Night's Promise (22 page)

Watching Melissa, Duncan knew he’d be buying her a ring the next night, after he finished meeting with Jake. But right now he wanted to take her back to his place and pull her clothes off, showing her a good old-fashioned ravishing.

Before he could make the suggestion, she reached out and knocked on the door and he sent a prayer of thanks it was La who answered the door. To his surprise, she was dressed much like Melissa.

“I did
not
see that coming,” she said, laughter filling her voice. “Oh this is gonna be rich. Damn, is there enough time for me to get my video camera?”

“La,” Melissa scolded.

“Come on in you two. Gareth should be back in a couple of minutes. He just had to run to the store.”

Duncan followed Melissa into the apartment. Looking around at the floral patterns, he was shocked at the décor. It looked so different from what he expected—not that he’d put much thought into what Lalita’s home would look like, but this was almost the exact opposite of what he would have imagined if he had.

“You have a lovely home.”

“Yeah, yeah, thank my sister,” she mumbled. “Why don’t you two have a seat and I’ll go hide the knives.”

“Why?”

“You didn’t tell her?” La asked Duncan, shocked.

He shrugged.

“Mel, honey, everyone knows…” Lalita’s statement was ended when the door opened.

“La, they didn’t have the big packs, so I just grabbed a couple of the smaller boxes. That should get us through—You.”

The bag Gareth was carrying dropped from his hand and Duncan had just enough time to get away from Melissa so she wouldn’t get hurt accidentally before Gareth tried to tackle him.

Moving away from the couch, he dodged the other man’s punches.

“I’m gonna kill you. Who the fuck do you think you are? How dare you touch my sister!”

“Stop,” Melissa screamed, distracting Duncan long enough that one of Gareth’s blows landed across his jaw.

Growling, he pushed the other man away, not wanting to hurt the brother of the woman he loved. But that didn’t stop Gareth. It was clear Gareth wanted to spill Duncan’s blood. Baring his fangs, Gareth rushed at Duncan, and managed to back him into a corner.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Duncan told him through clenched teeth.

“Too bad, cause I really don’t have a problem beating the shit out of you.”

“Gareth, don’t you dare punch a hole in my wall. Do you know how irritating it is to have to call a repairman then have to get the whole place soundproofed again?”

“Gareth, stop,” Melissa pleaded.

Duncan glanced over to her, shocked to see the fear in her eyes. “
Don’t worry Angel, he isn’t going to hurt me. And I promise, no matter how much I want to, I won’t hurt him…too badly.”

He saw her nod slightly, just before he felt her brother’s hands around his neck.

“Don’t. Make. Me. Hurt you,” Duncan said as the other man squeezed his throat as hard as he could.

“Leave my sister alone. I don’t want to even hear that you were in the same room with her ever again, you bastard.”

“That’s up to her. I’ll ask you one more time, to let go of me. Don’t make me hurt you.”

Gareth laughed. Using the skills he’d perfected a century ago, Duncan applied pressure to the other man’s inner arm, careful not to do any permanent damage even as black spots began to appear in front of him. The man’s grip loosened and he pressed his advantage. Within seconds, he had Gareth’s arm pinned behind his back with enough pressure that the slightest amount of additional pressure would break the bone in half.

Pushing the man away from him, his eyes narrowed as he resisted the urge to rub the sore muscles of his throat.

Why the fuck does everyone have to go for my neck?

Gareth growled and looked as though he wanted to leap for him again, but Melissa quickly stood between the two men. Walking backwards, she continued until her back pressed against Duncan’s body. His discomfort was forgotten as his arms circled her waist.

“Don’t,” she said to her brother. Turning in his arms, Melissa ran her hands over the bruises he was sure had appeared on his flesh. “Gods, Duncan, I’m so sorry. If I’d have known what an asshole my brother was going to be I’d have never asked you to come tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it, Angel. He’s just trying to protect you. I can’t blame him for that.”

“I can.” Turning again, she rested her head back against his chest. “I love him, Gareth.”

“You can’t love him. He’s a…he cannot be the man you told me about. Mel, he doesn’t stay with a woman. He gets what he wants then he’s out of there faster than you can ask ‘where are you going?’ I won’t let him hurt you like that.”

“If he’s so intent on hurting me, why did he come here to meet you? Gareth if he only wanted to fuck me and leave, why didn’t he leave me weeks ago?” she shouted.

Gareth’s face paled, and Lalita came up behind him.

“That’s enough. Why don’t we all just sit down and talk about this like adults?”

Duncan nodded and, taking Melissa’s hand in his own, he led her over to the couch then sat down in one of the chairs.

“Gareth, I love him.”

“He’s going to hurt you,” he told her softly, leaning back against Lalita as she tried to soothe him.

“No he’s not. I love him. I trust him. Gareth, Duncan’s going to change me.” She looked back at him shyly.

Gareth looked as though she’d just told him she was going to stake him.

Duncan had to give the other man credit. Even though he looked as though he’d rather be slowly poisoned and suffer a painful death, he was polite. “If you hurt my sister I will kill you.”

“If I hurt her, I’d deserve to die.”

* * *

Travis was growing impatient as he stood across the street from the unimpressive building. After weeks of watching and waiting, always so close to his revenge but unable to take it, he was growing annoyed. Did they always have to travel around in groups?

He knew he should have grabbed that vampire bastard before he’d entered the brick building. But no, he’d hesitated just a second too long. Hatred filled him. Even after twelve years, Travis could still feel the creature’s teeth slipping into his flesh, the way his lips suckled on his neck. A shudder went down his body. He’d always heard vampires didn’t touch members of the same sex—just look at all those Hollywood movies—but he knew different. It didn’t matter what gender you were, so long as your blood was warm.

Looking at that bastard, being so close to him, brought back the memory of laughter. He’d been laughed at when he entered the bar, holding his neck, with no wound visible. That had surprised him. He’d been stunned when he finally looked into a mirror and couldn’t see any sign of the unholy kiss he’d received. It humiliated him.

He could still remember the way the creature flashed his fangs as he came to take Melissa away. He hadn’t said a word, but the threat was clear.

Pacing in the shadows, he allowed his anger, his hatred to strengthen his resolve. Justice would be his. He just needed to be a little more patient.

* * *

Duncan looked around the club, it just wasn’t the same without Melissa. Somehow she’d managed to turn his life around completely. He wanted to be a better man for her.

He had managed to convince her to spend the night shopping with Mona. He knew he’d need at least the one night for his body to adjust to the piercings, and after he met with Jake, he’d scheduled a meeting with a jeweler to see their selection. If she were at CS, he wouldn’t be able to think about anything other than getting her back up to his room.

Jake entered and Duncan walked over to meet him. Directing the piercer to the back room, Duncan gave him a few minutes to unpack his bag before he followed. He went to the bar and got a glass of water. When it was finished, he placed the glass back on the bar. Tonight would be hell, he already wanted Melissa in his arms, but he wouldn’t get to see her again until the following night.

Duncan strolled across the dance floor, his brow creasing slightly when he saw Lalita and Bram talking. Shrugging, he figured it wasn’t any of his business and entered the room.

“So, what are you getting?” Jake asked.

“I want a Jacob’s Ladder.”

Jake nodded. “Frenum Ladder,” he said, giving the technical name for the piercing. “Gotcha. How many bars?”

“Four for now.” Dropping his pants, Duncan lay down on the table, waiting for the process to begin. At first it felt weird to feel another man’s hands wrapped around his cock, but this was something he knew he wanted.

“How far apart do you want them?” Jake asked after the first marks were centered.

“About three-eighths of an inch apart.” After a few minutes he felt the needle slide through his flesh, quickly replaced by cold metal. The sensation was repeated three more times as he lay on the table thinking about Melissa.

“Okay, you’re all set. You really don’t want to irritate it tonight. I probably should go into my usual aftercare speech, but I don’t know how much of it applies to vampires. But you definitely don’t want to irritate it tonight.”

Duncan laughed. “I know. That’s why I told my girl I couldn’t see her tonight. What do I owe you?”

“No charge. Dude, I owe you much more than a few minutes of my time. Shit, man, if not for you—”

“That’s all in the past. What do I owe you?”

“Nothing. I won’t take money from you. Now, to the aftercare. Because of your accelerated healing, you’ll probably be fine tomorrow night—but I’d recommend at least using condoms, and extra lube—for the next few nights. If you take them out, you’ll probably have to get repierced, unless you’re replacing the jewelry immediately. Rinse them well with water, you want to keep those things clean to prevent any irritation. Go easy on the soap, especially tonight, since that can dry your skin out. And trust me, you’re going to want to wear loose jeans.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Duncan chuckled as he pulled up his pants, making sure they rested low on his hips, giving his groin as much room as possible.

“So, you’ve got a girl now?”

Duncan smiled. “Mel. I don’t know what I did right in this life to deserve her, cause fuck if I can think of anything.”

“You’ve done a lot of good. You’ve saved a lot of lives, mine included.”

“And I’ve done a hell of a lot more evil. Why do you people defend me?”

“Ah, Mel won’t let you call yourself evil either huh? I like her already. We won’t let you do it because you’re a good guy. Whatever you were in your past, that’s not who you are now.”

“You’re wrong. That’s exactly who I still am. I didn’t want to ask this on the phone, but I need to know if you’ve heard of a man named Travis Long hanging around town.”

Jake shook his head. “Doesn’t sound familiar. But then, I am just getting back in town. You want me to ask a couple of guys?”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“I’ll make a few calls as soon as I’m done here.”

“Thanks man.” Duncan shook the other man’s hand. “And if you ever need anything, you know you can call me.”

“I know.”

As Duncan left the room, he tugged on his jeans and smiled when he saw Bram standing outside the door. Exiting the club, humming as he went, he headed for the jewelers down the street. The sign on the door said closed, but as soon as he knocked, the owner’s face appeared and he motioned for Duncan to go around the side of the building.

“I appreciate you staying late for me. I had a previous appointment.”

“No problem, Mr. Stone. My manager told me that you are looking to buy a ring. We have quite a nice selection. What kind were you looking to buy exactly?”

“Something special. I want an engagement ring, but not the type of thing you would see everywhere.”

“Were you looking for something in particular?”

Duncan shook his head. “I’ll know it when I see it.”

Three hours and countless rings later, he was ready to give up on ever finding anything that would be perfect, especially since he’d gone through the man’s entire stock, and not just of engagement rings.

“There’s only one ring left that you haven’t seen, Mr. Stone. It just arrived today.” The man went into the back of the shop and returned with a small velvet box. Opening the box, Duncan stared at the perfect ring.

“An emerald cut black diamond, surrounded by smaller clear diamonds. Total carat weight is—”

“I don’t care.”

“Mr. Stone…”

“I don’t care. I want this ring. Now,” he pulled out his wallet and fanned out his credit cards, “pick a card and wrap it up.” Typically he would never be so blatant about how much money he had, but he was not in the mood to hear the owner of the store tell him how expensive or whatever the ring was. It was perfect and that was all that mattered.

Chapter Fourteen

Melissa looked in the mirror. She looked so different. On the phone, Duncan had told her he had a surprise for her tonight, and he didn’t mean the piercing. She felt giddy. Was tonight the night he’d propose? The night he’d change her? Whatever it was, she wanted to look special. She wasn’t sure why she’d allowed Mona to talk her into buying the slinky black dress the previous night, but now she was thankful the woman had insisted.