He eased up slightly. As soon as he did, she broke free of his grasp and shoved him away. His minions had been easy to kill. Nicolai and his brother had a strength she’d never encountered before. She was as weak as a kindergartner wrestling with an adult. Or maybe it was her lack of sleep that made her so vulnerable. Or being so different from her own kind.
He touched her shoulders lightly, a smile curving his lips as if he were amused with her futile attempts. Then he grabbed her arms again, slammed her against the wall, and pressed his body hard against hers. “I never have to work this strenuously to conquer a woman. You’ve made me more alive then I’ve been in over a hundred years.”
She squirmed against his hold. His touch sent electricity sparking through her body, charging every molecule with energy. She’d never really gotten close to a man before. Not like this. Involvement with humans, vampires, even her own kind could spell her death if she let her guard down. She’d dated, but had kept the relationships nice and platonic. Safer for everyone that way.
“You know I’ll kill you the first chance I get.” Again, she twisted, trying to break his hold.
“You won’t want to once I convince you how much you need me.” He smiled, rubbing his obvious arousal against her waist.
She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation and hating it at the same time. “Never.”
“Your family abandoned you. Even after I managed to gain access into your apartment, they wouldn’t offer you a safe house. Instead, you have to live in a hotel.” With one hand, he held both wrists. With the other, he touched her cheek with tenderness.
“I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”
His lips turned up slightly. “You’re not like the others of your kind. You’ll live with me. Work during the day at this job if that’s what you want. But at night, you’ll be mine.”
His arrogance squashed any desire her body had for his instantly. “Why can’t you let me live in peace, Nicolai? You know I don’t want to kill you--”
He grinned. “I know.”
“Frankly, I don’t want to kill any of you. But you give me no choice.” She scowled. “You’re cutting off the circulation in my hands.” He loosened his hold on her. She twisted her arms free from his grasp, but he caught them again.
Boots tromped on the floor behind him, making her tense. Still confining her, Nicolai turned as the sergeant stepped toward him.
Crystal’s eyes widened. She gritted her teeth, trying to think of a way to alleviate the sergeant’s concern for her and keep him safe. Nicolai smiled, like a child with a new toy.
The sergeant considered Nicolai’s holding her firmly pinned against the wall. She barely took a breath anticipating the sergeant’s question.
“Is there some problem here, ma’am?”
Before she could speak, Nicolai focused on the sergeant, his dark eyes narrowed. The sergeant nodded, returned to the couch, and after planting his head on the arm of the sofa, snored in his sleep.
Crystal sighed deeply. Nicolai had used his abilities to make the sergeant lose his train of thought. To her relief, the confrontation had ended peacefully. Nicolai must have realized she’d have protected the sergeant to the death.
Rarely did a vampire lose his head over a woman so profoundly that he’d avoid angering or hurting her. He’d have controlled the woman completely. Was Crystal so different from other huntresses that he could desire her so? Sure. Any other huntress would have killed him or been killed by him.
Facing her, Nicolai touched his lips to hers, not pressuring, but luring. She fought the urge to follow his mouth as he pulled away. Smiling, he raised his brows at her. “I’d take you tonight, but I have other pressing business to deal with. Tomorrow night, I will come for you. Be ready.” He released her arms and vanished.
She rubbed her numb arms. He’d gripped them so tightly, she’d lost the circulation in them. Now she knew she’d never be safe on duty again. Her blood stirred with anger that she’d been so weak as to show the least bit of interest in him. From now on, she’d wear her weapons, post policy be damned.
* * *
Before long, the morning arrived. Crystal, already exhausted, slogged into her office. Hoping nothing would require much of her attention, she plopped onto her gray metal desk chair and shuffled through actions in her inbox.
Then her boss stalked into her office. His stern angular face, set jaw, and menacing steel gray eyes said it all. He had a task for her...and it wouldn’t be pleasant. “You have water survival tactics this morning. They’re expecting you now.”
Lieutenant Colonel Cramerton remained a thorn in her side. Otherwise, she loved her job. “I’ve had duty two nights the last three, sir.”
“Now.”
She served as the only company grade officer on the G-1 staff. As such, he always required her to attend the training exercises to represent her staff section. Though six field grade officers served there too and could have gone to training instead.
Grabbing her hat, she said, “Yes, sir.” She sighed with exasperation. If she drowned, it’d be on his head. On the other hand, the way he hated her for being a female on staff, it wouldn’t have mattered to him anyway.
She’d show him. She’d survive to see another day.
When she arrived at the division’s outdoor swimming pool, most of the service members had already removed their boots, socks, fatigue shirts and pants. Dressed in swimming trunks and t-shirts, they were ready for the exercise. She folded her arms. Not only was she the only woman in attendance, she hadn’t worn a bathing suit.
A training sergeant approached her and saluted. “Ma’am, you’re from the G-1 staff, right?”
“Yes, sergeant.”
“Go ahead and strip down like the others, and we’ll begin the training.”
“First, I wasn’t told until minutes ago I had to attend. And secondly, I had staff duty all night so hadn’t the time to change anyway.”
Every pair of eyes watched her with intrigue. Would they make her strip down anyway? At least that’s what most hoped, she figured.
“All right, ma’am. Just remove your fatigue shirt, boots, and socks. One of the men can loan you his trousers when we get to that part of the exercise.”
After taking her hat and shirt off and still wearing her t-shirt and trousers, she jumped into the pool with the others.
The training sergeant considered the roster and wrinkled his forehead. “We’re still waiting on...Captain Robert Parker. Anyone know him?”
Before any could reply, the sergeant glanced toward the parking lot and smiled. “We’ll wait just a moment to begin our training. Here he comes now.”
Just great. She grabbed hold of the side of the pool. Treading water for hours wasn’t going to happen, not as tired as she was. The day had warmed up considerably. The sun made her even sleepier.
While Cpt. Robert Parker took his time to join the party, she closed her eyes and thought of Nicolai’s visit during her staff duty. From now on, she’d have to arm herself with her wrist blade, at least until post policy declared it too warm to wear her sleeves rolled down. Then, she’d have to conceal a knife at her waist. The only problem was if Nicolai held her like he did last night, she’d never get to it.
“Captain Parker,” the sergeant said in greeting.
She hmpfd under her breath. Let’s get this show on the road.
The captain took forever to undress.
“Sir, you can join the others.”
Crystal finally opened her eyes to see what the delay was now. Her heart stopped dead. The human host from Dimitri’s party. The driver of the white convertible. Her stalker. He was an Army officer too? Jeez, how could things get any worse?
He stared down at her, his brown eyes wary, his dark brows knit tightly. He must have despised her, knowing she killed vampires after hours. And as a human host, he protected them. But as her gaze dropped to his satiny royal blue swimming trunks, the bulge there shocked her. She swallowed hard. He desired her
? Well, not her exactly, just her body...as a sexual object. What the hell was he?
He had a great pair of legs, perfectly sculpted from running, she imagined. Her attention shifted up his body, locking onto the bulge for a second more, her face heating.
When her focus reached his t-shirt, she found it fit neatly across his broad chest. His arms had just the right amount of muscle, enough to give a woman a really warm embrace. And suddenly, she wished he would wrap them around her. Sunstroke, that’s what she had to be experiencing.
Switching her attention to his face, she found him to be quite attractive, nice square jaw, eyes of dark brown sugar, and thick black lashes to die for. But the permanent scowl etched on his face made him appear dangerous.
His harsh gaze finally separated from hers before he dove into the water. When he resurfaced, the sergeant said, “First, I want everyone to make two laps across the pool.”
Robert Parker swam behind her, unnerving her. Just like when he stalked her with his car, he followed her now, watching her every move. Or was she just being paranoid?
When he bumped her foot she turned and glared at him. He returned the harsh look, daring her to do something about his intrusion into her space.
She twisted around and finished her swim, kicking the water into his face. And yet, she wished he’d wrestle with her in a sensuous water dance, touching, teasing, exploring her body as she wished to explore his. Her hormones were totally unbalanced. First, she’d wanted the vampire’s touch, now a human host’s? She had to be going mad!
Given the order to tread water next, she floated on her back, and closed her eyes to conserve energy. The water stirred up by a swimmer close to her made her lift her head to avoid being drowned. Robert Parker raised his brows at her, again, challenging her to do something about it.
Not to be intimidated, she shoved her foot into his chest, then swam away from him. She wished he’d grabbed her foot and pulled her close. She craved his intimate touch, despite knowing how crazy the whole notion was.
Wiping the water from her eyes, she glanced back at him. He studied her, the glare replaced with a dark look of confusion. Was he as bewildered about his reaction to her as she was to him? Huntresses were only attracted to hunters...it was a way of preserving the hunting gene. How could she be attracted to vampires and human hosts too?
She took a deep breath, exasperated with herself. First, she’s reluctant to kill vampires. Now she wanted to make love to anything that desired her back? Her life was quickly spiraling out of control.
After several minutes, the sergeant motioned toward the stairs. “Retrieve your trousers, then stay in the shallow end of the pool to complete your training.”
Once the men returned to the pool, the sergeant gave the next set of instructions. “Everyone now take their trousers, knot the legs together, then pull them down quickly from above your heads to fill them with air.”
He turned to Crystal. “Cpt. Anderson, ma’am, you can sit this one out until one of the others can loan you his trousers.”
Then directing his words to the others, he added, “Now for a time, you can use these as a floatation device. You can do the same with your shirt. When the air leaks out, just fill it up the same way. Out in the field, you would tie your boots together and sling them over your shoulder when you arrived at some kind of a water obstacle.”
After everyone had attempted to make water wings from their trousers, five of the men offered theirs to Crystal. She smiled, and accepted the trousers from the man standing closest to her. The whole group watched while she fashioned a floatation device out of the pants.
Then she returned the man’s pants. The class ended. The men gave her access to the stairs first, and Crystal waded out of the pool. Such gentlemen. And yet she figured they were mostly interested in seeing the wet t-shirt contest next.
She grabbed her fatigue shirt and crammed her wet arms into the sleeves. Not surprisingly, none of the men redressed. Instead, they gathered their uniforms, and waited for their training certificates.
After slipping on her socks and boots, she was ready to return to her hotel. She turned to find Robert Parker glaring her down. She opened her mouth to speak to him, intent on having a word about his being a friend of Dimitri’s, but the sergeant handed him his certificate first.
The captain whipped around and strode out of the pool area. She bit her lip, trying to settle her impatience. By the time the sergeant handed her certificate to her, the convertible had vanished.
But at least she knew his name now. Robert Parker. She’d make a phone call or two, and locate where the captain worked. Then she’d pay him a visit.
* * *
When Crystal arrived at her hotel, she pulled the door open to her room. At once she noticed her bed had been made. Her blood boiled. If Nicolai had gotten to the maid staff sometime during the evening while Crystal had served on staff duty...
She took an exasperated breath. At least he couldn’t approach her until nightfall. She pulled her curtains aside and looked out the window. Two men dressed in black leaned against her car as they stared up at her. She shuddered. Had Nicolai sent them to watch her? More and more, his actions indicated he wasn’t giving her up. The choice of letting him live grew dimmer with each passing day. And now she had to move again.
After changing into a dry uniform, she returned to work. Once quitting time arrived, she drove away from post in the opposite direction of the hotel. If the human hosts still watched her every move, she wouldn’t stand a chance. But she hadn’t seen any sign of them. Maybe tonight, she could ditch them long enough to make it safely to a new hotel.
When she arrived at a different hotel, the overhead lights already illuminated the parking area. Like most in the town, it had two stories. She rushed into the lobby and made her reservations, again warning she couldn’t be disturbed.
Then she stepped outside. No storms tonight. Twinkling white lights dotted the black velvet night, making her shiver. The vampires would be on the move again by now. She grabbed her suitcase and strode toward the stairs.
Once she’d made it to the second level, she hurried down the walk toward her room. When she reached the door, she shoved her keycard into the slot. The light flashed red. Access denied.
Panic rose in her blood. Her hands grew clammy. She jammed the card in again. The light flashed red once more. She swore to herself and glanced down at the card.
Taking a deep breath, she read the diagram. The arrow pointed the opposite way. She turned it around, and stuck it into the slot for a third time. The light turned green. She breathed a sigh of relief.
A spicy scent wafting on the breeze triggered her heart to palpitate. She pulled her keycard out of the slot and reached for the door handle.
Nicolai grabbed her hand with a firm grip. Her heart thundered in her chest. He smiled at her, bewitchingly seductive.
Because of lack of sleep, she’d forgotten to attach her wrist knife before she’d returned to work. Defeat filled her soul--but anger too, as she chastised herself for being so careless.
Everything turned blacker than black, the wind swept several strands of her hair from her bun, and she became dizzy all over again. When she blinked, she was standing in a house, another vampire party in full swing. For a moment, she stood slightly fuzzy-headed and disoriented.
Blood red sofas and tables laminated black filled the expansive living room. The place was more colorful than Dimitri’s home. She quieted her breathing to steady her nerves. Twice in a week now she’d been an honored guest in one of the brothers’ homes.
If she managed to free herself from Nicolai’s grasp, she’d count herself more than lucky. But her actions tonight would either spell her death, or free her for another close encounter. Unless she managed to kill Nicolai. His puffed out chest and grip on her hand, gave the appearance he took pride in claiming her for his own.
Despite being repulsed by him, she enjoyed that he desired her so. Her stomach flip-flopped with confusion
. A sense of compassion for the handsome man stirred in her veins. To counterbalance the feelings, she considered her parent’s deaths, their throats ripped out by a bloodsucker’s wicked fangs. Her brothers had hinted he was a cousin of Nicolai’s. Hostility rose in her blood. And then the thought occurred to her. How could a vampire have killed her parents in such a manner, without dying also? He must have died too.
All around the room, vampires and their hosts watched them. Nicolai smiled. “You intrigue my family, Crystal. They want to know when you will join me.”
“I will never join you.”
She jerked her hand free from him. He grabbed her wrist again. In an instant, she stood in his bedroom, only this time the experience occurred so quickly due to the shorter distance they had to travel that she barely felt any effects.
Again, she twisted away from him. Her gaze shifted to the bed taking center stage, draped in red satin curtains. What would it be like to lie with Nicolai naked in his bed? His long black hair loosened from its binding, her fingers combing through the silky strands. With his power, how would it feel to have him deep inside her?
His hand touched her shoulder, startling her from her treacherous thoughts.
She stepped away from him and shook her head, her body tingling from his touch. “I won’t be yours, ever. You can’t force me because you have no ability to use mind control on me. And you can’t bite me to change me that way either or it’ll kill you. So whatever you’re thinking, it won’t work.”
“You’re tired. Don’t you want to lie down? You can barely keep your eyes open. You crave sleep more than anything.” His soothing, hypnotic voice washed over her like a warm shower.
She blinked. He couldn’t be planning on seducing her. Sure, without weapons and as tired as she was, she didn’t stand a chance against his strength. She’d cave in for certain...just for a bit of sleep.
Leaning over her, he kissed her cheek. She closed her eyes. His spicy scent overwhelmed her. The electric charge he created sent her molecules into a frenzy again. She swooned into his chest. He chuckled, dark, deep, sensuously. She was no match for him tonight. Fighting took too much effort. Why not give in – for the moment – just this once?
Terry Spear - Vampire Page 5