“Home.” She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. Her feet scuffed in the dirt as she walked. She yawned again, her body still not having figured out she no longer needed to breathe. “I like the sound of that.”
He couldn’t help but wonder if she’d feel differently after she’d rested. After she got used to the new sensations her changed body offered. She’d need him even less than she had before—and she’d never really needed him then, either. She was one of the most independent, competent women he knew. Something more for him to love about her.
They had resolved a lot of the past hurts, but it remained to be seen if they would be able to build on that foundation. A kiss, soft words, and hot sex didn’t make the pain go away. After she’d gotten some rest, he supposed he would find one thing out: Would she stay with him? Or was he destined to live the rest of his life alone?
* * *
Dante watched Nix and Tobias until they went out of sight. He blew out a sigh and scrubbed the back of his neck, and surveyed the scene. Blood-soaked sand and five dead vampires pretty much told the story. It was too damned bad that the ringleader had gotten away, and not just because it was someone Tobias had been hunting for so long. Some payback would’ve been nice. Dante prodded his wound and winced. That bite had hurt like hell when it happened, but it hurt even more now. The sooner the crime scene specialists got here the sooner he could take off and get it seen to.
He walked over to the nearest corpse and stared down at him. The vampire’s eyes were open, his bloodied fangs still in evidence. This was the bastard that had bitten him. Dante drew his weapon and prodded the body with the toe of his boot. No reaction. He backed up until he was stopped by a large rock, then leaned against it and kept his pistol at the ready. From what he knew, blood loss was just as devastating to a vamp as it was to a human. And these guys had lost a hell of a lot of blood. They all seemed dead, but with vampires you never could tell. He’d just have to trust that Tobias and Nix wouldn’t have left him here alone to fend off a horde of vamps coming back to life.
After about half an hour or so he heard voices calling his name. “Up here,” he shouted.
Roughly a dozen criminalists came over the rise. Knox, the former vampire liaison of his quadrant, walked over to him. “You just can’t stay out of trouble, can you, MacMillan?”
Dante lifted his shoulders. “Trouble seems to find me in spite of my best efforts.” He clapped Knox on the shoulder. “So, you’re on the case now?”
He grimaced, flashing a fang. “I get to clean up your mess.”
“Not mine. Caine’s.”
“Uh-huh.” Knox stopped and gestured toward Dante’s arm. “You all right?”
“It’s just a scratch.” Dante figured he needed to keep the whole rift device thing out of the realm of common knowledge, so he made sure the conversation stayed on point. He nodded at the dead vamps. “These guys were buddies of the vampire that Tobias chased through the rift.”
“Natchook? No kidding.” Knox made a circuit of the scene, looking at each vampire. He stopped at the spot where Tobias had turned Nix and stared at the few smears of blood on the rock. Going down on his haunches, he drew in a breath and then shot a sharp glance up at Dante.
“She’s fine, now,” Dante said. “Natchook got to her, forcing Tobias to turn her.”
“And?” Knox sniffed again, his eyes going vampire black. “How did the transformation go?” He seemed wary, his voice sounding tight.
“Fine, I guess. I’ve never seen one before, so I don’t have anything to compare it with.”
“Believe me, if it had gone badly, you’d know. Actually, you’d probably be dead.” Knox stood. “She seemed all right?”
“Yeah. She seemed…normal.” Dante tucked his thumbs in his belt. “Still a little smart aleck.”
Knox relaxed his stance. “That’s good. Real good.” He looked around the scene. “I’d better start directing these boys or they’ll just wander around in circles.” He began to walk away and then stopped. “You go get that looked at,” he said, pointing at Dante’s shoulder.
“Planning on doing that right now.” Dante hesitated, watching the techs working away, and knew he was one lucky SOB. Five vampires and he managed to come out the other side alive. He’d take that kind of win any day.
Chapter Eighteen
By the time Tobias pulled the car into the parking lot of Nix’s apartment complex, she was asleep. He turned off the car and watched her, so full of emotion he felt…hesitant. It was something he hadn’t felt in a long time—not since he’d first come through the rift and found himself in such an alien place.
It wasn’t a feeling he particularly enjoyed, so he did what he usually did. He pushed it aside and went into action. He opened his door and walked around to the passenger side. Leaning over, he eased Nix out of the car and into his arms. Before he straightened he snagged the strap of the huge tote she called a purse. He went up the sidewalk and, once at her front door, he knelt on one knee, balancing her on the thigh of his other leg while he rooted around for her keys.
She didn’t stir as he opened the door and went inside. Rufus was at the entryway, his whine loud. Before Tobias could stop him, the dog raced through the open door. Tobias didn’t wait around or try to catch the damned thing. He held a precious burden in his arms. The dog would come back.
Tobias carried Nix to her bedroom. As much as he’d like to let her keep sleeping, she needed to get cleaned up. She’d sleep better after the grime was washed away. He’d sleep better, knowing she was comfortable and safe. He went into the bathroom and set her gently on her feet, keeping one arm around her waist to support her weight. “Nix,” he coaxed, patting her on the cheek. “Wake up, honey.”
Her head lolled on his shoulder but he felt the amount of weight leaning into him lessen, so he knew she was standing on her own. With her eyes still closed she replied, “No. Not time to get up yet.” She sounded like a disgruntled kid being told it was time for school.
He would have laughed had the situation been different. As it was, there wasn’t much humor to be found under the circumstances. Nix was no longer human, at all, and it was his fault. He clenched his jaw. He’d deal with that later. Always later. “We’re going to take a shower, sweetheart.” He guided her to the toilet and helped her sit on the closed lid. Kneeling at her feet, he unzipped and removed her boots, then gently peeled her socks off her feet.
“Oh. Sh-shower’s good.” Her voice was so slurred she sounded drunk. She scooted forward so abruptly that her knee caught him in the face and knocked him on his ass. She stood and looked down at him with a frown. Her fingers went to the buttons on her blouse. “Why are you just sitting there?”
He got to his feet, rubbing the sting out of his cheek. He shook his head. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” In her fatigued stupor she had only managed to get one button undone. He brushed her hands away and finished the job, easing the material over her shoulders and letting it drop to the floor. He unbuckled her belt, noticing for the first time that both her gun and knife holsters were empty, and pushed her jeans to her ankles, supporting her as she lifted first one foot and then the other. Trying to ignore the enticing picture she made standing there in lacy bra and panties, he focused instead on the dried blood smeared on her neck and upper chest, scowling when he caught sight of the bruises on her shoulders, ribs, arms and thighs.
Damn. He was a bastard for lusting after her in the shape she was in. He should be wrapping her in cotton, not thinking about sliding her beneath him, less so of sliding himself into her.
He undid her bra and removed it. When he reached for her panties, she wrapped her fingers around his wrists. He could feel the new strength in her hands. “Thank you.”
He stared down at her. “For what?”
“For saving my life.” She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his shoulder.
“Any time, sweetheart.” Tobias finished undressing her, then stripped off his own clothes. He
reached in and turned on the shower. The water warmed up within a few seconds. Grabbing a clean washcloth from the shelf above the toilet, he guided Nix into the stall and closed the frosted glass door behind them.
He stood behind her, bracing her against him, and gently cleaned the blood, sweat, and dirt off her. Every once in a while she’d shift against him, her soft buttocks rubbing against his cock. He couldn’t stop his natural reaction any more than he could make his heart start beating again.
She turned and looped her arms around his neck. Her eyes were still sleepy but more alert than before, and there was a spark of sensual awareness that hadn’t been there. “This is amazing. My senses are so much more alert. It’s like I can feel every drop of water as it hits my skin.” Her gaze fell to his chest. “I can see every drop of water on your skin.” She bent her head.
Tobias jerked at the feel of her tongue swiping across his nipple. His cock twitched, too, ready for more. He put his hands on her shoulders and moved her away from him. “I don’t think this is a good idea, Nix.”
Her brows lifted. “Don’t you?” She glanced down. “Mr. Happy there seems to think it’s a very good idea.”
When she tried to get close again he straightened his arms, keeping her at bay. Even while he knew he was doing the right thing, part of him was yelling at him to cut it out. He wanted to be inside her, now. But his Southern gentleman half won out. “My cock doesn’t do my thinking for me.”
“Since when?” She blinked like a sleepy, sultry kitten. “You’re a guy. I thought guys always led with their cocks.”
She might be right, but… “Not this time,” he muttered. He leaned forward to shut off the water. Nix took advantage and put her mouth on his shoulder, licking a trail across the sharp ridge of his collarbone before she bit down on his shoulder. Hard enough to draw blood, which she drew on with a hungry, sexy little moan.
God, she never made things easy for him, did she? “Knock it off.” He sounded a bit angry, and he was. Here he was trying to be a gentleman, trying not to take advantage of her vulnerability, and she kept teasing him.
She pulled away with an aggrieved sigh and opened the door of the stall. Stepping out onto the mat, she grabbed a towel and began drying herself. As soon as she moved off the mat, Tobias came out of the shower and dried off as well. He wrapped the towel around his hips as he walked into the master bedroom. He grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of shorts off the end of her bed. Turning, he saw Nix standing in the doorway, still completely nude and seemingly oblivious to it. He walked over to her, holding out her clothes. “Here,” he said, his voice gruff.
She slipped her arms into the sleeves of the shirt and dropped it over her head. The soft cotton draped her to midthigh, covering her curves yet somehow enhancing her femaleness. He stooped and held the shorts out for her, appreciating the dainty femininity of the act of her putting first one foot and then the other through the legs. He pulled them up as he stood.
She looked like a forlorn waif, and it brought out every protective instinct he had even though now, as a vampire-demon hybrid, she really didn’t need his protection in the least. He moved away from her, going to the bed to turn down the covers. “In you get.” He motioned to the crimson-sheeted mattress.
She held up one finger and padded back into the bathroom. When she came back out, she held the rift device in her hand. In his rush to get her home, he’d forgotten the thing was tucked in the pocket of her jeans.
Just as she reached the bed, she exclaimed, “Rufus!”
Tobias turned to see the dog standing at the open doorway. “Guess I can close the front door now,” Tobias stated, and left the room. He closed and locked the front door of the apartment and then went back toward the bedroom. He paused in the doorway and watched Nix with her dog.
Rufus had gotten closer to her, but backed away from every overture she made. His tail tucked between his legs, he whined and whimpered, confusion evident in the way his ears twitched and his head tilted from one side to the other.
She looked at Tobias. Tears made her eyes shine. “He…he’s afraid of me.”
Tobias shook his head. “No, sweetheart. He’s uncertain of you, that’s all. You’re different and he hasn’t figured it out yet.” Tobias walked into the room and stooped down beside the dog, who whined again and leaned against Tobias’s hip. “Give him time. See? He likes me, remember? And you’re part of me now.”
Pleasure ripped through him at that thought. No matter what their future held—whether they faced it together or apart—Nix was now and always would have part of him inside her.
She pressed her lips together and gave a small nod. With a slight sniff she climbed up onto the bed and sat cross-legged, her back resting on the pillows leaning against the headboard. She glanced at Rufus, who went closer to the bed and lay down, his gaze steady on her. “That’s right, baby,” she murmured. “I’m still me.”
The dog’s tail thumped once against the floor and then he rested his head on his paws.
A small smile curved Nix’s mouth, then she looked down at the small box in her hands, turning it over and over. “How do you suppose this works?” She glanced up at Tobias.
He sat on the edge of the mattress and took the device from her. “We can figure that out later.” When she started to reach for it, he leaned over and placed it on the end table, out of her reach. He took her hands in his. “The last thing we need to do is just start turning dials to see what happens.”
Pink swept over her cheeks. “I-I wasn’t thinking of doing that.”
“Uh-huh.” He reached out and chucked her lightly under the chin. “You need some rest, honey.” He stood and started to move away, only to be stopped by her grabbing his hand.
“Don’t go.”
“Nix…” There was no way in hell he could stay in this bedroom with her and not put his hands on her. She was naked under that thin cotton, and he wasn’t gentleman enough to continue to resist her allure.
Nix stared at him, holding her breath. She started to respond to him and then realized something. That inner burning and itching sensation she usually got when she was ramped up, the same one that had allowed her to go demon on the vamps in the desert, was gone. Her demon rested quietly. She recalled saying something about that earlier, but she’d been so exhausted, her body transitioning from human to vampire, that she couldn’t remember exactly what conclusion she’d come to. Something about it being her humanity that had caused all the trouble.
Nix reached forward and took Tobias’s hands in hers. “I don’t have a clear memory of everything that happened after Natchook bit me, but I remember this. I told you that I love you. And I do.” She squeezed his fingers.
His pupils dilated and those vamp pheromones rolled off him in undulating waves. Knowing he was helpless to stop his reaction to her, she welcomed them. Reveled in them and the answering emotions they drew from her, like love. And a healthy dose of lust. And, now that she was part vampire, she could send some of her own.
He leaned down and kissed her lips, tongue seeking, using a gentleness she neither needed nor wanted. Nix planted her hands against his chest and pushed him onto his back. She shimmied out of her shorts and top and then yanked the towel away from him, watching with greedy eyes as his shaft thrust upward, a clear drop of liquid already lubricating the fat head.
She wrapped her fingers around him, stroking from base to tip. As she leaned forward, Tobias stopped her with his hands on her shoulders. “Not that I don’t appreciate what you’re about to do,” he said, his eyes serious but a little anxious. “But can we wait on that until you get used to those?” He motioned toward her mouth.
Nix ran the tip of her tongue across her fangs, wincing when they cut into her own flesh. “Good idea.” She came up over him and lowered herself onto his hard shaft, inch by slow inch, until her buttocks were cradled by his upraised thighs.
She lifted herself and slammed down on top of him. Again. And again. She didn’t want slow and sweet. Not t
his time. She wanted the heat of primal mating. Every thrust made her writhe. Every time his black eyes met hers she burned inside, but not with the fire of the demon.
With the fire of lust. No, it was more than sex. It was love. Pure, unadulterated, love. “I love you,” she gasped, bracing herself with her hands against his hard chest, her nails digging into his muscles as she came.
He gave that little smile of his before he climaxed with a throaty growl. “And I love you.” He held her in place until the pulses within her quieted, then he shifted to one side, still inside her, and tugged her close. “Forever.”
Forever. That had a nice ring to it, especially since he meant it literally. Or as close to literal as anyone could get.
“And that?” she asked, looking at the rift device.
“That,” he said, placing a soft kiss on her mouth and then getting off the bed, “we’ll get to Victoria tomorrow.” He picked it up and padded over to her dresser. He studied the device a moment, resisting the urge to turn it on, then tucked it beneath a pile of silken bras in her top drawer. As he turned back toward the bed, he said, “If we can dismantle it without activating it, we need to put the pieces in various places so it can’t be reassembled easily. And the council can’t know we know about it, let alone that we have one.”
“Don’t forget the schematics and the flash drive.” She leaned up on her elbows. “Do you think Victoria will agree to keep it secret?”
“I think so. We’ll have to trust her.” He got back in bed and pressed a kiss against the swell of her breast. “Until we know whether these are the only plans and that’s the only device, we need to keep everything under wraps.”
“Until we know who all is involved.” Her gaze darkened. “I can’t believe that everyone on the council knows about this.”
“That would be…unthinkable.” He turned onto his back and drew her into his arms.
“We need to do something about Natchook.” She bared her fangs. “I can help you catch him.”
Kiss of the Vampire Page 26