He slipped a hand inside her blazer and cupped her breast. The sweater and her bra might be between them, but that didn’t matter. He might as well have been touching bare flesh for the effect it had on her. Pleasure jolted from her breasts to her core and back again in an endless loop. Oh, this was wonderful, better than wonderful. It was perfect.
Damek broke the kiss and let his lips glide over her face toward her ear. “Tell me, Sonia. Who are you really? Why are you here?” He nibbled on her lobe, dragging one of his fangs over the sensitive skin.
It took a moment for his question to process, and when it did it was like getting a bucket of cold water dumped on her. The moment shattered and the warm, sensual haze that had enveloped her disintegrated in a heartbeat. She shoved him away with all her strength, which wasn’t much considering her entire body was trembling with unrequited lust. “You bastard.”
He blinked at her, his breathing steady while hers was anything but. She was totally aroused and he looked as though he were at a board meeting. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” she repeated. She swiped her hand over the back of her mouth and his gaze narrowed and lips tightened. “This seduction was just so you could get answers out of me.”
“It was for mutual pleasure. The questions I would ask no matter what.”
“I’ll bet.” She crossed her arms over her chest, doing her best to ignore the throbbing in her core and the painful way her nipples were pressing against her bra. “I’m not trading answers for sex, so you’re wasting your time.” Where moments before what was between them had felt right and perfect, now it felt tainted and tawdry.
He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “I don’t need to seduce you to get answers. I can take whatever I want to know from your mind, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat, barely able to breathe as power swelled and pulsed around them. She was in big trouble. There really was no way for her to know the extent of his powers, but she knew in her heart Damek wasn’t lying. He could enter her mind and take her thoughts from her.
And if he did, something inside her would shrivel up and die.
“Please.” A tear trailed down her cheek and she dashed it away. This wasn’t the time for tears, but she couldn’t seem to stop. Her emotions were all over the place, racing from sexual arousal to fear to anger to disappointment.
Damek caught a fresh tear on his thumb and brought the salty drop to his lips. Sonia shuddered as he sucked it into his mouth. “It seems I was wrong.” He sat back, pressed a button and said something to the driver over the intercom. Not that Sonia could hear what it was over the pounding of her heart.
She sucked in a breath and got control of her wayward emotions. The adrenaline flooding her veins was making them bounce all over the place. All she wanted right now was to be alone and sort out everything that had happened. She needed to contact her family and talk to them. Damek and the werewolf pack at Haven deserved to have answers, but she couldn’t tell them anything unless she got the okay from her family. If the secret were hers alone, she’d tell Damek everything.
That thought frightened her as much as the passion he tapped into so easily did. He had an advantage over her. While she was lost in the sensuality of his kiss, his touch, he’d still been thinking and plotting. It hurt her to realize she was alone in this attraction between them.
The car came to a stop and she glanced out the window. He hadn’t brought her back to his club but to her hotel. It was probably better this way. She’d gather her things, check out and go to another hotel and contact her family. She needed to talk to her mother about Damek and everything he made her feel. Her mother would understand and know exactly what to say to her.
She could depend on her family.
She reached for the door handle, but Damek put his hand on her arm, stopping her. “Will you not tell me what I need to know?”
As much as it pained her to do so, she shook her head. “If it were only me…” She let her words trail off.
Damek released her. “Then go. Go back to your world and leave me be.”
The finality of his words almost had her blurting out all her secrets. She bit her bottom lip so hard she drew a tiny bead of blood. His gaze landed on the drop that welled up.
“You tempt me at your peril,” he growled. Before she could escape, he grabbed her, yanked her to him and slammed his mouth down on hers. His tongue stroked over her lips, drawing the bead of blood into his mouth.
Heat. Pleasure. Erotic promise. It all swarmed through her, engulfing her, eating her whole.
Then she was alone and cold as he thrust her away from him. “Go, now, while I can still let you.”
Sonia grabbed her purse and jumped out of the car. Just before the door slammed shut, she caught sight of Damek sitting on the plush leather seat. His eyes were tinged with red but they were also filled with loneliness.
The car sped away, leaving her standing alone on the sidewalk with nothing but regret and a heavy heart. She stood there until the vehicle was out of sight, half hoping he would stop and come back. When it was apparent he was truly gone, she dragged herself through the main door of the hotel. All she wanted to do was run after Damek and spill all her secrets to him.
She stiffened her spine and marched across the lobby, keeping her eyes straight ahead. She needed to focus on what she needed to do and forget about Damek for now. It wouldn’t take her long to pack and get out of here. Once she was settled in a new hotel she would call her family. Damek still had what was left of her cell phone, but she could use the hotel phone to contact them.
The elevator seemed to take forever to arrive and then carry her up to her floor. Her feet felt like lead as she made her way to her door and swiped her keycard in the lock. The room was dark, and when she flipped the switch on the overhead light nearest the door nothing happened.
“Great. The bulb is burned out.” There was enough light from the window for her to see the light on the desk. She headed straight toward it, letting the door close behind her with a thunk. She was halfway there when she sensed a disturbance in the air.
She whirled around, but it was too late. A heavy male arm came around her neck and a knife flashed in front of her eyes. “You’re a hard woman to follow, Dr. Agostino. It’s time for me and you to have a little talk.”
Chapter Nine
The more distance the limo put between him and Sonia, the larger the hole in Damek’s chest seemed to grow. Every instinct he possessed was screaming at him to go after Sonia and keep her with him. But he couldn’t do that. Fool that he was, he wanted her to tell him voluntarily whatever secret it was she was keeping from him. If he took it from her, he would irrevocably damage whatever was between them.
He snorted and stared out the window at the passing people and never-ending lights of the city. He should have taken her memories of him from her. It would be easy. A simple process of reaching into her mind with his own and psychically blanking out all the brain cells that contained his physical image or emotional imprint. But he didn’t want her to forget him. He wanted to haunt her days and nights as she would haunt his.
He was a fool.
Nothing could come of his attraction to her. She was human and he was a vampire and, contrary to what some people believed because of movies and certain novels, making a vampire was no small task, nor was it a sure thing. A person had to die to become a vampire, and only a very few who actually went through the process survived. The rest stayed dead. No way would he risk Sonia’s life on the slight possibility that she might be one of the ones that survived.
That’s assuming she’d even want to become a vampire.
Now he was being a complete idiot, something he detested. He was not fond of weakness or frailty of the mind, especially when it was his own. He should return to her hotel, take her memories from her and be done with it. That was the safest option for both of them.
The area in the reg
ion of his heart ached. Humans might believe otherwise, but his heart still beat in his chest, albeit at a much slower rate than a human one. And it was still capable of hurting.
What was it about Sonia that conflicted him so? Yes, she reminded him of Elizabetta, but that was neither here nor there. It was a mere passing resemblance that had attracted his attention. The two women were nothing alike in personality. Sonia was…Sonia. She was no copy of another woman. She was strong and vibrant and intelligent and simply beautiful to him.
And courage, the woman had more than enough courage for three men and then some. The way she’d stood up to him and to Isaiah was foolish, considering she knew what they were. But she’d done it anyway, and it only made him want her more.
Her gray eyes seemed to see right into him, past all his defenses. That alone made her a danger to him, and he’d always dealt with danger quickly and quietly. He let few people into his life, didn’t allow himself to get close to anyone. They’d all be gone in a matter of decades while he’d still be here…alone.
Sonia’s breath caught in her throat as her attacker grabbed her. She clutched at the thickly muscled arm that was cutting off her air supply. It tightened and she gasped for breath and tried to fight. The knife flashed in the darkness.
Vampire hunter. Why she was so certain, she didn’t know, but she didn’t question her instincts. The man holding her was larger than her. Muscular. But she was much stronger than she appeared and was fighting for her life. Sonia lifted her foot and managed to kick her attacker in the shin. He flinched and cursed, but held on to her.
Even though panic was closing in on her, she reached inside herself and tapped into the part of her that was different, drawing strength from the blood of her ancestors. Giving a hoarse cry, she shoved at his arm with all her strength.
Her attacker’s muscular arm snapped back and she whirled away. His reflexes were sharp and he was fast, a hunter through and through. The sharp blade slashed at her, cutting through her coat and sweater and into her arm.
A dark premonition pressed down on Damek and he hissed with growing fury. Sonia was in danger. He had no idea how he knew that, but he didn’t question it. He pressed down on the intercom. “Stop the car.” Jerome obeyed immediately and put on the brakes. “Go back to the hotel and wait for me.” Ignoring the blare of horns from the irate drivers behind them, Damek threw open the door, surged out of the vehicle and quickly slid into the shadows.
Using his preternatural speed, he raced back to Sonia’s hotel, cursing himself all the way. He should never have left her alone, should have brought her to his home for safety’s sake. He knew the vampire hunters were watching her. They might not have known where she was going tonight, but they knew she’d return to her hotel.
And he’d dropped her off and left her there. If anything happened to her—
Damek blocked such thoughts from his mind. Sonia would be okay. There was no other option.
Sonia cried out at the shock of the blade sinking into her flesh, but kept moving, knowing that to stop could mean her death. The hunter was almost as dangerous as the creatures he hunted, maybe even more so. He wouldn’t care that she wasn’t a vampire. If he was here it was because he’d determined she knew something about one of the paranormal creatures he was hunting, and she knew he’d do anything to gain that information.
Her heart skipped a beat. Was she responsible for bringing Damek to the attention of the vampire hunters? It made her stomach lurch and her chest ache to think so. She had to get away. Had to warn him.
To do that she had to get out of the room or at least attract the attention of someone outside. “What do you want?” Grabbing the chair from the table, she put it between them. The dim light from the window, along with her acute sense of sight, illuminated him enough for her to make out his shape. He was broad and tall with short blond hair. His thin lips were set in a sneer and he glared at her as he tossed the knife from hand to hand, doing his best to frighten her.
He was succeeding.
She forced herself to think, to watch his every movement. He was wearing dark jeans and a dark shirt, which made it harder to see which way he was leaning.
The man moved closer, his knife glinting in the light from the streetlamps. “I want to talk to you about the company you’re keeping.”
Oh, God. She was right. This was about Damek. “Who are you?”
This had to be the same vampire hunter Damek said was following her. With everything else that had happened tonight she’d completely forgotten about him, a mistake she was currently paying for. She’d let her guard down and that was simply not done, not when one was a member of The Keepers. Hunters of one sort or another were everywhere.
He moved closer and Sonia eyed the bed off to her right. She could jump on it and make a break for the door, but she knew she wouldn’t make it. The bathroom was an option. She could at least lock the door and yell for help.
“You don’t need to know who I am, but I know who you are.” He was so much larger than she was and he was brawny. He would also have skills he’d honed to slay vampires. She might be stronger than the average human, but Sonia knew she couldn’t beat him in a fight. “You study vampires and werewolves and other unnatural creatures.”
Sonia managed a derisive laugh. “I study folklore and legend and how it affected people in the past and in modern day. Hardly worth getting upset over.” She had to keep him talking.
He smiled slowly and it sent a shiver down her spine. The slight stubble on his jaw made him appear even more menacing. He was enjoying her fear, feeding off it. “My boss thinks you might have stumbled upon something real and wants to talk to you.”
Crap. Crap. Crap. She could get out of this. “You’re obviously off your meds if you think vampires and werewolves are real. They’re. A. Myth,” she said the last three words slowly, drawing them out as though he were too simple to understand. “Like Nessie or Big Foot.”
As long as she could keep him talking he wasn’t attacking her. She didn’t think the situation would last long, but she was going to do her best to keep it going. The longer this went on, the more of a chance she had to attract attention of some kind. Her gaze flew to the desk. Maybe she could grab the lamp and heave it through the window, or she could simply pick up the chair and use it to break the glass. Now that would attract attention. But he’d probably kill her before anyone could get to her.
His jaw tightened and he took a step closer, his nostrils flaring. “Oh, you’re gonna talk. You’re going to tell me everything I want to know.”
She knew exactly how far away she was from the bathroom door and prayed she could make it. Without any warning, she jumped on the bed, shoving the chair toward her assailant as she did so. Her feet fit the mattress and she bounded off the other side, sprinting the few feet to the bathroom door.
He swore behind her and she knew without glancing back that he was almost on her. Her hand hit the door as he grabbed her hair and yanked. Sonia fell back, hitting his broad chest with a thud. She lifted her feet, giving him her full weight. He tried to keep his hold on her, but couldn’t, and she fell to the floor with a solid thud.
Instead of rolling away as he would expect her to do in this situation, she rolled toward him, fingers clasped into a fist. She didn’t aim for his stomach but for a more vulnerable area just lower. He pulled back to keep from taking the full force of her blow, but she managed to punch him in the family jewels.
“You bitch. You’re going to pay for that.” He was doubled over slightly, but he was coming for her again. The man was a machine and she was very afraid she’d just signed her own death warrant. Her breath hitched on a sob and she scrambled toward the bathroom, her feet and fingers digging into the carpet.
Her attacker was on her in a split second, taking her down, flat on the floor. He sat on her back, fisted his hand in her hair and yanked hard. The blade caressed her neck and she froze. “That’s right, bitch. You’re going to tell me everything I want to know o
r I’m going to cut you again. I might even cut you just for fun.”
Sonia was afraid to swallow, afraid to breathe. A trickle of blood seeped down her neck just above the collar of her sweater. Her scalp burned where he held her hair tight in his fist and his weight was cutting off the air supply to her lungs. Black spots appeared before her eyes and she struggled to stay conscious. She couldn’t pass out. God only knew what he’d do to her.
All she had to do was watch and wait for an opportunity. She had more reserves of strength to call on when the time came, provided she stayed conscious. But first she had to stay alive. She stilled and her assailant moved the knife back a fraction, easing up enough for her to be able to take a shallow breath. The oxygen burned on the way to her starving lungs.
“You going to behave?”
“Yes.” She didn’t dare nod with the knife still so close.
“Thought you’d see things my way.” Instead of getting off her, he let more of his weight fall on her. She gasped as he drove the air from her body again. She clawed at the carpet, trying to get away. He let up seconds later and gave a cruel laugh. “I’ll keep doing that every time you don’t tell me what I want to know.”
His thick fingers tightened in her hair and he gave it a hard tug. Her eyes were watering and blood seeped from the cuts on her arm and neck, but Sonia wasn’t beaten, not by a long shot. She said nothing and waited for her attacker to get to his questions.
“Why are you in Chicago?”
She swallowed hard. “Studying why people seem to lose all inhibitions when they’re in a crowded nightclub. People do things they wouldn’t do in their everyday lives.”
“Bullshit.” The guy slammed her head down on the floor and, even though it was carpeted, her forehead hit hard.
Sonia cried out as pain shot through her skull and down her spine. She closed her eyes to ride out the agony ricocheting through her. “It’s the truth,” she managed to get out.
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