“You want Joseph for yourself,” she guessed and knew she was right when a muscle in his jaw twitched. “That’s a suicide mission.”
“No, it’s not,” he said brusquely and stopped beside the kitchen counter.
He rested his hand on the green Formica and set his stake down as he tilted his head to study her. Of average height, she was slender, but the way she stood pushed her jacket back to reveal her rounded hips, and the black, formfitting sweater emphasizing her full breasts.
Her skin was a sun-kissed golden color that made his mouth water as he envisioned running his hands over every inch of her curves. While he’d held it, he’d noticed her hand was silken, and he imagined the rest of her body was much the same.
When her inherent, sweet jasmine scent tickled his nostrils, his fingers curled on the counter as he struggled to suppress his growing lust for this woman. No, not just a woman, a vampire, and a pureblooded one with a lot of power.
He never would have considered it possible to experience desire for a member of the vampire species, yet as he watched her stroll back toward the newspaper clippings, he found his gaze dipping to her firm ass. He shifted his stance to hide his growing erection from her when she glanced over at him.
The sharpening of Nathan’s cypress scent drew Vicky’s attention back to him. She stopped breathing when she discovered him watching her with the ravenous stare of a man who craved a woman’s body. Red warning bells screamed in her head as her body quickened in response to his need.
She felt a pull to him, but she’d never expected to have him desire her too, not with what she was. Disgust was what she expected from him, not want.
However, there was no denying what was on his mind as his gaze lifted to her breasts. When he shifted his stance, her eyes fell to the noticeable bulge in his jeans, and the sight of his arousal caused her nipples to harden.
Banging this guy is a bad idea! Don’t be stupid! she reminded herself.
Vicky focused on the newspaper clippings and map again. After what happened with Duke, she’d steered clear of men, but she couldn’t read anything as every part of her remained hyperaware of him.
Am I lusting after a vampire? Nathan wondered. Yes, he was, and he couldn’t stop himself from imagining stripping her clothes away and licking every inch of her. Would her skin be golden all over? He suspected the answer was yes, and he was dying to know for sure.
It had been months since he’d been with a woman, but even with his drought, he’d never desired one the way he did her. He’d never jumped from one bed to another, but he’d never had a relationship with someone either, and he often only saw a woman a few times before moving on. There was no point in staying any longer with those women when it could never go anywhere; the elders would pick his future bride for him.
He’d still had sex on a somewhat regular basis, yet he couldn’t recall the last time he did.
He ran a hand through his hair as he remembered it had been at least six months—before he first encountered Vicky. He’d had opportunities to be with other women since then, but he turned them down. Now he realized it was because she was the one he wanted and none of them would have satisfied him.
“Were you hunting Joseph tonight? Is that why you were on the street?” she asked, her voice hoarser than normal.
Her question pulled his attention away from the perusal of her lush body. “I was. I figured the concert might be a draw for vampires, and possibly Joseph. Then, I saw you.”
Uneasiness swept through her. “You saw me?”
“Yes. When you emerged from the Garden, I spotted you in the crowd. Curious as to what you were up to, I followed you.”
“I….” Her voice trailed off as she didn’t know what to say. She’d been so focused on hunting Duke, she never noticed she’d become the hunted. She’d been an idiot; she wasn’t prepared to face Duke. Her family, Ronan, and the others had all been right about that, though she’d never admit it to them. “I screwed up.”
“It happens to the best of us,” Nathan said. “Sometimes we’re lucky enough to have an ally to help us when it happens, and sometimes we’re not.”
“And are you my ally?”
“I thought so.”
“Yeah,” she muttered. “What do you plan to do if you find Joseph on your own?”
“The same thing you plan to do with Duke, I assume. It seems you were hunting him, on your own. Where’s your sister and her mate?”
“They’ve gone home to visit my family.”
“What about your brother, Aiden? Isn’t he training with Ronan to become a Defender?”
“He’s taking a break to spend some time with his newfound mate, Maggie. He also returned home for a bit.”
“So, while they’re away, you took the opportunity to go after Duke. I doubt Ronan approved of this.”
“I’m not one of his trainees, and I’m not a Defender; he doesn’t have any say about my life.”
“He lets you travel freely back and forth from his home?” Nathan didn’t think that was likely. He’d been to Ronan’s mansion, but the blindfold he wore to get there ensured he didn’t know where it was.
“No. I’m not sure where he lives. Saxon blindfolded me and brought me into the city yesterday. I’m supposed to call him when I’m ready to return.”
“They let you go off on your own in the city?”
“You’re not going to believe this, but I can cross the street without holding my mom’s hand too,” she retorted. “I’m quite capable of taking care of myself.”
“I saw that tonight.”
A ring of fire raced around her emerald eyes. Nathan’s breath sucked in at this evidence of her vampirism and the brief loss of control over her emotions. He’d assumed such a sight would dim his lust for her. Instead, he nearly groaned as he imagined seeing her out of control in his bed.
She was the exact opposite of what he’d been raised to want from a woman, but damn, he wanted her.
“I know you hunters think all women are weak little things you have to keep locked away, but I assure you, I could kick your ass if it became necessary,” Vicky said through her teeth.
He quirked an eyebrow at her proud declaration while she gazed at him with her round chin raised in haughty disdain. “Or maybe I’ll take you down,” he murmured.
Those words sounded more like a promise than a threat, which made them far more unsettling to her. Before she could reply, she caught a whiff of garbage and metal squeaked outside the window.
CHAPTER 4
Nathan set his stake down and stalked over to the wall to retrieve an ax from the pile of weapons. The honed edge of the blade gleamed in the light when he hefted it against his shoulder.
Vicky slid her stake back into her pocket and lifted the crossbow from her side. Removing a bolt from inside her coat, she loaded the weapon.
The garbage stench increased when Nathan stopped before the window. Lowering the ax from his shoulder, he used the tip of it to push the blind aside. Blood red eyes clashed with his through the pane of glass. Whereas Vicky’s red eyes charmed him, these made his lips pull back in a sneer, and he twisted the ax on his shoulder.
The Savage scampered out of view, but metal clinked and clattered as more of them jumped onto the escape.
“They’ve started hunting in packs,” she murmured, the realization opening a pit of dread in her stomach. “Probably Joseph’s doing.”
“Yes,” Nathan agreed.
“Duke knew I was in the Garden tonight. He called his friends. He lured me in.” The realization pissed her off. She’d walked right into his trap.
“Who is this Duke to you?” he inquired.
“What does it matter?”
“Because he and his cohorts seem extremely eager to get at you. Give me the crossbow.” He held his palm out to her.
Vicky glared at him, but she gave him the weapon and took the ax when he handed it over to her.
“So?” he prodded when she didn’t answer.
“Ex-boyfriend,” she replied.
It wasn’t the answer he’d anticipated, but then he didn’t know what he expected from her. His future wife would be a virgin, but many of his past bedmates were more experienced than him. Of course, Vicky would have a history, but the idea of her with another man caused jealousy to burn through him.
“So you’re trying to kill him because he dumped you, or cheated on you, or something?” he asked, unable to keep the ire from his voice.
“Yes, that’s exactly why!” she retorted. “I’m such a spiteful bitch that I plan to kill my ex, who has become a Savage since we parted ways, simply because he cheated on and dumped me.”
Nathan noted the way she hefted the ax as if she were contemplating braining him with it. “So, he wasn’t a Savage while you were dating?”
“I’m not in the habit of boning guys who smell like landfills. It’s a turnoff, you know?”
Nathan resisted driving his fist through the wall as her words conjured a picture of her with another man. He almost told her she shouldn’t speak like that, but she might smash him with the ax if he did, and he had to admit, as much as her words provoked jealousy, he enjoyed her candor. He didn’t get that from the women in the stronghold, and he hadn’t been with his sexual partners long enough to know them better.
His first time had been with a widowed hunter. Despite the woman’s willingness to have sex outside the bonds of marriage, and with a blundering nineteen-year-old, she was still reserved and respectful in her speech.
Vicky’s gaze flickered to the window as something on the escape clattered. She didn’t want to show any fear of Duke or those bastards out there, but knowing they were there, stalking her, brought forth memories of her time in the warehouse.
The warmth of the apartment vanished as her skin chilled like she was locked in a tomb with thousands of spiders. Breathing became laborious when the pressure in her chest grew to the point where she felt she was being buried alive. She tugged at the collar of her sweater as she struggled to remain focused on the now while one of the Savages tapped their finger on the window.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Squeeeee.
Vicky’s nerves frayed further when the finger stopped ticking to slide down the glass in one protracted swipe.
She was prepared to fight a Savage. She wasn’t as trained as Ronan’s Defenders or some of the other Defender trainees, but she was far more prepared than last October when the vampires Duke sold her to took her away. Physically, she was better prepared, but she wasn’t as emotionally ready as she’d believed.
She hadn’t loved Duke, far from. She’d liked him; they had fun together. The sex, though okay, was better than she’d experienced with anyone else. She always knew their relationship would end and been fine with it. But his betrayal had struck deep, and seeing him again was bringing that back as well as the memories of her captivity.
“What did he do to you?” Nathan bit out. The devastated look on her face pushed him toward a murderous rage.
“There are no words for what he did to me,” she murmured, and her eyelid twitched when the ticking started again. “Duke wasn’t a Savage when we were together. At least not in the way he is now, but he was definitely savage.”
“Did he hurt you?” Nathan demanded.
Vicky’s annoyance with him eased when she saw the concern on his face. “He didn’t beat me, if that’s what you’re thinking. Even before I started training with Ronan’s men, Duke wasn’t strong enough to beat me, and he didn’t break my heart or cheat on me.”
Despite her words, the sorrow in her eyes and the tremor in her hands caused Nathan’s fury to simmer toward a boiling point. He pulled the blind back again to reveal the Savage outside the pane. It wasn’t the same one as before.
The monster leered at him as it tapped the window. Knowing the Savage would most likely move before he could kill it, Nathan lifted his crossbow and fired. The Savage darted to the side as the impact of the bolt left a perfect hole in the center of the window.
Then, the pane wobbled before collapsing. Shards crunched under Nathan’s feet when he stepped closer to the window.
From its hiding spot next to the brick wall, the Savage laughed as it reappeared in front of the window. “You missed,” it taunted.
“I meant to.” Nathan’s hand shot out, and he seized the creature by the throat. “Come on in,” he said as he dragged it through the window and threw it on the floor.
The Savage lay like a turtle on its back for a second, too dazed to react to the sudden change of events. Nathan lifted the stake he’d set on the counter earlier as the Savage threw out his feet. The vampire shoved upright in one smooth motion. As the monster regained its feet, Nathan stabbed the stake into its heart.
“I didn’t miss that time,” Nathan told him with a wink.
The vampire’s mouth parted in an O of horror. Its hand swung out, but Nathan leaned back to dodge the blow. Nathan smiled, placed his foot on the monster’s stomach, and shoved it back to tear the stake free. The Savage hit the ground, its feet kicking against the carpet for a minute before stilling. Then, its arms flopped out, and its head lulled to the side.
Vicky lifted her gaze from the dead Savage to Nathan, then to the window before returning to Nathan. He wiped the bloody stake casually on his jeans before setting it on the counter again.
“Impressive,” she murmured, not sure if she meant the kill or him. She’d never seen anything quite like it, and despite her unease over this situation, she couldn’t deny it had been sexy as hell.
She was in so much shit with this hunter.
Another Savage materialized in the window. It gazed into the apartment before spotting the body of its friend and recoiling. Turning, it gripped the railing of the fire escape and swung over the side to land silently below.
Nathan stepped closer to the window as the rest of the Savages fled the fire escape. On the street, the group of Savages loped around the side of the building. They could enter through the front door, but he suspected they would come in through the basement if they discovered the side door in the alley on the opposite side of the building. Entering through the basement would keep them hidden for longer and give them more time to flush him and Vicky from this apartment.
“They’ll come in through the basement,” Nathan said.
“They’ll make noise, and someone will call the police.”
Nathan stepped away from the window and strode over to the stockpile of weapons to search through them. “This isn’t the type of place where the occupants invite the police to stop by. That’s why I picked it.”
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Going after the Savages before they come after us. They’re not making it out of this building alive.”
He reloaded the crossbow, stocked up on more stakes, and lifted an assault rifle. “It’s difficult to hit the heart with the wooden bullets in this thing,” he told her, “but it will slow them down and might take some of them out.”
Vicky stepped away from the weapon and eyed it like it would come to life and kill her.
“What if the bullets go astray and kill someone else?” she inquired.
“I’ll be careful.”
“You don’t think gunfire will make someone call the cops?”
“Probably not, but if it does, we’ll be gone, or dead, before the police arrive.”
The nonchalant way he said it reminded her of the way she felt about life now, almost half deadened or perhaps just tired of it all. She was too young to feel that way, especially with an eternity looming before her, but she couldn’t deny the emotion festering within her since her captivity.
“Besides, worse comes to worst, you can always change the memories of the witnesses,” he continued.
“True.”
Vicky set the ax down to lift another crossbow and more stakes before she hefted a small hatchet into her hand. Testing the weight of it, she deemed it suitable for throwing if necessary. Nathan opened the
door and checked out the hall before stepping outside.
Vicky followed him as he stalked down the hall to the stairs. From behind the closed doors, more humans made noise as they went about their night, utterly unaware that death lurked outside their homes. She briefly envied them their oblivion as Nathan stopped at the entrance to the stairwell.
Taking a deep breath, she strove to control the adrenaline rushing through her as Nathan entered the stairwell. She was so close to possibly ending this with Duke, but concern over Nathan’s safety almost made her grab him and run back to his apartment with him. However, they wouldn’t be safe in this building for much longer. She stayed close to Nathan while they descended to the first floor without encountering any Savages.
Nathan crept to the end of the hall and stopped outside the metal door leading to the basement. Sniffing the air, he detected Vicky’s sweet scent mingling with the disgusting human aromas. When he glanced back at Vicky, her eyes were wide, but she looked resolved for battle.
He hesitated, not wanting to put her in this situation. He didn’t have much choice though; there were many he could call, but he doubted any of them would arrive before the Savages set fire to this place, flooded it with carbon monoxide, or came up with some other way to force the two of them outside.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, he gripped the knob and twisted it slowly to keep it from making any noise. When he first established a base here, he made sure to explore as much of it as he could. He’d memorized the layout of the basement.
He pulled the door open and stepped to the side in case one of the Savages rushed out at him. When none of them ran into the hallway, he poked his head around the doorway to take in the wooden steps leading into the bowels of the old basement. Either someone had forgotten to turn off the light at the bottom of the stairwell, or the Savages were already below and turned it on when they entered through the other door.
Vicky almost drew Nathan back to tell him she should go first, she was immortal after all, but he had more experience in these situations than she did. Her immortality didn’t guarantee her life, and she sensed a lot of power in this hunter.
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