The Vampire’s Redemption

“It means that I’ve been with a few women in my time. But I prefer men. Is he seeing anyone?”

Danielle felt a little thrown by this man’s straightforwardness. “Not that I know of.”

“Perhaps I’ll ask him to join me for a bite sometime.”

“I think he’d like that,” Danielle admitted, easily remembering the lust in Jack’s eyes the minute he had spotted Michael’s brother. “So what are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to see you.”

“Why?”

“We need to talk.”

“About…?”

“You. And my brother. I don’t like it.”

Danielle blinked. She could tell this man was blunt, but she had not expected him to be this blunt. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Stephen took a sip of his wine, his dark eyes never leaving her. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to continue seeing my brother.”

“What does Michael have to say about it?” Danielle retorted, and then she paled as she was struck with a horrible suspicion. “Oh my God,” she said, her eyes widening. “Did he send you to dump me?”

“What? No!” Stephen said quickly. “Of course not. In fact, he’d probably kill me if he knew I was here.”

Danielle sighed in relief, then she straightened up to her full height. “Then I don’t understand,” she said, meeting Stephen’s penetrating gaze with her own stern one. “You don’t even know me.”

“I don’t need to know you,” Stephen said. “I know my brother, and that’s more than enough. You’d be much better off if you stayed away from him.”

“Why? I’m not going to hurt him.”

“Maybe,” Stephen conceded. “But he’s sure going to hurt you.”

Danielle felt a shiver run down her spine. That Michael’s own brother would be coming to warn her off of him was definitely not a good sign.

“What are you talking about?” she demanded.

Stephen sighed heavily. “Look, my brother…he’s a good guy, really. But he’s impulsive. He throws himself into things that may be bigger than him, and when he realizes it he backpedals with no care for the consequences whatsoever.”

“Are you saying Michael will disappear on me?”

“He might,” Stephen said. “Actually, I hope he does, sooner rather than later. My brother is a loose cannon. He acts on a whim. He can’t offer you anything that a woman might want.”

“You don’t know what I want,” Danielle said. “And if your brother is so impulsive, how come he hasn’t even kissed me yet?”

Stephen groaned. “I was afraid of this,” he said quietly, almost to himself. He looked back up at her and swallowed visibly. “I think he may be falling for you.”

Danielle’s heart did a somersault in her chest. She did her best not to show her excitement to this man who was clearly so dead set against her being with Michael. “And that’s bad because…?”

“Because he’ll be safer if he doesn’t have you in his life.”

Danielle stared at him. Stephen’s words felt like a slap in her face. She couldn’t understand what he was saying, and she sure couldn’t understand why he was saying it. The one thing she knew was that she didn’t appreciate a stranger coming to tell her who she could and could not see—even if that stranger was Michael’s own brother.

“With all due respect,” she began, her voice cold and hard, “this isn’t any of your business.”

Stephen smiled a bitter smile. “Oh, but it is. You have no idea—”

“Stephen!”

Stephen jumped. For the first time since he had walked in, the confident expression slipped away from his face to be replaced by a startled, almost guilty one. It was gone in a flash, but Danielle had caught it, and it gave her a sense of satisfaction.

Michael strode up to the bar. “What are you doing?” he demanded.

Stephen turned around to face him. “I’m just having a chat with your lovely new conquest.”

Michael shot Danielle a quick look. It was clear that he noticed her distress immediately, because he then proceeded to glare at his brother with a thunderous expression on his face.

“What did you say to her?”

“Only what you should have told her from the start.”

Danielle was impressed by the fact that Stephen wasn’t even trying to cover up his actions.

Michael looked over at her. “What did he tell you?”

Danielle swallowed nervously. She wasn’t sure she should touch this with a ten-foot pole; coming between brothers was never a good idea. But the matter did concern her directly, after all.

“He…uh…look, I’m working,” she finally snapped. “I don’t think we should be having this conversation right now.”

The brothers had the good grace to look embarrassed.

“Sorry, Danielle,” Michael offered sincerely. “We’ll sort it out between us.”

Danielle snorted. “Let me know how that goes.”

She watched Michael all but drag his younger brother out of the pub. He promised to come back later, but Danielle wasn’t quite sure she wanted him to. Her head was still spinning with Stephen’s words, and it continued to spin for the whole duration of her shift. What did Stephen mean when he said Michael would be safer without her in his life? What kind of danger could she possibly represent?

*****

“Stephen, you had no right—”

“You don’t get it. I’m trying to look out for you.”

“Who asked you?”

Michael was furious. He could not believe his brother. Stephen wasn’t usually one to interfere so blatantly. Try as he might, Michael couldn’t get the lost expression on Danielle’s face out of his mind. Now he was pacing up and down the living room in their rented home, but the movement did nothing to ease his tension.

“What did you tell her exactly?” he demanded. “Did you tell her?”

“No!” Stephen cried, appalled at the suggestion. “Do you really think I would expose us?”

“Frankly, I don’t know what to think right now, Stephen. What possessed you? Now she’s going to start asking questions.”

“Good for her,” Stephen said, unfazed. “And for you. Maybe that will finally convince you to stop seeing her.”

Michael let out a low growl. “What did you tell her?” he asked again.

“I told her I don’t like you seeing each other. I told her to stay away from you. I told her you’ll be safer if she’s not around.”

“You—” Michael’s protest died on his tongue as all of his brother’s words registered. “What are you talking about?”

Stephen looked defiantly at him. “She’d dangerous, Michael.”

“What?”

“I didn’t want her either. She turned my hunger off.”

“So?”

“So that’s not a good thing!” Stephen snapped. “It felt…wrong. It’s not natural.”

Michael let out a laugh. “Come on, Stephen. Nothing about us is natural.”

“Yes, well…this was even more not natural.”

Michael ran a hand over his face and exhaled slowly. “You’re being ridiculous. She’s not a threat to us.”

“How do you know? We have no idea why she’s having this effect on us, and you’re even more biased.”

Michael frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re falling for her.”