Bound to the Vampire (6 page)

Pursing his lips, Dameon shook his head. “Nothing is ever that simple when a coven is involved. And when two covens who’ve been at war for centuries are involved… You gentlemen know how it is. They have to confer about everything. They fight.” He narrowed his gaze. “Nothing is ever simple or easy. They talk and convene and talk more. They talk until facts are twisted and truth is fiction.”

Silence reined as he finished his drink. It was the way of the coven.

A part of him was devastated to hear that Valencia didn't laugh as often. He used to take great pleasure in bringing a smile to her face.

Right up until the moment she'd betrayed him and he’d spent the next two hundred years hating her. Trying to hate her, rather.

“Women,” Maxim said with a sigh. But there was a trace of a smile curving his lips that said it all.

The wolf was completely smitten with his mate, adored the ground she walked on, went to any length to make her happy and would gladly die for her.

Dameon remembered feeling like that.

“So what happened?” Shade asked.

Dameon wondered at Shade's curiosity and knew that their conversation would probably be repeated verbatim later. Mates talked.

He hated this part of the story, his past, but if he hoped to win over these men, he needed to be honest.

“We ignored the world and went on as we were. At least, I thought we had. But when I showed up in front of all of our friends and family, our covens, the vampire elders, how do you say, she stands me up.”

“Left at the altar? Seriously?” Shade asked, his tone incredulous.

“That sucks. Sorry man,” Maxim added.

He nodded his head in thanks and lifted a finger at the bartender. Another drink was most certainly in order.

“So what about you two? How did you meet Ceara, was it? And Izzy?”

For the next half hour they regaled him with those first few moments; the car crash that had scared years off Shade’s life and his first look at the little blonde pixie who’d stolen his heart in short order. And the demon who’d chased Ceara straight into Maxim’s arms.

He didn't often sit around and chat; he wasn't one for idleness. But there was a certain brotherhood in swapping “war stories.” And he liked to have as much information at his fingertips as possible. He was glad to see that men were the same everywhere. They were all susceptible to a lovely smile and a damsel in distress.

He'd do whatever it took to get these men on his side. The more friends he had at his back the harder it would be for Valencia to deny him what he really wanted.

“So you've really never lost a game of poker?” Dameon asked, intrigued by Shade’s story of the poker game that had brought him and Izzy together.

Shade shook his head. “But I'm pretty sure that Izzy had a better hand than me that last round. But if I'm to begin my losing streak, let it start with her.”

The demon was clearly besotted with his bride-to-be.

“You've got it bad, man,” Maxim said.

“Agreed,” Dameon added.

“Don't tell me you don't have a panic attack every time Ceara is in France and you're back home with the pack. I'm not buyin' that line. I've seen the way you pace when she's not hanging on your arm.”

Maxim smiled, his first genuine smile of the night. And he didn’t deny Shade’s words. Seeing as the two men were hopelessly in love with their mates, Dameon decided to see if he could enlist their help. It was rare that he depended on anyone else but right now he needed all the help he could get.

“What’s this about a dolphin excursion?” Dameon asked, wondering if Valencia would be attending.

A wet, half naked Valencia would be hard to resist but resist her he would. Being out of her comfort zone would make her putty in his hands.

He would mold her to his will.

Ceara looped her arm through Valencia's as they strode down the pier. Maxim, Shade and Izzy stood shoulder to shoulder at the end, peering over the edge into the smooth sea below. Valencia wasn't sure she really wanted to pet a dolphin but who could say no to Ceara's exuberance? The young vamp was bouncing with excitement and Valencia had to admit that it was contagious.

Ceara recited dolphin facts like she was a full-fledged marine biologist and Valencia tried to keep up. Just as they were about to join the group, there was a strong ripple in the water to their left. The under-dock lights showed off a long figure, brilliant green scales and a playful flip of a tale.

Valencia's lips twitched and prepared for Ceara's mind to be blown. The raven haired beauty at her side paused midstep, then she rushed forward as a merwoman popped her head out of the water and waved.

“Is she here yet?” a voice called from behind them.

Valencia turned and saw Rosanna Santiago, Latham's assistant, racing down the boardwalk as quickly as her flip flops would allow. Cal, one of the island bartenders, wasn't far behind. When he caught up to her, they linked hands and peered over the side.

When Valencia turned back, the merwoman had shifted to her human form, climbed the ladder and was presently wrapping a sarong around her naked hips.

“Hello everyone. I’m Selma. Everyone ready to meet the dolphins?” the woman asked, looking up at them through a curtain of dark, wet hair.

“Yes!” Ceara squealed.

“Down girl,” Maxim murmured, slipping a meaty arm around the younger woman's waist.

Valencia's lips twitched. The love birds had been together long enough for the honeymoon period to be over but they still acted like new mates.

Secretly, she missed that.

“Can't wait,” Rosanna told the merwoman as she skidded to a stop. Cal almost plowed into her. “I've been telling Latham for years that we need a dolphin excursion. I'm so glad you agreed to host it, Selma.”

Cal threw an arm around Rosanna's shoulders and pulled her against his side.

Valencia missed that too and turned out to the cove so the others wouldn’t see the look on her face. Closeness, physical contact, couldn’t be faked or artificialized. It was harder and harder to watch them with their mates and keep her feelings in check. It was getting nearly impossible to keep her features schooled so she gave nothing away.

From that first night, Winter’s Solstice, on Mystic Isle she'd known everything was going to be different. Her quiet little coven would expand, dismantle, shift and change. She'd been privy to each of her coven mate's love affairs and each and every time she'd tried to ignore their closeness.

But there was no denying it. She missed having a partner, a man who would hold her close, shield her from the wind, and fasten the clasp on her necklace.

Right now, surrounded by couples, it was extra obvious that she didn't have a man at her side. But she'd never let that bother her before; she certainly wasn't going to start now.

“This group of dolphins is known as a school or pod. I convinced them to come for a visit tonight. Usually they're out feeding this time of night,” Selma said with an impish grin.

Valencia liked her. There was something carefree and easy about the merwoman that made Valencia feel a twinge of envy. Could she be more like that? It would probably help if she smiled more, but it’d been so long since she’d known true, breathtaking happiness. The kind of happiness that made you thrilled just to be alive, to see the sun rise, to watch a bird soar across the sky, to simply breathe.

“How did you convince them?” she asked.

“With a big bucket of fish.”

Everyone laughed, Valencia’s lips twitched and then the air crackled around them. A familiar heartbeat rang in her ears. She straightened her spine and glanced over her left shoulder.

So he wasn't taking no for an answer. Predictable. Dameon honestly thought he could have whatever he wanted, when and however he wanted it. It would serve him right if she strung him along for the week and then cut him loose. That's essentially what he'd done to her all those years ago.

Could she get him to fall for her again? Could she create a deeper emotion, reestablish their bond?

He glanced from her to Selma and then his gaze swept the rest of the group. Did he have to look so good? The black swim trunks clinging to his lean hips left little to her imagination. There'd been a time when she'd kissed and caressed each and every inch of him.

“Have room for one more?” he asked, stopping next to her.

“Sure,” she said, and turned back to where Selma was giving instructions for how to put on their gear.

Dameon shook hands with Maxim and Shade, who greeted him like an old friend. Valencia cut her eyes, not sure she appreciated the men getting chummy with her ex.

“Where’s Latham?”

“Oh,” Rosanna said, “something came up.”

Valencia felt firmly out of the loop, but then, she’d hidden in her cottage since the Masquerade. Dameon obviously hadn’t.

When they were all ready to enter the water, Selma flipped a switch and a second set of lights illuminated a wide swath of the water below. There was a collective gasp, not just because the school was swimming within the arc of light but because it was one of the most beautiful sights she'd ever seen. There was something about the inky darkness all around them and yet the crystal waters were lit, almost as if the water itself was alight with fire. White fire.

Suddenly, Valencia couldn't wait to be in the water. To be enveloped and embraced, to taste the saltiness on her tongue. She'd merely existed for far too long.

Dameon was the second man in. Shade was right behind him. The demon reached for Izzy as she shimmied backwards down the ladder. Once upon a time, Ceara had been quiet and painfully shy. Now talked a mile a minute to her mate and Valencia felt a grin stretch her lips as she descended the ladder. It was nice to see Ceara come out of her shell and feel so at ease, not just with the group and her mate, but also, a demon.

She tried not to imagine the pain Ceara must have suffered after a rogue demon had murdered her parents, but—
“Are you getting in or just testing the water?” Dameon's voice sounded from below.

“I would splash you, LeBeau, but I don't want to scare the fish.”

The problem was, she felt like a fish out of water in the flippers and mask. The snorkel dangling next to her face made her feel like a clumsy rhinoceros. There was simply no way to appear elegant and poised while flapping around like a frog.

A cool hand wrapped around her right ankle and gave a swift tug. She lost her grip on the ladder and hurtled toward the water. Dameon caught her against his chest and had the audacity to chuckle.

“You're hair's wet, princess.”

“And whose fault is that?” she asked, disengaging slowly, making sure he felt her body.

Avery was right; the red one piece swimsuit was the perfect tool for this little...excursion.

“Mine,” Dameon admitted in that deep voice of his. His tone was so seductive, so husky that he made the single word sound like he was staking his claim rather than admitting blame. “All mine. They're mammals, by the way,” he murmured as he swam off to join the group.

Valencia tread water as best she could. Despite her inhuman strength, the fins banged together at the end of her feet. Perhaps this would be easier without their assistance. After a moment though, she got the hang of it and managed to keep her head, and her hair, out of the water.

“What are?” she called.

He turned back, just a few yards away. The lights beneath the water lit his face and she saw the smirk gracing his lips. “Dolphins. They're mammals. Not fish.”

Valencia rolled her eyes and swam after Ceara and Maxim. That was three times now he'd gotten the last word. He was giving her a complex.

Selma was right; swimming with fins was very different from swimming in the pool back in her estate. Just when she thought she had the hang of it the extra weight on her ankles would drag her down. And she didn't particularly care for the way they propelled her awkwardly through the water.

It took her twice as long to join the group as it did Dameon, but then, it wouldn’t surprise her if he’d gone on an excursion of the Great Barrier Reef. When she caught up, everyone was face down/snorkels up in the air. The dolphins swam in a circle toward the end of the pier, their silver bodies slashing in the light. They were far more graceful in the water than she was, she mused as she fit her mask down over her eyes.

Looking under the water's surface was like entering a new world. Exotic, colorful, delicate and graceful, she paused, breathless, to admire the sight beneath her.

The dolphins undulated through the water as if they were dancing to a song. It seemed like they were carrying on a conversation as they swam around each other, weaving through the group.

A small one turned toward her, darting to her left. A few more followed suit until the whole pod had changed direction. Selma swam up next to Valencia, took her by the wrist and held out her hand as a massive dolphin swam by.

Valencia's fingertips slid against the slick flesh and she felt the raw power coiled inside the animal. Several more swam by and her heart squeezed when one paused before her. She held her breath and stopped moving her legs. Her feet sank down into the water as the animal stared at her with a dark eye.