Arctic Fire

by Erica Stevens

  She went to withdraw her hand, but he clasped hold of it and pressed it against his face. “You have no idea what goes through my mind about you, and what I’d like to do to you. No idea about the cravings for blood and death that are my constant companion. The need I feel to sink into the oblivion the blood can bring me is a temptation that follows me everywhere. You’d run screaming into the night if you knew the half of it.”

  Quinn swallowed heavily, but she kept her hand pressed against his cheek as she rested her other hand on his chest. “I’d never run from you,” she whispered. “There is nothing you could do that would make me turn from you.”

  The circles around his pupils burned with fire. “What if I returned to killing humans?”

  She closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest as she tried to think through his words. “I couldn’t be with you.” A knife pierced her insides and sliced them apart as she spoke the words, but she couldn’t lie to him. “But I wouldn’t turn against you.”

  “You’d try to save me.”

  She lifted her head to look at him. “You don’t need saving, Julian. You will be who you will be, and it will be your choice to make, but no matter what you do, I will love you.”

  She’d been fighting back those last words for weeks. She’d been certain saying them would spell doom for them, as it had for the others she’d loved or gotten close to over the years. Now, she realized her life had always been precarious, it always would be, but he had to know how she felt.

  If something were to happen to either one of them, and she hadn’t told him she loved him, she would never forgive herself. She sensed he needed to hear the words now, more than ever. He may not feel the same way about her, she may have just opened herself up to a world of hurt, but she would never take them back.

  His eyes sparked, and a tremor shook his hands. Anguish flitted across his face before he wrapped his hand around the back of her head and dragged her against his chest. “I’m not sure I deserve that love,” he said in a voice hoarse with emotion.

  “I am.”

  He groaned low in his throat before threading his fingers through her hair and tenderly pulling her head back. His eyes were their beautiful blue color again as he searched her face. “I love you too, Quinn. More than I ever dreamed possible; more than I ever realized I could.”

  Before she could respond, he bent his head and kissed her with a hunger so desperate it caused her knees to give out. The arm he snaked around her waist kept her from going down completely. He lifted her off her feet as his tongue slid between her lips. Hot and heady, his tongue stroked in and out of her mouth in thrusts that she met eagerly.

  No reason, not anymore, she realized when her hands wrapped around his neck. The lingering taste of the coppery blood on his lips and tongue from his hunt aroused her further. Her hips arched instinctively into his. The rumble of pleasure he emitted over the friction the action caused between their bodies made her do it again. Excitement and need pulsed through her, drowning her within their consuming depths.

  She felt out of control as her hands ran over the corded muscles of his back. Her body moved of its own volition against him, rocking as it begged for more. She hadn’t realized he’d carried her into the bedroom until she felt the mattress against her back, and he was coming down on top of her.

  Too fast. Not fast enough. Have to have more.

  Her thoughts became a tangled mess. She stopped thinking completely when he pulled the bottom of her shirt up to expose her flesh. Given what had happened in the last few hours, his powerful hands caressed her far more gently than she’d believed possible when he’d first returned to her apartment.

  She didn’t stiffen when his fingers brushed over the scar high up in the middle of her stomach, as she would have only a month ago. That scar was just one of the places where the vampire who had walked into Clint’s last night had pinned her to the floor with his knives before feeding on her.

  Julian knew her history; he knew her scars were her constant reminder of the atrocity she’d committed upon turning. He didn’t pity her or condemn her for them, and he never would. He understood why she’d never allowed the scars to heal and had reopened them for years before they’d finally stopped healing on their own.

  It only made her love him more.

  Nudging her thighs apart, he settled himself between them. Breaking the kiss, his eyes searched hers as he stared at her. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”

  “Please don’t,” she whispered.

  His eyes blazed a fiery red before he pulled his ruined shirt over his head and threw it aside. She hungrily drank in the eye-popping marvel that was his body. Delicious, lickable, and hot, were all words that fell far short of what he truly was. Her fingers trailed over the chiseled ridges of his abs as her body quickened with excitement. Moving higher over him, she traced over his tattoo. He was beautiful and ruthless enough to make the angels weep.

  Her fingers trembled on his body. She’d never get enough of touching him, of looking at him. She’d never get enough of him.

  “Say it again,” he grated.

  Her gaze flew up to his crimson-colored eyes. She didn’t have to ask what; she knew what he wanted from her. “I love you.”

  His eyes closed, and his head tilted back as if he were in extreme ecstasy. When his eyes came back to hers, they were the color of the Mediterranean Sea as they shimmered with passion. His hands slid under her shirt, dragging it leisurely up her body before tugging it over her head. His eyes burned with yearning as he drank her in, but he took his time running his hands over her belly and up her ribcage before sliding around to unclasp her bra. He tossed it aside and sat back to drink her in before bending to her once more.

  His mouth took hold of hers again as he pulled her closer. The feel and smell of him, the sensation of his body sliding over hers encompassed her whole world. Beyond this room, nothing else existed.

  She bit into her bottom lip when his body took complete possession of hers. She fought back tears as her hands dug into his back. He stilled above her as his mouth pressed against her ear. “I’ll stop.”

  The roughness of his voice against her ear made her shudder. She turned her face into his sweat slickened neck. “No,” she whispered. “Don’t.”

  “The pain will fade,” he promised.

  She kept her mouth pressed against his neck as he remained unmoving within her. His scent enveloped her; the enticing aroma of his blood transfixed her, causing her fangs to lengthen. He groaned when she scraped them against his flesh. “Do it!” he commanded.

  Quinn didn’t have to be told twice. She’d longed to taste his blood, craved it almost as much as she’d craved to know the feeling of his complete possession of her body. Her fangs sank deep, releasing a hot wash of blood into her mouth. His body pushed deeper into hers. Something within her shifted and changed; her mind opened to his as pathways she’d never known existed unwound before her.

  His pleasure engulfed her, and his need for her beat against her mind. Tears spilled freely down her cheeks. She was unable to stop them as his love for her poured into her mind. The amount of love he felt for her was consuming and beautiful in its purity. He’d lay his life down for her in an instant and destroy anyone who harmed her without hesitation.

  She’d never doubt or question how he felt about her again as she saw herself the way he saw her—proud, strong, defiant, a warrior he found more beautiful than anyone he’d ever known. A small part of her had believed Cassie still would have been his first choice, if he could have had her. She knew now, he wouldn’t trade her for anyone, ever. She was his everything.

  Beneath the love he felt for her, she also brushed against the barely leashed brutality residing within him. His desire to kill and gorge on blood slid through her mind. It was a constant battle for him, far more of one than she’d ever experienced. She was the only one who could calm him when he was on the verge of going over again. She could also so easily push him over that edge. Until he�
��d met her, his control had been more stable; now he felt far more volatile because of his need to keep her safe.

  Warmth enveloped her as she bit deeper. “That’s it,” he murmured as his tongue swirled over her ear, and his body moved within hers. “Mine.”

  Something within her completely fractured at the word and the overwhelming sensations pounding against her. It was too much pleasure all at once; she couldn’t handle it. She wanted to withdraw, but at the same time she wanted more and more of him.

  Her power surged up within her. It was beyond her control as it sparked across her fingers to illuminate his pale skin. She almost screamed at the sensation of his fangs pressing against her neck. His arms beside her head shook as he kept himself restrained from tasting her.

  Unwilling to release her grasp on his vein, she wrapped her hand around the back of his head and pressed him closer against her neck in invitation. A sound of possession rumbled through his chest seconds before his fangs slid into her flesh. She cried out in ecstasy as he hungrily feasted upon her. She poured all of her love into him as more pathways unfolded between their minds to envelope her.

  Her power exploded out of her before she could stop it, but it didn’t launch him off the bed or drain him of his life. No, this burst did something she’d never experienced before or had ever known it could do.

  For the space of ten heartbeats, she actually heard a heart beat. She fell back, a gasp escaping her when she released her hold on his vein. His fangs retracted, and his dazed eyes met hers as his heart gave one more lumbering beat before going still again.

  His mouth hung open as his gaze went to his chest. She lifted a hand to press it over his heart. “What was that?” she breathed.

  His glazed eyes cleared when they met hers again. A smile curved his mouth. “A miracle, like you.”

  She stared up at him wordlessly before he reclaimed her mouth and began to move within her once more, pushing her closer and closer to the edge of something she didn’t fully understand but longed for. Her head fell back, a cry escaped her when the pressure that had been building within her splintered apart. Waves of ecstasy crashed through her body as he drove into her once more before following her over the edge.

  CHAPTER 8

  Quinn sat on the couch behind where Julian stood as she strapped her stakes to her calves. Luther, Lou, and Zach stood by her door. She could hear Chris in her kitchen, pulling a package of peanut butter cups from the fridge before popping the top on a can of her Dew. He’d eat all of her chocolate stash if she left him in there for too long. Melissa sat beside her on the couch, watching as Quinn armed herself.

  “For a vamp, you sure are comfortable being strapped with things that can kill you,” Melissa commented.

  Quinn tugged on her boot and zipped up the side. “Hunter too,” she reminded her. “I’ve been comfortable with this stuff since I could walk.”

  “Oh, the toddler years. Most people babyproof, we were vampproofed.”

  Quinn laughed as she tugged on her other boot. “And you’re still alive because of it,” Luther said from the door.

  Turning on the couch, Melissa draped her arm across the back. “And I thank you for that,” she assured him.

  “We’re going to have to stay together from now on,” Julian said, bringing them all back to the reason why they were here. “Since the vamp who attacked Quinn can control minds, we can’t take the chance of him getting a hold of someone and bending them to his will. From now on, we’ll stay in groups of twos and threes. At all times.”

  “What if he’s already gotten hold of someone?” Chris asked from the doorway of the kitchen. Quinn’s eyes focused on the bag of peanut butter cups in his hand. She’d purposely put that one in the oven to keep it hidden from him. Sensing her stare, Chris looked over at her and grinned.

  I will not hit him, she told herself. Still, she couldn’t help but smile over the fact he felt comfortable enough around her to brave her annoyance with him. She’d have to find better hiding spots for her treats if they all agreed to what Julian was about to propose.

  “He seemed as surprised to see me as I was him,” Quinn said as she rose to her feet.

  “He could have faked that,” Zach said.

  “He could have, but I don’t think so.”

  “If he did, one of us could be under his control right now,” Melissa said.

  Luther lifted his glasses to peer around the room before rubbing at his nose and settling them back into place. “But since we have no way of knowing if that’s true, we’re going to have to trust each other.”

  “Isn’t there some kind of vamp test?” Chris asked.

  “No,” Julian replied.

  “Would Devon be able to tell?”

  Julian shook his head. “The only thing Devon could do is take control of all of your minds himself, in order to make sure none of you went against him.”

  “Thanks, but no on that one,” Chris said and shoved a peanut butter cup into his mouth. Quinn stalked over and snatched the bag away from him. “Aw, come on!”

  Opening the stove, she threw the bag inside it. She supposed it hadn’t been such a great hiding spot to begin with; she never used the stove, so of course he would think to look there. “I think you’ve had enough.”

  “Someone never taught you how to share,” he replied with a smile that had her reaching back in and pulling out two more chocolates for him. His sapphire eyes twinkled when he took them from her hand. “You vamps, all bark and no bite.”

  A burst of laughter escaped her as she slipped past him and into her living room. “I’ll bite him for you, if you’d like,” Julian offered. “I don’t think anyone here would say he hasn’t deserved it at least once.”

  “Feeling the love,” Chris replied as he popped another peanut butter cup in his mouth.

  “Thanks, but no,” Quinn said to Julian.

  He held his hand out to her, and a quiver of pleasure raced up her spine when she took hold of it and stepped against his side. Her body instinctively pressed closer to his. His thumb stroked the back of her hand.

  “Since I know no one here wants to be under anyone’s control, and I think we can agree we don’t want Devon and Cassie involved in this, we’re going to have to watch out for each other,” Julian said.

  “Could you touch us to learn if he has taken control of one of our minds?” Lou asked Julian.

  “I could try, but he most likely would command you to forget any encounter you had with him, especially if he knows who I am.”

  “Wouldn’t there be something on our skin from him if we had contact with him?” Chris asked.

  “He doesn’t have to touch you to take control of your mind.”

  “I’d still feel a little better if you tried,” Lou said and held his arm out to him.

  Julian walked around the room, taking hold of everyone’s hands. Images of their lives flashed through his mind, but he saw nothing involving the vampire from last night. He shook his head before returning to her side. “There’s nothing there.”

  “Can he take us in a group?” Lou asked.

  “No, he’s much stronger than the last vamp we came across with this ability, but the only vamp I know who can take control of more than one mind at a time is Devon, and he’s an Elder,” Julian replied. “This vamp can’t be older than two or three hundred, I’m guessing from the little I’ve seen of him, and that’s not old enough. If he gets you separately, he can take control of you and keep control, but he couldn’t take an entire group at once.”

  Chris wiped his fingers on his jeans and leaned against the doorframe of the kitchen. “What if we’re in a group and he’s hiding somewhere, could he take over the mind of one without the others noticing?”

  “That’s a possibility,” Luther replied. “But we’re all trained to know when a vamp is present, to look for signs of something unusual. We’re much stronger in a group than separated.”

  “We are,” Julian confirmed. “And you’ll be much safer her
e than in the motel. He can enter any of those rooms at any time. Before the sun sets, you should move in here.”

  They all glanced around her cramped apartment. There was barely room for the sofa, TV, and milk crate coffee table, never mind five more people, but there was little other choice. “Where?” Zach asked.

  “Wherever you can find room. It’s not going to be pleasant for any of us, but it’s better than the alternative,” Julian replied.

  Zach ran a hand through his hair. “Can’t argue with that.”

  “We should get moving then,” Melissa said. “We’ll see you at the bar?”

  “I’m going to walk Quinn over. I’ll meet you at the motel after,” Julian told her.

  Quinn watched as they all filed out her door before following. She stepped into the hall and locked the door behind Julian and her. Together, they walked down the hall. Dusty was coming up the stairs when they reached them.

  “Hey, Quinn-o,” Dusty greeted and flashed the peace sign at Julian.

  Quinn bit back a laugh as Julian shook his head at him. “I’m going to have some friends staying with me, Dusty,” she told him.

  “The same peeps I’ve been seeing a lot around here lately?”

  “Those are the ones.”

  “The black-haired girl single?”

  “Sorry, but no.” It was better she broke Dusty’s heart with a lie now than have him chasing after Melissa while she was staying here.

  “Oh well, she probably couldn’t handle all this anyway,” he said and gestured at his skinny body.

  Julian looked at Dusty as if he’d sprouted a third eye. “We have to go.” She grabbed Julian’s arm and propelled him down the stairs before he could say something to hurt Dusty’s feelings. Dusty was a little strange, but she liked him.

  ***

  “Are you sure you’re feeling better?” Clint asked as she tied her apron around her waist.

  Despite having come face to face last night with the man who had ended her life as a human, she felt like she was walking on clouds. Every time she recalled what had transpired between Julian and her earlier, she couldn’t stop herself from smiling. She half-worried she’d become like one of those Disney characters and burst into song at any second. Unlike Snow White, her singing voice would chase off every animal in a ten-mile radius.