“We’ve got to...” He choked slightly on the words. He couldn’t believe how much the thought of losing her had gotten to him. “We’ve got to get you out of here. My brothers and I agreed. If we leave and Nicolai follows, he most likely wouldn’t bring his whole family to try to take you back. You’d be safer with us in Oklahoma.”
“I have to kill him here, Robert. You know we’d never make it to your home in Oklahoma before it got dark. They’d ambush us on the road, and rip the car apart to get me back. He’s not giving up.”
After another twenty minutes, they nearly reached the bridge. She insisted he put her down so she could climb the hill. “Your brothers will think I’m an invalid, which I’m not.”
Her words were spoken vehemently, making him smile. “Of course you’re not.” He let her down, but when she stumbled over the rocky terrain, he seized her arm and helped her up the hill. Her mind told her she was superwoman, but her body was worn out, her legs most likely wearied from the swim. And he would have carried her from here to eternity to keep her safe.
When they reached the bridge, Robert’s brothers waited for them there. All three appeared anxious. Mark motioned for them to hurry. Samuel still watched for hosts, his weapon ready, while Tom’s brows furrowed as he reached for Crystal’s arm.
“Let’s get her out of here,” Tom said. “Most likely other hosts have been alerted to come for Nicolai, and ultimately Crystal too.”
Robert grabbed her up in his arms again and ran for the car. Samuel bolted for the driver’s side of Robert’s convertible while Tom and Mark headed for the SUV.
When Robert had her safely buckled in the back seat, he climbed in with her. “Go, Samuel!”
Samuel hit the gas pedal and followed Tom in the SUV.
Robert wrapped his arm around Crystal.
“How did you know I ended up at the warehouse?” she asked.
The convertible veered off onto another road, matching Tom’s speed and maneuvers. Robert kissed her wet head. “We left the house, knowing a host would tail us. He was good. It took us a while to lose him. Then after we ditched him, we headed back to the house. Fortunately, you slept long enough for us to return before you left.”
“You tailed me?”
“We knew you wouldn’t stay put. And we assumed they’d lead you to another one of their lairs. Of course we were hoping it would be Nicolai’s and we’d nail the bastard.”
“You used me as a decoy?” Her voice was slightly raised.
He cleared his throat. “Tom wouldn’t agree to letting you go with us. And we figured they wouldn’t lead four male hunters to one of their lairs. We’d hoped they’d take you to Nicolai if you were alone and we’d kill him.”
Crystal stared out the window. Hunters shut off their emotions whenever necessary. If the mission warranted, she was expendable. No doubt about it. But she couldn’t shut off her emotions. And right now, her cheeks burned with anger. She attempted to cool her feelings. “Okay, then, after everyone eats and has a rest, we’ll do it again.”
“They’ll be expecting it. We have to have another plan.”
“So, what’s the next plan?”
“We want to meet with the head of your family.”
The notion they wanted to meet with her family caused chills to trail down her skin. “Why?”
“It’s only common courtesy to let the hunters in the area know we’re here on business.”
“That’s the only reason?” She didn’t believe it for one minute.
When Robert didn’t respond, Crystal stared at him. “What’s going on, Robert?”
He avoided looking at her while he ran his fingers over her arm, the skin thrilling with his touch.
She took a deep breath. “When you get this audience with my Uncle Max, what do you propose that I do?”
Robert glanced at her.
She raised her brows. “I’m banished from the family. I’m not permitted to see any of them and they’re not permitted to have anything to do with me.”
He looked back at the road and furrowed his brow. “I’d intended for you to accompany us. Tom, being the eldest of my family represented here, would speak. But I hadn’t planned on you staying behind.”
She shook her head. “Can’t be done. My brothers and I have met on the sly a few times in the last four years. But they could be as ostracized as me if any were to find out they had broken the rules.”
A black pickup eased in between Tom’s SUV and Robert’s convertible. Crystal glanced back. A black SUV followed close behind them.
Suddenly, Tom slowed his SUV onto the shoulder and parked.
The black pickup passed by them. A man opened his window and poked the barrel of a rifle outside.
But just as quickly, Tom opened fire on them.
Gunshots popped in the air. The pickup’s tires collapsed and it veered into the ditch then flipped over on its top.
Samuel drove past Tom’s SUV. The windows were open, and Mark and Tom readied sniper rifles at the SUV pursuing the convertible.
More gunshots penetrated the air. The black SUV dove for Tom’s vehicle, like a crippled shark headed for its attacker, intent on revenge. Tom gunned the gas and pulled in behind Robert’s car.
Crystal took a deep breath. “He disabled their vehicles.”
“Yep, the TP maneuver. Tom developed it back home. We’ve used it successfully a couple of times before.”
“Great teamwork.” She twisted her head around to see smoke rising from the black SUV’s engine. The tires were blown on the right hand side of the vehicle. It leaned precariously to the side like a ship that had lost its ballast. She smiled. Hunting with Robert’s brothers came in handy.
When they arrived at his home, Robert and Crystal proceeded to his bedroom. “Go ahead and take a shower to rinse off the muddy river water in here, Crystal. I’ll use the other bathroom.”
“Won’t the water get cold if we both shower in separate bathtubs at the same time?”
He smiled. “All right, then you take yours first, and I’ll go afterwards.”
“Are you afraid of me, Robert?”
He raised his brows and smiled. His eyes darkened as he reached up and held her face in his hands. “You, I’m not afraid of. Losing you, I am.”
“I want you to make love to me, before he does.” Her words were spoken with much more authority than she intended to use. The thought Nicolai could have so easily violated her body, when no man had ever made love to her before was worst than anything she could imagine.
Robert’s face turned gloomy as his brow wrinkled. “I won’t let him get that close to you again.”
“Fine. But make love to me. Show him you’re the one I want, not him.”
“I’m afraid if I do, Crystal, he’ll know, and kill you outright the next chance he has. You’re...well, you’re ripe for the taking. He most likely knows it. If I impregnate you--”
She frowned at him. “How would he know?”
“Their senses are highly attuned. Maybe he wouldn’t, but I don’t want to risk it, not until he’s dead.”
“How do you know that I’m...I’m--”
“Ripe?” He smiled and slid his hand underneath her shirt then touched her abdomen. Her nipples tightened in anticipation that his large, warm hands would move to her breasts next. “All hunters can tell. It’s important that we do, to keep our species thriving. Didn’t you know this?”
She shook her head, annoyed that as usual, she’d been kept in the dark by her family. “No one ever bothered to tell me. I guess no one ever thought I’d have a hunter interested in me.”
He slipped his hand out from under her shirt, frustrating her all at once.
She pulled away from him, having no intention of begging for his love. “All right. If that’s the way you want it.” She took a step toward the bathroom.
“That’s not the way I want it.” He grabbed her arm and twisted her around to face him. His voice was deep, sensuous, and full of longing.
/> She smiled. “Then share a shower with me. Just...a shower.”
He reached back and closed the bedroom door, then yanked off his shirt. “And what if I can’t stop at just...a shower?”
Chuckling, she slipped her shirt over her head, and dropped it on the floor. She slid her fingers underneath the straps of her black lace bra, his eyes riveted to her breasts. “Then we have a real problem.”
A knocking at the door made Crystal dash into the bathroom, then she peeked out to see what was wrong.
Robert opened the bedroom door. “What, Tom?” he asked, irritation dripping from his words. She was certain he figured big brother would try to talk him out of whatever he was going to do next with the enchantress. And she was ready to tell Tom off.
Tom’s gaze shifted to Robert’s bare chest. “Seeing how you need to change out of your wet clothes, Samuel wanted to know if you had anything we could fix for lunch.”
“Pizzas. Go ahead and shove one in the oven. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Crystal ducked back into the bathroom as Tom’s attention shifted in her direction. Did he wonder what she and Robert were up to next?
Tom said, “Remember what we discussed, Robert.”
“I remember. I’m just getting a quick shower, and then changed.”
“You’d have more willpower than me then.”
Robert chuckled. The bedroom door clicked shut, and Crystal smiled when she turned on the shower.
She stripped completely and climbed into the bathtub. Her legs were streaked with mud. She grimaced. She grabbed a bottle of liquid body wash and poured it generously on her hands, then began to lather it up all over her skin. The tea-scented fragrance of roses filled the shower, and she purred with pleasure. And then the thought occurred to her...why would he have a woman’s body wash in his shower? Susan?
Wondering what was taking Robert so long, she peeked out the curtain. He wasn’t in the bathroom. Coward. He wasn’t joining her. Guess he didn’t have any willpower...
“You’re not all through, are you?” Robert asked as he stepped into the bathroom, naked. Her gaze shifted down his fit and trim torso. His full arousal beckoned to her and her cheeks grew hot. She looked back up and he smiled.
“Came to join you.” He stepped into the shower, then ran his hands over her soapy skin. “Got any more soap for me, or did you use it all up?”
She laughed. “It’s super sudsy...and feminine.”
His ears turned slightly red. He cleared his throat. “Previous owner must have left it behind.”
“You mean Susan?” The dimples in his cheeks tickled her. “Well, she can return for her soap, but she’s not getting anything else here. In the meantime, while she doesn’t need it, there’s plenty more in the bottle.” She reached for the container, but he pulled her in close to his body and rubbed his skin against hers.
“I’ll just share some of yours.”
He ran his capable warm hands over her breasts and nuzzled his face against hers. “I thought I’d lost you for good,” he whispered, the pain evident in his voice.
His touch stirred longings in her, dangerous desires. She wanted him more than she had ever wanted anything in her life. Trying to get her mind off sex, she ran soap over his back and nodded. “I thought I’d never get myself out of that predicament and never see you again. You can’t know how thrilled I was to catch sight of you trekking along the river’s edge to get me.”
He touched every inch of her body, exploring it, sending her hormones into hyper-drive. How could a hunter make her feel so alive all at once? No one had ever made her feel like he did. Robert had to be the right one for her and yet the notion stabbed at her heart that he would be endangered if he took her in permanently.
What if other vampires like Nicolai learned she was different and wanted her too? And what of Robert’s uncle? If he said no to their union, Robert couldn’t become an outcast like her too. She couldn’t allow it.
“Robert,” she said cautiously, “I want you to make love to me with all my heart, but it doesn’t mean I want a commitment from you. I mean, just the contrary.”
He smiled broadly. “Yeah, well, all the ladies want that with me.”
“Susan.” She wrinkled her brow. “She wants your body.”
He laughed. “Yeah, but yours is the only one I truly want.”
She rested her head against his chest. “Yes, but after that--”
“You’re worried about my family agreeing. We’ll take it one step at a time.”
“But we’ll make love first?”
He tilted her chin up. His dark eyes were smoky with desire.
If he wasn’t so worried what Nicolai’s reaction would be to Robert making love to her, she was certain, Robert would have already done it.
“My family should approve first. With anyone else, it wouldn’t matter. But with you--”
“Yeah, you don’t have to say another word. I’m different.” She couldn’t help that her tone was angry. She was tired of being unloved because she wasn’t the same as other hunters.
“That’s what draws me to you, Crystal. I can’t stay away from you and I can’t leave you behind. Tom says he believes it’s because we’re perfectly matched. I’m not giving you up.”
She squeezed his buttocks. “We’d have to always watch our backs, Robert. Your life would be so changed from what it is now. You don’t realize how being cut off from your family--”
He kissed her lips to silence her. She wrapped her arms around him and parted her lips. Their tongues touched and tangled.
His arousal pulsed against her waist.
“We should wait, honey. We should wait until Nicolai’s dead and my family approves.”
She took a deep breath. “All right. If that’s the way you want it.”
“Dammit,” he whispered against her ear, “that’s not the way I want it.” He nuzzled his wet cheek against hers. “And you know it.”
“Prove it to me then,” she said under her breath, nipping his ear.
His hands massaged her breasts, caressing the tips with a loving touch, pinching, squeezing, brushing them between his fingers and thumbs.
“Prove it to me,” she prodded him and ran her hand down his backside, pressing his erection against her.
He groaned when she purred against his lips.
“Make me yours, hunter.”
Chapter 15
Huntresses were supposed to remain celibate until they found their mate. Once Robert realized Crystal was a huntress, he figured she had to be a virgin. Still because of her unusual gene, he’d not been certain. Not until she’d said there’d been no one in her life...except one disinterested human male. He’d never really considered being with a virginal huntress before, since he’d planned never to get tangled up with or commit himself to one. The notion both intrigued and concerned him.
He’d had his share of noncommittal relationships with human females who only wanted some sexual gratification, no strings attached, just like him. But this was different. Taking a huntress...well, there was no going back. He’d be responsible for her forever, and she for him...only in this case, because of her genetic differences, he imagined he’d be the one trying to protect her more than the other way around.
He wanted her and she desired him just as much. There was no denying the physical or emotional attraction. And he realized somewhere in the recesses of his mind, he’d already claimed her for his own...to keep her close forever. To love and cherish, like the humans claimed they’d do with the spouse they’d marry, only his actions would be real and permanent.
Her hands slipped over his butt, coaxing, spurring him on to take her. Her tongue licked the water dribbling down his neck.
His throat constricted. Did he have the willpower to wait? He knew deep in his heart, he needed to get his uncle’s approval. Family meant everything in this business. But what if his uncle didn’t approve?
Robert kissed the hollow of her throat. She raked her nails down his b
ack. He throbbed with need. Every bit of her touching sparked a yearning he could barely contain. In spite of her encouragement, her touch was light, not pushy, maybe a bit unsure. Was she afraid of him?
He slipped his hands down her backside and whispered, “It will be forever, honey. Forever. There’s no going back.”
She swallowed hard and nodded. Her blue eyes had darkened like liquid pools, deep and mysterious with unknown bounds.
Raw desire stirred his loins. She was innocent and pure. And she was afraid.
She shivered.
He wrapped his arms around her, and held her close. “What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not.” She tried to sound sure of herself, but her words were unsteady.
He smiled.
She buried her head against his shoulder.
He lifted her chin, and looked into her eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait?”
She shook her head.
The hot water had turned lukewarm and he feared it would be cold before they finished what they’d started. He rinsed them both, then turned the water off. Grabbing a towel, he slid it over her breasts, the crowns, eloquent rosy nubs entreating him to suckle them.
A banging on the bedroom door forced a groan from his lips.
“Your brothers are watching out for your welfare again.”
“They’ll be the death of me,” Robert said, his voice strained.
He kissed her hard against the mouth. When he pulled away, she followed his lips. He smiled and this time she moaned her displeasure. Chuckling, he grabbed another towel. “Dry yourself. I’ll be right back.”
“I liked the way you dry me better.”
He glanced down at her nipples. He grinned and shook his head, not being able to think of a good come back with his brother beating down the door. “Let me take care of my brother and I’ll be right back.”
He wrapped the towel around his waist, and strode to the bedroom door.
When he opened it, Tom raised his brows. “Didn’t know you took that long a shower. Pizza’s ready.”
“Throw another one on. We’ll be out in a few.”
Tom glanced back at the bathroom.
Terry Spear - Vampire Page 20