Caressed by Night (13 page)

Dimitri’s eyes flickered back to their normal, icy blue. Heat melted away the ice in his touch and warmed her chilled flesh.

He stepped back and clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze dropping to the floor.

“I am sorry, Kerstyn. I do not mean to frighten you, but you set me on edge.” He shut down his senses, allowing the death that surrounded him to settle in his bones, chasing away his lust and his hunger.

“It’s all right, no one expects you to hold yourself together all the time.”

He expected himself to manage his power, to keep it locked away, to keep the beast in its cage. For the safety of the world, he had to maintain control.

“You are very brave. There are only a handful of people I know who would stand their ground when the vampire emerges.”

“Silvie told me you aren’t like others of your kind.” He lifted his head. “I am much stronger than them.”

“Can all vampires see the future?”

“The gift of foresight is only bestowed by Fate upon select members of the Shaw Witch Tribe. I am the only exception.”

“You don’t like being able to see the future, do you?”

“Would you like knowing how all those you love will die and you cannot do anything to change their destiny?” Kerstyn winced. She had never considered that part. Then again, she never pictured herself with a vampire lover and having a witch as a best friend. She was living in two worlds now.

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Straddling them is more like it,
she thought.

“Are you still hungry?”

Her eyes moved over him as she slowly undressed him in her mind. Yes, she was famished, but food was not the only thing her body craved.

Dimitri’s sharp inhale told her he knew her thoughts.

“I try to stay out of the minds of others. Everyone is entitled to their privacy, but you are an incredibly loud thinker.” She smiled. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”

“I wish you could see into my mind and hear my thoughts. I would love to share that intimacy with you.”

Kerstyn could not be certain, but she thought she had seen sorrow flutter across his handsome face. Sadness settled in the bottom of her heart as she found herself wishing along with him.

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The floor-to-ceiling windows bathed the dining room in soft moonlight while tall, white candles flickered on the table adding their own shimmering magic to the cut-crystal wine glasses. Her chair magically slid away from the table and the action made her hesitate a step, but she quickly recovered.

He is a vampire
, she reminded herself as she took her seat.

Kerstyn sat, her hands resting in her lap, fingers nervously trembling, as she waited for Dimitri to return. He entered carrying two plates piled high with pasta, which was accompanied by a mixed greens salad. He served her first before setting his plate down on the table.

Claiming his seat across from her, he took up the wine from the ice bucket resting beside the table. He pulled the cork free, filled her glass and then his.

“If this tastes as good as it looks and smells, I’ll be in heaven.” Dimitri watched as Kerstyn took her first bite of the vodka pasta with pancetta. Her eyes drifted closed and she let out a small sigh of pleasure.

“Perfect,” she said, her eyes fluttering open.

“I have had many years to hone my skills.”

Her brow wrinkled as he began to eat. “I thought vampires lived off blood.”

“We do, but we can eat normal food. It takes some energy to digest.” He took a bite, slowly chewing. He swallowed and grinned. “I enjoy food too much to give it up completely, though some of my kind choose to do so.”

“I don’t think I would ever be able to give up chocolate or strawberries, especially not the two of them put together. I would cry for days if someone told me I could never have them again.”
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Dimitri’s features darkened as the bloody images of the future flashed in his mind like lightning once again. His chest grew tight. As always, her lips moved and he heard nothing as death crept into her eyes. He longed to know what she would say, to hear her last words spoken with her final breath. But there was something different in this vision. His breath caught as he noted a shadow. Someone knelt beside her, their body leaning over her, covering her torso and head, shielding her from the stinging rain. They were dressed in black, but he could not see their face.

“How was your meeting?”

Blinking, he managed to clear his vision, his eyes focusing on the beautifully luscious woman sitting across from him. His heart stuttered back to life as his lungs expanded with oxygen. Though the organs were no longer necessary for his survival, they remained in use, a vampire needed to appear human in every way to ensnare his prey.

Prey. The beast loved the word.

His eyes dropped to her creamy throat, lingering on her pulse.

She was his prey.

Dimitri snapped his head to the side, tearing his gaze from her.

Thousands of years had passed since the last time he had taken blood.

The need for a mortal’s life-giving elixir faded over time until a vampire no longer needed to drink to stay alive. He had been relieved beyond measure the night he woke in the ground after all those years of deep slumber to find the violent cravings were gone. He had never enjoyed feeding or living off the lives of others. Dimitri fought with his true nature every time he pierced a mortal’s flesh. He never killed, never maimed, and never left them with any memory of him.

Now was different, now he craved blood. Her blood. He wanted to drink deeply of her, to mark her, to leave behind the evidence of his bite for all to see, for all to know that she belonged to him. And he wanted her to remember him. He needed her to remember him not as a vampire, not as the feared and revered enforcer of his race, but as a man.

She had said something. Damn it, what did she ask?
He needed to focus.
My meeting, she had asked about my meeting.

“It went very well. Some of the artifacts they wish to display will need to be shipped from my museum in New York.” Her fork slipped from her fingers and clattered to her plate.

Being an art historian, she was shocked she had not made the
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connection earlier. His last name was Arsov. As in the Arsov Museum, the Arsov Institute, and Arsov Corporation, which employed thousands of historians, provided scholarships, supported archeologists, and funded numerous excavations. Working for one of his organizations in New York had been her dream.

“Amazing,” she breathed. She took up her wine glass with a shaking hand. “I always wondered how your company could have such marvelous luck finding burial sites and lost cities. You knew exactly where to find them. Totally explains why your company is the leader in your field.”

“I merely suggest a specific area to a few historians and archeologists; they do all the research and work.”

“Isn’t it kind of cheating?”

Dimitri gave a soft laugh, his lips twitching at the corners with a smile. “I never thought of it that way.”

“Have you been collecting items over the years?”

“Not necessarily collecting. I simply keep the things I purchase such as furniture and weapons among other things. Most of my

‘collection’ is at my Clan’s home in Russia.”

Kerstyn nodded, took up her fork, and resumed eating. She mentally reviewed her question list. Silvie had referred to a “clan” when they spoke earlier.

“Silvie spoke of her people, the Shaw, living on Voidukas Clan territory, but she did not go into detail. She insisted I direct my questions towards you, claiming you would be able to answer my questions better than she can. I think she was just trying to dodge me.”

“She is correct. I will be able to answer your questions about the Voidukas and anything else vampire-related, such as the Red Order, better than she can.”

“Because you’re so old,” she teased.

Dimitri’s wide shoulders shook as he chuckled, “Unfortunately, my age is a contributing factor. I am also a vampire, making me a better authority on vampire history and society than a witch, even if she is a seer.”

“The Voidukas are vampires?”

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Dimitri nodded, his laughter gone, but his eyes still sparkled with mirth. “There are four Clans: Mylonas, Voidukas, Validus,
and Volkov.”

“Which Clan is yours?”

“I am Volkov,” he stated, leaning back in his seat.

He knew Kerstyn did not understand his meaning. He literally was “Volkov”. He was chieftain of his Clan, a vampire king.

“And your territory is Russia?”

He nodded.

For thousands of years, he had sought isolated refuge in the desolate steppes of Russia. The freezing, snow-covered land was his home. He had been content, living alone in his unyielding, uninviting stone fortress. Unlike the other pureblood vampires, he had never created his own family, never becoming a Father. Loneliness was his constant, dependable companion and he had had no intentions of ever joining or creating a Clan.

His solitary world was destroyed one violently cold winter night when a small group of vampires appeared outside his walls seeking protection. Slaves. His stomach knotted as he watched them enter his hall. Rags hung from their malnourished frames, their flesh was as white as the snow that drifted from the heavens, and their voices shook with fear as they told him of their escape.

Dimitri had avoided vampire politics for centuries, remaining neutral in war, and, when the other pureblood vampires perished, he allowed the Clans to continue to govern themselves, though it was his right to step in and take control. His peaceful isolation was shattered the moment his eyes took in the starved and tortured faces of defenseless people who sought his help. That night, the Volkov Clan was formed; all who wished to flee the rule of tyrannical leaders would be admitted and protected. That night he became king of the fourth vampire clan.

He set his fork down. His appetite vanished.

“Not hungry?” Kerstyn asked, noting the dark scowl that settled over Dimitri’s face. He had pushed his plate aside, his gaze focused in the distance.

“Distracted by unpleasant thoughts. I apologize. To answer your question, Russia, Norway, Sweden, and Finland belong to my Clan.”

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“Is the entire world broken up into territories?”

“More or less. There are some areas that remain neutral ground, belonging to no one.”

“Which Clan has the U.S.?”

“The United States belongs to the Outcast Society.”

“Outcasts?”

“They are vampires who do not belong to a Clan.”

“Are they criminals? Were they exiled?”

“Being banished from your clan is a punishment worse than death. They no longer have the protection of their Clan, they are stripped of everything they own, and literally dumped in the middle of nowhere outside their Clan’s territory. Their only hope of survival is to somehow make it across Europe, without being killed by hunters, known as the Red Order, to the U.S. Here they can join stronger groups of outcasts and receive protection and shelter.”

“I’m guessing not many succeed in making it here.”

“Excellent guess. Clans were made to organize the vampire world and for protection. The other originals had created ‘families’ by changing humans. As the number of vampires grew, the witches known as the Red Order, felt it was necessary to control the vampire population.”

“So, they began to hunt vampires.”

“Yes,” he said with a nod. “You can see why it would be advantageous for vampires to live collectively. The Red Order are not nearly as powerful as the Shaw. They do not possess much magic, but they are physically strong.”

“Safety in numbers.”

Kerstyn took another bite. She slowly chewed as she filed all this new information away. Unfortunately her list of questions was getting longer rather than shorter, but she would be patient. So far, Dimitri was more than willing to answer her inquiries. He had not evaded one question or tried to change the subject.

His fingers wrapped around the stem of his wine glass. She watched him bring the rim to his lips. Her breath caught as the white liquid slipped between his lips. She never realized how erotic wine could be. Kerstyn shivered as she thought of those lips caressing her, sucking her, his tongue tasting her.

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Dimitri cleared his throat and set his empty glass on the table.

Kerstyn moved her gaze from his lips to his eyes and blushed. His diamond stare burned with lust.

“My thoughts were screaming at you again,” she said with an embarrassed smile.

“I do not mind.”

“I bet you don’t.” She took another bite, giving her something else on which to focus. “This is really, very good. You ever think of being a chef?”

He shrugged. “I own a few restaurants.”

“All five-star, I’m sure.”

Dimitri nodded.

“What else do you do, Mr. Self-Made-Millionaire?” He chuckled, “I dabble in the stock market, but that is the extent of it.”

“Again, you’re cheating. Being able to see the future must help your finances.”

“In that area of my life, the ability is an asset. Though I try to block future events.”

“Just like you try to block people’s thoughts?”

“Yes. I am not always successful.” He poured himself some more wine.

Kerstyn was taking all this news well but Dimitri worried that she was still in shock. Giving in to temptation, he reached out with his mind and searched her thoughts, finding nothing but curiosity.