Her heart nearly stopped.
“Please.”
She slowly nodded. “I trust you.”
She had no other choice.
49
Suzanne awoke as the sun rose and cast its rays through the thick foliage of the woods. Damian lay next to her, naked, in human form. She drew her fingers over the muscle of his chest and traced the hair around his nipples, down his stomach, and then laced her fingers through the thick black curls between his legs. His cock grew instantly, and his eyes opened.
“Morning,” she said.
“My love, I’m so sorry.”
“For what?”
“For nearly—”
“But you didn’t. You didn’t want to kill me.”
“No, no. I wouldn’t have killed you. That wasn’t what I was after.”
“Oh?”
“I wanted to mate with you.”
“Oh.” Suzanne fought her gag reflex. “I’m not sure what to say to that.”
“It likely wouldn’t have worked anyway. No matter. You’re safe from that now. You got through to me. No one’s been able to until now.”
She stroked his cheek. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you’d have run away from me like a rat from a tomcat.”
“No.”
“Aye.”
Suzanne sighed. “You’re right.”
“I’m not going to lie to you. I know little about this, er, condition.”
“What about Dougal? Is he one too?”
“No. He’s not my natural da. He found me when I was a wee bairn.”
“Oh. Goodness.” She was at a loss for words. “This is all starting to make an eerie sort of sense. Isabella found Merlina’s magical documents. Evidently, Padraig is home to a host of, shall we say, interesting people.”
“If you mean vampires, you’re correct, as you’ve no doubt figured out. The man Markus is a vampire.”
“Clearly. What of Samael? I heard Markus call him Da.”
Damian shook his head. “I’m not sure what he is, but he’s not a vamp. My best guess is a demon.”
Suzanne nodded, unwilling to explore the subject of Markus and Samael any further.
“Mo leannan,” Damian said.
“Yes?”
“Did you mean it?”
“Mean what?”
“When you said you loved me.”
She warmed as fierce emotion surged though her body. “Yes, Damian. I meant it.”
“All of me?”
“Yes. All of you.”
“The man and the beast?”
She nodded. “But I don’t want to…”
He chuckled softly. “I know. Nor do I. Don’t worry. I won’t try it again. Don’t ask me how I know, but I do.”
She laughed nervously. “You haven’t steered me wrong yet.”
“And I never will.” He traced her lips with his finger. “As much as it will pain me, I want you to go back to America.”
“What? You’re kidding, right?”
“No. You’re not safe with me.”
“Of course I am. You didn’t hurt me last night.”
“That’s not what I mean.” Damian cleared his throat and looked away. “Markus took you because of me. It was me he wanted. He nearly raped you. He—” Damian choked on his words. “He would have if you hadn’t fainted.”
“I wondered why he didn’t.”
“I took care of it.”
“How?”
“It’s not important. What’s important is that you stay safe, and you’ll be safe in America.”
“Too bad. I’m not going.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Always domineering, aren’t you, Damian MacGowan? Don’t you know by now that I’m not fond of following orders?”
Damian shook his head. “Your safety is the most important thing.”
She shook her head. “Think again.” She walked into his arms and embraced him, running her hands up and down his back. What? “Turn around, Damian.”
“No.”
“You know I’ll see it sooner or later.” She walked around and looked at his back. The beautiful wolf was scarred with lashings. The sores had oozed during the night, and dirt and leaves stuck to the wounds. Suzanne’s hand whipped to her mouth as her stomach threatened to empty. “That’s how you kept them from raping me. You let them beat you.”
He nodded slowly. “Aye.”
“Oh, my sweet love.” She kissed his lips. “Which one of them did this to you?”
“Markus.”
“The other one held you in your chains? I couldn’t understand how he did that.”
“He’s a demon, love. And no, he didn’t hold me. Part of the bargain for your safety was that I offer no resistance.”
“My God.” She swallowed to hold back a heave.
“So you see why you need to leave, Suzanne. I can’t risk them taking you again.”
“I can’t believe you did this for me.” She choked back a sob. “But I’m safe with you. You got me out of there.”
“But there’s no guarantee they won’t try to take you again because of me.”
“And there’s no guarantee the sun will rise tomorrow, either.” She took both of his hands in her own. “When I went with Wade the other day, it took me all of five minutes to realize I’d made the wrong decision. That I wanted to go back to you. That I loved you.” She brought one of his hands to her lips and brushed them over his knuckles. “I’m so sorry, Damian. If I’d listened to you, I wouldn’t have been in this mess. So you did protect me. I was the one who was wrong. And I’ll always trust your judgment from now on.”