Carpathian 21 - Dark Peril

mattered little. The man had a duty as he saw it, and was prepared to defend the De La Cruz property and everyone in it.

    “Very loyal people,” Solange said.

    Loyalty, Dominic knew, was a quality Solange very much admired. He glanced at her face. Cesaro was a handsome man.

    Solange laughed. “You’re such a male. ”

    He wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her tight against him. “ Very male,” he confirmed. “And I keep what is mine.”

    She rolled her eyes at him. “Evidently you’re feeling a little insecure this evening. Have I done something to make you think I’m looking at another man?”

    “You were not looking at me.”

    Her soft laughter was like an aphrodisiac to him, sexy and teasing and all woman. “I’m always looking at you, Dominic.” Her voice changed, dropped the teasing note, and was pure, raw honesty. “You fill my vision so much there’s no room for me to see another man—ever. I only see you, Dominic.”

    His hand curled around the nape of her neck and he bent his head to taste her again. She was like the finest mixture of honey and spice and he could never get enough of her. “I could kiss you forever,” he whispered against her lips. He tasted both warrior and woman, and it was a potent mixture.

    “I had no idea kissing could be so addictive,” she said. For a brief moment her body melted into his, soft and pliant and accepting. She glanced down at the pale woman. “Do you think the neighbor deliberately marked her for death at the hands of a vampire because she wouldn’t cooperate with him?”

    He saw the shift in her mind, the depravities of the jaguar-men, and knew her thoughts sickened her. His hand moved to her ponytail, playing gently with the thick strands. “There are good men and bad men in every race and species, Solange. Living here, doing the work you do, has made you see all men in a bad light. Cesaro would never strike his woman. Once you are able to scan minds you will be able to see for yourself that many good men exist in the world.”

    She shivered slightly and he knew his reference to her being fully Carpathian disturbed her a little. She had brought the subject up once in a roundabout way, but he knew she wasn’t allowing herself to go there yet, and he respected her need to come to terms, very slowly, with what their life would be like together.

    Dominic turned back to Marguarita and shed his physical body to become wholly spirit. He had no doubts that Solange would guard his body from harm while he worked at healing the young woman whose throat was so mangled. Zacarias had given her blood, more than he probably could have spared. The interesting thing was, he found traces of Solange’s pure royal blood. The Carpathian blood was usually predominant, and here it was, but her strain was very distinct and it had somehow attached to the Carpathian blood, fully compatible, but not taken over. Her blood was very unique and had definite healing properties.

    There was no way to repair the vocal cords fully. The undead had used razor-sharp talons, shredding through the cords. Both Dominic and Zacarias had concentrated on the muscles in her throat used for breathing and swallowing. She would live, be as beautiful as ever, but she probably would never speak again, or if she did, in no more than a husky whisper. But she would live. They had done their best for her.

    He examined her mind, her memories, but there were no dark slivers of possession. She had not opened the door to the vampire. She’d heard her father’s dying warning and she’d obeyed him, backing into her room and waiting for the workers to come. She had been crying for her father, knowing he was dead, but she had not gone to the door.

    And that meant someone else had been in the house without her knowledge. That someone had been familiar enough to enter without detection, and the safeguards didn’t affect him. He was not considered an intruder.

    Dominic pulled back to reenter his body, swaying a little with no idea of time passage. Solange paced like a restless cat from window to window. She glanced over her shoulder at him. “You okay? You look pale. Do you need blood?”

    “Not yours. You are killing the parasites and we need them. I will ask Cesaro which man is strongest here.”

    “He will insist you take his blood.”

    Dominic smiled at her. “I know.”

    She covered Marguarita gently and brushed tendrils of hair from her pale face. “She’ll be