Janie was impressed with his hotel suite. “Wow, this must cost a pretty penny,” she said. “Are you rich or something?”
“Something,” he responded. He’d been rich, he’d been poor, he’d been everywhere in between. Rich was better, but in-between had always sufficed. No one in their right mind liked being poor.
Janie wasn’t shy. She knew what she wanted, and she’d been here before. As she worked the buttons of Sorin’s shirt he leaned down and drew in her scent. She was not as sweet-smelling as Nevada, or as musky as his last human lover, but she smelled pretty damn good and he could tell from her scent that she was healthy—not that he could catch any human diseases, but he liked his women clean and healthy.
“Are you taking birth control?” he asked, because that was what a human man would do. Vampires could impregnate human women, but it was very unlikely, and even if she did get pregnant the overwhelming odds were she wouldn’t be able to carry the pregnancy to full term. Breeds rarely made it into this world. So far as he knew, no breed had ever survived more than a few days.
Janie nodded, pushed his shirt back off his shoulders, and started working the button and zipper of his blue jeans. She was so small, so short, and standing together this way only emphasized the difference in their height and build. “Yeah. You’re healthy, right?”
“Yes.” Healthier than she could imagine. “You?”
“Oh, yeah. I’m very careful.”
The fact that she was here belied that fact, but Sorin didn’t think it would be wise to point it out to her at this moment. She was simply taking his word about his health, so she was either stupid, desperate, or so lonely she didn’t care.
He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. His clothes were more off than on and hers were loose and askew. By the side of the big bed he finished the job, and naked, they fell onto the mattress. She pulled the covers over their bodies as if she were suddenly shy.
Very slowly, Sorin pulled the covers back. “Don’t hide. You’re beautiful.”
He could see her blush, smell the blood rising just under her skin. “Turn off the light, please.”
“All right,” he said, because abruptly she seemed so nervous. After all, it wasn’t as if he couldn’t see almost as well in the dark, so she wouldn’t be hiding anything from him.
He turned out the lamp. Janie reached up and put her small hand on the back of his neck. She pulled his face down to hers for a kiss that was sweeter than he’d expected. Soon the kiss changed; Janie’s body language changed. Her last bit of shyness fell away as he coaxed her to desire.
There was nothing wrong with getting lost in the physical. Men and women were created differently for a reason—a very good reason.
Sorin was aware of the precise moment when Janie let go of whatever had drawn her to him and gave herself over to the moment. Whatever man had driven her to another’s bed, she forgot about him. She was fully Sorin’s now, fully here with him.
When he pushed inside her his own worries faded, because she wasn’t the only one in this bed who needed a refuge, a moment away from thought. She was warm and soft and willing, she took him in and cradled him there and they were, for a moment, alone in the world.
Sex remained the most powerful act Sorin had ever known. Beyond feeding, beyond violence, it spoke most strongly to his primal self. As a human, as a vampire, it was a pleasure that never faded, that never lost its power—not that he didn’t possess more skill now than he had as a human. Seven hundred years of practice was bound to improve performance. Some vampires painted or learned to play the piano; some accumulated wealth or things or even humans. Sorin’s interests had taken a different path.
Janie came quickly, and hard, but Sorin didn’t follow. He hadn’t brought her here for a quickie, which would be no more satisfying than a fast coupling in an alleyway. He slowed his movements, kissed her throat. That throat and the vein there were tempting, but he didn’t bite. Not yet.
She closed her eyes and her hips moved in a gentle rhythm, matching his own. Just as she was on the verge of coming again—easy human—he withdrew entirely. She gasped and tried to pulled him back, but when he began to kiss his way down her body she quit fighting and just enjoyed the ride. He knew what he was doing, and left her breathless and flushed and shaking.
It wasn’t long before he pushed inside her again, and she welcomed him with a sigh and a gasp. He teased her, brought her to the edge and back again, and then he pushed deep and they came together, a nearly perfect ending to a needed respite.
Their rendezvous became entirely perfect when he lowered his head and bit into her throat, nipping the vein, drinking deeply, tasting everything that she was: satisfied, sad, angry, happy, in love.
Not with him, of course, but still, she was filled with love that had done nothing but hurt her.
She hadn’t felt the bite, but evidence of it would remain if he didn’t tend to the site. He licked; she laughed, unaware of why he was raking his tongue across her very delicate neck.
“That was amazing,” she said. “Really, I had no idea sex could be so … amazing.” Then she laughed, because she couldn’t find another word other than the one she’d just used.
Sorin turned on the light. Janie tried to pull the sheet up to cover herself, but he stopped her, took her chin in his hand, forced her to look into his eyes. “Whatever man hurt you, he isn’t worth the pain he’s caused.”
“No man has …” she began, attempting to lie. The shine of tears gave her away. “He’s an idiot. I don’t know why I let him affect me this way. He cheated. I wasn’t enough for him, even though I tried so hard.”
“Do you want me to kill him for you?” He made the offer, wishing she’d take him up on it. He needed to kill someone right now, because nothing else had worked out right today.
She laughed and shook her head, thinking his offer was a joke. It wasn’t.
“You love him.”
“I wish I could love you instead,” she said, reaching up to touch his face.
“That wouldn’t be smart.”
She nodded, rested her hand on his neck, and pulled him to her once more. “Maybe not, but we can pretend for a while, can’t we?”
“Yes, we can pretend.” As powerful as glamouring was, as truly amazing as a vampire’s gifts might be, not even the strongest of the kindred could manufacture or take away love. Tonight, if he couldn’t have the real thing, at least he could have the pretense … and damn if he wouldn’t glamour her before she left, so the son of a bitch who’d hurt her would be in for a whopping surprise the next time she saw him.
That thought made him happy.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Sorin had left Janie sleeping and, decision made, headed for home. Well, for D.C.; it was home for now. His fellow rebels were the only family he’d known for a very long time. A common purpose had driven them together, and there was a strong bond in that commonality. Besides, if there was trouble, he seldom ran from it; truth be told, he usually ran toward it with relish. Why should this be any different?
Maybe he’d gotten away with what he’d done. Three of the four conduits he’d been sent to kill were dead. Other hunters had been assigned to the remaining New York targets, and they’d all been successful, from what he’d been told. He hadn’t heard any talk about a missed target, no frantic phone call saying that Phillip Stargel was still alive, and what the hell had happened?
He stood in Chloe Fallon’s driveway, long after full darkness had fallen, and stared at the empty house. The soldiers who’d been sent to watch Luca had arrived too late; their target had already departed. Lucky for them, he supposed. All the lights were off, not even the front porch light shone, but it was more than that which told him the house was empty.
The house was forbidden to him, but he could feel the life, or lack of life in this case, inside. There were no heartbeats, no gently hissing breaths inhaled, no whispers of life. Luca had taken the conduit away, probably trying
to keep her hidden and safe, though why he would bother was a mystery to Sorin. It didn’t matter where Luca took her, how hard he tried to conceal her; Jonas would find the conduit all over again. But then, Luca didn’t know Jonas was working with the rebels.
He was tired of this. Killing the conduits was necessary, but what he wanted was for the war to truly begin, so he could fight in the open. The humans would resist, once they knew what was going on, and he looked forward to a good battle. Regina, however, had a plan and she insisted that it be followed. They were on the cusp of attack, on the verge of coming out in full force. First the warriors and the breaking of the spell, then the all-out battle that would change the world forever. Fine. He was ready for it to start.
“You rang?”
Sorin turned his head slightly and looked down at the hunter he’d called. Melody was his own child, turned more than fifty years earlier. He’d chosen her because she was strong-willed and beautiful and at the time he’d wanted to keep her for a while longer than her human years would allow. As he’d suspected, she’d become a strong and beautiful vampire, but, damn, she still hadn’t learned caution. She was headstrong, spoiled, and had very quickly become annoying. He was fond of her … in a way. And in small doses.
She changed her clothing and hairstyle as often as a child changed a doll’s clothes, pretending to be different people, playing at dress-up whether she was hunting or not. Tonight her long blond hair was caught in a high ponytail. Her faded blue jeans were tight, and like the black boots and leather jacket that were not quite right for the season, suited her. Her lipstick was blood red. She barely resembled the Pig Queen of Sunflower County, which she’d been when he’d turned her. He could still see her in her red bathing suit and white sash, her hair teased and sprayed in the style of the time, her smile brilliant. She’d been utterly irresistible, for a while.
“Plans have changed,” he said. “I’d thought to have you watch the D.C. conduit for a few days, which is why I asked you to meet me here, but Jonas just told me that another Texas conduit is fast coming around. His name’s Jim Elliott.”
“Honey, Jonas is off his game,” Melody said sweetly. “I took care of Jim Elliott days ago.”
“This newest conduit is his son. The Warrior trying to come through made an adjustment very quickly, or else …”
“Or else what, sugar?”
“Or else the warriors are changing the game somehow.” Contacting more than one potential conduit, perhaps. He thought of Phillip Stargel; the fact that they were using a child said a lot about how desperate and determined they were. They were trying to confuse the hunters or, at the very least, making sure that there was more than one site prepared for a warrior to come through. Maybe they hoped that the vampires trying to stop them couldn’t get to every conduit in time. Unfortunately, they might be right.
Then again, it wasn’t as if the task was an easy one. Times had changed for them all, for the warriors even more than the vampires. Tales were no longer passed from generation to generation; the Warriors had been forgotten. How much harder did they have to work, to get people to believe in them again so they would call them over?
“Just take care of the second Jim Elliott,” he said. As he walked away from the house Melody fell into step beside him. She was quiet for a few minutes; almost thoughtful. “You’re really tense,” she said. “When was the last time you got laid?”
No need to share the details of his sex life with anyone, and certainly not with Melody. “Are you offering?”
“For you, sugar, any time.”
“Time’s the one thing we don’t have. I have a job to do, and so do you.”
Melody walked with a swing of her hips, the ultrafeminine sway naturally seductive. “Just as well, I suppose. You’d probably want to go back to the house, and if the bat-shit vampire queen was around she’d probably take my head out of spite because I’m prettier than she is. Jealous bitch,” she added under her breath.
Sorin controlled a snort of laughter. Melody and Regina did not get along. The only thing that had saved Melody so far was that, as far as Regina was concerned, she was so unimportant. “Be careful what you say. She might hear you one day.”
They walked a while longer, even though they could, and should, separate and run. Rest would come after victory. But the night was cool and quiet, and Sorin had done more than enough running lately. “Why did you join us?” he asked. “You didn’t do it because of Regina. You actually like humans. So why are you here?” Many vampires hadn’t joined, hadn’t taken either side. The cowards were waiting to see how things shook out. If the rebels won, they would happily enjoy the benefits. If not, then they’d continue on as they always had, living in darkness.
“I figured you knew why,” Melody said, her normally chipper voice almost solemn. “I’m here for you. I mean, I like the idea of not having to hide what I can do all the time, and hunting the conduits has been a lot of fun, but, the truth of the matter is, I’m here for you.”
“You don’t have to be; I’m not asking for that much loyalty.” Vampires usually felt obligated and tied to their makers for a very long time, especially if sex had been involved, and many makers used that obligation to its full advantage. He didn’t.
“I know.” Melody’s usual brightness crept back into her voice. “It just seems right. I mean, I love this life you’ve given me. Vampire is who I am, who I was always meant to be. I tell you what: if we win—”
“When we win,” Sorin corrected.
“Fine. When we win, you and I can take a week or a month or a year and celebrate until we just can’t stand each other anymore. And if we lose, which I’m sure we won’t but you know, anything is possible so I might as well plan for anything, then we’ll commiserate in a nice, soft bed.”
“Why not?” Sorin said. Even if he ended up as Regina’s consort when all was said and done, which was a possibility as he was second in command and she’d need someone to watch her back, they wouldn’t share a bed. He liked being on top in all ways; so did she.
“It’s a date, then,” Melody said cheerfully. “I’ll take care of Elliott Junior asap, and then we’ll talk about the D.C. conduit. It’ll take a couple of days. I don’t travel as quickly or as well as you do. Not yet, anyway. If I could get accustomed to sunlight just a little bit that would help, but I still can’t stand it. And I used to have such a beautiful tan,” she said wistfully.
“Give it time.” A hundred years, maybe two or three hundred more; it all depended on the individual.
“I hope I can stay here for a while once that’s done,” Melody said, her southern accent returning in force. “I really am tired of working in the boonies.”
“When we win, you will never have to go to the boonies again unless it suits you,” Sorin said, and tugged on her ponytail.
“No, sir. I’ll just fuck your brains out right here in the big city.” She laughed, and inside the house they passed by at that moment, a human stirred. A moment later, a curtain fluttered as the human peered outside.
Sorin turned toward the watcher and growled, showing his fangs by the light of the overhead streetlamp.
The curtain dropped. Perhaps the human inside that protected house would convince himself that he’d been dreaming, or that what he’d seen had been a trick of the light. At the moment, Sorin didn’t care. Soon enough, everyone would know the truth, and he would never again have to hide who—what—he was.
“Someone’s coming.”
Chloe lifted her head at the sound of Luca’s voice. “Well, it isn’t me,” she said testily. Considering how often they’d made love, she was a little surprised that she wasn’t, but right now she didn’t want to even think about sex. She was so tired, exhausted from all the sex and the screwed-up hours, the dreams that had come back just when she thought they were gone. She really should be asleep, but honestly, would she ever sleep again?
“It’s a vampire. A powerful one.” He paused, his gaze gone vacant as he focused on someth
ing she could neither see nor hear.
“Sorin?” Her heartbeat increased, and what felt like a boulder settled in her chest. She didn’t want to see the big blond ever again; the memory of him tearing at Valerie’s throat made her shudder. If not for Luca, he would have killed Valerie right in front of her, and if she’d tried to help Valerie he’d have killed her, too. Knowing the vampires wanted her dead, in theory, was bad enough. To see Sorin in the flesh, hungry to do the deed, was the stuff of nightmares.
“No.”
Any relief she felt was transient. He’d left his chair and stood, ramrod straight, facing the door to the suite. His broad-shouldered, powerful body looked perfectly poised to meet any threat that might come through that door.
“We’re safe here, right?” Chloe asked.
“To a certain extent.”
“That’s not at all comforting! Just how certain is this extent?”
Luca turned his head to catch her eye. “They’re searching for us. They don’t know exactly where we are. When it’s morning, we’ll move to another hotel. It’ll be safer then. Most vampires don’t function very well in daylight.”
But some of them did. He did. So much for settling in, unpacking, arranging her things in drawers as if she was going to be here for a while—and what an odd thing to worry about. She shook the thought away. “If they can find us here, won’t they be able to find us wherever we go? And how did they find us?”
“Some vampires can … identify and locate energy. I can, and I know others who can. The search takes time, though,” Luca said. “They found us a little faster than I’d thought, to be honest. We’ll have to stay on the move, change locations every day.”
“For how long?”
“Until this is over, one way or the other.”
One way or the other. One way was for this Warrior of hers to stop dawdling and come through, already. The other way was for her to get killed. Great. She’d pick “one way” over the “other” any day of the week, if only she knew how to hurry the Warrior along. The thought of a powerful vampire out there, hunting for them, for her, made her feel painfully vulnerable. And what about Luca? He was endangering his own life, in protecting her. With a jolt, she suddenly realized she didn’t want that. No matter what, she wanted him safe, she wanted him to live—
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