Her eyes widened. “I need to what? I don’t think so.” She shook her head, trying to back away. Charlie. No clothes. Bad idea. Dangerous idea. Even the thought was dangerous.
He closed his eyes, shaking his head. “I refuse to let you die because of stubbornness. You need to get direct heat on your body. The wet clothes are in the way. Either take them off or I will.”
Her jaw clenched as she narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re a real bastard.”
She saw his jaw tick in response before he moved his hand toward her. She smacked his hand away as she glared death at him. “I can do it myself,” she snapped.
He nodded and turned away from her. A twinge of gratitude bubbled in her chest as she peeled out of both jackets. Even her sweater and leggings were soaked through. She glared at the back of Charlie’s head, hating that the man was always right. When she saw Charlie beginning to strip his own clothes off, heat flushed her cheeks and she turned away herself. She didn’t want to see him naked. Not. One. Bit.
“Step toward the fire,” Charlie whispered from behind her, making her jump.
She complied, closing her eyes as the heat from the fire hit her. Then she felt Charlie step up behind her, his skin coming flush against her back. She stiffened, her skin tingling as the heat radiated from his body into hers. His fingers slid over her hips making her shiver.
“You’re freezing. Turn around and face me. I need to make sure your chest stays warm. I don’t want your heart giving out.”
She didn’t move. After a moment, she heard him sigh. “Stubborn woman.” His fingers gripped her hips, forcing her body around as her arms came up over her chest. The corner of his mouth lifted in a small grin as he pulled her into him, her breasts flattening against his chest.
She watched his eyes darken as his arms wrapped around her. Don’t, don’t, don’t! Her face must have showed her distress because a moment later he closed his eyes, lowering his head.
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it.” He opened his eyes, almost completely black now. “You can’t blame me for wanting you. You’re smart, strong, not to mention beautiful. What man wouldn’t?”
Heat rose in her cheeks at his compliment and she shook her head. “Don’t try to butter me up with your sweet talk.”
His eyes widened for a moment. “You don’t believe me?”
She rolled her eyes.
His hands slid down to her rear, pushing her hips forward as the hard edge of his erection slammed into her pelvis. She gasped, liquid heat pooling between her thighs at the intimate contact.
His black eyes blazed in the firelight. “It would seem my body disagrees with you.”
She stared at him, speechless, her mind foggy and slow.
He leaned forward, his breath grazing her shoulder. “Do you believe now?” he whispered into her ear.
There is no way I have hypothermia, she thought. She felt as if she were on fire. “Do I have a choice?” she whispered back.
He pulled back, locking his eyes with hers. “You know I want you.”
“Well, that’s obvious.” She smirked at him. “Not like you hid that well.”
“True.” His dark eyes bore into her. “And I know you want me.”
Her smirk vanished. “I can’t help how my body responds.”
He shook his head, his fingers gliding over her back. “Your body wouldn’t respond if you didn’t want me.”
She wanted to pull away, but the heat of his body felt too good. “Well, apparently, it has a mind of its own.”
He lowered his head, his lips landing on the tender flesh of her shoulder. She sighed, closing her eyes. Relishing the sweet sensation. Even though she shouldn’t. “Your body wouldn’t want me if another part of you didn’t want me as well.”
She shook her head, but didn’t say a word. His mouth opened as he kissed her skin. She was shaking. She could feel it, but for some reason, she didn’t care.
“You want me, Nessie. You know you do.”
She shook her head again. His hands moved to her stomach, making the muscles jump in anticipation. She knew what those hands were capable of, and the memory of the pleasure he gave her flooded back, her knees buckling at the thought. He caught her with one hand wrapped around her body. His mouth still locked on her shoulder.
“Say you want me,” he demanded, his voice low and full of promise against her skin.
She shook her head. “I can’t.” She couldn’t say it out loud. She could barely admit it to herself.
The fingers of his one hand slid down her stomach as his other hand held her up, her body weak. His mouth grazed over her shoulder, sending shockwaves of pleasure rippling down her body as he licked and kissed his way up the column of her throat.
“Please, Nessie. I need to hear you say it, just once. Please.” His voice cracked with lustful need. The sexy voice she had called it once before. His fingers slid through the soft curls between her thighs as his fangs scraped against her neck. The evidence of her true desires slid down the inside of her leg as her core wept with want.
Tears pooled in her eyes. He was right. He knew she wanted him and he was right, dammit! She wanted him so badly her whole body wept with it. She wanted his eyes dark and his body hard. She wanted his hands and mouth on her body. She wanted the pleasure she knew he could make her feel. She wanted her fingers in his hair and on his body, torturing him with pleasure as he was torturing her.
“Yes,” she croaked.
He froze. “Yes, what?” he asked, pulling his mouth from her skin and lifting his head. His brows furrowed in concern as he caught sight of the tears in her eyes.
She took a breath, staring into the dark depths of his eyes. “Yes, I—-.”
"If you wanted to fuck the human bitch before I drained her, all you had to do was ask, boy."
Nessie's heart froze, and her flushed body chilled instantly. She knew that voice. The sneering, cold words rolled through her as she peeked around Charlie and confirmed what she already knew.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"I'm not your boy, Jacques,” Charlie ground out as Nessie stepped up beside him.
Master sneered at them. "You're right, Charlie. You're not my boy, anymore. You chose that defiant whore over your own Maker. Wrong choice."
She heard Charlie growling under his breath. Glancing over at him, she was startled to see such hatred in his eyes.
"Don't worry, Charlie. It's not your turn yet." Master looked way too happy, and that could not be a good thing.
Charlie pulled her behind him again. "You will not touch her," he warned in a low voice.
Master's smile widened. "Oh, I will, I assure you. But I'm saving that bloodbag for last."
The sun hadn’t set long ago. She and Charlie should make a run for it while they could. But all thought of running was forgotten as Master stepped further into the cabin...pulling her mother along with him.
"Mom!" Nessie tried to dart around Charlie, but he shot his arm out to stop her. She ducked underneath, and his arms wrapped around her torso, pulling her back against him. Nessie struggled against him, gaining a few inches before he would yank her back again.
Master's smile faltered as he watched the two of them. Mother's face, riddled with bruises, a broken nose, and several cuts, broke into a smile.
"Stop playing with her, boy," Master called.
"I'm not," Charlie snapped through clenched teeth.
"Nonsense!" Master shouted. "You’re not using your full strength for fear of hurting her. You disgust me! Had I known you were such a sappy, weak fool, I never would have turned you!"
"She has more strength than you know, Jack."
"Shut up, Eva!" Master struck her and she fell to the floor.
"Don't you touch her, you bastard!" Nessie yelled as she continued to struggle to get to her mother.
Master's face was in front of her a moment later, fingers closing around her throat. She immediately stopped struggling and Charlie's arms fell away from her a moment later.
<
br /> Master's grip tightened just before her own hand shot up, her palm slamming into the underside of his chin. Charlie's head popped up behind Master as he grabbed the sides of his head and yanked.
Precious air filled her lungs as Master released her to deal with Charlie. The two moved faster than she could follow, but she could see through the flashes of movement that Charlie was losing the battle. She moved toward them wanting to help, but Charlie paused long enough to shake his head at her. Master used that small distraction to his advantage and had Charlie kneeling on the floor in front of him a moment later, his arms twisted at an odd angle behind his back.
From his pocket Master pulled a long piece of chain, wrapping it first around Charlie's wrists and then around his ankles, leaving Charlie in an awkward, painful kneeling position on the floor.
Master smiled, an evil grin of triumph. "That should hold you until I'm finished." He turned toward Nessie, who whipped around and fled into the kitchen, but Master caught up with her just as she reached for the knife block. "Quick little minx, aren't you?" He grabbed her by the hair, yanking her back into the other room where Charlie and her mother were still on the floor.
He threw her onto the floor next to Charlie, her skin scraping along the hard floor before she thudded into the wall. When she looked up, Master was hauling her mother to her feet, pulling a dagger and pressing it to her mother's throat. He faced the two of them on the floor, his eyes narrowing. "Either one of you move, and she's dead."
It was no bluff, and they all knew it.
Master scraped the weapon along the column of her mother's neck, her mother standing there calmly as he did so. When he nicked her collar bone, she winced, but only slightly. Master continued to leave small cuts along her exposed skin, but she remained quiet. Nessie was shaking with the urge to move. To hurt. To maim.
Master lead her mother over to couch, having her sit on the far end of it with her hands on the armrest. Then, he slammed the dagger through both hands and into the arm of the chair. Her mother screamed.
"No!" Nessie moved toward her mother.
Master pointed a threatening finger at her. "Don't move or the dagger will be in her heart instead of her hands," he growled at her.
Nessie stilled, but there was no hiding the murderous glare she was undoubtedly giving him. Because she was picturing him in her mind…only bloodier, with some limbs missing.
Master glanced back at her mother. "Stay put, Eva." Her mother looked up at him through her tears and slowly nodded. He walked right past her, grabbing Charlie and dragging him across the floor by the chain, situating him in the center of the room to face Nessie. Charlie’s eyes darted down to Nessie's hands, where she saw her palms bleeding from her nails digging into the skin in her struggle to remain still. His eyes didn’t turn red as she would have thought, but remained vibrant blue.
Master didn't waste any time with subtleties. A second dagger was pulled from a pocket of his jacket. He sliced it across Charlie's chest, tearing his shirt and revealing a long, oozing cut.
"Stop!" she begged, tears welling in her eyes again.
Master ignored her, making a second slice across Charlie's thigh. He jammed the blade into Charlie's stomach, twisting and drawing a painful roar from his victim.
Her skin crawled and her body shook with rage. She was losing control of herself. She had no idea if vampires would die from bleeding out, but she had no intention of finding out with Charlie as the potential pile of ash.
When Master slashed an X over Charlie's heart, something within her snapped. Remaining on the floor was no longer an option. She would absolutely not allow Master to pierce Charlie's heart with that dagger. A strange surge of energy coursed through her as her gaze locked onto her target.
***
Charlie sucked in a breath and heard Jacques do the same as they witnessed Nessie go from bare, beautiful woman to…something else entirely. Fur covered her body and her ears lengthened into sharp points, poking out from beneath her tangle of hair. And her face contorted, the bridge of her nose wrinkling and her cheekbones stretching outward. He watched in awe as Nessie's eyes suddenly shifted. No longer the warm hazel he had gazed lovingly into a mere ten minutes ago. The flecks of gold sparkled brighter, spreading across her iris like dazzling fireworks. She bared her teeth, razor sharp and ready to tear through someone, as she growled, a wordless promise of pain.
Charlie's eyes burned with the struggle to remain upright. To not give in to the pain emanating from his abdomen. “Nessie, no!” he yelled, causing more pain.
Nessie sprang from the floor, her body crashing into Jacques almost faster than he could track her. He shook his head to clear the pain away and concentrate on the scene before him. A deep, threatening growl reached his ears as Nessie landed on top of Jacques, her small fingers wrapping around his neck and squeezing.
“Do not touch him,” she roared, her voice contorted into a low, foreboding bellow. “He is mine.”
Charlie sucked in a breath as he heard her strange voice utter those words. She’d…claimed him. But as her what?
Jacques had been caught off guard by her speed and agility. From the look on his face, her strength as she attempted to crush his larynx shocked him as well. However, a moment later, he recovered, pushing her off him and sending her flying through the air.
Charlie gasped, sputtering through the pain it caused his injured stomach, as he saw Nessie flip in mid-air and land in an agile crouch before springing into action once more. How in the hell was she doing this? What was going on? Nessie was human. He’d tasted her blood. Delicious as it was, it was still human. He tracked her again, catching a glimpse of her face as she spun, kicking Jacques in the chest and sending him stumbling backwards. Her eyes still shone bright gold in the dimly-lit cabin. His mind raced as he tried to solve the puzzle that was Nessie. Shifting eye color, speed, strength, agility. These were all supernatural traits. Ones that both vampires and lycans shared to differing degrees.
His eyes locked onto the two before him as each struggled for the upper hand. Jacques’ fist slammed into her chest, sending her crashing into the bathroom door. Crack! The door splintered, and Nessie slumped against the wood. Jacques appeared in front of her, his fingers twisting in her hair as he yanked her up from the floor. He pounded her face, jerking her head to the side. She turned back to face him, glaring murder at him, a red patch already forming on her cheek. Jacques’ head snapped back as Nessie delivered a solid uppercut. He stumbled backward, and Nessie rushed forward to take advantage of it. She spun, smashing her foot into his mid-section. He lost his footing, landing on the floor with Nessie astride him, a long piece of wood in her grasp.
Charlie glanced back at the bathroom door, noticing a large chunk of it suddenly missing. Nessie poised above Jacques as she prepared to slam the makeshift stake home, but the old vampire was too quick for her. He flipped her under him, the stake pulled from her grasp. She bucked, almost unseating him and making him miss his mark as the stake sank a few inches above her heart.
Charlie squirmed, trying to release himself from the chains that bound his wrists to his ankles. They didn't budge. He snapped his head up. "No!"
Jacques’ fists were coming down in a flurry of motion. He could see Nessie trying to fight back against the assault, but her movements slowed and her eyes fluttered.
“Stop! Please, I’ll do anything!” But it seemed Jacques was too lost in a haze of violent rage to hear him.
Shit, shit, shit, he thought as he realized his only option. He could only hope those few drops of his blood she’d gotten into her system would be enough.
He bent his head, muttering softly to avoid Jacques’ attention. “Blood of my blood, I command you. Defy death and rise again.”
The sound of Nessie's grunts faded away. He lifted his head, finding Nessie's eyes closed and her body limp. Jacques, his face still contorted in rage, continued his assault on her unconscious body until even the small movements of her shallow breathing fina
lly ceased.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Charlie bent over, pressing his forehead on the cold floor as his eyes stung. For the first time in over four centuries, tears streamed from his eyes and sobs tore through his chest. He had witnessed her birth, and now, her death. The pain of his stomach wound faded away as his heart cracked under the weight of his grief. He’d no sooner found her again, and he’d lost her. To the same malicious bastard he had lost every other person he’d ever loved.
He raised his tear-soaked eyes, throwing every ounce of hate he had into his stare. “I will watch you die, you son of a bitch. If it’s the last thing—”
Jacques hauled him up, forcing his body upright. “You disgust me,” Jacques spat at him. “Shedding tears for a human.”
Charlie glared at him, his tears making his vision blurry. “Come now, Jacques. We both know she was more than that.” She was everything. Everything to him. Best friend. Lover. Partner. Destiny. In that moment, with Nessie lying dead no more than ten feet from him, he knew without a doubt that he would’ve given anything to prevent it. Even his precious revenge.
Jacques’ lip curled. “It doesn’t matter now, does it?” He tossed Charlie aside, turning toward Eva, who sat calmly on the couch. Her soft, brown eyes hovered on Charlie’s face, a knowing smile tickling her lips.
“You?” Jacques called, advancing on Eva and yanking the dagger out of her hand. Eva gasped as he pulled her to her feet. “How was she capable of such feats?”
Eva looked up into his face and grinned. “She is more than she seems.”
Crack! Eva’s head spun at the impact of his hand upon her face. “What the hell does that mean?!”
Eva’s gaze looked beyond him. “You will know soon enough.” She landed roughly on the floor as he tossed her away.
Charlie heard a soft groan and his eyes turned to find Nessie stirring. Relief flooded his body, his heart beating once more at the sight. It had worked. He went to move toward her, but was stalled. Damn these chains!
First Kiss of Freedom: A Vampire Shifter Hybrid Romance (The Whitemoon Warriors Series Book 1) Page 11