Jess was a great dancer. Renee found herself relaxing as they swung around the dance floor, enjoying the pounding beat of the music and the obvious appreciation in Jess’s eyes as he watched her move. After all the recent blows to her ego, it was good to feel graceful again. The song blended into another and she let him draw her closer, his hands warm on her back as she wound her arms around his neck, his body pressed close in the crush of the crowd. She brushed against him with every turn and sway. The driving, sensual rhythm of the song swept through the dancers and Jess pulled her fully against him, a gleam in his eyes.
Suddenly her shoulders were seized in an unbreakable grip and Renee found herself dragged back against a hard, muscular frame. “Must you plaster yourself against him?” Eli’s voice demanded in her ear.
Renee almost laughed at the indignation on Jess’s face, which perfectly matched Eli’s tone as she tried to ease out of his grip. He didn’t let her move an inch.
“That’s the way it’s done,” she murmured back, too low for Jess to hear over the loud music but knowing without a doubt Eli would pick up every word. She felt his tension and couldn’t resist needling him a little. “I guess they didn’t dance like this back in the Stone Age, huh?”
Jess tried to draw her back to him and Eli’s hold on her shoulders tightened. “This isn’t dancing, it’s an orgy,” Eli growled.
Renee did laugh this time. For a moment, she let herself believe he was acting this way because he was jealous of the attention she was showing another man. She knew better than to truly believe it—her mother would have reacted the exact same way had she seen this kind of dancing—but she couldn’t help pushing Eli to see how far he’d let her go. It had become habit by now.
“Just because you’re too dried up and stuffy to remember how to have fun doesn’t mean I can’t,” she teased, still swaying slightly with the beat. His body was a rock-hard wall of muscle behind her and she couldn’t resist leaning against his strength. Her eyes closed briefly—good Lord, he felt good! “Why don’t I meet you outside the square-dancing hall in a couple of hours, old man?”
Eli glared at Jess when he again attempted to pull Renee back into his arms. “Touch her again and I’ll have your hands for a trophy,” he snarled over Renee’s head.
Jess swallowed but stood his ground. “Hey, man, we’re busy here. Back off!”
Eli felt his fangs lengthen and wrapped a possessive arm around Renee’s waist, locking her body to his. He felt Renee’s amusement at his behavior as she reached out and squeezed Jess’s hand.
“It’s okay, Jess. This is the friend I told you about,” she said, and Eli heard the reassuring smile in her voice alongside the gentle compulsion urging him to walk away. He was glad she’d dismissed Jess before he had to. There was no way to speak without baring his fangs at the man—and even worse, Eli wanted to bare his fangs at him and scare the life out of him for dancing with Renee.
His insanity apparently knew no bounds tonight.
Renee was still holding Jess’s hand and Eli narrowed his eyes at the man, sending a little compulsion of his own. Jess dropped her hand at once but Renee reached up and patted his cheek.
“Thanks for the dance,” she said.
Jess still looked unhappy. “You didn’t say he was that kind of friend,” he grumbled, but he turned and left them without further comment.
Renee tried to turn to look at Eli but he didn’t let her. He didn’t want her to see how furious he still was. Damn it, he’d known better than to watch her dancing, but when he’d come back in from feeding, he’d accidentally caught sight of her and hadn’t been able to look away. The sight of her lush body pressed against the mortal’s had triggered a rage he had no hope of fighting.
Didn’t Renee know what this kind of dancing promised a man? The last straw had come from the mortal’s thoughts as he imagined all the ways he’d like to collect on that sensual promise.
Apparently she didn’t know what she was doing because even now she rocked in time to the music. The softness of her body brushing his did nothing at all for Eli’s control.
“You can’t keep running off all my dance partners, Eli,” Renee told him, a hint of laughter in her reproach as she continued the sensual swaying despite his refusal to move with her. “I thought you were going to let me have a night out. What do you want me to do, stand around like you and watch everyone else dance?”
Eli stopped himself from replying with an effort. He shouldn’t react to her. He should ignore her teasing, walk away and let her find another man to dance with, but Eli already knew he couldn’t. Her body brushed against his again and again and the friction threatened to set him aflame. Did she have no concept at all of what she was doing to him?
“Come on, Eli,” Renee teased, running a fingertip over the arm he still had clasped around her waist in a feather-soft caress. He felt her touch like a brand even through the leather jacket. “If you don’t know the moves, I’m sure you can find a nice dark spot in the corner where you can hide and glower in peace. You don’t have to try to keep up with me.”
Her taunting was the final straw. “Oh, I know the moves,” he murmured in her ear. “Maybe this old man can show you a thing or two, little one.” A moment later, his knee nudged between hers and his hand slid across her waist to grasp her hip as he swung into the driving, erotic rhythm of the dance.
Renee gasped as his other hand moved in a long caress from her shoulder down her arm to capture her fingers before bringing her arm up and sliding their entwined fingers through his hair. Had she thought she was close to him before? Now every inch of his body was imprinted on hers. She closed her eyes and couldn’t stop the curl of heat through her body as his hips rocked against hers.
She tangled her fingers in his hair as he released her hand and shuddered as his palm caressed a slow path down her sensitive inner arm. She heard a soft moan before she realized the needy sound had come from her own lips. His hand felt very large as it slid over her ribs and she was positive he would cup her breast, but his fingertips merely teased the side before he splayed his hand high on her stomach. His thumb rested in the valley between her breasts, making her desperate for more, but he didn’t give it to her. Her back melded against his hard body as he thrust his leg further between hers.
The hard rhythm became her world and she let go, losing herself in sensation as she rode his thigh, helplessly following the gyration of his hips—front to back, side to side, long, lazy circles that drove her crazy. His hand left her hip to trail up and down her thigh and she moaned again. She reached back and slid her hand beneath his long coat and into his back pocket, ignoring the cold steel of his sword hilt. Her only thought was the need to feel more of him, wishing he would let her turn around. She needed to see his face, discover if he was as turned on as she was.
He nipped her ear an instant before she felt his breath tease her throat. She arched against him, tossing her head to the side to give him greater access and aching to feel his mouth there, but he only buried his face in her hair and tightened his hold on her. Renee clenched her fingers in his hair to urge him closer and thought she would catch fire when his open mouth brushed her throat. His mouth moved away and she pulled him back. His hand tensed on her hip an instant before his teeth scraped over her pulse.
Sharp teeth. Very sharp teeth.
Renee gasped but the thrill which claimed her at the thought of his bite wasn’t fear. Something deep inside her, something wild and untouched before this moment, cried out for him to do it. His mouth came back again and nipped her skin. If he hadn’t been holding her close, Renee was certain she would have collapsed from the carnal rush of desire the feeling triggered.
Never in her life had she imagined feeling this way. This was much more than a dance. She never wanted it to end. The song changed again, one driving beat merging almost seamlessly with another, and Eli didn’t let her go. He teased her mercilessly, holding her hard against his body, his mouth on her throat playing havoc with h
er senses. Oh, yes, Eli knew this dance. If he made love half as well as he danced, Renee wasn’t sure she’d survive the experience, and right now she’d take the risk.
Suddenly Eli released her. Renee couldn’t stop her whimper of protest as he spun around as though he meant to escape the dance floor. She pulled him back and locked her arms around his neck. She didn’t care if he read her desire in her eyes when she looked up at him. Only one thing mattered.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered as a slower song started.
He took a deep and shaky breath before letting his arms encircle her again. He bent to murmur in her ear as he started to move once more, but now he held himself a few inches away from her as they danced. “This was a very bad idea. We’re not supposed to do this, little one.”
Renee smiled and fit her body to his as though she hadn’t noticed his attempt to douse the fire their dance had started. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”
Eli tried to put a little distance between them but Renee followed, negating his retreat. “Would you dance with your father like this?”
She laughed at the note of desperation in his tone. “I never really knew him, but my mother was a wonderful dancer. I used to dance with her all the time. I would stand on her shoes and she would whirl me around the floor.”
“You are not standing on my shoes, little one, and I doubt you danced with your mother this way.”
Renee lifted her head to smile up at him as she again stopped him from backing away. “You’re right,” she agreed, deliberately leaning forward and pressing her breasts against his chest. “I dance this way with a man who makes me burn.”
Eli closed his eyes. “You shouldn’t say things like that to me,” he breathed.
Renee went up on her toes and brushed her lips over his, laughing softly when he jerked back with a whispered oath. “You’re not my father, Eli. And I plan to say whatever I want to you.” She waited until he opened his eyes and looked down at her with an expression of mingled exasperation and wariness. She glanced up at him through her lashes and gave him her most suggestive smile. “If you want to stop me, you’ll have to find some other way to occupy my mouth.” She touched her lower lip with her tongue and wondered if she would be mortified by her boldness later. “I do have some suggestions, if you need them.”
Eli couldn’t breathe. This was a nightmare. After last night he hadn’t thought things could get any worse, but now Renee was deliberately tempting him, offering her body to him with every dip and sway.
Heaven help him if he wasn’t fighting the urge to take everything she offered right here and now.
The brief touch of her lips had sent flames sizzling through his entire body. He didn’t dare try to speak for fear of exposing his fangs, which again erupted at the erotic images swirling in his mind. He tried to put a little space between them and again she didn’t allow it. He closed his eyes, trying to shut out temptation.
But temptation wouldn’t be shut out. Even if he couldn’t see her, he still felt every last alluring inch of her. He cursed the clothes separating them.
“Kiss me again, Eli,” Renee whispered, and he thought he would go insane.
Oh, yes, things had definitely gotten worse.
Chapter Seven
Renee scowled as she pushed her way through the door of the club and scanned the dark street for any sign of Eli. It did nothing for her confidence when the man bolted every time things started to get interesting.
She took a deep breath and bit her lip. Interesting didn’t even begin to describe that dance.
She’d looked all over the club, but hadn’t seen a sign of him. It really was impressive how easily he blended into the crowds. It wasn’t fair that an insanely tall platinum-haired vampire packing medieval weapons could simply duck out a door and vanish without a trace. She sighed. She wouldn’t find him until he wanted to be found, and this time, she was pretty certain she’d scared him off but good.
She couldn’t help it. After their scorching dance, she hadn’t been able to stop herself from pushing to see just how far he would go.
She shook her head and sighed again. He’d gone far, all right. He’d gone straight out the door.
Renee crossed her arms and started walking, still scanning the night for Eli but without much hope. Luckily she’d paid attention to where they were going tonight and knew how to find her own way back to the cemetery. How she’d get through the crack in the rock when she arrived was something she refused to worry about until she had to. If all else failed, there was always the coffin, although the thought of burying herself alive sent a shudder through her.
She was wishing she’d brought a jacket by the time she reached the end of the street—not because of the chill in the air, which she didn’t even feel, but because of all the men ogling her body as she passed them. No one had done anything more than whistle at her yet, a small blessing for which she was immensely grateful. She hoped she wouldn’t have to try to defend herself tonight. If her lessons with Eli were any indication, she would do better to turn tail and run than fight if someone threatened her. She quickened her pace, hoping to get home before anything else happened.
The sharp clash of ringing metal and the echo of an enraged shout, distant but still distinct to her superhuman hearing, brought her up short. Renee froze where she stood, all her senses scouring the night for the source of the sound. It came again and she spun on her heel and sprinted toward it. Eli had been wearing his swords tonight, she was sure of it, and his words in the dark forest echoed menacingly in her ears—The League is dedicated to protecting the world from Outcasts… When we find one, we kill it.
The thought of Eli caught in a life-or-death fight at this very moment made her blood run cold.
Renee’s heart was in her throat as she bolted down alleys and skidded around corners, ignoring the dangerous neighborhood around her as she homed in on the sounds of battle. All her instincts demanded she aid Eli. All right, she wasn’t the best fighter in the world, but some help had to be better than none at all.
Finally she burst from one dark and dingy alley into a dead-end and froze at the scene before her. All right, she’d found him, but what exactly had she planned to do when she got here?
The alley was a whirl of violence. Eli, a sword in each hand, held off two viciously snarling vampires as they attacked him simultaneously. Renee wanted to leap into the fray and help, but each of his adversaries had a long sword. She had nothing, not even a pocketknife or can of pepper spray. Her plan to find and aid Eli suddenly seemed extremely naïve.
Get back! Eli’s voice snapped in her mind as she stood rooted to the spot, agonizing over her next move. You can’t help me in this. Get out of here before they sense you!
I won’t leave you by yourself! She bit back a scream as Eli ducked and spun, just missing a swipe from one of the vampires which would’ve taken off his head. Fear for him swamped her as she looked frantically around the dead-end for anything usable as a weapon. A board, a rock, she’d take anything at this point—
An empty wine bottle glinted at her from a stinking pile of garbage and she grabbed it by the neck. If I help it’ll be two against two—fair odds.
His annoyance at her persistence seethed through her mind but she ignored it as she edged along the wall of the alley, wishing she had worn her usual black. This bright catsuit didn’t blend into the shadows even a little bit.
I can handle two Outcasts at once, little one. I’m telling you for the last time, get out of here!
Renee ignored him and edged a little closer to the battle. Two more steps and she’d be within range to smash her bottle over the closest Outcast’s skull—now one—
Suddenly a screaming pain overwhelmed her head. Renee barely felt the bottle drop from her nerveless fingers and didn’t hear it crash to the pavement as her hands flew to her temples. Your shields! Eli shouted at her, but it was too late for the reminder. She had never been good at remembering to keep her psychic shields in place and her
inattention had caught up with her with a vengeance now.
Renee felt her feet move without her conscious direction and tried to dig in her heels.
Well, well, well, a cold voice drawled in her head. What have we here? I know you, little fledgling. I have a job for you. Come to your sire now.
Renee couldn’t tear her gaze from Eli as he cut down one of the Outcasts with a slash too rapid to follow. The vampire’s head rolled away before his body even hit the ground. Eli had already turned back to his other attacker.
Come, child, come to your sire, the voice whispered again, and she knew it was wrong. Eli would never ask her to come to him while he fought. The first thing he’d done when she’d arrived had been to order her away from the danger. There was no way this voice came from Eli.
Get out of my head, she thought furiously. No matter how she struggled against the mental hold, she couldn’t prevent her feet from inching closer to the Outcast. She tried with all her might to shove the invading presence away. Get OUT!
Eli’s eyes flicked her way as though hearing her footstep. “Renee, don’t move!”
Eli’s voice clashed with the one in her mind, his compulsion locking her in place warring with the other’s command drawing her nearer. The warring magic exploded behind her eyes, throwing daggers of pain through her mind. She felt like she was being ripped in two.
“Fight him!” Eli commanded over the clash of swords.
A low, wicked laugh filled her mind. Yes, fight me, the Outcast agreed. See what good it does you. I have a hold on you the Slayer cannot match, little fledgling. Fight me all you wish, but you will come closer.
“No,” she moaned, still cradling her head in her hands, her legs shaking as she tried to throw off the powerful demand. Her feet dragged across the cracked pavement, bringing her nearer, inch by relentless inch, no matter how she struggled. Another step put her within touching distance of the Outcast. She tried to leap onto his back, to strangle and distract him and allow Eli to finish him off, but her body wouldn’t obey her.
Amelia Elias - [Guardian's League 02] - Outcast Page 12