Blood Obsession (A Vampire Paranormal Romance) (Deathless Night Series Book 3)

by L. E. Wilson

  "All right. Let me take care of him first."

  He reached out to help her up, lifting her effortlessly from the floor. As she balanced on her one good ankle, holding her broken hand carefully against her stomach, he shook his head at her.

  "You're just a mess, aren't you, poppet? Let's get you to the couch and I'll clean up my mess right quick, then we'll go get you fixed up, yes?"

  "Okay." Fresh tears gathered and fell, and she wiped at her face with the sleeve of her shirt. She wasn't sure why she was still crying, but she couldn't seem to stop.

  Wrapping an arm around her waist, he assisted her back to the couch.

  Night had fallen, and after making sure she was settled comfortably, he raised the blinds to close her window, locking it firmly. Walking around to the other side of the couch, he locked that window also.

  Her tears finally began to subside as she watched him, her mind unusually quiet. She was in pain, and in shock, she supposed, and for the moment was happy to let him take care of things.

  He picked the black bag up off the floor and tossed it onto the couch beside her, along with her gun.

  "Why don't you rummage around in there and see what you can find while I clean up the mess in the loo? There's definitely something in there that they want. I don't really think he came here to try to get Mojo back, I was just having some fun with him. Silly of them, really, to only send one person after it. And an unarmed human, at that! By the way, do you happen to have some extra shoes that belonged to this bloke?" He pulled at his shirt to indicate the "bloke" in question.

  She blinked at him blankly, unable to comprehend his rambling in her current state of mind.

  He cocked his head at her. "Grace? All right, luv?"

  The sound of her name on his lips jolted her out of her stupor. She blinked a few more times, her thoughts finally catching up with his words. "What? Oh. Yeah...yes. I'm fine. I'll look through the bag."

  He looked at her a bit oddly, so she pulled the bag closer to her and started rummaging through it with her good hand. Satisfied, he turned towards her bathroom, calling over his shoulder, "By the way, you're going to need a new shower curtain...and plunger."

  Plunger?

  She opened her mouth to ask, and then snapped it shut again. No. She didn't even want to know.

  Chapter Eleven

  Aiden rushed back to Grace's apartment after dumping the body, or at least what was left of it when he'd gotten through with it.

  He was still quite astonished at the unusual level of rage that had filled him when he'd woken to the sound of a silenced gunshot and ran out to find an intruder bleeding in her kitchen. The reaction he'd had was a bit much, especially for him, yet he hadn't been able to help himself.

  If the human had come just a few hours sooner, before he'd awakened...Ugh. No. He didn't even want to think of it.

  Fear gripped his heart at the mere thought of his Grace out there all alone while he dozed away peacefully in the closet. Although, he had to admit, she'd proven herself quite capable of handling the situation without him for the most part...but still.

  His blood boiled at the memory of her delicate, broken hand, but he firmly tamped it down. He needed to keep his wits about him. And besides, she'd been traumatized enough for the moment without him showing back up at her place all in a tizzy. He could analyze this strange occurrence he was having of feeling things later.

  The real question was: Why would a female like her possess a weapon like that to begin with? With a silencer, no less? Who had she been expecting to use it against? She was obviously well trained with its use, but he had the distinct feeling that tonight was the first time she'd actually fired that impressive pistol of hers at anything other than a target at a gun range.

  And the mystery that is Grace thickens.

  He nearly clapped his hands together in glee. There was nothing he loved more than a good riddle. How could he possibly leave before solving it?

  Aiden smiled as he leaped over the moving vehicles to the other side of the road, traveling so fast he was nothing but a passing blur to the humans going about their night in the city. He wasn't concerned about them seeing him. They'd look twice as he passed, unsure if they'd really seen anything, then shrug it off as a trick of the lights and continue on.

  A few short minutes later he was back at her door. Letting himself in, he found her perched on the edge of the couch. Her hand, wrist, and ankle were wrapped with Ace bandages, her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, trainers were on her feet, and a stuffed rucksack was sitting on the floor next to her.

  Mojo's little rat head poked through the top zipper of her bag as he closed the door behind him. He wrinkled his nose at Aiden, and stared at him with his beady little eyes when he came in, as though saying: Finally! We've been waiting for hours!

  Aiden scratched his head and wrinkled his nose back at him. He hadn't been gone more than thirty minutes, for heaven's sake.

  Dismissing the rat, he asked, "Going somewhere, luv?"

  She stood up at his question and swayed a bit, her face paling at the sudden movement.

  He stepped forward to catch her, but she held out her hand, stopping him where he was. He noticed she barely favored her bad ankle at all. He also noticed she had changed her clothes while he was gone, and was now wearing hunter-green cargo pants and a beige long-sleeved cotton shirt with a white T-shirt poking out from underneath. An all-weather jacket was lying on the couch, and the black bag was sitting on top of it.

  She'd done quite a lot in the short time he'd been gone. Interesting, considering she could barely hobble about the place when he'd left. He made a mental note of it, but didn't say anything. This female apparently had more than one secret. And he decided right then and there that there was no way he was leaving until he'd sorted them all out.

  "I think it would be a good idea for us to get out of here, Aiden."

  He looked down at his borrowed clothes. "But, I don't have a thing to wear."

  She rolled her eyes. "I'm serious!"

  "So am I," he retorted. "I chafe easily you know."

  Her mouth dropped open, her forehead crinkling up at him in that adorable way she had when she was looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

  "What does that have to do with anything?" she finally sputtered out.

  "I chafe. My skin is very tender," he waved a hand in front of his hips. "And I'm not wearing any..."

  She chopped her good hand through the air, effectively cutting off his answer before he could explain his lack of drawers and the issue it presented. "I don't want to know!"

  "But you asked," he retorted.

  "Aiden!"

  "You did," he insisted. "What did you find in the bag?" he asked, pointing with his chin at the item in question on top of her coat.

  "That's what I'm trying to tell you if you would just shut up and listen for a minute!" she hissed at him.

  Her face was now turning a number of interesting colors, but as amusing as it was, he decided to give her a break. Mustering up a properly chastised look, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Go on then."

  She opened her mouth, glanced down at the bulge of his nether regions, closed it again, and then finally took a deep breath and gave her head a quick shake before proceeding in a calmer tone.

  "I didn't find anything in the bag."

  She was lying. But what he found even more interesting was that she was very good at it.

  "I don't know what it was they were after," she continued. "There's just some files, a few other things...nothing of any importance that I can tell."

  Picking up the bag, he opened it up and started shuffling through the contents. She was correct. He didn't see anything of importance. Some manila files with what looked like charts written in Chinese, pens, tissues, and some type of wooden jewelry box.

  He pulled the box out, thinking it was a rather odd item to have with business items, but didn't see anything unusual about it. There was nothing in it, and no unusual m
arkings other than a strange symbol on the lid, probably decorative. He put it back in the bag.

  Grace swallowed nervously, but otherwise gave no indication of being bothered by him looking for himself.

  "I still think we should take the bag with us though," she told him. "There's something in there those Suits wanted, and they wanted it badly enough to send that dude to break into my apartment to steal it back."

  "And," she continued. "They were obviously meeting with your old friends." She gave him a look, like it was his fault. "Maybe it was some kind of deal they were making? And that's why he came here in broad daylight, to try to get it back before the other ones could."

  He picked up where she left off. "Which means both parties will be after it."

  "Exactly."

  Stepping closer to set the bag back on the couch, he caught a whiff of her tantalizing scent.

  Ah, gods.

  His mouth immediately watered at the thought of tasting her, and his gums burned as his fangs itched to be released. Of all the females he'd enjoyed in his long life, he'd never come across one quite as enticing as this little firecracker standing in front of him.

  What was it exactly about this female in particular, he wondered? He ran his eyes slowly from the top of her cinnamon head to the tips of her trainers, trying to figure it out.

  She was just his thing, sure: Curvy in all the right places. Skin like porcelain with a light scattering of cute freckles across her nose. Large, expressive eyes of clear green. A wide smile. And thick, gorgeous hair that he couldn't wait to feel tickling his bare skin.

  But it was her scent, he decided, that really drew him in. He'd never in all of his years smelled anything quite like it.

  His fangs finally broke through, sliding down into his mouth as he eyed up the graceful curve of her throat. Muscles tightened and flexed as his entire body hardened; images of her deliciously naked and writhing beneath him flashing through his mind.

  She shifted her weight from foot to foot, uncomfortable with his intense scrutiny. As his eyes made their way back up to her face, she lifted her chin defiantly and met his gaze with a bold one of her own.

  He smiled a slow, sexy smile, and lowered his head towards hers. Touching her cheek with his own, he closed his eyes and breathed her deep into his lungs, memorizing her scent.

  She leaned away and cleared her throat, rudely interrupting his little fantasy.

  Again.

  Ah yes, they were talking about the bag, and the things that would be coming after it. He returned to their conversation. "And you waited for me to return? Why not just go off on your own? You haven't exactly seemed fond of having my company since I caught you attempting your rat's rescue on your own."

  She backed away a step and cleared her throat again, dusting imaginary lint off of her shirt as she stalled before answering him.

  He obviously made her nervous. But was it fear or desire that had her putting distance between them?

  Finally, she looked up at him, and gave a shrug. "Honestly, I just figured I'd be safer with my very own vampire bodyguard, with those thugs chasing me and all. That is," she quickly added, "If you want the job. If not, that's cool too. Mojo and I have been on our own for a while now. We'll be fine doing it again."

  "What about your life here? Your job?" he asked.

  She looked away. "I'm already on a leave of absence from work, and I don't really have a life other than that, so...there you go."

  Hmmm. She must really need his help. She hadn't even fussed at him for calling her pet a rat. And the way her eyes kept shifting around...

  Ah, yes. His damsel in distress was definitely hiding something. Maybe it wasn't just his irresistible masculinity that was making her so twitchy.

  "I'm in!" he exclaimed so suddenly that she jumped. "Let's just get out of here, shall we? You're not going to get your deposit back as it is. A little blood on the floor will just give your landlords a little something extra for their story about what a horrible renter you were." He walked to the door, not waiting for her to follow him. "I just need to make a stop for some clothes...I was serious about the chafing...and these shoes! Don't even get me started on these shoes..."

  Holding the door open, he was mildly surprised to find her right behind him, backpack on her shoulder and jacket and bag in hand. As she passed him without a word, he exchanged looks with Mojo, and gave him a wink.

  Locking the door behind him, he followed her to the elevator, ignoring the guilty little voice in his head.

  I thought we were going home? To our family? To our job?

  He wasn't being selfish. He was helping a damsel in distress.

  He would call Nikulas and go back to his duties just as soon as he got her somewhere safe.

  Chapter Twelve

  Grace waited anxiously outside the dressing room for Aiden. He'd been trying on clothes for the past hour, and she was seriously about to walk out of there, with or without him.

  Picking up her backpack from the floor, she tickled Mojo on the snout and gave him a snack from her pocket before sliding the strap over her shoulder.

  "Aiden? I'm leaving. The store is about to close. If you're coming with me, you'd better hurry it the hell up!"

  His head popped up over the top of the door. "Do the males here seriously fit themselves into these trousers? How, I ask you? I can't even get them zipped!"

  Her face burned as she looked around, hoping beyond hope no one had heard him. "Maybe you just need a bigger size," she mumbled.

  "Rubbish. I've been wearing the same size for over three hundred years, luv." He disappeared again. "And the colors! As if I don't stand out enough."

  She rolled her eyes.

  "But this shirt though, this shirt is brilliant! I'm going to take it."

  The door opened and Grace gasped, then quickly averted her eyes as he casually strolled out wearing nothing but bright red boxer briefs and a body-hugging black T-shirt with a striking green and silver dragon on the front.

  But not before noticing why it was, exactly, that he was having trouble fitting into the pants.

  She watched him inconspicuously as he hung up the clothes he didn't want on the return rack and wandered over to a nearby display of dark jeans.

  Her eyes roamed from his strong, perfectly formed legs to his muscular ass, and she bit her bottom lip to keep from moaning with sheer pleasure at the sight. It was just about the most perfect damn ass she'd ever seen on a guy. A long-dormant desire pooled in her belly as she watched the muscles flex while he walked.

  Gods, she'd almost forgotten what that felt like.

  She sighed in disappointment when he finally pulled down a few pairs of pants and held them in front of him as he came back her way, blocking her view. She averted her eyes again before he caught her ogling him.

  Pausing so close to her she could feel the warmth of his skin and smell his clean, woodsy scent, he purred, "Staring at me like that, luv...and in public, no less...is not going to help me fit into these trousers."

  "I wasn't staring!" she hissed, mortified.

  He leaned down and ran the tip of his nose along her jawline and up into her hair, breathing her in deeply.

  "Yes, you were."

  Then he abruptly turned away and entered the dressing room, slamming the door closed behind him.

  Grace covered her face in her hands. He was right. What the hell was wrong with her? Lusting after him like this? And could she be any more obvious about it? Seriously?

  She groaned softly. She'd sunk to an entirely new low. No matter how good-looking he was, she needed to keep her head on straight.

  Besides, he was a frickin' vampire. She needed him right now, but not for that. She needed him for way more important things, so long as he was willing to stick around.

  Maybe you should make it worth his while.

  She guffawed at her own thought. "Yeah, right."

  Slapping her hand over her errant mouth, she glanced around discreetly, but no one was paying her any
mind.

  Great. Now she was arguing with herself. Out loud.

  Besides, could vampires even do that?

  "Did you say something, poppet?"

  "Um, no. Nothing," she responded innocently as the door to the dressing room opened.

  Wow.

  Her newly acquired vampire bodyguard looked like he'd just walked off the pages of a major fashion magazine. He'd added dark, acid-washed jeans to his black shirt. A pair of ankle-high, black, thick-soled boots covered his feet. And to top it off, he'd donned a men's sweater jacket, also black, complete with a hood that now covered his dark hair.

  The clothes hugged his lean, muscular form perfectly. If he was hoping the dark colors were going to help him blend in, she had a feeling he was going to be severely disappointed.

  His grey eyes glowed from underneath that signature hood as he watched her drink him in, a contemplative look on his face.

  She stared back, wishing she knew what he was thinking. But then he blinked and looked away, and the moment was gone.

  Shoving his hands into the front pockets of his new hoodie, he looked at her expectantly. "Ready, luv?"

  "Um. Yeah. I'm ready." She followed him as he headed towards the exit, bypassing the registers completely.

  "Hey," she whispered, knowing he could hear her. "Aren't you going to pay for those clothes?"

  He paused just inside the doors to wait for her. When she reached him, he looked down at her with an amused expression on his face. "And how do you propose I do that? I didn't exactly bring my wallet on this amnesia trip. Besides," he grumbled. "It was their bloody grain that ruined my other clothes to begin with."

  "That wasn't the stores fault, " she began as he headed outside with her close on his heels, but she was drowned out by the sound of the alarms going off.

  Aiden wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her along with him at vamp speed when she made as if to stop.

  "Sorry about that," he told her once they'd gotten far enough way. "I must've missed one of the anti-theft devices. Remind me to find it later."