The monster that walked in the night.

A child's fear.

For her it had never been the bogeyman.

It had been her father.

"A cigarette burn when I tried to hide his whiskey."

His features tightened, forcibly reminding her of the predator who had stalked through the wizard's cavern to rescue her.

"Where is he?" he growled, making the hairs on the back of her neck prickle.

"Dead."

His eyes were flat. 'There are means to reach him even dead. Viper—"

"God, no," she breathed in genuine horror. "I don't even want to think he might be anywhere but rotting in his grave."

Easily sensing her distress, he pressed his lips to the top of her head.

"Shh… It's okay, Abby. He can't hurt you anymore."

She pressed her eyes closed. He didn't understand.

But then, no one did.

No one who hadn't lived through her childhood.

"It's not that." She lifted her gaze. "I don't want to be like him."

He gave a jolt of surprise. "Bloody hell, Abby, you could never be like him."

She barely noticed the manner in which his accent thickened when his emotions were roused.

"How do you know?" she demanded starkly. 'We don't know what this Phoenix might do to me."

He cupped his fingers beneath her chin, forcing her to meet his fierce gaze.

"I know that it will only strike out to protect itself. Selena was incapable of hurting anyone. A fact that annoyed the hell out of her. She came from a time when no one would blink if she wanted to beat a servant. Even if she beat him to death." He grimaced in reluctant memory. "There wasn't a day that went by she didn't long to have me tied to a post and have me properly whipped."

She regarded him warily, desperately wanting to believe his soft words.

"What about the water…"

He took her hand and firmly placed it against the smooth silk of his chest.

"It was no warmer than most spas. I just happen to possess a sensitivity to heat." He gave a shake of his head, "lou are not your father, Abby. You could never be cruel. It's simply not in your nature."

She smiled wryly at his arrogant assurance. 'You sound very certain for a vampire who has only known me a few months."

He arched a raven brow. "It's because I'm a vampire that I know. I can read your soul, Abby, and it is as pure and beautiful as any I have ever seen."

She became lost in his gaze. She had never had anyone tell her such amazing things. Not her worthless parents. Not her brothers.

Not even those rare handful of men who wanted to lift her skirt.

It made her feel warm and gooey and remarkably cherished.

It also eased the last of her lingering self-disgust.

She was not her father. She was pure and beautiful.

Well, that's what Dante believed.

And that was all that truly mattered.

Reaching up, she cupped his breathtaking face in her hands and pulled him down to her waiting lips.

Soon enough they would be battling the forces of evil. Damn the luck.

She would be a fool not to enjoy this rare moment of peace.

Dante's lips landed upon her mouth with a searing kiss, and her body reacted with its usual zing of excitement.

His fingers found her already-hard nipple, and the zings became zooms.

Arching toward his ready erection, Abby gave herself to the dark desire.

Chapter 15

Abby awoke naked and disoriented.

Not always a bad thing. Especially when she was still warm and tingly from Dante's touch. But she discovered that she didn't care for being naked, disoriented, and alone.

Crawling from beneath the covers, she discovered that someone had kindly left a pair of jeans and a T-shirt on top of the dresser. There was also a new white lace thong and matching bra.

She grimaced. She had never been much of a thong woman.

Probably because she hadn't been a size two since grade school.

Beggars, however, could not be choosers. After slipping on the tiny underwear, she pulled the T-shirt over her head before padding into the outer room.

A wave of relief rushed through her as she discovered Dante standing beside the wall refrigerator, looking extraordinarily fine in a pair of leather pants and black silk shirt he had yet to button. His silken hair was still loose about his alabaster face, and the candlelight shimmered in his silver eyes.

Fine, indeed.

So fine that Abby barely noted the empty cup of blood he set aside at her approach.

A smile twitched at his lips as he allowed his gaze to take a slow, appreciative survey of her scarcely covered body.

"Nice, lover. Very nice."

Abby rolled her eyes, although inwardly she did a bit of preening. And why not? No one but Dante had ever made her feel as if she were thong-worthy.

"What time is it?"

"Almost nine."

Abby blinked in surprise. "Why didn't you wake me?"

'You needed your rest." Dante reached into the refrigerator to pull out a plastic cup. "Here."

Abby regarded the offering with a wrinkled nose.

"I don't suppose it's that hot fudge sundae you've been promising?"

His smile widened. 'The next best thing."

She thought of the green guck with a shudder. "Liar."

He moved forward to press the cup into her reluctant fingers, his lips brushing the top of her curls.

"I'll make you a deal. You finish that and I'll buy you as many hot fudge sundaes as you can eat."

Abby briefly sucked in the male scent of his cologne before stepping back to regard him with a suspicious glare.

"Okay, what's going on? Zombies? Wizards? The end of the world?"

A raven brow arched. "What are you talking about?"

'You're never this easy to get along with."

He gave a startled chuckle. "Me? Lover, I'm not the difficult one." Dipping his finger into the neckline of the T-shirt, he gave it a tug to inspect the barely-there bra. "Of course, there are moments when you are less difficult than others. Like when you-"

She swatted his hand away. "Dante, I'm not going to be distracted."

He gave his fangs a meaningful lick. "Actually, I think I'm already distracted."

Damn. Her nipples hardened. Determinedly she kept herself from melting into a puddle.

'You're up to something. What is it?"

"Nothing."

'Try again."

He hesitated and Abby felt her stomach muscles tighten. She wasn't going to like this.

"I have an errand I must run," he at last confessed.

"What sort of errand?"

"I'm returning to Selena's house to see if there are any clues to where the witches might have gone."

She considered his words a moment before giving a nod of her head and setting aside the cup o' goo.

"Not a bad idea. Let me take a shower and—"

He reached out to grasp her arms in a firm grip. "I'm going alone, Abby."

"No."

'Yes."

Her temper soared as she poked him in the chest. Hard.

"Dammit, Dante, it's a little too late to try and keep me out of danger."

"I will not have you taking unnecessary risks."

"The only risk is leaving me alone. You're supposed to be my guardian."

His expression hardened at her stubborn determination.

"You will not be alone here. Viper will keep you safe."

Abby was not impressed. Viper might be all kinds of delicious goodness, but the last time they had stayed at this hotel, they had nearly died.

"From zombies?" she demanded with a poke. "Dark wizards?" Poke, poke. "Creepy crawlies we don't even know about yet?"

Grasping her fingers, Dante lifted them to his mouth to give them a lingering kiss.

"He'll be on his guard this time, I swear. Nothing will get past him."

"I don't care."

"Abby—"

She threw her arms about his narrow waist and pressed her face to his chest.

"Damn you, I can't do this alone," she muttered. If something happens to you, I won't be able to go on."

He lightly stroked her hair. 'You will have to."

"No, I can't." She pulled back to regard him with a resolute frown. "We're in this together, buster, and if you leave here, I'll follow you. I swear I will."

His jaw briefly tightened before he gave a rueful shake of his head. "You truly are a pain in the ass, lover."

"But a most beautiful pain in the ass," a hypnotic voice husked from directly behind her.

"Exquisite," another deeply accented voice concurred.

With a jerk of surprise, Abby turned about to dis-cover two male vampires standing far too close for comfort.

"Holy… freaking… cow," she breathed, her jaw dropping.

Dante was a dark and beautiful pirate. Viper was an exotic aristocrat.

These two…

They were sex magnets.

Gods of lust.