Belonging (20 page)

It was clear the woman was sated, but also equally clear the scene was not over. He stalked slowly toward the restrained woman, who had slightly recovered from her orgasm and was now watching him with pure lust reflected in her hooded eyes. Leaving her hands bound, vamp number two untied the woman’s leg restraints, wrapped her legs around his waist and thrust hard, causing her to scream, likely in both pleasure and pain.

The sensation of being watched crept over her. Remembering where they were and who she was with she looked over at Damian, who wasn’t looking at the scene in front of them, watching her with outright interest instead.

“Does that excite you, Analise?”
She’d heard that in her head, for Damian’s lips hadn’t moved. The thought that she could hear him made her giddy. Their eyes locked, the ever-present electricity thrumming between them. She contemplated how she would answer. Did it excite her?

“Yes,”
she answered honestly.

“Would you like to try it sometime?”
Holy shit. The very thought had every neuron in her brain rapidly firing.

“Maybe.”
She added quickly,
“But not in front of a crowd.”

He grunted.
“Absolutely fucking not. I already told you no one gets to see that sweet body of yours but me, kitten.”
He added,
“Our connection is deepening. You carried on this whole conversation silently. That pleases me a great deal.”

She smiled and he grabbed her hand, hauling her down the hallway, but not before she heard the woman howl her delight yet again, followed closely by an almost deafening male roar.
Yowza
. This time she kept her eyes forward as they wound their way through the crowd into the main club.

Analise met Damian’s club manager, a very nice, very handsome vampire named Frederick. She was beginning to think all vampires were gorgeous, but she hadn’t met a one yet who made her heart flutter like Damian did.

While Damian and Frederick carried on their quiet conversation, Analise took in the enormity of the lower level. In addition to this area, there was a small open balcony above the main dance floor. The walls here too were painted blood red, with very dark wood accents. Scattered soft lighting shone above the bar. Black candles sprinkled about the rest of the club flickered softly. The mass of bodies continued to writhe on the dance floor, but the music had changed in genre to Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold.” There were several couples copulating in plain sight, no care to who was watching. This place was sex personified and she found herself getting impossibly excited again.

Damian was true to his word, getting them out of there in record time, and though she fought against it, she was out cold two minutes into the drive home.

Home?
She’d thought of Damian’s place as home. How odd and comforting at the same time. She’d known Damian for little more than a day, but it already felt like a lifetime. He felt comfortable, like toasted marshmallows on a fall day or lying in front of a roaring fire naked with your lover.

It felt good. More than good. Maybe all the trials and tribulations in her life had led her here, straight to Damian. Straight to the one person she was meant to belong with, belong to.

Belonging to someone…was it too good to be true?
That was the last thought she had before sleep took her under.

C
hapter
29

Damian

While Analise slept in their bedroom upstairs, he sat in his oversized leather chair, behind a sleek contemporary black desk with Marco, Devlin and Sebastian. They were beefing up security plans for both himself and Analise. Now that he had an Achilles heel by the lovely name of Analise, he would be even more of a target than usual. And Analise, well, the fact that she was likely Xavier’s daughter
and
his mate…that made her especially vulnerable.

He’d underplayed this whole Xavier thing to her, not wanting to worry her, but he was absolutely petrified. Now he knew exactly what Dev had gone through a few short months ago. Was still going through, really. With Xavier on the loose, their mates were not safe. He’d just found her. The thought of losing her now made his body shake with unbridled rage.

“Devlin, Sebastian, I want you both on Analise when I can’t be with her.”

“Yes, my lord,” they replied in unison.

“Also, beef up the security stationed outside the penthouse. I want double the men we have today and one of you is to be with them at all times. I don’t want anyone allowed in unless it’s personally approved by me, do you understand?”

They both nodded.

Besides Marco and T, they were his two strongest vamps and he knew she would be safe in their care. He didn’t intend on letting her roam the goddamned city by herself, that was for sure, but he couldn’t keep her prisoner here either. This was now her home, whether she knew it or not, and he wanted her to feel safe coming and going. He would try to be with her at all times, but the reality was he wouldn’t be able to. As the lord of this Regent, he had responsibilities, some of which were not appropriate to bring his mate into.

“Did you check the security feeds?”

“Yes,” Sebastian replied. “The camera in the parking garage was out and has now been replaced. We installed several other cameras in questionable areas as well as three additional cameras on the outside perimeter.”

“Good. Very good.” He owned the entire block his building was housed on and his penthouse spanned the four top floors of the skyscraper. All windows were bulletproof glass and only one elevator went up to his place. And only his top four security people could access it. Marco, T, Devlin and Sebastian.

Infrared retinal scans and blood analyzing technology used in his security arsenal were deterrents to most vamps who tried getting to him in the past. And other than him, no one had the ability to flash into his penthouse, so no surprise attacks could take place. The only thing he’d used a witch for. While Dev had preferred to use the mystical powers of witches to shroud his estate, Damian preferred the power of technology. Now, however, he had to wonder about the benefits of using shrouding. The only problem was that it was much more challenging to make an entire skyscraper in the middle of a metropolis disappear than it was a country estate. Humans would surely notice a giant gaping hole in the middle of a city block where a sixty-five-story building used to be. If he wasn’t confident in their safety, he may just have to consider moving somewhere where shrouding would be a possibility. Two days ago someone could have stuck a hot poker in his heart before he’d even consider working with a witch. Funny how a woman—the
right
woman—could change a man’s entire perspective, making him consider things he never would have imagined in his wildest dreams.

“Devlin, did Katrina get more clothes for Analise?”

“Yes, my lord. She’s also offered to take her shopping to pick out more things to her liking.”

“That was very kind of her. I’ll talk to Analise, but I’m sure she would like that. It would be good for her to make a female friend as well.”

Devlin nodded.

“Sebastian, did you check into what I asked you to do earlier?”

Sebastian looked wary. He knew the way Damian felt about witches, not the specifics, so, of course, his request seemed highly unusual, even absurd, to the vampire. “I did, my lord.”

“And?” Jesus, guy…spit it out.

“She would be delighted to see Analise when you return to Milwaukee.”

“Well, she’d better be delighted to see me because Analise isn’t leaving my side.”

His stomach churned violently at the thought of having to spend any time with a witch—other than Analise—but this woman was apparently family and Analise desperately needed family. No matter her species, he certainly was not going to be a wedge between them or she would eventually come to resent him. She hadn’t asked to see Maeve, hadn’t even spoken of her newfound information, but he hadn’t really given her a chance either. He’d whisked her off and fucked her senseless for the last eight hours, the thought making him hard all over again.

Analise hadn’t been able to rely on anyone in her short life, and as much as it pained him to admit it, she needed more than him. She deserved a whole sea of people around her, loving her, protecting her. She had a frantic need to belong and he would make that dream come true. Guilt stabbed at him for not telling her about Kate, who was most likely her half-sister. He would tell her, soon. One overwhelming thing at a time.

She also needed to learn about her latent sorceress abilities, as another avenue of protection against Xavier. If she tried to use it on him, though, she was going to find out the meaning of punishment and right quick. He’d withhold her orgasm for a month.

“Okay, then. I think we’re set. I have a few business meetings before dawn, but I’m going to take them as calls instead. I don’t want Analise waking up in a strange place without me here. As of now, I plan to return to Milwaukee day after tomorrow for a few days, unless something urgent comes up before then. Devlin and Sebastian, you will accompany me this time as well.”

They all departed except for Marco, who hung back, looking like a cat had his tongue.

“What is it, Marco?”

Marco had been with him since he’d earned this position. He’d been a loyal friend and confidant and Damian was grateful to have his advice. His business savvy was like no other and, while Damian was highly skilled at playing the stock market, even Marco had taught him a few new tricks, which had more than doubled his already impressive net worth. Marco usually didn’t mince words, his natural born filter somehow absent. While it had pissed Damian off more than once, it was refreshing someone would bust his balls when he needed it.

Marco cleared his throat. “I just wanted to congratulate you, my lord.” Damian must have looked confused as he added, “On finding your Moira. I can already see how much she means to you and you to her. I’m happy for you.”

Damian was stunned silent. Out of anything he thought the guy could say that was certainly not it. This felt a lot like a chick moment. So he did what he did best.

“Jesus, Marco, you’re such a pussy.”

Marco laughed as he walked toward the door. “Fuck off, my lord.”

Over the next several hours, Damian finished his business calls for the day and adjusted his calendar for the next two so he’d have uninterrupted time to spend with Analise. He turned his attention to his favorite job…day trader. As he determined the best adjustments to make to his portfolio, what should have taken him a half hour took almost two. His mind kept drifting to the sexy, naked woman sprawled in his bed just one flight above him and the incredible emotional and physical connection they’d shared so far.

Only two short days ago Damian thought he had it all, but since Analise breezed into his life, he realized how very empty and shallow an existence he’d truly had. She was a breath of fresh air in his stale life. She challenged him. While infuriating, it was also exhilarating. Except for Marco, no one challenged him for fear of their lives, of course. But Analise simply didn’t give a shit. She was not afraid to back down from him and it made his blood burn for her. Made his dick hard for her. She was intelligent, witty, independent and a survivor. A survivor just like him.

Fate. Destiny. Predestination. They were a theory, a belief, a feeling…whatever you wanted to call them. He’d thought them to be a bunch of bullshit. Until her. Fate, in her infinite and fucking twisted wisdom, had chosen to give to him the one thing that had shattered him beyond repair so very many years ago. A witch.

But with her he felt lighter.

Comfortable.

Whole.

Happy. Truly and profoundly happy. It was like he could take a full, deep, life-giving breath for the first time in his nearly five hundred years. She was warmth, light, joy. She was home. And she was
his
. He wanted to be a better man for her. He wanted to be a better man
because
of her. That was probably what struck him as most insightful. His selfishness had simply melted away from the moment he saw her.

Even in the bedroom. While he was a generous lover, in the bedroom it had been about his wishes, his desires, his ultimate pleasure. With Analise, his need to dominate her was even more overpowering, but now all he wanted was
her
pleasure. To fulfill her desires, her fantasies. He would never make her do anything where she truly felt uncomfortable or unsafe, but he would push her boundaries because she needed that. And in no way could she hide how much his dominance excited her.

When she’d watched the scene on the St. Andrew’s cross in fascination, he could see the cogs spinning in her pretty little head. He’d caught a brief glimpse but was so fascinated with her reaction he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her. And when he saw the lust in her eyes, when he smelled her excitement, his cock was straining in his pants desperate to get out and back inside its rightful place.

Since he never brought women to his penthouse, he didn’t have a playroom installed here. However, that was already well on its way to being remedied. By the time they returned from their next trip to Milwaukee, the largest two bedrooms on the third floor would be converted. It would require knocking out a wall, but it would be quick work. Money talked.

He’d pretty much done it all in the BDSM world, except a few things he considered too taboo, even for him. No asphyxiation. No electricity play. Humiliation didn’t do a damned thing for him. He’d had more threesomes, foursomes and orgies than he could remember. He’d used every single piece of equipment, every toy, every flogger ever created. Sometimes the best toys weren’t even those specifically made for that purpose. A good household item like a hairbrush, a clothespin and even something as innocuous as an electric toothbrush could be used very creatively.

He’d custom ordered all of the equipment, including a very beautiful cherry wood St. Andrew’s cross, which he couldn’t wait to try out. The room would be stocked with various toys, restraints, paddles, floggers, nipple clamps, Shibari ropes and the like.