Dalakis Passion 2 - Lucian's Delight (10 page)

She scooted around Lucian, but he grabbed her upper arm before she could cross
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
arose. He would just have to adjust.
Keeping silent, Lucian watched the men and took their measure. They introduced
themselves as Detectives Jean Gagnon and Sam Cassidy of the New Orleans Police
Department. Gagnon was the picture of urban sophistication with his styled dark hair,
Italian suit, and fine leather shoes. Cassidy was the exact opposite. He wore jeans,
boots, and a sports coat. His blond hair was cut short. However, both men had one
thing in common.
Cop's eyes.
Two pairs of deceptively shrewd eyes had already
catalogued everything and everyone in the room.
Lucian smiled inwardly, already sensing their suspicion towards him. He decided
to make the first move. Seating Delight once again, he sat back in his own chair and laid
one arm over the back of Delight's in a blatant show of possession. Both detectives
showed an immediate male understanding of the action. They now knew that Delight
was his and he would protect her.
"And you are?" Detective Gagnon's question and tone were polite, but there was an
edge to both.
Lucian slowly came to his feet, allowing his large frame to unfold from the chair
until he was standing at his full height. At six-foot-four, all of it solid
muscle,
he knew
he was an intimidating sight. Keeping his own voice low and pleasant, he addressed
both detectives. "I am Lucian
Dalakis
." Nodding to both men, he then resumed his seat
and replaced his arm around Delight.
Detective Cassidy's eyebrows rose in surprise at his obvious recognition of the
name. He glanced at Delight, giving her a second, slightly more appraising look as if
suddenly realizing that there was more to her than he'd noticed at first glance. Lucian's
entire body grew tense and it took all his discipline not to rip Cassidy's throat out for
staring at Delight with masculine interest.
Gagnon cleared his throat, obviously trying to break the tension. "Let's get down to
business, shall we?" Taking a notebook and pen out of his pocket, he flipped it open
until he found the page he was looking for.
"If you'll give us a few moments alone with
Miss
Deveraux
to question her."
"Absolutely not."
Lucian's voice was almost drowned out by similar denials by
Chase and Miss Nadine.
Gagnon held up his hand. "We only want to talk to her. We understand that she's
the victim here, but Miss
Deveraux
is also a witness to a murder."
"We stay or you can talk to my lawyers about making an appointment with Miss
Deveraux
. She is being very cooperative, but she does have rights." Lucian leaned
forward threateningly in his seat. "And I am here to make sure that she and her rights
are protected."
Anger was pumping so hard through his
veins,
he was surprised that he didn't
explode. It was bad enough that Delight had to witness a murder and then be
threatened and attacked herself, but now she had to recount it all over again. It made
him furious at himself for not protecting her better. That he hadn't really known she
existed until the night before it happened didn't matter to Lucian. Delight was his and
he had failed to protect her.
He felt her small hand on his arm. It was such a light, gentle touch, but it
immediately soothed some of the fury swirling around inside him, allowing him to gain
control once again. It was amazing to him, a man who had always prided himself on his
ironclad
control, that any threat to Delight churned up the most primitive of emotions
within
him. It would take some adjusting.
Lucian respected the fact that the police had to do their job, but in the end, it was he
who would decide how best to protect Delight. When she tugged on his arm, he
allowed her to pull him back next to her.
Leaning close, she whispered in his ear so that only he could hear her. "It's all right,
Lucian. I'll talk to them." Her tone became more pleading. "Don't make any trouble. I
don't want them looking into your life."
For the first time in his over five hundred years of living, Lucian was stunned.
Other than his parents and brothers, no one had ever tried to protect him. He was the
monster of people's dreams, the one the hero in the movies slew. He was a vampire. His
power and abilities were beyond the comprehension of most people.
Delight's earlier insistence that he leave now made sense to him even if he was
having a hard time processing the information. She was protecting him. Even knowing
what he was
,
Delight was trying to keep his secret from others.
His heart pounded and he had to force himself not to rub the ache in his chest.
Pride welled up inside him at his chosen one. Surely, no other man had a woman as
wonderful as Delight. Love and lust washed over him and all he wanted to do was drag
her onto the table and bury his hard, throbbing cock in her waiting warmth. His fangs
ached to sink into her luscious flesh and taste her blood.
Lucian shook his head. She was doing it again.
Distracting him from the moment at
hand.
Detective Cassidy was speaking, so Lucian focused on what he was saying.
"Look, Mr.
Dalakis
. I know who you are." Cassidy gave them a boyish grin and
struck a good
ol
' boy pose. Lucian was not deceived by the action, recognizing it as the
ploy it was to get them to relax and talk to him.
"Really."
Lucian scrutinized Cassidy until his easy grin faded. "I do not recall
meeting you."
Cassidy gave Lucian a nod, as if conceding him the point in their match of wits.
"Let's just say, I know you by reputation."
Delight's fingernails were digging into his arm. She was very tense and growing
more upset by the moment. It was time to end this charade. "This is upsetting to
Delight. You will do nothing to distress her further. Ask your questions."
His voice was filled with compulsion as he spoke. Detective Cassidy eyed him even
more suspiciously as if he suspected Lucian had done something, but he couldn't quite
figure out what it was. However, Detective Gagnon, who was the more susceptible of
the two, began to ask his questions immediately.
"Start from the moment you were asked to work late, Miss
Deveraux
, and tell us
what happened."
As Delight recounted her horrific tale, Lucian watched the other occupants of the
room. He could feel Miss Nadine's love reaching out to
Delight
as she spoke. Lucian
knew the older woman was a permanent part of Delight's life, and truthfully, he liked
her. Her energy was invigorating, and her devotion to both Delight and Chase was
unquestionable. For the rest of her life, Miss Nadine would now be under the care of the
Dalakis
family. Lucian or one of his brothers would make sure she was well taken care
of.
Then there was Chase. He was young, but he showed all the signs of becoming a
formidable man. Chase had immediately jumped to Delight's protection against Lucian,
who was obviously a bigger and more powerful opponent. But he hadn't flinched from
Lucian,
instead he had become more aggressive. Lucian was impressed by Delight's
younger brother and looked forward to getting to know him better.
Lucian made a mental note to contact his lawyer immediately. He had to make
provisions for his little family in the event that something did happen to him. The
detectives' frustration reached out to him, so he turned his entire focus back to the
conversation, which had been up to now nothing more than a recounting of events.
"How can you not know what happened to the men in the alleyway?" Detective
Cassidy's voice was laced with suspicion.
"All I know is that one minute they were hitting me and tearing at my clothing."
Delight's voice broke on a sob and she took a deep breath, trying to regain her
composure. "Then they were gone. I didn't stop to question it. I only wanted to get
away."
Delight's entire body started to shake and she began to cry. Lucian turned and
lifted her off her chair and cradled her in his arms. "Enough." His soft voice cracked
like a whip in the small area, making everyone jump. Delight snuggled closer and he
tucked her tighter to his chest.
"You have blood in the alleyway, but no bodies. Until you find the bodies, you have
no crime. She has told you everything she can about the murder she witnessed. You
have upset Delight. I suggest you leave." Detective Gagnon opened his mouth to speak,
but quickly closed it when Lucian pinned him with a glare.
"Now."
Both of the detectives stood, knowing that this interview was at an end. Cassidy
reached into his pocket and took out a card, laying it on the table next to Delight. "If
you think of anything else, please call me, day or night. In the meantime, we'd like to
take the clothing you were wearing last night back to the lab for analysis. Maybe we'll
get lucky and get a DNA sample that will match someone already in our database. It's a
long shot, but it's worth a try."
"They're upstairs. I'll go get them." Delight started to rise from the table, but Miss
Nadine stopped her.
"You sit right there, Delight. I'll take the detectives upstairs to get what they need."
Nobody said anything else as Miss Nadine jumped up from the table and directed both
of the men up the back stairs. A few minutes later they all came back down and Miss
Nadine saw both men out the door.
The second the door was closed behind the detectives, Chase turned towards his
sister. "Tell us what you didn't tell them."
Lucian could feel Delight shifting in his arms. She had lied to the police to protect
him, but he didn't know what she would say to her family.
"There's really nothing else to tell."
"That's bullshit!" Delight flinched from the accusation in Chase's voice.
Lucian could not allow this to harm her relationship with her brother. "She is
protecting me."
Chase stood quickly, knocking his chair to the floor. "Who the hell are you anyway?
And why would she protect you? I thought Delight was supposed to be with a friend
last night. Instead, all this crazy stuff happened to her and then she was attacked."
Stalking around the side of the table, he plucked his sister out of Lucian's arms and
thrust her behind him. Crossing his arms across his chest, he glared down at Lucian.
"But I get the feeling she was with you last night. Just who the hell are you?"
Lucian felt a deep pride in the young man as he defended his sister once again.