Hunter’s Surrender

by Anna Hackett

  “What happened to her?”

  “She died not long after I was born. My father grieved for her every day.”

  So Rand had only ever had his father, until even he was taken away. Dominique set the photo back on the shelf. “I’m sorry about your father.”

  Rand ran a hand up her arm, his fingers curling around her arm. “He died so I could escape. Zahn was too strong for him. The bastard made me watch as he tortured Dad. Burned him, cut him, ripped his skin off. Even after all of that, my father fought back long enough for me to get away.”

  She’d read the report on Brody Wilder’s death. “I’m so sorry.”

  “The Paladins did nothing.”

  “Zahn was the son of one of the oldest court members. His father covered up the killing.” Dominique raised a hand and placed it over Rand’s. So much boiled behind his eyes. For a second, she saw the boy who’d lost his father. “By the time they found out, Zahn had been killed by another ajna whose wife he’d raped.”

  “I was closing in on him. I’d honed my skills and lived and breathed my need to end him.” Rand’s tone was soaked with his need for revenge. “When I heard he was dead, I decided to stop any other unbalanceds from taking another kid’s father.”

  And so The Darkness was born.

  The need to comfort was unfamiliar, but so strong Dominique didn’t bother to fight it. She wrapped her arms around him.

  He didn’t move, didn’t say anything. But it didn’t matter. She held him—the lonely boy who’d watched his father killed, the hunter who dispensed death and the man who was still so alone.

  His arms moved around her. Tightened.

  “Is this the life your father wanted for you?” she murmured.

  Rand pulled back. “This is the life he trained me for. He said we had a duty as vishuddha to protect the less powerful.”

  Dominique glanced at the photo. At the protective arm Brody Wilder kept around his son’s thin shoulders.

  “There’s more than the darkness, Rand. There’s more to life than dancing with death every hour of the night. One look at your father tells me he knew that.”

  Rand ran his fingers along her chin, his touch warm. “I have to work hard to remind myself you’re a vampire.”

  Dominique felt the words like the slash of a knife. It would always be between them.

  Pulling away from him, she swallowed the lump in her throat. “I’m going to bed. Good night.”

  The nightmare choked Rand, forcing his head under the murky water of his past.

  He struggled, twisting in his bed. Like he was kicking his way to the surface. The sheets tangled around his body.

  Horrible memories held him down like greedy hands. He was fifteen again and in the dirty basement where his father had died.

  Chains dug into Rand’s wrists, but still he fought, blood running down his arms. His father’s screams echoed around him. Rand tried not to watch Zahn’s evil handiwork, but as blood splattered the walls and his father’s screams turned to tortured moans, Rand couldn’t look away.

  His father’s back was raw, the skin gone. Now Zahn picked up a whip with a wicked cat-o’-nine-tails head.

  Crack. His father jerked. Crack. Crack.

  Rand yanked at his chains. Metal dug all the way to bone but held strong. He was helpless. Useless. He squeezed his eyes closed.

  The screams changed. Higher pitched, feminine. His eyes flew open.

  It was Dominique tied down and fighting against her bonds. Her naked back gleamed, her hair falling over her face like strands of midnight.

  The whip fell, she screamed. A welt scored her flesh, welling with blood.

  “No!” Rand roared.

  The vampire holding the whip turned. Zahn was gone, replaced by a man who looked like he’d stepped out of a dinner party. Except for the blood covering his silk shirt. A cold ruthlessness edged his hawkish face.

  Dark, twisted energy pounded at Rand. This vampire had definitely taken the slippery, dark road of the unbalanced.

  “You can’t save her now.” Vilein’s smile was merciless. “She’s mine. Untouched, ready for me to mold.”

  Dominique lifted her head, her eyes glazed with tears. The innocence in the violet leaching away to dark realization.

  Rand used all his strength and yanked at the chains. One broke out of the wall. “I’ll kill you, Vilein.”

  Rand woke. Alone in his darkened bedroom.

  He sat up, sweat cooling on his skin. He pushed the sheets away and dropped his head into his hands. He hadn’t had a nightmare for months.

  God. He scraped his hands over his stubble-roughened cheeks. Seeing the strong, courageous Dominique so helpless, so beaten…it tore him to pieces.

  His heart continued to hammer a relentless beat in his chest. He needed to see her. To make sure she was all right.

  He dragged on his jeans and didn’t bother with a shirt. Pausing outside her room, he told himself to turn around. Instead he pushed open the door.

  The bed was empty. The sheets a snarled disarray.

  Where the hell was she? Rand moved through the house, his nerves tingling. Had she left? Had Vilein taken her?

  Earlier, when they’d spoken of his father, Rand knew he’d hurt her. She was nothing like the monsters he executed. Nothing like Zahn. But Rand had used her heritage as a wedge to keep his distance.

  She wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room. Then he noticed the sliding door to the deck was ajar. Hands coiled into fists, he stepped outside.

  And saw her.

  She was every man’s fantasy of light and dark, strength and femininity, innocence and seduction. His fantasy come to life.

  Her skin was porcelain pale, her hair the darkest shade of night. Her body was long, lithe and made to wrap around a man. Yet the beautiful face in profile showed no knowledge of the picture she made. Or the longings she stirred.

  But the lines around her mouth spoke of the horror of lingering nightmares.

  He moved closer, drawn, unable to stop the need to touch her. To comfort.

  She leaned against the railing, wearing one of his shirts. The length of long, smooth leg it displayed had Rand’s blood pumping thickly in his veins.

  When he was a foot away, she turned. “Rand, I’m so sorry.”

  He stilled. “Why?”

  A warm desert breeze ruffled her hair. “My nightmare leaked into your sleep. I never meant to project it…” She brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear, her eyes miserable. “I forced you to relive your father’s death.”

  Rand brushed a hand over her shoulder. “I’ve had the nightmare before. What was worse was seeing what you went through with that bastard Vilein.”

  Fighting to keep his hand gentle, Rand cupped her smooth cheek. What he really wanted was the bastard chained up so he could show him what it felt like to be helpless.

  She pressed her cheek to his palm. “I’m safe for now.”

  For now. The words echoed through him. Because he wouldn’t help her—take her into his arms and make her his.

  Rand pulled her closer, felt her cheek press against his bare chest. Fire ignited, hot and strong. His blood went from warm to boiling.

  His hunger was fierce, but the need to protect burned white-hot as well.

  She moved her head, her lips brushing over his nipple. Flames licked down his body, pooling in his groin. When her teeth grazed his skin, he groaned.

  She stilled. “Rand?”

  In just a few hours he’d gone from never fraternizing with the creatures he hunted to needing one of them more than he needed to breathe.

  Somehow, in one night, Dominique had shattered a lifetime of preconceptions.

  He slid his hands down her sides, shaping her curves. “I want to make love to you, Dominique.”

  Chapter Six

  Rand watched Dominique pull away, her hands pressing to his chest.

  She sank her teeth into her bottom lip. “You want to make love to me because of the nightmare? To
save me from Vilein?”

  Rand saw a hint of fang and for the first time in his existence, he was turned on by it. “No. This has nothing to do with him.”

  Her dawning smile was radiant. “Good.”

  He wanted Dominique for Dominique. Because she was everything he’d never known he wanted. Everything he’d thought he couldn’t have in the darkness of his life.

  He let his hands slide behind her, cupped her bottom and lifted her onto the railing.

  “God, you are so beautiful.” He brushed her hair back from her magnificent face.

  Her hands slid up to his shoulders, ran over his skin. “Show me what it’s like.” She leaned forward and nipped his bottom lip. “And don’t think just because I haven’t done this before that I’m going to be all wide eyes and breathy sighs.” She sank into a deep kiss, tongue sliding into his mouth to tangle with his. She pulled back, amethyst eyes glittering. “Because I’m going to give as good as I get.”

  Rand laughed. She was perfect.

  She stilled, a smile curving her lips. She ran a finger over the corner of his mouth. “You should laugh more often.”

  When her hands ran down his chest, tracing over his stomach, he sucked in a breath. Laughter was the last thing on his mind. Desire, swift and urgent, roared through him.

  Nudging her thighs apart, he stepped between them. They were face-to-face and he wondered if he’d ever get tired of looking at her.

  He undid the first button of her shirt. Her bared collarbone drew his attention and he ran a thumb along it. Another button and the top curve of her breasts came into view. Ravenous for her, he finished unbuttoning the shirt in quick, desperate moves.

  The shirt slid off her shoulders, catching on her elbows. His hands moved up her ribs, under her breasts, and he cupped them, weighing them in his palms. She murmured and arched her back.

  “Beautiful.” He lowered his head to one taut peak. He tugged at her nipple, catching it between his teeth.

  “Rand.” Her hands pulled at his hair. “More.”

  He switched to the other breast, never once taking his lips off her skin. She tasted like she smelled—fresh and sexy. He laved his tongue over her and used his mouth and teeth until she was writhing.

  When he felt fingers at the waistband of his jeans, flicking open the top button and working down his zipper, he tensed. Air hissed through his teeth.

  “I want to touch you,” she murmured. Long, slim fingers freed him and wrapped around his hard length.

  He groaned against her shoulder. “Touch me. Whatever you want, take it.”

  Her hands slid down him, then back up. Torture.

  “Big, like the rest of you.” There was a smile in her words.

  He growled and pressed his face against her neck. Her pulse beat against his lips and he licked her skin there. Her tormenting fingers skimmed the head of his erection.

  “I want to taste you.” She shifted to slide off the railing, but he stopped her.

  “Sweetheart, you go anywhere near me with that mouth of yours and I’m not going to last.” He slid his hands to either side of her head, held her gaze to his. “I want to be inside you. I want to slide inside your snug warmth and make you come.”

  Her eyes darkened and she licked her lips. “Show me.” She lifted her knees to wedge against his hips, her ankles crossing behind his back.

  The night breeze rushed over them. It did little to cool the fire in Rand. He burned for this woman. She drove away the darkness, the death, the blood. She made him yearn for more than he had.

  He ran eager hands down her body, caressing and teasing. When his hand dipped between her thighs, past dark curls, he found her wet and wanting.

  “Oui. Now.” Her hands found his erection again and guided him to her.

  “Dominique.” He leaned down and kissed her.

  She returned the hot kiss, pulled back. “I want to watch you join us.”

  Her words made his body harden more. He was at the breaking point.

  He pushed her hands away, nudged her legs wider open and cupped his erection in one hand. Her gaze was glued to him, a flush riding her cheekbones.

  When he stroked himself, he heard her excited sigh. When he moved forward and pressed the head of his erection to her soft folds, a small cry broke from her lips.

  “Watch,” he groaned. Then he pushed inside her.

  Her back arched. Her hands scrambled at his shoulders, nails raking over his skin. “Yes, Rand.”

  She was tight, wet. A deep groan wrenched from him. He met her thin barrier and ruthlessly pushed past it. She cried out again, but pleasure underscored the sound.

  With a final thrust he was seated in her, deep as he could go. Her gaze met his, her lips trembling.

  Damn, if he’d hurt her… “Are you okay?”

  “Yes. Show me.” She pressed her lips to his.

  Kissing her, feeling himself drown in her, he pulled back, then thrust forward. He gripped her hips, pinned her as he buried himself inside her. Hard, fast, deep.

  He needed to imprint his claim on her. Let her know this was more than saving her.

  Let her know she was saving him as well.

  Lightning whipped through Dominique. She felt the smooth wood beneath her bare backside and the hot male powering into her.

  She was full, stretched, and it felt so good. Rand’s hands dug into her hips, possessive. Heat lashed at her senses, sizzling her nerves. Her husky cries echoed into the night.

  This was better than anything she’d imagined. Heat ran though her veins, so much better than the chill of rigid control.

  His hands stroked lower, his thumb touching where he thrust into her body. Then he nudged at the small nub nestled there.

  She let out a long cry. Her eyes closed.

  “Look at me, Dominique.”

  Helpless to do anything but obey, she opened her eyes.

  The green of his eyes had changed, deepened. The intimacy of watching each other was shocking.

  Heat raced over her skin, leaving her anxious for something else. Something she didn’t understand. She’d come to this man to lose her virginity, but she feared she was losing so much more to him in the process.

  He kissed her again. This time she sensed something else in it. Like an elusive taste of a long-forgotten delicacy. Tenderness. Care.

  Heat rose up around her, wrapping them in a tight embrace. As her skin heated, she realized her energy was melding with his.

  The skin stretched taut over his cheekbones, his thrusts turned frantic. She sensed his control at the edge. In response, her own body tightened, coiling tighter and tighter.

  His clever fingers stroked her. She twisted, unsure if she wanted to flee that intense touch or if she wanted more.

  “Touch me.” His tone was guttural.

  She knew what he wanted. Her hands slid along his shoulders to his throat.

  When she pressed her thumbs to the corded muscles of his neck, his body spasmed, thrusting deeper inside her. “Rand!”

  He left one hand between her legs, working her. Not once did he slow his urgent plunges into her. His other hand slid up her cheek. Then his finger brushed over her brow.

  Molten heat exploded. Her energy rushed into him, and in turn, his flooded into her body.

  Mon Dieu. Along with his energy, she felt his emotions. Scalding, they seared through her.

  She felt the loneliness and hurt of his past. The driving urge for revenge. The thick guilt that he couldn’t save his father.

  But she also felt what layered over it. The bright, confusing emotions Rand felt for her. And there was no mistaking the desire.

  Dominique couldn’t hold on any longer. When the escalating feelings inside her ripped upward, tearing her apart, she threw her head back and screamed.

  She heard Rand’s wild groan, felt the warm spill of his release.

  Her hands dug into his shoulders, holding him to her. She surrendered to him, helpless against the sensations rocketing through
her, as hot and wild as the man in her arms.

  She had no idea how long she stayed like that, the echo of pleasure still humming through her. Wondering if her bones had turned to liquid, she blinked her eyes open. She was still sitting on the railing, her face buried against Rand’s throat.

  One of his hands was smoothing up and down her back. His fingers running over the bumps of her spine. She smiled. She loved his touch.

  She could easily love him.

  That thought evaporated her smile. Beneath her lips she felt the surge of his pulse. The blood in his veins called to her. She hadn’t fed for many hours and now her hunger was growing. His blood beckoned her like the darkest drug to an addict.

  He had never let a vampire bite him. That told her all she needed to know of what he thought about feeding.

  And he’d never want to keep a vampire around forever. Her chest constricted.

  A big hand smoothed her hair back. “I’d heard tantric sex was mind-blowing. But it was better than I imagined.”

  Dominique forced a smile. She wouldn’t let her thoughts interfere just yet. “It was amazing.”

  “You don’t have anything to compare it to.”

  She punched his shoulder. “I know good when I feel it.”

  He smiled. The first genuine smile she’d seen from him. She felt a pinch of pleasure in her heart. One smile and one rusty laugh. Not that she was counting.

  “It was better than good.” His green eyes swirled with something she couldn’t name. “Try soul-destroying.”

  Heat flushed her cheeks. A part of was thrilled it’d been good for him. A thumb flicked over her lips. Her breathing sped up.

  “It was perfect.” He dragged his thumb over her mouth again. He parted her lips, stroked down one of her fangs. “You touch something in me and I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

  She gasped. Was he admitting he felt something for her? “Rand?”

  His hand pressed to the nape of her neck and brought her mouth back to his. This kiss was deeper, longer, and seeped inside her. Her fingers gripped his muscled biceps, to hold herself upright. She felt something shift inside her and it left her dizzy.