Dalakis Passion 4 - Eternal Brothers Read online

  back of the chair tight between his fingers. It was either that or wrap them around her

  pretty little neck and shake her until her teeth rattled. And wouldn't that help his cause.

  Letting out a deep breath, he sought control. "Look, I could have read your notes any

  time, but I wanted more than that. I want your impressions, your ideas. You're smart,

  Sophia, and I respect your opinion. There's more in your head than there is in your

  notes."

  She nodded slowly, picked up her fork and toyed with her eggs. "I see. So you

  threw me a pity fuck figuring it would make me more likely to share my thoughts with

  you."

  The back of the chair snapped off in his hands, sending a loud crack echoing

  through the small kitchen. Zane tossed the wooden slat aside as he surged to his feet.

  The chair got kicked aside, landing on the floor with a thud as he stalked around the

  table and plucked her right out of her chair.

  Her startled gaze flew to his face as he pulled her up until they were nose to nose.

  "I slept with you because I wanted you. Because you're a fire in my blood burning

  out of control. Because I want you more than I want my next breath. I fucked you

  because I had to, because I needed to feel your skin beneath mine." He was breathing

  heavily now, his heart thumping hard. "And I drank from you because you let me and I

  would have done just about anything for a taste of you. Just one precious drop."

  Her mouth fell open and he swooped downward, plunging his tongue inside. He

  groaned as her fingers curled into his shoulders, pulling him toward her instead of

  pushing him away. Her lips were soft beneath his as she parted them to let him in even

  further. Her tongue stroked over his and he tasted the mint of her toothpaste combined

  with the rich flavor of her coffee.

  His hands left her shoulders and smoothed down her back, urging her closer. His

  erection was pressed against her stomach. She was so warm, so inviting. For a man

  who'd been cold and alone for his entire life, she was too much of a temptation to resist.

  He wanted to lose himself completely in her heat, in her softness.

  Cupping her ass in his hands, he tugged her tighter to his body, loving the way she

  fit him so perfectly. He slid his fingers lower, stroking her cleft through her jeans. She

  was hot and wet. He could sense her arousal even through the layers of her clothing.

  And he could smell her. God, nothing was as sweet as the scent of Sophia's need.

  Zane could hear the frantic fluttering of her heart and the seductive whoosh of the

  blood rushing through her veins. He could also hear the rumble of her stomach and feel

  her body's weakness. What was he doing? He'd promised himself that he'd take care of

  her, not jump her bones the minute she was awake.

  Tearing his mouth from hers, he buried his face in the curve of her neck, taking a

  moment to steady himself. Unable to help himself, he stroked his tongue over the love

  bite he'd given her last night. Possessiveness surged through him even as gentleness

  prevailed.

  He leaned away from her, holding her steady, his hands now on her waist instead

  of her lush behind. "My wanting you is separate from the rest of this mess. Don't ever

  forget it."

  She nodded, looking tousled and totally bemused. Damn, this woman was

  dangerous to him. His need for her, her ability to make him lose total control was a

  weakness and one his enemies could exploit if they ever discovered it. He'd have to

  make damn sure no one ever found out about their connection.

  "We'll talk about the murder after you've eaten." He seated her back in her chair

  and went around to the other side of the table and picked the broken chair off the floor.

  "Sorry about that." He sat down, taking care not to lean against the shattered back. "I'll

  make sure I replace it for you."

  Sophia shook her head as she picked up her fork. "Don't worry about it. I got both

  chairs for a few bucks at a yard sale." Digging into the eggs, she brought the fork to her

  lips and tasted them.

  As he watched the tines disappear into her mouth, Zane shivered. Her lips closed

  around the food and she shut her eyes and sighed. An erotic vision of Sophia taking his

  cock into her mouth and sucking it filled his brain. His skin felt as if it were stretched

  too thin over his body. It felt tight and confining. His balls ached and his erection

  throbbed unmercifully. He shook his head to dispel the image, but he knew he'd never

  be able to forget it.

  He cleared his throat, grateful that the table covered the extent of his continued

  arousal. "Sorry it's cold."

  "No, it's good. Great, actually. No one's cooked for me..." She paused, seemingly

  lost in thought. Then she shrugged. "In years." Picking up a piece of bacon, she bit off a

  piece and chewed. When she swallowed, she pointed the remaining piece at him. "Tell

  me what you know about the Dalakis family."

  What he really wanted to do was just sit here and watch her eat and, when she'd

  had her fill, drag her back to bed. Focusing his attention, he sifted through the mounds

  of small details he'd discovered. "Okay. The family originally is from Transylvania.

  They can trace their roots back thousands of years."

  "Really?" Sophia paused. "I don't even know who my father is."

  Zane sensed the underlying hurt and anger but knew that now was not the time to

  question her about it. "Yes, they really can. At one point the family was large, but now

  it has been reduced to the three remaining brothers."

  She munched her toast and swallowed. "Cristofor, Lucian and Stefan."

  He inclined his head. "You have a good memory."

  "Comes with the job." She sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "So, they're rich?"

  "Loaded. They own property around the world, stocks in successful companies,

  artwork, jewelry, investments. You name it, they've got it. All legit from what I can tell.

  But, then again, I'm no accountant."

  "Amazing."

  He was pleased to see that she'd cleaned everything from her plate. Getting up, he

  took her mug over to the counter and refilled it from the pot of coffee he'd made earlier.

  She smiled her thanks when he returned it to her. That slight curving of her lips, such a

  simple gesture, made him feel warm inside. Ignoring the sensation, he continued. "Any

  family that's been around for that long is going to have had money that's come down

  through the generations at some point. When that family is made up of vampires you

  can be certain that they won't lose money, but just continue to make it grow. They've

  got plenty of time to wait for investments to come to fruition. In fact, Cristofor's wife,

  Johanna, is in charge of the Dalakis fortune at the moment."

  "That's modern of them."

  Zane wanted to reach out and touch Sophia's hand. Instead, he laced his fingers

  together and laid them on the table as he leaned forward. "She's only been a vampire a

  short time. All the women are newly transformed."

  Her eyes widened and he remembered her earlier horror when he'd told her about

  the conversion process. He'd hated seeing the pallor of her face and smelling the fear

  that had permeated her skin. "Really? And all of them survived? I thought you said it

  was dangerous."

  "T
hey got lucky," he growled. "I've seen the other side of it too. The madness that

  slowly takes over a person, driving them totally insane. I've heard the maniacal

  laughter, the bloodcurdling screams and the pleas for death. I've watched as the male

  has slowly been dragged down into madness with his mate until both of them are lost

  to sanity."

  Sophia's smaller hand covered his and squeezed. "I'm so sorry, Zane. Was it

  someone you knew?"

  There was no way he'd ever tell her the truth. No way he'd ever want her to know

  the legacy of his family. No way he'd ever tell her it was his parents.

  Zane sat back, shaking his head as he pulled his hand from hers. He ignored the

  hurt look in her eyes. He didn't deserve her comfort, had forgotten for a brief moment

  what a tainted heritage he'd sprung from. He didn't dare love a woman, didn't dare to

  even hope to find a mate. He'd seen firsthand all too well what could go wrong.

  He could sleep with Sophia and give her pleasure unlike any she'd ever

  experienced. He could find comfort in her body and in her company, but he couldn't

  love her. That way led to disaster for both of them. For a brief moment last night, he'd

  forgotten that. A glimmer of hope and possibility had flickered in his mind that maybe

  he could have what each of the Dalakis brothers had found. But sanity had reared its

  ugly head. Dreams were just that and not meant for one such as him.

  He shoved away from the table. Sophia was watching him warily, the relaxed

  atmosphere between them lost. "If you're finished eating, we should go into your office

  and get started. The night is passing quickly."

  She jumped up from the table, grabbed her dishes and carried them to the sink. "No

  problem. I can show you my notes and you can fill me in on the rest of the details of the

  Dalakis family. I want to know everything about them."

  So did he. He didn't have all the information he needed, but he would soon. He

  enjoyed the sway of Sophia's bottom as she strode into her office. This time he was

  determined to uncover the truth, even if he had to confront the brothers directly.

  Sophia could feel Zane's eyes on her. It made her want to squirm. Her panties were

  still damp from the breath-stealing kiss he'd given her in the kitchen. She no longer had

  any doubts that the man truly wanted her. No one could fake that kind of hard-on.

  She sensed that he was conflicted about the attraction between them. Well, he could

  get in line on that one. She was more than a little conflicted herself. Zane blew hot and

  cold, one second almost devouring her, the next practically pushing her away. She so

  did not need this kind of complication in her life right now. The man was a vampire, for

  heaven's sake. That was a huge enough obstacle without adding the normal lack of

  communication between the sexes.

  Determined to take control, she flicked on the light switch, went straight to her

  chair and sat behind her large wooden desk, a relic from a thrift store. It gave her at

  least the illusion of being more in control of herself and the situation. She motioned to

  him to take a seat across from her. He ignored her and perched on the edge of her desk

  instead, staring at her bulletin board and the information she'd managed to pull

  together so far.

  When he'd finished studying it, he turned to her and launched into a monologue on

  the Dalakis family. He told her everything he knew about the men and their history and

  about how they'd met their wives. Sophia didn't know if the women were brave or

  crazy to change their lives like they had and take the chance of becoming a vampire.

  She shivered when she remembered the stark pain on Zane's face as he'd talked about

  the possible alternative. Whoever had been driven insane by the intense conversion,

  they'd obviously been close to Zane. It still hurt him even if he'd never admit it.

  He told her about Lucian and Delight and their problem with Jethro Prince and

  about the trouble that Stefan and Laurel Rose had encountered in North Carolina.

  Sophia was enthralled. It was like something out of a book and well beyond the scope

  of her reality. Zane finished by filling in the gaps about Sam Cassidy.

  "Cassidy is the wildcard in all this. He'd never met the Dalakis family until the

  trouble with Prince and Delight. The man's a loner, was raised in foster homes in Texas

  and has no immediate known family. He moved to Louisiana when he was eighteen

  and studied to become a cop. He's lived here his whole adult life. He's thirty-five and

  has never been married, never even come close. Why he's attached himself to the

  Dalakis family I don't know. Maybe the money? Maybe not? Like I said, he's a

  wildcard."

  "Could they turn him into a vampire? Maybe he wants immortality." It wasn't

  something she'd want, but Sophia knew that a lot of people would kill for the

  opportunity.

  Zane shook his head. "Doesn't work that way. The only person a vampire can

  convert is his mate. Try it on anyone else and they'll just die or go mad. Other than that,

  you're born a vampire or you're not."

  The hair on the back of Sophia's neck stood on end. "Vampires have children?"

  Wow! That was so outside all the mythology she'd read and the ideas she'd gleaned

  from movies.

  The corner of Zane's mouth kicked up in amusement. "Yes, vampires have children.

  Not many, especially not in the past few hundred years, but yes. How do you think I

  came into being? Or the Dalakis brothers, for that matter?"

  She shrugged. "Like in the movies, I figured they were bitten by a vampire and

  turned." She hesitated and then took the plunge. "Where are your parents?"

  "Dead." His voice was flat, encouraging no further questions. Still she had to ask.

  "I thought vampires were immortal?"

  He pushed away from the desk and began to pace. "I told you last night that

  sunlight, a stake through the heart and being beheaded would kill us. Lack of blood will

  eventually do the same thing, but that would take quite a long, long time. We don't die

  easy." He laughed, but it wasn't a pleasant sound. "Love is a bitch too. Yeah, love can

  be a real killer."

  Sophia longed to ask what he meant by that, but she didn't dare. Anger and pain

  were filling the room around them. She could sense how deeply this topic was hurting

  Zane. Standing, she held out her hand to him. "Okay. So where do we go from here?"

  Zane shook his head as if coming back from an unpleasant place. "You mentioned a

  note."

  Nodding, she tugged her desk drawer open and drew out the piece of parchment. It

  wasn't very large, but the implications behind it were huge. He took it from her and

  read the two words that were penned there. Swearing, he dropped it on the desk and

  glared at it. "Any ideas?"

  Sophia shook her head. "I didn't even know who or what Dalakis meant when I

  picked it up. It was just instinct that I pocketed it." She picked up her pen and tapped it

  against the top of her desk as she leaned over it to study the paper. "It doesn't make

  sense for the Dalakis family to put it there to implicate themselves. They have too many

  secrets to hide."

  Zane watched her, nodding thoughtfully. "So who do you think put it there?"

  She thought for a moment, marshalling her
thoughts. "Maybe the person who

  called me saw the killing and wanted to leave a clue for the police."

  "Possible."

  "Or," she continued. "Maybe the real killer wants to frame the Dalakis family.

  Maybe the killer is the one who wants revenge."

  Zane was staring intently at her now. She stared into his muddy-brown eyes and

  saw the faint edges of contact lenses. Why would he wear contacts? Did vampires have

  problems with their eyesight? Before she could ask, he spoke, distracting her train of

  thought.

  "Now that's a very interesting idea." He placed his hands flat on the desk next to

  hers. "I'll admit, I never considered any of this in that light before. It makes sense that

  men as rich and powerful as they are would have enemies. Maybe I should look into

  that side of things, starting with the incident with Jethro Prince."

  "That's a good angle. It's local. I could see if anyone's taken over his club, his

  business."

  Zane scowled, his dark brows lowering ominously. "That's too dangerous."

  "I've got all kinds of contacts, Zane," she reminded him. "All I have to do is place a

  few calls."

  "Okay," he reluctantly agreed.

  "I don't need your approval." The man had to understand she was an independent

  woman who also had a job to do. "I'm just doing you the courtesy of letting you know

  what I'm doing." She sensed his frustration and anger with her reply, so she hurried on

  before he had a chance to say something they both might regret. "Why don't you check

  into what happened in North Carolina?"

  He seemed surprised by her suggestion. "That's not local."

  "So?" She pushed away from the desk and stood facing him. "The problem could

  have followed them home. As a cop, you've got a better chance of finding out what

  went on than I do. I don't have any contacts there."

  He nodded. "Okay. Ex-cop, but that won't matter." At her raised brow, he sighed

  and answered her unasked question. "I took a leave of absence to come back here. I'm

  not sure if I'm going back to work. Promise me you won't do anything without talking

  to me first."

  Annoyance filled her. She'd been on her own for forever and didn't like the idea of

  anyone, least of all a man, telling her what to do. "I'll do what I have to do."

  "I could stop you, you know." Silken menace filled his voice as he leaned closer to