When Darkness Comes

"Fairies?"

"Technically they're demons," he murmured in distracted tones.

'Just great."

He glanced down at her tight expression. "You don't have to worry; they're very gentle and very shy. Which is why they prefer such isolated places."

His words were meant to be comforting, but Abby lifted her hands to press them to her temples.

'This is insanity."

"What?"

She heaved a deep sigh. "Until two days ago, demons were nothing more than something from a B-rated horror show. Now I'm tripping over them every time I turn around. They can't just have suddenly appeared."

"No." With a rueful smile, Dante pulled her into Ms arms, his hands running a soothing path down her back. "They have always been here. Far longer than humans."

"Then why haven't I seen them before?"

"Because you weren't looking with those eyes."

"What?" She blinked before she was suddenly hit with comprehension. "Oh. You mean the Phoenix?"

'Yes." His hands continued to smooth over her slender back, although he couldn't fool even himself that it was any longer to offer reassurance. "Most mortals prefer to see only what they desire to see, and of course, most demons possess the ability to keep themselves hidden."

"Even vampires?" she demanded.

"When we choose." Hearing a faint hum in the air, Dante turned Abby back toward the narrow opening, locking his arms about her waist. "Watch."

"Watch what?"

He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "The dance."

For a moment nothing could be seen, and then, just as Abby was shifting impatiently, the sun slipped past the line of trees and in the growing darkness the silvery shapes began to glow with luminescent color.

Shimmering in shades of crimson and emerald and gold, they darted among one another, their playful antics creating a dazzling display of color.

"Oh my God," Abby breathed. "It's so beautiful."

"libu sound surprised."

"It's just that I never expected…"

Her words trailed away as if she realized she was about to reveal her instinctive prejudice. His lips twisted in a humorless smile. He couldn't blame her. She was still in shock from all that had happened. And the demons she had encountered so far had hardly been the sort to inspire warm, fuzzy feelings.

"Beauty among demons?" he finished in dry tones.

Slowly turning, she caught him off guard by pressing herself intimately against him as she smiled deep into his eyes.

"Actually, I've already discovered some demons can be incredibly beautiful." Her eyes darkened, and her hand moved to stroke him in a manner that Dante fully approved of. "And incredibly sexy."

He growled in fierce pleasure. "You're playing with fire, lover."

"Is that what I'm playing with?" she teased.

"Christ, I knew you would be a danger when you finally let loose," he rasped, catching her tightly in his arms and carrying her deeper into the cave.

Chapter 11

Abby felt… what?

Sated, certainly. Gloriously sated.

But it was more than that, she decided as she lay in Dante's arms and waited for the darkness to become complete.

She felt cherished. Yes, that was the word. As if what had just happened between the two of them had been more than just a means of passing the time or forgetting the horrors of the past hours or scratching the proverbial itch.

Maybe it was because he was a hell of a cuddler, or because he had centuries of practice, or just because he was Dante.

Whatever the case, she knew with absolute certainty she could spend an eternity with her head upon his shoulder and his hands softly stroking down her back.

Her dreamy thoughts were interrupted by a sharp jab to her neck. Lifting her hand, she slapped at the aggravating mosquito. Damn.

Well that was a pissy way to be jerked out of a rosy fantasy.

Probably not such a bad thing, she wryly-acknowledged.

How delusional did she have to be to start dreaming of small bungalows, Sunday brunch, and nurseries with a vampire?

Obviously she had endured one zombie too many.

There was another fierce bite on her leg.

"Ow." She slapped at her calf.

'1 hope you're not into some kinky self-flagellation," Dante murmured. 1 suppose it's sexy enough, but it never turns out good."

She sat up and scratched at one of her endless bites. "I'm being eaten alive."

Although fully dressed, Dante still managed to look sinfully tempting as a lazy smile curved his lips.

"Not guilty… for a change." The silver eyes flashed in the shadows. "Not that I mind a nibble or two."

Abby might have shivered with pleasure if she hadn't been busy saving what was left of her blood.

"Mosquitoes," she retorted, her gaze skimming over his perfect features. Then it skimmed over the perfect hair that looked as if it had just been styled by Sassoon and the clothes that didn't have a damn wrinkle in sight It was enough to make the most sated and cherished woman a bit grumpy. "I suppose you don't have to worry about the nasty bloodsuckers?"

His lips twitched at the edge in her voice. "Mosquitoes have never been a bother, but I can't say the same for all bloodsuckers."

She tilted her head to one side, her brief grumpi-ness forgotten.

"What's it like?"

"What's what like?"

"Being a vampire."

A raven brow lifted at her blunt question. "I think you're going to have to be more specific, lover. That's a rather big question."

Abby shrugged. "Is it a lot different from when you were human?"

There was a brief silence, as if he was considering precisely how much truth she could bear before folding his arms across his chest and meeting her curious gaze.

"I have no idea," he at last admitted.

Abby blinked, not expecting that. 'You were born a vampire?"

"No, but it isn't like in the movies. I didn't crawl out of a grave and continue on as if I never died."

"Then what happened?"

His expression hardened as he dredged up his ancient memories. "I woke up one evening on the docks of London and couldn't remember my name or anything about my past. It was as if I had just been born without the slightest clue of who or what I was."

Abby frowned at the clipped words. Holy crap. He must have been terrified. It had been bad enough for her to accept she had a… thing rummaging around inside her. At least she hadn't woken up allergic to the sun, addicted to blood, and with her few brain cells wiped clean.

More importantly, she had Dante at her side to ease her fear.

That, of course, was the only reason she wasn't sitting in a padded room.

"Good God," she breathed.

"At first I thought I must have been on a bender and that my memories would eventually return," he said with a grimace. "I probably would have still been sitting on the docks when the dawn came if Viper hadn't stumbled across me and taken me into his clan."

Abby had an odd image of kilts and bagpipes. Not at all fitting with beautiful, deadly vampires.

"Clan?"

"A sort of family without all the guilt and drunken holiday brawls," he retorted.

Abby chuckled softly. 'That sounds like my kind of family."

'Yeah, not bad if you can get it."

His tone was flippant, but Abby was not foolish enough to believe that it had been easy.

Unconsciously, she reached out to grasp his hand. "Still, you must have been curious about your past."

His gaze dropped as he interlocked her fingers with his own. "Not really. From my pungent scent and ragged clothes, I could guess I had been one of the endless hordes of undesirables that plagued the city."

"But what if you had a family?"

For the barest fraction of a second, his fingers squeezed her own almost painfully; then he was once again leaning against the cave wall with that coiled ease.

"What if I did?" he demanded. "I wouldn't have remembered them. They would have been strangers to me. Or worse."

"Worse?"

He deliberately held her gaze. "Dinner."

Her stomach clenched in horror. Damn. He warned her not to forget who, or what, he truly was. Unfortunately, he made it so damn easy.

"Oh."

"It was better for everyone to allow the man I had been to simply die."

She couldn't argue. She never had believed in all that Leave-it-to-Beaver crap anyway. There were definitely times when it was better for all when Daddy walked away and never looked back.

She tugged her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knee.

"It must have been so strange. To just wake up and be someone you didn't even know."

Almost absently he raised her fingers to his lips. "In the beginning, but Viper taught me to appreciate my new life. He was the one to give me the name Dante."

It was difficult to imagine Viper acting as a father figure. He seemed so remote and cold. Still, it was obvious that the older vampire had a great influence on Dante. And for that she had to be grateful.