vampireinthebasement (8 page)

“I’m an idiot.”

“Why do you say that?”

He moved a piece of hair from her face and kissed her lightly. Daniella could not help the shock that went through her from his tender gestures. “Because everyone has been saying you’re special, and I didn’t want to see it. But it’s true.”

“Why am I so special then?”

“Because you’ve made me remember the reason I started watching
Caillech
, why I wanted to be with her in the first place. And what it meant to be an angel without the burdens I have now.”

Daniella trailed her nails down his cheek, feeling the heat of his skin, and for the first time wishing that she could be warm once more. She wanted her heart to beat for him, and she wanted to be able to cry once more. She wanted to be human for an angel she barely knew, but somewhere deep inside of herself she knew that they were different pieces of the same puzzle. “Why is that?” His stubble made her palm itch.

“Love.”

“Whoa! How can you love me when an hour ago you wanted to kill me still? You were reluctant to share your blood with me. Tris, that doesn’t make any sense.”

He bowed his head. “Love is what angels were built for. Well, most angels. I have been down here for so long I’d forgotten what I fundamentally was. Don’t you see? You opened my eyes.”

Daniella was not sure about his statement that he loved her. Sure, she was drawn to him, and there was something she could not deny between them, but love was a whole different world. Besides, was it even possible for a vampire and an angel to be together, even if he was a
Fallen
angel? “Well, I’m glad that I removed the wool from your eyes, but Tris, I’m not sure that there can be anything between us. I’m dead, and you’re a celestial being. You’re keeping me hidden from my master and
Balthus
. Eventually they’ll come looking for me.”

Tris stared into her eyes. A great power washed over her, and she realized it came from him. “I swear to you. No one’s going to hurt you. No one is going to take you from me. Do you believe me?” He pulled her into his arms and his wings wrapped around her in a curtain of black feathers.

She truly felt safe and protected within that embrace. No matter how many men said that they would be there for her, the only ones she had ever believed were
Balthus
and now Tris. It felt like her heartstrings were being tugged. Daniella did have some feeling toward
Balthus
because he had made her into a vampire, but she was not in love with him. That feeling had died once he had changed her. A switch had been turned off in her mind. When she was no longer human, that love vanished. Maybe she was loyal to him, but he had abandoned her when the angels were killing her nest. She should be angry and want to take out her revenge on Tris and Lori, but she could not. The longer she was around them, the more she felt like she knew them on a deeper level. She believed Tris when he said that no one was going to hurt her anymore. Daniella tried to sort through the dizzying and conflicting thoughts rolling in her mind, but it was too much. For now, she sunk into her lover’s arms and contemplated her future.

Chapter Five

“Tris, wake up!”

He felt another nudge, but he did not want to pull himself from the
the
dream he had been having about Daniella. He sank deeper into the warm arms of sleep. When he was going to drift away, he was smothered in cold. The sudden jolt made him sit up in bed. Tris opened his eyes, and standing before him was Horatio with a pitcher of water. Tris pushed water from his eyes and shook his head, hoping to figure out what was going on. He glanced around, and Daniella was not with him. Instead he heard the shower running, and still her scent clung to him, even with the water. The spicy cinnamon mixed with the mocha aroma he associated with her. Tris already missed her small body pressed against his.

They had been together now for two weeks, and the other angels were giving him hell because he was getting it on with his charge. Then again, his demeanor had changed, and all he wanted was to keep her safe. No one had come looking for her like he feared, but he figured their bliss would be shattered sooner or later. “What the hell was that about?” He stood up, grabbed a sheet to wrap around his waist toga style, and sopped up the extra water with the fabric.

Horatio set the pitcher down and flashed him a smile, but his gaze remained serious. “Sorry, but you weren’t waking up. Joe is here to see you.”

Tris’s head snapped up. Their superior was here, and that was never a good sign. Maybe he had finally figured out about him and Daniella. Tris squeezed his eyes shut and thought of the normally calm angel with all the butterflies across his chest. Joe had been their leader and liaison for as long as anyone could remember. He had only ever seen the angel infuriated a handful of times. He prayed this was not one of those times. Tris heard the water shut off, and Daniella came into the equipment room encased in a towel with a bounce in her step. The whiteness of the towel showed off her beautiful mocha skin. He returned the smile she flashed him. She wrapped her arms around him and stood on tiptoe to kiss him. Once her mouth touched his, Tris was lost. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip when she playfully grabbed it with her teeth. All the bites she had inflicted upon him lit up, and a small moan of desire came from his lips.

Oh, why does this have to be now? I want her so fucking bad.
Every time she touched him he yearned to make love to her once more. It was a compulsion that he had to fight at times to stay rational. Now was no different. If it was not for Horatio clearing his throat, he would have made love to her right there. But he pulled away and saw the devilish gleam in Daniella’s eye.

“Not to interrupt you, but Joe is waiting.”

Tris nodded. “Right, I’ll be there in a minute. Daniella, come with me.”

She shook her head. “I can’t. The sun’s out, so I have to stay in the basement.”

“Okay. I’ll be back, but he might want to talk to you too, so you’d better get dressed.”

Her fingers slid along the rim of her towel, teasing him. His cock hardened thinking of the delights underneath the fabric, but he pulled his gaze from hers. “Go, woman. Damn you!”

She shrugged. “I can’t help it. You make me horny as hell, and you’re such a handsome specimen.”

Tris grinned. “I know I am.” He willed himself dressed in his usual attire of black shirt, black jeans, and a black
trenchcoat
that hung to his knees, but felt odd not having his sword or dagger on him. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. He stood straighter and went up the stairs to face his doom. In the living room, Joe stood before the television looking at all the little baubles the others had collected over the years. A porcelain angel caught his attention that
Hesphital
had gotten from somewhere. He liked it even though the other H’s made fun of him about it.
Hesphital
came to them as a scribe, and his room was packed with books and scrolls. Tris never intruded on his past and found out more about him. Being social was never his strong point, so Lori pulled him out to nightclubs, coffee shops, or movies: any place where there was some activity, because Lori loved people. Tris always envied his friend because he made conversing with humans or any being look so easy. He wished he had been gifted with the way to communicate. The way his grief had built up, twisted into rage, and evolved into hatred. Daniella made it easy for him to see that, but he still harbored the dark hatred for vampires and wanted them extinguished.

“Horatio said you were looking for me?” Tris said to their leader.

It took a moment before Joe turned to face him. He was dressed in a long-sleeved black shirt and leather pants. Tris noticed a knife belted on his waist, and he had only once seen the angel with a weapon. The last time had been when he had come to kill Tris. Joe gave him a stern look. “You are keeping Daniella safe?”

“Of course.
You threatened me with expulsion from the Fallen and tearing my wings off. I wasn’t about to let her die.”

Joe crossed his arms over his chest. “And yet, you nearly did because you weren’t going to feed her. Luckily, you had a change of heart. Or so I hear.” He lifted an eyebrow, but his expression remained stoic.

Tris felt his cheeks burn from what he could only imagine Joe had heard, but he also felt the shame of his actions toward Daniella. “Well, yes, I was an ass to her in the beginning, I admit. You know how I feel about vampires.”

“And this one has suddenly changed your mind about the entire species?”

“No, but everyone kept saying she was special, and I didn’t see it. I finally realized it and now...I don’t want to see her hurt.”

“Good. At least you’re making progress, and there haven’t been any attacks on her.”

“No.” Tris shook his head. “We...
ahh
...don’t go out much unless it’s around here, and the property is shielded so—”

“Wonderful. Have you heard from Lori?” Joe drew the knife he had at his hip and examined the blade.

“No. Not for a couple of weeks. Last time he showed up all scruffy and needed to regroup. At least that was all he said. I knew he was still doing whatever assignment you had him on. Why? Has he not reported in?” It was unlike his friend to disobey orders and not report in. It was unlike Lori to go completely off the radar in general. Hopefully, he was not in trouble.

“No. No one has seen him. I fear the worst.”

“What exactly was he doing?” Tris asked.

Joe sighed and put the dagger back in its sheath. “He was looking for Daniella’s grandparents. Do you know if our little vampire may have figured out a way to break the protection you have around here? Or maybe she got one of you to do it for her?”

Tris shook his head. “Whoa! Daniella isn’t like the other vampires; you are right about that.”

“Hmm, I’m glad you’ve come to see that, but I need to talk to her too. Go get her,” Joe demanded.

“Sir,
it’s
daylight. She can’t go out in its rays. You know that.”

“Right, I thought she might, well—never mind; let’s go see her,” Joe grumbled.

Tris led Joe down into the basement, where he found Daniella talking and laughing with Horatio. Their conversation ceased, and he motioned for the other angel to get out of the training room so they could talk. He got up and left, cutting off their conversation. A worried look came over Daniella.
She probably thinks this is her death sentence being brought down upon her.

“Everybody okay?” she asked. She was dressed in a new, red silk peasant blouse that showed off the top of her breasts and accentuated the mocha creaminess of her skin. The jeans he had gotten her clung to her hips, and he saw himself peeling the clothes off her body and making love to her right there. She had certainly bewitched him, and he would be her slave for eternity. He suppressed the desire and wondered if this is what humans felt with their infatuations when they first met a woman they wanted to be with.

Joe appeared to be studying the creature before him. Tris wondered why he had sent Lori looking into her lineage, but he was not about to ask.
At least, not yet.
It would be best to see what other questions the angel had.

“No. Not everything is okay, Daniella. Do you happen to know where Lori is?”

She glanced at him and back at Tris. Her gaze was filled with fear. “I—
ahh
—” She looked down at her hands.

Tris could not believe what he was hearing, or not hearing, in this case. Anger rolled through him. “What are you saying? You know where Lori is? Was Joe right? Did you see him sneak out, contact your
Grigori
master, and tell him our secrets?
Fucking vampires.
I knew this was all too good to be true.” He slammed his fist into the wall and left a dent in the concrete foundation. The anger rose up and overwhelmed him. The words came out, and all he could see was red.

“
Tris,
let Daniella speak before you accuse her of anything else. Or maybe all the things you said upstairs were for my benefit.”

He gritted his teeth and looked at the woman before him with the hurt painted on her face and the innocent and wide-eyed expression that he had let himself fall for. How could he have been so stupid?
It’s all an act. I have to remember that. It has to be. She came in here and knew how to press all the right buttons. I couldn’t have really felt anything for her. Could I have?

She pulled her hand back and twisted it into her shirt. “I thought they were just dreams. They started three days ago. I saw Lori in a dark room with an abnormal and cold creature. I thought it was a bad dream. Sometimes they show things that come true. They’ve been that way since I was a kid. I can’t control them. It’s like I told Tris about feelings I get about people once I touch them. I can see inside see their soul, and.... I think
it’s
one reason I can’t kill people.
Balthus
holds out hope that I’ll get over it. That’s why I wasn’t at the feeding when you burst in and killed the nest. If I had known it was real, I would have said something.”

“I bet,” Tris muttered.

“I believe you, Daniella. And it makes sense from all the other information that I’ve gathered about you.”

Her eyebrows came together in a questioning look. “What do you mean?”

“What do you know about where your parents came from?” Joe asked.

She shrugged. “Not much. I was in foster care by the time I was two. My birth certificate says my mother was white and my father was black, but that’s about it. I’ve never really thought about it, except that
Balthus
said one of them had to be an incubus or a succubus. I knew I wasn’t full-blooded, just part, or maybe even that one of my grandparents was one; I don’t know.”

Joe stroked his chin. “What if I told you he was partially right?”

Daniella laughed. “Before I became a vampire, I would’ve told you that you were crazy. Now, I’m more inclined to believe in anything. Hell, a couple of weeks ago I didn’t know that angels existed, and here I am surrounded by
Fallen
ones who are supposed to be the evil ones of the lot.”

“We’re not evil, just misunderstood. Humans have been kept in the dark about our true nature,” Joe explained. “Besides, not everything in the good book is true.”

* * * *

Daniella was not sure what she was hearing was true. She doubted what the angel said was a lie. The past couple of weeks, she had been in Heaven, with Tris making love to her and feeding off him when she needed. But it was more than that. Each time they were together, he opened himself up more. The more that she could learn about him, the deeper she saw the hurt that marked his soul, a vein of the rage that split him in two. He was trying to overcome it, but it was challenging for him. Feelings were blossoming inside of her that she could not voice at the moment, but hearing Tris call her all those things hurt her heart more than she realized it would. Daniella would never do anything to hurt him or the other angels. She had made friends with Horatio and some of the others. She had not thought she could ever be friends with the
ones
who had killed her nest, but the longer she was away from them, the more she realized that she was different from them.