Reign of the Vampires (16 page)

Standing, Danika set her resolve and stared into the mirror. Blood stained her lips. She moved to lick them clean, but stopped herself and wiped at it with her hand instead. Throwing cold water on her face to keep her fangs from bursting through, she focused on her reflection in the mirror. Her braid was mussed up at the base of her neck from where Mason had tangled his hands in it. She undid the braid to the point of messiness and then re-braided it. When she finished, she took one last look at herself, straightened her blouse, and walked out of the bathroom. She would not lose herself over a human.

* * * *

What the hell just happened? Mason hadn’t expected
her
to come through that door. He’d been ready to fight for his life, but instead what he’d gotten was the woman he’d been dreaming of for weeks. When he’d caught her scent he’d lost all control. Control of his emotions, his mouth, and worst of all, his beast. Somehow she’d gotten him to say things that he’d never said to anyone else.

He’d spent all his years on the run from humans, from Vampires, and from others like him. Never getting attached, never letting himself have feelings. Not that anyone had ever caught his eye before this one. And he’d never let a woman touch him before. Not the way she had. He’d been with women, but he’d never let them touch his runes or his back, let alone see them. But with Danika, all he’d wanted was her touch on his skin. Even now, her blood coursed through his veins, cooling the fires that raged within. Calming and soothing what little soul he had left. How was this happening to him? A Vampire. She was a Vampire.

It’d been a long time since he’d had Vampire blood inside him. And that hadn’t been by choice. Mason remembered every stroke of her finger as she’d traced the lines and webbing. Stirring him in places he didn’t want to think about. Parts of him that he’d suppressed for the last two hundred years were waking up and taking notice. Even now that part of him wanted to escape from its prison and stretch its wings. But he refused to let it. If it killed him, he was not going to let that part of him hurt anyone ever again.

The image of her sweet, pale, slender neck pulsing beneath his greedy mouth flashed into view. The way she’d said he was beautiful, and had kissed the runes on his chest, made him believe, for a moment, that she might be the one to accept him as he was, and love him despite himself.

Mason still held the small knife that he’d concealed in his boot. He’d intended to use it to kill Garon. Instead, he’d used it to nick her neck and taste her. It’d been so long since he’d had blood in his mouth, the salt and the iron. Mason had stopped feeding his inner beast a century ago. Starving it into submission, refusing to give the fuel it needed to rise. But her scent, and when she’d bitten into him, had been more sensation than anything he had ever experienced. Her lips, her teeth, her mouth on his skin. The beast had won out in the battle, and Mason had tasted her. She was cool to the touch, like cool spring rain on a blistering hot day.

And that’s what it always was for him inside, a blistering day. He hadn’t counted on what her blood would do for him. Instead of causing his inner beast to take control, her blood had cooled it into submission. The feel of her soft, supple body as it crushed into his overpowered him. The way her thighs had wrapped around his waist. Thoughts of things he’d wanted to do to her in his new satiny blue bed flooded him. His pants tightened around his growing arousal.

Tension built in his muscles and he tried to stretch but was restricted by the tight shirt. His fingers fumbled with the buttons as he removed it. By the time he’d finished he was panting. Free from the shirt, he stretched his shoulders. His skin groaned, like a rubber band pulled too tight, as he did. His inner beast begged to be freed. Mason clawed at the runes on his chest, and wished once more to be rid of his curse. He growled in frustration and blew out a breath.

Damn.
What was he thinking? He couldn’t let this happen. It couldn’t be. She was a Vampire. The ones who’d stolen from him, killed his mother and now enslaved him. He would not fall for her, no matter what she made him feel. He had to get away, before someone found out what he was. Garon might have lost him in the auction but he was still out there, and a monster like that didn’t just give up.

He opened the drawer and slid the knife underneath a pair of red silk pajamas. Had Danika had picked them out herself, he wondered, while running his fingers over the soft fabric. Visions of her removing them from his body swirled in his mind and gripped his gut. He swore again and slammed the drawer shut, then threw open the window and let the cool breeze run over his skin in an effort to clear his mind of her. Minutes later, he turned back to the dresser and opened the drawers, looking for something less restrictive to wear.

There were underwear, socks, shirts and other clothing, all marked XXXL. He scratched at his arm thinking of the tight cotton on his body once more. He wasn’t sure how long he could take dressing like an ape in a suit.

He hung the shirt and vest up. Then he shucked off his pants and placed them neatly on a chair. He walked in his boxer briefs to the adjoining bathroom. Throwing on the water, he didn’t even wait for it to warm before stepping in. He needed a cold shower. A cold shower and a whole night to decide what he was going to do. He needed a new plan, a plan that centered on
not
falling in love with a Vampire lord.

Chapter
11

Mason pushed his way past Danika and out of the car when they reached the office the next evening. She bristled at his brisk nature, but said nothing. It was best, she reminded herself. She needed to keep things professional, but it still bruised her pride that he hadn’t so much as glanced at her since they’d gotten in the car that evening.

His mountainous frame blocked the entire view. After a moment, he reached into the car and offered her his hand. She squeezed against him to get by. He didn’t look at her, but his muscles went rigid as their bodies touched.

He tried to move, but with the door behind him, he had nowhere to go. He sucked in a breath as she lingered near him for an extra moment to adjust her skirt. Then she walked up the stairs to the entrance. Mason barely made it to the door before she got there. He looked down at her with a frustrated glare and opened it. She strode into the lobby and passed the receptionist, who held out messages, eyeing Mason lustfully. Anger coursed through Danika. Rounding on the receptionist, she pinned the girl with her stare. The receptionist didn’t notice at first, but when the men stopped moving and followed Danika’s gaze, the receptionist bowed and sat down, staring at her screen.

“My lord?” William offered her his arm.

Danika nodded and took William’s arm. With all this new crap going on in her head, she was going to need someone levelheaded like William. Mason looked like a coil wound too tight. The elevator doors opened and Mason pulled her inside, stepping between her and the opening.

“I need to see Chase first thing. Then I’ll need you to compile a list of all real estate holdings in the Chicago area, William,” Danika said. “We’ll go through them and research the backgrounds of the owners. We have to find this club and the Vampire responsible for the rogue vamp that hurt you.”

“Are you going to ask Neeman to look into it?”

“I don’t know yet. We have to see where the information leads us. But for now we’ll keep this between us. I need to find out what’s going on in this town. After everything that’s transpired, it’s only a matter of time before the incident reaches the Vampire Kings. And I don’t need to give them any more reason to look at us, this company, or our coven.”

“Of course,” said William.

The doors opened and Mason walked out, then he stepped aside and let Danika out. She tried to push down her annoyance. After all, that was why she’d gotten him, but she wasn’t used to it. Striding to the center of the waiting area, she noticed Chase’s door ajar.

Handing her briefcase and jacket to William, she crossed to it. Raising her hand to knock, she felt a presence behind her and turned.

“You don’t need to follow me everywhere, Mason,” she said, exasperated.

“It’s what I’m here for, isn’t it? To protect you?”

“I’m aware of that. However, this is Chase. My uncle. I’m sure he isn’t going to attack me.” She planted her hands on her hips.

“Do you want me to protect you, or don’t you?”

“Mason—”

“Then let me do my job, please.” He folded his arms over his chest. “My lord,” he added as an afterthought.

She scowled. He was right, but the fact that he was so close overwhelmed her. She had work to do, and his nearness caused her head to swim.

“Mason,” she started again. “I know why you’re here, and I want you to do your job, but I’m not used to being followed around, or having someone leave the car before me, or get out of the elevator before me. Or go into meetings with me. So...just...” She couldn’t think of the words. “Just...act like you aren’t there.” It sounded harsher than she’d meant it, but there it was.

“I’m good at that,” he said, a hint of a smile on his face.

Danika stared at the handsome smile that made his eyes crinkle at the edges. She cleared her throat, sure that Chase had heard the entire conversation. Embarrassed, she knocked anyway.

“Come in, Danika.”

Chase sat at his desk, working on his computer. His office was modern, dark wood with an oriental rug on the floor, dark bookcases and desk. There were no windows in case he needed to sleep in here.

“I need to speak with you about a couple of things.” Danika sat down in a dark leather chair.

“About William? How’s that working out?”

“William is quickly becoming my voice of reason. He’s a great comfort to me. I hope that as his mentor, I’ll be able to do the same for him in this time of transition.”

“It’s a big undertaking. Are you up for it?”

Danika twisted her ruby ring around her finger and bit the inside of her cheek. Chase might be her uncle, but he was still part of the old boys’ club in the society. And according to the old boys, female vampires were china dolls to be protected and revered; not coven lords, not the head of billion dollar companies, and not mentors for new
male
vampyr. “I’ve been through a lot and I believe that I’m stronger for it. Besides, it’s time I lead the coven the way that it should be led.”

Chase sat for a while and finally said, “Xenock was not your fault. He went bad on his own, there was nothing you could’ve done to prevent what happened.”

“Couldn’t I? I knew he was unhappy. In the months preceding his death, I knew something was wrong, I just didn’t want to deal with it. But that has nothing to do with William. William is not like Xenock. William is vampyr. They’re two completely different creatures.”

“Yes, well, with all due respect, Nika, might I suggest that you keep your relationship with him professional until such a time that he’s through his transition. You wouldn’t want his head anywhere but where it needs to be.”

Danika’s cheeks flushed. “I have no intention of becoming involved with William.” She gritted her teeth. Danika had never explained to anyone why she’d started a relationship with Xenock. What they’d had was out of her need for contact, her need for a connection to another being after losing her parents and turning Neeman away.

The temperature rose around her and she remembered Mason was behind her.

“But there actually is another reason that I came to you. I need you to give William the file of the real estate holders in the city.”

“All of them?”

“I’m looking into a recent development that came from the rogue vamp. I’m not sure that it’s anything yet, but I need to follow up with everything that comes my way.”

“Of course. Is it something I can help with?”

“I’m going to have William do most of the legwork. You have more important things to attend to.” She stood to leave. “Oh, before I go, I’d like you to meet Mason.” Danika turned and motioned to Mason. He moved forward.

“Well now, I do believe that he’s the biggest guardian I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. But wasn’t he supposed to stay with Neeman another week?” Chase looked Mason over from head to toe.

“He was, but under the circumstances, I thought it would be best if he were here now.”

“Under the circumstances?”

She didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to tell Chase that she had a strange feeling that someone was trying to kill her. She couldn’t afford for anyone to perceive her as weak. Even Chase.

“William is no longer my slave and I needed one, as you said before. So I decided it would be best if Mason came to me now.” It sounded plausible enough.

Chase walked to where Mason loomed behind her. He circled Mason. “You’ve trained with Neeman. Did you learn anything?” he asked.

“I did.”

“Do you think you’re up to the task to protect my niece?” Chase still rounded Mason.

Mason didn’t move a muscle; only his gaze flickered down to Danika’s face and rested upon her. He seemed conflicted by the question. “I am capable of strengthening her position.” Then he said, “I would give my life for her.”

Heat rushed to her belly. The words seemed to hold more meaning than he was trying to let them convey. The way he looked at her made her want to rip his clothes off right there in Chase’s office. Propriety be damned! She tried to keep her breathing level so Chase wouldn’t notice.

“I’m sure you would.” Chase came to rest behind Danika. Chills ran down her neck as she felt his eyes upon her.

“Yes, well, anyway.” Danika cleared her throat. “If you would be so kind as to get the list to William as soon as possible, I’d be most appreciative.”

Danika and Mason turned to leave. Mason, always a step ahead of her, opened the door and stepped out into the waiting area. She squeezed past him and walked through the white carpeted waiting area to William’s desk, motioning for him to follow her.

She plopped into her chair and let out a huge breath. Holding her head in her hands, she closed her eyes. She was playing a dangerous game. Sooner or later, Chase was bound to find out what the rogue had said. Then he would find out the reason that she wanted the list of real estate holders in the city. And when he did, what would he think of her? What would all of them think of her if they knew there was an underground blood club, and she had no knowledge of it? Soon the information would get back to the three kings, and then she’d have a real problem. Her position was tenuous at best: the youngest coven lord, owner of a billion dollar company, a female with no mate and mentoring a
male
vampyr. Any combination of them could cause the three kings and the Council to look her way, but all of them combined was dangerous. She couldn’t let her father’s legacy be turned over to someone else. She needed to prove herself to them all.