Caressed by Night (6 page)

“I practically threw myself at you.”

“I enjoyed it,”
too much,
he finished
.

“I honestly don’t know where that came from,” she said with a blush.

Dimitri slowly turned back around, his fangs retracting, his eyes fading back to icy blue.

“We should slow down,” he said, clearing his throat.

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She nodded, pushing herself away from the car. She had never felt more embarrassed in her life. She had no idea what had come over her, but there was no denying that she wanted to be with Dimitri.

Maybe living with him is dangerous after all.

“Would you like to go to dinner?”

Kerstyn had to bite her tongue to stop herself from squealing,
Date!
“I would love dinner. With all the stress and worry I experienced today I forgot to eat.”

“Have you been to the new Italian restaurant at Vamped, Variano’s?”

She shook her head.

“Well, I have heard it is the best in the city, but I need to make a stop before we head over.”

“Business or pleasure?”

“A little of both.”

“Okay, give me twenty. I need to change. It’s safe to assume this place isn’t somewhere you go wearing old torn jeans and flip-flops.”

Dimitri watched Kerstyn walk out of the garage. He leaned against the Bentley and let out a rough sigh. Massaging the nape of his neck, he prayed he would have enough self-control to make it through the night. After countless centuries, he finally had his mate, but he would not rush her, though she had awaked the long dormant demon within him. He would wait for the right moment to show her his true self. The vampire within roared at him to bind her to him. He fought the urge to run to her room, throw her on the bed, and take her. Claim her. He was not a beast, though he felt like one.

He tugged his hand through his hair as images of the future flashed like lightning before his eyes. His stomach turned as he once again saw blood. It was everywhere. Not even the rain could wash it away. The sound of the gunshot still echoed in the darkness of the night. Kerstyn lay on the cement, her eyes wide from shock and filled with pain. She gasped for air as she choked on her words.
Dimitri’s heart stopped cold, he had to find some way to change her fate.

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Kerstyn’s eyes warily searched the shadows. Every muscle in her body tightened as they walked through the parking lot behind Dark.

She cringed as her thoughts drifted back to the night she was attacked.

She had no doubt those men would have raped her. Thank God, Dimitri had appeared when he did.

“We won’t be here long,” he reassured her, squeezing her hand.

His voice banished her fear. Kerstyn smiled up at him before sweeping his length with her eyes. She knew every woman in a ten-mile radius would envy her tonight. He looked mouthwatering in his black-pinstriped Gucci suit, the pale blue tie matching the color of his eyes. The fabric hugged his wide shoulders and clung to his broad chest. His hair was pulled back, held by a black leather strip. Her hand twitched as she thought of reaching up and setting that golden mane of his free. She sighed, imagining how it would feel as it slipped through her fingers. Silk. It would feel like cool silk.

“What is it you need to do here?” she asked, needing to focus on something other than him.

“I have a meeting with the owner.”

“You know the owner?”

“He is a close friend of mine.”

Kerstyn stopped. She would never have pictured Dimitri hanging around with the kind of man who must own a place like this.

Despite the fact that the club had been open less than a month, it already had a bad reputation. She didn’t know why her friends had decided to check it out in the first place. At the time, she had been so desperate for fun, she didn’t care where they went and, after her first visit, she had no desire for a second.

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Dimitri tugged her forward. They rounded the corner and passed the line of eager guests who watched them walk up to the door.

Disappointed mumbles rumbled through the crowd as it became clear they were not waiting in line.

The bouncers stumbled trying to get out of Dimitri’s way, their faces colored with an odd mixture of shock, fear, and respect. They bowed their heads ever so slightly as Dimitri entered the club, their eyes focused on the cement.

“What was that all about,” she asked, as they entered.

Dimitri said nothing and paused at the threshold. Quickly scanning the dance floor and bar below with cold, predatory eyes. The tiny hairs on the back of Kerstyn’s neck began to rise as she watched him. He looked at home in the darkness. Her breath caught for a brief moment as his gaze touched hers. His eyes shimmering with an inner glow that made the blood freeze in her veins.

He was old world, elegant, captivating, and not to be taken lightly. It was in his stance, the set of his shoulders. His cold, pale eyes scanned the crowd again and a shiver of fear tiptoed down her spine.

Authority clung to him as he surveyed those below.

Kerstyn had never noticed before, but Dimitri had a lethal side to him. As she watched him, her instincts told her to run. Dimitri wore power like a second skin. He was power personified. God help anyone who dare defy him.

Judge, jury, and executioner
, she thought.

He pulled her to him, wrapping an arm about her waist, his large hand resting on her hip. The heat of his palm burned through her tight, strapless, way too short black dress as they descended the stairs.

Raw power emanated from him and engulfed the club. The instant they reached the bottom level, the music skipped to a halt, glasses dropped and shattered as a collective gasp sucked the oxygen from the building. Everyone watched them cross the dance floor. Their mouths open from shock, their eyes filled with horror, their bodies frozen. Most dropped their gaze and stiffly bowed their heads as the couple passed, while others stood dumbstruck, confusion painting their faces.

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Kerstyn shifted uneasily and he brought her tighter against his side.

“Why are they looking at you like that?”

“Like what?”

“As if you’ve come back from the dead?” she whispered.

Dimitri did not answer as they stepped up into the VIP section.

He seated her at a booth next to a pair of silver elevator doors.

“I will only be a moment. Feel free to order a drink.”

“Everyone is staring at us. Are you famous and I’m so dense I don’t know about it?”

Dimitri chuckled as he nodded towards the man draped in a black suit, standing guard by the elevator. Mr. Government Agent walked over, folded his hands behind his back, and stood beside the booth.

“Do you really think I need a bodyguard while I wait?” she asked with a light laugh, trying to calm her nerves.

“Gannon will keep you company.”

She gave the man a once-over and came to the conclusion that he was not a winning conversationalist.

“I’m a big girl. I don’t need a babysitter.”

Dimitri flashed her a smile before heading for the elevator.

Once the doors closed, the club came back to life, music vibrating the floor as the bartenders quickly swept up the broken glass and everyone resumed their partying. Kerstyn blinked, unable to believe the sudden change of atmosphere. Time had snapped back into action.

“You caused quite a stir,” Gabriel chuckled.

Dimitri crossed the office to join his friend at the window.

“I thought they were all going to drop dead from astonishment and fear. Even the new vampires knew to show you respect.”
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“I lifted the shield I keep on my power. Though they do not know, yet, they could feel my strength.”

“No shit, I felt it up here. You had those idiotic humans completely stunned.”

Dimitri shrugged. “I have that effect on most people.”

“You weren’t the only one everyone noticed. She’s a pretty female.” Gabriel turned from the window and began shifting through papers on his desk. “Is she your
human
roommate?”

“She is more than that.”

Gabriel’s rummaging came to a halt as a tingle skipped down his spine. He slowly turned, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open.

“Holy shit,” he breathed, his voice so low he could barely hear himself.

Dimitri said nothing, his gaze focused out the window. He watched the vampires below. Some frantically typed text messages and emails while others dialed their phones. His news was going to travel fast.

He let a tiny sigh escape from his lungs.

And so it begins.

Gabriel stared blankly at Dimitri’s profile, his mind a whirlwind of thought as he began to piece everything together. He knew there had to be a reason behind Dimitri coming to Vegas. This was certainly not his kind of jungle. He had always preferred quiet, peaceful surroundings. Now it all made sense. The ancient had come for his mate.

“How did you know she would be here?”

Dimitri tapped his temple with his index finger.

Gabriel’s inhale was sharp as realization settled in his bones.

“You can see the future.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact.

“I can see much more than that, my friend.”

“How long have you had this gift?”

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Dimitri shrugged. “I cannot remember when it first manifested, but it has been with me for nearly six hundred years.”

“You knew Ven was going to betray you? You knowingly stepped into his trap?”

The ancient vampire nodded.

“Why?”

“It was the right course of action.”

Gabriel blindly fell back and was relieved when he landed in his chair. He closed his eyes as his brain tried to process all of this new information. He had not felt this overwhelmed by change since the day his life went to hell. Images of his burning village flashed in his mind, bodies of women and children scattered on the cold earth, their blood feeding the soil. He could feel the iron bands biting into the flesh of his wrists and ankles as he was dragged away.

“Let them go.”

Gabriel’s eyes flew open and collided with Dimitri’s haunting gaze. He shook his head, banishing his dark memories for the moment.

Clearing his throat, he said, “I assume you already know about this.” He stood and snatched a red piece of paper off his desk. “Dorian Vlakhos and his wife, Victoria, are heading our way.”

“They are celebrating their 197th wedding anniversary,” Dimitri acknowledged with a nod.

“How anyone could stand to be married for that long is beyond me.”

“One day, you will understand.”

Gabriel scoffed, “Not likely.”

He belonged to no clan, an outcast. He was friends with Dimitri and Dorian, the king of the Mylonas Clan, but his connections would not help him with women. As an outcast, no decent vampire female would look upon him with kindness. Gabriel had wealth, power, and strength, but he was among the lowest of the low and all the money in the world could not change his position within vampire society. If a member of his own kind wanted nothing to do with him, why would a mortal? A human woman would flee in terror if he ever revealed his true self. Not that he would want a human, they were weak-minded,
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fragile, fickle creatures. Love and happiness were not meant for him.

They had escaped him when he was mortal and, as a vampire, the good Graces shunned him.

“Fortunately, you have no say in the matter.”

“My heart is cold and dead, Dimitri. The man in me was tortured to death long ago.”

Dimitri shrugged, he would allow his friend to believe what he wished, but he knew the truth. Every time their eyes met, Dimitri could see Gabriel’s tortured and forever-tormented soul, locked behind walls of loathing and rage.

Dimitri reached inside his suit jacket, pulling out an envelope.

“I have something that might interest you. A list of all Ven’s businesses and fledglings.”

“I heard he successfully turned a few of his human bleeders.

Can you believe they offered themselves to him?” Gabriel’s mouth twisted with disgust at the thought. He would never understand why anyone would willingly become a monster.

This life had been forced upon him. The proof he had violently struggled to keep his mortal life was reflected in the power he possessed. A vampire’s strength was based on four factors: how hard they fought as their blood was being taken from them, the strength of their maker’s blood, how much blood they were forced to consume, and the natural passage of time. And every year the vampire within grew stronger.