He had no right to smell so good after traipsing through the marsh, but he did and his touch, as he cleaned the blood off her neck and shoulder brought a shudder of pleasure. Her stomach fluttered as well as her heart with his nearness. She had to stop staring at him. That wasn’t helping matters. But she loved watching him move, the strong expressions on his face, the power emanating from him drew her gaze.
“Hell yes. How will we disappear or blend in with features like yours.”
Carmen’s mouth dropped open. “‘Tis a curse I bear. One given by the gods, so stop grumbling.”
“I don’t...grumble.”
McLain was furious, though only with himself. To care brought overwhelming pain. The kind that rips the soul from the man so that he contemplates running a blade through his heart. There was no way in hell he would grow close to someone again. This woman was dangerous with those soulful eyes and soft, creamy skin. She brought out every protective instinct he had, a need to keep her safe, and that meant disaster.
“Sounds like grumbling to me. Have you looked in a mirror lately? You’re not a hunchback with three eyes, McLain. Your looks draw every woman’s eye within a two block radius.”
A wicked smile touched his lips, but he ignored her statement and demanded instead, “Tell me what happened here.”
Finished with cleaning her wound, McLain threw the damp cloth toward the washbowl then offered her his hand to help her stand. As she slid her fingers into his, tiny sparks of energy passed between them. McLain closed his larger hand over hers tightly, refusing to give in to it and pulled her up to stand in front of him.
“He broke in and attacked me.”
“Did he say anything or do anything else? Did he drink or eat something in this room? The man is dead. Something killed him. I don’t want any danger to us here.”
She reached up with her other hand and pushed a stray hair from his brow to his temple. Then realizing what she had done, she quickly dropped her hand and glanced toward the hearth.
“A black trail of smoke came from the crack under the door to unlock it. He stepped in asking for you by name. When he found you gone, he attacked me. Within seconds, he was rolling on the floor, holding his stomach, and foaming at the mouth. That is all there is to tell.” She turned away, taking her hand from his.
Carmen pulled the cloak back up her arms and slid the hood over her head.
McLain jerked the cloak off again. Her eyes widened as he took the offensive material completely off and threw it toward one corner to lay discarded on the floor.
“Don’t cover yourself again in my presence. I’ll no longer talk to your cloak.”
“I covered myself so you wouldn’t be angry.”
He took her face in both hands, raising her gaze to meet his. “I prefer your face to the cloth, and will know the pleasures of it. Am I understood?”
A smile lit Carmen’s features and it moved something in his heart of stone. He wanted to kiss her. His thumb slowly rubbed across her lower lip and her tongue came out to taste his finger. He dropped his hands away and stepped back.
Damn! What was the matter with him? Returning to a safer subject, he asked, “Did you hit or stab the vampire?”
When she shook her head, he frowned. This was not right. She was withholding something from him. The events didn’t add up. Surely, she at least fought him off. “Perhaps it was something he ingested downstairs. I don’t like mysteries.” McLain stepped to the hearth. He laid his arm along the mantel, kicking a glowing ember back into fire with the toe of his boot before turning toward Carmen again.
“Speaking of mysteries, how do you know Slain? I would like to know why a slug like Slain, who did nothing to help his own mother when she was attacked, would come to your aid. It’s said he toasted her murder and shared in her blood. What debt did you hold over him? Slain is without conscience or heart. He kills easier than he smiles.” That Slain and Carmen shared something secretly didn’t set well. He didn’t like it. Any association with that man would hurt Carmen.
“Do you remember me telling you how I learned about vampires?”
Carmen walked over to the bed and sat down on its soft surface. She spread her palm over its worn quilted covers.
“Slain was the vampire I found in the woods mortally wounded. I brought him to health. That is what he meant by repaying a debt.”
“That is all there is to it?” She lifted her gaze to meet his, a spark of anger flashed within her brown eyes.
“My lord, you are a bit high handed. I am no relation to you sir, so I don’t answer to you. I will go my way in the morning, and you will go yours. If there was something more, it would be none of your business, so don’t use that tone of voice with me.”
McLain dropped his arm from the mantel, a burning need bellowing through his chest. He moved straight to her. His stride never wavered.
Carmen’s heart raced as she sensed the predator in him stalking her. Flames moved behind his dark eyes, hypnotizing, compelling, and moving her to answer their call.
As he slowly neared, she raised her hands to hold him back but he didn’t stop. Her palms pressed into his chest as she was pushed backward on the bed. McLain leaned over her, his gaze intense, mesmerizing, an arm planted beside each one of her shoulders, caging her in, pressing his body into hers.
“You will go no where until I have all the information I need. Don’t play with me, Carmen. I am not a smitten youth out to win the bell of the ball. I have no soul, no mercy. I prey on the weak and am more dangerous than you can imagine.”
His fingers fisted in the hair on both sides of her face as he drew in her scent. “I’ll be damned if I fall for someone like you.”
His words came out on a harsh whisper, before he took possession of her lips.
A tingling sizzle moved from her lips to his, slightly painful at first, but he refused to let up. His kiss became demanding, coaxing, and teasing.
He groaned when her long fingers fanned into his hair and along the back of his neck. She held him, meeting his kiss with her own. Her mouth was wet, warm, and so addictively sweet.
As they touched some form of energy passed between them. He was compelled, driven to savor more of her flesh. She tasted of sweet fruit and smelled of honeyed lavender.
He slid his hand down the column of her throat then along her flesh to the curve of her breast. His large hand cupped her, his thumb brushing across her tight nipple. She moaned, arching her back, pressing herself into his touch. He growled low in his throat.
May the gods help him...he wanted to possess her. As soon as he realized he wouldn’t be content until he was resting deep between her thighs, he pushed himself away with a groan of regret, to lie beside her without touching. Both remained side by side still breathing heavily, unwilling to break the silence.
“Carmen?”
“I wish you wouldn’t.”
He turned to face her closed eyes, her lips slightly parted. “You know what I would ask?”
“Yes. And I am too tired to explain.” She brought her arm to rest across her forehead.
“I need to know. What happened when we first touched back at the crypt?”
Carmen sighed, running her hand across her chest.
He turned, propping himself up on one elbow, leaning toward her and taking her hand in his. “What is this tingling energy that passes between us when we touch?”
She opened her eyes to meet his and saw hard determination. Carmen lowered the arm from her brow. “I don’t know. It happened only once before. A load of information is shared between two people, your past and mine are exchanged, but the mind cannot catalogue it all in one lump, so over time it becomes clear piece-by-piece, a deep sharing of our experiences.”
“So you now hold all my secrets?” His gaze narrowed, his jaw tightened, as did the hold on her hand. It grew almost painful.
“I have no idea what facts were shared.” She turned into the shelter of his chest. “Hold me. I’m cold.” His muscular arms
wrapped around her, pulling her close and once again his touch gentled. His fingers stroked a figure-eight along her spine.
She pressed her face into the curve of his neck, inhaling the warm male scent all his own. It brought a kind of comfort unfamiliar to her, more deeply moving than any she had received from her brother.
“Who was the other person you shared your thoughts with? If you say Slain, I’m going to kill him.”
The sharing of memories had been with her half brother, Brom, shortly before her mother’s murder, and look how that had turned out. To have it happen again with McLain stirred a growing panic. The knowledge she held would be a great weapon for good or ill. How would he use it?
“I am tired, McLain.” She brushed her fingers over her eyes before meeting his gaze again.
He frowned, taking in every detail of her face and she wondered what he saw. “Sleep then. I will hold my questions for another time.”
“What about the sun through the window in the morning?
“This is the marsh. Large trees are thick and dense, very little light will reach this room’s soot smeared window.”
“You’ve been here before?”
“A time or two.”
She glanced toward the door. “What if another of your kind comes knocking?”
“I have magical traps woven across every opening. No one can enter. I wish I had thought to do so earlier. Be assured, I’ll not be slack again.”
“Thank you.” Her voice trailed off as she relaxed.
McLain knew the moment she fell asleep and placed a command to deepen her rest so she wouldn’t awaken until he brought her up. Even as tired as she was, her last thoughts were concerns for him. The unselfish act stunned him. She was a beautiful woman and any man would notice, but that beauty ran deeper than skin. He lay there watching her for a long minute.
She was holding things back. He could take her blood then pluck any information he chose from her thoughts. The idea grew tempting, but he knew in the end he would not drink from her unless invited. Yet, it was his duty to keep her safe. She must share everything with him if he was to see this through to the end. In three days, the full moon would rise, and if he was to meet his death, he wanted to take this time of sharing with him and know she was cared for.
Chapter Four
Two men entered the boarding house the next eve through the rain. It had stormed all day, slowing their arrival. They were to meet someone that had news of a vampire’s hideout in the city. Yet, the tallest man of the two had another reason to find the vampires. Carmen was with them or so the whispers went. He meant to have her.
The man’s sharp gaze missed nothing of what was going on around him as he took a table in one darkened corner. His companion slid into the seat across from him just as the door opened again. Another younger man entered, glancing around, then smiled. He moved over to a group of three others near the hearth’s heat, slapping another man on the back in greeting. One of them handed the new arrival a mug, and he lifted it to his lips. Had he ever been so trusting?
“Brom.”
Hearing his name, he pulled his gaze from the reunion to glance toward his companion. The man had red hair, and its shaggy wet strands clung to his ruddy cheeks and across his bushy brow. His green eyes shifted from place to place. He had a weak chin and looked as if his head had been stepped on, pushing his features out to the sides.
“What?” Brom pulled off his rain soaked cloak and threw it over one of the empty chairs. He raked his fingers through his wet hair, pushing it back from his face. Water from his hair ran down the back of his neck and he shivered.
“You’re doing the right thing, so stop frowning before you chase off the bar maids. We have to wipe those blood suckers out.”
His frown deepened. “And if my sister is with them?”
“She won’t be your sister anymore. You know this. They’ll suck the blood from her and turn her into one of them. A monster.”
Brom’s gaze sharpened on the man seated across from him. It took every ounce of discipline he possessed not to let his rage take control. His traveling companion was a fool. No one could touch Carmen’s blood and live. She had power from the gods. Yet, when he thought of others touching her and causing her pain, guilt and frustrated anger consumed him. He alone would make the decision for life or death when it came to Carmen.
“You’re not to touch her, Roy. Leave that pleasure to me or I will gut you. Is that understood?”
Roy shrugged his shoulders and waved a serving wench over to their table.
The blonde, buxom wench came to stand before their table. “What can I get you, both? We got some good sausage stew and hot ale to warm your innards on this cold, wet evening.”
“Make mine a big serving.” Roy said, his grin extra wide as his gaze slid over the woman.
“What about you, gent?” She turned toward Brom. Her smile slipped a little as her gaze heated. “Mayhap a soft bed and a warm woman?”
“Not tonight. Just stew and ale.” The words came out clipped.
A pout formed on her lips and her brow lowered in a frown. She turned to leave but Brom reached out taking hold of her arm.
When she turned back, meeting his gaze, he made things right. “Another time, I might take you up on that offer.”
The smile once again curved her lips as he let go, watching her disappear into the kitchen.
Glancing at Roy, Brom wondered again, what he was doing here with him. The answer came. This was his only lead to Carmen or his mother’s lover, Jayce. Brom knew Jayce was looking for Carmen as well, but he was determined to find her first. There had been three attempts on her life but all failed. The forth one could succeed.
He was certain Jayce knew of Carmen’s secret. They weren’t close enough for Jayce’s inquiries as to her whereabouts, to be concerned for her health. His lips curled in a sneer.
Now with Roy’s connection to this group of assassins, who called themselves vampire hunters, they had gotten word that his sister resided in the company of a vampire. What damnable luck she had. They were to meet a man here that would take them to her.
“So where is this informant?”
Roy shrugged his shoulders. “He said he’d be here.”
The serving wench brought a platter, carrying two bowls and two pints, placing them on the table before each man, along with wooden spoons. The spicy scent of the soup warmed his senses and the steam curling above each mug brought a satisfied smile to his lips.
“Will there be anything else?”
“Perhaps you can help us,” Brom interrupted, glancing up from the meal to meet her warm smile. “We are here to meet with a man that should have arrived last night. I was wondering if you or someone here noticed a man who could have been expecting someone?”
“There was a fella’ in here, a gent like yourself. He was well dressed and sat in the same chair you are. He waited here most of the night then just before dawn, he left. His evil gaze gave me a fright.”
“Did he say where he was going or when he’d be back?”
“Nay. To tell the truth I never saw him leave. Mayhap he got a room upstairs. Want me to check for you?”
Brom smiled and gave her bottom a pat. “That would please me.”
The wench giggled, flipping her hair as she left.
“Damn, what luck.” Roy picked up his spoon and shoved stew between his lips.
Brom picked up his mug of warmed ale, twisting it around in his hands. “Yes. Isn’t it?”
If this turned out to be a dead-end, he would have to follow Roy back to the underground to the vampire hunters in hopes of picking up another lead. That would mean more time lost, and Carmen was out there somewhere alone with a murderer searching for her.
He lifted the mug to his lips, taking long deep swallows of the heated brew. The rain had soaked through his coat. The cold seeped into his flesh and a shiver ran along the back of his neck. He snarled, hating cold wet weather.
A rumble of thunder ma
de Brom take another long swallow of the warm ale, feeling it slide down his throat to lie in his stomach and melt the chill along his limbs. He spotted the serving wench coming back from over the rim of his mug. He set the pint down, waiting.
“There were two well dressed gents in here last eve and one of them took a room. It be the last room on the right, end of the hall. He hasn’t checked out as yet. Would you like me to take him a note?”
Brom smiled. “There is no need. Once we are finished, we will visit his room. I thank you greatly for your assistance.” If this was the man, Brom didn’t want to forewarn him of their visit in case the man had changed his mind or was trying to double cross them in some way. This boarding house and the march out back, was the perfect place to see someone disappear. Brom pulled a silver coin from his pocket and slid it across the rough wood table to her.
Her eyes lit up and she grabbed it quickly as if afraid the offered coin would be withdrawn. She slipped it down her cleavage; a smile of pleasure lit her face.
“If there is anything at all you might need, ask for me, Sue.”
She turned to leave and Brom watched her well-rounded behind swing back and forth. A warm body pressing to his sounded good at the moment, and she had the assets a man could enjoy. But finding Carmen came first.
“So we are in luck.” Roy’s voice grated on his nerves. The man was spoiled, bored, and rich; playing in dark things he had no idea about. Roy would end up dead within five years if he didn’t open his eyes and ears, then close his mouth. The only reason Brom stayed with him was because he knew the people Brom needed information from.
“Will you know this informant if you see him?” At Roy’s bulging cheeks, Brom prayed the man wouldn’t try to speak until he swallowed.
Roy nodded in answer.
“That’s good.” Brom leaned in toward Roy, his gaze narrowing on his target. “We wouldn’t want to share information about the vampire hunters with just anyone.”
Satin Chamber Page 3