Barnes rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Yeah.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “So what do we do now?”
Luther smiled. “I know where they are.”
He lowered his hands and a slow smile crossed Barnes’s face. “I’m ready to go when you are.”
“I thought you might be. We’ll hit at noon tomorrow when the bastard is asleep and won’t be able to use his power on us.” Every vampire he’d ever dealt with or read about was at the mercy of the sun’s power, dropping into a coma-like sleep during the height of the day. It certainly made their job much easier.
Barnes laughed and drew his knife. “He’ll pay for what he did to me. They both will.”
“You can kill the vampire, but I want to talk to Dr. Agostino before we put her out of her misery. She may have valuable information.” Luther stood and headed to the door. “Let’s get out of here.
Chapter Twelve
Sonia sat up in bed, all her sleepy satisfaction gone. Damek stared up at her, his black eyes unreadable. She grabbed at the covers and tried to pull some of them over her, but it was a lost cause with Damek lying on the bulk of them. She tried to roll away from him to find something to cover herself, but he wouldn’t let her. He caught her hand and pulled her back down beside him.
Propping himself up on one arm, he studied her. She tried to gauge his mood. He didn’t look angry, so much as curious and perplexed. She swallowed hard and licked her suddenly dry lips. “How? How did you know?”
“Blood does not lie. The taste of werewolf blood is very distinct and, while it is faint in your blood, it is there.”
“You can taste it?” Wow, that is some talent, she thought when he nodded. “Hey, how do you know what werewolf blood tastes like?” The thought of him drinking from some wolf chick’s neck sent a bolt of jealousy streaking through her.
He wrapped his fingers around one of her curls and tugged gently. “I have lived for centuries, my sweet. Over the years, I’ve tasted the blood of many different species.”
And that told her exactly nothing. She nibbled on her bottom lip but stopped when he groaned and rubbed his thumb over it, soothing where she’d worried it. “I think if we are going to talk you had better be covered up. You are too much of a temptation.”
He rose from the bed, his muscled body gleaming in the lamplight, and lifted her with one arm. He yanked down the covers and deposited her back on the mattress, climbed in beside her and pulled the sheet and thick down comforters over them.
She tried not to notice Damek was aroused even though they’d just had the most mind-blowing sex of her life. Her body was humming from the last orgasm, but she was more than ready to have sex again. When had she turned into a sex fiend? Damek certainly brought out the sensual side of her nature.
Damek settled back against a mound of pillows covered in crisp linen. He looked totally delectable and decadent lying there with his chest bare and tousled black hair flowing around his shoulders, like some ancient conqueror claiming the spoils of war. Which might not be too far off target. She didn’t know his history, but he didn’t strike her as a man who would have been a follower in his life. He was too sure, too arrogant by nature.
“What are you thinking, I wonder?” He reached for her, but she subtly pulled out of reach, knowing if he touched her talking would be the last thing on either of their minds. He frowned, his lips pressing together in a thin line. He wasn’t happy with her but let it go.
Sonia sat with her arms wrapped around her knees and was grateful to the comforter that was covering her from the chest down. “Could you find out for yourself?” The way he’d controlled the man in her hotel room had left her with more questions than answers.
“Yes, but that wouldn’t be polite.” His tone was clipped, his annoyance obvious. “Now back to my question. Why didn’t you tell me you were part werewolf?”
She shrugged. “It didn’t seem relevant.” She gazed around the room, peering into the shrouded shadows beyond the illumination of the bedside lamp. Anywhere but at Damek.
He caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger and turned her face until she was looking at him. “You didn’t think it was relevant?”
She inwardly winced. He had every right to be skeptical of her motives. “Okay, how about I didn’t think it was any of your business.”
His eyes darkened and then began to glow, but with anger this time, not lust. “I see. It is perfectly fine for you to delve into my life to try to discover my secrets, but not all right for me to know yours.”
Put like that it wasn’t exactly fair. His fingers tightened on her face but stopped short of hurting her. He was always aware of his strength around her, not hesitating to use it in her defense, but never using it against her.
“I’m sorry.” And she really was. “But it wasn’t just my secret to tell.”
He nodded slowly. “Your family.”
“Oh crap. I was supposed to call them. They’re on their way to Chicago.” How had that little detail slipped her mind? Maybe because she’d had mind-blowing sex after being assaulted in her hotel room. It was a wonder she still remembered her own name, considering everything that had happened this evening.
“To rescue you from the big, bad vampire.”
That didn’t sound good. Sonia reached out and touched his hand. “They worry about me.”
He sighed and dropped his hand from her face. “Tell me about them.” It wasn’t a suggestion.
“I need to call them,” she reminded him.
Damek shook his head and waited for her to continue.
She’d find a way to contact her family later. Right now she had a surly vampire to placate. Sonia tucked the covers more securely under her arms as he made himself comfortable against the pillows.
“I’m one-quarter werewolf. Enough for me to have better-than-average senses and allow me to tap into extra strength at times of stress, but other than that, I’m completely human. I can’t shift or anything like that.”
Damek said nothing. He simply continued to watch her, unblinking and intent. It occurred to her that he could easily get what he wanted from her. For a creature as powerful as he seemed to be, he could probably get her to tell him everything, spill all her secrets. It had never occurred to her that he would do such a thing. In spite of the fact he was an ancient, powerful vampire, capable of crushing her with barely more than a thought, she trusted him.
It was time to go all the way.
“My father is also a quarter breed, but so is my mother. She’s an artist and creates the most amazing paintings. He’s an archaeologist, but he’s also a treasure hunter.”
Damek stroked his hand over her hair. “They sound…interesting.”
Sonia laughed as she pictured her flamboyant gypsy mother and her larger-than-life father. “They are that. My mother wears the most colorful clothes and looks more like my sister than my mother. My gorgeous older sister.” She’d always wished she was more like her mother, but she took after her more studious father.
“And your father?”
“Imagine Indiana Jones as a large Greek and you have my papa.” She paused and a thought occurred to her. “You do watch movies, don’t you?” Maybe vampires weren’t interested in such a human pastime.
A faint smile crossed Damek’s face. “I enjoy the movies very much and have an extensive collection. You might like to see it later.”
Sonia imagined the two of them curled up on his sofa watching a movie or two. How weird would it be to watch a vampire movie with him? “I would.”
“Do you have siblings?” he continued.
She nodded and smiled as she thought of her domineering older brothers. “Two brothers, both older and bossy. Stefano is a lawyer and Milo is in finance. They’re constantly telling me what I should be doing, but I love them anyway.”