Chapter 9
Damon lay propped up on his palm, watching the soft wisp of blonde hair lying across Alicia’s temple flutter as she breathed. He’d made love to her a second time only a couple hours ago and still he felt the need to be deep inside her. Reaching out, he stroked the back of his fingers down her smooth cheek entranced by the need to touch her. He smiled when her eyelashes slowly opened.
Alicia felt completely relaxed as she floated up from her sleep. It only took seconds for the memories of last night to make their way into her mind causing her heartbeat to speed up. Fear of what she’d done seeped into her bones when she felt the sensual soreness of her body and the slight ache of her neck where Damon had bit her. Her brother’s warning came back to haunt her and she pictured Micah’s face as he turned away from the monster she had become.
Feeling Damon watching her, she slowly turned her face toward him and was instantly reminded of the dream she’d had. His dark hair was mused and the covers were draped dangerously low on his hips. With or without his clothing, he was the persona of seduction itself. It was all she could do not to reach for him… wanting more.
Damon saw that want in her stunning blue eyes and felt his heart swell… a heart he had forgotten he had. He lowered his gaze to the fullness of her cherry lips.
Alicia stilled herself when Damon leaned over her, kissing her in the same erotic rhythm he had used so many times last night. His touch was hot against her cool skin and she knew the heat was gone. But even without the heat’s influence she felt the flame of passion. If she didn’t get out of this bed… out of his way, she would spend the day making love to Damon.
“It’s morning,” Alicia whispered as she pressed her palms to his chest and pushed. When Damon drew back from her she averted her eyes not trusting that he wouldn’t use his compulsion on her. She had to find her necklace before she could really face him.
“Yes, it is,” Damon’s eyes narrowed.
Wrapping the sheet around her, Alicia slid off the bed, quickly turning away when it uncovered his nakedness. Closing her eyes she sighed realizing that fleeting image was now burned into her retinas. “Then things go back to the way they were… right?”
Damon could hear the question in her voice and he didn’t know which made him angrier… the fact that she wanted things to go back the way it was, or that she expected him to let it.
“A promise is a promise… right?” he answered the question with a question.
Alicia flinched, again reminded of the fact that she’d broken her promise to Micah. “Yeah,” she whispered and flicked at the lone tear that had snuck past her lashes. “Would you mind letting me go home first… so we…”
“Don’t look like lovers,” Damon finished for her.
Alicia heard the odd anger in his voice and quickly skirted the bed looking for the bar it had gotten snagged on last night. Finding the bra first she examined it looking for the necklace but it wasn’t attached. She quickly slid to her knees and pulled it down over her head. Seeing her panties she sat down within the sheet and pulled them up her legs then rose to her knees to get them over her hips. Her eyes lit up when she noticed the necklace. Leaning forward, she reached for the safety of it.
Damon hadn’t realized he’d even moved until he found himself snagging her around the waist and pulling her backwards against him. One hand was cupped around the underside of her breast and the other had dipped down to cup her between her legs. He sucked in a harsh breath as he added pressure against her core.
Alicia felt a shock wave of need and intense desire and she pressed her head back against his bare shoulder and her body outwards so she could flex her hips his against his hands. “Oh god Damon… I’ve got to go home.” She felt like crying at the thought of leaving right now.
“Are you sure that’s what you really want?” Damon massaged his hand against her core, giving her the pressure they both know she was craving. “Or are you just using that as an excuse to run away?” he let his swollen hardness slide between her legs and pressed it up against the seam of her lips.
Moving himself back and forth across the now hot wet lace he had his proof she was lying to the both of them.
Alicia died a thousand deaths when Damon pulled the lace to the side and the hot thick tip of him pressed against her entrance. She moaned as she pushed herself down feeling him sliding in inch by wonderful inch then cried out when Damon's nimble fingers began to torture the little bundle of nerves as he flexed his hips against her ass.
“Damon,” she struggled for breath, “too much. Oh god,” she gritted her teeth as she came.
Damon kept up his slow rhythm as he brought his lips to her ear. “You’re wrong,” he whispered, “it’s not enough.” This time he kept tight control over his own release as he brought her to the brink again and again. If she was going to run away from him, then he wasn’t going to make it easy on her.
The sun rose an hour later to find her back against the wall, legs wrapped tightly around his as he thrust upwards over and over. Her cheeks were flushed and her silky hair wild in disarray. She was beyond beautiful in her passion, clutching at him and Damon knew he had to have her with him… forever would never be long enough.
When she came again she tossed her head to the side exposing her neck to him and Damon lowered his gaze down her pale neck searching for the spot where he’d bit her only hours ago. His breath came faster seeing that it had already healed… only leaving behind the tiny scars from where he’d bit her the first time. Pulling her from the wall she fell on the mattress with her never missing a stroke. She was already his… only she didn’t know that yet.
Sucking the tender flesh into his mouth, he let his teeth pierce her again during her next climax. The second he tasted her he let himself pulse to the rhythm of their heartbeats as he shot his seed deep inside her.
The sun had risen higher in the sky when Damon felt her stir again. He pretended to be asleep when she slid from the bed and crawled across the floor gathering her clothing. Within minutes he heard her silent running in the living room and the quiet ding of the elevator. The crystal lamp on the night stand beside him shattered the minute he heard the doors close behind her.
Damon got out of bed and calmly walked toward the shower not even flinching when everything that was glass started shattering in his wake.
*****
Michael looked around the spacious attic wondering where he’d put the vanity. He didn’t know what had made him remember but not long after Nathanial’s wife had died, the cougar had sold many things… the vanity being one of them. It was a coincidence that he’d still been collecting antiques at the time.
Moving through the rows of covered furniture, he spotting the gold-leaf dragon claw sticking out from underneath a yellow draped cloth. Pulling the cloth off, he let it slide to the floor as it revealed the elegant carpentry of the mirrored vanity and matching chair.
He was worried about Alicia. She’d been acting strange since he’d gotten home this morning and he feared she was getting homesick. Michael tilted the small dusty mirror upwards so he could see his reflection. He didn’t want Alicia to leave.
Kane climbed the stairs looking for Michael. As he passed Alicia’s door he paused hearing her pacing back and forth from inside her room. He tilted his head wondering what was up. Hearing a thump above him, he raised his eyes to the ceiling. Either they had ghost in the attic or he’d just found Michael.
Michael poured more Old English on the rag then, using his vampire speed, it was only a couple seconds before he had to stop and add more of the polish.
“Well, if you have to have a feminine side then the vanity is beautiful,” Kane smirked.
Michael thought about that for a moment then laughed. “It’s not for me.”
Kane crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against an old wardrobe, “It’s not really my style… but it’s the thought that counts. The dragon claw feet are nice though.” He caught the cleaning rag Michael tossed at his head.
Alicia wished all this nervous energy she had would just go away… she was driving herself crazy. “Everything’s fine,” she lectured herself as she stopped pacing. “You made it home without being seen. No one knows except Damon.” Her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Except Damon,” she repeated, this time making it sound more like a curse instead of a good thing.
She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked on her door. Tiptoeing to it she inhaled deeply to steady herself then opened the door with a smile. Seeing Michael and Kane standing there with a piece of furniture was one of the last things she’d expected.
“No one knows what?” Michael asked frowning.
Kane sighed dramatically, “Michael, has anyone ever told you it’s not nice to eavesdrop?” then he silently added, ‘or at least don’t let anyone know you’re eavesdropping.’
Wanting to change the subject, Alicia leaned down to touch the smooth surface of the vanity, “This is beautiful.”
Michael smiled down at her when she looked up, “You’re welcome to use it… it was once your mother's.”
Alicia drew her hand back as she stared at the vanity, suddenly scared to touch it and wanting to so bad. Unable to do anything else, she slowly turned and threw her arms around Michael’s neck. “I’d love that. Thank you.”
Damon stood in the hallway welcoming the numbness that crawled up his back at the sight. He just wished it would hurry up and take the pain away that was flaying his chest wide open. All morning he’d been dealing with things shattering around him and it’d taken a lot of concentration and a call to the hotel cleanup crew before he’d felt stable enough to come back to Michael’s… his eyes narrowed on good ol’ Michael.
Alicia pressed her cheek against Michael’s chest fighting back the odd need to cry. The only memory she had of her mother were old photographs and what she’d heard from her brothers. Opening her eyes to step back, she froze when she saw Damon standing at the top of the stairs. Turning her attention back to Michael and Kane, she backed into her room and out of Damon’s line of vision.
“Bring it in,” she wiggled her fingers and put all of her nervous energy into acting excited. While they were placing it against the wall Alicia kept her back to the open door because she was not ready to even look at Damon yet. That one glance in the hallway had almost made her go weak in the knees. She’d always thought that was a silly saying but now she felt pity for anyone who'd felt it. She turned and sat down on the edge of the mattress.
Kane touched Michael on the shoulder when he noticed the spaced-out look in Alicia’s eyes, “Let’s give her a minute.”
Alicia looked up as the door closed behind them.
*****
Micah glanced up at the balcony that led to Alicia’s bedroom as he parked his bike in the driveway. Michael had stopped by Night Light first thing this morning and filled him in on the plan. He’d also asked everyone to lock Night Light up and go stay at Moon Dance for a couple days. No one had argued.
He’d asked Nick to come with him tonight to meet Titus and Nick had agreed until he’d found out they were meeting at Michael’s. Suddenly Nick had a long list of things he needed to get done tonight.
Micah sighed as he pulled out his cell phone and checked it for messages. It had become such a habit that he’d caught himself doing it every hour. He’d told Alicia to call him if she needed him. The fact that she hadn’t needed him or even just called to talk was an uncomfortable feeling.
Alicia heard the sound of a motorcycle in front of the house and didn’t hesitate running to the balcony and looking down. “Micah,” she breathed as she watched him get off the motorcycle and walk toward the door. He hadn’t seen her.
That’s when it hit her and the tears finally came. He’d been right. She knew the difference now. The things she’d done with Damon last night she would have never been able to do with Micah. She’d fantasized about kissing him but it had never been more than a touch of lips. She loved Micah and was happy he was here… but thankfully, she didn’t love him too much.
Damon stood in the shadows just inside his room watching Alicia through the glass. When she turned to go back to her room, he frowned seeing the light sparkle off her eyelashes.
Alicia stopped to look in the mirror of the vanity wiping away all traces of the tears. She didn’t want to worry Micah. Besides, she wasn’t upset that she didn’t love her brother that way. She was relieved. And now that she wasn’t in heat anymore… she felt different… more grown up. It was about time she started acting that way.
Michael paused his conversation when Micah’s gaze drifted toward the doorway again. He decided to wait until Titus arrived before he started into details. He remembered Alicia’s confession about loving Micah so much that he had to go away. Was that why Micah hadn’t come to visit her?
Holding her head up, Alicia took a deep breath and let it out, then calmly walked into the living room.
Micah felt his tension ease as soon as he saw Alicia’s smile. Standing up, he waited on her to come to him. “Alicia,” he smiled back at her feeling a little off center. “How have you been?”
“I’ll give you two a moment to catch up,” Michael offered feeling the awkwardness. Excusing himself, he went in search of Damon. He’d felt Damon enter the house a while ago but hadn’t seen him yet. He still wasn’t sure how much he trusted Damon… or who he would trust Damon with, but he was willing try if Damon was. Avoiding each other would only make it worse.
Instead of hugging Micah, Alicia reached for his hand and held it between hers, “I’m great Micah. No need to worry.”
Micah frowned down at their hands. “Come here you,” he tugged until he had the hug he was used to. His eyes widened, “Your fever is gone.” He gripped her shoulders and held her away from him so he could get a good look.
Alicia nodded smiling even bigger, “All gone.” She stepped back so he would let go. “Does that mean I can come home now?”
Micah dropped his arms then folded them across his chest. It wasn’t him that was off center… it was her. Alicia was hiding something from him. “Not yet, but I’m working on it. I’m meeting someone here in a few minutes that will help us find out how much of a threat the wolves really are.”
He sat down indicating for her to sit down beside him, “Until he gets here, how about filling me in on what you’ve been up to?”
Alicia stepped in front of the cushioned ottoman and sat down facing Micah, “I’ve just been hanging around the house.” She shrugged as if nothing mattered. Dancing around the topic her eyes lit up and she leaned forward. “You’ll never guess what Michael brought to my bedroom a little while ago.”
Micah’s mind had stalled back at the exit when he’d realized Alicia wasn’t in heat anymore. He’d done a little research on the topic and the answer he’d gotten didn’t indicate heat went away by itself that quickly. If a girl was unmated, then it took three months to get over the symptoms… unless. His eyes narrowed when he glanced up to see Damon leaning against the door frame silently watching them.
Alicia glanced over her shoulder wondering what had caught Micah’s attention. Keeping a tight rein on her feelings, she gave Damon a quick smile so Micah would see it then dismissed him to turn back and look at her brother, “A vanity that belonged to mother.”
“What?” Micah jerked his gaze back to Alicia. “How did he get it?”
“I don’t know but I’m using it now,” Alicia felt empowered with the way she was handling herself. “You can come up and see it if you want.” When Micah started to rise, she waved him back down, “After the meeting. I think I just heard a car drive up. I’ll go get drinks.” She jumped up and headed for the kitchen.
Damon started to follow her but paused when he heard Michael’s voice right behind him.
“I invited one of the werewolves from Love Bites. How about joining us? He may be our chance at stopping a war before it starts and downsizing the mob at the same time.”
Damon smirked, “Wouldn’t miss it.”
He walked into the room and took a seat on the other end of the sofa knowing if Alicia joined them she would wind up sitting right between him and Micah. He relaxed back against the cushion, inwardly laughing because Micah was doing the opposite. That laugh almost snuck past him when he saw who Michael brought into the room next.
Titus smiled and shook hands with Micah not really needing an introduction. “Micah man, I’m glad to see you looking so healthy.”
Seeing Titus and realizing he was the werewolf Michael wanted to work with on this made Micah feel a lot better. “Good to see you back in town. Michael, why didn’t you tell me it was Titus? We’re actually old friends.”
“Luck’s on our side then,” Michael nodded toward Damon, “And this is my brother, Damon. He’s the reason we found out what was happening last night at Love Bites.”
“You were there?” Titus asked frowning, “When?”
“Before the main fireworks,” Damon answered, “But I had a clue something was wrong when I killed two soulless vampires within twenty minutes of being there. Considering they like to hang out with a nasty little demon we’ve been tracking, I thought Michael should know.”
Michael glanced at Damon. So, he’d called Warren knowing Michael would be there. It made him feel a little better knowing the message had really been for him, even if the call wasn’t. Maybe Kane was right.
Titus sat down in the chair facing away from the kitchen, “So much was going on last night, it’s no wonder I didn’t see you.”
Damon smirked because he knew he hadn’t given the werewolf a chance to see him before knocking him out.
When Micah and Titus struck up a conversation about Lucca Romano and the murdered cougars, Michael noticed Alicia coming from the kitchen with a silver tray full of drinks. Quickly standing up, he walked over and took the tray from her and sat it down on the small bar beside the fireplace.
Keeping her voice low so she didn’t draw attention away from the conversation, Alicia leaned in close to Michael, “I didn’t know what to fix so I just brought some of everything.”
Michael knew she was used to sitting on the sidelines during meetings and he wanted her to feel comfortable here… a part of his family instead of the outcast. He leaned in even closer to her and whispered, “I can handle the drinks from here. You’re welcome to listen in if you want to join us.” He was rewarded with a bright smile.
Alicia started toward the other side of the room, her footsteps slowing when Damon shot her a suspiciously wicked smile. His arm was stretched across the back of the sofa as if daring her to sit down. She inhaled and let it out. She wasn’t going to let Damon ruin this for her. Giving him a sticky sweet smile, she walked straight over and sat down between them… that’s when everything went wrong.
She did a double take the same time Titus did. He stopped whatever he’d been saying mid-sentence and just stared at her as if seeing a ghost.
Alicia opened her mouth to say something… anything. It really sucked having the confidence she’d felt be so short lived. She just closed her mouth and her eyes, rubbing her temple with the tips of her fingers. She could feel herself getting smaller and smaller by the millisecond and hated it.
“It’s you,” Titus said accusingly to the girl that looked completely different than she had last night. Instead of the black lace and leather, she was wearing a pretty yellow knee high dress that made her look way too innocent to be anywhere near his club.
Titus pressed his hands down on the chair arms and stood up looking around the room at the other males. “What were you guys thinking letting her come to the club last night?” Seeing Micah’s confusion Titus shook his head, “Love Bites is not a good place for a cougar right now. You know that. Much less a female that’s in heat. I worried myself sick wondering what happened to her.”
“Alicia!” Micah’s voice was strained with a dangerous tilt to it.
Alicia scooted off the sofa as quickly as possible and darted behind Michael who had yet to sit back down. God she could be such a coward when the time arose. “I don’t have to explain anything to you!”
“The hell you don’t!” Micah shouted and started to get up but the arm around his neck kept him in place. He didn’t have to check to see if Damon had moved. He glared toward Michael seeing that both vampires were protecting her.
Michael had turned and wrapped his arms around Alicia the moment he saw the gold shatter within Micah’s eyes and he didn’t have a problem with Damon’s heavy-handed way of stopping him either. “Unless you want your memory erased, I’d advise you to control that temper of yours Micah.”
Damon tightened his arm just a fraction as he added his own warning, “You control your temper and I’ll try to control mine. Got it?”
Titus slowly sat back down in the chair as the temperature within the room went subzero, “I take it this is the little sister you used to talk about.” He glanced toward Alicia. “Glad to see you made it out of the club safely.” He rubbed his jaw then turned his gaze back to Damon. It wasn’t too hard to figure out who had hit him last night but he’d be damned if he mentioned it now.
Alicia knew Titus was figuring it out by the way he was rubbing his jaw. As much as he was trying to help last night… her heat was affecting him too and if he said anything to incriminate Damon, then she would happily add the fact that Titus had pressed his hard-on against her and his hand had been on her ass.
“By the way, nice right hook,” Titus had never been very good at taking his own advice… he really should learn to listen.
“If you hadn’t had your hand on her ass, I wouldn’t have hit you. Just be thankful I didn’t take your head clean off.” Damon smirked and it wasn’t a nice one.
“I was trying to get her out of the club since every wolf in the place had caught her scent. As for my hand… it had caught her scent too.” Titus inhaled slowly. “And thankfully, she’s not in heat anymore.”
“You let her go to the club?” Michael glared at his brother.
“No, you two did when you agreed to her having the freedom to come and go as she pleased,” Damon pointed out, “I, on the other hand, never agreed to that, so I followed her.”
Alicia wiggled out of Michael’s arms, “It wasn’t Titus’s fault… just like it wasn’t Nick’s.” When Titus looked up at her, she gave him a half-hearted smile, “Thank you for trying to help me last night. However, I did not know the wolves had taken over the bar… much less that there were monsters running around inside it.” Turning her attention to Micah she said, “Damon, would you let go of him so we can go talk?”
Damon lowered his lips right beside Micah’s ear and didn’t give a damn if everyone in the room heard him, “I know you wouldn’t hurt your sister intentionally, but if you do it unintentionally… I will kill you.”
“Yeah, that’s why this HOUSE,” Micah emphasized the word house, “is the safest place for her right now.” He stood up when Damon released him then nodded his head toward the stairs, “Come on.”
Alicia raised an eloquent eyebrow but nodded and left the room with him.
“Well that was fun,” Titus commented then flinched when a door slammed upstairs. “…or not.”
“I think one of us should go be a fly on the wall,” Damon informed Michael then added, “Just in case Micah decides to throttle her.” He jerked his thumb toward Titus, “and you have a guest.”
Michael nodded, but might as well not have bothered because Damon was already gone.
