Night's Surrender by Amanda Ashley

“It’s an odd concept for most vampires, you know. We tend to be solitary creatures most of the time, although there are covens here and there.”
    â€œReally?” It was hard to imagine living like that, Abbey thought. The Cordova-DeLongpre clan were a close-knit bunch, even by human standards. “Why haven’t you ever married? You’ve lived such a long time. Why did you choose to remain alone?”
    He lifted one brow, his dark eyes glinting with amusement. “Who said I was alone?”
    â€œSilly of me,” she muttered. And realized how true that was. Nick was a gorgeous hunk of male—chiseled features, sensuous lips, dark blue eyes that a woman could get lost in . . . as she was lost.
    He slid his arm around her waist and drew her closer. “I won’t lie to you. There have been a lot of women, Abbey, so many I’ve lost count. But none of them were important to me.”
    â€œNone of them?” she asked skeptically. “Not even one? In hundreds of years?”
    He shook his head. “I cared for some of them. I made love to many of them. But I was never in love with any of them. Not even Mara.”
    â€œMara!” Abbey stared at him.
    â€œI thought you knew. She turned me.”
    Stunned, Abbey stared into the darkness. Mara had turned Nick. Had they been lovers before she turned him?
    â€œIt was centuries ago,” Nick said quietly. “Long before you were born.” He stroked her cheek. “It has nothing to do with us, or my feelings for you.”
    â€œDid you . . . ? Were you . . . ?” Abbey shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”
    But he knew what she was thinking. “Believe me when I say there’s no love lost between us. She turned me against my will and abandoned me soon after.”
    â€œSo, she’s your sire. Isn’t that an unbreakable bond?”
    He nodded. “A vampire’s sire has power over him or her so long as one of them lives.”
    â€œSo, if she ordered you to do something, you would be compelled to do it?”
    â€œYes. In theory.”
    â€œAnd in practice?”
    â€œMara’s very strong, but since she made me, and I’ve survived such a long time, so am I.”
    â€œSo you could resist her?”
    â€œPossibly. She also has the ability to find me wherever I might be.”
    â€œDoes my father have that power over my mother?”
    â€œYes. Which is why it’s always nice if you’re turned by someone you care for. Someone who cares for you.”
    She nodded absently, her thoughts chasing round and round like a hamster on a wheel. Nick knew Mara, had known her for centuries. No doubt they had been lovers. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the thought of the man she loved being turned by her godmother. If it didn’t hurt so bad, she might have laughed. But there was nothing funny about it. Nick said it had nothing to do with the two of them. Was she wrong to let something that had happened centuries ago bother her?
    â€œYou look a little pale,” Nick remarked. “Come on,” he said, taking her by the hand. “I think you need a good stiff drink. And maybe something to eat.”
    Lost in thought, Abbey paid little attention to where they were going, but her breath caught in her throat when they arrived. One wall was entirely made of glass, providing a spectacular view of the ocean. Moonlight shimmered on the cresting waves.
    The hostess showed them to a booth. Abbey scooted in and Nick slid in beside her, so close his thigh brushed intimately against hers.
    When the waitress came, Nick ordered a mojito for Abbey and a glass of red wine for himself.
    â€œAre you hungry?” he asked.
    â€œNo.” She couldn’t think of food now. She was still reeling from what he had told her earlier. “Can I ask you something?”
    â€œFire away.”
    â€œHave you ever turned