Undeniable

by Doreen Orsini

  “The bitch broke my nose!”

  Hearing the reply of one of the bouncers as they approached, Sebastian positioned himself behind Diana and concealed her in the black shadow he’d maintained since entering the alcove.

  The bouncer entered first. “Look, buddy, I don’t see anyone. You sure you aren’t on something?”

  “And broke my own nose? She kicked me in the fucking balls, man. I bet she’s hiding in the bathroom.”

  When he heard Diana’s breath hitch, Sebastian wondered if she realized her life had once again entered another realm.

  They didn’t see her. How could they not see her? Diana opened her eyes. She peeked over her shoulder. A dark shadow like the one in her dreams swept down and captured her mouth. Imprisoned against the wall, unable to move as the kiss stole her breath and all thoughts of screaming, she closed her eyes.

  Why not? She’d obviously clonked her head like she had at the lake, obviously passed out. Either that or she was just as crazy as her father.

  Diana’s mind and body gave in to the hot, wanton need that engulfed her whenever her phantom lover appeared. Years of restraint, practiced and perfected, could not protect her. She felt helpless yet safe in his arms. She acted too different from the woman she had become to believe he was anything more than a lover her mind had created, a lover she had manifested because her true love had yet to appear. Because her own body stalked her and demanded she finally give in to her desires.

  With a tenderness that belied the strength of the muscles rippling over the chest pressed against her back and the arms wrapped around her waist, lips skimmed over hers, left them with a nip, then meandered along her jaw to her neck. Her heart raced and pulsed beneath his lips. She tilted her head, offering more of her sensitive skin up to her phantom lover. Her legs nearly buckled when sharp teeth grazed her skin and sent ripples of pleasure through her body.

  Needing more, she turned around and pressed herself into whatever dwelt in the darkness enveloping her. When she felt the shift that signaled another kiss, she tilted her head back and rose up onto her toes. His hand crept under her shirt and over her wounded breast. While his lips crushed hers and his tongue caressed every sensitive inch of her mouth, his fingers stroked her flesh until the pain from her bruised nipple vanished and a new, more demanding ache took its place.

  Arching her back, she pressed her breast into his palm. Her phantom shuddered. Diana reveled in the knowledge that she affected him as strongly as he affected her.

  When she heard the drunk and the bouncer returning from their search of the restroom, the kiss ended and a finger pressed against her lips. Diana nodded, feeling safe wrapped in this familiar cocoon. Her feet left the floor as a strange tingling sensation skipped over her scalp. Shaking her head, she wrapped her hands around her phantom’s neck and tried to ignore the deep, insistent voice in her mind telling her…insisting…

  “What’ll it be, Diana?”

  Diana blinked.

  The bartender flung the white washcloth over his shoulder and stared expectantly into her eyes. Glancing up at him, she opened her mouth, shut it, then mutely stared at the twenty dollar bill in her outstretched hand. She remembered checking her hair in the Ladies Room and turning to leave. Then…then…nothing.

  She didn’t feel drunk. Damn, she only had two beers. Scanning the club, she frowned. Twice her gaze returned to a dark corner directly below a floodlight. Her hand instinctively grabbed hold of her mother’s locket.

  Someone tapped her shoulder. Grabbing onto the bar for support, she peeked over her shoulder and, finding Terry grinning at her smugly, let out a relieved sigh.

  “Got another, I hear,” Terry said, winking.

  Diana frowned. “Another what?”

  Terry nodded over her shoulder. “Perv.”

  Leaning to the side, she looked in the direction Terry had nodded. Surrounded by fawning women, a man held an icepack to his nose.

  Diana emphatically shook her head. “I did not do that one.”

  “Di, his blood is on your forehead,” Terry said, giggling. She reached over and grabbed a napkin from the bar. After dunking a corner in her cosmopolitan, she rubbed Diana’s forehead. “See?”

  Diana stared at the slight red smudge. Her head spun as she tried to remember the man. After a few moments, her gaze shifted back to the shadowed corner.

  “Di?”

  “Shh.” She squeezed her eyes shut and delved into her mind. “Think dammit. Think.”

  Bit by bit the events in the alcove unfurled. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she recalled how she’d rubbed herself against the shadow like a cat, how she’d clutched onto it when it had tried to release her, how she’d then followed some internal order to go to the bar and flag down the bartender with the twenty the shadow had pressed into her hand.

  Catching the bartender’s eye, she asked in a voice that sounded more like a little girl’s than her own, “Give me a double of Jack Daniels, please.”

  When the bartender slid the glass across the bar, she downed it in one gulp, then slammed the glass down. The slow burn of the liquor sliding down her throat calmed the hysteria that demanded she run screaming out of the bar.

  “Another.”

  “Another?” Terry grabbed Diana’s thigh and spun her around until their knees bumped. “What’s up, Di?”

  Diana opened her mouth to explain, but what could she say? Even Terry would think she lost it. She retrieved two tens from her purse and tossed them onto the bar.

  “Di, you already have a twenty in your hand. Are you all right?”

  “This isn’t mine.” Diana gulped down half of her second drink, then clutched the tumbler to her chest and hopped off the barstool. “You hooked up with a hypnotist here the other night, didn’t you?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t exactly say we hooked—”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Pushing her way through the crowd, Diana stopped before the shadowed corner and flung the twenty down. When the twenty disappeared before it hit the floor, she gasped, then whispered through lips that barely moved. “Look, thanks for your help, but go play your hypnosis games on someone else, pal. You hear me? Leave. Me. Alone.”

  Spinning on her heels, she tried to appear unruffled as she walked on rubbery legs to the dance floor and worked her way deep into the security of the writhing crowd. Surrounded by people, far from the eerie shadow, her memory of the events in the alcove seemed ridiculous. No hypnotist was that good. One too many drinks, a bump on the head and she sees tall, dark, invisible men. Her gaze wandered back to the corner.

  “One too many drinks,” she snapped, startling the man dancing beside her.

  * * * * *

  That morning, before he drifted off to sleep, Sebastian wondered if the qualities he found so intriguing in Diana could also be proof of her guilt.

  Over the past few nights, he’d witnessed how the town dealt with Frank Nostrum. Some heaped their pity upon Diana’s rigid shoulders while others flung their ridicule at her receding back. And Diana? From what he heard, she knew her father believed he was a vampire hunter, knew the townspeople believed he was crazy.

  But did Diana believe in vampires? Did she know her father destroyed them? Had destroyed Marek?

  Sebastian slid his arm under his head and pondered Diana’s innocence.

  Could she be the ultimate weapon Frank Nostrum used to ensnare his victims and lure them to their death? She drew men to her like moths to a flame and had the strength and power to take them down before they knew what was coming. The possibility that he might be her next willing victim haunted him, but did not cool the blistering lust surging through his veins, did not stop him from seeking her out the moment the sun set.

  The remainder of the week passed too swiftly as far as Sebastian was concerned. Diana usually ended each night with a trip to the lake. Voyeurism didn’t suit him, went against every moral he possessed and every vow he had taken as a Champion, but he felt compelled to watch.

>   Every night he ground his teeth against the urge to reveal himself when she floated on her back and offered up her glistening breasts to the stars. Every night his control slipped free when she stepped onto the shore, a thin sheet of water caressing her supple flesh. How could he possibly contain it when she wiped the moisture from her skin, her hands lingering on the very spots he imagined a hundred times covering with his mouth?

  Each and every night he surrendered to the need to touch and whirled around her, inhaling her enticing scent, caressing every precious inch of skin the water had caressed. He believed she felt nothing more than a summer breeze.

  On the night the elders had chosen for Diana’s transformation, Sebastian entered the minds of her friends and sent them on meaningless errands. He needed these last few hours alone with her. Sebastian had run out of time, something he found he couldn’t get enough of with Diana.

  Taking longer than usual to undress, Diana hesitated with each piece of clothing she dropped on the ground. When her gaze darted to the hemlocks bordering the yard, he darkened the shadow engulfing him. Riddled with guilt over what he intended to do when she returned home, he went over the past week for the tenth time, searching for something, anything that might delay the hunter’s sentence and possibly save Diana.

  From what he’d seen, Diana didn’t believe vampires even existed, much less that her father killed them. Watching her when she was home had revealed nothing. Most nights she and her father ate dinner together, but Frank, peering out the window as if he expected to find someone lurking there, barely spoke.

  Fearing the hunter may have psychic abilities that ensnare his victims, the elders had banned entering his mind. Sebastian had no choice but to watch and listen. He didn’t have to delve into Diana’s mind. Her loneliness shimmered in her eyes every time she glanced at her father.

  Following her when she left her house had only raised more doubts. Too often, her eyes would stray in his direction. Too often, she clutched that locket as if it held some power. But she embraced the night with a fearlessness he doubted could dwell in one who believed in vampires, much less lured them.

  Her possible innocence haunted him.

  Diana walked into the water until the shimmering ripples splashed against her nipples. His cock, hard since the moment he awoke and set out to see her, twitched with need. Although he had made a habit of stealing caresses by turning into mist, he held back. Tonight he had to keep his lust for Diana under control. His need to throw her to the ground and claim her by fucking her senseless made him feel too much like the teen his mother had created.

  Diana had become more and more like the helpless, innocent virgins he’d defiled in his youth. The guilt of what he’d done in the past kept him from diving into the water and Diana.

  When she finally emerged from the lake and raised her arms up to the stars, he delved into her mind and searched one last time for any knowledge of her father’s crimes, for any reason to bring the hunter’s sentence to a halt.

  Shock, denial and a strange sense of longing filled him when he uncovered a vision of his hands emerging from a gray mist swirling around her body. Her need, her yearning for his touch was so powerful that he imagined he heard her voice in his mind calling to him, her phantom lover.

  Filled with despair, Sebastian took to the air and returned to Mina’s Cove.

  Later, as he walked down Main Street in Mina’s Cove, he wished he could tell the vampires strolling past him that he refused to harm the hunter’s daughter, that he would kill anyone who tried, but he saw hope in their eyes, hope that tomorrow they would no longer have to fear Frank Nostrum and his pen. They had every right to believe their Champion would protect them, every right to believe Marek’s stepbrother would avenge his death.

  As he waited at a light, he caught sight of his cousin Tomas and Tomas’ friend Diego standing in front of the Town Hall. Tomas waved eagerly. How many times had Marek stood waving on their porch as a child, jumping up and down whenever Sebastian came home?

  Sebastian’s heart ached. Marek had been the only vampire he could talk to, the only one who made him laugh, smile, forget that he would forever walk in darkness. Marek had been Sebastian’s light. He had no choice. He had to ensure no other vampire lost his light in the dark. It was time, way past time for Diana Nostrum to join the creatures of the night.

  Chapter Three

  “Sebastian, you greedy bastard!”

  Diego’s lust-filled voice boomed in the silent room and grated on Sebastian’s already frayed nerves. He’d warned the vamp before and twice after entering Diana’s bedroom that they would only talk telepathically. Diego!

  Diego pressed his palm down the length of the hard ridge straining against his jeans. You’ve been coming here and watching her every night this week and you never invited us?

  Sebastian clenched his fists when Diego took a step closer to Diana’s bed. I think you should wait outside, Diego. You’re making a fool of yourself.

  “Forget it. I’m staying put.”

  Tomas’ nails dug into the footboard. He can’t even remember to keep his stupid mouth shut.

  Come on, Sebastian, Diego pleaded, desire shimmering in his eyes as his gaze darted between Sebastian and Diana. We could play with her a little before you do it. You’ve got her in such a deep sleep, she won’t feel a thing, let alone remember.

  “We could,” Sebastian replied aloud. “Or I could rip your throat out. And believe me, you will remember every second.” The sharp stab of his nails growing into his palms failed to penetrate the red haze of anger Diego’s cavalier comment spawned. Surprisingly, he found he could no more control his rage than he could the menacing growl strangling his words.

  Diego and Tomas hungrily stared at Diana as she slept beneath a sheet transparent enough to reveal a body that would have inspired Michaelangelo to sculpt a mate for David.

  Clues about Diana surrounded them, had bombarded Sebastian from the first night he’d followed her home. It amazed him that Diego and Tomas had barely noticed them tonight. They hadn’t even glanced at the framed photos of her mother, photos he’d watched her hold to her heart every night. Would they react differently if they’d heard her nightly prayers for the safe return of the woman who’d turned her back on Diana and left her in the care of a man like Frank Nostrum?

  Trophies and ribbons for kickboxing were squeezed between toe shoes of various sizes, but he couldn’t blame Tomas and Diego for ignoring the extent of Diana’s triumphs. They had never watched her practice each skill with a merging of power and grace that had left Sebastian in awe. They didn’t know she reveled in her strength, but hated the way the muscles in her legs bulged.

  And the CDs. Did they understand why she always played sad songs, why tears hovered on her lashes as she sang? He thought he understood.

  “Damn.”

  Sebastian turned at Diego’s whisper. Diego’s hand moved toward Diana’s head. Her cheek rested on the edge of the bed. Sebastian, having been in Diego’s position every night for the past week, knew just how much the young vamp itched to lift her head and feel the heat of her breath flowing over his cock. He probed Diego’s mind.

  Lewd images of the three of them feasting on Diana’s naked body nearly ripped Sebastian’s ever-weakening control from his grip. His muscles bunched painfully as he fought to maintain the distance necessary to keep Diego alive. He shared the images with Tomas. You choose fools for friends, little cousin. If he moves his hand, he’ll lose it.

  Tomas visibly paled when Diego’s fingertips touched Diana’s chin. Shit, Diego, do you want Sebastian to drag you before the elders for rape? Get the hell away from her and let him get this over with.

  Sebastian saw Tomas’ gaze dart to the alarm clock on the nightstand, then to the window and the clear outline of the mountains that just minutes ago had been barely visible against an ebony sky. Although the young vamp’s face showed no fear, his hands trembled as he shoved them in the pockets of his jeans.

  Diego�
�s fangs receded. He backed away from the bed, his hands raised before him. Rape? Who said anything about rape? I never said ―

  A moan drew their interest back to the bed. Sprawled on her belly, Diana ground her hips into the mattress. Sebastian cursed. The sheet delved into the cleft of her buttocks as one of her legs slid out, baring more skin than he felt any red-blooded male, vampire or human, could handle. He refrained from shoving her leg back under the sheet.

  Diego licked his lips and drew in a hissing breath. Come on, Sebastian. We wouldn’t be her first. She must be at least twenty. Shit, most girls don’t make it past eighteen with their cherry.

  She’s twenty-five and still pure. Sebastian’s nostrils flared as he drew her intoxicating scent into his lungs, a scent that never failed to arouse him. But this time the stench of another’s arousal followed. Diego stood close enough for his breath to fill her lungs, for his scent to caress hers.

  When Diego blinked, Sebastian moved. Materializing between the horny vamp and Diana, he leaned into Diego’s stunned face. “Push me, Diego, and I’ll be on you before you even think of running,” Sebastian warned, his voice laced with menace.

  Diego’s eyes flared wide before he jerked his head down and stumbled back. His shoulder struck one of the many shelves lining the walls. Two CDs slid off and landed silently on the carpet beside Sebastian’s black leather boot.

  Pick it up, klutz. Tomas looked incredulously at Diego. Can we remember whose house we’re in? You two are having a pissing contest and her father is probably on his way home.

  Relax, Tomas. He hunts ‘til dawn. We’ll be long gone before he gets home. Diego reached down to retrieve the CDs. His hand froze.

  Sebastian glanced down. Blood dripping from his clenched fist splashed onto one of the CDs. Embracing the pain of his nails grazing bone, Sebastian watched Diego rush to Tomas’ side and after a quick jab in his ribs, jerk his head toward the blood.