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.
“I don’t think so.” He sat down hard on her again and this time she knew for sure she was going to pass out.
Suddenly, the air pressure in the room changed, becoming denser and thicker, like it was a living, breathing entity. Her attacker jumped off her back and dragged her to her feet, holding her in front of him like a shield.
Sonia gasped for breath and tried to steady herself to take the pressure off her scalp. What was happening? Even though his knife was still pressed against her neck, she had to be ready to fight if an opportunity presented itself.
The shadows coalesced at the far end of the room near the door and a man glided out of them. No, not a man, a vampire. A very angry, dangerous vampire.
Somehow, someway, Damek was here.
Her attacker tightened his hold on her, jerking her up onto her toes. “Come any closer and I’ll cut her.”
“I don’t think so, John.” Damek’s soft voice was more chilling than if he’d roared in anger. His eyes glowed a blood red, but other than that, he appeared calm and in control. “In fact, you’ll put her carefully on the bed. Do that, and I might not rip out your entrails and choke you with them.”
Sonia shuddered at the threat, wondering if Damek truly meant it. One glance at the expression on his face made her a believer.
John. Her attacker’s name was John. How did Damek know that?
Sonia could feel the tension in her enemy’s arms as the muscles quivered. She wanted to swallow but didn’t dare. The blade was still too close.
“Put her on the bed.” The command in his voice was inescapable. “Carefully.”
Sonia found herself trying to get to the bed just to obey him. The power surrounding him pulsed across the room, surrounding them like a thick blanket, and John moved, his arm releasing her. She hit the bed and gasped for breath even as she rolled to the far side away from John.
“That’s a good boy.” Damek mocked. He seemed to flow across the room to her side and traced his finger over the trail of blood on her neck.
“Leave her alone, bloodsucker.”
Damek whirled and fury pulsed in the room like a living, breathing entity. Sonia thought she saw the walls undulate under the pressure of Damek’s anger as she struggled to sit.
“You dare tell me to leave her alone when it is you who hurt her.”
John suddenly went flying, his back hitting the wall with enough force to break through the plaster. Instead of falling to the floor in a heap, John was held against the wall by an unseen force. His knife was still in his hand, but he couldn’t seem to use it.
“At least I’m human.” John flung the insult at Damek. Personally, Sonia thought he’d be better off keeping his mouth shut.
“That is debatable.” Damek walked into her bathroom, grabbed a towel and walked back to the bed. “Let’s get your coat off and see to your arm.”
“You came back.” There was so much she wanted to say, but her throat ached and her entire body hurt.
His touch was gentle as he helped remove her blazer and sweater, both of which were ruined, leaving her top half covered in only her lavender-colored bra. He paused for a brief moment, his gaze skimming over her breasts before he turned his attention to her arm. “Yes, I came back.” He wrapped the towel around it, putting pressure on the wound. “I don’t think this is too deep. Are you strong enough to pack? You need to get out of here.”
She nodded. “Give me five minutes.”
The sweet smell of her blood filled Damek’s nostrils along with the sharp tang of her fear. His fangs were down and they ached to bite into her soft skin and drink from her veins. Her pulse thrummed in her slender throat and sweat dewed her tender flesh.
His cock ached and throbbed and he wanted to strip Sonia naked and lick every inch of her, bringing her to orgasm before sliding into her heated depths and claiming her as a man and as a vampire. Biting her, feeling her blood slide down his throat as he fucked her would be the ultimate orgasm. His cock flexed in agreement.
And he was truly a monster for even thinking such a thing. She’d been attacked and hurt and needed comfort, not his lust. He could have stopped the bleeding on her arm simply by drawing his tongue over it. There were agents in his saliva that would heal her injured flesh. But he was afraid to. Afraid if he truly tasted her blood he would never let her go.
As it was, the one bead he’d tasted earlier on her lips still thrummed through him like a fiery memory. He’d never tasted anything quite so fine. No other blood had ever quenched his hunger so quickly, while at the same time leaving him craving more.
Sonia scooted off the bed and staggered to the bathroom, her balance shaky from her ordeal. He heard water running and knew she was cleaning the cut on her neck. Thankfully, that was only a scratch and had already stopped bleeding.
Alone in the room with the vampire hunter, Damek raised his head and skewered the man with his glare. “Why are you here?” He needed answers. “I told you she knew nothing.”
“That’s what I told Luther. Fucking vampire, you messed with my mind.” He struggled to break Damek’s mental hold on him, but couldn’t budge no matter how much he struggled. “Luther figured something wasn’t right and told me to keep watching. I lost her earlier at the club but knew she’d eventually have to come back to her hotel.”
Damek watched him fight, but felt no pity for his plight. He’d hurt Sonia so he had to die. It was that simple.
“Why are you here?” he repeated. This time he drove into the vampire hunter’s mind, sending out dark tendrils of compulsion, compelling him to answer. Refusal wasn’t an option.
“Luther wanted to know why she was here. Thought she might have a lead on a bloodsucker or a maybe a wolf.”