She began to struggle against the covers and the weight that kept her pinned to the bed. It was then she noticed a man’s arm wrapped tight around her waist, manacling her to his body.

  All at once, memories flooded back into her brain too fast for her to process. Her hands went to her head, as if it could somehow stop the pounding rhythm and the pictures that filled her mind. Sinking back into the pillows, she inhaled deeply, forcing herself to breathe, trying to remain calm.

  That was a mistake. With the first breath she took, Delight was filled with the masculine scent of the man lying next to her, a kind of combination of sex, male, and just a hint of brandy. Lucian Dalakis.

  How could she have forgotten, even for a moment, the events of last night? The murder, the harrowing race for her life, and then there was Lucian. Delight was appalled at how quickly and easily she’d fallen into bed with a man who was little more than a stranger. It was totally out of character. And the things they had done. Heat warmed her cheeks as she recalled the details of their sexual encounter.

  She needed to go home. Chase and Miss Nadine would be frantic by now and had probably already called the police. She released a moan and then slapped a hand over her mouth. The last thing she wanted to do was wake the man beside her.

  Guilt sat heavy on her. Not only hadn’t she given one thought to contacting her family, who would have been worried sick when she didn’t come home from work, but she hadn’t contacted the police either. Her boss had died last night. She’d been attacked. Instead of dealing with that, she’d spent the night having the most fantastic sex of her entire life.

  She chewed on her bottom lip, both confused and frustrated with her actions. The only excuse she could come up with was that she must have been more shaken and muddled by the events of last night than she’d thought. Otherwise, she would have called the authorities immediately and then gone straight home to reassure her family that she was fine.

  It took her much longer than it should have to get her body to cooperate, but Delight finally managed to roll out from under the heavy male arm pinning her to the bed. Sitting on the side of the bed, she stared down at his sleeping figure. Now that she was partially awake, she realized there was light coming from the bathroom. More than enough to allow her to see the man who’d changed her life.

  He was gorgeous, the epitome of masculine beauty, although he’d probably hate that description. Lucian’s long black hair was pushed back from his face and rested on the plump pillow under his head. Even in sleep, his face looked stern with its severe lines and angles.

  The comforter had slipped to his waist when she’d moved from his embrace. She placed a hand in the center of his chest, unable to resist touching the hard planes of his torso. The man was hard everywhere. She kept her touch light so as not to wake him. She wasn’t ready to have to face him and deal with what had happened between them last night. Moving her hand, she placed it over his heart, wanting to feel its steady beating once more before she left him.

  She frowned and shifted her hand a little to the left. Nothing. Leaning down, she placed her ear on his chest, no longer quite so worried about waking him. She couldn’t detect a heartbeat. Surely she was mistaken.

  “Lucian.” She shook him slightly and got no reaction. Now that she was paying attention, he didn’t seem to be breathing either. “Lucian!” Her voice was louder now and had a slight hysterical edge to it. He couldn’t be dead. She’d seen three dead men last night and that was more than enough for her to have to deal with.

  She glanced around the room, frantically searching for a phone. She needed more light.

  Delight reached across Lucian and clicked on the bedside lamp, flinching when the light hit her eyes. Her worried gazed went back to him and she froze. Lying on his back in the bed, he looked dead. There was no sign of life in him at all.

  There was no landline and no sign of a cell phone either, and she didn’t have time to try and find one. Trying to remember everything she’d learned about first aid, she began to give him CPR. She started with chests compressions, doing thirty of them, counting them off as she pressed down. When he still wasn’t moving, she tilted his head back and made sure his airway was clear before blowing into his mouth. When her lips touched his, an elusive memory floated to the surface of her consciousness. She could hear Lucian telling her she would sleep until he woke. That obviously hadn’t happened.

  She also had a recollection of Lucian telling her she would forget something that he’d done and her reply that she wouldn’t. What was it?

  She started chest compressions again. “Come on. Breathe!”

  Like an avalanche, more memories came crashing down in her psyche. “No.” She jerked away from him so quickly she almost fell off the bed. This was impossible. Couldn’t possibly be real. Visions of herself totally naked, offering herself to Lucian, flooded her, but it wasn’t only her body she’d offered, but also her blood. And he had taken both.

  Her entire body quivering, she concentrated on the growing memory, trying to discern fact from fiction. Two of his teeth had grown, morphing into fangs like something out of a movie. He’d sunk them into her neck and sucked her blood. And she’d welcomed him, even invited him to take what he needed.

  What was worse, she’d ingested some of his blood in return.

  She was going to be sick. Delight clapped her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming and launched herself from the bed. She stumbled on the platform but caught herself before she ended up sprawled on the floor.

  Slowly, she backed away from the still body lying there. Her memories were real, not hallucinations. Lucian wasn’t dead, he was—

  Vampire. The word rang loud and clear in her head. This was no dream, but a living nightmare. She had escaped being murdered by local thugs just to end up with a vampire.

  Breathing became difficult. She was beginning to hyperventilate. Delight clutched her chest and forced herself to slowly suck air into her lungs.

  “Everything is okay.” She whispered the assurance. If Lucian had meant her any harm, she’d already be dead. His every action had been to protect her.

  As bizarre as it all seemed, she still wasn’t really afraid of him. She was more afraid of what he was. Deep inside, she felt she trusted Lucian, which was crazy and showed her just how precarious her mental state was. This was all just too much for her to process.

  She needed to go home, to be among everything and everyone that was familiar to her. Keeping one eye on Lucian, she glanced around the room until her gaze landed on her soiled clothing from the night before. She did not want to wear any of those garments ever again, but there was no other alternative.

  Wrinkling her nose in distaste, she pulled on her underwear before tugging on the ruined pants and blouse. Most of the buttons were gone from the blouse, so she tied the tails together as tight as she could. As she slipped on her shoes, she sent up a prayer of gratitude before bending down and scooping up her purse, which had been lying next to them. At least she had money if she needed to catch a cab.

  As much as she wanted to be gone from here, there was a part of her that didn’t want to leave Lucian. Just the thought of leaving made her break out into a cold sweat. No matter what he was, Lucian had saved her and given her the best sexual experience of her life. Just watching him lie there, totally still, sent shivers of arousal through her. That only confused her more.

  As though she was being pulled by an invisible rope, she walked back to the bed and stepped up onto the platform. She brushed aside a strand of his silky black hair, bent down, and kissed him. His lips didn’t move and his body remained still.

  “Good-bye and thank you.” As she pulled back, she thought she saw his eye twitch, but when a minute passed and he didn’t move, she convinced herself that she’d been mistaken.

  Walking to the bedroom door was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. The farther away she got from Lucian, the worse she felt. It was as if his soul was calling to hers, pleading with her to stay. Tears filled her eyes and she dashed them angrily away. She’d only met him last night. There was no way she could be this attached to him.

  But she was. Her heart pounded and the ache in her chest grew with each step she took. She rubbed at the pain but it didn’t abate. She was breathing heavily by the time she reached the door. She placed her hand on the knob and turned it quietly.

  As though he was standing right next to her, she heard his voice in her head, commanding her to stay. She hesitated, but pushed onward, determined to find the space she needed to try to understand what had happened to her.

  What had he done to her? Her reaction wasn’t normal.

  Delight yanked the door open and slipped out of the room, being careful to close it behind her. She felt like a thief and a traitor as she crept down the staircase to the front door. She expected the bedroom door to slam open at any minute and have Lucian stop her from leaving. But that didn’t happen.

  Her hands were shaking so badly that it took her a few tries to open all the locks on the front door. When the door closed and she heard at least one of them click behind her, she almost cried out in distress. She had to fight the urge to turn around and pound on the door until Lucian let her back into his home and into his life.

  Sensations of dread pressed down on her. She gritted her teeth against the grief that threatened to swamp her. She took a deep breath and then another. When she was calmer, she forced herself to look around. She had no idea what part of the city she was in, had no idea where she was.

  From the position of the sun, she could tell that it was late afternoon. Appalled that she’d slept the day away, she hurried down the front steps of the large home and across the short walkway. She opened the metal gate and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

  The sun was warm on her face and began to beat back some of her apprehension. When she reached the corner, she glanced up at the street sign and was relieved when she recognized it. She was only a few blocks from home. That gave her the small boost of energy she needed to get her moving again.

  Home was close now, so she kept putting one foot in front of the other and ignored the part of her that felt as if she was really moving farther from home with every step she took away from Lucian.

  Delight almost started to cry when she caught sight of the Grande and picked up her pace. She wanted a long, hot shower, clean clothing, and food. But most of all she needed to see her family. She hurried up the front steps but paused before entering.

  She knew she was putting off the inevitable. The police would have to be called and she would have to give her statement. She’d already decided not to tell the police about Lucian. She would say that a stranger saved her and that she remembered nothing. They might not believe her, but that was their problem. Delight would protect Lucian at all costs. If what she suspected was true, that he was a vampire, she had to protect him. He’d saved her life. How could she do any less for him? That he was what most people would consider a monster didn’t seem to matter, and that was something else she really had to think about.

  The door opened just as she reached for the handle. “Child, you look like something the cat dragged home.”

  Delight took one look at the concern on Miss Nadine’s face and burst into tears. She’d managed to hold them at bay the whole way home, but now that she was safe, there was no containing them.

  Saying nothing, the older woman wrapped her arm around Delight and led her into the parlor. They sank down onto the sofa and Miss Nadine rocked her back and forth while crooning a soft lullaby.

  When she had no tears left to shed, Delight lifted her head. “I don’t know where to begin.”

  “At the beginning, child. Whatever happened, you’re safe now.” Sitting back, Miss Nadine quietly waited as the story came pouring out of Delight. She didn’t interrupt when Delight told her about the murder and about Lucian.

  As much as she loved and trusted Miss Nadine, she couldn’t bring herself to tell her about the steamy lovemaking she and Lucian had shared or the fact that he was a vampire.

  Now that she was away from him, Delight could hardly believe it herself. It wouldn’t be too hard to convince herself that she was all wrong about Lucian, that her memories were faulty due to the stress of what had happened to her, except for one thing. Delight wasn’t a weak-willed woman, nor was she prone to hysterics or exaggerations. She’d always been strong and dealt with life’s problems head-on. And this would be no different.

  Delight sighed, knowing that Miss Nadine was smart enough to fill in many of the blanks in her story, but she wouldn’t ask too many questions. For that, she was very grateful.

  “I didn’t believe that story that your brother spun this morning.” Reaching out, she clasped Delight’s hand in hers.

  “What story?”

  “That you were staying with a friend last night after work and that you wouldn’t be home until late today.” Miss Nadine shook her head. “I asked him how he knew that, but he couldn’t tell me. It seemed to come out of thin air, but Chase was adamant that it was the truth.” She watched Delight, waiting for her reaction.

  Delight’s head was spinning with the implications. Were Lucian’s powers so great that he could plant a suggestion in someone’s mind? The answer was, of course, a resounding yes. She’d seen for herself last night just how powerful and dangerous a man he was. Hadn’t he done something similar to her to keep her from leaving him? Not that it had worked, but it had certainly made leaving much more difficult than it should have been.

  But he hadn’t left her last night. At least not that she was aware of. So how had Lucian altered Chase’s memories? Delight was left with more questions and no answers.

  Miss Nadine was still waiting for an explanation. Giving her a half smile, Delight shrugged. “Chase wouldn’t lie. Maybe he just got mixed up.” It was a lame excuse, but it was all she had.

  “Uh-huh.” From the tone of her voice, she could tell that Miss Nadine didn’t believe her but would let it go for now. “No matter.” Briskly, she rose from the sofa. “First thing is to get you a shower and some hot food. I’ll call the police and then we’ll see what’s to be done.”

  Nodding gratefully, she rose and followed Miss Nadine back to the kitchen. “I’ll be back down in twenty minutes.”

  “Take your time, child. I’ll have some hot chicken soup and warm, fresh sourdough rolls for you when you’re ready. That and a hot cup of tea will help put you to rights.”

  Delight trudged up the stairs to her room on the top floor. When the door closed behind her, she let her mind go blank and concentrated totally on her physical needs. She pulled off her dirty clothing and stuffed them in the garbage, happy to be rid of them.

  She was on her way to the bathroom when she stopped and let her head drop forward. She heaved a sigh and rubbed her hands over her face. As much as she wanted to toss all the clothing, she knew she couldn’t. She went back to the pail and pulled every soiled item of clothing out again and laid them carefully aside just in case the police wanted it for evidence.

  That done, she padded into the bathroom and turned on the shower. It felt wonderful to step beneath the spray and she allowed it to clean her body and wipe the last of the cobwebs from her mind. The hot beads of water pummeled her skin and it was only then that she realized something was very wrong.

  There were no bruises anywhere on her body.

  She shut off the water, 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. She checked her throat and her neck and found nothing. Not a blemish or a bruise. And nothing at all that looked like puncture wounds.

  How was this possible? She’d scraped both her hands and knees last night. She should be black and blue from the mauling she’d taken at the hands of her attackers.

  She lowered the towel to her waist and examined her breasts. The milky white globes were not marked at all, but her nipples were slightly redder than usual. A rosy blush began to cover her breasts and moved up her chest and neck to her face.

  The mirror reflected a woman who had been well pleased by her lover the night before. There wasn’t even any soreness between her legs, and given the activity of the night before she would have expected it. Lucian had been a demanding lover. Delight moaned aloud as her inner muscles clenched and her sex moistened. Shivering, she turned from the mirror and finished drying herself.

  Not wanting to linger, she hurried into her bedroom and donned fresh undergarments. Then she riffled through her closet until she found her most comfortable pair of faded jeans. She slipped them on and topped them with a soft cottony blue sweater with long sleeves. Even though it was a warm day, Delight still felt cold. She dug a pair of white sweat socks out of her dresser drawer and pulled them over her chilly feet before stuffing them into old brown leather loafers.

  She ran a brush through her hair but didn’t bother with any makeup. She longed for the comfort of Miss Nadine’s company and wanted to check on her brother. Leaving her room behind, she hurried down the back stairs. Voices drifted up from the kitchen. She heard Miss Nadine laugh. The fine hairs on the back of her neck rose and her skin began to tingle. Delight stumbled to a halt and gripped the railing as a familiar male voice washed over her.

  She glanced out the small window at the bottom of the stairs and 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 harsh bite of anger running beneath it.

  Closing her eyes for a moment, she wrapped her arms around her waist and hugged herself. 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.