Moonlight Calls (Demon's Call Series Book 1) (44 page)

I took the stack
of papers from him curiously.  It was a rental agreement- and a very generous
one at that.  Dominic leaned over my shoulder and flipped the packet to the
last few pages, pointing out the details outlined there.

He leaned close
and spoke softly in my ear, and it was all I could do to concentrate on what he
was showing me as he tapped the fine print.  “The rental agreement will stay in
place as long as you would like.  But I wrote this into the lease so that you
have options.”

I saw that one
of my options was to purchase the house outright if my finances ever improved,
putting any money I had paid in rent toward the purchase price of the house-
sort of like a land contract.  He was betting that either I would give in and
let him give me the house, or I would profit enough from my new employment to
buy it.

I stepped away
from him and set the lease on the table, giving myself some space.  He was
offering me an excellent compromise between his generosity and my
stubbornness.  I still didn’t trust his motives.

I narrowed my
eyes and braced myself.  “Dominic, this had better not be a bribe.”

He frowned at me
and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the kitchen counter.  “You
don’t trust me,” he accused bluntly.  “All I want is to do something that will
make you happy and comfortable.”

I turned from
him slightly and looked at the floor.  The whole situation sucked but it was
high time he and I figured this out.  “I want to trust you.  I just don’t trust
your employer.”

He came to stand
before me.  He moved slowly, so he wouldn’t startle me, but still with that
predatory grace.  Placing one finger under my chin, he drew my gaze up to meet
his.

“Mya, if I meant
you any harm I could have killed you a thousand times over by now.”  His voice
carried no menace or boasting.  It was just a statement of cold, hard truth.

I stared
unflinchingly into his big blue eyes.  “I know,” I said softly, and his brows
drew together in confusion as he tried to figure me out.

He released my
chin and stepped closer, slowly slipping his arms around my waist.  “Then why
do you avoid this?”  His voice had gone all silky and compelling and I
shivered.

“Is it the
wolf?”  He asked curiously.  I shook my head in denial.  I cared for Christian
deeply, but I knew that monogamy wasn’t part of what we had- definitely not on
his end.  I didn’t know what he expected of me in that arena.  I hadn’t thought
to bring it up.  I hadn’t thought it was possible to love two people at the
same time.

I placed a hand
on his chest, struggling to maintain some space between us even though my body
was screaming out for more.  He really didn’t get it.  He honestly didn’t know
why I feared him.

“You can take
the house, or not,” he said with barely restrained fury.  “I am not trying to
buy
you.”  He gave a small tug and I swayed closer so our hips were pressed
together and I could feel exactly what he wanted.

“I am done
playing games,” he purred in his silky voice.  “I want to know what this is all
about.”  He leaned close, his lips brushing my throat as he whispered, “I know
you want me.”

I went limp,
dropping my forehead onto his solid chest.  His hands rose from my hips to
embrace me gently.  “What is it?”  He asked softly.  “I can smell your fear.”

I raised my head
and looked into his eyes again, squaring my shoulders.  “I’m afraid you’ll bind
me.”  My voice shook slightly.  I wanted to explore this attraction so badly,
but I didn’t trust that I would still have my free will when it was over.  If
it were only Dominic I had to be concerned about it would be more tempting, but
he worked for Argenou.

Dominic pulled
back slightly.  “I would never do that to you against your will, Mya.”

I narrowed my
eyes at him.  “Never?”  I asked, anger beginning to get the upper hand.  “As in
not even if Argenou ordered you to- or as in never like you almost did at the
church?”

I felt his body
tighten in a spasm of anger at my mistrust, but he managed to keep his temper. 
“Ailis told you about the Trifecta.”  It wasn’t a question, but I nodded
anyway.

Dominic raised a
hand and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, caressing my cheek in the
process.  “That was not planned.”  His voice was full of regret.  “I would
never dream of binding you without your permission.”  I noticed he didn’t say
he wouldn’t do it.  Just not unless I agreed.

His hand moved
lower to cup the back of my neck and his thumb continued to stroke rhythmically
against my jaw as he continued.  “You have no idea how you looked that night,”
he said softly.  I could hear the arousal burning in his voice as he spoke. 
“All that power radiating from you was… intoxicating.  You were calling to me. 
I didn’t know what I was doing.  I didn’t think about it.  I just lost my
head.”  His mouth lifted in a half smile at the notion of him losing control-
but I did seem to have that effect on people, for whatever reason.

I turned my head
and closed my eyes.  I couldn’t look at him anymore or I was going to lose this
battle.  But he took this as an invitation, bending to sweep kisses along my
cheek as he spoke.  “I didn’t think of binding you.  I could only think of
being inside you.”  A hint of teeth grazed my skin and I shuddered, “and of
filling myself with you.”

He moved
suddenly, cradling my face in both hands and forcing me to look at him.  “It
was pure instinct- hunger.”  With that, he lowered his mouth to mine.

I was surprised
by the tenderness of his lips on mine.  His touch lacked the force and
dominance of Christian’s, but my response was like fire.  His soft lips parted
mine and his tongue dipped into my mouth suggestively as I leaned into him.

My traitorous
arms wrapped around his slender waist as I melded my body to his.  I felt
flushed with a sudden heat, like I would burst into flames at any second. 
Dominic drew back from me with a soft smile, only to freeze when he got a good
look at my face. 

“What’s the
matter?”  I asked huskily.  Damn it he could do whatever he wanted to me right
now as long as he made love to me.

He relaxed
slightly, drawing a hand along my arm in a soft caress, capturing my hand in
his.  “Does this always happen?”  His voice was soft and wondering and I
glanced down at my hand.

“No,” I
whispered anxiously.  I looked at his face again, reading only puzzlement. 
“Once- when I first met you.”

My skin was
glowing faintly, a soft golden color shining just below the skin.  As I stared
at my hand, I saw occasional swirls of other colors through the gold.  Dominic
turned my hand from side to side, examining my skin.  I tried to pull away, but
he steadied me with an arm around my waist.

“What is it?” 
My voice was shaking and tears trembled in my eyes.  I tugged at my hand
again.  “Dominic, I’m scared.”  For all I knew I was either about to obliterate
him or burst into flames myself.  Neither option sounded appealing.

He looked into
my eyes in surprise.  “There’s no reason to be scared.”  He said softly.  “It’s
beautiful.”  He finally registered my panic.  Keeping a hold on my hand, he
drew me to a wooden chair in the breakfast nook.

“Here, calm down
for a minute and I’ll get you some water.”

I really doubted
water was going to help anything, but I nodded.  Opening up a cupboard, he got
out a glass and filled it with ice and water.  He handed me the glass and
pulled out a chair across from me.  I grasped the cool glass in both hands. 
Lifting it, I pressed the glass to my forehead, letting the condensation cool
my skin.  I took a sip and willed myself to relax.  No one had exploded yet, so
we were probably safe.

“So I take it
that doesn’t happen with him,” Dominic said.  “With your wolf?”

I flushed
slightly in embarrassment.  “No.”  I glanced at my hands again and saw the glow
had faded along with the warm sensation.  “I don’t know what happened.”  I
dropped my eyes.  “I’m so sorry.”

He laughed
softly.  “We can pick up where we left off, if you would like.”

I looked at him
in horror.  “I almost killed you,” I said in disbelief.  “And you want to try
again?”

Dominic shook
his head.  “There wasn’t any danger,” he said with more assurance than I could have
mustered in his situation.  After all, he had seen what happened when I lost
control.  People exploded.  Even vampires didn’t recover from that.

“You can’t
possibly know that,” I said angrily.

He shook his
head.  “I can sense your emotions.  The other times, when you lost control, you
were radiating warning.”  He raised an eyebrow at me.  “It was damned scary.”

I snorted at the
idea of a master vampire being scared of me, but he continued.  “I could feel
that you were enraged, angry, hurt- like a wounded animal.  All of my instincts
told me you were danger.”

I set the glass
down carefully, my hands shaking.  “I had no idea,” I whispered.

He gazed at me
intently.  “This time was different.  You felt warm.  I could hear your blood
calling out to me.  I felt
you.
  The real you.  There was arousal and
need, and… hunger.  But no danger.”

“I think,” he
paused and looked at me, hesitant.  “I think maybe your power reacts to me
differently because I’m a vampire.  Maybe your powers and mine are more
similar.”

I rubbed my
temples.  “What does that make me?”

He heard the
defeat and fear in my voice.  “It makes you… you,” he said softly.

He rose and went
to the kitchen again.  Opening the same drawer, he took out a padded envelope. 
Bringing the lease, a pen, and the envelope, he returned to my side.

“I’ll give you
some time,” he said gently.  “Sign this so we are all nice and legal and I’ll
go.”

I numbly took
the pen and signed the lease.  “Thank you,” I said softly.  Now that sense was
returning, I still had my doubts about this- and I’m sure he knew it.  Still, I
couldn’t stand being such a coward.

“Dominic.”  He
looked up from the papers questioningly.  I sighed.  “What I said before,” I
clenched and unclenched my hands nervously.  “It’s not true.  Not completely.” 
He leaned against the counter and looked at me curiously.

“It’s not just
that I’m afraid you’ll bind me.”  I stared up into his crystal blue eyes.  A
slight crease marred his perfect forehead as he frowned slightly.  My voice was
little more than a whisper, “I’m afraid… that I’ll let you.”

He went still
for a moment, not even breathing.  I saw a look of sadness flash across his
features, and then it was gone.  He was back to his calm, placid self.  Tucking
the lease under one arm, he handed me the envelope as if I hadn’t spoken.

“These are from
Ailis and the wolf.”  He saw my grimace and sighed.  “We are all your friends
and friends help each other when they need it.”

I slipped a
finger under the flap of the envelope and Dominic beat a hasty retreat. 
Kissing me softly on the forehead, he backed toward the door.  His demeanor was
cool and aloof, lacking the heat of moments before. 
What the hell?
 
What did I say?

 I narrowed my
eyes at him.  “How am I supposed to get back Christian’s and get my stuff?”

“Call a cab?” 
He suggested as he turned and fled.  Coward.  I sighed and opened the envelope
as if it contained a poisonous snake.

*****

A few minutes
later, I stood outside, glaring at the small garage behind the house.  The
envelope had held two things: a shiny new cell phone with a receipt showing the
bill had been paid up for a year, and a set of keys.  The cell phone receipt
had Ailis’s name on it.

The keys went to
a car.  That would explain Dominic’s lack of concern about getting me
transportation.  It would also partially explain why he left in such a hurry. 
He knew I didn’t want to be a charity case.  Christian must have somehow missed
this point.  I made my way out to the garage with dragging steps.  I had seen
the smirk on Dominic’s face.  There was probably something grossly extravagant
in that garage.

Bracing myself,
I pulled the garage door open.  I cringed when I saw the contents of the
building.  Some old tools, a lawn mower, and a beat up old pick-up truck.

I shook my head
and laughed silently to myself as I pictured Christian buying this beast.  The
silver paint was faded, chipped off in spots.  The passenger door had obviously
been replaced, as it was an entirely different color- primer gray.  I opened
the door, which creaked in protest, and picked up the folded note that sat on
the driver’s seat.  It informed me, in Christian’s barely legible chicken
scratch, that I could trade the truck for the Viper when I was done being
stubborn.

“Not going to
happen,” I muttered to myself as I slid in and shut the door.  I had to try
three times to get the thing to stay closed, finally giving up and slamming it
as hard as I could.  I would be surprised if the handle didn’t fall off in my
hand when I got back out.  He was trying to prove a point.  Obviously, he
didn’t understand just how stubborn I could be.