Dark Obsession (Vampire Royals of New York #3) - Sarah Piper Page 0,16

her about hashtag Sexy Sniffer—but I can’t. I can’t, Dorian, because she’s gone. She doesn’t have her phone. I don’t even know if she’s okay, or… God. All day I tried to keep it together. Figuring stuff out with Aiden and Cole, waiting for you to come back, playing Midnight Marauder—anything to distract myself from freaking out. A hundred times, I grabbed my phone to call Rudy, but I was too scared. I don’t know how he expects me to respond to all this, and what if I slip up and he realizes I know he’s a demon? I can’t risk pissing him off. Sasha’s just a kid. She must be terrified.”

Dorian removed the gifts from the bed, then pulled her into his warm embrace, holding her without saying a word as she completely fell apart.

It was the first time she’d allowed herself to lose control since Sasha had been taken, and through it all, his strength never wavered. She shattered in his arms, and he let her. He offered no false promises, no half-truths, no platitudes.

He gave her only love and support. Only the space to breathe.

And then, when she was certain she’d wrung out the last tear, she finally found the strength to look into his eyes again.

Dorian’s lashes were wet with tears of his own—a sight that damn near melted what was left of her tattered heart.

“I know I can’t make this better for you right now,” he said, “but I won’t allow you to face any of this alone, Charlotte. Not your uncle. Not the grays.” He slipped beneath the blankets and turned her around in his arms, kissing the back of her neck. “I will slay every one of your demons, love. That is a promise.”

She pulled his arm tight around her waist, and the last of her fears drained away as her body melted into his hold. It felt as if they’d been created for exactly that purpose—to fit together perfectly.

A tiny bubble of laughter rose up from inside—a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds.

“What’s so funny?” Dorian asked.

“I was just thinking about that night in the Salvatore closet.”

“Hmm. One of my favorite nights. One of my favorite closets too.”

“I never thought… I mean, you were just supposed to be this really hot guy with a dirty mouth. I thought it was just a fling, you know? But look where it got me.”

“Are you saying you no longer find me attractive? Or dirty, for that matter?”

“No.” She closed her eyes, focusing on the comforting rhythm of his heartbeat against her back. “I’m saying I’m in love with you. And the truth is, Dorian… I don’t know how to be anything else.”

Dorian tightened his hold and murmured something into her hair, but Charley was already drifting back to sleep, her worries temporarily evaporating in the strong, protective embrace of the vampire she loved.

There was so much he hadn’t said tonight—so much he was still guarding close, desperate to protect her from the things he feared would scare her off.

But there was nothing he could say to frighten her. No situation too dark or gruesome, no confession too bleak, no secret too shameful.

Because through all the craziness and uncertainty, one rock-solid, unshakeable truth had emerged.

The vampire king didn’t need to slay her demons. All he needed to do was stand by her side.

And no demon—in this realm or the next—stood a fucking chance.

Chapter Seven

“I don’t know whether to be mortally afraid of you, seriously impressed, or incredibly turned on.”

Dorian stood on the front porch of Vincent Estas’ home on the outskirts of Woodstock, watching in awe as Charlotte slid something she’d called a bump key into the front lock.

She was dressed head to toe in tight black clothing, a small leather satchel slung over her shoulder that held her tricks of the trade. Dorian had taken her into the city yesterday to retrieve it from a small storage unit in Chelsea where she kept her professional gear—gear she claimed she hadn’t used in years. Not since she’d been promoted to the much more lucrative art scenes she currently worked.

Most recently worked, he silently amended. Those days, she’d promised him, were behind her.

Though he had to admit—she was damn good at her job.

Perhaps it’s like riding a bike, he thought as he watched her wield the tools like some sort of heist-movie heroine.

But this wasn’t a movie. It was an extremely dangerous mission with potentially deadly consequences. If Estas returned, or if any other demons showed