“How many do you think you killed last night?”
“I injured a lot of them but probably only killed one or two. Bastards are hard to destroy.”
She’d just started to ask him another question when she finally noticed what was on the center screen. Nick winced, dreading her next question.
Without looking at him, she asked, “Were you...did you watch me while I was sleeping?”
Deciding the best way to deal with the situation was to not deal with it at all, Nick grabbed her shoulder, steering her away from the screens and toward the bathroom. “If you want that shower, get moving.”
“But—”
“Move it, Lainey.”
She muttered under her breath about bossy alpha males, knowing damn well he could hear her, and he had to bite back a low rumble of laughter. He didn’t trust what he would do if he let himself loosen up around her.
The ferocity of his reaction to the little human was not only unexpected, it was unfamiliar as hell. Nick understood lust and had felt it often over the years, indulging whenever he wanted, though he’d never met a woman he wanted to tie himself down to. But he didn’t know how to explain the way Lainey made him feel. It was almost as if something essential in his life that had always been missing had suddenly clicked into place—yet, the timing and circumstances couldn’t have been worse.
“Nick?” she whispered, making him realize he’d just been standing there in the doorway to the bathroom, breathing hard as he stared at her mouth.
“Don’t take too long,” he muttered, forcing himself to step back and shove the metal door closed. He stood there for a moment, forehead pressed to the cool steel, and struggled to slow his breathing...his pulse, fighting for control. Finally, he forced himself to walk back into the main room, where he paced...and paced, his vampire hearing enabling him to follow her every movement even with the distance he’d put between them.
When she came back into the main room nearly fifteen minutes later, he’d already replaced the bedding with clean blankets and was now sitting at the table trying to clean the bloody wound on his arm just to keep himself busy. As she set her bundle of dirty clothes on the floor by the bed, then started making her way over to the table, Nick struggled to keep his attention focused on his task, but it wasn’t easy. She looked incredible wearing his white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his brow misting with sweat when he realized she hadn’t put her bra back on. And the shirt’s hem was just long enough that it hid the stretchy boxer shorts he’d given her to wear. Her wet hair had been finger combed, curls already twining through the damp strands, her skin flushed and incredibly lovely. Her legs were shapely and smooth, her feet small, with coral-colored polish on her nails. It was amazing how much visual detail he could gather from the corner of his eye when he was really motivated.
“Before you put the chains back on me,” she said, pulling her damp hair over one shoulder, “I want to talk to you about them.”
Nick slid her a wary look. “All right.”
“You can let me go now,” she told him. “I mean, you can leave the chains off. I won’t try to run. I swear.”
Nick gave a derisive snort. “If you ran, you’d be dead.”
“I know,” she agreed, holding up her hands. “So what’s the point of the chains?”
“You’re better off not knowing,” he muttered under his breath.
“Don’t worry so much,” she said with a smile. “I’ll be golden, I swear.”
He smirked as he ran his gaze over her hair. “You’re definitely that, little human.” He glanced at the shackles lying empty against the blankets, then back at Lainey, and he slowly shook his head. “I have a feeling I’m going to regret this, but fine, have it your way.” He narrowed his eyes in warning. “But for your own sake, don’t do anything to rile me.”
He could see the questions in her big eyes and knew she wanted to ask what he meant, but he gave her a hard look that said Leave it and lowered his head, focusing his attention back on his arm.
“I’d like to feel like I’m earning my keep in here,” she murmured, coming a little closer. “Why don’t you let me help with your arm?” she offered, already pulling back one of the chairs and sitting down kitty-corner to him at the small table.
Lifting his head, he slid her a skeptical look. “And what exactly do you know about caring for wounds?”
“Absolutely nothing,” she said brightly, giving him another one of those disarming smiles. “But it seems common sense can help me out, right? So just turn toward me a little and I’ll be able to reach your arm.”
Common sense? Jesus, the woman didn’t have any. If she did, she’d know that getting within ten feet of him was a seriously bad idea, as was sitting her sweet little ass down right beside him. But his body had a mind of its own, and the next thing Nick knew, he was sitting sideways in his chair, staring down at her delicate profile as she leaned over his arm and gently dabbed with one of the antiseptic wipes he’d laid out.
“Why hasn’t this already healed?” she asked, setting the bloody wipe aside and reaching for a fresh one. “In the vampire books I’ve read, the heroes always heal super fast from their injuries.”
His response was dry. “Maybe because that’s in books and this is the real world?”
She shot him a curious glance. “Are you saying that you don’t have accelerated healing abilities?”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” Was it his imagination, or was his voice getting huskier? Clearing his throat, he added, “But it depends on the wound. A wolf bite is one of the few injuries that a vampire can’t heal from quickly.”
“Ahh,” she murmured, as if that made perfect sense to her. She continued to carefully work her way across the raw bite marks and asked, “If you knew it was a werewolf pack that has been doing the killings here in Moonlight Bay, why not just hunt them down and destroy them?”
“You don’t think I’ve been trying?” he muttered. “But the bastards are good at covering their tracks. Someone’s taught them and taught them well.”
Lifting her head, she gave him another questioning look. “Taught them what?”
“How to avoid detection by my species.”
“Hmm. You mean like a rogue vamp?”
Nick lifted his brows. “A rogue vamp?”
“You know what I mean,” she murmured, lowering her head again as she returned her attention to his arm. “A criminal vampire who knows how to keep from being found. As a vampire himself, or herself, he or she would know tricks to keep you from finding them, right?”
“Yes,” he admitted, thinking she had to be the most unusual, fascinating human he’d ever known. “But we don’t know why the wolves would have this information. My brothers have been up in Seattle talking to a few sources, seeking answers. So far, we haven’t found any.”
“If you knew they were using the caves for their kills, why not simply set up a stakeout?”
“We’re not idiots, Lainey.” His voice was getting a little tighter. “We tried that. But they knew.”
“Hmm. Sounds to me like you have a mole in the system.”
“Yeah,” Nick muttered, rubbing his free hand over his face. Whoever it was, he just hoped the bastard wouldn’t do anything to keep his brothers from reaching them in time.
“So how am I doing?” she asked with a grin, dabbing a fresh wipe on the wound. “Are my first aid skills up to scratch?”
“If you hadn’t been so tempted by books, you could have been a nurse,” he murmured, feeling a little uncomfortable giving the compliment. Or maybe it was just how good she made him feel that had his nerves jumping.
“A nurse?” She wrinkled her nose. “I like the idea of helping people, but that would have never worked out. I can’t stand the sight of blood.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, simply watching her clean the wound with sure, careful strokes. His blood had quickly soaked through the fresh cotton square and was now staining her fingers.
“You’re holding up pretty well with mine.”
She smiled a little as she glanced at him through her lashes. “I guess that makes you special.”
He kept staring at her slightly crooked smile until she finally asked, “What? Do I have food in my teeth?”
“No,” he rasped, his voice rough with emotions he didn’t dare think about or try to put a name to. “But you’re very beautiful.”
She blushed. “That’s sweet of you to say.”
God, she was insulting. “Please stop saying that. I’m a lot of things, but sweet isn’t one of them. Neither is angelic or heroic or any of the other crap you keep throwing in my face.”
“I’m entitled to my opinions, Nick. And I happen to think that you’re sweet and more than a little scary at times—” her lips curled “—though the sexy helps smooth out those sharp edges. My best friend would go crazy over you. Bailey always does go head over heels for the bad boys.”
“But not you?” Of course not her. Get real. Why would she choose a killer over someone who can give her a family and a white picket fence?
“I—” She broke off from whatever she’d been going to say, took a shaky breath and looked right at him. “Why did you almost kiss me?” she blurted.
“What are you talking about?”
She licked her lips, the look in her eyes hot and soft. “You left me when I tried to kiss you this morning. You know, when you had me against the wall. But before I took my shower, I could have sworn you were about to kiss me. Why?”
“Why does any man want to kiss a beautiful woman?” he muttered, rolling his shoulder with a fresh wave of agitation.
Her throat worked with a nervous swallow, but she managed to keep her voice steady as she said, “Then you are attracted to me? You really want to...”
“Fuck you?” he supplied when she didn’t seem capable of saying the words.
“Yes,” she said on a breathless sigh.
“I do,” he ground out, knowing damn well she didn’t understand what kind of danger she was courting with her questions.
She shook her head, her white teeth biting into the sexy swell of her bottom lip. “I find that so hard to believe, Nick.”
With his thoughts going in so many different directions, he could only imagine what kind of look was on his face. “Why? You’re... Oh, hell, Lainey. You’re not a virgin, are you?” He couldn’t have sounded more appalled if he’d tried.
A husky laugh slipped past her lips. “No. I’ve had a few relationships over the years,” she told him, wrapping fresh gauze around his arm. “They never lasted very long, but a few of them were...sexual.”
At that moment, it was a good thing for her ex-lovers that he was trapped in this bloody bunker. If free, Nick knew he’d have had a hell of a time keeping himself from doing something stupid. Like tracking her exes down and making it clear why they should never go near her again.
Not that I have any right to do it. But it would sure as hell make me feel better.
Needing a distraction from the dangerous direction of his thoughts, he asked, “What happened with the men?”
“They left me for other women.”
He made a derisive sound under his breath. “Human males are such idiots.”
She gave a careless shrug. “They were both going through bad times.”
“So you helped them and then they betrayed you?”
Her expression was pinched as she leaned back in her chair and looked at him. “I guess you could say that.”
Oh yeah, he would definitely enjoy getting his hands on the bastards if he could.
“Is that why you don’t see yourself as beautiful?” he asked, thinking he understood her a little better now.
The color in her cheeks got brighter, the drawl in her speech a little more pronounced. “I didn’t need their betrayals to see what I am,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Like I told you before, I have a mirror, Nick.”
“Then surely you know that you’re...”
“What? Chubby? Short? Quirky?”
“I was going to say beautiful again,” he said in a low rumble.
She snorted. “You’re such a smooth liar.”
“I don’t lie.”
Eying him with an expression that was equal parts pleasure and skepticism, she asked, “Are you...trying to tell me that you’re interested in me?”
“No!” he said so sharply that she flinched, making him feel like seven different kinds of shit. “I’m sorry. I, uh, didn’t mean it like that.”
Wait a minute? Had he actually just apologized? And since when did a centuries-old vampire say things like “Uh”? Damn woman was making him dotty!
“Don’t worry about it,” she murmured, using her hair to conceal her expression as she pushed to her feet. But he didn’t let her get away, holding out his uninjured arm to block her path.
“Lainey, I...” He exhaled a frustrated breath, trying to figure out how to explain. “Just trust me when I say that a woman like you is not for me.”
“Ahh.” He could feel the force of her stare against his face like a physical touch but kept his gaze focused on the rapid pulse at the base of her throat. “So you go for the tall, swizzle-stick look, then?”
With a wry grin, he shook his head, his hot gaze moving slowly over her curvy form, lingering on her breasts and thighs. “No. I actually prefer a woman to feel like a woman, not an ironing board.”
She didn’t say anything, but Nick could sense that she didn’t believe him. Her confidence had taken more than one hit in the past, and he wondered what was wrong with the human males she’d known. How had they not lost themselves in lust for her? Been charmed by her quirky sense of humor? How had they not been awed by her bravery and loyalty?
Or maybe that had been the problem right there. Maybe they had been all of those things and just didn’t have the balls to handle how she made them feel. In each century of his life, Nick had seen humans run from the things they wanted most, but he had never really thought of the flaw with anything more than confusion. But now...now he felt a raw, blistering fury at their petty reactions. Those men had run because they were too afraid of not being able to keep her happy and eventually losing her, whereas Nick was forced to hold himself back from what he most wanted because he was terrified of taking her fucking life.
And on that note, he knew it was time to put some more distance between them.
Lowering his arm, he started to move back to his feet, but she chose that moment to lean over, picking up one of the bloody wipes that had fallen on the floor, and Nick found himself staring down at a smooth, feminine shoulder. The neckline of his shirt had slipped to the side, revealing the creamy expanse of flesh, and his breath seized in his lungs.
Unable to resist, he lifted his hand...and ran two callused fingertips over that incredibly tender skin.
* * ** * *
“So soft,” he breathed out, sounding more like he was talking to himself than to her.
Lainey tried not to let the joy his words gave her show. She knew damn well it would just make the sexy vampire even more skittish than he already was where she was concerned.
He had a wary look in his dark eyes when he finally dropped his hand and lifted his smoldering gaze to hers as she straightened. But she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “If you enjoy touching me, then why the whole ‘a woman like you isn’t for me’ line?”
“It’s not a line. It’s the truth.”
“Why then?”
His nostrils flared. “Because I’m a goddamn vampire.”
“And I’ve read Twilight. I—”
“Just stop,” he suddenly growled, holding up a hand. “And. Don’t. Even. Go. There.”
She blinked, then started to laugh. “Okay, I get it. I wasn’t trying to say that you’re some work of fiction. But if real vampires are anything like the ones in the romance novels, then it’s possible for you to touch a human woman. Maybe not simple or uncomplicated...but it is possible.” Wi
th a shrug, she added, “Just look at Sookie on True Blood.”
“Jesus Christ!” he roared, surging to his feet so quickly that his chair fell over behind him. “This isn’t a fucking TV show! Open your eyes, Lainey, and use your head. I’m a vampire who’s been bitten by a bloody werewolf. Exactly how do you think this is going to play out? It’s a goddamn full moon tonight!”
She took a moment to think about what he’d just said, and suddenly all those cryptic remarks about his brothers arriving in time started to make sense.
“That’s what you meant last night, isn’t it? You’re worried about the full moon tonight, aren’t you? About how it will affect you.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said in a low voice, sounding as if he was suffering the torments of the damned.
“And you think you will?”
“I don’t know what to think,” he forced out through his gritted teeth, backing away from her. He didn’t stop until he came up against the wall behind him.
“Explain, please.”
He looked to the left of her as he said, “When a werewolf bites, its blood enters the victim’s system. Humans either change or die, but every vampire is affected differently when bitten by a wolf. They might take on all the physical attributes of the beast—or none of them. Some completely lose themselves to the wolf’s feral hungers and end up having to be destroyed. Others are capable of mastering the more aggressive hungers of the beast and accept them as a part of his or her nature. But there’s no way of knowing how a particular vampire will be affected until the first full moon after their bite.”
“So why borrow trouble? Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
He cut her a sharp, furious look from the corner of his eye. “I’d rather not risk your life on a maybe.”
“And what if I said that I trust you not to hurt me?”
“Then I’d say you’re being an idiot,” he muttered under his breath.
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Wow, Nick. Don’t try to spare my feelings or anything.”
“I don’t have the privilege of worrying about your feelings, Lainey. I’m trying to keep you alive.”
Darkest Desire of the Vampire: Wicked in MoonlightVampire Island (Harlequin Nocturne) Page 7