I turned over slowly. The guy I unfortunately hadn’t shot back in the alley was sitting in a chair next to my bed, twirling said stake between his fingers. Shit, this wasn’t good. Especially since I was naked as the day I was born.
With my sage green silk sheet tucked around me, I reached for my bedside lamp. The finer details of the vampire came into view, and I nearly gasped. He wasn’t at all the same as the night before.
He was dressed in a black suit with a crisp white shirt beneath it, but no tie. No, he was too suave for that accessory. Instead, he kept the top three buttons undone, showing off a light smattering of chest hair.
His coffee-colored hair was parted down the middle, and he pushed a loose piece behind his ear as his muddy-red eyes appraised me. His eye color was the exact same as his friend’s that I’d stabbed, though I swore they’d been darker as I walked away from the alley. Questions about why that might be ran through my mind briefly until I realized that detail didn’t matter.
What was most important was why and how this bloodsucker was in my condo.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Well, you tried to kill my friend when all we’d done was help you. Maybe I’ve come to repay the favor,” he said calmly.
“If that was the case, I’d already be dead. Unless you prefer to play with your food like a psycho.” I eyed him openly, then added, “Wouldn’t be surprised.”
He scoffed at my insult. “I don’t play. I take what I want.”
Yeah, he was as much of a prick as his suit made him appear.
“So, like I asked before, what do you want?” I asked.
He held the stake with his left hand and his right pointer finger hovered over the tip. “Why do you use so many extra ingredients in your weapon?”
I barked out a laugh. “You want to know about my weapons?”
“More of a curiosity. You’re different from most hunters I’ve encountered before.”
Damn right, I was. I was more careful, but I wasn’t going to tell this arrogant jerk that.
“I’m different for a reason.” And I was also over sitting in my bed as if he had the upper hand on me. I rolled off the mattress, leaving my sheet behind, and taking the risk that this vampire wasn’t in a hurry to fight me.
With one glance back, I caught him smirking and nodding at me. “Yes, I’d have to agree.”
I entered my walk-in closet without replying and wiggled into fresh underwear and jeans before peeking my head back out into the room. The vamp hadn’t moved, but he was watching me and still clutching my stake. I didn’t take him for an idiot and, sure enough, when I reached into the back of my underwear drawer, the stake that should have been there was gone. Stupid, smart prick.
Grabbing a bra and shirt, I slipped those on before opening the other drawers in search of a weapon.
“Sixteen of them, Amersyn. That’s how many stakes I found in your room,” he called, still sitting relaxed in my chair.
“Listen here, mother—” I came storming out of my closet, finger pointed in his direction, but he was gone within the blink of an eye. Until he wasn’t.
His breath was suddenly on my neck. “No, you listen, and I talk.”
Holy hell. My stomach clenched, and everything within me wanted to lean back into him. Damn, there was something seriously wrong with me. I must have hit my head harder than I realized in that alley.
Steeling my resolve, I took a step forward before turning around to face him. “If you didn’t notice, this is my house. You don’t get to make the rules here.”
“Given that your house is located within the territory I run, I think I do.”
I stared at his face. He’d shaved before coming to find me. His skin was like rock, a smooth and perfectly sculpted one.
I shook my head. Get your crap together, Amersyn.
“So, you’re a nest leader for South Portland. What were you doing on the east side last night?” I asked.
He shook his finger at me, closing the distance I’d just created. “No, Amersyn. I’m asking the questions.”
Our chests were nearly touching, my skin warming and stomach tightening, but I didn’t back away this time. He didn’t need to know he was affecting me. “How do you know my name?”
“I’ve learned a lot about you lately, especially in the last fourteen hours. Unfortunately, there is still a lot that doesn’t make sense.” A line formed between his two symmetrical eyebrows.
That was the first time he’d shown a weakness. He didn’t have all of the information he wanted, and that frustrated him. Good. Bastard deserved that for breaking into my house.
“What about me doesn’t make sense?” I asked before turning away from him to head into the kitchen. If I was going to survive a civil conversation with a vampire before I killed him, I needed coffee.
Opening my bedroom door, I peeked out the front windows to find the sun was already setting for the day. The oranges and purples mixed together, almost distracting me from the caffeine I badly needed.
“I also found the nine other stakes in your kitchen, so don’t bother,” the vampire droned.
Again…stupid, smart prick.
“What’s your name so I can maybe stop calling you ‘prick’ in my head?” I asked as I opened the pantry to grab my coffee.
He chuckled. “Maciah West.”
“Sounds like a prick kind of name. Fitting.”
He was next to me before I drew another breath. The vampire inhaled deeply at my neck, causing my insides to twist in ways I was trying to pretend weren’t happening. Under no circumstances would I be attracted to a vampire. It couldn’t be possible.
“You’re not afraid of me,” Maciah said.
“Why should I be? You’re either going to kill me, or I’m going to kill you. Whatever happens next is up to fate.”
I took a step away from him and went to my coffee maker, double checking the drawer beneath it for a stake. I had no idea how many stakes I had lying around. I just knew there were a lot of them. Even though Maciah had found nine, that didn’t mean anything to me. Plus, looking for them gave me something else to focus on.
Unfortunately, that one was gone, so I grabbed three packets of sugar instead. I scooped out the delicious granules of coffee, poured them carefully into my tiny refillable cup, and popped it into the coffee maker.
Closing the lid, I double-checked there was enough water and pressed the strong button to get my coffee as potent as possible. I had a feeling I was going to need the extra boost.
Maciah moved to the other side of my counter, sitting on one of the stools while I leaned against the stainless-steel refrigerator.
“You don’t live here often,” Maciah said as if he knew me, then added, “Your scent isn’t strong in most parts of the condo.”
“How about you quit procrastinating and say what you need to? Obviously, you’re a patient person, but I am not. I have things I need to do today that don’t include making small talk with a bloodsucker.”
He sneered at my choice of words, but I didn’t care. He was what he was, and I needed to keep that at the forefront of my mind.
“Do you know why your wounds have already begun healing?” he asked, surprising me with the change of direction.
“Because I take good care of my body and it does the same in return,” I answered. He didn’t need to know that a witch assisted me with enhanced traits that helped level the playing field between me and the vampires I hunted.
I knew that if I removed the bandages on my forehead and bicep, the wounds from the night before would be closing already. And my bruises? I didn’t need to look in the mirror to know they’d gone from purple to green. By tomorrow, they’d be yellowing.
My ribs, on the other hand, were still affecting me and would be for at least a few days. Though, I was well aware that was something that should have taken weeks to heal for any normal human.
Maciah narrowed his burnt-red eyes on me. “Do you really believe that?”
/> “Why wouldn’t I?” Maybe he knew about my enhancements and didn’t believe me. Either way, I knew who I was and didn’t care if he agreed with my reasoning.
“Okay. Tell me about your parents?” he asked, and I sucked in a breath. A vice tightened around my heart. I didn’t talk about my parents with anyone. Not ever. Nobody even knew I had a brother before. Not anyone who knew me anymore.
“That’s none of your damn business,” I answered, turning back for my coffee. My cup still had room in it, so I reached up to grab the whiskey. I was going to need a double boost to deal with this vampire.
“Actually, I believe it is. Tell me who they were,” Maciah demanded.
I considered tossing my scalding hot drink in his face but decided not to waste the deliciousness. Instead, I turned slowly around with a smile on my face.
“You can kindly get the hell out of my house now. You might have stolen all of my stakes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t hurt you if you choose to continue pissing me off,” I said with feigned sweetness.
“Like you hurt Zeke? Do you pride yourself on being a murderer? I bet that makes mommy and daddy very proud,” he countered.
Screw this prick.
I threw my drink at his face, but he was already gone from the stool. I swung my arm back, sensing him behind me, and my fist cracked against his jaw. He grabbed my ribs, and I nearly passed out from the pain before reaching for the knife block. I was about to cut this asshole, even if it wouldn’t kill him.
My fingers grazed the handles before Maciah blurred with me still in his arms. I was suddenly pressed against the cool glass of my floor-to-ceiling windows, facing Maciah’s scowling lips.
He let out a small hiss, pressing closer to keep my arms trapped. “Quit trying to kill me.”
“If you’d have left when I told you to, I wouldn’t be.” I tilted my chin, meeting his piercing eyes. He was different. I couldn’t deny that like I was the attraction simmering inside me.
Maciah might not be the usual vampire I hunted, but he still had to drink human blood to survive, and that was all that mattered to me—that was all it took to make him enemy number one in my book.
“Do you really have no clue?” he asked, eyes pinched as he appraised me.
“About what?” I snapped.
Maciah’s hands tightened painfully around my biceps. Our bodies were still flush against each other, and the only thing that kept me from melting into a puddle from the growing heat between us was the iciness of the window behind me.
He stared me down, waiting for some sort of sign. Finally, he sighed, loosening his hold ever so slightly.
“You’re a vampire, Amersyn.”
4
I laughed so hard that my spit landed on Maciah’s face. Sure, he was different from most vampires I met, but he was also beyond insane. He thought I was a vampire? Freaking hilarious.
“You’re out of your damn mind. I am the furthest thing from a vampire there is,” I said once the hysterics within me settled.
Maciah’s eyes flashed a crimson, the brown in them fading to the background. “Did you just spit on me?”
I shrugged, moving further away from him. Gone was the calm, business-like vampire, and in his place was the monster I assumed him to be. My cedar table was between us, and I knew I should have had two more stakes under the tabletop. If he hadn’t found those, I might be able to end the craziness of this conversation.
I put my hands on the smooth surface and leaned forward. “That’s what happens when you say psychotic things. People tend to laugh in your face,” I said, trying to add fuel to the fire and distract him.
His eyes stayed on mine as I slowly moved one of my hands under the table. My fingers felt the metal tip of the stake, and I nearly sagged in relief. I was going to kill this vampire for breaking into my house and saying stupid things.
“I’m not lying to you, Amersyn. If you’d think for a minute, then you’d realize that. You’re faster, stronger, and more resilient than any other human I’ve ever seen. That’s not normal,” he said.
I rolled my eyes, sneaking the stake behind my back as I replied. “I know that. A witch did some magic—”
He snarled and his fist slammed down on my table, putting a noticeable crack in the top. He was going to pay for that, too.
“No, a witch concealed your true identity. How can you be so naïve?” He was practically screaming by then, and I used his emotions to make my move.
“There is nothing naïve about me. I know exactly who I am and what my purpose is,” I said as I leaped over the table, stake held tightly in my right hand, and aimed for his heart.
He blurred out of the way before I could hit my mark. He was fast, but I was persistent. He wasn’t walking out of my condo.
Maciah bounced on the balls of both his feet, making it hard for me to guess which way he was going to move once I lunged for him again. I needed to be patient and learn his tells before I could end him.
I feigned to the left before striking right. He anticipated my move, shoving me to the ground, but I kept a tight hold of the stake. He’d have to pry the wood from my dead hands if he thought to take it from me.
“This is a waste of our time,” he deadpanned as if I was no threat to him.
“Screw you,” I spat, getting up to my feet.
“I’ll have to pass on the offer this time,” he taunted.
Arrogant. Prick.
I darted for him again. My ribs protested against the quick movements, but I ignored the pain, knowing the reward would be worth the extra few days of healing.
When I was close enough, I swung my stake, this time aiming for his leg instead of his heart. If I could injure him, he’d slow down enough for me to kill him easier.
The metal tip caught on his black slacks, tearing the dress pants, but missing the skin.
He frowned. “I liked these pants.”
And I liked his ass in them, but I didn’t really care about that. Vampires were all hot. That was part of their appeal to draw helpless humans in. Sure, Maciah was a notch above hot, but that didn’t mean shit to me. He needed to die.
I jumped toward the table, intending to use the wooden surface to push off from, allowing me to go further than normal. Just as my toes touched the surface, Maciah’s arms wrapped around my waist causing half my body to hang over his back.
Stupid, stupid, vampire.
I was upside down as his grip tightened around my thighs. With my stake ready, I aimed for his heart. There were no rules stating I couldn’t stab him in the back, and I planned to do just that. As my weapon headed toward its target, he decided to roll us, causing the metal tip to cut through his rib and straight into my thigh.
Mother effer, that hurt!
“Burns, doesn’t it?” Maciah said before throwing me onto the loveseat across the room.
Of course it burned. I’d stabbed myself. Wounds tended to do that.
I glanced down—it was only a surface scratch. My jeans had taken the brunt of the damage, thankfully.
Maciah stalked toward me as I got back up. His previously parted and brushed hair was disheveled, and he dropped his ruined suit coat to the floor before peeking at the blood dripping from his ribs. As he adjusted his shirt, I could see the puncture mark was already closing. He healed faster than most vampires. Not good for me. I had to get a kill shot in.
“I’d like to make you an offer,” he said casually, even though his eyes were pulsing with irritation.
“I don’t negotiate with blood terrorists,” I retorted sharply.
He pinched the bridge of his perfectly straight nose and sighed. “Amersyn, you need to listen to me.”
“Why would I ever do that?” I was up from the couch, ready to continue our fight, but his next words made me pause.
“Because I know who you are.”
I scoffed. “You don’t know the first thing about me.”
Nobody knew me. It was how I separated myself from the others and focused on what
needed to be done. I couldn’t care about other people. I couldn’t let them in. They’d be something else I needed to fight for, and I wasn’t sure I was capable of that. Not until I’d avenged my family.
“You were born twenty-one years ago. Your mother was Sondra McClaren. Your pseudo-father was Greg Holt. Your parents were killed seven years ago, along with a brother only ten months younger than you. I know five vampires were present that night. I know you’ve killed three and are in search of the other two, but you kill any vampire in your quest for vengeance and information.” He paused, taking a deep inhale. “I know the blood of an original vampire runs through your veins.”
The longer he spoke, the more rage I built up. How dare he speak of my family. How dare he pretend to know me just because he had a few facts that very people knew. I tried to keep my emotions out of my actions, because those only got people killed, but Maciah had broken through my walls, and I lost control.
With a guttural roar, I charged for him, and he merely stood there. I knocked him to the ground, stake still in hand. I raised the wooden weapon into the air, ready to end him. When he didn’t fight back like before, I paused for the briefest of seconds, long enough for him to reverse our roles.
Maciah sat on top of me, my arms pinned underneath his strong, muscled legs. “I’m telling you the truth, Amersyn. I don’t lie.”
“Ha! Vampires are the creators of deceit.” I bucked beneath him, knocking him forward so I could get my arm loose. I plunged the stake into his ribs, hoping to hit his heart from the side.
He grabbed both of my arms, pinned them above my head, and leaned over me. “Stop trying to kill me, damn it,” he spat before reaching up to pull the stake from his side.
I took the opportunity to try to yank my hands free from his single-handed hold, but he only gripped me tighter. I started to wiggle beneath him, moving every way I could and hoping to throw him off me. Only I’d managed nothing of the sort.
Maciah used one hand to snap my only weapon in half before he pressed all of his weight onto me. His thighs were cool against my sides, making my skin feel as if it was simmering. He leaned in closer, strands of his dark hair falling forward as his crimson eyes faded back to muddy-red.
Vampire Heir (Scorned by Blood Book 1) Page 3
