Undying Hunger (7 page)

She lifted her eyelids, and the storm-gray irises that plagued her dreams stared back into hers.

“Anticipate my moves, Vixen,” he whispered.

Her heart raced.

Her chest heaved with each breath. And it had everything to do with panic
and
Markus’s proximity.

She should feel completely trapped, yet Alex couldn’t find her voice to demand he let her go. Her gaze fell to his sinfully full mouth. God, how would it feel to have him kiss her, devour her with those lips the same way he’d drunk in her essence—as if she were his first taste of cool water after surfacing from the fires of hell?

His gaze lowered, and she licked her lips. “Yes,” she breathed.

But she had no idea if it was an answer to his first demand on anticipation, or the question his eyes had relayed. Either way, her answer was the same.

Then his mouth was on hers, hot, smooth, and dangerous, stealing her breath with its contact. He glided over her lips, gentle at first, nudging, seducing. She moaned, and unable to deny him, parted her lips, inviting him in. His tongue brushed hers, and her nipples pebbled; her hips rocked up, pressing into his, needing more, wanting more. She gasped, shocked at the intensity of her body’s response.

Markus groaned, released her hands, and his palms cupped her head. Holding her steady, he deepened their kiss like a man starved, and she offered everything he needed. Her head spun as if she were on an out-of-control carnival ride.
Too much.
Her heart raced and her gums tingled, releasing her fangs. She wasn’t ready for this. She had to get away. Groaning with desperation, she drove her fingers into his hair and bit down, sinking her fangs into his bottom lip. He hissed and jerked.

“Get off me,” she spat.

He glared down at her in silence as the tip of his tongue appeared and slowly licked away the droplet of blood from his lip. Her lower abdomen clenched at the sensual sight.

“I said move,” she chewed out. “Or do you need a repeat of my knee to your groin?”

Markus lifted his hip, making way for her to scurry from beneath him.

Without looking back, she made short work of retrieving her bag, trying to ignore her jelly-filled knees. She bit back a groan and started for the exit. The door to the gym had never seemed as far away as it did at that moment.

Passing him where he still sat on the mat with his arms draped over his bent knees, heat flared up from her chest and into her cheeks. Even though things had never gone that far, she understood what others meant by the walk of shame.

“For the record…” he called out.

Alex captured the doorframe with her hand and paused.

“You kissed me back,” he said.

She lowered her lashes and white-knuckled the wood.
Oh, please kill me now
, she silently prayed.

Because this time, Markus wasn’t lying.

Chapter Eight

Alex pressed the button inside the console in the Mercedes E-Class, lowering the top on the convertible. The warm summer night air rushed inside, lifting her hair and teasing her neck. She allowed her head to fall back onto the padded leather rest, closed her eyes, and let the sounds of the night along with the rumble of the engine drown out her thoughts.

“Thanks for getting me out of the house,” she said to her sister.

“You looked like you could use a change of scenery,” Elle replied. “Besides, I’m getting to hang with my baby sister. Why wouldn’t I jump at the chance?”

Alex scoffed. “You’re crazy.” She opened her eyes. “With that gorgeous male specimen you have for a mate at home, I’m the last person you should want to spend your evening with.”

“Well…” Elle smiled, flipped the turn signal, and slowed the car. “I do admit, he is pretty easy on the eyes and his many, many skills do not make me want to leave his side very often,” she drawled.

“TMI,” Alex cried out, and covered her ears.

Laughing, Elle turned onto the streets of downtown Elizabeth Bay. “Actually, he’s on patrol tonight,” she said, sobering. “So this is great.”

At the slower speed, Alex studied the locals with their packages in hand, their partners hooked on their arms, smiling at each other and strolling the sidewalks. “I like to just sit and observe the humans sometimes—watch the way they come and go with their family and friends…it’s like vicariously reliving my life through them.”

“Yeah. I know what you mean,” Elle said quietly.

“You know what’s weird, though?” Alex glanced over at her sister. “It’s only been a year, but what it felt like to be them already seems like a really, really long time ago.”

Elle nodded. “I think that’s what’s called acceptance.”

“Maybe,” Alex said. “It doesn’t feel like that most days. There’s a part of me that’s pretty damn angry.” She sighed. “You’re not still pissed off, Elle, about what Markus took from you? I don’t get how you can just let it go so easily.”

The car suddenly veered to the right into an open parking space, taking Alex by surprise and jamming her against the door. Elle hit the brakes and shoved the car into park.

“What the hell?” Alex smoothed her palm over her bruised shoulder.

“You think I let what Markus did to me just roll off my back?” Elle shook her head. “Alex, you have no idea how that ate away at me, boiled inside my gut like a cauldron of hate. I
despise
the fact that it was Markus—his bite, his blood—that turned me and not the male I love,” she seethed. “When I came around and was conscious enough to fully understand what had happened, I wanted to rip the flesh from my body. Knowing that another male’s blood, not Arran’s, ran through my veins.” Her sister swallowed, choking back what had to be disgust. “Coming to terms with that reality, knowing it was something that could never be undone, was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to accept.”

“But you did,” Alex quietly added.

She nodded. “Having my sister going through the same thing, and helping you to understand a world that was completely new to you, helped me to push past my anger and to focus on the things I could control.”

“Plus, you had Arran.”

Elle smiled, and the deep love she held for her mate shone in her amber-colored eyes. “Yes. After everything was over, and you had been safely returned to me, becoming Arran’s mate made my life complete. Even though the decision to become a vampire wasn’t mine to begin with, knowing we’ll spend an eternity together makes it easier not to dwell on the negative.”

A wave of loneliness swamped Alex, souring her stomach with her own self-pity. And she hated it. Hated feeling sorry for herself. That wasn’t who she was. She didn’t begrudge Elle one moment of her happiness. Her sister deserved having a mate who loved her totally and unconditionally. There were times like tonight, though, when she wished there was someone in her life who made her soul light up when she talked about him. Someone whom she couldn’t imagine waking up without.

“Having him there for you had to be wonderful,” Alex muttered and directed her attention to the storefront outside the car. The lights inside lowered to a dim glow, mirroring how she felt most days, as if she were functioning with only a partial charge. Only half alive.

“It must be closing time,” she said, trying to shake herself out of her woe-is-me state of mind. She was a fighter, not a loser.

“You’ll find someone, Alex.”

“I know,” she said, and popped the release on the door. “Let’s get out of this car and walk down by the water.”

She had to get out of here before things got any mushier.

“All right. We can do that.” Elle raised the top of the Mercedes, then exited the vehicle and joined her on the sidewalk.

A few minutes later, they strolled the docks, listening to the water lap at the sides of the boats. That was one of the things she loved about her sister. Elle didn’t require conversation. She enjoyed just “being” there for her as much as Alex did without the required heart-to-heart.

“I heard you’ve been training with Eve,” Elle said.

Or so Alex thought.

“That’s right.”

“Any reason for the sudden interest in mixed martial arts?”

“Just thought it was time, that’s all,” Alex said.

“Time for what?”

A straining, gurgling-like sound crested on the night air, bringing Alex to a halt. “Did you hear that?”

The noise was eerily familiar to what she’d heard when she’d been out with Eve and Guerin during a DEAD attack.

“No. What?” Elle stopped and surveyed the area. “Are you trying to change the subject on me?”

Another soft groan came from a few feet away, where a stack of storage crates sat just outside the glow of the scattered lighting. “That.” Alex nodded in the direction of the disturbance.

“Oh God,” Elle whispered. “That doesn’t sound good.”

Alex jogged ahead, with Elle right on her heels. Together, they rounded the stack of abandoned crates. Hidden in the shadows, a large male held another by his throat against the ground, his back to them. The trapped guy bicycled his legs. The effect impotent in his attempt to get away, as the smell of fresh blood permeated the enclosed space. This wasn’t your ordinary attempted murder.

This killer was of a different species altogether—a vampire.

Elle charged, grabbing the vamp by his hair and shirt and yanking him back. “Get off him!” she cried out. “You’re killing him.”

The male hissed and wrenched himself out of her hold. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated, crimson stains smearing his mouth and chin, battling with the tangle of red hair clinging to his face. Even in the dark, thanks to their preternatural vision, the scene was a grisly sight.

“Get the fuck away from me!” He swung, claws extended, going for Elle’s head. But Alex leaped, catching his arm before it could make contact with her sister. He roared and snatched his wrist, trying to break her grip on him, and it was all she could do to hang on.

“Christian?” Elle’s voice was soft, hesitant.

His struggle ceased, and the vampire twisted his head in her sister’s direction.

Alex studied him.
Christian?
One of Marguerite’s former Calyxes? The one Markus had ordered to feed Elle after he’d kidnapped and turned her?

“It is you, isn’t it?” Elle eased closer, assessing him. “Oh my God. You’re a vampire? I barely recognized you.” She shook her head.

“Gabrielle?” He stumbled back and spun around. He grabbed the bottom of his shirt to wipe at the evidence on his face, as if that would make everything okay.

A slight gurgle came from the vampire’s victim, drawing Alex’s attention. “He’s still alive,” she said.
Thank God.
“We need to call 911 and get the hell out of here.”

“You could have killed him, Christian,” Elle snapped and moved in behind him. “What were you thinking? Do you want to become a mindless Death Euphoria addict—a DEAD?” She tugged at his arm.

“I was just so damned hungry,” he rumbled.

“Didn’t your sire teach you anything?”

He released a sick-sounding laugh.

Elle glanced at Alex, then Christian. “How long ago were you turned?”

Shrugging, he looked over at Elle. “A week, maybe.” He shook his head. “It’s all been kind of a blur since Enrique dumped me here. I’ve had to figure this shit out on my own.” He drove his bloodstained fingers through his hair.

“Enrique?” Alex’s heart stuttered, and she edged closer to Elle and the new vamp. “Enrique did this to you?”

“Yeah. That’s what I said, wasn’t it?” he barked.

Adrenaline laced Alex’s veins, making her hands tremble. “Where is he?”

“How the hell am I supposed to know?” His fangs glinted beneath his upper lip. “The bastard put my ass on the street. You think he’s on my Christmas card list?”

“Whatever, you two,” Elle interjected. “We need to call an ambulance if this guy’s going to have any chance of making it.”

“Shit. You’re right.” Alex glanced back at the injured human. “Help is coming,” she whispered and quickly made her exit from the scene.

Elle called emergency services as they hurried back to the car. Once there, Alex opened her door and turned back to the others. With tattooed swirls circling his right eye and his wrists, and bloodstains on a ratty T-shirt, the dude appeared one part gangster and one part lost puppy.

“You’ve got to get rid of that shirt,” Alex said. He looked down at his front side. “You look like you’ve just stepped off the set of a
Saw
movie.”

Christian pulled the offending material over his disheveled head of red hair, revealing a wide expanse of lean muscle and a narrow waist. He looked a hot mess, but beneath the unkempt appearance, the male could have easily passed for an Olympic swimmer.

“What are we going to do with him?” Alex pinned Elle with a pointed stare.

“Hello?” Christian said. “I’m standing right here. I’m not an idiot. And I’m definitely not anyone’s damn charity case.” He started to march off.

Good grief.
Alex sighed. “Hey genius,” she called out, and Christian slowed to a stop. “Where are you planning to go?”

He tossed her a look that said he’d rather claw his eyes out than give her the satisfaction of an answer. “Why do you give a shit?”

A part of her didn’t, really. He was acting like an ass. But he’d recently been in contact with Enrique, had lived with Marguerite and Markus when she’d been their prisoner, and he might possess valuable information about what had happened to her.

“Because you’re too new to be out here on your own without guidance,” Elle said. “Look what happened tonight.” She braced her hands on her hips. “You were mere minutes from turning into a DEAD.”

“What are you suggesting?” He faced them.

Elle’s worried expression said she was thinking the same as Alex. She wanted to take him back with them. Except Kenric would shit a brick if they brought someone into Enclave headquarters without vetting the male through him and Guerin first.

“Are we doing this?” Alex tightened her grip on the door.

“Okay. Stop talking like I’m not fucking here,” he said. “I got enough of that from Enrique. If you’re not going to include me in what’s going on then I’m out of here.” He tossed his hands up and started to leave.

“We have a place you could stay for a while,” Elle said. “That is…if you’re interested?”

Christian drew to halt, glancing back at them once more. “I’m listening.”

“I’ll have to make a phone call first,” her sister continued. “But you were there for me when I was turned, so let me be there for you. I can’t make any promises, though. There are others who would have to approve of you staying with us.”

“With you?” Christian strode closer. “Are you suggesting I bunk—”

“With the Enclave,” Alex said.