by Bree Younger
“Why did he let it fall down?”
Hawk shook his head. “He won’t explain. It’s something to do with his turning, but he hasn’t ever told me much more than that, and I don’t like to pry.”
“I guess everyone has their own story to tell about how they were made vampire.”
“Yeah. Look, Claire. I want you to go on inside the house. See if you can make yourself comfortable.”
She glanced again at the dark building. “Where are you going?”
“Brady and I need to take care of…something.”
That’s when it hit her. They were going to get rid of Buck’s body.
Trying not to think about what they were going to do with it, she nodded. “Okay.”
He leaned forward to drop a kiss on her forehead. “Good girl. It won’t take long. We’re just going into the woods a ways. I’m not sure if the electricity in the house is on or not, but don’t turn on any lights if there is.”
She understood that he didn’t want to attract any unwanted attention to the property. What they were doing wasn’t exactly legal in the eyes of the humans. She looked over to where Brady stood near his car. She could see the vampire in the backseat. It was Jimmy. “What about the other vampires?”
“They’re not going anywhere. The cuffs we put on them are iron coated with silver. We’ll take care of them as soon as we get back.”
She reached up impulsively and gave him a quick but hard hug. “Don’t be long.”
“Count on it.”
Claire turned and quickly moved past the overgrown lawn and up onto the rickety porch. She pushed open the door, which was luckily unlocked. She cast a quick look back, but when she saw that the trunk was lifted on the vampire’s car, she immediately looked away and moved on into the house.
It was as bad on the inside as it had been on the outside. The curtains were rotting, half fallen, and covered in dust. The few pieces of furniture scattered through the room were either broken or uninviting. She moved past the living room and what appeared to be a library. Down a narrow hallway that led straight back, Claire picked her way, carefully avoiding the debris that was gathered in various spots. At the end of the hallway, she found the kitchen.
It actually wasn’t that bad, considering. A long, low table with four chairs sat against one wall. It was one of those sturdy-looking pieces of furniture, built more for endurance than beauty. A door stood half open near the table, and Claire peeked in. Seeing stairs running down, she realized it was the basement.
After she’d finished exploring the ground floor, she moved to the staircase and started up. Each stair let out a creaking groan, and she couldn’t stop a shiver of apprehension as she climbed higher. The top floor was just as empty as the bottom floor had been, though it seemed to have weathered the passage of time better. The first bedroom had a bed and dresser. The bed was made, and when she pulled the covers back, the sheets below smelled a bit musty but not too bad.
There was another bed in a second bedroom, but the third was empty. Hearing some noise below, she began making her way back down the stairs. Hawk and Brady were leading an unwilling Jimmy and Wayne into the house. When Hawk saw her, he stopped.
“By any chance did you see somewhere we could put these two?”
Claire thought for a moment. “There’s a basement. The door to it is in the kitchen. It’s straight back down this hallway.”
The men started dragging their prisoners the direction she had indicated.
“Watch out for the trash on the ground. There’s a lot of it,” she warned them.
Not knowing what else to do, she followed them to the kitchen and watched as they pushed their prisoners into the basement. She hovered in the doorway, looking down into the gloom but not venturing any further. She could hear them moving around, getting the vamps settled. Backing away from the door, she went to sit down at the table. It wasn’t too long before Hawk and Brady joined her.
Brady grabbed one of the chairs and jabbed it beneath the basement doorknob to prevent the door from being opened. Claire thought that it wouldn’t stop the vamps if they got loose, but it would sure as heck slow them down. Then Brady went to prop himself up against the counter while Hawk took a seat beside Claire.
“Now what?” Claire couldn’t contain her curiosity.
“Now we let them stew,” Brady answered.
Hawk nodded in agreement. “Let them think about the predicament they’re in and what happened to their buddy. Sometimes that’s all it takes to get people to spilling their guts.”
“But how long will you wait? If we wait too long, we won’t make it to Memphis by dawn.”
Brady just looked at her, his face inscrutable.
Hawk sighed. “We’re going to spend the day here, Claire.”
“What?” She shuddered. “But this place is awful.”
“We’ll just have to make do. We’ve got to find out why these guys were following you.”
“But you said they might spill their guts.”
“It’s going to take longer than we’ve got before dawn, Claire.”
Brady chimed in, “Waiting them out takes longer than beating the information out of them. But it’s usually a lot more reliable. One of those two will cave, I’m thinking. And he’ll probably do it within the next few hours.”
“Seeing their friend die had to shake them up. They know we’re serious, so they probably won’t try to bullshit us too much,” Hawk agreed with Brady.
“So you’re not going to kill them?” Claire wanted to be sure she understood.
“Not if we can help it.” Hawk’s eyes were hard. “I’m gonna make a quick phone call. Quinn’s got some guys in Memphis. I’m sure when we’ve got what we want out of our two guests, Quinn will have some questions of his own for them. After all, regardless of why they’re after you, Claire, these guys were or are employees of Simone. They probably know some interesting details about her operation. Information we need badly.”
* * * *
After Hawk got off the phone with Quinn, he stood up. “Brady, let’s unload our stuff that we’re going to need for the day.”
Brady nodded.
Claire looked up at him. “What did Quinn say?”
“He’s going to send two of his men tomorrow night to take the prisoners off our hands. Luckily he’d sent them on to Memphis to assist us, so they’re not too far away.”
“That’s good.” He could see she was relieved that they wouldn’t have to deal with Jimmy or Wayne much longer.
“Why don’t you see about arranging for some place for us to sleep? Brady will need someplace down here on the first floor so he can keep an ear out for our guests just in case they try something stupid.”
“Okay.”
He and Brady went out to the vehicles and got their overnight bags and some bottles of blood from the ice chest. Hawk made a mental note to stop somewhere and get some more ice. Eloise had refilled the chest before they’d left her place, but they’d need some fresh pretty soon. Once they’d brought everything inside, Brady returned to the kitchen to check on the prisoners while Hawk climbed the staircase in search of Claire.
It didn’t take him long to find her in one of the upstairs bedrooms. She was tugging some dusty bedding to the floor. From the position she was in, bent over the bed, Hawk was treated to a view of her pert little ass shifting and shaking with her movements. He felt heat stirring in his gut. Walking on silent feet, he reached out to grab her hips and pull her sharply back and into his body.
She froze in surprise at first, but as soon as she realized who was holding her so intimately, she relaxed, rocking her hips into his and tempting him to tear her clothes off and take her where she stood. He pulled her up and spun her around so rapidly she almost lost her balance and fell backward onto the bed. But she clutched his shoulders, steadying herself against him just in time. For a moment they just stood there, bodies pressed together, mouths inches apart. Then Claire reached up and pulled his head down far en
ough to claim his mouth with her own.
Surprised but pleased at her aggression, Hawk responded to the tentative caress of her lips over his, parting his mouth slightly and letting her dainty tongue lick over his lip before sliding inside to play with his. Before things got too far out of hand, Hawk pulled his mouth from Claire’s. “Much as I’m enjoying this, sweetheart, we need to get things situated before dawn breaks.”
He could see Claire knew he was right. The next hour was spent pounding the mattresses to get the dust out of them, searching for and finally locating some extra blankets stored in an old trunk in the second bedroom, and ensuring that the windows were completely covered. With Brady’s help, they dragged the mattress from the second bedroom down the stairs and into a room that must have been a library at one point.
After the sleeping arrangements had been taken care of, they sat together in the kitchen making idle conversation until Claire began yawning. Hawk knew she was about done for, so he pulled her close. Saying good night to Brady, he led her upstairs and helped her strip out of her clothes. Once she was settled in the bed, his own clothing quickly followed, and he joined her, pulling the blanket over them both.
Without hesitation, she turned into his arms, raising her mouth for his kiss. He gently pressed his lips to hers, keeping the touch soft and undemanding, knowing that she was worn out and needed her rest.
He cuddled her in close beside him, and it wasn’t long before they were both sound asleep. Sometime later, Hawk awoke to the feel of soft hands caressing his stomach and an even softer pair of lips making their way across the skin of his chest. Opening his eyes, he caught a glimpse of a small, pink tongue darting out to taste his nipple, which immediately tightened in response.
“Claire? What are you doing, baby?”
She chuckled softly. “If you have to ask me that, I must not be doing it right.” Then her hand closed around his hardening cock, and he didn’t ask anything else, just enjoyed the feel of her eager hands as they aroused him to a fever pitch.
When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he stopped her. Pulling her on top of him, he arranged her legs on either side of his hips. “Ride me,” he demanded.
She raised herself up and positioned her body so that the tip of his erection was just nudging against her opening, then she slid down, taking him deep inside the tight, hot pussy. He gave her a moment to get used to his fullness then he wrapped his hands around her hips and starting moving her. She soon had the rhythm, and he increased the pace, loving the expressions that flickered over her face at the new sensations she was feeling. He reached up and cupped his hand around her breast, plumping it and tweaking the nipple before turning his attention to its twin.
The hardened tips speared into the air, making his mouth water with the desire to taste them. But he didn’t want to sacrifice the view he had. And it was quite a sight. Claire was obviously caught up in the moment, her head leaned back and her long, blonde hair a silken curtain down her back, swaying with each movement. Suddenly she leaned forward and caught his mouth with hers, plunging her tongue deep to play with his. Hawk reveled in this new, demanding side of his lover. She was strong, female, and in love, and it showed with each bold stroke of tongue and fingers and body.
She asked and he gave, his heart full to overflowing. She broke the kiss and pushed back up, her fingernails scraping trails of fire down his chest and over his abdomen. He reached forward and found her hot pussy with his fingers. He stroked over her clit, her own motions aiding in his quest to give her what she was straining toward.
She arched into his touch, quickening the speed and depth of her thrusts until she let out a keening cry and came, her pussy clenching tightly around his cock.
Then he was pulling her down and flipping her over, taking over as the dominant lover that he was at his core. There was no gentleness in him now. He pounded into her, the worry he’d felt over the danger she’d been in earlier finally getting its release. She was his, and no one was going to take her from him. He’d kill any man who tried.
He stared down into her dazed eyes and felt like howling. She was so gorgeous lying there, accepting everything he had to give. His strokes slowed, and he lowered himself to cover her completely. Moving his legs outside hers, he pressed hers tightly together so that she was holding him deep inside her, squeezed tight.
Her eyes widened at the new sensation as he began a slow, irresistible attack on her senses. He kept his thrusts short and shallow. His breathing was ragged. Their faces were so close he could see tiny flecks of gold in the blue of her eyes. Her pupils were dilated, her skin lightly sheened with sweat. He bent down and licked her. He whispered, “Bite me, Claire,” and felt the sharp sting of her teeth as they pierced the flesh of his chest.
Then he bit, too, sinking his fangs into her throat and drinking the sweet, sweet blood that flowed from her veins into him. He felt her coming again, and this time he joined her, pumping his climax into her welcoming pussy.
He rolled off her, lying on the hard mattress, and felt her stirring beside him. She moved to lay her head on his chest, and he raised a hand to caress her side. He experienced such a feeling of peace and contentment that he couldn’t believe he wasn’t dreaming, even though he knew that he was wide awake. How had he gotten so lucky as to have found her?
He had thought that his heart had died with Ahawi and Inola. He’d believed that he could never feel for a woman what he had felt before for his dead wife and daughter. Though he had envied Ty when he had found his Libby, there had been a part of him that had felt a measure of comfort that, even though he would never feel such love again, neither would he feel the pain of loss. What a fool he had been. As if the love wasn’t worth the risk. As if he had any control at all over his heart.
He studied his feelings for Claire and compared them to those he’d had before. He knew that he’d loved both women, but he’d been a different person when he’d loved Ahawi. It no longer brought him the same pain to think of her and their daughter. It had been so long ago. And even though he would always love them and always feel the grief of their loss, it no longer cut him to the quick and left him a bleeding wreck of scattered emotions. Claire had done that for him. She had reminded him that he hadn’t died with them and that they wouldn’t have wanted him to spend the rest of his days alone.
“You all right?” A sleepy murmur came from beside him, and he pushed his thoughts aside to turn to the woman who had changed his world.
“Of course.” He pulled her tighter against him and dropped a kiss on her mussed hair. “You?”
“Mmmm.” She arched against him in a long, sinuous stretch. “I’m wonderful. I love you so much, Hawk.”
“I love you, too, baby.”
“Do you think we’re ever going to just be able to relax and have a somewhat normal life?”
He smiled. “Depends on what you mean by normal. But, yeah, in a week, maybe less, we’ll have Cass back with us in Biloxi, and we’ll be doing boring things like washing dishes and arguing over who has to walk the dog.”
“Do we have a dog?” Her voice held a lilt of surprise.
“Yes, we do. In fact, we have two.”
“What kind are they?”
“They’re mutts. I rescued them from the pound.”
She sighed. “I like that. I like mutts. Do you want to get married, Hawk?”
“Absolutely. I want to tie you to me in every way possible.” On that he had no doubt.
“Good. I never thought I’d get married, you know. Especially after I was turned. I guess I never even thought much beyond just finding Cassidy.”
“What about before? Didn’t you ever dream of a big, white wedding and a bouquet of roses when you were a little girl?”
He felt her shrug. “Not really. Most of my dreams centered around circus animals.”
He let out a bark of laughter. “Circus animals?”
“Umm-hmm. I was going to run away and join the circus. I would be the lady who rode the horse s
tanding up. Or maybe a lady lion tamer, snapping my whip and making the lions jump through hoops of fire.”
“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you, baby? What other secret fantasies do you have locked away in that very unusual brain of yours?”
“You’d be surprised at my fantasies, Hawk.” Her words were becoming slurred, and Hawk knew that she wasn’t far from falling back to sleep.
“Oh, I don’t know about that, sweetheart,” he whispered, knowing that she’d drifted off. “I have some fantasies of my own. And together, we’re going to fulfill them all.”
Chapter Fourteen
The next time that Claire woke, it was dusk. She felt Hawk get up out of the bed and raised her head in time to watch him step into his jeans and zip them.
“What time is it?”
He turned to sit on the bed beside her and bent down and gave her a soft kiss. “It’s just six. Why don’t you stay here and get some more sleep? I’m going to go down to check on Brady and see how our guests are doing.”
She looped her arms around his neck and tugged gently. “Why don’t you come back to bed instead? I promise you won’t be sorry.”
Hawk allowed her to pull him down for another kiss, and she relaxed against him, enjoying the leisurely exploration. He pulled back and nuzzled her cheek. “Oh, baby, you don’t know how tempting that is, but I’m going to have to take a rain check.” He stood and gave her a wicked glance. “And believe me, I’ve been thinking about those fantasies of yours. I think you should pick one to share with me. You be thinking about that, Miss Persuasion.”
With that parting shot, he left the bedroom, pulling the door gently shut behind him. Claire snuggled back down into the bed, burying her face in the pillow that still smelled like Hawk. She dozed for a while, drifting in and out of dreams of making love with Hawk, but finally got up and began pulling on her clothes.
By the time she got downstairs, he was at the kitchen table with his laptop open and his cell phone against one ear. He smiled when he saw her enter the room and pointed to the ice chest which stood beside the sink. She opened it and saw that it was filled with a fresh load of ice. Grabbing one of the bottled bloods, she opened the drink and then stepped out the back door and onto a rickety porch, studying the disarray of the yard and thinking about what the coming night would bring. She took a long swallow of the blood.