On The Prowl (7 page)

“I never made a deal with him.” She’d never asked for any of this. She’d never—

“You didn’t need to. Julian traded for you. Blood and death and pain…so that you wouldn’t die.”

His words made her heart ache. Rose shook her head.

He growled. Anger thickened that guttural sound.

She stopped shaking her head.

“I don’t have many friends,” he said, his voice still deep and rumbling. “And don’t fucking tell Julian that I consider him to be one.”

Uh, okay.

“But he has walked through
hell
for you. And you are still afraid of him.” His lips twisted in disgust. “I don’t get it. He’s always held himself back when he’s with you. You’re probably the safest person on earth when he’s near. You’re the
only
one he’ll never turn his claws on. Don’t you get that? Don’t you see?”

“You don’t understand…”

“No,
you
don’t. You’re still clinging to your human hope. Let that shit go. Vamp up. Get your undead life together and throw the guy a bone.” He raked a hand over his face. “Do you have any clue how many people he has killed,
for you?
”

Her heart nearly stopped. “What?”

The front door flew open and slammed against the wall. She didn’t scream—good for her. She did whirl toward the door and she saw a naked Julian standing there. His muscles bulged, his golden eyes blazed, and his claws were currently gripping the door frame.

“Shut…up…wolf,” he gritted out, each word sounding like a struggle.

Rayce let out a long sigh. “Here we go…”

Julian shoved away from the door frame. “Your scent…is…
on
her.”

“Right. I can explain that. She nearly broke a vase. I reached around her and—” He broke off. “Look, I think you need to run some more. I can still see your beast.”

So could she.

Julian appeared…bigger…than before. Stronger. His face seemed carved from stone, his muscles heaved and his whole body shuddered as he stood there.

The man was fighting the beast. She could practically see it. Only…why? Why was he there? Why wasn’t he still out running? He needed that. She might not fully understand the shifter life, but it was obvious his panther was fighting for freedom.

“Heard you…” His breath rasped out. “Stop…scaring her…”

And
her
breath caught in her lungs. He’d come back, transformed, because he thought Rayce was frightening her?

Okay, truth time. The wolf did scare me. I don’t want Julian killing for me. I don’t want anyone killing for me.
She’d had enough death to last several lifetimes.

But Rose found herself sliding away from Rayce and creeping toward the door—toward Julian.

“Uh, wait, maybe don’t do that right now—” Rayce very, very loudly whispered.

She shot him an irritated glare. “You just told me I was safe with him.”

“He is going to change again any second. Let’s not tempt fate—”

She hated fate. Fate was mean and cruel. Fate could screw off. Rose inched closer to Julian. His chest heaved as her fingers reached up, hovering over his skin. She would
not
look down at the lower part of his body.

Her gaze dipped down.

Okay, maybe she would.

Damn. Some things are even better than you remember.

Her fingers skimmed over his chest. “You said I’d be safe here.”

He gave a jerky nod.

“Then I won’t be afraid tonight.” A little lie, but one he seemed to need.

His nostrils flared.

“Go run. Do what you need to do.”
Then come back to me.
She wanted to say those words so badly, but she managed to hold them back.

His head lowered and he…he did that little nuzzle thing again. Where he rubbed his head against her neck. It was odd but sensual. She liked it. She found herself putting her arms on his shoulders. Holding him. And, surprisingly, she wasn’t afraid of him. Not of the sharp teeth or the enhanced strength—not of anything about him.

She just wanted to keep holding him.

But Rayce cleared his throat. “So, yeah, you’re naked and about to go all beast mode. This is the time when you need to step back.”

She felt the rumble of Julian’s growl.

Only…he stepped back. He stared at her a moment more, then he whirled and ran back into the night. She took a step after him, but stopped when she heard the crunch of bones. Her stomach twisted. So much pain.

She didn’t like for Julian to feel pain.

“Told you,” Rayce murmured, sounding pleased as hell with himself. “He
can’t
hurt you. If anyone else had gone up to him right then, Julian would have sliced them right open.”

Her hand lifted and her fingers trailed along the doorframe. His claws had left deep gouge marks along the wood. She traced them and her heart grew heavier in her chest. “How many people has he killed?”

“That’s a question for him, not me. I already did my over-sharing part for the night.” Then his hands were on her waist and he pulled her back from the doorway.

She frowned at him.

But he just gave her his slow smile. The dimple winked again. “Told you, there are plenty of other bad things out there. Let’s not go drawing them in by dangling bait in front of their faces.”

“So I’m bait now?”

“No, you’re Julian’s vamp. Thought we went over that. So if someone comes at you, he’ll freak and there will be a battle I’m not in the mood to stop tonight.” He nudged her toward the hallway. “Go that way. Get changed. Sleep. When you wake up, Julian will be back. Minus his more beastly side.”

She took a few steps toward that hallway. Then, unable to help herself, Rose glanced back at him. “He’s…talked to you? About me?”

Rayce laughed. “He’s told me as little as possible.”

Oh.

“But sometimes, you don’t need words to see the truth. And I see how he looks at you.”

Her throat went dry. “How is that?”

“Like someone who has been in hell…and just had a glimpse of paradise.”

No, he was wrong. Julian did
not
look at her like that.

“Sweet dreams, vamp,” Rayce said.

She turned and shuffled down the hallway. Her dreams were never sweet. They hadn’t been since she’d become a vampire. She only had nightmares. Visions of herself dying—getting shot as Julian stared down at her in horror. Visions of being trapped in a tiny cell. Hunger. Pain.

Death.

No, there would be no sweet dreams for her. There never were.

She stopped in front of the third door on the right. Rose opened the door and stepped inside. Not a room, but a suite. One with heavy, cherry wood furniture. Dark, thick curtains hung over the windows. A massive, four-poster bed had been positioned right in the middle of the suite—

A bed that had claw marks on its wooden posts. Eyes widening, she rushed toward the bed. Her hand lifted and she traced the marks, just as she’d traced the ones on the door frame before.

Julian’s claw marks.

Julian’s room.

She turned around.

Rayce stood in the doorway. She hadn’t heard him follow her.
Shifters can move way too quietly.
He was staring at her, a slightly apologetic look on his face. “Yeah, sorry about this…but I
am
going to lock you in for the night.”

“
What?”

“And the room has been—well, let’s just say it’s been enhanced so that paranormals can’t get out. I mean, when Julian has his bad nights, we can’t have him busting loose. So vamp strength won’t help you. Julian wanted you safe for the night and that means we can’t risk you running around where the wild things are. So just shower, change into one of his shirts, and have those sweet—”

“I don’t have sweet dreams!” She ran for him.

He jerked the door shut before she could grab him. Rose heard the faint click of a lock sliding into place. She tried wrenching the door open. She tried slamming her body into the wood.
Vamp strength. Vamp. Strength!

But nothing happened. Because the tricky jerk was right…there was some kind of enhancement in place. Still, she didn’t give up.

She screamed and pounded against the door.

She couldn’t be trapped. Not again.

She couldn’t be prisoner.

Not again.

***

The pretty vampiress slammed into the door once more. Rayce winced when he felt the vibrations of the wood. “Uh, Rose? If you hurt yourself, Julian is only going to be pissed at me.”

Her answer was another slam against the door.

“It’s just for tonight.” Maybe. He could lie easily. “I know you don’t like being prisoner, okay? I heard what the ONS did to you—”

“
Let me out!”
Her shriek easily carried through the wood.

“But we’re not ONS. We’re not—” He actually had to catch himself there. He’d almost said
We’re not the bad guys.
That would have been total bullshit. “We’re not the ones trying to hurt you now.” There. Much better. “I’m walking away, all right?” Rayce took a step back. “I’d suggest that you go to sleep and have—”

”
Screw your sweet dreams!”

His lips twitched. He could really like that vamp. No wonder Julian was obsessed.

Whistling, he turned on his heel and headed down the hallway. He’d check on the human visitor and then maybe…maybe he’d go for a run, too. His wolf had been dying for a night out.

Julian came back to the house just before dawn. Streaks of light were starting to edge over the water as the sun rose. He’d grabbed a pair of sweats from one of the cabins nestled on the island. There were plenty of places like that set up—safe spots for shifters so that they could dress after a transformation.

He paced down the hallway and stopped before his room. Rose was in there. He could smell her. He could—

The key was still in the lock.

Fucking hell.

Rayce had
locked
her inside. He’d never told the wolf to do that! He’d just said to keep her safe! Fuck, fuck, fuck! Julian yanked at the key and shoved open the door. He bounded inside.

Rose was in the bed. She wore his shirt, a big, black t-shirt that seemed to swallow her. She was turned on her side and he could see the tear tracks on her face.

Rose didn’t like to be locked up.

I am going to kill Rayce.
He whirled, ready to rip the wolf apart.

“Don’t lock me in again.” Her voice. Soft, husky, and coated with pain.

His shoulders stiffened. “I won’t, love. I swear it.” He was just going to beat the ever loving hell out of a certain mangy werewolf.

He heard the rustle of the bed covers behind him and then the faint pad of her feet on the hardwood floor. Julian forced his hands to unclench as he turned toward her. “I’m sorry.” The words came out stilted and felt awkward on his tongue. He didn’t usually apologize to anyone or for anything, but this was different. This was Rose.

His hand lifted and he wiped away a tear that lingered on her cheek. Her lips parted. Her eyes seemed to go even greener.

“I never meant for you to be locked up.” Protection was one thing. Trapping her was another.

“So I’m not your prisoner?”

“No, hell,
no.
” He should stop touching her. He wasn’t. He was caressing her cheek. Her skin was like silk. “I brought you here so you could be safe. Not so some dumbass wolf could torture you. You’ve been hurt e-fucking-nough. It needs to stop. It
has
to stop.” If he had his way, she’d never know a moment of pain again. His hand slid down her neck. A soft, tender neck. “I’ll stop it.”

Her head tipped back as she stared up at him. “How did we get here?”

He blinked, confused.

“I thought I’d found Mr. Right. You were tall, dark, and mysterious. I looked at you and didn’t want anyone else.”

He’d looked at her and, as far as Julian had been concerned—there had been no one else.

“But you were lying to me, the whole time. Pretending to be someone you weren’t.”

Pretending to be a human. “It wasn’t damn easy.” Especially when he’d had her in his bed. He’d wanted to let his wild side out, wanted that so badly, but he’d held back. For her.

Then he’d lost her anyway.

Because when I’m close to her, she always gets hurt. That’s what happens to anyone who is connected to me. Pain.

He wanted more for her.

Julian cleared his throat. “I’ll leave the door open, okay? I swear I will. You get back in bed and sleep for a few hours. I won’t interrogate the human without you.” Mostly because he needed her for the interrogation. A little vamp compulsion would help immensely. Of course, if she wasn’t in the mood to lend a hand, he could always do things the old fashioned way…with his claws.

I’ve hurt so many others in my life. I’m Luke’s assassin. Death is my game. Why did I ever think my life could be different? That I could be different?

She glanced back at the bed as his hand slid away from her. She turned away, and he let out a long, slow breath. Right. He had a wolf to find and skin. He had—

Rose looked back at him. Her hand lifted. “Will you stay with me?”

He shook his head. He’d misheard. Absolutely imagined those quiet words. Rose saw him as her enemy these days. No way would she want him in bed with her.

Wishful fucking thinking.

“I just…I don’t want to be alone. When the ONS had me, I was always alone. They kept me away from everyone else. They kept me in the dark and I just…” Her chin lifted and her hand fell. “Never mind. I’m not supposed to be scared. Isn’t that what everyone keeps saying? I shouldn’t be afraid. I’m supposed to be a bad-ass. I’m evil. I’m—”

He scooped her into his arms.

Shock flashed on her face. “Julian?”

“You’re not evil. Screw what others say.” But he
hated
her fear. Hated it as much as her pain. “You be you, sweets. I’ve got enough evil for us both.”

A furrow appeared between her brows. He carried her toward the bed and then lowered her until she was nestled on the mattress. Then he stalked around to the other side of the bed and crawled in with her.

And she shocked him again. She rolled toward him. She touched
him.

“Are you as bad as others say?”

He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Such a small ear. “Worse.”

The furrow deepened. “I don’t…you’re not, though, with me.”

He eased closer to her. “That’s because you aren’t like the others.” The back of his hand trailed over her cheek. He liked touching her. Why resist something he enjoyed so much? Soon enough, she’d be far away. He’d never touch her again. “There’s no death order over your head so I don’t need to be bad.”

Her eyes widened.

Probably the wrong thing to say.

“How many…how many people have you killed?”

“Humans?” The memories flashed in his head. “Two.” He’d carry those screams forever. “Paranormals?” His lips twisted into a smile that he knew was grim. “Lost count.”

She searched his gaze. “You’re lying to me.”

He didn’t let his expression alter.

“I think you remember them all.”

She didn’t understand. If he remembered them all, madness would come.

“Why did you do it?”

Why did he kill? He forced a slow smile. “It’s the nature of the beast.” His panther was a ruthless killer. One driven by dark impulse and a hunger for blood.

Her lashes flickered. “Why didn’t you let me go? Why did you get Luke to change me?”

Because I didn’t want to be in a world without you.
“I’m a selfish bastard.” Instead of letting her go, he’d forced her into a world that she would never fit into.

Because he hadn’t been lying to her…

She wasn’t evil. That was the problem. She just wasn’t bad enough. But he hadn’t cared when he’d made his deal. He hadn’t cared about any consequences. His gaze dropped to her mouth. Those perfect red lips. A mouth built for sin. A mouth that was in every one of his dreams.

But then, his dreams were usually about her.

His nightmares were about her dying.

Julian swallowed. “No more questions, okay?” Because there were some answers he didn’t want to give her. “Sleep.” His head dropped back against his pillow. He thought she’d move away, perhaps curl onto her side of the bed.

Rose put her hand on his chest. “If I…if I scream, just wake me up.”

What?

“The nightmares always come.”

Her lashes drifted closed.

Fucking hell.
He
was her nightmare, and he knew it.

He pulled the covers up over them. His eyes closed.

Her hand stayed over his heart.

***

Simon stared at the wreckage that remained of the
Pandora
. Cops were rushing around, fire fighters were still on the scene, and he was left to stand in the small crowd of humans who’d gathered at sunrise to watch the chaos.

Had the vampiress died in those flames? He’d given strict orders to young Francis. If Simon hadn’t returned to the boat, then the
Pandora
had to burn.

He couldn’t risk leaving evidence behind, no clues that might lead to his base.

But what happened to the vampiress?
He hadn’t wanted her to burn. He needed her, dammit. Finding someone else just like her would be nearly impossible. She was so necessary to his plans.

I might have just fucked myself.

His back teeth ground together. He’d wanted the big bastard to die—the freak with the claws and the too sharp teeth. A shifter? Simon figured that was what the jerk had been. He’d told him where the
Pandora
was, thinking the guy was on a rescue mission, maybe looking for the witch or the muse.

It was easy for men to become obsessed with the muse.

So he’d given up the
Pandora
, thinking the guy would go after the vessel alone but…

But I saw the way he touched her when they stood next to the motorcycle. The shifter cares for the vamp.
He’d tried to yell after them, begging them to come back, but the shifter had just driven away.

Vampiress…I need you alive.
Or, as alive as she
could
be.

A woman bumped into him. “Oh, sorry,” she said, voice rising a bit in nervousness. “I just…I hope no one was hurt, don’t you?”

He hoped his vampiress hadn’t been hurt.

I need to find her. I need to figure out what happened.

His gaze darted over the human who’d had the misfortune of literally running into him. A blonde, in her mid-twenties, with sun-kissed skin. Pretty enough, he supposed.

Not that he went for pretty.

Why bother with the ordinary? He’d never enjoyed ordinary. His Helene had been perfection beyond belief once.
She will be again.

The blonde’s weak smile slipped. “Is…is everything okay?”

“Everything will be fine.” He offered her his hand. He was pretty sure he’d managed to get all of the blood off his fingers. “I’m Simon.”

Her smile came back. “Keri.”

Then he leaned in toward her and dropped his voice, letting the power flow out. “Keri…would you like to play a little game?”

Her gaze went glassy. “Wh-what kind of game?”

“How about…
Simon Says
…”

***

Her whimper woke him. Julian’s eyes jerked open at the soft sound, and he rolled toward Rose instantly.

“Love?”

She’d curled into a little ball, moving away from him. He touched her shoulder. “Rose, Rose, wake up, it’s just—”

She attacked. She shot toward him and penned him to the bed. Her hands grabbed his and shoved them over his head. Her legs were on either side of his hips as she loomed over him and her bared teeth—very sharp vampire fangs—came right at his throat.

Julian didn’t try to stop her. He just turned his head and gave her a better angle, offering his throat to her. He waited to feel the sting of her teeth.

“J-Julian?” Her breath blew over his neck.

She didn’t bite. Damn.

Rose immediately released his hands. “I’m sorry. It was a stupid nightmare. I was back in the cell, and I was so hungry, I just—”

He locked his hands around her waist before she could move away from him. “Bite me.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“I wasn’t stopping you. I fucking love it when you bite me.” He stared into her eyes. “Bite me.”

Her chest rose and fell. Her gaze darted to his neck. She licked her lips. Those sexy red lips.

Did she feel his arousal pressing against her? She pretty much had to feel his dick. His oversized shirt had hiked up on her, revealing the smooth expanse of her thighs. Her sex was right over his cock, and his cock was fucking huge for her right then. The second she’d climbed onto him—hell, who was he kidding? He’d fallen asleep hard for her and woken the same way. He couldn’t be near Rose without wanting her.

And this was the closest he’d been to
having
her in a very, very long time.

“When I…when I bite you, I get a little out of control.”

He knew that. He was counting on that. “Bite me.” This time, the words were a dark order. “You said you’d do anything I wanted.” His hands tightened on her waist. “I want this. I want your mouth on me.” He wanted her mouth all the fuck over him, but he’d start with his throat. They could work down from there.

She swallowed and then she leaned forward. Her hair slid over his skin as her mouth pressed to his throat. But she still didn’t bite him right away. She licked. She kissed.

She made his dick jerk against her.

“Rose…” Julian tried to warn her. He was only going to play nice for so long.

Her teeth sank into him.

Yes.
Maybe there was a flash of pain, if so, he didn’t really give a shit because the pleasure that followed was so intense. It burned right through him and he pressed his neck to her mouth, wanting her to take more. To bite harder.

Later, he planned to bite, too.

He might never have her this way again. After a nightmare, it was probably the wrong thing to do. The wrong time for seduction. A gentleman would back away.

A devil would hold her tighter.

He knew exactly what he was.

His right hand slid down her body. He caught the cotton of his borrowed shirt—he was ridiculously pleased that she’d now have his scent all over her since she’d used one of his t-shirts—and pushed it out of his way. His hand touched her silken thigh. He trailed his fingers upward.

She wasn’t wearing panties.

Because, obviously, she liked to make him crazy.

His fingers slid toward her sex. Trailed slowly, giving her the chance to stop him.
But don’t do that, okay, love? Just—

She pulled her mouth from his neck.

His growl filled the air.

Her hands slammed down onto his chest. Her breath heaved out. She had the tiniest drop of his blood on her lower lip. As he stared up at her, with his hand so close to paradise, her tongue snaked out and she licked that blood drop away.

A human male might not have found the whole blood-drinking thing sexy.

He wasn’t human. And he found
everything
about her to be sexy.

“I don’t want you holding back,” Rose whispered.

His fingers were itching to stroke her. His cock was ready to explode.

“Rayce said…” Her chin lifted. “You were holding back when you were with me. Don’t do that anymore. This time…this one time, I want everything you have.”

His fingers slid into heaven. She was wet and hot and he wanted to ram his cock into her and never let her go. “Be careful what you ask for, love.”