Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(54)

“Call it what you want. I’m not your good-time guy. I’m just your guy.” He kissed me again, this time lingering over my mouth and making me tremble. His tongue foraged deeply in my mouth, rubbing against mine in a way that went straight to my pink parts. His hand stroked my curves under the pants I was wearing. He came up for air and pressed his forehead against mine. “We need each other, Zoey. You’ll see that. I’m not like that vampire. I won’t try to keep you in a cage. I know the supernatural world. I can show you amazing things. I want to show you the world, not keep it from you.”

“He’s just afraid I’ll get hurt.” I was uncomfortable talking about Daniel with Dev.

“He’s afraid he’ll lose control. Don’t get me wrong, Zoey. As vampires go, Daniel is all right. But he is a vampire, and they’re all the same. He wants to dominate everything around him. His instinct is to kill or control. He’s protected you by telling the Council you’re his companion. It’s a good thing. No other vampires will bother you, but if I thought he was trying to make you a real companion, I would stake him myself.”

I pushed away from him and scrambled to sit up. “How can you say that?”

Dev sat back, his eyes wary. “I can say it because I know more about that world than you do. I deal with a lot of vamps at my clubs. There’s a reason he’s kept you apart from that world. Some part of Daniel has managed to cling to his old life in a way I’ve never seen in a vampire. He remembers that he loved you once, and he wants to protect you.”

“What’s so bad about being a companion?” For so long I wanted nothing more than to be that for Daniel. It seemed like such a nice thing to be.

Dev looked at me like I was a na?ve child. “Zoey, a companion isn’t like the vampire’s wife. She’s the vampire’s possession. She’s required to obey her master. Legally a vampire can kill another vampire for even touching his companion in a sexual way. The Council would sanction the killing. They tend to kill anyone who tries to take their companions. Then there’s the fact that the companion can legally be executed if she strays.”

“Daniel would never do that.” It seemed there was a lot I didn’t know.

“Yes, he would,” Dev said with a sympathetic surety. “He knows he would and that’s why he’s stayed away. The bond between vampire and companion is twisted, and Daniel doesn’t want that for you. He wants to see you safe. He knows how dangerous the Council can be to a woman like you.”

“What does that mean?”

“You’re special, Zoey. I don’t completely understand it. Albert picked up on it.” He frowned a little. “But Daniel is trying to be reasonable. I actually admire him for it. He knows something you don’t. The Daniel you knew died long ago. This is just an echo, and before too long, it will be gone and all that will be left is vampire.”

“He wants to meet the dawn.” It was the first time I mentioned it to anyone, and the minute it was out of my mouth, I wished I hadn’t said it. It felt like a betrayal to talk to Dev about this.

“They’ll never let him.” He didn’t seem surprised at what Daniel wanted to do. He just seemed certain that no one would allow him to do it.

“The Council? But the Council helps vampires who don’t want to live.”

Dev nodded and proceeded with caution. The way he was handling me made me wary that worse revelations were sure to come. “It’s true that the Council helps old men meet the dawn, but I assure you they’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that Daniel Donovan continues to walk the night. He really hasn’t told you anything, has he? Daniel is important to the Council. He’s practically royalty.”

I stared at him. It wasn’t true. What he said went against everything I knew about the vampire world. Age was prized over youth. The young were merely tolerated. “Why is he important? He’s so young that he doesn’t have any power. Only very old vampires have real power.”

I watched as Dev decided what he wanted to say next. “The day after I met you, I asked Albert to work up profiles on your whole team. Don’t get pissed off. You would do the same thing if you had my resources.”

I frowned but let him continue because he was right. I would totally have hired a PI to dig into his background if I had the time and the money. As it was, I had only the resources to Google him and take a look at his Facebook page. “What did you find out?”

“I found out a lot of things. I found out that Neil lived on the streets for five years before your father took an interest in him and introduced him to you. Sarah has some unsavory connections. Her mother was heavily into black magic before she died. You’re a talented thief who secretly reads romance novels.”

I threw a pillow at him. “How the hell did you find that out?”

“I didn’t need a Pl for that. I snooped. You leave them on the window sill in your bathroom because you read while you soak in that tiny tub of yours. I have a gorgeous antique claw foot tub at my place, by the way. There is more than enough room for two.”

I ignored the invitation. “And Daniel?”

The flirtatious look on his face fled. “Daniel Donovan is the single most powerful vampire to rise in the last thousand years.”

I was speechless for a moment. That was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard. “Daniel isn’t powerful. He can barely function as a vampire.”