A Vampire's Saving Embrace (3 page)

Abby shook her head – her body tensing slightly at his words. Oh, Lord!
He
was the crazy one! She thought, her heart twisting slightly. She should have guessed it. There was no way on earth someone so seemingly perfect didn’t have
any
flaws. His just happened to be that he was certifiably insane. Completely off his rocker! There were no such things as demons! “There aren’t…” she hesitated, “there just can’t be…”

“There are, my pet. Just as there are…other things.”

“What are you talking about?” She asked, feeling as if she were losing her mind right along with him.

Desmond smiled sadly, wanting nothing more at that moment than to take her in his arms and protect her from what he was about to say. “There are many supernatural beings in the world Abby. More than you could ever imagine.”

“What, like witches and wizards?” she scoffed - although this would be one hell of an explanation as to why she had seen that man’s face change. And at least it would mean that she wasn’t nuts.

Desmond nodded, “And werewolves and…” He stopped, seemingly finding the words difficult. “And Fey and Vampires.”

“And I was attacked by a demon because?” she asked, her tone wary, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“Because you are half Fey,” he replied evenly – as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and her mouth dropped open in shock- her eyes wide and disbelieving.

“Fey? Like in fairy?” she breathed. “You are telling me that
I’m
a fairy?” She was in complete shock - this guy
was
nuts! Crap! Just her luck. She sure as hell knew how to pick them – she thought with disgust. Although – if truth be told – she didn’t
pick
him at all.

Desmond cupped her chin in his hand, that soul-stealing grin touching his lips – but she noticed what seemed to be a flicker of sadness cross his features. “Fey,” he gently corrected. “They don’t particularly care for the term fairy, and you are only half – on your father’s side.”

“Holy Hell,” she murmured, shaking her head. “How do you even know this? Are you a fair…I mean, a fey too?” She quickly corrected herself – not wanting to offend him if he were.

Abby again saw something flash in his eyes before he stood and walked over to the fire, keeping his back to her. “I could smell it in your blood when that bastard cut you – but I had my suspicions before that.” He turned, and the pain she saw in his eyes caused her heart to skip a beat. “Abby, I am a vampire.”

Abby swallowed the lump in her throat and took a deep, shaky breath - her head spinning. This was impossible! She almost burst out laughing, but the expression on his face stopped her cold. He was completely serious. And her gut was telling her that he was not lying to her.

Could such things as Vampire’s, Fey and demons really exist? There was just no way. She studied him a moment, searching for any indication that this was all just one huge joke, but his expression was somber, almost apologetic and utterly sincere. No! She silently screamed. This just can’t be! These were things from fairytales and horror novels. Not real!

Yet, there was a tiny voice in the back of her mind taunting her that she
had
always felt different from everyone else growing up. She never quite seemed to fit in. Why not a supernatural explanation? Her mother had had tons of books on the subject. There had to be a reason for them and being in love with a Fey would constitute one hell of a reason. Her mother had spent years with her head buried in those books as if she were looking for something. And as for the topic of her father – that had always been a subject strictly off limits with her. On the rare occasions that Abby
had
pressed the issue, her mother would immediately burst into tears and hide away in her bedroom for days, crying that it wasn’t fair that the man she loved had been taken from her.

“Well,” she finally replied - much more calmly than she actually felt, “at least you’re not a demon.” She graced him with a slight grin. “Because I have to tell you - from what I’ve experienced of them so far-they
really
suck ass.”

Desmond laughed in spite of himself - at a complete loss. He had just told this woman about a supernatural world where every child’s nightmare lived, and she was making light of it. “Abby, I would never hurt you. My only wish is to…” he trailed off, not wanting her to think him some sort of crazed stalker - but from the moment he had walked into that seedy place where she worked, and had seen her behind the bar, his thoughts had been consumed by her – and then when he had smelled the distinctive sulfur scent of a demon, his blood had boiled. “My only wish is to protect you.”

“Why?” she blurted out, her eyes wide. “Are Vampires expected to protect Feys or something? Is that how it works? Is
that
why you kept coming into Echo’s? And why didn’t you ever say anything to me?”

“Damn, little one,” he said, sitting back down beside her and studying her face. “You ask a lot of questions.”

“Yeah, so I have been told on numerous occasions,” she replied in exasperation – still trying desperately to grasp everything she was being told. “But can you really blame me? I mean, you just told me that things I never could have believed
ever
existed –do,” she said breathlessly, shaking her head slightly.

“I promise to answer all of your questions in due time,” he said softly. “But enough for now - you need to feed.”

“Feed?” she squeaked, her eyes widening even more. “Do I have to start sucking the dew from flowers or something? Because if that’s the case, I have got to tell you – I am definitely a meat kind of girl.”

Desmond broke out laughing, a deep rich laughter that caused Abby to shiver. “No, my pet, you do not. But you do need to eat something. The poison from the demons blade had you out for almost two days.”

“Holy Hell!” she burst out. “Are you serious?”

Desmond nodded and reluctantly stood. “Luckily your fey blood will help you to heal faster than normal, but you still need to keep up your strength. Rest for a bit and I will bring you something.”

“Do vampires eat, like, people food?” she asked and again Desmond’s rich laughter filled the room.

“No, my pet, we don’t. But I had asked my brother Marcus to go shopping - for when you awoke. I will return shortly.” With that he gracefully disappeared through the door.

Abby stretched slightly and pulled herself up to rest against the headboard. Her hand tentatively went to her neck where the thick bandage was. Even the slightest pressure sent a twinge of pain through her body.

Yikes, she thought miserably, she had almost been sliced and diced. She shivered at the thought. If it hadn’t been for Desmond…Oh dear Lord Abby, she chastised herself – stop it! You
cannot
be attracted to a vampire for cripes sake! A blood drinking, night-stalking, albeit
gorgeous
– vampire! But even as the thought raced around in her head, she knew that she was only lying to herself – to say she was merely just attracted to the dark, handsome Mr. LaGrange was a huge understatement. She was experiencing feelings that were totally unexpected – and she desperately needed to rein them in. That is, she thought with a groan – if she could. This man had her head spinning in a thousand different directions – and none of them were good. Crap! The man probably slept in a coffin for God’s sake! She shook the thought from her mind and closed her eyes, trying to keep her thoughts off of him. “Yeah, easier said than done,” she muttered under her breath.

Abby was staring at the fire when Desmond came through the door carrying a tray. As soon as the smell of the food reached her - her stomach growled hungrily.

“I knew you would be hungry,” Desmond chuckled, that damn, infuriating,
breath-stealing
grin on his lips.

Abby blushed to the roots of her hair at her stomachs noisy betrayal. “I…I am - thank you,” she stammered – completely mortified.

Desmond set the tray down and placed a piece of errant hair behind her ear. “Is there anything else you would like?” He asked, and Abby’s blush only deepened. “My pet?” he questioned at her obvious embarrassment – his eyebrow quirking up so damn seductively.

“Would it be asking too much if I could bathe or shower?” she whispered, picking up a piece of toast and delicately biting off the corner. “I’m sure I must reek to high heaven by now.” Again the room was filled with his laughter and Abby found herself thinking that she would never tire of hearing it, or of seeing that grin of his. She shook off the thought, knowing she had no business even toying with such ideas.

She was Abigail Montgomery, devout self-appointed hermit and the fact that she felt so at ease with him around was disturbing, to say the least – not to mention how completely compelling the man was .He was walking, talking sex on a stick and it scared the hell out of her. She had spent her entire life protecting herself from getting romantically involved with any man, and that was not about to change now. Eric had been proof positive that she was better off alone.

“Actually,” he said, leaning down and placing his lips ever so lightly against her neck. He inhaled deeply and Abby shivered from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Good Lord! “You smell of vanilla and lavender, with perhaps a hint of honey. It’s quite nice.”

“Wow,” she choked out, her heart racing triple time. “I’ve always read that Vampires were supposed to have a heightened sense of smell or something. Yours must really be on the fritz.” Desmond laughed against her neck, which only caused her to shiver again. Damn, but this man was dangerous, she thought irritably. What he was doing to her body should be illegal!

“My sense of smell is just fine,” he stated adamantly as he stood back up. “In fact, I am certain that what you have heard is only one of the very few things that
is
correct. All of my senses are heightened.”

Oh great, Abby thought crossly. That means he can probably hear my heart beating around in my chest like a boy crazy teen-aged cheerleader. Cripes! Could this get any worse? “How about sunlight and crosses?” she asked, desperately trying to keep her thoughts away from how delectable he was.

“I can go out in the sun for very short periods, if any longer than a few moments my skin will burn and I will weaken – but it would take some time to kill me. And as for crosses…” He opened the top button of the shirt he wore and held up the tiny gold cross that hung around his neck, “just stories – although silver does have an adverse effect on me - pretty much the same as the sun.”

“So I guess that means you don’t sleep in a coffin either?” she asked, as calmly as possible and he smiled - his eyes scanning up and down her body in a slow, thorough appraisal and she felt herself growing warm.

“No, I don’t. I sleep in a bed.” His smile widened and he chuckled deep in his chest – his eyes gleaming dangerously. “In fact, I usually sleep in this bed.”

Abby gulped at the realization that she was in fact laying in
his
bed – her cheeks turning red as a picture of the two of them intertwined on it filled her mind. Shit! “I’m sorry,” she stammered, trying desperately to push the image away. “I don’t want to kick you out of your….room.” She finished quietly.

“There is no need to apologize,” he replied, his finger stroking her cheek gently. “There are many more bedrooms in the house if I need one. Now eat, my pet, and I will start your bath.”

“You don’t have too…” she argued, but he held up his hand to stop her protest.

“It is my pleasure, Abby. Now eat.” With that he disappeared into the adjoining room and a moment later she heard the sound of running water. She sighed in anticipation of sinking into a hot tub and popped a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth and a small moan escaped her. Boy, for someone who didn’t eat people food, she thought with a grin - he sure the hell could cook.

Just as Abby swallowed the last bit of her food, Desmond appeared from the bathroom and walked over to take her tray. “Wow, perfect timing,” she mused. “You really do have spidey sense.”

“Spidey sense?” he questioned, his dark brow rising quizzically.

“Never mind,” she replied with a laugh before throwing back the covers and getting out of the bed.