The man Jaden was with leaned into her, giving her a meaningful look. He didn’t hear what they said, but he saw the possessive way the one called Rick stayed close to her side. The human’s eyes always strayed to her with a longing Tyr could sense easily from across an ocean and his mortal body was always inclined to lean in. It was the same man who interrupted his conversation earlier in the night. Who was this mortal to her? And why did he care?
Tyr cursed himself for being affected by the dhampir. But, try as he may, he couldn’t deny he was fascinated. When it looked as if Rick would reach out and touch her, the knight dropped the cloak he carried over his emotions to block himself from Jaden. He watched her shiver, feeling his nearness. He saw her eyes dart around, searching. A grim smile spread out over his features when she hurried away from the park.
Following them for some time, he glided behind them, invisible. He ignored their words but tried to feel what Jaden was feeling. Without seeing her eyes, he couldn’t read into her thoughts. He found himself edging closer, reaching out to touch her. Suddenly, her head snapped around to look back. It was as if she pierced him with her stare. Tyr knew it was senseless to lurk and pulled his emotions away from her. Jaden visibly relaxed, her walk becoming lighter now she believed him to be gone.
Tyr silently tracked her location until he felt her arrive at Mack’s building. To his displeasure, the man was still beside her. With a scowl, he fled into the blackness of the city night. Jaden was safe--for now. But, as soon as the man left her side, Tyr would go for her again. And this next time, he wouldn’t be as indulgent with her.
* * * *
Mack was gone. Outward, Jaden stayed calm. Inside, she cursed the blackest string of profanity she knew. She wanted some answers and she didn’t want to have to wait for them.
The penthouse seemed empty without her uncle’s dynamic presence. The servants faded into the background until they became part of the walls. Jaden could feel them around her, but tried to ignore them as she always had.
Mack left a message with the butler that he would be back in three days. He didn’t say where he had gone--only that Jaden should be ready to leave when he got home. Jaden grimaced, scanning over the note. He bid her, most insistently, to stay in until he got back. Jaden made no such plans.
For Rick, Mack left a different message. He found it slipped under the door of his apartment. Rick lived directly beneath Mack’s home. The loft style suite was simply decorated with an industrial type of feel to the metal bar walls and black furniture.
Mack warned that Jaden might be in danger and ordered that Rick should stay by her side. Whatever happened, he was not to let her leave the house. Attached to the note were two forms of tranquilizers--a dart and a vial filled with powder. There were enough drugs to keep Jaden sedated for a week. Rick frowned. Shoving the package into his duffel bag, he packed to go up to Mack’s apartment to stay.
In the penthouse, he was met with as warm a welcome as he could imagine getting from Jaden. She sneered, looking with haughtiness at his bags, before turning to go to bed. Rick sighed, dropping his bags as he went to follow her.
Catching up to her on the stairs, he said, "It’s only for a few days."
Jaden paused halfway up to turn her needling eyes at him. "I don’t need a babysitter, Rick. I can take care of myself."
"Mack is concerned, is all. You’re his niece. He worries about you," Rick said. Giving her a sheepish grin, he offered, "We can train if you like. I’ve been working on my swordplay and could use a worthy partner. Not many of the guys are interested in the old styles."
It was the only offer he could’ve made that would’ve piqued her interest. Jaden allowed herself a small smile. Studying Rick’s handsome face, she nodded. "All right, Mr. Fletcher."
A boyish grin spread over his face. His eyes sparkled with mischievous intent and hope. Jaden turned from him, her smile fading when he could no longer see. She saw the look in his eyes and was sorry for it.
Once she was alone in her room, the door safely latched behind her, she allowed herself to breathe. Her head hit against the frame of the door with a heavy thud. She thought of Rick downstairs in the den watching television on her uncle’s couch. He really wasn’t a bad guy. He was generous and kind, athletic and smart. He was a gentleman. And in bed, if memory served, he was quite the inventive lover. Why was she fighting him so hard? Sure, she didn’t love him, but why fight animal nature? And it would seem she had enough pent up animal nature inside of her to fuel the most indecent of vampiric fantasies.
If she made her intent clear to Rick in the beginning, why shouldn’t they resume their affair? And maybe if she released some of the tightly wound tension Tyr created in her body, she would be better apt to face the irritating vampire. It wasn’t the first time she thought about resuming her meaningless affair with Rick, but it was the first time she considered it.
Jaden lifted her head to stare at the door. Her fingers trembled slightly as she reached for the lock. A nervous flutter came to her stomach. It had been a long time since she allowed herself to get close to someone. Two years, nine months and twelve days to be exact. Life had just gotten too complicated to make time for men. And being with Rick tonight would beat being alone.
Her decision made, she unlocked the door. The latch slid easily beneath her fingers. Pulling on the knob, the door didn’t move. Jaden frowned. She looked at the lock. It was still undone.
"What…?" she began. A puzzled frown edged her face.
"Do you really think he can make you happy?"
Jaden froze. She heard a match strike behind her and the slow puffing of a cigar. She dropped her hand from the knob. Slowly, she turned around. The lock slid into place as she moved, untouched by human hands. The red glow of a cigar tip floated eerily in the darkness as her eyes adjusted to the low light.
"He’ll never understand you," the voice continued uniformly. Tyr sat in her chair by the vanity as if he’d been waiting for her all evening. His coat lay over the side of her bed, draping over the edge with an odd possessiveness. His legs drew forward from his body, clad in tight black leather, as he rested. Sitting, composed and at ease, he dominated the room, made it his own. She felt like a stranger in her own home. His arced lips drew over the tip of the cigar in a slow caress as he tasted it with leisurely enjoyment. Jaden shivered at the deliberately idle action. She recognized the cigar’s smell as one of her uncle’s.
"I should have known you’d be here," she grumbled sharply. She glowered succinctly at him. His brow raised on his face reminding her of the still creature she’d met with in the alleyway. What a fool she had been that night, so off her game. Any imbecile could see him for what he was--a strong, willful vampire. As if to prove her point, his fangs peeked out from beneath his lips. Swallowing, she forced her attention away from his sensually kissable mouth.
Jaden walked over to her bed, sitting as she pulled off her boots. She threw them haphazardly onto the floor. Smelling the smoke crossing her face, she coughed and waved her hand through the air. "That thing will probably kill me. Could you put it out?"
"Isn’t that what you wanted?" he asked with a tilt of his head. His lungs didn’t move, never needing air. He waited as she studied him. His middle finger smoothed over the chair’s arm, the fingernails moving in undulating circles that reminded her of a naughty caress.
Jaden felt a fire in her limbs, stirring in her belly to weaken her will. She kept her gaze trained on his hand, letting her eyes travel up the breadth of his pale arm when his fingers ceased in their movements. She took in the gladiator girth of his chest constructed of steel and flesh. His shirt collar curved around his neck like a crimson colored noose. The sinewy lines of it held in timeless motion like the contours of an ancient statue. After a long moment of silence, he let the smoke escape his parted lips.
Jaden watched in a curious state of awe as the smoke left his firm mouth, riveting around his fangs as it passed by in curls. Even the elements of that simple action
seemed controlled by the vampire who allowed it to be. When the last of the smoke dissipated above his head, he finally moved. Taking his dry fingers to the end of the cigar, he smote the burning tobacco without a flinch. Jaden feigned a look of proper awe and bowed over her feet.
The sultry sound of his low chuckle rode over on the air, twirling and twisting like a cartooned storm from her childhood. The voice it held was old and familiar, begging her acceptance with each blithe note. The creature called forth her most primal of desires, her most blatantly disobedient needs--the kind of need that didn’t seek permission or logic, only a reason to be. And Tyr exploited it. He used her human weakness of the flesh, causing her to shiver and tremble like a virgin maid set before her would-be impaler.
"I’m not going with you." Jaden tugged off her socks before moving across to her vanity barefoot. She didn’t like coming so close to him, especially after her wayward thoughts. Her mind reeled to think of what all his power would be capable of if put to a more passionate aim. It was said vampires made excellent lovers. They had years of experience and the bodies to back it up. They could make a human woman believe anything. Jaden was no fool. She knew that for the vampire it was an illusion, another way to stir the blood before tasting it.
She refused to let him see her apprehension. Glancing at the table, she took up a brush. Then, allowing time to sneer at him, she straightened defiantly.
"That button won’t work," he said easily. Jaden hated the amiable light in his eyes, the bored set to his jaw as he watched her.
For all the care he seemed to exude, she could’ve been a pile of pig droppings sitting in the middle of a grassy field--a small annoyance that must be considered for only a passing moment before being stepped over or swept away. She wondered which fate he would chose for her. Would she be released from him, left behind as he went onto ageless centuries? Or would she be snuffed out, swept away beneath the heel of his boot, forced into the stirring of his whims?
As he spoke, she instinctively knew her answer. "You cannot call for help this time. I promise to kill any who answer. Besides, I disabled your little button. I should hate for another rude interruption."
"Why are you here, Tyr?" she sighed in frustration. She stood proudly before him, watching him carefully through the slit of her eyes. Like most vampires, he hadn’t changed his clothes since before the alley. Vampires didn’t sweat. The burgundy sleeves were pushed up to his elbows. Jaden saw the markings of a scar on his right forearm. Her eyes narrowed, delicately trying to make out the branded symbol. Tyr rotated his arm down, hiding it from her view.
"We weren’t finished talking," he said easily. Drawing forward, he placed his elbows to his knees. His head came dangerously close to her side. Jaden looked down, meeting his eyes peeking out from beneath the top of his silky lashes. With a small sound of derision, she strode to the bed.
"I have nothing to say to you," she countered. She could feel his gaze following her, reading her movements. She sat quickly to hide the shaking of her legs. Her heart pounded in excitement, the kind of excitement brought forth from extreme terror. "I was finished. So why don’t you leave."
"Doesn’t anyone say please anymore?" he grumbled. His brows furrowed in concentration. "I do confess politeness must be an antiquated custom, but surely the world has not lost it completely."
"Please leave," she muttered with a heavenward roll to her eyes. She pulled her hair free and ran the brush through it. She ignored the fervent pounding in her chest as she did her best to be nonchalant towards him.
"No," he answered with a half smile, full of charm. He leaned back in easy repose.
Jaden shivered at the change in him. He seemed almost nice. Not one to mince words, she said, "Stop being … pleasant. I much preferred your indifferent disdain. Niceties don’t suit your kind, vampire."
That stopped him. The smile faded from his features. "You are a harsh judge, m’lady."
"Yes, I am. And quit calling me m’lady. It gives away your age, bloodsucker." Jaden purposefully batted her eyelashes coquettishly at him in mocking. He sat up straighter in the chair. Slowly, he came to his feet. The effort took no strain as if he floated more than stood.
Tyr did not like the scornful tone to her voice or the displeasure in her face as she stared at him. He knew she was afraid of him, could feel it easily though she hid it well. Her dark reddish-brown hair spilled prettily over her shoulders, cupping around her bruised jaw. He eyed the wound, surprised to see it healing so quickly. There was a lot of power in this woman. It was a wonder she wasn’t mad with it.
Parting his lips so she could see his fangs, he whispered, "I have ways of quieting your foolish mortal tongue and taking the information I seek from you by force. I do not need this aggravation. I can control you."
Jaden shivered. All thoughts of Rick faded from her as her primeval lust transferred itself easily from the man to the vampire. Her eyes dipped to his mouth as he loomed closer. She could see the firm set of his mouth, a hardness that would only go away when he smiled. His were lips that would move with tantalizing expertise if he let them. His whole body had the gift of time when it came to control. Tyr knew himself, knew his power and wore it comfortably.
Unbidden, her head cocked to the side. She stepped close. The brush slipped from her grasp, falling forgotten to the floor. The thin sliver of air between them heated with the sparks of their bodies. Electricity flowed, joining their chests with gossamer strands that attracted the two together with the driving force of high powered magnets. She resisted the pull, refusing to sway into the last breadth of their separation. Jaden wavered on her legs. The two wounds on her lip throbbed. Raising her hands, she hesitated slightly before reaching to touch his cheek.
His face was smooth and cool. A jolt ran down her fingers. Panting breathlessly, her stomach trembled. Her fingertips grazed over the length of his eyebrow, stopping gently to tremble at the arch before moving on. The ice melted from his gaze, capturing her with the beauty of it. Regarding him through the veil of her heavy lashes, Jaden tried to urge him forward with the tips of her fingers.
Tyr didn’t move, didn’t touch her. Jaden didn’t care. Lifting up on her toes, she breathed in the intoxicating scent of him. It was so unlike the contrived smell of cologne. It was natural, fresh, earthy. Her eyes stayed trained on his face, studying him for a response, feeling him for emotion where there was none. Her head fell to the side. Her body brushed lightly next to him. She could detect the beginning press of hardened muscle to her sensitive skin.
Closing her eyes, her lips drew forward. Her nose angled next to his. Her lips brushed lightly along the natural path carved in his skin. She felt breath echoing in harsh pants from his mouth. For all his cold stillness, he could’ve been a sculpture.
Her mouth ventured forward, parting wider as her lips slid and molded around his bottom lip to suck gently. Her insides shook with insecurity. She knew what she wanted from him. Wasn’t her own existence proof that he could answer her request? That he was fully shaped as a man should be? She didn’t want a child by the vampire. She didn’t want to curse another with her existence. Besides, Jaden knew she would never be fit as a mother. However, the nervous shaking in her limbs told her she wanted something from him.
She felt him smile as she held him firmly in place. A breathless suspension of time cocooned her. She waited for the response that had to come--that must come. She waited for his mouth to part, to lay claim as it surely ought to. She waited for the feel of his tongue, wondering how it would taste, how it would feel, how precisely it could move under his command. And his strong hands, how they must know the inner working of the female body. Jaden’s fingers curled, dipping into the overlong streaks of blonde hair. And then he spoke. The spell was broken.
"I told you I could control you, m’lady," he whispered in aggravating confidence. The low sound of his voice was tortured, as he whispered, "I can make you love me."
The words didn’t come out as Tyr intended. He won
dered why they would’ve slipped in such a way. Still, he did not take them back. They were said and would remain so.
Jaden’s jaw dropped open in a gasp of agonizing pain. His words slapped her, the ultimate rejection to her vulnerable state. Never had she opened herself up in such a way. Normally, she knew the man wanted her before she tried. She could lie and make them believe what she wanted them to believe. But Tyr was different. He could feel inside of her, could control her. And, yes, he could make her love him if she allowed him access to the last bit of her control and defenses. The love would be a lie, a ruse brought forth from the brainwashing power of his mind, but she would be convinced of it nonetheless. And a lie, when believed, became the truth.
Jaden pulled away from him on trembling limbs. Her eyes burned to release a dam of moisture she held at bay. Rejection. The word echoed harshly in her brain. The desire within her wasn’t completely of his doing. He only pushed her over the edge to make her react to it. His gaze was cold, unfeeling.
This creature could never truly return the passion she felt building within her at his nearness. She threw his face away with a hard push. His head snapped to the side, but his body didn’t move. Tyr closed his eyes to her anger, not allowing himself to react to it.
Shaking with indignation, she said, "I could never love a creature like you, vampire. You couldn’t even know the feeling. A creature like you would never be able to touch my heart, not with all the tricks in your book." Her words dropped to a mere, cruel whisper, "I loathe you. I hate you. I despise your very existence."
Tyr felt a piece of himself crumble. His jaw tightened but his expression otherwise stayed intact. Jaden flung herself away from him and stormed over to the bed. Sitting down, she glared at him with a huff.
Tyr forced a cold, crackling laugh at her tantrum. When he turned to look at her, his smile faded. Back was the cold employment of his visit.
The Jaded Hunter Page 8
