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She had the uneasy feeling that those dark eyes could see all of her secrets, but she managed a weak smile.
“It’s not for me,” she said quickly. “Shall we eat?”
Flora allowed herself to be diverted and they all sat down at the table. Wendy enjoyed herself thoroughly and even Flora behaved, limiting the number of her outrageous remarks. They were chatting over coffee when the couple she’d seen at the restaurant joined them. It turned out that they were Daisy’s parents and they lingered for a while, chatting. Or rather Pippa chatted and Trogar gave an occasional grunt. But despite his silence, he was clearly enthralled with both his mate and his child and seemed content to listen.
The cozy kitchen and the casual conversation reminded her again of her grandparents’ restaurant. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this over the months of traveling. The party was beginning to break up when she felt that odd prickle on her neck again and darted a glance towards the window. No one.
“There may be one or two things about vampires I forgot to mention,” Flora said, giving her an innocent look, but before Wendy could ask, the old lady whisked herself off behind the departing Trogar and Pippa and disappeared.
Infuriating old woman, she thought, and could have sworn she heard a distant laugh.
“Can Flora read minds?” she whispered to Alison.
“I don’tthinkso.”
Her friend didn’t sound as certain as Wendy would have liked, but she accepted the answer, wished her and Will goodnight, and headed up to her room.
Her body felt pleasantly exhausted, but her mind refused to settle. She found herself pulling back the curtains again and looking out over the snow-covered gardens. Everything looked peaceful except… Did something move beneath that tree? She strained to see into the darkness, but she couldn’t make out anything in the shadows. A part of her was still convinced that Damian was out there.
But why was he out there? Because he wanted to see her? Was it some sort of vampire game? She wasn’t sure if the shiver that raced down her spine was alarm or excitement.
But even if he was outside the inn, she was safely tucked away in her room. She closed the drapes and climbed into bed. The thick mattress and crisp cotton sheets on the old-fashioned bed were deliciously comfortable. She was just about to drift off when she heard an odd noise from outside, like the snarl of a wild animal.
Her heart started to pound as she sat up, listening intently, but heard nothing else. Was she imagining things? Leaving the lights off, she crept to the window and pulled back the edge of the curtain. The full moon illuminated the trackless snow, but left pools of shadow beneath the trees. As she stared out at the garden, a long low branch on the oak tree next to the house swayed as if it had just been brushed by a body.
Pulse racing, she dropped the curtain and retreated to the bed, but it was a long time before she fell back to sleep.
CHAPTER 10
As soon as Wendy blew him a kiss and walked away, Damian slipped downstairs and went after her. His protective instincts towards her hadn’t vanished, but it was more than just that. She drew him like a moth to a flame.
And I’m just as likely to get burned.
He didn’t like this feeling, this pull, but his attraction to her increased every time they touched. Every time she parted her pretty little lips and accepted him. But each touch also left him wanting more. He wanted to feast on her as he said earlier—and he’d felt her response to his words.
Once again he stood outside the inn in the dark, watching, and when she finally went upstairs to bed he fought the urge to join her. He might not be able to fly, but he was an excellent climber. For that matter, he could just walk through the front door of the inn and up the stairs—it was a public site and open to him. Instead, he remained hidden until she closed the curtains and disappeared.
And he still didn’t want to leave. He wanted to stay here and keep watch. A frustrated growl escaped his lips, and a minute later her face peeped out into the night.
Enough.He was disturbing her and he wasn’t doing himself any favors. He stalked back to Midnight Manor in a foul mood, only to find that everyone had left. He hadn’t realized that he’d been gone that long, and a sense of guilt added to his frustration. Although he knew his staff could handle closing, he preferred to be there with them.
He took a quick pass through the restaurant—making the same checks that had been so useless the previous night—and climbed the stairs. The uneasy feeling returned as he walked into his living room. Nothing appeared to be disturbed, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone had been in his rooms. After another check to make sure that everything was in its proper place, he went to bed.
Once again his dreams were disturbed by thoughts of Wendy, but tonight’s dreams were decidedly more explicit and he woke with an aching erection as well as an aching head. He didn’t even bother with his usual espresso, downing a mug of blood instead before heading downstairs with a sense of dread. Despite his trepidation, the restaurant didn’t seem to have been disturbed.
He was awake far earlier than usual, but he refused to go back to lurking around the inn. He was also far too restless to do nothing and an alternative finally occurred to him. Sighing, he headed for his car, then drove up into the mountains, swearing as the car threatened to skid on the winding mountain road. Why Nakor had to live in the middle of nowhere, he didn’t know, but at last he pulled up in front of the spectacular contemporary house.
His first tug on the concealed bell yielded no response, but he simply tried again. And again. The third time his brother threw open the door and glared at him. Nakor was a dragon, and his gold scales gleamed in the morning sunlight, little puffs of smoke coming from his nostrils.
“Be quiet,” he ordered. “My mate is sleeping.”
“Good. Then you can keep me company.” Ignoring Nakor’s growl he stepped past him, then raised a mocking brow. “Surely you can spare a cup of your excellent coffee for your brother?”
“Stepbrother,” Nakor grumbled, but he led the way into the kitchen and started adding fresh beans to his very expensive Italian espresso maker.
“Close enough.”
His father and Nakor’s father had encountered each other later in life, fallen in love, and were now living in Transylvania of all places. They were restoring a ruined castle in the most melodramatic way possible and enjoying themselves thoroughly. He and Nakor had started off disliking each other, but they’d developed a bond over the years.
