by Cynthia Eden
Harrison spun back around and put her on her feet. He was all set to back away.
Slither. Rustle.
Her towel had just slithered off. Rustled to the floor.
She was naked. Standing in front of him with her perfect breasts thrusting toward him, her legs stretching for freaking ever, and—
Elise turned away from him. Her world class ass—world class—nearly brought him to his knees before she climbed into the bed. The old mattress dipped a little. She pulled the covers up. Sighed. Settled in and shifted her body against the mattress.
He had frozen. Every muscle in his body was rock hard. The image of her ass was seared into his mind. Where it would be forever.
“I wasn’t going to jump you.” Her voice was soft but flat. Annoyed. Hurt? “You need to settle down. I got it, all right? You aren’t interested.”
He slammed his hand against the light switch. He probably broke the damn thing, but he also succeeded in turning off the lights and plunging the room into darkness.
Harrison made his way across the room. He lowered his body on the floor, right near her side of the bed. And, of course, her scent was everywhere. He stretched out and glared straight up.
Not want her? He was practically shaking he wanted her so badly. He couldn’t ever remember wanting someone so much. “You try to be the good guy,” he groused. “And it bites you in the ass.”
“What?”
“Nothing. Get some sleep.”
But her covers were rustling about. “Did you say you were a good guy?”
“Go to sleep.”
“Because I don’t remember wanting good. I like bad. Just so you know.”
You could be so very bad with her. That stupid voice in his head needed to shut the hell up.
Silence.
Then her voice came again. Low, soft. Worried. “Am I still bait? Are you hoping all of the monsters will come to this place so your hunter friends can take them out?”
“You’re bait.” No, she’s more. The voice needed to shut the fuck up. “I’ll make arrangements so that they’ll keep you safe when I go out and end the werewolves.” When Harrison left for his hunt, Gray had better keep his damn horny hands off her.
“But—”
“I’ll end them, and then I’ll come back for you. If any other paranormals come for you, I’ll take them out, too. You don’t need to worry.”
“I’m not worried.” Her voice was so husky. Such a sensual sound. “Not when I have you. You promised to keep me safe.”
Had he? Even if he hadn’t before, Harrison heard himself say, “I will. I swear, I’ll keep you safe.”
It took a while, but her breathing finally evened out, and he knew that Elise had gone to sleep. His dick was still at full, painful attention, so Harrison knew that he wouldn’t be sinking into the relief of sleep anytime soon.
Instead, he stared up at the ceiling. He saw Elise in his mind. And he knew…
I am so screwed.
Because she had him, all right. Had him as her protector. As her hunter. If he wasn’t careful, the woman would have him wrapped around her cute little pinky finger.
Chapter Six
A man with a gun stood at the foot of her bed.
A man who was not Harrison. A man with a wicked scar on his cheek, icy eyes, and, yep, he cradled a gun with far too much confidence.
Elise lurched up in bed and grabbed for the covers. She held them tightly against her chest. “Harrison!”
The fellow winced. He was one of the hunters she’d met the night before. Not Gray. Not Razor—that had been the Vin Diesel wannabe. This one…what was his name?
“Calm down, lady. Harrison is out taking care of some business.”
Wonderful. She shoved a lock of hair out of her eyes. “And you’re standing at the foot of my bed, watching me sleep like a vampire with a super crush because…?”
His lips twitched. “Because you cried out in your sleep. I was afraid something was wrong. Sounded like you were in pain, so I rushed inside.”
Oh, no. She tried to smile. “I suppose I was having a nightmare.” She truly was a sleep screamer, as she’d told Harrison.
“Must’ve been one hell of a bad dream.” His lips weren’t twitching any longer. He’d cocked his head to the side so he could study her. “You were begging someone, saying over and over, ‘Give them back. Please give them back.’”
She got chatty when she slept. A good thing to know.
A hint of Texas slid beneath his words as he asked, “What did someone take from you?”
Just everything. “Um, vampires did recently try to take my life.” Elise slid from the bed. She pulled her sheet with her. Normally, she didn’t care about nudity. Shyness wasn’t part of her lifestyle, but the people here—they were different. She’d noticed that. She didn’t think Harrison would be wild about her prancing around naked in front of his hunter buddy. She was being good. Not that anyone would notice and give her bonus points.
“No. That’s not what you were going on about.” He shook his head. “You said ‘Give them back.’”
She grabbed for the bag of clothes that the female hunter had brought her last night. “I can’t remember. The dream’s gone.” She held up the bag. “Maybe it was my clothes. Maybe I wanted them back.”
He didn’t look convinced.
“I’m sorry, I can’t remember your name,” Elise blurted.
“Ward.”
Just that. No last name. Okay. “Thanks for rushing in, Ward, but I’m okay and I should get dressed. I’ll just hurry down to the bathroom. Brush my teeth. Comb my hair.” She backed away from him. “Put on clothing so I’m not naked when strange men rush into my bedroom.”
Once more, his lips seemed to twitch. “Bet he doesn’t know what to do with you.”
She stopped. “Who?”
“Harrison. I’m thinking he’s never met anyone quite like you.”
To be honest, most people hadn’t come across a being quite like her before. “I’m your average, desperate-to-survive woman.” Until the curse was broken. “A woman on the run from vamps and werewolves. I’m sure Harrison meets people like me all the time.”
Ward shook his head. “Be careful with him. You don’t want to push that man’s control.”
That’s exactly what I want to do. Ward now held her complete and total attention. “Why don’t I want to do that? Does he get all psycho crazy without his control?”
“Control keeps the monsters at bay.”
She stiffened at those words.
“For us all,” he added grimly like he was a dark greeting card. The kind you couldn’t get at a local drugstore. “Without control, hunters can’t do their jobs and stay sane.”
She’d always thought sanity was a bit overrated, but Elise gave a quick nod and hurried into the hallway with her bag. She darted into the bathroom—a bathroom that was the size of a matchbox—and dressed as quickly as she could. A few moments later, she was swinging open the door, wearing her borrowed clothes and shoes that were a little loose but would do the job, with her hair combed, her teeth brushed and—
“Aah!” Elise yelled as she jumped back.
The female hunter was there. Arms crossed over her chest. One eyebrow raised.
Elise slapped a hand over her chest and her racing heartbeat. “What is it with you hunters? Do you just enjoy sneaking up and scaring people?”
“Who the hell are you?”
Elise blinked. “You loaned me the clothes.” Harrison had said she should thank the woman. Though it felt alien, she added, “Thank you.”
“Whatever. They were castoffs.”
Well…aren’t we friendly?
“Who the hell are you?” she demanded again.
“Elise.”
The woman—Krista, Elise certainly remembered her name—raked her with an assessing glance. “How’d you wind up with Harrison?”
“He saved my life. Offered me protection. You know how it goes.” She gave Krista a w
oman-to-woman smile. “He met me and wanted to be with me every single moment.”
Krista’s lips tightened.
“It was just typical…” Now Elise waved her hand vaguely in the air. “The usual way one meets a hunter.”
“You don’t strike me as some delicate flower who needs a big, bad hunter to keep her safe.” A pause. “So what’s the deal?”
“The deal is I’m cursed. Every supernatural around wants a bite out of me.” Elise shrugged. “And thanks for saying I’m no delicate flower. That’s so good of you to notice.” It was getting easier to say thanks. She was even starting to warm up to Krista—
Even though Krista was frowning at her. “Cursed, huh?”
“Yes, it would seem that way. Especially since—”
An alarm cut through her words. A high-pitched, screeching alarm that hurt Elise’s ears.
Krista’s eyes flared wide. “No way!”
“No way—what?”
But Krista wasn’t staying around to answer her question. She’d turned tail and ran and Elise gaped after her. The alarm kept blaring, and she dropped the bag and slapped her hands over her ears because that shit hurt. Elise stumbled forward, swearing, and she nearly smacked straight into Ward’s chest.
“What’s happening, Ward?” Someone make the alarm stop.
“Oh, not much. We’re being attacked…in the freaking daylight.”
That—no. That didn’t make sense. “Paranormals hunt at night. The day is supposed to be safe.”
He hauled her down the corridor. “Tell that to them.”
She would, if she got the chance. “Harrison said paranormals couldn’t get inside here. He said magic kept the monsters out.”
“Yeah, they can’t gain entrance.” He pulled her back into the bedroom she’d used before. He peered through the window. Swore. “But they can use their human pets to do their dirty work for them.”
She pressed close to the window. Saw the line of humans rushing to the building right before—
Boom.
The whole building seemed to crumble.
***
He wanted to get back to Elise.
Harrison prowled through the werewolf den. The fucking empty werewolf den. He’d headed there so that he could kick Gustave’s ass, but the alpha was hiding.
And I want to get back to Elise.
Leaving her had been surprisingly hard. She’d been sleeping in the bed, looking like some sort of fallen angel. Her hair had been spread over her pillow, her lips parted, her face relaxed and soft.
He’d wanted to reach out to her. To hold her.
Instead, he’d decided to go out and kill for her. A guy had to have his priorities.
But every moment that he was away from her, something just felt wrong. Harrison rubbed his chest. An ache was growing there. His muscles were tight. He could’ve sworn that he even caught the scent of—
Harrison whirled and brought up his silver knife. He shoved it against Gustave’s throat. “Did you really think you could catch me by surprise?”
Gustave’s eyes were huge.
Harrison let the blade slice the werewolf’s skin.
“I could smell you coming,” Harrison snarled.
A tremble slid over the alpha. “I am no threat to you—”
“Bullshit,” Harrison called.
“Or to your mate,” Gustave added quickly. “I seek an alliance. Those wolves went rogue last night. They acted without my permission, and I saw to it that they were put down.”
“Back the fuck up.”
Gustave tried to take a step back.
Harrison jerked him closer. “I didn’t mean literally, dumbass. I meant—start that explanation again.”
The alpha yelled when the blade sliced him deeper.
“Oh, calm the hell down,” Harrison ordered gruffly. “It was only a nick. We both know werewolves heal fast.”
Gustave clamped his lips together.
“Why’d you call Elise my mate?” Hunters didn’t have mates. That was a werewolf thing. A paranormal thing. A…monster thing.
“Because that’s what she is.”
“No. No, I’m offering her protection because she needs help, but she’s not—”
“You claimed her. Right in front of me and my men. Said that you were together. I heard you.” Gustave suddenly seemed very, very eager. “Was that a mistake? Did you not mean the words?”
“I…” He had said that, hadn’t he?
The ache in his chest grew. Elise’s image flashed through his mind. So did a bolt of solid fear. What the hell was that fear about?
“If you aren’t with her, if you haven’t fucked her, then it’s not too late,” Gustave said. He smiled. His sharp canines flashed. “It’s not too late—” Gustave broke off and looked far too smug.
“Not too late for what?”
The werewolf’s scent had thickened. Excitement. “I can take her. I can call off my men. I can—”
Call off my men?
Fuck. That was why the den was so quiet and empty. The bastard’s henchmen were out hunting Elise. “What have you done?”
Gustave’s claws flew up and sliced across Harrison’s stomach.
Harrison jerked back, snarling.
“You don’t know what you have!” Gustave’s laughter was wild. “I’ll take and take and she’ll be—”
Harrison moved in a lightning-fast maneuver. The silver blade sliced over Gustave’s throat. Then Harrison drove it down and plunged the blade into the alpha’s heart.
Gustave’s breath choked out as his claws dug into Harrison’s arms.
“I know exactly what I have. Something you will never take,” Harrison promised. He twisted the knife. “Elise is mine, and if your men have hurt her…”
Gustave was dead. His eyes stared at nothing.
“I will fucking destroy them,” Harrison swore.
He dropped the alpha. Harrison ignored the blood that poured from his wounds as he ran from the den.
Elise, I’m coming for you.
***
It was like a war zone. Like something she’d seen on TV when she’d been searching for Harrison. TVs were funny things. They showed all of these shows. All of these actors. Good things happened in the shows. Bad things.
Something bad was happening now.
The building was shaking. Great booms sounded every few moments. Gunshots? Bombs? Both? Elise wasn’t sure. She was attempting to get through the debris and the fire and get her ass out of there.
Ward was gone. He’d told her to stay down and then he’d left her and run away. She’d stayed down, all right. She’d crouched near the bed until the ceiling had started falling down on her. Now she was just trying to get out. Trying to make her way out of the speakeasy and to fresh air.
Escape was hard because of the dirt and dust and flames. Everywhere. And there were people, too. People that she had to avoid. The humans Ward had pointed to before. They were in the midst of the chaos. They wore black suits—not suits, really. Black pants. Shirts. Masks over their faces. They carried guns and were shooting like crazy.
She darted to the left, then to the right. She could see the door. So close. She was almost—
A voice shouted, “There she is! Shoot her!”
Elise stiffened as she waited to feel the bullets plunge into her back. She’d tried, but failed. Everything would crumble. She was going to die, weak and alone.
Bam, bam, bam!
The bullets didn’t hit her.
But…they hit someone. She heard a groan, and Elise whirled around. Behind the bar, she saw Krista stagger, then get off two shots from her weapon.
Two of the humans in masks immediately fell.
But a third lifted his gun and aimed it at Krista.
Krista tried to fire, but her weapon didn’t seem to work. Uh, oh. Is she out of bullets?
The standing human laughed. “You’re dead.”
Elise glanced at the door. At freedom.
Then
she looked at Krista’s face. At the sheer terror there.
Dammit.
Elise raced forward. What in the hell am I doing?
The bad human fired his weapon.
The bullet slammed into Elise’s shoulder. It hit her because she’d just put herself between a human female—one she didn’t even particularly like—and a bullet. Her breath sawed out. “You asshole!” Elise screamed at the gunman.
He blinked. Lifted his gun. He was going to shoot her again. Oh, no, no, he wasn’t. She launched at him. They slammed into the floor. More of the ceiling fell. The damn ceiling. And the gun went off again as she struggled with the human. Only, when the gun fired, he stopped struggling.
Elise lifted her head. Smoke was everywhere. And the human beneath her? He was not moving. She yanked off his mask. His eyes were closed. His breath barely whispered out.
He wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t about to shoot again, either. A win for her. She jumped off him. Bounded for the door. She’d just done her good deed for the century. She’d saved the woman who’d loaned her clothes.
“H-help…”
Again…Dammit.
Elise spun around.
She didn’t see Krista, but she could hear the other woman’s heaving breaths.
The flames were rising. The building was collapsing. There was no sign of the other hunters. There was only Elise. And Krista. This was one of those stupid, ethical moments that she hated.
“H-help…”
Crap! Elise crawled through the wreckage. She glared at Krista. “You stay the hell away from my man after this, got me?”
Krista groaned.
Elise grabbed Krista’s foot and started dragging the hunter out of there. She kept her eyes on the door. One precious inch at a time. They could do this. They could get out. They could—
The second story fell in on them.
***
Police were at the scene. Firefighters. Reporters. Ambulances.
Harrison leapt off his motorcycle and ran toward the remains of the speakeasy. Terror choked him. No, no, this couldn’t be happening. It looked like the whole building had just erupted. He’d left Elise in that building.