Hunter by Night (6 page)

Lee gripped Alexia by the forearm. Behind him, her footsteps tripped and tumbled. For once, remorse burned in his belly when he yanked her forward so they could tromp deeper into the woods.

“Lee, I can’t keep up.”

“You have to.” The sticky, humid night air clogged his nostrils. Giant mosquitoes buzzed around his face, flying into his eyes and ears. Fucking nature. “You’re injured. Going back to the estate is not an option. You may not have noticed, but the car got blown up back there while you were busy playing pint-sized vigilante. We need cover so I can get you healed.”

More hustled footsteps. She actually kept up fairly well for an injured human. He’d noticed her legs were rather long for her height. Just not long enough.

“Who the hell were those guys?”

“Magic wielders from an ancient religious order. Guardians.”

“What?” She huffed and ran behind him again. Coughing and sputtering ensued. Probably blood from her nose getting into her mouth. It sucked when that happened. “Where the hell are we going, anyway?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know their plan. They never before strayed so far from their leader’s tomb. Come on. This isn’t the place to chitchat.” He pointed up ahead, slowing slightly so he could fall in beside her. “Through these woods is a farm for sale. I’m hoping the property is still empty. I want to get you healed. I’m concerned about the amount of blood you’ve lost.”

“Yeah, right.” She all but snorted the words, as if the idea of his concern was preposterous.

Lee turned to look at her. The sight of all that blood jarred his brain. He couldn’t believe she’d tried to fight a guardian with nothing more than a tree branch. “What does that mean?”

“Like you’re actually worried about my health and well-being.”

He growled his annoyance. “It behooves me to get you back in one piece and not looking like you got the hell beaten out of you. I also think you’re not nearly as excited to be captured and killed as you’d have your sass and defiance make me believe.”

She threw her hands in the air. “Give the vampire a gold fucking star.”

God
save
me, I am trying to be patient with her. The word here is “trying.”
He rubbed his tender jaw. “Then let me carry you. I know I’ve been an asshole about things in the past. Let’s both forget about pride for a minute. If I’d been doing the walking for both of us, we’d be to cover by now. Every minute we spend in these woods, we risk our lives, especially with you injured.”

She stopped, bit her lip, and mumbled a quiet “fine.” Dammit, she looked terribly vulnerable covered in all that blood. Vulnerable and appetizing.

Lee scooped her up, cradling her in his arms rather than over the shoulder. He knew from experience that she wouldn’t stand for being treated like a sack of flour.

The sky opened.

“Dammit.” After that, Alexia didn’t argue about Lee carrying her.

His boots sped over the damp earth. Moments later, they arrived at one of the local properties where show horses had once been trained. The economy was tough these days, especially for humans. Dilapidated fences ringed the perimeter, and downed dressage posts lay on the ground in a dirt ring in front of the house. The humans had clearly loved their horses. The nicest kept building on the property was the barn. It stood close to the house. Closer than some people kept them.

He went there instead of the main house. The building appeared sturdy, and it would be a less obvious place to hide. Upon inspection, Lee found that some straw remained in the upper loft area.

He sat her against a bale of hay. Her clothes, soaked with blood and rain and spattered with dirt and tree sap, had seen better days. Still, after everything she’d just gone through, her dark eyes challenged him.

“Are you okay?” She nodded and brought her hand to her face, but he grabbed it preemptively. “Don’t touch. Do me a favor and look to the left.”

She complied. A deep cut across her cheek oozed steadily. Unexpectedly dark and lovely… for human blood.

Lee’s fangs thrust into his mouth. He ignored the pulsing ache in his cheeks and gums. All that life-giving fluid of hers. All… over… her. “I’m going to stop the bleeding.”

A blink and slight nod was all he got in the way of approval. She sat still, even though she probably didn’t know what he was about to do. And he didn’t explain, because around Alexia, he barely kept his will on a leash. Darkness pressed in around them, but she didn’t complain and didn’t act nervous as he pushed against her. His cheek brushed against hers as he swept his tongue over her cut. The smooth, delicious warmth of her human blood slid down his throat and deep into his gut. A throbbing need took root.
Merciful
heaven
.

He’d dealt with his share of human fluid over the centuries. In battles, prisons… The odor pungent and reminiscent of dirty pennies. Alexia might have soft, olive skin and doe-like eyes, but he’d expected nothing more of her blood than the same astringent copper.

He sucked a deep breath and took another swallow, trailing his tongue again gently over warm, wet skin. Alexia’s blood tasted pure. Clean, with hints of all that tea and raw honey she loved to consume. Lee had never perceived anything so refreshing.

“Lexi…” Unable to say anything else, he licked from collarbone to chin, cleaning the blood from her skin. Across her jaw.
More.
Dear fucking God… like breathing, he wanted more.

***

Alexia held herself perfectly rigid. Her fingers dug into the straw beneath her as the near-dark and the quiet hum of the night air wrapped around them. Rain drummed steadily on the barn roof, a soothing white noise. Lee’s tongue slid soft and warm along her cheek.

Gentle.

She hadn’t been prepared for gentle. The surprise of his careful touch tripped her heartbeat, making it stutter and stumble. Lee stood tall and broad, like a Sherman tank with arms and legs and deceptively tranquil eyes. He projected “fuck off” to anyone who dared look at him askance. He killed bad guys for fun and games. He did
not
clean blood off silly humans the way a mama cat would bathe her kittens.

Oh, but… His tongue traced along her jaw, and a breeze in its wake made her shiver.

“Cold?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “No.” She shook her head. Another breeze, another shiver gave her away. The rain had caught them outside, and her clothes were soaked. “Okay, a little. I get cold easily, and my clothes are wet.”
Also, your tongue is on my neck.

“Here.” He pulled off his jacket and slid it around her shoulders, tugging the lapels together. The jacket, with its fleece lining and its warm, dry interior, swallowed her whole.

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to give me your coat.” She shrugged it off again.

Strong hands returned the jacket to her shoulders. “I know you take great pride in making up for your size by being unbearably stubborn, but wear the damn thing. Please. This isn’t fucking chivalry. This is about keeping you from getting sick and getting you to the queen intact. Now.” He grasped her chin gently in the crook of his thumb and forefinger. “Hold still. I need to finish cleaning your face. Make sure your nose is set. I’m going to give you some blood to make sure the break heals quickly. Okay?”

His blood. Hoooboy. She swallowed. “Okay.”

Alexia tried to stay nice and calm on the outside. Inside, her body heated at the suggestion. To her own personal embarrassment, she even got a pleasant, tingly little throb going between her legs. She’d drunk Lee’s blood once before, after being attacked by a wizard. The experience of putting her lips on his skin and sucking his blood had been startlingly erotic.

She wasn’t sure if it was the blood itself, or the two hundred and fifty pounds of alpha male that she’d been sucking the stuff from, but day-um. Doing that again? Not a good idea, not in the slightest. Not if she wanted to keep her dignity. She’d decided unequivocally since then that staying far away from the emotionally unavailable, bad-guy-slaying vampire was the best idea ever. Especially since he clearly viewed humans as a subpar species.

But Lord, that vampire had been tasty…

“The best thing,” he said, “would be to have you remove your wet clothes. But we need to be ready to move again soon, and it seems your pack was left at the car.”

Killing her. Absolutely killing her. Her fingers dug deeper into the dry, prickly straw. She shivered again, this time not so much from the cold. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Let me finish.” He touched gently around her nose, then swept his tongue over her jaw, her chin, and her neck. He lingered there, and she couldn’t be certain, but gentle huffs gave the impression that he was… sniffing. She indulged for a moment in a fantasy of him biting her, drinking from her. Pulling her body against his while he—
No.
She swallowed.

Why would he even want her? He’d made it clear: humans weren’t good enough for a fighter like him. He needed someone with stronger blood.
Why
do
you
want
to
be
with
someone
who
doesn’t like you as a person, anyway? Get over him, Lexi.

Except right then, it was so easy to get lost in the considerate way he held her. In the near eroticism of… Oh. Heaven. His tongue brushed the corner of her mouth. It wasn’t a kiss. Not a kiss.
He’s cleaning off the blood
. But so nearly something, almost, if she closed her eyes and pretended.

“Ow.” Her arousal cooled when the solid grip of his hands left her arms and went to work prodding at her nose. “
Owww
.”

“That hurts?”

Were all vampire guys so dense? “Holy fuckingheimer, are you kidding? Yes, it freaking hurts.”

“I’m trying to help,” he said. “And your bastardization of the word ‘fuck’ would make some of my soldiers blush.”

A gust of wind brought a fresh round of teeth-punishing shivers. “I totally feel that fact, and thank you. But you know, I fought some freak back there in the woods. I’m pretty sure my nose is broken, and I’m soggy and cold. My apologies for being cranky.”

He huffed a breath, and in the dark of the loft all she could see was the shadowy outline of his body. Tough to tell if he was happy or pissed or somewhere in between.

It was also tough to stay mad with his body pressed so close.

“Here,” he said. “Drink.”

Something warm and wet pressed to her lips. The familiar tang of his blood, salty with hints of anise, slid over her tongue. She wrapped her lips around his wrist, sucking tentatively at first, then harder. His blood was thicker than human blood; it reminded her of drinking warm bisque. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed the taste. Maybe she’d blocked it out for the good of her sanity.

The last time she’d drunk from him, she’d hardly sipped much before he put on the brakes. So she pulled away after a few moments, surprised and secretly thrilled when his hand pressed into her hair. “Take more.” When she hesitated, he said, “You’ve got a broken nose. Go ahead.”

More warmth flowed into her mouth, leaving her little choice but to gulp and swallow. Alexia’s blood hummed, and desire spiraled through her insides. Forgetting all restraint, she dug her fingers into his arm and sucked harder, eliciting a murmur from Lee and a tightening of the hand in her hair. In the quiet dark of the barn, his warm body pressed against hers. His breath puffed against her ear.

Alexia’s blood flew through her veins. Her body pulsed head to toe, from a pleasant tingle in the tips of her fingers to the intense swell of pleasure that centered in her core. God, the way his thigh was wedged between hers, if she just squeezed only… a little…
Gah! Don’t embarrass yourself
.

She had to remember this couldn’t be real. This was the two of them in the isolation of a hayloft after a high-stress moment. This was him healing her because it was his job. As Thad’s numero uno, taking care of Thad meant taking care of Isabel, and Alexia couldn’t walk into the hospital and scare the queen while she was in labor by looking all battered and bloody.

But for that one moment, the power of his blood, of knowing that for just a little while he wanted her the way she wanted him? She reveled in that delicious power. Rarely in her life had she held something so precious.

Siddoh ignored the rain that soaked his clothing. He marched the path toward the perimeter fence gate ahead of his uncle, flanked by the doctor and another soldier. “You’re sure you can do this, Uncle?”

“I’m not convinced it’s necessary, but I can.”

Siddoh’s eyeball throbbed. So many of the elder vampires had issues with humans, particularly those in his godforsaken bloodline. “Commander Goram sent word of threats in the surrounding area. I’ve sent backup but the security system must be fortified.”

“The quarantine—”

“Cannot be kept in place indefinitely.” Siddoh cracked his knuckles, hating his current position. Being the drunk fuckup held far more comfort than the guy in charge of making sure the estate didn’t get flattened.

“It can be kept in place until the human plague has run its course.”

Siddoh stopped. He turned slowly, stabbing a finger at his uncle, who hid under the cover of a large umbrella. “The king and queen are not at the estate. St. Anne’s Hospital has not been sealed, and the handful of vampires in our community with human blood in their veins may not be immune.” He drew close to the elder, injecting a threat into his growl. “We will not have this conversation.”

They had reached the edge of the estate. Siddoh’s uncle drew up straight, nostrils flaring in the soggy, stormy night. Lightning flashed overhead and showed everybody’s grim faces. “You’re right. Of course,” said Elder Esmerian. He drew a deep breath but still hesitated, staring off into the night.

Siddoh strode forward. “Are you too ill for this, Uncle? Is that the trouble? Perhaps I need to find someone else.” Uncle Sion was no fucking unicorn. His power, while rare, could be found elsewhere in their community. “You haven’t taken blood since Aunt—”

“I have the ability,” Elder Esmerian snapped. “I helped to erect that fence when this estate first broke ground, and I can damn well restore it to power.”

All righty, then. Siddoh nodded. “Very well.”

The different possibilities beat their bloody knuckles against each other in Siddoh’s churning gut: his uncle lying to him versus his uncle sapping what power remained in his body after the death of his mate and subsequent refusal to feed. The royal estate spanned a good couple hundred acres. This would not be easy.

Elder Esmerian had dropped his umbrella to the ground and returned to staring into the dark night. Counting raindrops for all Siddoh bloody knew.

“Uncle Sion. I need to remind you that we have literally hundreds living on this piece of property. We’ve got a gaggle of Haig’s guardians spotted less than a mile from the estate.”

Sion closed his eyes. “Step back,” he commanded.

Everybody complied except Siddoh. He nodded to the doctor. “Stand by, just in case.”

The elder’s hands went to the sky, and lightning flashed. Again. And again. And again.

He’s drawing the lightning.

Channeling it was more accurate. Like yarn on a spindle, the bright strands of electricity coiled and bounced along the fence, like a concertina of razor wire. The image glowed and stretched as far as the eye could see. Siddoh kept watch on the elder’s hands while the coil of light grew longer and longer. The older male’s arms shook, his face red and rain-slicked. Two hundred acres was a shit-ton of ground to cover.

Thunder rolled overhead.

The elder male channeled more lightning, and more again, until at last the ends met. They fused together with a sizzling firework of spark and sound. Then the entire thing disappeared.

For a moment nobody spoke. Uncle Sion’s hands dropped to his side, his breathing deep. “That… that should do it. No evil will get inside these bounds. I swear.”

Siddoh approached slowly and put a hand on his shoulder. “You gonna make it, Uncle?”

“I think I will, yes.”

“Need help getting back?”

“No, I…” The old male took a step but before he could continue, he crumpled to the ground.

Siddoh took a knee in the muddy grass and hoped to hell the only family member who still spoke to him wasn’t dead.

***

A boom of thunder overhead drew Lee’s attention. The heavy bang, reminiscent of cannon fire, also startled Alexia enough to unlatch from his arm. Which was for the best. The only excuse he had for his appalling distraction and letting her feed so long was that the pounding in his pants had managed to relieve the ache in his chest.

Lee needed to find his discipline. He’d tasted her blood, and she’d consumed his. Now her hands on his body, her lips and tongue on his skin brought him alive with need like he couldn’t remember. Ever. For the first time in months, the steadily growing certainty that Lee would soon be fodder for the sun gods faded into the surrounding blackness.

It was good to forget. Amazingly easy, until that boom of thunder had yanked him back to the present. For a moment he’d been taken back to the battles of his youth. The plagues, the human land disputes, the greed, and all the trouble that came after. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

He’d lost his mother and sister, thanks to all of that bullshit—thanks to Haig and greedy humans mistreating each other, and his mother getting in the middle. No good came from revisiting those memories. From getting too close to humans. Now, it could all happen again.

Lee licked closed the punctures on his wrist. Alexia’s throat made hard, wet swallowing sounds, and her hot breath ghosted over his jaw.
Hell.
“What should we do now?”

He put his hand to the side of her face. God willing, his blood still held the strength necessary for her to heal quickly. Sure enough, as they sat quietly in the dark, the bruises slowly faded and the swelling on that tiny nose receded. The bump on the bridge straightened. Good. Excellent.

“We just need to get you healed and make sure the coast is clear, and then you can head to the hospital.” He pulled out his phone. “I’m going to call and see if I can get Tyra over here to teleport you back.” Lee could manage fine on his own. Getting Lexi to safety was paramount. What he really needed was to follow up with those guardians they’d found in the woods. Make sure they had truly met their end.

“Good luck. I tried earlier and it went straight to voice mail.” She wriggled and shifted, pressing closer between his thighs as he crouched there on the loft floor. “Jeez, this hay is scratchy.”

Scratchy hay fell dead last on their list of problems. He could have, should have moved away. He didn’t. If he insisted on torturing himself, he may as well go balls out. He’d already admitted that he wanted Alexia. He saw nothing to be gained in lying to himself about his desire. He wanted her physically, and he could even acknowledge that he cared for her, after spending time in her presence these long months. Of course he did. It just didn’t change anything. Their situations were immutable.

Human. Vampire. Biology could not be altered.

Nor could deeply held mistrust. Were it not for humans, his family might still be alive.

“I need to get you to the hospital.” Lee’s phone blasted light into the dark, nearly blinding his sensitive eyes. Fuck, no phone existed with a screen he could make dim enough at times like these. He eased against the wall of the loft, suddenly light-headed from the shot of brightness.

“Lee, are you okay?”

How
does
she
know?
He pushed down a burst of rage. His blood. This was one of the reasons he never shared. Privacy. Even if she wasn’t aware of what she was feeling, she sensed his weakness in her veins. Without cause, he hated them both for his vulnerability. “I’m fine,” he said quietly.

Her doubt lingered in the air, crackling like the electricity from the storm, but they both remained silent.

Sure enough, Tyra’s phone went to voice mail. As did everyone else he tried. Finally, he called Thad, who answered on the third ring.

“Lee, I was beginning to worry, man. I tried calling but I couldn’t get through.”

“I’ve tried calling as well,” Lee said. “Nobody’s answering.”

“Reception might be spotty due to the storm. Also, Saint Anne’s doesn’t allow phones to be on in the maternity ward. They’ll make an exception for the king, but I’m still getting nasty glares. What’s your status?”

Across the way, Alexia had given up and leaned her arm back down on one of the blocks of hay. She appeared smaller than usual, still dwarfed in Lee’s jacket. Her eyes drifted closed. No doubt, the feeding and the night’s earlier effort had worn her out. Now cleaned of blood, her face looked pale and etched with exhaustion.

But… beautiful.

“Siddoh’s trying to work with his uncle on the fence. Lexi and I were forced to take a detour.” He dropped his voice and cupped his hand over the phone. “She nearly killed a guardian, Thad. I secured her out of harm’s way, but she saw Parinon being attacked while everyone else was occupied. She beat the asshole with a damn tree branch.”

On the other end of the line, Thad sucked in a breath. “That’s twice now, including the wizard she ran over last winter.”

“I know,” Lee murmured.

“I hope she can handle this,” Thad said. “Unfortunately, I’ve got bigger issues. They’re saying the baby is in distress and Isabel’s not ready to give birth. I may be unavailable if they take her down to surgery. The storm must be getting bad because the lights have gone dim here twice already.”

Lee bit back a curse. “Understood. Can you send Tyra for pickup? I need to make sure the coast is clear, but if she can get Lexi over to Isabel—”

A flash-bang of lightning and thunder came through the slats in the barn, followed by an obnoxious beep from Lee’s phone. He tried to redial, but there was no service. “Fuck.”

Alexia raised her head, looking heavy-lidded and drunk. From his blood. “What’s wrong?”

A stiff wind blew. “The storm must have knocked out cell service. I have no way to tell Thad where we are so Tyra can pick you up.”

She sat straighter. “So what now?”

“We get you to the hospital some other way. Hopefully we can make it before Isabel has the baby.” Lee kept the surgery thing to himself. He kept a lot to himself. Alexia needed to keep her head together, not worry about Isabel. Not now.

“How do you feel?” He looked her up and down. Already her skin glowed with renewed health and her wounds had faded. The inflammation had gone down in her nose.

Lee’s chest swelled. He’d healed her. His blood. His body.
Him
. Something so simple, but it fluffed his feathers nonetheless.

“Good.” Her smile lit the darkened barn. “Stronger.”

Good.
“Ready to move?”

She drew a deep breath and pulled her shoulders back. “Yeah.”

“Okay. Let me help you climb down. I don’t want you to burn up all your brand-new energy.”

He reached for her arm and pulled her close. Instantly he returned to where he’d been only a few minutes before when he’d lapped that blood from her face, when he’d swept his tongue over her lips. When he’d nearly given in to the urge for more.

All over again, he wanted. Craved.

They’d nearly finished descending the ladder when the short hairs of his buzz cut tingled. His sensitive ears picked up subtle scrapes of movement at the back of the house. The quiet warning of an arrow hitting wood. Only a guardian would use such a weapon.

Lee’s fingers tightened around the lean arm in his grasp. For the first time in centuries, something acrid burned his nostrils that smelled very much like his own fear. He had to get Alexia out of these woods. “Lexi, we have company.”