"Hey, Nick," he said after a minute. "I need you to retrieve my car from the corner of Iberville and Clay, and bring it to St. Claude. You can leave it in the doctors' lot."
He let go of the cuff and took the phone back in his hand. "Yeah, I know I'm a real asshole to work for, but you can't knock the pay and perks. Head out at three, and after you drop my car off, you can go home early."
He paused as he listened for a few seconds. "Also grab the backup case out of the cabinet ... yeah, that one. I need you to bring it and my spare keys to the hospital and leave them for Dr. Tate Bennett."
He stiffened as if Nick said something that irked him. "Yes, you can take tomorrow off, but keep your beeper and phone on in case I need something."
Hunter growled. "Boy, don't make me change my tone with you. You forget, I know where you sleep." Though the words were harsh, there was an underlying note of humor in his voice. "All right, but don't burn out the clutch again. I'll see you later."
Amanda arched a brow as he hung up the phone. "So who's Nick?"
"My gofer."
She gaped at him. "My God, can it be you actually answered a question? Holy cow, we'd better call Tate in here quick before you keel over dead or undead or whatever it is you vampires do."
"Ha, ha," he said with a smile.
Good night, this is one sexy vampire when he smiles ...
"Does Nick know what you are?" she asked.
"Only the people who need to know, know what I am."
She thought about that for a minute. "I guess I'm privileged, then."
"'Cursed' would be more appropriate."
"No," she said as she thought more about it. "When you're not being sarcastic, scary, or bullish, you're actually not bad to be around." Impishly, she added, "Of course, I've only been around you for about two minutes when you weren't one of those three things, so who am I to judge?"
His face softened. "I don't know about you, but I have to sleep. I had a long night and I'm exhausted."
She was rather tired, too. But as she slid her gaze to the fake leather sofa, she realized it would never fit both of them.
Hunter grinned at her. "You take the couch, I'll sleep on the floor."
"Can you do that?"
"I've slept in worse places."
"Yeah, but don't you need a coffin?"
He gave her a droll stare, but said nothing as he led her to the sofa.
No sooner had Amanda lain down than she realized it wasn't going to work. "This isn't comfortable. I can't sleep with my arm hanging over the edge and I'm twice as long as the couch is."
"What do you suggest?"
She grabbed the blanket and pillow and lay down on the floor beside him.
Kyrian flinched as she lay so close to him that he could feel her body heat. Worse, the only way to comfortably sleep would be to drape his arm over her.
Like lovers.
The thought tore through him, lancing his heart so deep that for a minute, he couldn't breathe as he remembered the last time he had made the mistake of being with a woman and letting his guard down.
Unbidden, the sight of blood, and the memory of grueling, unrelenting pain ripped through him with such ferocity that it made him flinch.
That was the past, he told himself. Ancient history. Still, some things were impossible to forget. And not even a man with super psychic powers could bury them.
Don't think about it.
This wasn't the time for memories. It was a time to be practical.
Desiderius would be after him tonight and if he was to save her and her sister, he would have to be awake, and fully alert.
Closing his eyes, he made himself relax.
Until she shifted, and her buttocks collided with his groin.
Kyrian ground his teeth. He was on fire as he inhaled the sweet rosy scent of her. It had been so incredibly long since he had last taken a woman. So long since he had dared close his eyes with one by his side.
Necessity was a bitch. But then he had learned that lesson the hard way when he had fought against the Romans.
Swallowing, he forced his mind to blankness. There was nothing in the past worth remembering. Nothing back there except pain so profound that even after two thousand years it could still bring him to his knees.
Focus, he told himself, relying on his staunch military training. Now is the time to rest.
Amanda tensed as he moved to spoon up against her spine. And when he put his arm over her, her heart pounded.
All that lean, hard strength was pressed against her back in a most distracting way.
She stared at his hand in front of her face. He had long, graceful fingers that looked as though they should belong to an artist or musician. Goodness, but it was hard to remember this man wasn't really a man.
You're lying with a vampire!
No, he's a Dark-Hunter. Not that she really understood the difference, yet.
But she would. One way or another.
Amanda lay for hours listening to Hunter breathe. She could tell when he had finally fallen asleep because his arm relaxed against her and the breath on her neck evened out.
Outside Tate's office, she heard people coming and going, the hospital paging system calling out for different doctors and orders.
A little after noon, Tate brought them lunch, but she wouldn't let him wake Hunter. She ate half of her sandwich and continued to lie there, all the while wondering how she could feel so strangely safe with a vampire she barely knew.
She rolled over slightly to look at him. He really was scrumptious. His hair fell over his eyes as he slept and his relaxed features held a boyish charm to them.
As she stared at his perfect lips, she remembered the way they had tasted. The raw, powerful feel of them on her neck.
The remnants of that kiss made her lips burn, her body quiver.
She'd been kissed more times than she could count, but no man had ever made her feel the way he did. The touch of his mouth on hers had set her on fire.
How had he done it? What was it about Hunter that made her ache to have him in spite of herself?
Was it part of his immortal powers?
She wasn't a nymphomaniac. She had a normal, healthy sex drive that wasn't too low or too high. Yet every time she looked at him, she wanted to touch his skin, his lips, his hair.
What was wrong with her?
Put it out of your mind. Closing her eyes, she started counting backward from one hundred.
When she reached negative sixty, she realized it was futile.
Sighing, she absently reached out and toyed with the ring on his hand. Before she realized it, she was holding his hand in hers.
Hunter murmured dreamily as he snuggled closer. Amanda's eyes widened as his hot breath fell against her cheek and his erection pressed disturbingly against her hip. His grip tightened on her hand an instant before he gathered her in his arms and cradled her body protectively with his.
He whispered something in a foreign language, then settled again, still fast asleep.
Her heart hammered. No one had ever held her like this. So possessively. So completely. It felt as if she were cocooned by his strength. The weirdest part of all was that deep down she liked the feeling a whole lot more than she ever wanted to admit.
Nestled in his arms, she finally drifted to sleep.
*
Amanda came awake to a hard thigh wedged between her legs and to a hot hand beneath her sweater, skimming the flesh of her stomach. Hunter's arm held her so close to him that she could barely breathe.
"I've missed you," he whispered tenderly an instant before he slid his hand under her bra and cupped her breast.
Amanda hissed in pleasure as his warm fingers brushed against her flesh in slow, simmering circles. That touch branded her with desire and it was all she could do not to turn her head to his and kiss him.
"Theone," he breathed lovingly.
"Hey!" she snapped at him. It offended her to the core of her soul that he would dare
Kyrian tensed as he came fully awake and opened his eyes wide. The first thing he felt was the warm, soft breast that overfilled his palm. The second was the throbbing ache in his body that demanded release.
Oh shit! He jerked his hand away as if it were on fire.
What the hell was he doing?
His job was to protect her, not touch her. Especially not when she felt this good in his arms. The last time he'd made that mistake with a woman, it had cost him his very soul.
Amanda saw the confusion on his face as he pulled away from her and sat up.
"Who's Theone?" she asked.
Hatred flared in his eyes. "No one."
Okay, he didn't like Theone while conscious, but there for a minute ...
He rose slowly to his feet and helped her up. "I slept longer than I meant to. The sun is already setting."
"Is this some weird psychic thing you have with the sun?"
"Since I live and die by when it sets and rises, yes." He pulled her toward the door. "Now then, you said you know someone we can see about getting free?"
"Yeah, they should be home. Want me to call and make sure?"
"Yes."
Amanda went to the desk, picked up the phone, then called Grace Alexander.
"Hey, Gracie," she said as soon as Grace answered. "This is Amanda. I was wondering if you guys would be home tonight? I have a bit of a favor to ask."
"Sure. My in-laws are over for a bit, but that'll keep the babies occupied. You want to tell me--"
"Not over the phone. We'll be there as soon as we can."
"We?" Grace asked.
"I have a friend in tow, if you don't mind."
"No, not at all."
"Thanks. I'll see you in a bit." Amanda hung up the phone.
"Okay," she said to Hunter. "She lives off St. Charles. You know the way?"
Before he could answer, Tate came in with a black briefcase in his hand. "Hey," he said to Hunter, "I figured you'd be getting up about now. A guy named Nick came by a couple of hours ago and left this for you."
"Thanks," Hunter said as he took the briefcase from him. He placed it on the desk and opened it.
Amanda's eyes bulged at the sight of two small handguns, a recoiling gun, a holster, a cell phone, three wicked-looking knives, and a pair of small, dark, round sunglasses.
"Tate," Hunter said with a friendly note in his voice she wouldn't have thought him capable of. "You're the man."
"I just hope Nick didn't forget anything."
"Nope, he nailed it."
Amanda arched a brow at the strangeness of hearing modern American slang coming out of a man with such a heavy, seductive accent.
Tate nodded to them, then left.
She watched as Hunter strapped the holster to his hips, then he slid the plate back to lock a bullet in the chamber of each gun. He flicked on the safety, twirled them around, then holstered them so that his coat concealed them.
Next, he picked up a butterfly knife and shoved it in his back pocket. The other two knives went into his coat pockets and he clipped the cell phone and his PDA to his belt.
Amanda arched a brow at his weapons. "I thought only a wooden stake through the heart killed a vampire."
"A wooden stake through the heart will kill just about anything. And if it doesn't, run like hell," Hunter said blandly. "Again, my lady, you watch too much television. Don't you have a life?"
"Yes, unlike you, I have a blessedly boring life where no one tries to kill me. And you know what? I like it, and I really want to get back to it."
His eyes glowed with humor. "All right, then, let's go find your friend to separate us so that you can get back to your boring life and I can lead my dangerous one."
Raking her with a hot, lustful stare, he ran his tongue over his fangs. Then he placed the sunglasses on his face.
Amanda's pulse quickened. With those dark glasses on, he looked even more like a soulful poet than ever before. It was all she could do not to step back into his arms and demand he kiss her again.
He tucked her hand into his coat pocket with his to conceal the handcuffs, then led her out of Tate's office and through the hospital corridor.
As he walked, she noticed his smooth, predatorial gait. His air of refinement. The man was pure, fluid grace. And that was a seriously dangerous swagger he had developed. One that drew the attention of every woman they passed.
But Hunter didn't seem to notice as he headed out the back exit.
Once they reached the dark parking lot, Amanda gave a low whistle as she saw a Lamborghini Diablo in one of the employee spaces. The light above it glinted across the sleek black paint much like a halo. Normally, she didn't give a whit about cars, but the Lamborghini had always been her one exception.
It must belong to a surgeon.
Or so she thought until Hunter approached it.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm getting into my car."
Her jaw dropped. "You own this?"
"No," he said sarcastically. "I'm stealing it with the key in my hand."
"Good Lord," she gasped, "you must be loaded!"
He pulled the sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to give her a peeved glare. "It's amazing how much savings you can accumulate in two thousand years."
Amanda blinked as his words registered. Could he honestly be ...
"Is that really how old you are?" she asked skeptically.
He nodded. "Two thousand one hundred and eighty-two years old last July, to be precise."
She bit her bottom lip as she swept her gaze over his gorgeous body. "You look good for an old man. I wouldn't have put you a day over three hundred myself."
Laughing, he placed the key in the lock.
As Amanda waited for him to open the door, the imp in her couldn't resist teasing him. "You know, they say men who drive cars like this are compensating for little"--she let her gaze roam meaningfully down the front of his body, pausing at the bulge in his jeans--"packages."
He cocked an eyebrow at her, then gave her a crooked smile that was teasing, warm, and wicked as he pulled the door up.
Before she knew what he was about, he stepped forward, overwhelming her with his masculine scent and power, then he took her hand that was cuffed to him and pressed it against his swollen groin.
Nope. No compensating there.
He dipped his head down to whisper in her ear. "If you need more convincing..."
Her breath faltered at the incredible feel of him in her palm. That was not a tube sock in his jeans.
He stared at her lips and cupped her face with his free hand. She knew in that instant he was going to kiss her again.
Yes, please!
"Knock, knock," Desiderius said from the darkness.
CHAPTER 4
"Now, ain't this a bitch," Hunter said in an even tone as he pulled the sunglasses off and tucked them into his coat pocket. He moved with such deliberate slowness that Amanda knew it was his way of letting Desiderius know just how small of a threat the Dark-Hunter perceived him to be.
"Here I am, trying to kiss my girl, and you have to interrupt us. What, were you raised in a barn?"
With a calmness that astounded her, Hunter turned around to face Desiderius. "By the way, touch the woman--or the Lamborghini--and you're a dead man."
Desiderius came out of the shadows to stand beneath a circle of white moonlight. The contrasting buttery lamplight fell behind him at an odd angle, giving him a sinister appearance despite his angelic beauty.
"Nice car you have there, Dark-Hunter," Desiderius said. "It makes trailing it to you so much easier. As for your threat, I'm already a dead man." His perfect lips twitched into a mocking smile. "And so are you."
Dressed in a fashionable blue pin-striped suit, Desiderius looked like a highly paid male model. His skin was golden and unblemished, his blond hair a shade lighter than the Dark-Hunter's. His beauty was so flawless, it was almost surreal.
He didn't appear any older than his mid-twenties. A man at the height of his sexual appeal and strength.
Amanda swallowed as a shiver of fear went up her spine. There was something insidious about a man so evil looking so sublime. The only giveaway to his real nature was the long canine teeth he didn't bother to conceal when he spoke.
"I almost hate to kill you, Dark-Hunter. Unlike the others I've bested, you have such an amusing sense of humor."
"Well, I try." Hunter placed himself between them. "Now, why don't you make this a bit more interesting and let the woman go?"
"No."
Out of nowhere, they were attacked.
Amanda heard a sharp click.
Grabbing her hand that was bound to his so that he wouldn't hurt her during the fight, Hunter caught the first golden vampire with the toe of his boot. As the vampire vaporized into a cloud of dust, she realized the click had been the blade in his boot being released.
The blade instantly retracted.
With a move straight out of Hollywood, Hunter clipped another vampire with his elbow, then sent him flipping head over heels onto the ground. In one lightning-fast action, he knelt, twirled open a butterfly knife, embedded it into the Daimon's chest, then twirled it closed as the vampire evaporated.
Hunter rose to his feet.
A third one came from the shadows.
Acting on instinct, Amanda whirled and kicked him back with her leg. She caught him in the groin and sent him to the ground, whimpering.
Hunter arched a brow at her.
"Black belt in aikido," she said.
"Any other time, I'd kiss you for that." He smiled, then looked past her shoulder. "Duck."
She did and he tossed a knife straight into the chest of another vampire. The vampire vanished into black vapor.
Hunter pulled the gun out of its holster. "Get in the car," he ordered, pushing her toward the driver's seat.
Her entire body quaking from adrenaline, Amanda got in as fast as the handcuffs and his hold on her hand would allow. She climbed over the gearshift, into the passenger seat, while Hunter fired at the vampires.
He got in behind her, closed the door, and started the car.
Good Lord, Hunter was amazing, and perfectly calm. She'd never seen anything like it in her life. He was totally unruffled.
Another beautiful, blond vampire jumped on the hood as Hunter put the car in reverse and hit the gas. His fangs bared, the vampire tried to punch through the windshield.
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