Frost Burn

by Erica Stevens

  “I know.”

  The sound of her laughter helped to ease some of the tension. “You’ll let me know if you need our help.”

  “I will.”

  It was a lie, what he’d said before had been the truth. He didn’t think many vampires knew what Cassie was capable of, but if they ever figured it out she would become their biggest target. They’d either try to take her out or try to find a way to bend her to their will.

  At heart, she was one of the purest souls he’d ever met, but she’d do anything for her loved ones, especially Devon. He would never take the chance of putting the most powerful vampire in the world into the hands of vampires who would destroy her. He’d have to call Devon later and make sure he knew Cassie wasn’t to come anywhere near Arizona, or Quinn, until everything was sorted out.

  “Liar,” she muttered.

  “You know me so well.”

  Seconds stretched by before she spoke again. “You take care of yourself and the others, Julian.”

  “Of course.”

  “You’re still so annoyingly stubborn.”

  He laughed as he turned away from the bedroom again. “So are you, but if you come down here I’ll kick your ass and so will Devon. Think of Barnacle and stay safe, for once.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah… I’m going to be calling and pestering you all, and I’ll be on the first night flight out if it becomes necessary.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything else.”

  “Stay safe.”

  “I will,” he promised.

  “I love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  He hung up the phone and turned to find Quinn standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Her hair hung in wet tendrils around her face. The look in her eyes was one he’d never seen before. For the first time since he’d met her, she appeared almost vulnerable as she stared at him.

  The scar on her chin, and across her eyebrow, stood out more sharply against her paler than normal skin. He suspected the one cutting across her temple was also more noticeable, but her hair covered it. Even in her simple black pants and shirt she wore for work, she was incredibly alluring. The shirt hid most of her curves but the pants hugged her muscled thighs and calves.

  “Did you get any more sleep?” His voice came out gruffer than he’d intended, but seeing her brought his lust racing back to the forefront. He ground his teeth against the urge to take her into the bedroom and spend the rest of the night barricaded in there with her.

  “No.”

  Her gaze slid to his phone; she didn’t ask who he’d been talking to as she moved away from her bedroom and toward the kitchen. He stepped out of the way when she turned sideways to walk past him. The fresh scent of her cucumber shampoo filled his nostrils; he resisted the urge to grab her and pull her into his arms.

  “That was my friend, Cassie.” She didn’t look at him as she opened the fridge and pulled out a can of Mountain Dew. There was a subtle stiffening in her shoulders though. “She had a vision that you’re in danger.”

  “She has Melissa’s ability?”

  “She has many abilities.” She finally shot him a questioning look over her shoulder. “She’s a rarity.”

  “I see,” she murmured as she opened the can.

  “Like you.”

  Below her left eye, a muscle began to twitch in her cheek. Her scar stood out starkly against her skin when she clamped her lips together. “So I remind you of her?”

  He sensed he’d somehow entered shaky ground. “No, you don’t.”

  Her stony expression didn’t ease as she placed her soda on the counter. “I have to feed.”

  “Let me shower and I’ll go with you.”

  “I’d prefer to be alone.”

  “That was hardly an option before Cassie had her vision; it’s even less of one now.”

  He could almost see the smoke coming out of her ears as her hand clenched around her can. “I never asked you to become a part of my life.”

  “Maybe not, but you’re stuck with me until you’re not at risk anymore.”

  Dropping the can into the sink, she turned away and folded her arms over her chest. She focused on the back wall. “Hurry up.”

  “If you leave this apartment, I’ll…”

  “You’ll what?” she demanded.

  “I’ll tie you to the radiator for the rest of the week and spoon feed you blood.”

  A new muscle began to twitch on the other side of her face. “And I’ll suck the life from you until you’re nothing more than a husk if you try.”

  A startled sound escaped her when he flew across the room and slammed his hands onto the countertop on both sides of her waist. “Do you honestly think you can?” he grated through his teeth.

  “You don’t know what I’m capable of!” she shot back. “You have no idea the extent of what I can do.”

  He grabbed one of her hands and pressed it against his chest. “Then do it.”

  “Stop it!” she shouted and tugged at her hand. He refused to relinquish it.

  “Come on, Quinn, do it.”

  A sneer curved her upper lip; she tugged more forcefully at her hand. She struggled to keep her ability suppressed. However, he could feel the growing tidal wave rising between them. He’d realized when they’d kissed last night that she didn’t always have control over her ability, but it wasn’t always painful, not when she was giving and taking in equal measure.

  Last night, it had been a pleasant sensation one that had slid beneath his skin and escalated his desire for her. What he felt swirling up between them now wouldn’t be pleasant and more like what he’d experienced with her that first night. He would withstand it if it helped to get his point across. She may not like it, but she was stuck with him. He only wished she didn’t hate the idea as much as she did.

  “Let. Go. Of. Me!”

  The words were spat succinctly at him. However, they weren’t what caused his mouth to drop and his defense against her to slip enough that his whole body jerked from the zap he received from her. That zap was nothing compared to the astonishment rolling through him right now. He’d assumed that after nearly six hundred years on this earth nothing would dumbfound him anymore. Especially not after what he’d gone through with Cassie and the others, but he’d been completely wrong.

  The air between them began to crackle; it felt as if little snaps of electricity rapidly fired into his skin. He could actually see little bursts of golden sparks building between them. She blasted him with enough force to knock her hand away from his chest and finally free herself of his grasp.

  Her chin lifted defiantly; her eyes had a wary air about them as they held his. He’d never seen eyes like that before, he’d believed Cassie’s eyes were the strangest things he’d ever encountered, but Quinn’s were something entirely different. They were spectacular and eerie; they caused a chill to run over his skin as they also drew him forward with their enchanting beauty.

  They hadn’t turned entirely red; instead, the honeyed hue of her eyes had deepened to a molten gold color. Red danced around the outer rim of her pupils, like flames they actually seemed to be leaping and burning as she glared at him. The odd thing was that like Cassie’s eyes, the whites of hers had also become completely red.

  What is she? He wondered as he tried to assimilate what he was seeing with everything he knew about vampires.

  He rested his hand upon her arm again; she went to throw it off, but he kept hold of it as he blocked the rush of images trying to fill his mind from the contact. “What are you?”

  “I’m a vampire.”

  “No, you are much more than vampire, Quinn. Your eyes.” She flinched and dropped her head down. He took hold of her chin and nudged it up, so she had to look at him again. The color of her eyes hadn’t changed at all, her posture had eased a little though. “Were you a Hunter before you were changed?”

  Just because Cassie’s eyes had become entirely red after she was changed didn’t mean it would be the same for every Hunt
er turned vampire. Cassie had always been an anomaly amongst the Hunter species.

  “Quinn, if I’m going to keep you safe, you have got to tell me what is going on. What I’m dealing with, what we could be up against, and how many others know you’re different?”

  “No one knows,” she murmured. She tried to drop her head down, but he kept his finger under her chin. Flames leapt higher in her eyes; she didn’t jolt him again, something he was thankful for.

  “What were you before you became a vampire?” he demanded.

  “What makes you think I was anything other than human?”

  She may be the most stubborn, infuriating woman he’d ever come across, but if the look she gave him was any indication, she felt exactly the same way about him. “I’ve seen what a Hunter’s eyes look like after they become a vampire. Your eyes aren’t exactly the same, but there are similarities. You knew Hunter’s heal faster, you know more about Hunters and Guardians than any vampire your age should. And your power is far stronger than it should be at your age. Talk to me.”

  Her eyes shot around the room, he couldn’t tell if she was looking for an escape or contemplating punching him in the face. “I’m going to keep you safe, Quinn. Please, talk to me.”

  Her eyes were filled with resignation when they finally came back to his. “The only people who ever knew about me are all dead.”

  “It takes a lot to get rid of me, many have tried, all have failed.”

  “I don’t blame them.” He couldn’t help but smile at her, his thumb traced over the scar running down her chin. “Don’t. They’re hideous.” She tried to push his hand away; he kept hold of her.

  “No they’re not,” he assured her. “You’re still beautiful…”

  “I don’t care what they make me look like. I’m glad people can see them.” She seized hold of his hand and tried to pull it away again as desperation filled her. “You don’t understand what they mean! Don’t touch them, I can’t… Just don’t.”

  The fire in her eyes blazed higher, the air between them crackled. She was keeping herself restrained but only barely. Her obvious desperation bothered him more than any of her anger, resentment, and fight ever had. He removed his hand from her chin and dropped it back to the counter beside her in an attempt to help ease her somewhat.

  Her shoulders slumped, the sizzle in the air lessened. He contemplated pulling her into his arms and hugging her instead of continuing to push her to finally get the answers he wanted from her. He knew if he backed off now though, he would lose the weakening he felt in her defenses.

  “Quinn…”

  “You’ve barged into my life and turned it upside down. This is my life! They are my scars!”

  The hitch in her voice broke him, before he could think he reached out and pulled her against his chest. She remained rigid against him, her arms hung limply at her sides. His lips dropped down to her ear, her damp hair tickled his nose as he buried his face against her neck and inhaled her enticing scent.

  He didn’t know what he’d been looking for when he’d grabbed her, but when her body finally eased against his and her arms slid around his waist, he knew he’d found it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Quinn cursed herself as she remained unyielding against him. The one thing she’d been taught all of her life was to keep control and never slip up. It was impossible to hide what she was when she was overemotional. There had been no way to pass as a human in the beginning of her life, and then no way to pass as a vampire after her life had ended.

  She’d slipped up in front of him, something she hadn’t allowed to happen in years. Control and restraint, they were the cornerstones of her life. He’d knocked her off all of her foundations with his sarcastic words, tender kisses, constant meddling into her life, overwhelming presence, and his I love you to another woman.

  Those words had been her complete undoing, a wound that cut deeper than any scar on her ever could have. Chris and Melissa had told her about Cassie and the way Julian felt about her, but there had been no way to prepare herself to hear him say those words to her. Then, he’d never even given her a chance to try and recover. Instead he’d continued to come at her, and torn at scabs that would never heal.

  Now he was holding her within his solid embrace. The heat of his mouth warmed her and caused her skin to tingle as his lips pressed against her neck. Everything in her screamed to give him a zap he would never forget. The power swirled up within her like an avalanche, determined to take out everything in its path. She’d been ready to strike out against him; she found herself easing into his embrace instead. Her arms wrapped around his waist; her cheek pressed against his chest.

  This was not supposed to happen, but as the realization blazed across her mind, she found herself melting further into the formidable man holding her. His hand slid into her hair, he cradled the back of her head as he held her closer. “I only mean to keep you safe; you have to help me do that.”

  “You’re asking me to reveal things only dead people knew and to revisit things I’ve spent the past six years trying not to recall.”

  His lips brushed over her face before he pressed his cheek against hers. “We’ve all done things we’d prefer not to recall. I was a monster, a vicious brutal murderer who took a lot of pleasure in destroying lives and inflicting misery upon others. No matter how different I am now, that monster is still there, just beneath the surface. I may not give into my more savage urges anymore, but I will do whatever is necessary to keep anyone I care about safe.” She closed her eyes as she absorbed those words. “You’re not a monster, Quinn.”

  A shudder ran through her; her hands clenched involuntary upon the thick muscle of his back. “You don’t know what I’ve done.”

  “There’s nothing you could have done that would be any worse than anything I’ve done in my extended life.” He nudged her chin up with his thumb and held her so she had to look at him. “There’s nothing you can tell me about your past that will make me turn against you.”

  She so desperately wanted to believe him. No one had ever known what she’d done; she’d never planned to tell anyone about it. It was her dirty secret, her shame to live with; her nightmare to face whether asleep or awake. What would it be like to tell someone and not have them stare at her in revulsion? What if she did tell him and he stared at her as if she were lower than vomit running through sewage?

  “When I was a mere three hundred years old, I helped to slaughter over thirty people on a whim with the woman I was involved with.” Her eyes widened at his words. “She had a bigger sadistic streak than I did and attacked the handful of children also present. I may have been a monster at the time, but even I had my limits. When it was over, I destroyed that woman even though she fancied herself in love with me. I’m the last man who should ever condemn another, but she enjoyed killing those children, and I decided to be her judge and executioner. I didn’t have many standards back then, I was surprised to discover killing children was one of the two things I found beneath me. I’ve slaughtered thousands of other humans and vampires. Thousands. And it’s not something I’m proud of.”

  She remained unmoving as she tried to process his revelation. He’d taken so many lives… But who was she to judge anyone? She’d taken lives too, most in self-defense, but one of those lives had been worth more to her than a hundred others.

  “What is the second thing you find beneath you?” she inquired.

  “I’ve never raped anyone, ever.” That was a relief to know. “Are you repulsed by me now?”

  The desperate look in his eyes pulled at her heart as his gaze searched hers. He’d opened himself up, and now he felt exposed as he waited for her answer. Her heart melted; she’d never expected to see such vulnerability coming from him. Her fingers slid over his back as she sought to comfort him in some way.

  “No.” The word had popped out, but now that she’d said it, she realized she meant it completely. “I would never condone it, and if it was something you still did, I
wouldn’t feel the same way, but…”

  “We all make mistakes,” he finished for her when she stopped speaking.

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Would you like to hear more of the things I’ve done? I can keep going all night with the countless torments I’ve inflicted upon others.”

  She shook her head. “If you want to tell me about it, I’ll listen. You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to though.”

  His forehead furrowed; the line between his brows deepened. He bent and pressed his lips against her forehead. “Maybe one day,” he murmured. “But first we have to talk about you.”

  Her shoulders slumped; she bowed her head. “Ok.”

  Taking hold of her hand, he led her over to the table and pulled out a chair for her. Quinn sat awkwardly in the chair and clasped her hands on the table. He rested his hands on top of hers, but she couldn’t stop her foot from tapping. Her gaze slid past his to the clock on the wall behind him.

  “I have to get to work soon,” she told him.

  “There’s plenty of time still.”

  She couldn’t put it off forever; she knew she couldn’t, but she didn’t know how to start. He remained mute, his gaze unwavering as he waited for her to speak. “I guess there’s no better place to start than the beginning.”

  A smile curved the corner of his upper lip. “So I’ve been told.”

  Quinn found she couldn’t do this while sitting. Rising to her feet, she paced over to the fridge and pulled out another can of soda. Popping the top, she took a swallow before walking over to her window. She stared out at the red, pink, and orange spreading across the darkening sky as the sun had already slipped beyond the horizon.

  “My mother and father were Hunters.” She didn’t turn to look at him when she spoke. She thought if she looked at him she would never continue. “My father was killed by vampires when my mother was four months pregnant with me. During the attack my mother was also killed and turned.”

  Wood creaked behind her; he shifted in the chair, but showed no other reaction. “The vampires who turned my mother took her back to where they were holed up. I don’t know what their intentions were for her; I doubt she ever knew what their plan was either. Maybe they meant to see what would become of her, or maybe they knew she was pregnant with me and wanted to see what I would become. Thankfully, whatever they had planned was ruined when a couple of Hunters found the vampire’s nest and destroyed them.”