N. Walters - Damek's Redemption

She put the phone on the nightstand and pulled the covers around her, her face pale and frightened. “I called my family. I told you they would be worrying about me.”

“You told them where I lived. How to find me.”

“They won’t hurt you. Really. They’re on our side and will help to protect you from the vampire hunters in the area.”

He laughed, but the sound wasn’t pleasant and Sonia flinched. “I don’t need your help, little girl. I could easily kill every vampire hunter who dared to enter my domain.”

She shook her head and climbed out of bed, pausing long enough to wrap the comforter around her. It infuriated him that she felt the need to cover herself from him after he’d kissed and touched every inch of her traitorous body. “If you want to convince me of your sincerity you’d be better off doing it naked.”

She scowled at him. “Don’t be an idiot,” she snapped.

He raised an eyebrow at her temerity. “I promise, I won’t be any longer. Obviously I was one to have trusted you.”

Hurt flashed across her face and she jerked as though he’d hit her. He immediately wanted to soothe her, which in his mind did indeed make him an idiot. When would he learn that people always had their own agenda?

“We can watch out for you when you’re sleeping.”

Damek snorted. “That will never happen. I have guarded my own resting place for a thousand years and don’t need the help of a little girl.”

She turned from him as his phone rang. He stalked across the room, slammed the glass down onto the nightstand and grabbed his phone. This fiasco was his fault. If he’d remembered to take it with him she never would have been able to call anyone.

Now he was making excuses for her.

He recognized the number. “Craig, what do you have for me?” Sonia was rummaging around on the floor searching for her clothing. She winced when she bent over and he frowned. Was her arm hurting her? Had he hurt her when they’d made love?

And why should he care? She’d betrayed him before the sheets were barely cool.

He concentrated on what Craig was saying to him. “The vampire hunters are set up much like the werewolf bounty hunters, but there are a lot less of them. They’re a paranoid bunch and don’t give out any personal information even to one another. From what I can find out, this Luther Kostas guy seems to be running the show here in America. There isn’t much out there about him, but when he does talk it’s about his family heritage. The guy comes from a long line of vampire hunters that goes back to ancient times.”

That made sense to Damek. If a vampire could get inside a hunter’s mind he could find out many things. But if the hunter didn’t know anything there was nothing for a vampire to find. A simple, but effective protection device. “In other words, he’s a fanatic.”

“Oh, yeah,” Craig continued. “The only good vampire is a staked one. Guy thinks he’s Buffy.”

Damek’s lips twitched at the pop culture reference to a television vampire slayer but he kept from smiling. Off to his right, Sonia was busy pulling on her clothing. “Where is he now?”

“That’s where it gets a bit murky. I can’t pin down his location. He could be in Chicago for all I know. There’s no way of knowing. I don’t have a description of him, only a name. He’s not even in any of the DMV databases, and I’ve checked every state, so I’m betting he has a license under an alias. That’s what I would do.”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

“Hey, no problem. Whatever you need. I’ll keep looking.”

Damek almost trusted him. Almost. There was always a seed of doubt and it usually flourished over time, proving he was right in the first place. Everyone looked out for themselves. He supposed, in that way, he was no different than the rest of them. His survival and safety came first, but he’d never betrayed anyone to assure it. Never.

He turned off his phone and tossed it onto the nightstand before turning to Sonia. She had her jeans and bra on and was struggling with her top. “What are you doing?”

She glared at him and tugged the sweater over her head. Her curls flew all over the place and his fingers itched to tame them. “You’re not serious. I’m leaving since you obviously don’t want me here and I can’t be trusted.”

He shook his head and prowled toward her, his feet gliding over the floor. “You’re not leaving.”

She froze in place, one arm halfway through the sleeve. “You can’t stop me.” He heard the quaver of her voice beneath her bravado.

“Yes, I can.” He tugged her sweater off and wrapped his hands around her shoulders.

“Why? Why do you want me to stay?” she demanded.

Damek wasn’t sure. He should be wiping her memories and sending her on her way. But the vampire hunters were still out there and they knew who she was. The thought of her being out there alone and unprotected was more than he could stand. If anything happened to her—

The city would see carnage unlike anything in its history. Damek wasn’t sure what he’d do if anything happened to Sonia. She’d become his lifeline to sanity. He was so close to crossing a line, to no longer caring about humanity and what became of it. But he cared about her in spite of her betrayal of him to her family.

“Why?” He yanked her close and her breasts pressed against his bare chest. Her bra kept him from fully feeling her soft flesh against him, so he pulled back long enough to undo it and strip it away. Which wasn’t an easy task with her hands batting at him. He pulled her back against him, releasing a sigh of relief when her nipples rubbed against his skin. He stared down at her, a fierce longing building from somewhere deep within him. “Because I want you.”

Sonia didn’t know whether she should run, slap his face or laugh. This entire night was turning into a tragic comedy of errors. Nothing in her life made sense anymore, least of all her attraction to the infuriating, overbearing vampire standing before her.

How could he think she would betray him? She’d told him about The Keepers and how they existed to help paranormal creatures like him. She’d told him about her obsession with finding him. Heck, she’d slept with the guy. How much more could he want?

“Everything,” he whispered. “I want everything.” He kissed her then, his lips covering hers and his tongue sliding inward, claiming her mouth. He’d read her mind, her thoughts, and she hadn’t even realized it.

Panic threatened and she threw up some hasty barriers in her mind, hoping to block him from finding out more. She didn’t want anyone digging through her brain for her thoughts and memories. They belonged to her and her alone.

He growled and pulled back, glaring down at her. “I didn’t read your mind. You were broadcasting like a beacon.”

“How did you…” She let her unspoken question hang there, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

“It’s not hard to guess your thoughts, and I felt the barriers you moved into place. Rather impressive actually.” He stiffened and took a step away from her. “You should drink some juice.”

Damn, now she felt guilty, like she’d done something wrong. This entire situation was ludicrous. Sonia reached out and touched his arm. He was wearing only a pair of pants, so his arms and chest were bare. Her fingers touched cool flesh and she glided them up his biceps to his shoulders.

“What are you doing?” His voice was gruff with arousal and maybe a touch of anger. It was hard to be sure.

“I don’t know,” she told him. In all honesty, she had no idea where her life was going or what she was going to do. Everything had changed the moment she’d met Damek.