“What rules?”

“As long as you love me, you don’t get to leave.”

He raised an eyebrow, surprised at her easy tone. “Does that rule go both ways?”

Her finger swiped over his lips in a slow and lazy stroke. “Why don’t you ask what you really want to know?”

He suddenly felt lighthearted, her playful attitude helping him relax. Maybe he could give this a try. “Tell me you don’t love me and I’ll let you go now.”

“When I’m near you, I can feel you in here.” She pressed her hand against her heart.  “And when you’re gone, there’s an emptiness there. And it hurts. And the pain only goes away when you’re close again. Tell me, Zane, tell me what that is.”

Her eyes were round like saucers and as beautiful as he’d ever seen her. Laced in those eyes was the knowledge that she knew the answer to her question, but that she wanted him to acknowledge it. She wanted him to accept it.

“Does it feel like your heart will tear into pieces at the thought that we’d never see each other again?” Because it was what he felt. And the pain was unbearable.

Portia nodded.

“Baby girl,” he murmured and brushed his lips against hers. “Are you sure?”

Instead of another nod, she pressed her lips against his for a slow kiss. Her breath bounced against him when she parted her lips to speak.

“Have you figured it out yet?” she mumbled against his mouth.

Zane drew back a few inches so he could look into her eyes. “You love me.”

How, he didn’t know, but in her eyes shone the love he hadn’t wanted to see at first.

“I love you, Zane.”

Would he ever be worthy of it? He tried not to think of it, not to worry that she would change her mind and walk away from him one day. He wouldn’t survive it, because losing her would rob him of the last piece of his heart and turn him into the monster that lurked in the shadows.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Gabriel had expected the call, but not so quickly. But when he heard Lewis’ voice asking about his daughter Portia, there was no doubt that the shit would soon hit the fan.

As discussed with Samson earlier, he quickly patched him into the call. This situation needed to be handled with care.

“It’s Robert Lewis, Portia’s father.”

“Damn!” Samson cursed. “Have you told him anything yet?”

“No. But we won’t be able to stall him.”

“I know. Get him on the line.”

Gabriel pressed a button and heard the other man’s breathing on the other end. “Mr. Lewis, you’re on the line with Samson Woodford, the owner of Scanguards.”

“Where is my daughter? She’s not answering her cell, and nobody’s picking up the phone at home.” There was a good deal of impatience in his voice.

Samson cleared his voice. “Let me assure you, Mr. Lewis, that your daughter is well.”

Well? Gabriel felt the urge the scratch his head at Samson’s conversation starter. How could Portia be well with Zane? His fellow vampire and second in command was a raving lunatic! He’d kidnapped his charge. Didn’t that sum things up nicely?

“What are you saying? What happened to her?” The impatience in Lewis’ voice was instantly replaced with panic.

Gabriel immediately realized that he cared for his daughter. After the things Samson had relayed to him about Zane’s bizarre claim that her father wanted to keep her a virgin for some perverted reason, Gabriel hadn’t expected him to show the kind of concern that was now evident in his voice. It only cemented his own belief that Zane had to be wrong.

“She’s still in our care.”

“What does that mean?” Lewis yelled into the phone, prompting Gabriel to move the handset away from his ear.

“What Mr. Woodford means is that no harm has come to her,” Gabriel interjected.

“Get her on the phone! NOW!”

“Uh, Mr. Lewis, there’s something I need to discuss with you before you can speak to your daughter.”

A snarl ripped through the line. This wasn’t going well, and why should it? The man had a right to speak to his daughter, and he knew it. No amount of stalling was going to get them out of this quagmire.

“Your daughter has made certain claims, and I’m afraid that we’re compelled to investigate these alleg—”

“What lies has she been telling you?”

“We’re not sure at this point whether they are lies. Your daughter has convinced at least one of our employees to take her allegations seriously, and considering the seriousness of her claim and the potential implications on your daughter’s future, we have decided to look into this.”