Dalakis Passion 3 - Stefan's Salvation (13 page)

shirt, allowing the tails to fall open, framing the broad expanse of his torso. Sighing, he
came around to her side of the bed and sank down onto the mattress. His face could
have been carved from stone, there was so little emotion there. He looked very austere
and almost forbidding as he sat and stared at her. Laurel Rose began to get a sinking
feeling deep in her gut.
Releasing her grip on the covers, she slid one hand down to cover her stomach to
try and settle the churning inside it. She was very much afraid she knew what was
coming next. Swallowing hard, she squared her shoulders and waited for him to deliver
his blow.
He opened his mouth to speak and she forced herself not to look away.
Here it
comes
. She braced herself for the "It's been fun, but I have to go" speech. It wasn't as if
she expected a man who looked as gorgeous as Stefan to hang around for long. She was
realistic and knew that she wasn't most men's ideal woman by a long shot.
Laurel Rose knew there was nothing exceptional about her looks. The best she
could say about herself was that she was fit, in spite of her bad leg. Her face was, well, it
was okay except for the faded white scar that ran down her right cheek. Surprisingly
enough, Stefan had never seemed to notice her scars, never commented on them. He'd
also seemed to understand her odd ways and accepted her psychic ability.
What surprised her was that she'd ever attracted a man like him in the first place.
And he did seem to be genuinely attracted to her. That in itself had been a gift that
she'd never expected to experience, and for that, she would always be grateful. The sex
they'd shared had been totally beyond anything she could have ever imagined and
she'd never regret it. Neither of them had even mentioned using protection of any kind,
but that didn't bother Laurel Rose. The thought of a dark-haired baby filled her with
joy. She wouldn't mind if he left a part of himself behind.
Stefan sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair. Sitting on the side of the
bed, he twisted around, bending one knee onto the mattress and turning his body so he
was facing her fully. Lifting her hand in his, he brought it to his lips and lightly kissed
each knuckle before lowering it again. But he didn't release it. Instead, his grip
tightened as he spoke the words she'd been expecting. "We have to talk."
Chapter Thirteen
"All right." She kept her voice calm as she tried to tug her hand from his. Finally,
she gave up when it became apparent that he wasn't going to relinquish his hold on
her.
"I am a Dalakis." His voice was a low, sexy rumble that wrapped itself around her.
"We have always been different."
Laurel Rose knew what it felt like to be different. Empathy welled up inside her as
she imagined the challenges he had faced in his life. She knew them well, having had to
deal with them herself. His choice of words, however, struck her as odd. "We?" she
questioned.
He relaxed slightly and one of the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "I have
two brothers. My parents have been gone a long time, but my brothers and I have
always been close."
It boggled the mind to think of two more men like Stefan running around the
world, wreaking havoc on the female population. "Younger or older?" Her curiosity got
the better of her and even though she knew he'd be leaving her soon, she wanted to
learn everything she could about him.
An actual smile formed on his lips and once again, she was struck by just how
ruggedly handsome he was. "Both older." She could hear the obvious affection in his
voice as he spoke of them. "Cristofor is the eldest and Lucian is the middle son."
She hoped he'd tell her more about his family, but he sighed and shook his head
slowly as if to clear his thoughts before returning to the point. "As I said, we are
different." His green eyes seemed to glow. She knew it had to be a trick of the light, but
it was still unnerving.
"You're different," she prompted when he stopped once again. "I understand that."
"No. You don't understand." All signs of a smile vanished and his face once again
was hard and set. "You have no idea just how different I am." The muscles in his jaw
worked as he seemed to struggle for control.
Laurel Rose didn't know what to do or say, so she just sat patiently and waited. His
fingers tightened around hers. She thought she was ready for anything.
She was wrong.
"I am a vampire." His words, stark and blunt, lay between them. She waited for
him to smile or laugh, but his eyes darkened and there was no humor to be found
anywhere in him.
"You're joking, right?" He had to be.
"I come from a long line of vampires. My family is an ancient one that has existed
for century upon century. But in spite of all our powers, we are a dying breed." He
watched her intently, as if trying to gauge her reaction.
Laurel Rose kept her feelings hidden. She wasn't afraid of Stefan, but she was
starting to be concerned about him. If he really thought he was a vampire, then he
obviously needed help.
The corner of his mouth quirked up again. "I'm not delusional, Laurel Rose."
Tugging her hand from his, she shrank back against the pillows. Had he read her
mind or had he guessed her thoughts?
"You're very good at blocking your thoughts and feelings from others. But we are
connected now, and although you could probably still do so, you will find it much
harder to hide them from me. And truly, you are not trying to block your thoughts." He
stroked his fingers lightly down the side of her neck where it was still a little tender,
although that was rapidly fading. "I would normally respect your privacy and not use
my powers to invade your mind, but right now the connection is too new to ignore.
And I have also come to know you well. I do not always have to read your thoughts to
know what it is you are thinking."
Memory suddenly flooded back, bombarding her with unbelievable images. She
remembered telling Stefan to take what he needed. The sexual connection between
them had been explosive and then he'd taken it even further. Her entire body jerked as
she remembered the sharp pinch of something sinking into her neck.
Had he drunk her
blood?
Her stomach roiled at the thought and her skin suddenly felt cold and clammy. A
large hand on the back of her head pushed it down toward her knees. "Breathe, Laurel
Rose," his deep voice commanded.
She focused all her energy on taking one breath at a time, on the slow rise and fall
of her chest, on the steady beat of her heart. She suddenly became very aware of
Stefan's hand cupping her head as his thumb wiped away a bead of sweat that trickled
down her temple.
Fighting her raging emotions and her growing fear, she desperately tried to
assemble her thoughts in a way that made sense. She recalled the growing weakness in
her body. The strength of Stefan's desire for her had swamped her and she'd had no
thought of denying him anything. She had yearned to give him everything he wanted.
Everything he needed. As inconceivable as it seemed, he had actually drunk her blood.
Just the thought made her shiver.
Her head jerked up when she felt the covers being tucked more tightly around her.
Stefan sat back and waited patiently for her to speak. But she really didn't have to say
anything, did she? He could read her thoughts if he chose.
He looked quickly away, but not before she caught a glimpse of the sadness in his
eyes. When he turned back to her it was gone, replaced by a hard green glare. She
recognized it as a protective measure. Just the thought that she could hurt him gave her
pause. Surely she didn't have that kind of power or effect on him. Why would what she
thought even matter to him?
She licked her dry lips and tasted a slight tang of something metallic.
Blood.
"Oh my
God. What did you do?" Accusation rang in her voice.
"What I had to do." There was no apology, no softening in his tone.
"I drank your blood, didn't I?" She could hardly put her fears into words. Her
entire body started to shake. Stefan reached for her, but she shrank back from him,
pulling her legs up tight into her body and huddling against the headboard.
He emitted a low growl as he jumped to his feet and towered above her. "Yes. You
drank my blood. I took too much from you and you would have died if I had not
replenished you with mine."
"Am I a vampire now?" She barely managed to voice her dread.
"No," he spat back. "It does not work that way."
Another thought occurred to her. "Karen, the waitress at the diner. You took her
blood just like you took mine. I'm no different than her." Laurel Rose wanted to yell
and scream. She'd thought she was special, but she was no different than any other
woman. When it all boiled down, she was no better than a snack to him.
A roar erupted from him, shaking the very foundations of the house. She cringed
back against the headboard, not knowing what to expect next. Fury was written in
every line of his body as he prowled back and forth in front of the bed, his eyes
watching her every move, cataloguing her every reaction. She'd almost swear that she
saw fangs flash in the corners of his mouth before they vanished.
"Yes, I took her blood. It is how I survive." His words were clipped, his tone curt. "I
hurt no one and they have no memory of my having done so."
Well that certainly explained why she sensed Stefan around Karen but could get no
sense of recognition in return.
"But you are different. You. Are. Mine." He spaced each word carefully,
enunciating them so she was left with no doubt.
"Your what?"
"My woman." Stopping by the bed, he crossed his arms across his massive chest
and glared down at her. This time there was no doubting the red glow that filled his
eyes. "The men of my family are cursed or blessed to love only one woman in all our
existence. I have waited for you for over five hundred years."
Laurel Rose shook her head in denial.
"I am immortal, but I can be killed," he continued, ignoring her mute protest.
"Direct and prolonged exposure to sunshine will kill me. A stake through the heart will
kill me. Beheading will kill me."
Her hands flew to her chest, clutching her heart. The thought of Stefan dying was
unbearable and unthinkable. "No," she whispered, unable to imagine him being hurt.
"The only other thing that can kill me is love," he continued ruthlessly. "Many of
my ancestors have given up in despair and faced the dawn when rejected by their only
love. Others have given up the hope of finding their woman, and after hundreds of
years of loneliness, they have chosen death."
He lowered his gaze from hers and rubbed the back of his neck. The gesture was
filled with such utter frustration that it touched her heart. But he wasn't finished yet.
"Some men live one human lifetime with their woman and choose death when their
mate dies." When he raised his eyes, she thought that he looked tired. Tired and
incredibly sad.
"But some Dalakis men are blessed and their chosen woman decides to take a
chance and remain with them forever."
"I don't understand. How is that even possible?" Laurel Rose didn't know what to
believe at this point. What he was telling her was almost too fantastic to believe. Yet her
own psychic powers were beyond the belief of many people. She was totally confused.
A throbbing began in her temples as a headache threatened.
"For now, all you need to know is that it is possible. For hundreds of years, I
searched the world for you until I finally stopped looking. But you are the chosen
woman for me. I will never find another."
"What happens next?" Although she knew in her heart that Stefan would never
hurt her, there was still a small part of her that feared him. If he was what he said he
was, then his power was staggering. He could do whatever he chose and no one would
be able to stop him.
His lips tightened into a grim line. "I will not leave you. What happens next is your
choice. If you try to send me away, I will not go. I will not force you to do anything or to
accept me." His mouth relaxed and a slow, sensual smile crossed his face. "I will,
however, do everything within my power to convince you to be a part of my life."
Laurel Rose could feel her entire body clench in reaction to his potent smile. It just
wasn't fair the way her body responded to him. A dark thought intruded.
Maybe he is
using mind control to make me want him.
But a more rational part of her mind reminded
her that if he were manipulating her thoughts, she wouldn't be aware of it, let alone
worried.
The circular arguments went around and around until she thought her mind might
burst. She was tired, her throat and head ached and she just didn't want to think
anymore. Burying her face in her hands, she tried to take a deep breath to settle herself.
This time, when she felt him sit beside her, she didn't draw away from him. He'd
had plenty of time and opportunity to hurt her if that was his aim. At this point she
didn't know what she did or didn't believe. But what she did know was that she trusted
Stefan. Deep in her heart, she knew he would do nothing to harm her, but even more
disturbing to her peace of mind was the fact that she wanted to be with him, wanted to
be part of his life.
He lifted her carefully, easing her down into the bed and tucking the covers around
her. "I know it is a lot to take in at once. And for that I am sorry. But I promised I would
not lie to you and I will not." He flicked off the bedside lamp but the room was no
longer as dark as it was. Dawn was fast approaching. "I must go. But I will be back
tonight and we will talk more then."
There were so many things she wanted to say to him. So many things that she
wanted to ask. But exhaustion was overtaking her body and her eyelids were suddenly
too heavy for her to keep them open.
"Sleep." She felt the touch of his hand on her forehead and then it was gone. She
wanted to reach out, grab his hand and keep him with her, but it was too late. Stefan
was gone, vanished into the dawn as sleep claimed her.
Chapter Fourteen
Sun was streaming in through the window when Laurel Rose finally awoke.
Groaning, she rolled over and buried her face in her pillow. Big mistake. The pillowcase