Samson's Lovely Mortal
Page 26
“Definitely tense. So it’s true then?”
He gave her a sharp look, unwilling to even guess where she was headed with her insinuation.
“Go play your games with somebody else. You should have realized by now that I don’t care for your company.”
“You once did. In fact, you craved it. Don’t you remember?”
Oh, he remembered. “I don’t recall much about that time, given that I was temporarily insane back then. So why don’t you move along. There must be plenty of rich guys in town you haven’t bedded yet. Or have you slept your way through them already?”
“At least they can get it up.” Her light tone belied the venom in her words. She sipped nonchalantly on her glass of wine.
Samson hissed under his breath. How he would have liked to snap her little neck. He could almost hear the sound it would make when breaking.
“You should be careful about the lies you’re spreading,” he warned her in a low tone. “Lies can kill people. Even people like you.”
“They’re not called lies if they’re true. So, it looks like I broke you.”
Damn Holly! She really spread gossip faster than anybody he knew.
“Don’t flatter yourself. It doesn’t become you.” He never wanted to feel Ilona’s touch again. The very thought disgusted him. How he could have ever enjoyed her evil hands on him, was a mystery.
“If you come back to me I can fix you,” she hummed, obviously convinced of her seductive powers.
“You can’t fix what’s not broken.” True. He had been broken only a day ago, but now, thanks to Delilah, everything was working just fine.
“Liar.”
“I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last woman on earth. So, leave me alone.”
Samson turned, and she put a hand on his arm. He whipped back around and shot her a venomous look, jerking his arm away from her.
“Darling, sorry to keep you so long,” Delilah’s voice suddenly chirped next to him. He felt her warm hand on his arm, instantly relaxing his taut muscles. Gratefully, he turned to her.
“Here’s your water, sweetness.” In the corner of his eye he could see Ilona’s surprise. She stood there frozen as she watched them, while he placed his hand on Delilah’s back to pull her away.
“Thank you.” He kept his voice low as they walked through the bar area.
“It looked like you wanted to get away from her.” There was an unspoken question in her voice.
“I did.”
“Somebody you know?”
Should he tell her? It wouldn’t do any harm. “Ex-girlfriend.”
“Oh. She’s beautiful.” Delilah sounded deflated.
“Only on the outside.” Samson knew what she felt. Women, whether humans or vampires, were predictable in one way: they always compared themselves to other women. He had to stop her from worrying about it. He pulled her into a corner and looked deep into her eyes.
“You are more beautiful than any woman I’ve ever met. And if there weren’t so many people here, I’d show you just how desirable I think you are.”
His fingers stroked her cheek softly. He wanted to kiss her, but not here, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop once he started. Instead he pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. Her skin was warm and sweet. He nipped at her index finger and pulled it between his lips, closing around it and letting his tongue play with it.
“Samson …” Her voice was but a whisper.
He watched her as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, until he let go of her finger. He was more than satisfied with the effect he had on her. She responded to each of his seductive movements, and he wasn’t even using vampire mind control. That’s right, he wasn’t! He hadn’t even noticed. Every interaction with her had been completely and utterly devoid of any mind control on his part.
Vampires used mind control to place thoughts in their intended victims’ minds to allow them to approach them and feed from them, and then later, to wipe their memories clear so they wouldn’t have any recollection of the events.
Since Samson didn’t feed off humans unless it was an emergency, he rarely had the need to use mind control. He drank blood acquired through a blood bank and was content with it. It wasn’t quite the same as the warm, pulsating blood coming straight from a human’s veins, but it was sufficient to satisfy his hunger and nourish his body.
Of course, when he’d been a new vampire, and there had been no such thing as a blood bank, he had taken blood directly from humans. Sometimes he’d taken too much and had accidentally killed humans. Over the years he’d learned to control himself better. When blood had become more readily available on the commercial market, he’d switched to it.
He gave her a sharp look, unwilling to even guess where she was headed with her insinuation.
“Go play your games with somebody else. You should have realized by now that I don’t care for your company.”
“You once did. In fact, you craved it. Don’t you remember?”
Oh, he remembered. “I don’t recall much about that time, given that I was temporarily insane back then. So why don’t you move along. There must be plenty of rich guys in town you haven’t bedded yet. Or have you slept your way through them already?”
“At least they can get it up.” Her light tone belied the venom in her words. She sipped nonchalantly on her glass of wine.
Samson hissed under his breath. How he would have liked to snap her little neck. He could almost hear the sound it would make when breaking.
“You should be careful about the lies you’re spreading,” he warned her in a low tone. “Lies can kill people. Even people like you.”
“They’re not called lies if they’re true. So, it looks like I broke you.”
Damn Holly! She really spread gossip faster than anybody he knew.
“Don’t flatter yourself. It doesn’t become you.” He never wanted to feel Ilona’s touch again. The very thought disgusted him. How he could have ever enjoyed her evil hands on him, was a mystery.
“If you come back to me I can fix you,” she hummed, obviously convinced of her seductive powers.
“You can’t fix what’s not broken.” True. He had been broken only a day ago, but now, thanks to Delilah, everything was working just fine.
“Liar.”
“I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last woman on earth. So, leave me alone.”
Samson turned, and she put a hand on his arm. He whipped back around and shot her a venomous look, jerking his arm away from her.
“Darling, sorry to keep you so long,” Delilah’s voice suddenly chirped next to him. He felt her warm hand on his arm, instantly relaxing his taut muscles. Gratefully, he turned to her.
“Here’s your water, sweetness.” In the corner of his eye he could see Ilona’s surprise. She stood there frozen as she watched them, while he placed his hand on Delilah’s back to pull her away.
“Thank you.” He kept his voice low as they walked through the bar area.
“It looked like you wanted to get away from her.” There was an unspoken question in her voice.
“I did.”
“Somebody you know?”
Should he tell her? It wouldn’t do any harm. “Ex-girlfriend.”
“Oh. She’s beautiful.” Delilah sounded deflated.
“Only on the outside.” Samson knew what she felt. Women, whether humans or vampires, were predictable in one way: they always compared themselves to other women. He had to stop her from worrying about it. He pulled her into a corner and looked deep into her eyes.
“You are more beautiful than any woman I’ve ever met. And if there weren’t so many people here, I’d show you just how desirable I think you are.”
His fingers stroked her cheek softly. He wanted to kiss her, but not here, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop once he started. Instead he pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed her fingertips. Her skin was warm and sweet. He nipped at her index finger and pulled it between his lips, closing around it and letting his tongue play with it.
“Samson …” Her voice was but a whisper.
He watched her as she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, until he let go of her finger. He was more than satisfied with the effect he had on her. She responded to each of his seductive movements, and he wasn’t even using vampire mind control. That’s right, he wasn’t! He hadn’t even noticed. Every interaction with her had been completely and utterly devoid of any mind control on his part.
Vampires used mind control to place thoughts in their intended victims’ minds to allow them to approach them and feed from them, and then later, to wipe their memories clear so they wouldn’t have any recollection of the events.
Since Samson didn’t feed off humans unless it was an emergency, he rarely had the need to use mind control. He drank blood acquired through a blood bank and was content with it. It wasn’t quite the same as the warm, pulsating blood coming straight from a human’s veins, but it was sufficient to satisfy his hunger and nourish his body.
Of course, when he’d been a new vampire, and there had been no such thing as a blood bank, he had taken blood directly from humans. Sometimes he’d taken too much and had accidentally killed humans. Over the years he’d learned to control himself better. When blood had become more readily available on the commercial market, he’d switched to it.
