by Susan Hayes
She heard him chuckle and glanced over to see him grinning at her. “Oh no, pain hurts. This just isn’t real pain. This is just annoyingly unpleasant.” He waggled his brows at her. “I’m hoping you’re going to finish off by kissing me better.”
“Men, you’re all the same.” She sighed dramatically and dried him off again before retrieving a tube of ointment off the bed. “You still haven’t bought me dinner. How cheap a date do you think I am, Harkness?”
Gareth raised a hand in the air. “I hereby swear that we will get room service just as soon as you’re done playing nurse.” He gave her a soulful look and added, “Now will you kiss it better?”
“Only if I can have steak,” she answered him, her hands already busy smoothing the ointment into his skin.
Gareth’s tone was lower now, and he brushed his hand over her hair. “You can have anything you want, Kyra. You have but to ask.”
Startled by his gentle words, Kyra raised her gaze and nearly melted at the heat and desire in his eyes. “I’ll have to remember that.” She managed to push the words out past the lump in her throat, and then lowered her lips to brush the lightest of kisses to skin just above his injury, her cheeks heating wildly as she did it. “You’re all done. Unless you want me to cover that up with gauze?”
He shook his head. “They don’t need bandaging. I told you, I heal quickly. Thank you for taking care of me.” Gareth sat up quickly, his mouth on hers before she could react. There was nothing tender about this kiss. It was a sensual assault, claiming her mouth and stealing her breath from her lungs. His tongue swept past her lips to duel with hers, and she was lost, her entire world reduced down to the smallest of details. The heat of his mouth, the scent of his skin, like a forest after the rain. Hard muscles played under her hand, and she realized she was gripping his shoulders, her breasts pressed against his chest.
He groaned her name and hauled her into his lap, his kisses deeper now, more demanding. She could feel the hard ridge of his cock beneath her, and she deliberately moved, shifting her weight to slide back and forth across the length of his cock.
“Little hellcat, you’re playing with fire.”
“You still haven’t fed me,” she whispered back and nipped his lower lip.
“Right, food. I promised you food.” Gareth took a long breath and raised his head enough to meet her eyes. “I always keep my promises, Kyra, but right now you’re making it hard to remember what we’re supposed to be doing.”
“Me? You’re the one doing all the kissing around here. It’s like you’ve lost your mind.” She raised a brow at him, feeling confident and wanton as she sassed him. It was a vast improvement from the fear and uncertainty that had haunted her for the past few days.
“Mind, body, and soul,” he murmured softly, a rueful expression on his handsome face as he slowly dropped his arms and let her go. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”
“Then you can explain over dinner,” she informed him and slid out of his lap, making sure she dragged herself over his erection as she did so. Once she was standing up, she gave him an intent look and sighed. “And you are not kissing me again until you wash up. You still have blood all over your hands. I’ll clean up out here and find us the room service menu. You shoo! And don’t get those cuts wet!”
“Pushy, pushy,” he grumbled playfully and stood. “I’ll be right back.”
Kyra stayed where she was until she heard the bathroom door close. Once she knew she was alone, she blew out a low breath and tried to put her jumbled thoughts in order. Vampires were real, people were dying because of her, and apparently, she was hot for a vampire hunter. She sat down on the bed and stared at the bloody shirt and abandoned gauze pads that littered the coverlet. “When did my life get this weird?” she asked the empty room and started cleaning up.
Certain housekeeping would report bloodstained items they found dumped in the trash can, Kyra gathered up the bits and pieces and bundled it all into his shirt, then set the whole thing in the corner of the room. Then she gathered up the first-aid tools and paused. Should she leave them for Gareth to put away? Or take this opportunity to poke around his things? It was a short debate, and seconds later she was lifting the lid on the suitcase he’d pulled out from under the bed.
“Holy shit!” she yelped as she stared at what she could only think of as an arsenal. A katana spanned the entire lid of the suitcase, its naked blade gleaming. Knives, daggers, and what looked to be wooden stakes were all carefully arrayed inside. She ran her finger over several empty slots, recognizing that the blade he’d been carrying earlier must have come from one of them, as had the vial of holy water he’d given her in the car. Tucked into one corner was a clearly marked first-aid kit, so she put the ointment, peroxide, and unused gauze pads back inside before sliding the vial back into its proper place.
Fascinated with the weaponry, Kyra reached out for the katana, but then she caught a flicker of movement reflected in the blade and spun around, her right fist already lashing out even as her body dropped into a fighting crouch. Her hand hit flesh and stopped dead, held fast in Gareth’s large fist.
“Nice reflexes,” Gareth drawled, looking entirely relaxed as he raised her fist to his lips and brushed a kiss over her knuckles.
“Didn’t your mother teach you it’s not polite to sneak up on people? Especially people being hunted by vampires?” Kyra glowered up at him, trying to mask her amazement that he had caught her punch so easily.
“Actually, my mother is the one who taught me how to sneak up on people.” He released her hand and nodded to the weaponry still on display behind her. “Everything in there is very sharp, be careful.” He moved closer and slid an arm around Kyra’s waist. “Did you find the menu yet?”
“I got a bit distracted.” She turned back toward the case, every part of her aware that in doing so his hand was now spanning her stomach, just below her breasts.
“I see that. I’ll give you the weapons 101 class later though. Right now we need to eat. By morning we’re going to be on the move, and I have no idea if wherever we are going will have room service.”
“We’re leaving? I thought you said this place was safe.” Kyra’s stress levels went up several levels at the thought of going back out there where that creature could reach her.
“It is safe, for now. He can’t reach you here, but it’s still a public place. I need to get you somewhere he has no chance of breaching. He has minions, Kyra. They are active by day and I have no doubt that right now he’s trying to figure out a way to use them to get to you.”
“I’m not going to see home again in a long time, am I?” Kyra closed her eyes as a surge of sadness coursed through her. Not for the apartment, but for her job and her friends. Silken was her whole life, the closest thing she had to a home and a family.
“I’m sorry, Kyra, but no. You can call a few people before we go tomorrow, but that’s it. If you try to go home he’ll find you, and your workplace is totally unsafe. He’s been there before.”
“At least twice.” Kyra uttered the words with a soft sob. “Oh god, Gareth, he was there the night that kid was killed. I talked to him! And then, yesterday…” She trailed off and shuddered. What he’d done to her had been a violation of her body and her mind. She couldn’t talk about it, not yet.
“What about yesterday?” he asked.
The arm around her waist tightened and he moved close behind her, his body sheltering hers. “I can’t talk about it, please.” Another shuddered passed through her and she felt herself leaning back against him, craving his strength.
“Dinner first. Then I promise I’ll explain everything.” Gareth planted a soft kiss on the nape of her neck. “I’ll get dressed and grab us the menu, you just relax. It’s my turn to take care of you again.”
A little later Gareth watched his charge finish up her steak dinner, pleased to see that food and a bit of rest had erased some of the strain and signs of exhaustion she’d shown earlier. Even under her
makeup he’d seen the dark shadows that ringed her eyes and the hint of pallor in her already-fair cheeks.
E-mails had arrived while they were eating, instructions and flight plans for tomorrow morning, along with confirmation that the police would not be looking for either Kyra or himself for twenty-four hours. He had no idea how they’d managed that little miracle, and he wasn’t about to ask. It was enough to know that by morning everything would be arranged and both of them would vanish from the city. None of the e-mails mentioned their final destination, but that really didn’t matter. There were only one a few places where she’d be truly protected. They were going to wind up at one of the Brotherhood’s safe houses, and she’d no longer need him to guard her. He didn’t like that thought one bit.
“That’s the second time you’ve sighed in the last five minutes.” Kyra set her empty plate aside and cocked her head at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Just thinking things through,” Gareth replied and stretched out on his bed, patting the space beside him. “Time for twenty questions. You ready?”
“Am I asking or answering?” Kyra joined him on the bed before the question was out of her mouth. She curled into his side, accepting the silent offer of his arm as he slid it beneath her head as a pillow.
“Both. There are things I need to know, and a whole lot more I need to tell you.” Gareth kept his free hand carefully at his side, knowing if he started touching her again they’d never get through this conversation. She was too damn tempting. “Why don’t you start by asking the questions I’m sure you are dying to know the answers to?”
“All right.” Kyra settled in closer to him. “Who is he? You spoke to him in the hallway like you knew him, and he certainly seemed to know your family.”
“His name is Vlad, or Dracos, or Lucien, and at one point we think he was called Lucifer. He’s gone by many names over the centuries. We usually refer to him as Vlad. The name you would most likely recognize though, is Dracula.”
“No way.” Kyra shook her head. “Dracula? The Dracula? Fangs, cloaks, and I ‘vanna suck your blood? He said his name was Vladimir.”
“Different names, same creature. He’s old, Kyra, so much older than you could ever imagine. Dracula is but one of his names, it just happens to be the one that a writer got wind of and created a story around. One story about one group of people who have encountered him and survived to tell the tale.”
“Okay, so he’s old, ancient even. I don’t know much about vampires, but doesn’t ancient mean more powerful?”
“It does, to a point. We have so few accounts of him that it makes it hard to judge. How can you judge if superhuman strength has grown greater? It’s not like we can ask him. With younger vampires it’s easier to tell. They can’t transform themselves at first, and they aren’t as strong or as fast as he is. The younger ones we see more often, so it’s easier to see the progression.”
Kyra nodded. “You said the younger ones can’t transform. But he can. Like the mist like we saw in the hallway. That wasn’t my imagination?”
“He turned into mist, just as you saw. He can transform into a vampire bat, too, a large one with a wingspan of about six feet or so. The legends say he can take the shape of a wolf, but we have no confirmation of that one, and the legends aren’t always right.” He gave in to the need to touch her, rolling onto his side so that the spicy scent of her was in his nostrils and he could take her hand, threading his fingers through hers where it lay on her stomach. “There are important questions you haven’t asked me yet, Kyra,” he prompted her.
“I’m not sure I want to know the answers.” She turned her head to look at him, her blue eyes full of worry. “But I guess I need to know. What does he want with me?”
“He wants to make you like he is.” Gareth inwardly winced at the baldness of his words.
“So, he doesn’t want to kill me, he wants to convert me? Why? If he does that I’ll never forgive him for it, I’ll just try to kill him. I don’t want to be a vampire!”
“What you want will change if he converts you, Kyra. It’s part of the process. You would lose your sense of self and become one of his creatures. The blood craving, the violence, all of it.” He moved closer, so that there was no space left between them. “He doesn’t just want another vampire companion though. He wants more from you than that.”
She didn’t hesitate to ask the question so many would have shied away from, and Gareth felt his heart pang for the brave woman in his arms.
“How much more?”
“He wants you as his consort. To pleasure and keep for as long as he can. It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes a vampire finds a mortal who calls to them. It’s called blood bonding, and it isn’t very well understood. But when it happens, the vampire will hunt down the object of their obsession and convert them, and they let nothing stand in their way.”
“Well, he can’t have me.” Kyra’s voice rang with determination.
“No, he can’t. I’ll die before I let him take you from me.” He hadn’t intended to say that, but the words were out before he could stop them.
“What?” She stared at him so intently he felt like she was peeling back the layers of his soul. “Take me from you? I’m not with you, Gareth! Well, I’m here with you, but I’m not with you, with you. We just met!” He felt her stiffen and then tug at their joined hand, trying to move away from him. “What is it with the men I am meeting this week? All of them seem to think I’m chattel to be claimed!”
He groaned inwardly and tightened his hold on Kyra’s hand. If she pulled away from him now, they were never going to get through the rest of this conversation. “Kyra, stop. I need you to stay here and listen to me.”
She tugged one last time at the iron grip he had on her hand and then surrendered with a look that could have melted steel. “Fine then, I’m listening. Please explain to me how this works, because the last time I checked it was not medieval times and women actually got to have a say in these matters.”
“I don’t think there’s a force in the world strong enough to stop you having your say, Kyra Robinson.” He didn’t bother hiding the relief in his voice as she agreed to hear him out. “And before you say anything more, I have every faith that you will fight him tooth and claw and do a damn fine job of defending yourself. But it won’t be enough. He’s far too powerful, and he’s already gotten into your mind. He stopped you at the door today, didn’t he? When he called to you, your body moved toward him even though you didn’t want to go. You can’t defeat him. He already has too much power over you.”
He felt her tense as understanding came. “It’s not fair! I’ve spent my whole life taking care of myself. Now, when it matters most, I can’t?” Kyra’s voice was low, and he heard the unspoken pain behind her words.
“Now, when it matters most, the powers that be sent me to protect you.” A surge of desire rolled through him as he held her, coupled with the need to safeguard her from any and all who tried to come between them.
“Why you?”
Gareth hesitated. How much to tell her? He deflected her question for now. “There’s another question you haven’t asked me yet.”
Blue eyes met his and he could see the reluctance plainly written on her face. She knew she wasn’t going to like the answer, but she asked it anyway. “What are you exactly?”
“That’s the million-dollar question.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “The answer is complicated. The short version is that a long time ago a vampire crossed paths with my great-great-grandmother and tried to convert her. He was never able to finish the conversion, but she was pregnant with my great-grandfather while this was going on. He was born a dhampir, a human with some of a vampire’s abilities.”
“So you’re a vampire, too? Like him?” Her beautiful blue eyes were suddenly filled with fear.
“No! Not like him.” He nearly roared the words, hating the way she looked at him now, needing her to understand. “I’m a man. A human man. Flesh and blood. T
he abilities pass from generation to generation, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker. I’m faster than a human, stronger. I can sense when there is a vampire nearby. We’re natural-born vampire hunters, Kyra. I don’t drink blood and I am not a monster. I am not him. I was born to hunt him.”
“My life just keeps getting weirder.” She sighed, and some of the fear left her eyes. “All right, for the moment I’m going to pretend I understand what you are. You still haven’t answered my other question. Why do you think these powers that be sent you to protect me?”
“Because there is another trait dhampir have in common with vampires.” Gareth leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “We too can form a blood bond.”
“Oh.” She went silent and still for a long time, then her head lifted and she kissed him back. A featherlight touch that told him all he hoped for could yet come to be. “So you and me? And me and him? And I don’t get any say in this?”
“With him, you have no say. He will take what he wants because that is what he is. But I am not like him. I have the strength to let you go, if that’s what you wish.”
She sighed, her breath warm against his face. “Do I have to decide right now? It’s been a hell of a day, I haven’t slept, and I am not even sure what my name is at the moment, never mind if I want to be bonded to a half-vamp hottie.”