“I don’t know what’s going on, but if you need anything, anything at all, you call me or Quinn. We owe you more than we can ever repay.”
“You owe me nothing.” Damek didn’t want anyone’s pity or handout.
“It’s what friends do.” Craig held out his hand and waited.
Damek stared at it and took a deep breath. He could sense Sonia’s curiosity, but she stayed quiet, giving his fingers a gentle squeeze of encouragement. He took Craig’s offered hand of friendship, easily reading the younger man’s sincerity. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
“Come.” He turned to Sonia. “We must go.”
Hank was still on the door, but he opened it and let them leave without a word. The limo was waiting out front and Damek opened the door and let Sonia slide in ahead of him. The door closed with a thunk, once again shutting them alone inside the luxury vehicle but for the driver up front. And with the privacy screen still in place, it was as if they were truly alone.
Sonia wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, she really did, but she wasn’t out of this mess yet. For a while there, it had been up in the air whether she was going to walk out of the club alive. Paranormal creatures were very protective, driven by instinct more than intellect in some cases, which was why The Keepers approached them very carefully. The last thing they wanted was to be seen as a threat, but that’s exactly what she’d done with her bumbling of the situation.
She could spend what was left of her life running and looking over her shoulder. The wolves saw her as a potential enemy and they would be relentless in their pursuit if they deemed her death necessary. That is, of course, if Damek didn’t take care of her for them.
She eyed the door handle and thought about trying to make a run for it. But that was cowardly. It was also a waste of energy. Not only was the door probably locked, but Damek was a vampire and could easily catch her with his preternatural speed. She caught their reflection in the glass and closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing pulse.
Holy crap. Damek really was a vampire. Now that the shock of the entire situation was wearing off, the truth was beginning to sink in. He’d showed her his fangs. He’d told Isaiah that she knew he was a vampire.
Her instincts had been right.
And they could write that on her headstone. Damek hadn’t survived by being lenient with those who threatened his existence. She wasn’t naïve about what he’d do, what the werewolves would do, if they felt she jeopardized their safety.
Sonia fluctuated between being excited she was right and wanting to throw up. God, she was sitting next to a real live vampire. She smothered a slightly hysterical laugh. Poor choice of words. Vampires were the living dead, not the living.
Her poor brain was awash with questions and thoughts. But she’d never get answers. She’d be lucky if she made it out of Chicago alive. She’d made a mess of everything. None of them trusted her, least of all Damek.
Her eyes flew open when something lightly brushed her face. Damek was seated beside her, his fingers touching her cheek. She swallowed hard as his fingers drifted over her jawline and down her neck, dipping beneath the high collar of her turtleneck sweater. She shifted away but he followed her. The leather seats creaked beneath them.
“Your pulse is racing.” He placed one finger over her pulse and she knew he could feel the heavy thud as blood rushed through her body. “So alive. So beautiful.”
She blinked, not quite able to process his words. He was angry with her, wasn’t he? He’d accused her of terrible things. Not that she could blame him. After all, she hadn’t given him all the facts, had barged into his world and potentially put him and his friends at risk.
“Damek,” she began.
“Shh, little one.” He rubbed his thumb over her jaw, back and forth, back and forth. His eyes were tinged red around the edges but the centers appeared even blacker than usual. He looked like sin on a stick and she was ripe for temptation.
Fear and arousal warred within her and she was very afraid that arousal would win and she would cast all common sense aside. Just being in his presence was enough to raise her blood pressure and make her skin tingle in the most exciting way.
The raucous sounds of the city traffic outside the limo faded until all she heard was her heavy breathing and the pounding of her heartbeat in her ears.
She licked her lips and his gaze followed her tongue. Her body grew heavier with each passing second and her clothing felt rough and confining against her skin.
This was crazy. She should be discussing the situation with him, doing everything in her power to talk him out of killing her. Although if the sensual heat simmering in his gaze was any indication, killing her was the last thing on his mind.
“Your eyes are lovely and soft, like the fog on the Scottish Highlands in autumn. Did you know that?” Before she could answer him, he leaned closer and touched his mouth to hers. His lips were cool as they skimmed her bottom one. He nibbled on the corners of her mouth, making her yearn for more, for a deeper touch.
His fingers caught in her hair and he tugged her head to one side, holding her steady as he covered her mouth with his and dipped his tongue inside. She made a low sound of passion as his tongue slid over hers, teasing and tempting her to play.
There were probably a hundred reasons why she shouldn’t do this, why it was wrong for both of them. Her very life and future well-being hung in the balance with Damek as judge, jury and potentially executioner. There was only one reason why she should—she wanted him. Sonia admitted she’d been obsessed with Damek since the first moment she’d seen the very grainy picture of him in the Chicago newspaper. He was her mystery man, her seductive lover. Vampire.
She shivered, but not with fear. Heat and passion flooded her body, dampening her sex with growing need. Sonia grabbed his shoulders, needing something solid to anchor her. The thickly carpeted floors beneath her feet and buttery leather seats on which she sat seemed insubstantial in the face of the sexual storm beginning to swirl around them. Only Damek was strong enough to keep her from flying into a million pieces.
“Yes,” he hissed. “Touch me.”
Her hands seemed to move of their own volition, sliding up the thick column of his neck to cup his face. The planes and angles were sharp, giving him a slightly cruel, yet aristocratic look. His hair was like silk as she let it slip through her fingers. This was better than a dream.
She frowned, knowing there was something about that thought that should bother her, something she needed to question, but it was lost beneath the onslaught of his kiss. He took her mouth, claimed it and demanded more.
Sonia lost all track of time as he kissed her as though they had all the time they needed. The world outside didn’t matter, not now, not with passion clenching both of them in its grasp. Every stroke of his hand was magnified a thousandfold. His masculine scent filled her nostrils, making her want to get closer to him. Every nerve ending in her skin was alive and electric, anticipating his next touch.
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.”