Hunger Embraced (The Hunger Series)

by Jennifer James

  I liked the way his ass flexed as he walked and the play of shadow and light on his back as he rooted in the drawers, removing clothing. Each muscle stood out, defined and sculpted from his shoulders to his trim waist. Damn, I wanted more of that. “Look, I need training. If I’m this Chosen…person there may be more people out there who want a piece of me. I don’t like the idea of being held captive as some sort of breeding slave. Having horny vamps track me down all the time is bad enough.”

  He glanced at me. “That may cease now that your king has found you. If you feed and are in his presence that should help you control your power—”

  “Please, please Daniel. Don’t refer to him as my king. Just don’t mention him if you don’t have to. I have a feeling the ‘contract’ he mentioned is bad enough news for me as it is.” I’m not sure what the look on my face told him, but he nodded. I secured the waistband of the cutoffs. “Just tell me you’ll give me some self-defense training once we figure out the sitch with my father and his coven.”

  “Yes.”

  “All right then, back to our little interrogation.”

  The quip earned me a smile. We headed to the kitchen with the dirty dishes, and I stifled a laugh at his expression when he saw the mess I’d made cooking breakfast.

  There wasn’t much he could tell me that was different from what I already knew. I didn’t know if it was because he wanted to withhold information or for some reason he wasn’t allowed to tell me. Most vamps still fell into one of the four broad categories of Eaters, Feelers, Fuckers, and Suckers. E.F.F.S. was my snappy little acronym for that.

  Finding out the Flesh Eaters could assume the appearance of humans and other vampires they’d fed on gave me the heebs. I hadn’t known that all vampires could feed on blood in an emergency. Guess that’s why my father had fangs. They weren’t just decorations after all.

  After our chat, I was more unsettled than ever about my father’s court. Any vampires in the area could have taken over his coven for a myriad of reasons. They didn’t generally feed on others of their own kind because for some reason it just wasn’t a good meal. But given the chance, many of them would happily cannibalize someone from a different coven.

  While he finished cleaning up the kitchen, I prepared to leave. He met me by the door, wearing nothing but those damn baggy, impossibly sexy, basketball shorts. I studied the gorgeous line where his groin and thigh muscle met—the trough of skin begged to be licked. Coated with something delicious and edible and then licked some more. He put both arms above his head, locking his hands together, and stretched onto his tiptoes.

  The fucker knew I couldn’t resist the show. I grasped the hem of my shirt, gathered all the extra cloth up until my breasts were exposed, and swiped at the corners of each eye. “Damn, my allergies are still going strong this year.” When I lowered the cloth and caught the look on his face, I coughed to cover my laugh.

  “Touché, Ms. Thibodeaux.”

  “Thank you, thank you very much.”

  He tilted my face back. “Promise me you’ll wait to hear from me before you call the coven again.”

  I crossed my toes and put one hand behind my back and crossed my fingers too. “Sure, no problem.” My eyes couldn’t get any wider. I tried to look guileless and innocent.

  He moved closer. “Why don’t I believe you?”

  Uh-oh, he was getting serious about using my attraction to him to manipulate me. The man was damned smart. I scooted back out of range and opened the door, then crossed the threshold to stand in the hall.

  “I really don’t know.” It took every ounce of willpower to maintain my nonchalant body language and continue to meet his stare.

  “Stay. You’ll be safe here.” He crowded me, dropped his hands to my hips, and nestled his groin against my abdomen. I tried and failed to ignore the line of heat from his erection.

  “Can’t. I have to go home.” The smell of the ocean teased my senses, tried to lull me into complacency. “Stop that. It’s really not fair to use your magic on me that way.” I took my foot out of the slipper I’d found in his closet and caressed the back of his calf with my toes.

  “I can get whatever you need.” The small circles he traced on my lower back encouraged me to melt against his torso, bury my nose against his chest, and suck his scent into my lungs in a greedy gasp. Liquid heat gathered in my belly, and he took my earlobe between his lips and licked it. “Stay here. With me.”

  “And do what? Stare at you all day until you leave, doing my best not to jump you? Then I can stare at the walls while you’re gone and worry myself sick.” I turned my head and broke his suction on my ear. “I have laundry and cleaning and stuff—”

  “We both know you don’t clean.” The heat of his palm warmed my rib cage as he snaked his hand up under the borrowed T-shirt and cupped my breast. He thumbed my nipple through the satin bra and clutched me tighter, picking me up off the ground with one hand on my ass. I twined my legs around his hips and undulated against him once, drawing a groan from us both.

  “Yes I do. Sometimes.” He snorted, and I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be a smart ass. That’s my territory.” He chuckled and popped my breast free of the confines of my bra’s cup. Now he could palm it fully. I arched my back to give him better access. I gave into temptation and kissed the bottom of his jaw, worked my way over to his mouth, and insinuated my tongue through the seam of his lips. I broke the kiss when my heart thudded so loud in my ears I couldn’t hear any more and the sound of the sea became a dull roar.

  “Oh, you stupid girl. Stay with him. He is a feast, he is ours.”

  I flinched. The voice was back. “Put me down, Daniel.” My breath puffed against his neck.

  “No.” He backed up a step until we were fully inside his condo.

  “Yes.” I squirmed, straightened my legs, and set my hands on his collarbone, pushing away. “This can only go one way, and you told me this morning we can’t go there again. Put me down before we both end up hurt.”

  He took his hand out from under my shirt and let me slide down his body. The friction as my breasts and thighs brushed against him was so hot and bittersweet. I didn’t move at first, trying to catch my breath.

  I turned my back and fixed my bra, the sweet prickles from his touch fading. “Call me when you know something.” We stood in a kind of limbo for a few minutes, both fighting the urge to fuck right there on the floor, but I had to face reality.

  Daniel’s motivations and allegiances were still largely unknown to me. He was exceptionally powerful, mysterious, and sporting a tattoo with a life of its own. Great sex and sweet personality aside, I wasn’t sure I could trust him. With my body, sure. But with my heart and soul? The jury was still out.

  Chapter Seven

  I cruised the crammed aisles grabbing candles, salts, crystals, herbs… My nanny Stella had been human, but she’d also been Wiccan and had taught me a thing or two about spells. Particularly protection spells. I didn’t know for sure if there was a deity out there that gave a shit about me and my little problems, but I did know the energy you put out into the universe came back to you. So if thinking really hard and willing something to happen could help it along, why not?

  Lane came into view from the curtained area in the back of the store and smiled at me. “Miranda, welcome. I’ve never seen your aura looking so great. It’s much clearer and brighter than normal.”

  “Really? ’Cause the last few days have been anything but.”

  Lane pushed a stray hair behind her ear and pulled items from my basket. Her gypsy skirt swayed as she bustled around bagging and wrapping things.

  “New love in your life?” Her eyes sparked with energy.

  “I think you might be slipping.”

  T.T.B. and I were not in love. We weren’t.

  I wondered how many psychic gifts she had. Being Wiccan didn’t equate to also being gifted, but Lane made it obvious she came equipped with extra-specials. It’d be nice to know if she could tell me anything a
bout all the colors I saw hovering around people. “Lane, what can you tell me about auras?” She smiled and kept packing things into a brown paper bag. “What do they look like?”

  “I think you already know the answer. That glow you’ve been seeing around your new friend, that’s his aura. Well, what you can see of it right now. It all depends for me on how hard I’m looking. I can overlook them completely if I want. Some people’s auras…well. If you concentrate you’ll be able to see much more clearly.”

  “Great, Yoda, thanks. Would it kill you to answer a question directly?” My jeans pocket pinched off the circulation in my hand while I rooted for a couple of bills to pay her.

  “Maybe. Twenty-five dollars.” She held out a chubby, freckled hand and took my money, tucking it into her bra. I decided to let her keep the change. We might both be chicks, but whoa.

  Lane turned and sashayed down the narrow walkway to the back room. I wasn’t sure what she did back there, but I was pretty sure she wasn’t baking cookies.

  “Don’t forget to use a circle dear. We wouldn’t want even more nasties at your door.”

  I was left standing at the counter with a crammed paper bag, swearing under my breath about busybody witches with a penchant for playing the oracle-that-doesn’t-tell-you-anything-useful. It was always this cryptic crap that kept me up all night, worrying over what she’d said and trying to puzzle out what she hadn’t.

  There was a rack of dried lavender on the counter next to the register. I ripped off a bunch out of spite and threw it in the bag.

  When the bell jingled on the way out, I fought an intense urge to rip it down and throw it across the street.

  I picked up Chinese on my way home again. Promising myself I would grocery shop was ridiculous, so I promised to stop doing it. I hate to cook, so why keep promising to do it when I can pay other people to? My budget was tight, but with lunch specials and careful stretching of meals, I could live on takeout. I wandered into the drugstore next door to China Sea to stock up on essentials.

  Anna was at the register, her pretty face lighting up with a quick smile when she saw me. Looked like the fight from the other day was forgotten. One of Anna’s best qualities was that she never held a grudge. When I’d first started coming in here, I’d thought she found my candy purchases amusing. Then one morning I walked in and saw her scarfing a handful of gummy worms.

  Turns out she was just happy to see someone else with as much of an addiction as her own. We’d bonded over my sometimes twice-a-day sugar stops.

  The front center section of the store beckoned to me with open arms and shiny-shiny plastic bags. The bulk candy aisle: nirvana on Earth. Two one-pound bags of jelly beans, one blue raspberry licorice (for experimental purposes), four rolls of Chewy Sprees, and a decent bag of peanut M&M’s later, I sidled up to the counter and dumped my haul. Anna smiled at me and started hitting barcodes with the zapper thing.

  “You’re in early for your fix. How you doing?”

  “All right. You?”

  She shrugged and held up the bag of blue raspberry licorice.

  I ripped it open in response and offered her a piece. We both took a bite. “Pretty good. Might be better if it had sugar coating the outside.”

  She nodded and swallowed. “Could be a backup for emergency purposes.”

  I handed her some cash and chewed while she fished for my change.

  “I’m tempted to ask about the chocolate, but I won’t.” She smiled slyly and put the receipt and change in my hand. In her way she could be just as annoying with the half answers as Lane. The candy got dumped into a plastic bag. I threw the paper bag from Lane’s in on top. I really needed to remember to bring one of those reusable ones. The darned plastic bags were like out of control bunnies—replicating every time I turned my back.

  “Call me later. I want to hear more about the strip club and the Stache-master.”

  She giggled and rolled her eyes. “Gotta rub it in, don’t you?”

  “No. Just, it has hilarity potential. I mean, think about it. You being how you are and never getting a clue…and then you go to a strip club and still no clue until…”

  “Argh! Shut up!” She threw a gummy worm that materialized from beneath the counter at me. “You’re right, it does. It is funny with a little distance. How about I call you when I get off for the night?”

  “Sure.” I blew her a kiss with an eyebrow waggle, and she snorted at me but grinned.

  * * *

  Forty-five minutes later, I’d demolished an egg roll, some wonton soup, and Kung Pao Pork. I’d double ordered so there was plenty for lunch and dinner tomorrow. I actually liked my spicy dishes better the second day.

  I washed up and brushed my teeth. I didn’t want anything distracting me from my casting and meditation. I gathered my supplies and took them into the bedroom where I closed my curtains and stripped. Part of the reason my clothes were all over the floor was because I commandeered my closet as an altar space. I don’t do any heavy-duty spelling, but it is meant to be a sacred space, so I like to keep it clean.

  I emptied the bag from Lane’s shop onto the bed and took the new candles with me to the altar, setting each in its respective space on the compass. Then I set a circle and cleansed my space for meditation. I concentrated on asking for the presence of only good and helpful spirits to come to my side during the casting and keeping negative energy away. When I arrived home today from shopping my kitchen drawers had been hanging open again. It happened at least once a week. My invisible roommate didn’t seem harmful, but it was better to be safe and do the ritual right.

  First, I renewed the protection around my apartment with a good mixture of sea salt and brick dust across the exterior door and windowsills. When I finished, I returned to the altar and sat on the floor cross-legged in front of it and closed my eyes. This was my favorite place to meditate.

  Straightening my back and taking a new deeper breath, I forced it out slowly and sunk to the floor. I imagined I sat on an endless, empty beach with nothing but the turquoise waters of the Caribbean in front of me and white, sugary sand beneath and all around me. The musical whisper of the water rolled in and out with the tide. I stared at the far horizon where the water and sky met one another.

  The events of the last few days flooded my head, but this time I detached myself and examined them. What did I want to ask for guidance with and protection from? Stella had always been very clear—when asking for help from a deity, you had to know exactly what you wanted or risk being stuck with a nasty case of buyer’s remorse with no one but yourself to blame.

  Meeting Daniel had made me realize how lonely and isolated I’d become. I didn’t want to live the way I had been any longer. He said the dark-haired vamp was my king, but I wasn’t going to give in that easily. If I possessed an ability, a magic strong enough to drain humans of their life force through nothing but sexual contact, and could call—albeit unconsciously—vampires to me, who said I had to just go with the guy?

  The sun in my imaginary space shone bright and hot. A trickle of sweat ran down the nape of my neck and between my shoulder blades. The gritty sand itched under my legs and butt. It was then I realized I was no longer meditating.

  I also wasn’t alone.

  A tall, red-haired woman stood a few feet to my left, letting the waves run over her feet.

  I rubbed my eyes and stared. This couldn’t be happening. She stood in the water watching me, long, red hair flowing to her lower back and a baby bump protruding under her white gown. As she approached, she morphed into a muscular brunette wearing leather body armor, a quiver of arrows poking up over one shoulder and a short sword gripped in her right hand. Blue body paint and rust-colored spatters covered her cheeks, hands to the elbow, and legs.

  I stared, dumbfounded, as her appearance continued to shift. She became an old woman with white, thinning hair and wrinkled cheeks. Even in the elderly form, her posture was ramrod straight, and she walked with long, fast strides over the sand. Ho
ly crap.

  I pinched my thigh in an attempt to wake myself and scrunched my eyes closed, hoping when I opened them she would be gone.

  She stopped directly in front of me, once again the pregnant redhead. Her stern, green gaze bored a hole in my forehead, and I wriggled my backside into the sand. I stopped and held still, the way a mouse trapped in an aquarium with a hungry boa constrictor freezes. Maybe if I didn’t move, she’d go away and not kill me.

  A shimmer danced over her hair and down her body, right to where her toes peeked out under her hemline. When it stopped, a braid fell over one shoulder and a circlet nestled in her hair. A stunning emerald green gown with a square neckline and those big bell sleeves like something right out of a medieval faire took the place of the shapeless white shift.

  “You should have come sooner, Miranda.”

  I fought the urge to stand up or to try to cover myself. I had a feeling either would be highly frowned upon by this…person. I could do naked with men. Around other women—not so much.

  She sat down opposite me and folded her legs criss-cross-applesauce like mine. My skin crawled. With her sweeping gaze traveling over me, filing everything away for some unknown purpose, I wanted to find some place to hide. I squirmed and stuck my tongue against the roof of my mouth so I wouldn’t blurt out something asinine and regrettable.

  “Daniel Red Sleeves has already told you what you are, so I do not understand why you wish to question me.”

  I looked at a point somewhere over her right shoulder while I formed my question.

  “I do not understand what it means though. I was never taught—”

  “Why must it always be so with the young? Why, why, why. Always asking why. Be it a blessing or a calamity, your kind is always asking why.” She sighed, put one elbow on her knee, and dropped her chin to her palm. “Did you not listen to T.T.B.? He told you that you will help bring fertility back to the covens. And you really must stop thinking of yourself as human. You are much more than that.”