Vows of a Vampire (4 page)

“I’m afraid I don’t understand any of what you’re telling me. Why did you bring me here?”

He reached out to smooth away the wrinkles from her forehead.

Eyes wide, she recoiled from his touch. “Don’t.”

Varick felt the gentle warmth disappear. He was losing her and it hurt him to the core. “Aubrey, I…”

Like a shield, he felt her place a block between them. “Am I a prisoner?”

How could she think such a thing? If anything
he
was the prisoner. “No, of course not. You can leave anytime you wish. I promise. I wanted to make sure you were safe. I had nowhere else to bring you.”

She wet her lips, leaving a glossy sheen along them.

“And where exactly is here?”

Varick didn’t know how to answer. By all rights he shouldn’t have brought her here. Still, he worried she was slipping from his grasp. “My home. There are over a hundred rooms in this mansion, this is the West Chamber. I don’t know how to explain our connection without adding to your confusion. You’ve been through so much already tonight.”

She jutted out her chin and gave him a hard look. “Try. I feel like I’m going crazy here. I want to run, but something keeps me here. It doesn’t make sense.”

Blood rushed through his veins as he fought to keep from kissing her. He wanted to reassure her that he posed no threat, but not with words. He’d do anything for her. “You’re confused because you
do
know me. Your mind just won’t let you believe what you haven’t seen.”

Her long hair swayed as she shook her head, exposing her delicate neck. How he longed to bury his face there and breathe her in.

“No, I don’t know you at all.”

Varick ran a hand over his face. Maybe he’d made a mistake. He’d been so caught up in his own desires he’d failed to consider she might not feel the same. “Listen, please. I understand you’re confused. I would be too, but I won’t lie. You stay because deep inside you’re comfortable around me. You know I won’t harm you because when you’ve seen me, I’ve been your safe place to fall.”

A sexy smirk passed her lips. “You’re good, you know that? Do you use these lines on all the women you bring home?”

Offended, he sent her a sharp look. “They aren’t lines. I speak from my heart. And, there aren’t any other women. Only you.”

Aubrey pressed her lips together and arched her eyebrows. “I have a hard time believing that. I mean, you’re a very handsome man.”

His pulse sped up. “I’m flattered you think so, but there is a very real and important reason I don’t see other women.”

She broke eye contact and his breath stilled. “More riddles and secrets. You say I know you, and at the same time, you speak in these cryptic words that leave me more confused. If you want me to stay, then explain yourself. Give me a reason to believe anything you say. Tell me why you would come into my dreams like some twisted sandman.”

Impressed by her bravery, Varick decided he owed her the truth, even if it drove her away. This secret would always hang over them and would likely draw them further apart. If there was even the slightest chance of her trusting in him, he’d have to be real with her. “I will do my best, but you need to have an open mind.”

Her expression softened. “I’m very open-minded.”

“Yes well, this will be a stretch. Ten years ago, I made a promise that no harm would come to you. The same promise was made between my mentor, Dante, and your mother.”

She gasped. “My mother?”

Her body trembled, and he resumed circling his hands along her calves.

“Yes. Dante and your mother were lovers, soul mates they claimed. He didn’t want any other woman, but his presence wasn’t welcome by those who knew your mother.”

Her brows knitted together and etched a new crease along her forehead. “I don’t remember her mentioning the name Dante.”

He shrugged. “To protect you, she wouldn’t have.”

The crease deepened and he longed to kiss it away.

“Protect me from what, exactly?”

Varick rested his tongue at the corner of his mouth a moment then continued. “I need you to ignore what makes sense for a moment. Dante wasn’t like you or your mother. He was a vampire. It wasn’t his intention to fall in love with a mortal woman, but he followed his heart.”

Aubrey snorted. “A vampire?”

He didn’t really expect her to believe him. “Yes.”

She shot him a sceptical look. “Give me a break. How could my mother love some repulsive fictional creature?”

Varick resisted the urge to overreact or get defensive. She was naïve and frightened. Hell, she was only human.

“Tell me something. Do
I
look like a creature to you?”

Her gaze moved along his features, driving his pulse up several notches.

“Of course not.”

“I appear to you as Dante appeared to your mother.
I
am a vampire. We are from the same coven.”

She jerked her legs away from his touch, her body poised to leave. “What?”

Desperation flowed through Varick’s veins. He couldn’t lose her now, not after revealing himself. His mind struggled with words, to say something that would soothe her fears.

“Please, you asked me to explain, and I’m doing my best. Vampires are real, and very misunderstood. We are not the bloodthirsty vermin you see in movies. In fact, the lifestyle is subdued and peaceful. It is my duty as coven leader to keep it that way.”

Her head moved slowly from side to side. “You can’t be a vampire.”

He arched his brows. “You expected me to look a certain way, I presume.”

Arm bent, she rested her head into her palm. “Well...I mean, I don’t know. Where are your fangs?”

Varick laughed and shook his head. “I don’t wish to feed on you, so they’re well hidden. Let me ask you a question, and I mean no disrespect. Do you remember the night your mother died?”

Aubrey gasped. Even after twenty years she found it difficult to hear those words strung together. She’d never truly dealt with the loss of her mother. No one had given her the chance. In a single night her world had changed, and she’d struggled ever since to find a sense of reality. Now this beautiful man stood before her, challenging her reality again. With his haunting eyes and provocative presence, he stirred her emotions. She should be afraid, but her body remained curious. Her mind was too.

“I know the night my mother died. I was ten years old and that day I grew up. How my mother died has always been fuzzy. People told me she was ill, others said it was an accident. I’ve had the oddest feeling neither is the truth. My instincts tell me otherwise.”

“You’d do well to trust those instincts. I’ve watched you toss and turn at night with sheets wrapped around your body, beads of sweat along your forehead. Your nightmares show you the truth of what befell that tragic night.”

Goose bumps spread up her spine. She swallowed hard, afraid to ask her next question. “Do you know what happened to my mother?”

He sat at the edge of the lounge. His close proximity made her heart pound.

“Yes, as do you. Your mind has sheltered you. The scene you witnessed as a little girl could have scarred you for life.”

Helplessness, that’s what she remembered most. “I think that I remember bits and pieces, but mostly I remember I was scared and couldn’t do anything. I’ve always wanted to know… Um. Never mind.”

He leaned forward and she glanced briefly at his broad shoulders and sculpted chest. It was difficult to ignore the way her body had heated up since he’d entered the room. She flushed and felt herself go wet between her thighs. Why did she act like a kid in a candy store?

“Please, what do you want to know?”

She chewed her lip, afraid of the answer. “Did she go in peace?”

He replied with a solemn nod. Aubrey reached out her hand and touched his shoulder. “Please, would you tell me what happened?”

The sadness in his expression seeped into his voice. “I’m not sure you want to hear it from me.”

Who else would ever be so bold and honest? “No one else will tell me the truth. I’ve been lied to for most of my life.”

His hesitation made her pulse pound. “It’s upsetting…”

She sighed. The one person who knew and he was being resistant. “I’m an adult. Twenty years have passed. I should be able to handle it better than I could at ten. Please, I beg you.”

Aubrey took hold of both his hands. Warm. Inviting. Strangely familiar. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch his face, press her lips to his.

After an extended pause he finally spoke. “Very well. I’ll stop any time you want.”

She nodded and prompted him with a look to continue.

“There had been a string of murders in the neighbourhood where you used to live. Because of the manner in which the people were found, rumours spread of a rabid animal or an evil monster. I’ll spare you the grisly details, for they’re unnecessary.”

Her chest tightened. “Was it an animal?”

His lip twitched briefly. “No, the newspapers would later declare the person a serial killer. At the time, no one cared about facts. Drama sells papers. The truth doesn’t. People sought to put blame on anything or anyone seeming even the slightest bit out of place. Acquaintances and friends of your mother claimed the nights Dante was seen in her home were the same nights the reported deaths occurred.”

Shivers feathered down her spine. “Is that true?”

He shrugged. “If they were it was merely coincidental. Close friends betrayed your mother and went to the police. They said a strange man visited her at night and was gone well before the sun rose, prompting suspicion. They said he had white, pasty skin and devil red eyes, and that they feared for their lives. Once word got around, the rumours spread like wildfire. They screamed vampire and pointed fingers at Dante.”

Aubrey shook. It all sounded frightening and ridiculous at the same time. Something from a late-night movie, not real life. “What did my mother do?”

He reached out for her, but she cowered. Not so much out of fear, but more for what his touch did to her.

“As Dante relayed it to me, he told your mother he would stop seeing her until the panic died down, but she wouldn’t have it. They were truly in love. He always said it was love at first sight. Your mother refused to let others tear them apart. On the night your mother passed away, Dante had just left when several men broke into your home. She hid you in the closet and told you to stay put, no matter what.”

Blood drained from her face, the memory, a faded picture in her mind. “She must have been frightened.”

Varick stood and paced in front of her. “Love was her strength. You see, Dante could have changed her into an immortal, but he loved her too much and didn’t want to make her choose. Didn’t want her to regret anything. She wanted to raise you the right way. The men who came to her meant to use her as bait, a way to lure the creature they had fixed in their minds. She refused to divulge Dante’s identity to anyone and paid for it with her life. Your mother sacrificed herself for him.”

Small blips of her nightmares flashed in her mind. Tears streamed down the sides of her face as reality hit her.

“I remember her screams. At one point I stood and peered out the slits of the closet door. Oh God, and they beat her. She cried and screamed, but they continued to hurt her. I wanted to help but didn’t know how. Then everything went quiet.” Aubrey paused a moment, her chest so tight it hurt to breathe. “When did she ask Dante to watch over me?”

He stopped pacing and sat beside her again. “She said in the beginning of their relationship that if something happened to her, he would be your guardian. To watch over you, make sure you remained safe. Dante promised and swore an oath to her.”

Aubrey covered her face in her hands and sobbed. Varick rested his hand on her knee, but this time she didn’t pull away. It comforted her.

“I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone to grieve.”

“No.” She leaned forward and pulled him close. “I’m tired of being alone.” God she wanted to kiss him. Tear his clothes off and fuck him right there. Anything to keep from dealing with the ache inside her chest. Her gaze passed from his eyes to his lips, but he didn’t seem to take notice.

With a thoughtful brow, he smiled. “You’ve never really been alone.”

She tasted the salt in the corner of her mouth as the tears continued to fall.

“Tell me where your part is in all of this. Why were you left to watch me if Dante made the promise to my mother? Did he ever feel remorse?”

He cast a prideful glance. “Yes, I can assure you, he did. Every single day. In fact her death ate away at him. The pain of losing the one woman he loved more than anything else made him ill, and every day he faded away until he died. He gave up.”

Aubrey scrunched her face up. “But, shouldn’t he have lived forever?”

His tone softened. “He didn’t wish to. The day your mother died, something inside him died as well. I watched the changes, subtle at first, but the blackness in his heart overtook him in a matter of months. Believe me, he put all the blame on himself.”

“Good.” She’d meant it as a thought, but instead she voiced it. Immediately she felt bad.