Dalakis Passion 4 - Eternal Brothers (10 page)

Cassidy flipped the boy over and stared down into the bluest set of eyes he'd ever seen
in his life--like a sunny Texas afternoon. Those eyes were fringed with long, black
lashes that brushed against high cheekbones when their owner blinked. Lush, rosy lips
were parted on a gasp.
"You're not a boy."
"Very astute of you."
The voice was sultry but tinged with anger. "Let me up. I
wasn't doing anything wrong."
Cassidy helped her to her feet but didn't release her. She came to just about
shoulder height on him and might be slender, but there was no doubt that she was all
woman
. Even damp and dirty, she smelled good. Like summer rain, sweet and clean.
His cock stirred, pressing against his zipper.
She struggled, brushing against his chest. He froze as he felt her soft breasts graze
him. She swore and tried to pull away. "Let me go."
"No." Cassidy had no intentions of letting his mystery lady go. Not until he knew
why she was here and what her name was. And if he didn't stop being stupid, he was
going to get himself killed. She could easily have pulled his weapon from his holster
and shot him with it.
"No," she repeated. "You can't keep me here."
"You were trespassing."
"So sue me." She dug in her heels and refused to move when he tried to pull her
toward the house. Her hood fell back to reveal a cap of soft blonde hair. It was so light it
was almost white.
"Don't want your money." In a quick move, he pulled both her hands behind her
back and held them in one of his. "I want to know why you were here." He patted her
down, looking for weapons and some kind of identification. She swore at him again
when he reached inside her back pocket and pulled out a bank deposit receipt. "What
do we have here?"
She dropped without warning, letting all her weight fall. Cassidy released her
automatically, not wanting to hurt her. She rolled to her feet and took off like a flash. He
started to pursue her, but let her go. Now that he had a bank slip, he was certain he
could find her.
Strolling back down the path, he picked up the envelope. It was addressed to
Lucian. Ignoring that fact, Sam ripped the envelope open and plucked out the single
sheet of paper inside. He read it. Then he read it again. By the third time he was
swearing a blue streak and wishing he'd ran after the little vixen. He'd find her, and
fast. He had to know more about this latest threat to the family.
Who'd have thought that
Jethro
Prince would have a brother who'd come looking
for revenge? Crumpling the letter in his hand, he strode to the house. The brothers
needed to know about this immediately.
Chapter Seven
Zane sat beside the bed and watched Sophia sleeping. He swore at himself again,
cursing his lack of control. In his lust for her, he'd taken too much blood. When she'd
slumped against the wall, his heart had all but stopped. He'd pulled out of her, scooped
her into his arms and hurried into the bedroom, placing her carefully on the bed.
She'd passed out, but her breathing was good. As a precaution, he'd willed one of
his fingernails to elongate and had sliced open his wrist, allowing his blood to flow
freely. Bringing it to her sweet lips, he'd used his grip on her mind to make her drink.
Even passed out, she'd fought him, but he'd ruthlessly overpowered her mind and
forced her to drink. When he was satisfied she'd had enough, he'd tugged his wrist
away and licked his tongue over the cut, healing it instantly.
Her pants and underwear were still caught around one of her feet. Pulling off the
rest of her clothes, he'd tucked her under the covers. She looked so small and fragile
lying there, but he knew that to be a lie. She had the courage of a lion and the heart of a
warrior. He'd smiled in spite of himself as he collected her puppy-dog slippers from the
living room and placed them by the side of the bed.
He hadn't wanted to leave her, but he'd had no choice. He had things to do and the
night was quickly waning. Knowing she'd go right to work as soon as she woke, he
once again forced his will on her, commanding her to sleep until he returned the
following evening.
In spite of his command, he'd been surprised when he'd arrived just after sundown
to still find her asleep. He figured it was her exhaustion, lack of food and the emotional
and physical turmoil she'd been through last night that had allowed his compulsion to
stick. Sophia wasn't as weak-minded as most humans were.
Glancing around, he examined her bedroom as he waited for her to wake. He
hadn't really had time last night. Like the woman lying in the bed, the room was
practical, yet it had touches of whimsy. The furniture was plain--a simple bed, four-
drawer dresser, a straight-back chair and a nightstand, all made of a rich honey maple.
The area rug was shades of green, matching the utilitarian blinds that hung on the two
windows. The walls were a very pale yellow.
A large chunk of rose quartz sat on top of the nightstand next to a lamp with a rose-
colored shade. An iron candleholder perched on top of her chest of drawers and had a
large, squat beeswax candle seated on top of it. Several pictures hung on the wall, both
depicting nighttime scenes of New Orleans. Zane recognized both artists. He had some
of their paintings hanging in his own apartment back in New York.
The room smelled like her--a hint of vanilla, honey and a scent that was uniquely
Sophia. He took a deep breath, drinking it into his lungs. Satisfaction filled him. Now
that he'd tasted her blood and she'd taken some of his, they were connected for all time.
Nothing could ever change that.
She stirred and pushed the pristine white sheets away from her face. The colorful
green and purple comforter was already bunched around her waist. Her eyes fluttered
open and once again he was struck by the purity of her pale green eyes. She frowned
when she saw him sitting in the chair beside the bed. "What are you doing in my
bedroom?"
"Do you remember what happened?"
She blinked several times. He could see her memory flooding back as sleep
disappeared and was replaced by a growing alertness. She sat up in bed so quickly the
sheet fell to her waist, exposing her breasts. The rosy tips were puckered and he longed
to reach over and kiss them both. Realizing she was naked, Sophia grabbed the sheet
and yanked it up over her. Zane sighed, wishing this would be simple, knowing it
would be anything but.
"You.
Me." She broke off and rubbed a hand over her face, careful not to let her grip
on the sheet falter.
"We."
She shook her head. "I don't usually have wild, unbridled sex
with a man I've just met. What time is it?"
"It's just after seven."
"That's impossible." She glanced over at the clock radio that sat on her nightstand.
"It's the next night, Sophia. You slept the whole day away."
"Damn it." She surged out of bed, dragging the sheet with her. "I had things to do
today.
An article to write."
She swayed on her feet and he reached out to steady her.
"You were in no shape for anything after last night."
She whirled around to face him. "I remember last night. You said you were a
vampire." Her face paled, making her few freckles stand out prominently across her
nose and cheeks as she sat down heavily on the mattress. He wanted to kiss each of
those freckles. "I saw your teeth and your eyes, but part of me didn't believe
it
."
"Believe it," he muttered darkly.
"You."
She broke off and swallowed hard. "You drank my blood, didn't you?" She
reached behind her neck and rubbed it as if it were sore.
"Yes."
"I don't remember what happened after that."
Zane eased down onto the bed beside her. "The bloodlust took over. My need for
you was so strong the first time, I took too much."
Her eyes narrowed. "What do you mean you took too much?"
"You were already weak due to lack of food and sleep. Coupled with what had just
happened between us, well..." He searched his mind for the right way to explain what
he'd done. What he'd felt he had to do.
"So I passed out." She shrugged, tugging the sheet tighter around her.
Her nearness was affecting him. He already had a throbbing erection and bloodlust
simmered just below the surface. He wanted to strip away the sheet, spread her across
her milky white sheets and fuck her senseless. When she was exhausted with pleasure,
he wanted to drink from her again. Her blood was rich and thick and sweet. He'd felt
energized all last night and still felt the buzz in his body today.
"It was more than just passing out. You were weak."
"What did you do?" When he hesitated, her agitation grew. "Zane, what did you
do?" Her voice was raised to almost a shout.
"What I had to. I gave you some of my blood."
Sophia stared at Zane with growing horror. There was no apology in his stark
words. His stern face was set, his lips pursed in a thin line. His hands were resting
lightly on his thighs but his fingers curled into fists and his big body tensed. She tried to
imagine herself drinking blood and began to gag. A slightly metallic taste filled her
mouth.
"Oh God," she moaned as she surged off the bed and hurried into the bathroom
with him right behind her. She slammed the door in his face and locked the door. Not
that the puny lock would keep him out if he wanted to get in.
"Sophia." She wanted to put her hands over her ears to block him out, but she
could hear him perfectly through the wood door. "You haven't changed. You're still the
same as you were. Think of it as a blood transfusion."
She had the door unlocked and yanked open before she could think better of it. "It's
not the same as a blood transfusion. I drank your blood." She couldn't believe she was
actually saying those words out loud. "Furthermore, I didn't even know I was doing it.
You did something to me, didn't you?"
Zane nodded. "I won't lie to you, Sophia. You were weak and needed it. It was my
duty to take care of you." He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at her, his
entire body uncompromising and reeking of male arrogance and testosterone. "I took
control of your mind momentarily and compelled you to drink. It wasn't easy, though.
Even weak, you still had a strong mind."
"That's good to know," she snapped. "But obviously it wasn't strong enough to
stop you."
"No human could stop me."
She shivered at the finality of his tone. What had she gotten herself into?
A more horrifying thought occurred to her. "Oh God," she gasped. "I'm not a
vampire now, am I?" She felt all the blood rush from her head and swayed. The
implications were just too much for her to take in. She didn't want to be a vampire. She
liked her life just the way it was, thank you very much. It was one thing to have a
vampire as a lover and another thing totally to even contemplate becoming one.
Zane cupped the back of her neck with his palm. The heat from his hand sent a
shiver down her spine. "No, you're not a vampire. It doesn't work that way."
"How does it work?" She locked her knees to keep from crumpling to the floor in a
heap.
"The small amount of blood that I gave you last night is not enough to convert you.
In order for that to happen, you'd have to be drained almost totally of blood and then
have it replaced by mine." He stared down at her, his eyes almost black with emotion.
"You'd have to die first, Sophia."
Right.
She had a vague memory of him mentioning something about this last night,
but she was so muddled right now, she couldn't think straight. She so didn't want to
hear this. How did anyone agree to do that? The possibility of something going wrong
was enormous and there was obviously no going back or changing your mind once the
deed was done.
Zane's face softened as he gave her neck a light squeeze before releasing her.
"Everything is going to be all right, Sophia. Why don't you get a shower while I cook
you something to eat?"
"You're going to cook for me?" She shook her head, not quite sure she'd heard him
correctly.
"What about some eggs and toast with some bacon?"
Her stomach growled, shifting her mind back to the mundane and reminding her
that she hadn't been feeding it very much lately. "I don't have the stuff to make that."
"I brought it with me." Zane reached out his hand and brushed his thumb over her
cheek. Just like that her stomach clenched and her body softened. The man's charm was
lethal.
She took a step away and his hand dropped back to his side. "Okay. You make
breakfast while I shower."
The corner of one side of his mouth kicked up in a lopsided smile, which made him
appear younger.
Which was impossible, of course.
The man was a two-hundred-year-
old vampire.
Thinking about all this was giving her a headache.
He started to speak, but she held up her hand. She couldn't talk any more, not until
she had a cup of coffee and some breakfast or supper or whatever it was. Sighing
heavily, she started to close the door again and then stopped. "What you did last night.
The whole making me drink your blood thing. Don't do it again." She felt slightly
violated that he'd taken over her mind to make her do that.
"I won't," he promised and then ruined that promise when he continued. "Unless I
think your life is in jeopardy."
Slamming the door in his face again, she turned the lock. "Your meal will be ready
in about twenty minutes," he called out. She leaned her forehead against the door and
listened to his footsteps as he walked away. She felt like banging her head against the
wooden panel but resisted the urge. The last thing she needed to do was addle her
brains further.
As she pushed herself away from the door, a piece of vampire folklore ran through
her brain. A vampire had to be invited into a person's home or they couldn't enter. She
didn't know if that was true or not, but she'd certainly held the door wide open for
Zane York. Her body ached and tingled in unexpected places. She hadn't been with a
man in so long that last night's wild sex had certainly put her muscles through a
workout.
Picking up her toothbrush, she wet it and then spread a generous amount of
toothpaste over it. Her mind started to run through her calendar as she began to brush.