by Susan Hayes
“I’m fine,” she lied and stood straighter, trying to put space between her body and his. There was something so familiar about him, something that had her yearning to relax and let him hold and protect her, and it was making her crazy. I can take care of myself, damn it! Kyra gave herself a mental shake and started toward the front doors, her fingers still wrapped tightly around the vial of holy water he had given her. Okay, maybe I couldn’t deal with vampires on my own, but to be fair, most guys couldn’t either. She glanced back at Gareth, who had tossed the keys to a waiting valet and fallen in just behind her, his eyes watching every shadow as they crossed into the hotel lobby.
Once they were in the elevator, he handed her a key card. “Room 1412. When we get to the hallway, I want you to go straight to the room and let yourself in. Don’t stop, and no matter what happens don’t look back.”
“Oh, very dramatic.” She caught herself rolling her eyes at him again. “Are your spider senses tingling or something?”
She felt the first prickling of fear as he looked down at her, his hazel eyes narrowed with determination and his jaw set. “Something like that. It seems that the vampire couldn’t find you, but he did manage to find me.” Gareth drew a wicked-looking long knife from the sleeve of his black leather jacket and rolled his shoulders. “He can’t touch you once you’re over the threshold of that door, Kyra. I’ll be right behind you. Just don’t come back out into the hall.”
She was stunned as he reached for her suddenly and hauled her up against his broad chest, his lips slanting over hers in a brief but brutal kiss that left her senses reeling and her knees weak. She knew the taste of him somehow, the feel of his mouth on hers. A faint memory shimmered and then faded away as he ended the kiss. He let her go just as the elevator slowed, his eyes still burning bright with desire as he flashed her a roguish grin.
“For luck,” he told her and then nodded to the doors. “The room is on your right. Don’t forget to leave the door open. You have the only key.” Then he was gone, moving through the doors so fast she didn’t see more than a dark blur. She heard something though, a low grunt and then the sound of a heavy body hitting something even heavier.
Kyra grabbed her suitcase and bolted out of the elevator, the vial of holy water and the key card clutched in her free hand. More grunts and a sibilant hiss of pain sounded behind her, and Kyra ran faster, her heart slamming in her throat and her hand shaking so hard she missed sliding the key into the reader the first two times she tried. Her trembling fingers fumbled, and she dropped the protective vial with a soft curse. She tried the key card again, setting down the suitcase so she could use both hands this time.
“Kyra.” She heard the voice from her nightmares, and her blood went cold as that single word slithered through her mind and froze her muscles. “Kyra my sweet, come to me.”
Against her will, Kyra felt her head turn toward the owner of that nightmarish voice, her hand and arm frozen just a hairsbreadth from the key slot. A scream rose up in her throat, but she couldn’t release it, the sound locked behind her teeth as she found herself looking back down the hallway to where two men faced each other. Gareth stood with his back to her, his body the only barrier between her and the monster hunting her. Gareth’s powerful shoulders took up most of the hallway, his hand still gripping the knife he’d had in the elevator, though now she noticed there was blood dripping from the blade.
Beyond him was another man, and as his eyes burned into hers Kyra was struck with the shock of recognition. Vladimir. The man from the club that night. Forgotten memories flooded her mind, the lost time in the club two nights ago, the voice in her office. His voice in her office, his cold hands touching her, violating her. Her anger burned hot, searing away the ice-chilled edge of his control, giving her back command of her body again. Kyra slammed the key card home and nearly threw herself through the door, sobs wracking her body as she felt his influence weaken and fade the moment she was inside.
“She’s mine, half-breed!” She heard Vladimir’s voice snarl down the hallway.
“No I’m fucking not!” she screamed back at him, barely resisting the temptation to go back out into the hall. “Leave me alone, you bastard!”
“It would seem the lady denies your claim.” She couldn’t miss the undertone of amusement in Gareth’s tone.
“Her opinion hardly matters. I will have her.” Vladimir’s voice was layered with menace.
“No, she won’t. We will protect her. I will protect her! You will never harm any member of my family again. Not while I draw breath.” There was an edge to Gareth’s voice now, and against her better judgment, Kyra pressed her head to the doorframe, trying to see what was going on without crossing the threshold.
“Your family?” Vladimir laughed. “What do I know of your family, half-breed? Unless—” She heard a hiss of laughter float down the hall and saw Vladimir had stepped back, further away from Gareth. “Oh no, it can’t be. That would be too delicious. Harkness, yes? Oh, it has been a long time since one of your kin has dared cross my path.”
She saw the vampire smile as he spotted her peering into the hall, his lips a slash of crimson against his pale skin as he bared his fangs at her. “She looks like her, you know.” A pale tongue slid over his lips. “She tastes sweeter though. So sweet. I’ll come for another taste of her soon, Harkness. Your family never could keep your women away from me.”
Gareth bellowed with rage and lunged, but his knife met nothing but mist that flowed over the carpeted hall and vanished into a heating vent.
“I’ll come for you soon, sweet Kyra. You belong with me.” The disembodied voice faded away as the last of the mist cleared the hallway.
Kyra watched from the safety of the room, her stomach twisted into knots at the creature’s last words. This wasn’t over. Not by a long shot. She watched as Gareth turned and made his way back to her, his face paler than it should be and one hand clamped to his side. He was nearly to the door when she realized there was blood soaking through the dark fabric of his shirt.
“Gareth, get in here.” She reached for him and he shook his head.
“No, Kyra! You stay inside. Don’t cross the threshold with any part of your body.” He grimaced and made it the rest of the way to the door, gathering up her forgotten suitcase and the holy water before slamming the door shut behind him and throwing the deadbolt.
You’re hurt.” She slid her arm around his waist and pressed herself close to him, offering him her strength. “Let’s get you lying down and I’ll see what I can do.”
He flashed a half smile. “Pushy, aren’t you? I’m the one that’s supposed to be taking care of you, remember?”
“Just how do you propose to take care of me when you’re dripping blood all over the floor?” she asked, still coaxing him into the room. “Which of these beds is yours?”
“Why? Going to take advantage of me while I’m in a weakened condition?” He grinned at her as he pointed to the bed nearest the door, already shedding his jacket.
Kyra snorted with laughter. “Not hardly. I just want you bleeding on your own bedding, not mine. And if you are going to admit you’re in a weakened condition, then you can apologize for that pushy comment.”
“You are pushy though.” He let her prod him into sitting on the bed he’d indicated was his. “I like it.”
“You’re just trying to be charming because any second now I’m going to be poking around that boo-boo on your side and you’re hoping it’ll go easier for you if you try to charm me first.” Kyra lifted his shirt, trying to ignore the frisson of heat that danced up her arms at the mere touch of her hands on his bare skin. “You take the shirt off while I take a look at this, then we can use it as a temporary bandage to stop the bleeding.”
“It’s not that bad,” he grumbled as he followed her instructions, skinning the shirt over his head as well as he could one-handed.
“Not that good either. I didn’t know vampires fought with bladed weapons. I figured they were a so
rt of living weapon.” Kyra kept her eyes trained on the set of ragged slashes that crossed his ribs from back to front. “Oh god, are those claw marks?”
“As you said, vampires are a weapon unto themselves. He slashed me while I was keeping him away from you.” Gareth kept still, his gaze riveted to where her hands were resting lightly on his flank. “I’ll be fine. It just needs to be disinfected. I heal quickly.”
She pressed the bloody shirt back over his side and applied steady pressure, her gaze roaming over his bare chest and torso before finally returning to his face, hoping he couldn’t sense just how much she was enjoying both the view and the chance to touch him. “Do you heal faster because you’re like him? I heard him call you half-breed.”
He sighed and lifted a bloodstained hand to touch her cheek. “I am not like him, not really. What I am is complicated to explain. But I swear to you, I’m human, I don’t drink blood, and I would never harm an innocent being, I do, however, heal very quickly, among other traits.”
She nodded, mulling over his words. “You feel different. You’re warm where he is cold.”
“I’m alive and he’s not.” His hand moved from her cheek to cup the back of her head and he drew her closer, until his breath feathered across her lips and his eyes were staring deep into hers. “The only thing we have in common seems to be how we feel about you.”
“You want to drive me insane and then kill me, too?” she asked, her voice lower and softer than she had intended.
“We both want to possess you, mind, body, and soul.” With his words still hanging in the air between them, Gareth’s lips crashed down on hers, branding her mouth with his heat. The world slid away from her again and Kyra moaned softly as she found herself clinging to him for the second time that day. He wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled her against him, surrounding her with his warmth and strength, his fingers still cradling her head as he kissed her nearly senseless.
Her lips parted and she invited him to take the kiss deeper, her tongue darting into his mouth to tease and taste him. Kyra gave herself to the moment, knowing she needed this, needed him. He was fire where the other was ice, life instead of death.
Callused fingers stroked the back of her neck, and she mewled softly, a slow shudder of pleasure moving through her body. Forgetting about his wound, she let go of the shirt pressed to his side to glide her hand over his back, needing the feel of bare skin and hard muscle. Kyra felt the room tilt and realized it was her, not the room that was moving as Gareth lowered her gently to the bed, his warm weight following her down.
Her hand slid around him as he moved them both, grazing his side. She heard him hiss slightly, his body tensing as she inadvertently brushed over the gouges in his skin. It brought her back to the present, and she ended their kiss. “I’m sorry. I forgot.”
She scrambled to shift herself out from underneath him only to realize he still held her fast, her body pinned to the bed by his solid bulk.
“It’s nothing, Kyra.” His eyes met hers and she felt herself wanting to get lost in their green and gold depths.
“You’re hurt.” She groped blindly until she found the forgotten shirt and pressed it back against his side as gently as she could manage, her eyes still staring into his. “Let me help you get this taken care of, then we can uh, return to our other conversation.”
Gareth grinned, and lust arrowed through her yet again. “I don’t recall either of us doing much talking.”
“Oh, you said plenty.” She found herself laughing up at him. “Mind, body, and soul. Remember? Now get off of me so I can get you cleaned up.”
“Oh, I remember.” Gareth brushed his lips over hers in a kiss that made her blood sizzle. “We’ll talk more about that later.”
Kyra’s heart stuttered in her chest, and she suddenly understood the expression about your heart skipping a beat. “We just met, Gareth. More accurately, you just stole me away from police custody, took my gun, fought a vampire for me, and got hurt doing it. I don’t think either of us is thinking clearly at the moment.”
“You’re still mad about the gun?” He chuckled. “You can have it back, but only once I give you some new ammunition. What you have in there isn’t going to do anything to a vampire. You’re living in the twilight zone now.” He sat up slowly and covered her hand with his where it pressed the shirt to his side.
“There’s the understatement of the evening.” She eased her hand out from under his and scooted off the bed, her need to put some space between them growing with each passing second. “I don’t suppose you have a first-aid kit around here somewhere?”
“It’s in my suitcase, I’ll get it. Why don’t you get yourself cleaned up and I’ll grab what we need?” Gareth got off the bed and reached under it, dragging out a hard-shelled suitcase.
“Cleaned up?” Kyra looked down at herself and winced as she realized she had smears of blood on her hands and clothing, and there was mud on her jeans from where she’d fallen in the parking lot earlier. “Wow, I’m a mess.” She headed to the bathroom, gathering up her suitcase as she went.
Once inside she took one more assessing look at herself and sighed. “Hottest man I’ve ever seen hits on me, kisses like I’ve never been kissed before, and I look like a mud wump on a bad hair day. Even without counting the vampire thing, this has so not been my day.”
OUTSIDE THE BATHROOM DOOR, Gareth grinned to himself as he overheard her muttered comments and then went back to the bed to retrieve the first-aid supplies. Once that was done, he stilled, listening for signs that Kyra was about to return. Instead, he heard the sound of the shower running and her soft alto voice singing something about lips being riddled with poison. She liked Alice Cooper? This woman got more appealing every minute.
Certain he had a few minutes of privacy, he flipped open his laptop and sent two e-mails, both encrypted.
* * *
HAVE ACQUIRED TARGET KYRA ROBINSON. It was necessary to remove her from police custody to do so. Have made contact with vampire active in Vancouver. It’s Vlad. I’m requesting the immediate retrieval of Kyra Robinson and myself to a more defensible location. All indications he seeks a blood bonding with target and will not stop until he has her.
* * *
G.
* * *
THE SECOND E-MAIL WAS SHORTER, though it took him longer to write.
* * *
MOM,
It’s happened. I’ve already requested retrieval. You’ll need to get my next location from the higher-ups. I know you’ll both want to be there.
Gareth
* * *
HE CLOSED the laptop and let his gaze rest on the bathroom door that stood between him and Kyra. He hadn’t expected this, even with the prophetic dreams. He had come to believe that the bizarre blend of biology and magic that allowed him to exist would favor his human side in this one thing. It would seem the fates had other plans. He’d finally found her, the woman who whispered to him in the darkness of his dreams. She was the one, his mate. At least she could be if he managed to keep her safe from the creature that wanted her for himself.
Gareth closed his eyes and remembered the feel of Kyra in his arms, the taste of her mouth and the lingering scent of cinnamon that rose from her skin. His blood-bonded mate. Would she ever let him hold her again once he explained to her what he really was, and that he craved her in the same way as the undead creature that haunted her nightmares?
8
WHEN KYRA LEFT THE BATHROOM, she felt like herself again, back in control of her world and with every trace of weakness and weirdness scrubbed from her skin and clothes. Her jeans and sweater were both hung on the shower curtain to dry, the worst of the stains washed away. She’d changed into a basic green T-shirt and blue jeans and left her feet bare, trusting Gareth’s assessment that this room was truly safe for her and she would not need to run again tonight.
“Sorry I took so long.” She offered up the apology, her eyes on the angry-looking gouges that ran across his ba
re flank. “I see you got the bleeding to stop. Will you let me clean it up now?”
“I’m in your tender hands.” Gareth watched her with warm eyes as she crossed the room. “Though I can do it if you’d rather not.”
“I’ve stitched up more than a few of my security guys after a brawl. I think I can manage this.” She gestured to his side as she sat down on the bed. “Why don’t you lie down on your good side and I’ll get this done?”
Gareth obediently lay down and turned so that he was facing her, his arm crossing his chest to give her easy access to the injury. “You’ll want to start with what’s in the squeeze bottle. Then you can disinfect it and do whatever else you think will help.”
“What’s in this?” she asked as she picked up the travel-size bottle curiously.
“More holy water,” he told her. “It will purify the wounds. Vampires are really just reanimated corpses, and the dead aren’t exactly known for good hygiene. The holy water will cleanse what modern medicine can’t.”
“I could have gone my whole life without that bit of information, thank you.” Kyra shuddered and picked up a pad of gauze in her off hand before liberally dousing the cuts with the water, mopping up the overflow with the gauze as it trickled down his stomach and back. As she did, she couldn’t help but admire the ripples of muscles that defined his stomach, warm and solid beneath her fingers. “This is going to hurt,” she warned him as she opened the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and doused him again, watching the fluid hiss and bubble as it cleaned out the wounds. She saw his muscles tense, but there was no other sign of discomfort as the peroxide went about its work. “You’re allowed to complain, you know. If I were in your shoes I would be. Or are you going to do a Patrick Swayze impersonation and try to tell me that pain doesn’t hurt?”