The girl hunched deeper into herself, a few tears leaking from her eyes and Evangeline turned away from the sight in disgust. Weak and pathetic. No wonder the shifters remained at the bottom of the food chain in the supernatural world.
“The three powers in the area,” Kevin said, poking distractedly at the rapidly cooling body at his feet.
“Don’t play with your food,” Evangeline snapped, once again reminded that she needed to find better minions.
Inhaling a deep breath through her nose for patience, she blew it out slowly before stating with a sly smile, “As the most powerful, I do believe I should be there.”
“They know your face now, though. Didn’t you say they got some footage and gave it to Jourdain?”
Evangeline grimaced. Yes. She’d have to shed this face for another. A pity since she was so enamored of this look. But there was no getting around it. Once she was in power, she could restore this appearance if she so chose, for now, however… Turning to face the cheval mirror propped in the other corner, she made the necessary changes with a little giggle of excitement.
Tomorrow night, she’d have Kane Fletcher exactly where she wanted him and the territory of Louisiana would finally know what real power looked like.
Chapter Seventeen
Kane had shooed Edward out as soon as he could, but considering he had been the one to ask Edward to gather the files, he couldn’t exactly kick him immediately back out the door, especially since, as usual, his clerk had gone above and beyond.
Destin Jourdain had been correct when he’d stated that Kane had no idea what the witches wanted, or what the shifters wanted for that matter either. How could he expect to come to the table offering cooperation when he had no clue what that cooperation might entail – for his people or theirs?
Thanks to Edward, he now had a starting point, a few carrots to dangle. And speaking of dangling carrots…
Kane bounded up the stairs, once again the eager puppy as his mind imagined Sophia waiting for him in that giant marble tub full of steaming water and a thick froth of bubbles. The mental image had him quickly toeing off his boots just outside the door and yanking off his T-shirt in preparation to join her. After all, the tub was more than big enough to comfortably accommodate two.
The door was ajar, the dim light within flickering, suggesting she’d lit candles, and he could hear smooth jazz playing at a low volume. He had a thought to creep in slowly, surprise her, but then changed his mind. He’d heard from Jamie not too long ago that Sophia had had a few incidents controlling her dragon when startled, and while he wanted to see her dragon, he wasn’t too keen on having that happen in his bathroom while he was running away from a well-targeted fireball aimed at his ass.
Rapping gently on the door to announce his presence, he pushed it open fully. The sight that greeted him had him audibly gulping. Sophia was laid back in that froth of bubbles, her eyes closed, hair that had escaped her ponytail clinging damply to her neck, her skin glistening golden in the soft glow of the candlelight.
The reality was so much better than he could have imagined. Before he knew it, he was hovering over her, inches from the top of her head, his own eyes closing as he breathed in the intoxicating scent that was his dragon.
If he’d expected her to open heavy-lidded eyes and greet him with a sexy little quirk of her lips, he was very, very wrong. She’d fallen asleep, he realized too late, his presence startling her awake with a lurch that sent the top of her head bucking into his nose with a crack that had him tumbling back onto his ass as blood poured from his nostrils. The sharp pain enough to have him seeing spots.
Well, at least she hadn’t loosed her dragon on him.
Cupping his hands around his nose to staunch the bleeding, he looked up to see Sophia quickly getting to her knees, water and bubbles sloshing over the edge in a wave as she gazed upon him in horror, her own hands rising to cover her mouth. “Oh, my God, Kane! I’m so sorry.”
Waving her concern away, only displayed a bloody palm that had her looking even more horrified. “I’m fine,” he said in an attempt to reassure her that failed miserably as his voice emerged sounding nasal and congested.
“You are not fine,” she countered, more water sloshing as she hurriedly stood and stepped out of the tub, kneeling naked by his side.
Kane’s eyes were riveted to a glistening pair of breasts, patches of foam still clinging enticingly in a few spots. His injury was completely forgotten for the moment as Sophia tugged his hands away from his face to replace them with a wet washcloth she held tenderly against his nose.
Prying his gaze back up to her eyes, he said longingly, “This is not how I imagined this going.”
Sophia let out a little chuff of laughter and shook her head. “You and me both.”
Loathed to place his bloody hands on her skin, he moved his head away from the careful press of the wet cloth. “It should have already stopped bleeding,” and then, in case she’d forgotten, “vampire. Super healing and all that.”
She nodded, her lips still turned down in a worried frown. Wanting nothing more than to lift her mood, he added, “Unless of course, you’ve been harboring fantasies about playing a nurse.” He wiggled his eyebrows, pleased to note that the pain in his nose had considerably lessened. “If that’s the case, I’ll gladly let you treat all my aches and pains.”
Her cheeks pinkened a bit and a noticeable sparkle brightened her eyes as she teasingly asked, “What sort of aches and pains?”
“At the moment, I seem to be suffering from an uncomfortable stiffness.”
Her merry laughter was music to his ears, and even better were the kisses she planted on his lips between chuckles. Against his mouth, she said, “Let’s get you into the tub and cleaned up, see what we can do about that stiffness.”
Kane eagerly launched to his feet and extended his hand to help Sophia rise before remembering it was covered in blood. Rapidly snatching it back, he uttered, “One second,” and lurched toward one of the dual sinks. A quick scrub later, and he turned to find Sophia already waiting for him in the tub, her own hand outstretched in invitation.
He shucked his jeans in record time, grasped that warm, wet palm in his own, and joined her.
A naked Kane was a sight to see, Sophia thought as her eyes greedily drank him in. All that bronze skin, that beautifully muscled form, and a thick, heavy erection jutting proudly from his hips. Her mouth went dry, a little shiver of anticipation racing over her skin as he stepped into the tub.
As soon as he was seated, she moved into his lap, her hand gripping the nape of his neck as she moved to kiss him. Her nose bumped his and she heard him hiss. Jerking her head back with a wince, she gasped, “Sorry, sorry.”
Kane’s fingers gently touched her chin, his eyes meeting hers as he said with a sincerity that practically had her heart singing, “I’d endure any pain to kiss you.”
His mouth met hers, his arms wrapping around her and hugging her close as his tongue swept inside to taste her. Sophia moaned in her throat as her fingers tunneled into his hair, pulling free the band that held the locks back from his face. A thick, silky swath fell forward, caressing her cheek and a clicking purr rumbled through her chest as her dragon writhed within.
“I love that sound,” Kane breathed against her mouth, his fingers at her lower back pressing her even closer.
His lips moved to her jaw, down the line of her throat. She could feel the sharp point of a fang skimming down her jugular but she wasn’t afraid. The thought of him biting her only increased her excitement and she tipped her head back with a gasp as her fingers fisted in the cool silk of his hair, urging him on.
He didn’t bite. Instead, his hands spanned her ribcage, lifting her slightly so that his mouth could latch onto a breast, his tongue laving the nipple, making her lower abdomen clench with need as her core throbbed. She had the sense that she could orgasm at any moment simply by him suckling at her breast.
Her hips moved against him, seemingly o
f their own volition, searching for that heavy erection that could fill her, assuage the aching emptiness. Kane’s hand cupped her there, answering her silent demand, his fingers pressing against that swollen bundle of nerves as she ground her body against him.
Her breath left her in ragged pants as her head dropped back, her fingertips digging into Kane’s broad shoulders. She was so close, so close when Kane lifted his head from her breast and growled, “I need to taste you.”
Oh, yes. Yes. Anything. At that moment she would have done anything, would have let him do anything if it brought her to that screaming orgasm her body was racing toward.
There was a moment of weightlessness that had her jerking her eyes open and she realized Kane had lifted her into his arms and was climbing out of the tub, carrying her into his bedroom where he laid her out on his bed, his fingers skimming down her body as those gorgeous eyes of his hungrily gazed at every inch of her. “You are so beautiful,” he breathed.
He meant it too. Those weren’t just empty words spouted in the heat of the moment. She could see it clearly on that beautiful face of his as he looked at her with what could only be described as awe. Her hand lifted, beckoning him closer. She needed to feel his weight against her, the heated press of his skin on her own.
Kane’s hands smoothed down her thighs, pressed her knees further apart as he settled between them, and Sophia’s breath caught in her lungs at the sight of him hovering over her, so enticingly close to her aching mound. Her hips lifted, beseeching, her fingers speared into his hair urging him on, and at that first touch of his mouth against her core, her back arched, her shoulders lifted off the mattress, and she gasped.
His tongue lapped at her, alternating between gentle little flicks and firm strokes. His hands splayed over her hips, holding them down as they jerked against his mouth in a demand for more. His name was a chant on her lips that ended in a scream as he brought her over that edge, her body feeling like it was splintering apart in a kaleidoscope of the most exquisite colors.
He stayed with her through every shudder of completion, every throb and pounding pulsebeat that had her toes curling and her eyes practically rolling back in her head.
His fingers lifted to touch her own that were fisted in his hair, probably pulling painfully at his scalp though he didn’t complain, his lips quirked in a sexy smile as he gazed up at her with heavy-lidded eyes.
Sophia loosened her grip, her fingers trailing to those broad shoulders, urging him to come up over her, cover her. She licked her lips, already anticipating the feeling of that erection filling her. Her hips lifted. Despite having just experienced one of the most powerful orgasms of her life, she was eager for more.
They both gasped as he unerringly thrust into her slick heat, the feel of him better than anything she could have imagined.
“You feel incredible,” Kane groaned between gritted teeth, echoing her thoughts.
His mouth found hers, his kiss devouring as his hips withdrew and then surged forward once more. Sophia’s keening cries of pleasure were swallowed by his mouth as he set up a rhythm that was quickly driving her toward that precipice once more.
Their palms met, fingers entwining, gripping, both of them needing to hold onto the other as together, they flew over the edge.
Chapter Eighteen
“How did you become a Hunter?” Sophia asked, her fingertips gliding in a leisurely exploration of his chest.
Feeling content, incredibly satisfied, and slightly sleepy, Kane wrapped his arm a little tighter around her and spread his hand over the curve of her hip. He kissed her forehead, both of her closed eyes and her nose, loving the way her lips lifted in a smile. “I first had the thought when I was a teenager,” his shoulder moved in a shrug. “Circumstances later proved it to be the best option.”
The mattress moved beneath him as Sophia propped herself up on an elbow to look down at him. “Don’t the Born usually inherit territory or something?”
“My father, you might say, was rather prolific when it came to producing sons,” he told her dryly. “I was the youngest, and my father decided there wasn’t enough territory to go around.”
“So you decided to forge your own path.” He could hear the smile in her voice and he opened his eyes to enjoy the sight, but that smile quickly turned into a frown, complete with an adorably crinkled brow as she asked, “How did you end up under Morgan? Shouldn’t you have had your own team? From what I understand about the Born, they absurdly consider themselves a male dominant species.”
Lifting his hand with a chuckle at her disgruntled tone, Kane pulled Sophia’s hair tie from her now, rather messy ponytail, and enjoyed the feel of damp, cascading silk pooling on his chest. “I requested the post.”
Settling deeper into the mattress with a grimace, he told her, “When I was young, I had the unfortunate distinction of being pretty,” he said, his lip curling on the last. “My looks garnered a lot of unwanted attention. Normally, it wasn’t an issue as either my father or one of my older brothers was always close at hand.”
Sophia let out a little sympathetic murmur and he combed his fingers through her hair, grateful for an act that brought him such pleasure when he was discussing a subject that most definitely did not. “I was thirteen when I first met Morgan. She had completed a contract for my father and he had invited her to stay for dinner at the same time as an entourage from the Court of Elders descended upon us for a routine inspection. One of those elders had me cornered in a hallway when Morgan discovered us.”
He could still remember the stink of that elder’s breath, his bony hands with long, pointed fingernails on Kane’s chest as he pressed closer and spoke words that should never be heard by one as young as Kane had been.
Hearing Sophia’s little sound of distress on his behalf, Kane shook himself from those dark thoughts and hugged her closer. “You should have seen Morgan, Sophia. She was magnificent. She grabbed that elder, spun him about, and pinned him against a wall, burying a dagger right next to the lecherous bastard’s ear. I’m pretty sure she nicked him,” he finished with a chuckle.
Kane had reveled at the sight, while the elder had railed, ‘Do you have any idea who I am, girl?’. Morgan hadn’t missed a beat, snarling in the elder’s face, ‘You must have no idea who I am if you think I actually care.’
“She dragged the elder straight to my father, and while Big Jim couldn’t kill him, the man being part of the Court and all, my father didn’t hesitate to backhand him so hard the man was spitting teeth.”
“Morgan was your hero.”
“She was,” Kane agreed with a grin. “In gratitude for what she’d done, my father invited her to stay a few days, relax in his territory. Life as a Hunter isn’t easy, especially back then, so she readily took him up on the offer and while she was there, she shared stories of how she became a Hunter.”
His hand stilled in Sophia’s hair. “She was rather famous – or perhaps infamous is a better word, depending on who you ask – her being the first female to ever apply and make it through the Hunter training.”
Sophia’s eyes popped wide. “I didn’t know that.”
“Mmhm,” was said with a little nod. “According to Morgan, she was five when she saw her first Hunter. She was so impressed with the respect shown to the man by nobility and commoner alike, that she walked right up to him and informed him she was going to become a Hunter as well. The man laughed at her and told her that girls were far too gentle and sweet to ever be a Hunter, so she bit him, right on the thigh. Drew blood even though she only had baby fangs at the time,” he finished with a chuckle.
Sophia’s laugh was music to his ears as she proclaimed, “Good for her.”
“That Hunter returned often to see her, later gifted her with her first blade when she was fifteen and told her that if she still wanted to be a Hunter when she’d reached her majority, he’d introduce her to the Society. While she was staying at my father’s, she gifted me that same blade,” he told her. “I still have i
t.”
“So when you were old enough, you decided to follow in her footsteps,” Sophia said with a nod of understanding and a happy sigh.
Kane’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “It was a bit more complicated than that. Big Jim, in all his wisdom, decided that since there wasn’t enough of his territory to split between his brood, that we should fight for the privilege.”
Sophia sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s barbaric.”
“No. That’s the Born, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that another had planted the idea in his head,” Kane told her.
“In hindsight,” he continued thoughtfully, “I don’t think he would have allowed it to come to a fight to the death. Despite him being Born, the great James Theodore Fletcher loves his children, but at the time, all I could think was that no territory was worth that.”
“You left.”
Kane nodded. “I did, and set out to find Morgan. But, as for your earlier question, I didn’t want to lead my own team. I wanted to work with her and she happily accepted me. The rest, as they say, is history.”
“Did your relationship with your father survive the split?”
Ah, his dragon was perceptive. Lifting a shoulder in a shrug, he hedged, “We’ve mended a few fences just recently,” before he changed the subject by tumbling her onto her back. “Enough about the past. Let’s talk about the future, or at least our next ten to fifteen minutes,” he playfully growled with a suggestive leer that would leave Sophia in no doubt what he was referring to.
Her brow raised sharply as she grinned. “Only ten or fifteen minutes? You can do better than that,” and she shoved him to his back and climbed on top of him.
Kane’s surprise at the sudden move morphed into delight, especially when he saw her eyes flicker with the green and gold of her dragon in a spark of competition. Sophia wasn’t human, he wouldn’t need to be as careful with her as he’d been forced to be with previous lovers. He could let himself go. The realization was thrilling and they happily wrestled for a few moments, their laughter and grunts of exertion filling the room as they both attempted to claim the top spot.
A Hunter Found: A Paranormal Vampire Romance (Hired Hunters Series Book 3) Page 10