A New Meaning to the Night

Chapter Twelve: Unwelcome Guests

While William dealt with Cori, Damien watched Sam sleep, relieved that the pain was over. It was a wonder she'd even managed to survive the spell with the toll it seemed to have taken on her, however, he suspected she'd somehow tapped into her dormant side.

He kept one eye warily on the door which he had closed. He had nothing against Cori and would readily admit that he was sorry for what had happened to her, but sympathy didn't mean he trusted her. Sam was weak and defenseless. It would be stupid for them to place all their faith in a newly turned vampire simply because she was best friends with Sam. Even thinking about it irritated him. William was usually much more careful than this, what was going on? Between the two of them, neither man had left the house since they'd arrived. To Damien, it was abundantly clear why he hadn't left. He'd gone and fallen for the stubborn chit lying there.

He'd known it was love around the time he'd realized she'd nearly killed herself to ease Cori's suffering, but he strongly suspected it had been around the time she'd been attacked by those wolves over a year prior that he'd been struck with it. He could have cursed the day he'd responded to William's call and tracked her down at that damned festival, but he didn't think it was likely to make anything any better. As for William...the man was over 860 years old, he was far past the age of changing. William showed little affection for anyone, and everything he did had a reason backed by undeniable logic. Trusting Cori's ability to control herself just wasn't logical, unless...

Damien shook his head with a half laugh and returned his focus to Sam. William couldn't be attracted to her. William wasn't attracted to anyone.

***

Sam didn't come to for another two days, and when she did it was with Damien sitting in a chair pressed up against the side of her bed. He should have been gone, he knew she'd be angry when she saw him, especially if she knew he hadn't allowed Cori to so much as stand in the doorway to see her. When she opened her eyes and saw him, she started to give him a puzzled smile, but it only took her a few seconds to remember. The smile disappeared and she tried to sit up, anger flashing across her face.

He stood up quickly to push her back down, "You need to rest; that spell could've killed you." She jerked away from his touch and scowled, "Get out of my house, Damien. You're not welcome here."

He felt her words stab at him, but he disregarded the pain and held her down. "Sam, I know you don't want to hear what I have to say, but you're going to listen to me."

"Where is Cori? She's the only person I have any intention of listening to. You have no business being here." Even indisposed and unable to get herself into a sitting position, she lifted that damned chin and glared.

Irritation started to transform into anger as Damien found himself overcome with the fear he had felt at the thought of losing her over this most recent stunt. "Cori is working with William in an attempt to help ease her through the transition, and you managed to sap yourself of all of your strength so you're in no place to be cursing anyone. I'm sure that must be extremely inconvenient for you."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Don't think I won't still try it."

Running a hand through his hair, Damien began to pace, but he shot her a warning look. "You had no business taking such a big risk with your life just to make her feel better. Don't you know that could've killed you? Have you no concept of self-preservation? Cori would've survived. She would've suffered and it would have been painful, but she would've survived. You could have died!"

"And yet here I am, alive and well," Sam drawled, rolling her eyes. "It's my life, and I'll do with it as I please."

"And what about me?" he snapped, leaning over her with a snarl. His fangs glinted dangerously and his pupils were becoming slits. "Did you even consider what would happen to me if you were dead?"