Undeniable (13 page)

He stood up, his eyes darting from one face to another as he
searched for the vampire calling Diana.

“Home? But I can’t. I…there! He just said it again! He wants
me to come to him.”

The bottle in Sebastian’s hand shattered. Maintaining
contact with Terry’s mind, he watched Diana glance around. Her hand rose to the
spot on her neck where he’d taken her blood, His fangs responded, surprising
him with the speed and length of their growth. He closed his eyes, willing his
wayward teeth to recede. How could he still react this way after knowing that
she knew Marek, that she might have helped catch him?

And who the hell was calling her? Luring her outside?
Show
yourself,
he mentally roared.

Nostrum’s daughter looks like hell, Sebastian.
Diego’s voice slithered into Sebastian’s mind.

Sebastian searched the club. Since when had the young vamp
learned to shield himself from other vamps, from older, stronger vamps?
What
brings you to Cabana’s, Diego? Did my mother send her boy toy out to watch me?

Can’t find me, can you?

Come out of whatever hole you’re hiding in and face me
like a grown vamp.

Diego appeared behind the man standing next to Sebastian
and, bringing his mouth up to the man’s ear, whispered, “Go piss in the front
seat of that sissy-ass corvette you have parked outside.” When the man nodded and
left, Diego shifted closer to Sebastian.
What brings you here, old timer? If
I remember correctly, you were ordered to stay far away from Nostrum’s daughter
after you passed on your blood.

The elders want me to keep an eye on her.
Sebastian
stared into the vamp’s eyes.
Just in case she decides to rip open some poor
vamp’s neck.

Diego blanched.
Olympia said the bitch would be out of
control from the hunger by now. That she’d do anything for a taste of any
vampire’s blood.

My mother doesn’t know everything, Diego.

Your mother knows more than even the elders when it comes
to Diana Nostrum. Even if she didn’t, she’d use her powers—

Grow up, Diego. My mother is not the most powerful vamp
in Mina’s Cove. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll get your balls
back.

She said I could play with the bitch tonight. She told
you to stay away.
Diego lifted his upper lip just enough to expose the tips
of his fangs.
If I were you, I’d be more concerned about pissing off your
mother than keeping an eye on some damn bitch. Olympia may not be as powerful
as Tobias, but I’ll bet my balls that she’s more powerful than you. She carries
the blood of Dracula in her veins. And now, so do I.

Sebastian mentally wrapped his fingers around Diego’s neck
and squeezed until the vamp’s eyes bulged.
I didn’t have to lose my balls or
become one of my mother’s slaves to get a taste of Dracula’s blood, you fool. I
was born with it running through my veins. And—if you still doubt who is
stronger—Dracula and Mina both held me to their necks whenever my so-called
mother decided a night on the town was more important than feeding her baby.
Just because I don’t flaunt my powers doesn’t mean they aren’t there. Got it,
boy toy?

He released his mental hold on Diego and watched the vamp
grab onto the bar for support and drag in one long breath after another. With
nothing more than a glance, Sebastian shifted the entire crowd around the bar
until a wide path opened to Cabana’s entrance.
Leave. And don’t ever follow
me or go near Diana Nostrum again.

When Diego didn’t turn to leave, Sebastian emitted a low
growl.
Better yet, let me help.

Diego vanished. Sebastian smirked, picturing Diego’s face
when he materialized in the middle of Albany’s garbage dump.

Glancing back toward Diana, his grin faltered when he
realized that the voice she had mentioned hearing was Diego’s. The vamp had
tried to lure her outside. Sebastian didn’t have to enter her mind to discover
how Diego’s call had affected Diana.

Her eyes still darted around the bar, her chest rose and fell
too quickly as far as he was concerned and her skin paled before his eyes.
Coupled with her anxiety, her hunger for his blood during the course of the day
had taken a heavy toll on her body and mind.

If he left, if she went another night and day without his
blood, the hunger would grow unbearable. She’d go insane and rip out the
throats of humans and vampires alike trying to sate a hunger only his blood
could appease. Another day, another night, and fangs would replace every tooth
in her sweet mouth. He’d be bound to abandon his soul mate on Fentmore Island
where the Slashers would smell his blood and probably rip her to shreds.

Sighing, he admitted that he still needed more proof of
Diana’s guilt before casting her into that hellhole. He’d find out tonight, one
way or another, if she’d helped her father kill Marek. Then he’d either feed
her hunger or leave her to suffer for her sins.

Shifting his gaze to Terry, he stripped her mind of any
concern regarding Diana, then compelled her to go home after telling Diana that
she had a headache, one he produced a moment before the words left her mouth.

Come to me,
he sent the seductive command that she’d
understand and not be able to deny. He let out a relieved breath when she took
a step in his direction.

As Diana pushed her way through the crowd of people
surrounding Cabana’s central bar, the cacophony of butterflies in her chest
grew more and more frenzied. Any one of the men she brushed against could be
the man her grandmother had foretold would bring everlasting love into her
life. No one, not even Terry, understood just how desperately she needed love
in her life.

But for all she knew, half the strangers here preferred
blood to the beers and cosmopolitans in their hands and were only waiting for
the right moment to sink their teeth into her neck. How many closed-mouth
smiles hid fangs? How many eyes could hypnotize her and draw her into a deadly
embrace?

Recalling Luna’s whispered words when she’d hugged her
goodbye at the ranch, Diana shuddered. “Don’t be afraid, Diana. All the
Slashers live on Fentmore Island.”

Slashers. Just the name brought up visions of long, sharp
fangs ripping into flesh. She couldn’t move, couldn’t breath as she recalled
the many nights she’d sat unprotected on the porch in defiance of what she’d
considered her father’s ridiculous belief in vampires. She might have believed
him if her mother hadn’t insisted vampires didn’t exist.

Why couldn’t she breathe? The bodies around her seemed to
block all the air from reaching her burning lungs.

A strong hand emerged and clamped around her left arm. Her
gaze dropped to the long fingers wrapped around her arm.

Oh, God, she knew that hand, had seen it at the lake
erupting from the swirling mist that had always left her yearning for its
touch.

Her phantom lover.

Or vampire?

Swallowing a scream, she forced herself to look away from
her phantom’s hand. Her gaze slid past the black hair sprinkling the taut
muscles along his forearm, past the biceps bulging out from a short, black
sleeve, past the raven-black hair that fell in soft waves to his shoulders.
When she finally saw his face—the stubble coating his chiseled jaw, chin and
cheeks and surrounding full, soft lips parted in a crooked smile—whatever
breath she’d managed to drag into her lungs whooshed out with a wheezing
scream.

She’d kissed those lips, felt them take possession of her
mouth, glide along her jaw and down her neck. Oh God, every nerve in her body
tingled from the memory even as her body started to tremble with fear.

Tearing her gaze from his mouth, she peered up into the same
midnight-blue eyes that had taken her breath away in her dream last night. The
pain she’d felt in that dream, the horrible burning in her veins returned with
a vengeance. Diana drew in a sharp breath and felt her legs buckle just as
darkness obliterated the face of her phantom lover.

“Damn.” Sebastian slid his arms around Diana and caught her
limp body against his chest. He willed her heart rate to slow down, then lifted
her into his arms and carried her down the dark hallway and out the emergency
exit. When he reached a spot where no one could see, he leapt into the air. Her
hunger merged with his and singed him with its intensity. He soared higher,
veiled them in darkness and slit open his lower lip with his fangs.

Her lips parted on a whimper as if she unconsciously knew
that a drop of his blood hovered inches from her mouth. His body hardened with
need, his fangs ached from the hunger coursing through his veins and every
muscle strained to bring his mouth to hers.

One kiss and he doubted he could maintain the distance he
needed to uncover her guilt. One kiss and she might once again wrap him in a
cocoon of desire. Logic demanded he simply let his blood drip down into her
open mouth. The first drop of his blood landed on her lips.

Her tongue darted out and swept it into her mouth. Moonlight
kissed her cheeks, nose and the crescents of her lashes. She looked so
innocent, so pure with her hair flowing over his arm and her tongue glancing
over her moist lips, searching for more of his blood, more of his life’s
essence.

Another drop.

He slowed the progression of its descent, watched it
splatter on her tongue. With an anguished roar of defeat, Sebastian slid his
torn lip between her silken ones. Diana immediately started to suckle. The air
around them crackled from the desire he refused to appease. His blood surged up
to his mouth and pulsed behind the cut as his very soul demanded he feed his
mate.

He thought he had complete control until Diana’s tongue slid
over his wound and caressed his fangs, until her lips shifted and bestowed the
kiss he’d struggled to avoid. The power of her lips merging with his, of her
moans vibrating through his body sent him soaring up through the clouds.

Crushing her soft yielding body to his, nicking the inside
of her lip with one of his fangs, he turned their kiss into a feast of ecstasy.
Her pure, sweet blood, now carrying the faint taste of his own, flowed into his
mouth and down his throat while his continued to sate her hunger. The scent of
her body weeping for his as passion replaced hunger drove him mad with desire.

When he could take no more and he felt the imminent return
of her consciousness, he closed the tiny cut in her mouth and started to
descend to the town park overlooking the lake. The air lifted her hair,
wrapping it around his face. A silken caress that almost sent him back into the
clouds for one more kiss. One more taste. Her eyes fluttered opened just as he
alit on a bench. Cradling her on his lap, he waited until he felt her awareness
fully return.

“Think you can stand?”

“Stand?” Diana frowned, then glanced around at the trees
surrounding them. “How…how…” She stared into his eyes. A bright crimson blush
spread across her cheeks. “Did I faint,” she asked, rubbing her temples.

“Looked that way to me.” He grinned when her tongue darted
out to lick a drop of his blood from her upper lip.

“I never faint.”

Diana shifted to stand, but he drew her back against his
chest. “Maybe you should rest a minute.”

“I…” She swayed and rested her palms on his chest to steady
herself.

Sebastian felt her heart pound and her lungs seize as surely
as if they were his own. Her eyes swept over his face, and widened with fear
each time they met his.

“Breathe,” he whispered, afraid she might faint again.

Diana whimpered. Her eyes shimmered. “I know you. Your eyes.
Your voice. We’ve met before.”

He shook his head. “I’d never forget meeting you.”

“I’m sure…I saw…I…f-felt…” She closed her eyes and brought
her hands up to feel his face.

He grasped her hands and gently removed them from his face
before she could feel her way toward discovering that he was indeed her
phantom. “Not a good idea.”

She jumped to her feet. After a fleeting glance toward his
lap, she peered at his mouth and backed away.

“How did I get here? Who are you?” Her voice cracked. “How
long have I been out?” Her hands rose to her neck. Her fingers trembled as they
grazed the skin covering her veins. “Someone called me…and… And…”

“Calm down.”

“Calm down? Calm down?” She raked her fingers through her
hair, snagged one on a curl and yanked it free. Her eyes widened as she glanced
past him to the park beyond. “How the hell did you get me here?”

“I carried you.”

“Five blocks?”

Nodding, he rubbed the back of his neck and cracked his
shoulders in a way he thought would convince her. He understood her fears, but
he had no time for them. The scant blood they’d shared was barely enough to
hold her over ‘til dawn. He had yet to unveil her guilt or innocence, but he
had to feed her more so she could survive another day without his blood. “I
won’t hurt you. I just thought you could use some fresh air.”

When he stood, she tilted her head back and frowned up at
him as if he were crazy. “You didn’t have to take me all the way to the park
for fresh air.”

“About fifty people were smoking outside Cabana’s.”
Sebastian closed the gap separating them. She drew up her shoulders and tensed,
but she didn’t step back. He smiled, impressed. “And considering that I had no
idea how long I’d have to hold you, I thought a bench was a good idea.”

Diana’s lips thinned. “I am not heavy.”

Laughing at the anger and indignation lacing her words,
Sebastian shook his head. He drank in the sight of her. The woman stood there
in a miniskirt and miniscule halter that he doubted most women could squeeze
into.

“Sweetheart, you are far from heavy.” He knew his desire
shone in his eyes, saw her eyes darken and widen when she noticed. “Look, you
fainted in a bar filled with men who would just love to get their hands on an
unconscious woman with half your looks. I don’t take advantage of drunk,” he
changed his choice of words when her eyes narrowed and her brows nearly met,
“or unconscious women. Let’s just say you’re lucky you landed in the right
arms. Okay?”