,” she warned, raising the pipe in a threatening motion.
He gave a low chuckle. “Very frightening, sweet, but if you truly want to get the job done, it has to be wood.”
“That could be arranged.”
“No doubt.” Dante rolled to his feet, brushing off the clinging filth. “Unfortunately, it will have to wait until later. For now we must be on our way.”
Taking her arm, Dante was once again moving down the alley, on this occasion keeping his senses alert. Sharply, excruciatingly alert.
Devil spit. He had been knocked down by a hellhound. In front of a beautiful woman. He wasn’t about to be humiliated again.
Killed, maybe. Staked, slaughtered, or beheaded, maybe. But not humiliated. A far preferable alternative for a proud vampire.
For near half an hour they traveled in silence, moving ever deeper into the slums. There were no more surprise attacks, but Dante could still sense demons in the distance.
Damn, he needed to determine if they were still following them or if he and Abby had managed to cover their trail.
Slowing his pace, he searched the shadows until he discovered a narrow door cut into the back of a brick building. He glanced about to ensure they were alone before lifting his leg and kicking the heavy steel off its hinges. There was a dull crash followed by a choking cloud of dust, but he never paused. Pulling Abby within the abandoned garage, he leaned against the twisted frame to keep watch for any unpleasant nasties that might be lurking in the dark.
Tense moments passed before Abby at last came to the end of her strained patience.
“What are we doing here?” she demanded.
“Waiting.”
“Do you even know where we’re going?”
“Away from here.”
Her teeth snapped together. “Stunningly ambiguous as always. I suppose you think it makes you all dark and mysterious?”
“Oh, but I am dark and mysterious.” He risked a glance over his shoulder to encounter her smoldering glare. “Isn’t that how you like your men?”
“I like them with a heartbeat and a taste for quiche, not blood,” she readily shot back.
Dante chuckled as he returned his gaze to the alley. “How can you be so certain, lover? You have yet to try a vampire. I can promise you it will be an experience you will never forget.”
“God, you must be mental. Or the most arrogant—”
Dante abruptly held his hand up in warning. “Sssh.”
Instantly on alert, she peered into the darkness. “Is something coming?”
“Yes. Stay behind me.”
They waited in tense silence until at last the muffled sound of approaching footsteps could be heard. Sniffing the foul air, Dante swiftly assured himself that the intruders were human rather than demon before relaxing his tense muscles. They couldn’t pose a true danger to him.
Then, the silence was broken by the static buzz of a voice floating through a walkie-talkie, and he heard Abby give a small gasp.
“Dante, it’s the police. They can help us,” she hissed before abruptly charging from behind him toward the door.
With pure instinct, Dante reached out to wrap her slight form in his arms. Smoothly he hauled her back into the building and pressed her against the wall. Her hands reached up to angrily beat at his chest, but already anticipating the scream that was about to expose their presence, Dante lowered his head and covered her mouth with his own.
His intent was honorable. The kiss was merely a means to prevent disaster. But the moment he touched the satin enticement of her lips, all honor was forgotten.
A combustible heat flared between them as he tightened his grip, and he devoured her with a hunger that he couldn’t disguise. Bloody hell, he wanted her. He wanted to taste, to seduce, to consume her until his dark need was sated.
Restlessly his hands trailed up her back, brushing the tantalizing skin of her nape before plunging into the honey curls. He held her head steady as he continued to plunder her mouth, all thoughts of danger forgotten in a haze of searing pleasure.
Pressed against him, Abby momentarily stiffened in shock at the sudden embrace, but with gratifying speed, she offered a low moan and wrapped her arms about his neck as she opened her lips to his. Almost as if she had been waiting for this moment with the same fierce intensity as he had.
At the unmistakable capitulation, Dante instinctively softened his lips, his kisses deepening with persuasive intent. She stirred restlessly against his hardening thighs as his lips moved to trail over her smooth cheeks and down the arch of her neck. He was drowning in the passionate fire she had released within him.
“Abby… my sweet Abby… I want to feel you beneath me,” he rasped in raw tones.
He felt her shudder with longing beneath his touch before she was abruptly pulling away to gaze at him with wide, dilated eyes.
“Are you insane?” she rasped, pressing her fingers to her swollen lips.
Caught off guard by her sharp retreat, Dante gritted his teeth and shoved his hands roughly into the pockets of his jeans. It was a grim battle to master the desire still pulsing through his taut body.
A swift yank, a few heated kisses, and he would have her on the dusty floor and himself sheathed deep in her body.
Thankfully sanity slowly forced its way through his hazed mind; taking a careful step back, he regarded her with a measure of calm.
“I was attempting to keep you from getting us both killed. I couldn’t allow you to call out to those cops,” he explained in smooth tones.
Her brows furrowed together. “You think that demons have infested the Chicago police force?”
“No, I think the second you attempt to explain to those nice, unimaginative cops that we’re being pursued by vicious demons and hellhounds, we’ll find ourselves locked in a lovely padded room. If we aren’t first tossed into jail for the murder of Selena. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not be strapped in a straitjacket or offered a cell with a spectacular view of the morning sunrise.”
Her expression hardened, as if she longed to argue with his logic. Then wrapping her arms about her waist, she heaved an annoyed sigh.
“Fine. And what is your brilliant solution? To crawl through these disgusting alleys for eternity?”
He gave a shrug, moving back to the open doorway. “Not quite that long, I hope. I do know a place, but I must be certain that we’ve shaken our bloodthirsty friends.”
“God, what a mess,” she muttered.
Dante forced his fangs to shorten as the lingering shudders of desire tortured his body.
“For once, lover, we are in full agreement.”
Chapter 4
Two hours later, Abby was spent.
She had endured a house exploding, the violent death of her employer, being chased by demons (one of which she had killed with her own hands), hours of walking through vile-smelling alleys, and a kiss by a vampire. And to be honest, she wasn’t sure which unnerved her the most.
Now, howev
er, a wrenching weariness invaded her entire being.
Her feet hurt, she smelled like an overripe landfill, and a numbing fog was clouding her mind. Hell, at the moment she would have paid a lurking demon to leap out and swallow her whole.
Unfortunately, the ghastly creatures who had seemed so determined to destroy them a mere three hours ago had seemingly disappeared the moment they might have come in handy, and she was left to trudge upon trembling legs behind a silent vampire.
Perhaps this was hell, she theorized. Perhaps she had indeed died in the mysterious blast and was now doomed to roam through darkened, demon-invested alleys for all eternity.
No, not hell, a treacherous voice whispered. Not if she were to be offered an eternity of kisses from a gorgeous vampire that had made her melt into a puddle of aching need.
Her heart skipped a renegade beat before she was giving a sharp shake of her head.
Obviously she was becoming delirious. Vampire kisses. God. No doubt the toxic stench had driven her over the edge. Enough was enough.
“Dante.” Coming to a halt, she folded her arms over her chest. “I can’t go any farther.”
With clear reluctance, Dante stopped at the corner of the alley and turned to meet her stubborn gaze. As weary as she was, her breath caught in her throat.
Bathed in the dull golden light of the streetlamp, Dante was strikingly beautiful. His flowing raven hair. His fiercely elegant features. His silver eyes that shimmered with a lethal danger. It all combined to create a vision that was bound to weaken the knees of any woman.
Thankfully unaware of her treacherous thoughts, Dante reached out to grasp her hand.
“It is just a bit farther, I promise,” he urged softly.
Her expression only hardened at his words. “You’ve said that for the past half hour.”
His lips twitched with wicked amusement. “Yes, but on this occasion, I’m not lying.”
“Ugh.” She leaned against the brick building, too tired to care that she was only adding to the layer of grime that covered her. What were a few more nasty germs? “I should have staked you when I had the chance.”
A raven brow arched at her petulant tone. “Do you know, Abby, you really are an ungrateful brat.”
“No, I’m tired, I’m hungry, and all I want is to go home.”
The chiseled features softened as he reached out and pulled her close to the hardness of his body. Tenderly he ran a hand over her tangled curls.
“I know, lover. I know.”
Vampire or not, Abby discovered his touch oddly comforting. And deliciously wonderful. Without conscious thought, she leaned her head against his wide chest.
“Dante, will this horrible night ever end?”
“That much I can promise you,” he assured her, giving a small tug until they were out of the alley and standing upon a narrow street. “You see the building on the corner? That’s our destination. Can you make it?”
She regarded the plain building, at last concluding that it must have been a hotel in years past. A hotel that was now dank, moldy, and no doubt filled with entire communities of hungry rats. She heaved a sigh even as she gave Dante a reluctant nod of her head.
She was too weary to quibble. If a few rats and a rotting chair were the price of resting her aching feet, then so be it.
“Let’s go,” she muttered.
Readily accepting Dante’s assistance, Abby limped across the street and around the building to the back. He ignored the narrow door that hung limply off its hinges and instead reached out his hand to touch one of the loosened bricks near the window. Astonishingly (well, perhaps not so astonishing on this particular evening), a silver shimmer filled the air, and before Abby could even question what had occurred, Dante had pulled her through the mystical veil into a vast crimson and gold lobby.
Stumbling to a halt, Abby glanced about her with wide eyes. It was impossible. There was nothing rat-infested about this place. Not with its black marble columns and crimson velvet walls and domed roof painted with beautiful naked women.
It was lush and exotic and, well, more than a little decadent.
“What is this place?” she breathed in wonder.
Dante smiled wryly as he took her arm and steered her toward a nearly hidden alcove at the back of the room.
“Better not to ask.”
“Why?”
Ignoring her question, he brushed aside the gauzy curtain spangled with golden stars and pulled her down a darkened hall until they reached the last door. Tugging it open, he waited for her to enter before firmly closing the door behind them and turning on the lights.
Much to her relief, Abby discovered the large room considerably more comfortable than the lavish lobby they had left behind. There was a solid warmth to the satinwood paneling and leather furnishings that were scattered over an ivory carpet More like an English country estate than a lavish bordello, she decided.
Absently wandering to study the leather-bound books that filled the shelves upon one wall, she drew in a deep breath before turning to meet Dante’s guarded gaze.
“Will we be safe here?”
“Yes, the building is owned by an acquaintance of mine. It possesses an enchantment upon it that will prevent anyone from sensing your presence here. Human or demon.”
Enchantment? Well, that sounded… less strange than anything else that had occurred this bizarre evening. Still, Abby sensed there was a great deal he wasn’t telling her. Always a bad sign.
“And your friend?” she demanded.
“What?”
“Is he human or demon?”
He gave a lift of his shoulder. “He is a vampire.”
Abby rolled her eyes toward the open beamed ceiling. “Great.”
With a silent grace, Dante was suddenly standing before her, his expression relentless in the muted light.
“I would suggest that you attempt to disguise that rather nasty prejudice of yours, lover,” he warned in silky tones. “We shall need Viper’s assistance if we are to survive the next few days.”
Suddenly realizing that she had indeed been more than a bit rude to the man who had saved her life more than once in the past few hours, Abby caught her lower lip between her teeth.
“I’m sorry.”
The silver eyes darkened as he tenderly ran the back of his fingers over her heated cheeks.
“There are some things I must do. I want you to remain here.” The fingers slid beneath her chin as he gazed deep into her eyes. “And whatever happens, do not open this door until I return. Do you understand?”
A shiver inched down her spine. He was leaving her? Alone?
Good Lord, what if he didn’t return? What if some demon attacked while he was gone? “What if…”
Grasping her shattered courage, Abby gave a lift of her chin. Stop being such a spineless wimp, she chided herself. Dammit. She had been taking care of herself since she was fourteen years old. Not only herself, but her mother as well, since the older woman discovered life easier to bear at the bottom of a whiskey bottle.
And all without the assistance of a sinfully beautiful vampire.
“I understand.”
As if sensing the effort it cost her to appear brave, his fingers tightened upon her chin. Gazes locked, he slowly lowered his head.
“Abby,” he whispered.
Softly he brushed his lips over her own. And over and over. His touch was featherlight, but it was enough to make her entire body tingle with pleasure. Tingle and shiver and lots of other exhilarating things.
At last he lifted his head and stepped back. Still reeling with the aftershocks, she watched in silence as he turned to leave the room. It was only when the door snapped firmly shut behind him that she recalled the need to breathe.
Well…
It seemed that her feet weren’t nearly as tired as she had thought since her toes were firmly curled in pleasure.
A hysterical urge to laugh bubbled in her throat as she moved to flop herself upon a leather sof
a. Vampire kisses, indeed. She was mad. That was the only explanation. She was stark, raving mad.
And thankfully too exhausted to even care at the moment.
Allowing her head to topple back onto the leather cushions, Abby breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. For the first time in hours, she wasn’t searching over her shoulder for marauding demons or squashing through rotting trash. There was not even a vampire in sight.
For the moment she could simply relax.
Relax? Yeah, right, a tiny voice mocked in the back of her mind.
She sucked in a deep breath. No. She could do this. All it took was a bit of concentration.
Relax, relax, relax, she silently chanted. She snuggled deeper into the cushions. She slowed her breathing. She tried to imagine a beautiful waterfall, a peaceful meadow, the sound of whales (whatever the hell they sounded like).
All worthless efforts that were eventually disturbed when a cold rash raced over her skin.
A sudden certainty that she was no longer alone had her eyes fluttering open and her head lifting. Her heart halted as she realized her instincts had not been wrong.
There was a man standing in the center of the room.
No, not a man, she swiftly corrected. Now that she knew the truth of Dante, she could detect what those too-perfect features and fiercely elegant form meant.
Not that this vampire was the spitting image of Dante, she readily concluded. He was taller and leaner, with a ripple of hard muscles beneath the crimson velvet coat that flowed nearly to his knees and black satin slacks. His hair was worn long, but it was like the pale silver of moonlight and his eyes the startling darkness of midnight. And while his features were hauntingly beautiful, there was a starkness to his countenance that sent a chill down her spine.
This was not the charmingly wicked bad boy.
This was an exquisite fallen angel who held himself aloof from the world about him.
Slowly rising to her feet, she discovered herself nervously licking her lips as he strolled nonchalantly forward. His midnight gaze swept over her with unnerving intensity. It was not until he was a mere step from her that he came to a halt.
When Darkness Falls Page 4
