realized that something was very wrong.
There were no bruises anywhere on her body. Shutting off the water, she grabbed a
towel and wrapped it around her before stepping out onto the bathmat. Wiping the
steam off the mirror with the palm of her hand, she stared at her reflection. The pale
face staring back at her was filled with disbelief.
Delight turned her head one way and then another. Checking her throat and her
neck, she found nothing. Not a blemish or a bruise. Lowering the towel to her waist, she
examined her breasts. The milky white globes were not marked at all, but her nipples
were slightly redder than usual. At that thought, a rosy blush began to cover her breasts
and move up her chest and neck to her face.
The mirror reflected a woman who had been well pleased by her lover the night
before. The only minor soreness she felt was between her legs and given the activity of
the night before she wasn't surprised. Lucian had been a demanding lover. Delight
moaned aloud as her inner muscles clenched and her sex moistened in anticipation.
Shivering, she turned from the mirror and finished drying herself.
Hurrying into her bedroom, she pulled on a fresh pair of panties and bra. Riffling
through her closet, she found her most comfortable pair of faded jeans and slipped into
them, topping them with a soft cottony blue sweater with long sleeves. Even though it
was warm, Delight still felt cold. Tugging open a dresser drawer, she dug out a pair of
white sweat socks and pulled them over her chilly feet before stuffing them into old
brown leather loafers.
Running a brush through her hair, she was finished. She didn't even bother with
any makeup as she longed for the comfort of Miss Nadine's company. Hurrying down
the back stairs she came to a sudden halt as voices drifted up to her. She shivered in
pleasure as the male voice washed over her.
Glancing out the small window at the bottom of the stairs, she noticed what she had
missed before. While she'd been showering and changing, the clock had ticked onward.
The sun had gone down and now there would be a reckoning.
Chapter Nine
"Why don't you join us, Delight?" Lucian's voice enveloped her like a warm hug,
even as she heard the bite of anger running beneath it.
Closing her eyes for a moment, she wrapped her arms around her waist and
hugged herself tight. He had come. As much as she wanted time away from him to
think, Delight realized that a part of her had been waiting for him. Her stomach jumped
and her nerves jangled. She had no idea what he wanted from her. Placing her hand on
the rail for support, she eased her way down the last few remaining stairs and stepped
into the kitchen.
Her lips curved up in a slight smile at the sight of Lucian sitting at Miss Nadine's
kitchen table, sipping a cup of tea from a china cup. It should have looked ludicrous for
a man as large as Lucian to be holding delicate china in his enormous hands. Instead it
was almost sensual. It announced that this was a man who knew his own strength and
knew how to protect something that was precious and weaker than him.
Delight shivered as she watched his fingers stroke the side of the pale white cup.
She could easily imagine those fingers stroking the sides of her breasts in just the same
manner. Forcing herself to look away from the mesmerizing display, she glanced at his
face and froze at the knowing look in his eyes. The corner of his lips quirked up in a
half-smile that made him appear both sexy and dangerous at the same time.
This was a man who would not be ignored or denied. He would take whatever he
wanted and woe to the person who stood in his way. Her hand went to her throat and
she retreated a step. Immediately, his expression changed and became softer.
Rising from the table, he pulled out the chair next to his and arched his eyebrow,
daring her to sit next to him. Raising her chin, she dropped her hands to her sides and
marched over to the chair.
She could feel his warm breath on the back of her neck as he bent down to whisper
in her ear. "I did not like waking up and finding you gone."
His words were softly spoken, but they were like a lash on her skin. She had hurt
him, and that was something she hadn't meant to do. In spite of her intention to be
strong and self-contained, she flinched slightly, but recovered quickly and sank down
into her seat. "It couldn't be helped." Picking up her own cup, she took a large swallow
of the strong, sweet tea that Miss Nadine had poured for her, desperately needing its
strength.
Miss Nadine had been watching them both, her eyes shrewd and watchful. "Mr.
Dalakis came looking for you when you were in the shower. Claimed he was worried
about you and wouldn't leave until he saw for himself that you were fine." She
continued to putter around her kitchen, ladling up a large bowl of chicken soup for
Delight and placing it in front of her.
Delight cleared her throat, but Lucian spoke before she could get her mouth open.
"Please, call me Lucian. You have been very kind to allow me into your home." The
charm practically oozed from every pore of his body as he spoke and Miss Nadine was
not immune.
Delight could only stare as yet another facet of his personality was revealed to her.
Right now, he was the epitome of suave masculine charm, you'd hardly say he was the
type of man who could kill two men in an alleyway without hesitation and walk away
as if nothing had happened.
"Lucian is a little too used to getting his own way, if you ask me." Suddenly
hungry, Delight picked up her spoon and began to eat.
"I'm wounded by your words." He gave her a quick, fleeting grin.
"But not fatally, I imagine." Reaching across the table, she helped herself to a warm,
yeasty roll. Tearing it apart with her fingers, she buttered it before taking a bite.
"Then you do not know your own power, my Delight." The tone of his voice made
her look his way. His face was stern and his eyes grim. "Do not underestimate
yourself."
She swallowed hard, the bread a lump in her throat. He was dead serious. Her
hand went to her stomach that was filled with butterflies. Lucian was telling her that
she was important to him. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that at the moment.
"I expect the police will be by soon." Miss Nadine's words broke the tension
between her and Lucian, but filled her with dread of another kind.
Lucian jerked his head away from her and pinned Miss Nadine in his laser green-
eyed gaze. "What's this all about?"
The older woman paled as he spoke. Although his voice never rose a notch, his
anger radiated with every word. "Delight asked me to call them while she was taking a
shower."
Both women felt the full brunt of his displeasure. "You should not have done that."
Recovering herself, Miss Nadine sat forward in her chair and glared at Lucian. "I
don't rightly care what you think. Delight is my main concern and what she wants takes
precedence over any ideas you might have about how things ought to have been done."
Lucian seemed almost dumbfounded for a moment, then his face softened and he
reached over and picked up her hand. Holding it carefully, he brought it to
his lips and
kissed it. "Delight is most fortunate to have one such as you watching over her."
"Well, yes..." Miss Nadine trailed off, obviously flustered by Lucian's attention.
"If you're both finished deciding what's best for me, can you tell me what the police
said when you called?" Delight knew her voice was sharp, but really, this was beyond
ridiculous. She was an adult and would handle this situation how she saw fit.
Miss Nadine tugged her hand from Lucian's grip and placed it in her lap. "They
said that the detectives in charge of the case would be by as soon as possible and that
you should stay here and wait for them."
"I hadn't planned on going anywhere." Picking up her spoon, she began to eat
again.
"I had other plans, but they will have to be adjusted." Lucian leaned back in his
chair, stretched his legs out in front of him, and watched her eat.
She couldn't help but notice that the black pants he wore accentuated the length
and muscularity of his legs. He'd crossed his arms across his chest, making the muscles
of his arms bulge against the material of his black shirt. His long hair was tied in a
queue at the back of his neck, and his sensual lips were pushed together with
displeasure at the thought of having to rearrange his plans.
Her fingers itched to touch his chest, to shape every contour and tease the soft hair
that grew in a straight line from between his male nipples down to his groin. She
wanted to lick a path down his torso to his groin and taste the hard length of his cock.
Her own nipples were hard nubs against the cups of her bra. She squirmed in her chair,
trying to get comfortable, but there was no relief. Her panties were already soaked and
her sex was clenching hungrily, craving his hardness.
As she watched him, the front of his pants twitched. Before her very eyes, his cock
swelled until it was straining against the front of his pants. The muscles of his thighs
grew tight and his hands clenched into fists. Startled, she looked up at his face, but no
sign of his growing desire showed there. He looked mildly perturbed, but otherwise
relaxed.
Delight bit her lip to keep from moaning aloud as her pussy continued to throb
with growing desire. She looked down at her half-eaten food. Anything to take her
mind off Lucian and his gorgeous body sitting right next to her. They were so close
together, she could even feel the heat from his body.
Miss Nadine said nothing, but Delight knew that she could sense the tension. It was
time to get things back on track. "Don't let us keep you from your plans. You're free to
leave at any time."
The temperature in the room dropped and the air seemed to thicken. The room
swirled with a male anger so potent Delight was surprised that something didn't burst
into flames. She held her breath, not sure what to do to soothe the savage beast that she
had aroused.
Lucian straightened in his chair before slowly rising to his feet. His movements
were precise and unhurried. Like a large predator gathering its strength before it struck.
His voice was so soft Delight had to strain to hear it, but every word was spoken in a
precise, cool manner. "Would you care to rephrase that last statement?"
Delight thought about it for a moment. "No." Lucian shook his head as if he
couldn't believe her words, and truthfully, neither could she. "Listen to me, Lucian."
Pushing back her chair, she stood so he wouldn't be towering over her and came face-
to-face with his chest. The man was incredibly tall.
Tipping back her head, she propped her hands on her hips and continued. "You
saved my life last night and for that I'll always be grateful. But the truth of the matter is
that you don't have to get further involved in this situation. In fact, maybe it would be
best if you were gone before the police got here."
The more she thought about it, the more Delight knew she was right. The last thing
Lucian needed was the authorities looking into his life. And then there was the small
matter of the two dead bodies in the alleyway. The man was a vampire, for heaven's
sake, didn't he have any sense of self-preservation?
From the stubborn look on his face, Delight knew he would say no. It was up to her
to make him leave and quickly. The police would be here any minute now, and she
wanted Lucian safely gone by then. "I'm asking you to leave."
Lucian snaked a hand out and gripped her chin. His thumb grazed the side of her
cheek as he continued to study her, his eyes deep and unreadable. Delight could feel
her legs tremble under his scrutiny, but she forced her muscles to keep her steady.
It continued to surprise her that she really wasn't afraid of Lucian. Even knowing
what he was, her first instinct was to protect him. Her stomach did back-flips as she
pondered what that really meant. Even though she'd only known him a matter of
hours, he was already a very important part of her life. And Delight feared that he
would only grow more important with each passing hour they spent together.
Her breathing grew deeper as she forced herself to relax. Nothing had to be decided
at this very moment. She wasn't quite ready to admit that she was falling in love with
the man.
Falling. That was an understatement. She was ready to lie to the police to protect
him, and it took all her willpower not to lead him upstairs and have mind-blowing sex
with him. She was afraid she was well past falling and had already landed in love with
Lucian.
And that was just crazy.
"What the hell is going on here?" At the first sound of the angry male voice, Delight
found herself staring at Lucian's back. She clutched his waist for support. He'd moved
so quickly when he'd thrust her behind him that he'd made her dizzy.
the room. "Lucian, this is my brother, Chase." Turning, she gave her brother a
reassuring smile. "Chase, this is a friend of mine, Lucian Dalakis."
Chase continued to stare at Lucian's hand where it gripped her arm. "You want to
unhand my sister."
Delight didn't know whether to laugh of cry, caught in the middle of a war of male
wills. She heaved a sigh of relief when Lucian slowly released her arm. His glance
warned her to stay close, but she ignored it and hurried over to her brother.
Chase was as stiff as a board when she hugged him, but he relaxed after a moment
and returned her embrace. "Lucian saved my life."
Chase immediately stiffened once again, his arms tightening around her. "What
happened?"
Delight patted his chest to reassure him. "I'll explain everything in just a minute,
but I want you to meet Lucian."
He gave her a squeeze before releasing her. His gaze went to Lucian, whom he was
still regarding with suspicion. Chase offered his hand to Lucian, and Delight held her
breath as she waited to see what he would do.
Lucian shook Chase's hand with a grave sense of ceremony. "It is a pleasure to
meet Delight's family."
Nodding, Chase stepped back. "If you did save Delight's life, then I'm glad to meet
you too."
One corner of Lucian's mouth quirked up as her brother continued to study him.
Delight cleared her throat. "Why don't you sit down?" She motioned Chase towards a
chair. "I'll explain everything to you."
Turning back to Lucian, she gave him an expectant look. "You were just leaving,
weren't you?"
He shook his head solemnly. "I believe I can spare more time to spend with you
and your family."
She smiled through her gritted teeth. The man was being purposely obtuse. "I'm
just as certain you need to be going."
"Ah, Delight, you are indeed mistaken."
Miss Nadine's laughter made them both start. "Listen to the two of you. You sound
like an old married couple arguing like that."
Delight stared at her friend in horror and then turned back to Lucian. As she
watched, a huge grin split his face, making him look so handsome she almost forgot to
breathe.
"I believe you are correct, Miss Nadine." His eyes seared Delight as he spoke.
He bent towards her and she rose on her toes to meet him. She needed to kiss him
and didn't care who was in the room with them. Miss Nadine was chuckling softly in
the background, but Chase was strangely silent. Then Delight ceased to think about
their audience at all. His lips were almost on hers. So close.
The pounding on the back door made her jump. Her head banged into Lucian's and
she lost her balance and started to fall. His strong arms captured her, keeping her safe
as they turned to face this newest threat.
Through the glass in the door, Delight could see two men peering into the kitchen.
As she watched, one of them held up a wallet that held an ID and a shiny badge.
"Police. We'd like to speak with a Miss Delight Deveraux."
Miss Nadine patted her lips with her napkin and laid it by her plate before rising
from her seat. Walking gracefully to the door, she pulled it open and motioned them
inside. "Come in. We've been expecting you."
Chapter Ten
Lucian kept Delight tucked under his arm as the two police detectives entered the
room. He'd hoped to avoid this. If Delight had only stayed put, they would be meeting
the detectives in his home with his lawyers present. It was always advantageous to be
in a position of power when dealing with the authorities. Not that he expected to have
any problems, but it was always better to minimize any complications before they