Tigress (Night Hawk Series)

by Taylor, J. E.

  JET-Fueled Fiction

  Tigress – Night Hawk Book Two © July 2013 J.E. Taylor

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  For additional information contact:

  www.JETaylor75.com

  Cover Art © 2013 Willsin Rowe

  Edited by Dragonfly Editing

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Chapter One - Naomi

  He stood on the snow covered peak, his dark hair flowing in the breeze with his face tilted toward the moon. Damian Andreas was one fine-looking man and I sighed at his eternal beauty. His posture stiffened and his eyes snapped open, scanning the landscape until they landed on me. The slow smile that spread over his lips sent a shiver up my spine ending with a rush of heat that warmed me to my very soul.

  We’d played in the mountains of Colorado for the last five years without the threat of retribution, but both of us knew the hourglass was running out of sand. Our cabin near the south shore of Rainbow Lake made for the perfect hiding spot, blending into the woods and surrounding mountain side. From the outside, it looked like a simple hunting cabin built into the mountainside, but it was far more than just a three sided hut. Using the natural slope of the mountain, he’d carved us a comfortable sanctuary with all the modern conveniences. Water piped in from the lake, heat and electricity courtesy of solar and geothermal heating and even cell signals strong enough to connect to the internet. It wasn’t the haven we left, but it was enough to make a life together.

  Damian dropped from the ledge, morphing into the form of a giant hawk; his wingspan blocked the moon as he circled, descending in a graceful arc until he was within a few feet of the ground. He dropped the last few inches in his human form, his intense gaze locked on mine.

  “I thought you were reading,” he said when his hiking boots touched the snow.

  “I was, but I thought the fresh air would do me some good.”

  He pulled me into his arms and his cool lips brushed mine. His kisses still stunned me as much as they did when we first met. My bones turned to soft clay, melting into him, into his kiss.

  The moment our lips separated, the playfulness in his eyes faded and his gaze rose from mine to the trees behind me. His features tensed and he straightened, his eyes narrowing into a glare that bit at my nerves.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked in a voice I hardly recognized and I turned, taking in the feral blonde standing at the edge of the woods.

  She approached and my pulse jumped at her red eyes and the set of razor teeth gleaming in the moonlight.

  “I know your hiding places, Damian,” she said in a sensual purr that hung on the night air. “And so does he.”

  Damian’s grasp tightened and he did a quick scan of the area before bringing his gaze back to the woman.

  “Don’t worry your pretty little head over it, honey. I took care of his hunters a few days ago.” Her eyes dropped to mine and she licked her lips. “She smells wonderful.”

  “The way my wife smells is of no interest to you,” he said, releasing his hold around my waist, taking my hand and stepping in front of me in a protective stance.

  “Wife. Wow.” Her perfect brow arched as she renewed her study of me. “And you’re not going to introduce me?”

  “Naomi, this is Lilith,” he said with a voice clipped with an underlying warning.

  The name Lilith brought forth a wealth of religious information, but this couldn’t possibly be the same as the reference in the old testament. The first woman. The first demon.

  I stared at her and she cocked her head, her lips spreading in a sly smile that was meant to chill.

  “The story is so much more sordid than those old monks scribed,” she said flipping her hair over her shoulder and igniting my curiosity. “Isn’t that right, Damian?”

  Damian squeezed my hand and sent a glance in my direction before sliding it back to Lilith. “What are you doing here?” he asked again, this time measuring each word, conveying his distaste.

  “Lucy is back on the prowl and he is in one of the foulest moods this universe has ever seen.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “It means he’s hunting and hell bent on finding the two of you.”

  “Let him come, this time I won’t stop until he’s dead,” I said and her sharp gaze met mine.

  “Sweetheart, if Lucy finds you, you won’t have the strength to fight him.”

  “Why the hell not?” I asked and tried to step to Damian’s side but he shot me a glare that froze my feet in place.

  “Because he has the last dose of antidote.” Her gaze snapped from mine to Damian’s. “If he uses it on you, you’ll die like that,” she said and snapped her fingers. “But that’s not his intent. He plans on stealing her immortality, and her death will be slow and painful.”

  Damian took a step backwards, forcing me to move. “You found a cure?”

  “It took me a while, considering I created the damn virus, but I finally found the right mix. Unfortunately, for those of us who have lived longer than the normal human lifespan, the instantaneous aging process means death.” Lilith let out a laugh filled with sarcasm and bitterness and her gaze landed on me. “But for you, my dear, it will strip you of your strength and make you immune to the virus for the rest of your mortal life.”

  Damian didn’t respond, but his eyes narrowed and his grip on my hand tightened.

  The information took a moment to sink in and I blinked at the sudden flurry of questions flooding my mind. “What do you mean by immune?” I asked, a little surprised at the question that actually popped out of my mouth.

  “It means no superior strength or speed and your ability to heal would revert back to the normal human timeframes.” Her gaze flipped back to Damian’s. “And it means she’s toxic to any vampire.” A slow sadistic smile crossed her lips.

  The gaze Damian sent my way reflected a level of trepidation I hadn’t seen in years.

  Lilith’s laugh pulled my attention back to her.

  “Baby, no one dances with the devil and lives to tell about it,” she said and slid her gaze to Damian’s. “Isn’t that right, Damian?”

  His jaw clenched and his grip on my hand turned to nearly bone crushing. “You mean, no human lives through his wrath,” he said.

  Lilith’s teeth flashed for a moment and I swore I saw a hint of sorrow pass over her features before they hardened.

  Damian’s head cocked to the side and then he scanned the landscape again. “Where’s Eve?”

  Lilith’s face pinched together and she turned her gaze away, but I caught the glossy shine of tears in the moonlight.

  Damian caught it as well and his hard posture softened. He released my hand, stepping toward the ancient vampire. “Lilith, what happened?” he asked, touching her shoulder.

  Her head snapped in his direction and she glanced at his hand before she spoke. “I had two doses of the antidote,” she said in a voice no louder than a whisper.

  When he pulled
her into a hug she stiffened and before either one of us could react, Lilith pulled a gun from behind her and shot. A burning pain filled my abdomen and I looked down at the tranquilizer dart sticking from my stomach.

  “What the hell have you done?” Damian growled and the grin Lilith shot his way sent a shock wave through my already pain-ridden form. Fury filled his features and before she could answer him, his fist smashed into her face.

  “You were always so fucking gullible,” she whispered from where she fell.

  My knees buckled under the agony filling every cell in my body. This was far worse than the pain of Damian’s initial bite. My lungs seized and I fell forward with Lilith’s crazy cackling following me into oblivion.

  Chapter Two

  A cramp pulled me from the dark and I curled my knees to my chest, moaning my discontent. Coolness wiped across my forehead and I opened my eyes. Damian’s gaze met mine and he offered me a grimace that was meant as a smile.

  “Am I dying?” I whispered.

  The slow shake of his head along with the sadness in his eyes brought me further awake and I glanced at the familiar surroundings of our mountain home.

  “What happened?”

  He continued to stroke my forehead with a damp cloth, but he wouldn’t meet my gaze.

  Before I could press further, heat burned through my skin and I screamed, tightening into a compact ball. Drawing a breath seemed like an impossible feat and I clamped my eyes shut, turning my face into the pillow and away from Damian’s pained gaze.

  Finally, my chest eased and I drew in a breath, and then another, concentrating on this one thing and tuning out the agony wrestling my muscles.

  “Damian, what happened?” I turned, taking in his bright blue eyes once again.

  “Lilith shot you with the antidote,” he said and picked up a cup from the nightstand. He lifted my head, tilting the glass to my lips.

  Cold water flowed over my tongue, quenching the dryness I hadn’t noticed until then. I grabbed his wrist and drank, trying to tip the cup further, but he stopped me.

  “You need to go easy,” he said, pulling the glass away and putting it on the table.

  I stared at him, at the conflict in his features and when he popped a thermometer in my mouth, my eyebrows rose.

  “You’ve been running a fever,” he said and the thermometer beeped. He pulled it out and checked the reading. The subtle close of his eyes and sigh that escaped gave me an indication of relief and when he brought his gaze back to mine, I knew. Damian’s relief washed over me like soft subtle waves.

  “How long have I been like this?”

  “A week.”

  His answer gave me a start and I attempted to sit up, but he pushed me back onto the bed.

  “You’re still sick,” he said showing me the readout.

  “It’s only a hundred and one,” I said and shifted, stretching out of the ball I’d remained curled in. The pressure in my lower abdomen surprised me. “Besides, I think I have to go to the bathroom,” I said and did my best to sit up.”

  The room spun and he threw the covers back, reaching to pick me up.

  “I can do this on my own,” I said, knocking his hands away.

  Damian stood and waved toward the bathroom. Irritation transforming the worry into a hard stare.

  I stumbled into the bathroom on wobbly, weak legs and took a seat on the commode. The unfamiliar burn of urine passed and I closed my eyes. This was one of the human elements that I had not missed and I had laughed at Damian for putting a toilet in when neither of us needed one. Now, I was glad to have the convenience. I finished and slowly got to my feet, shuffling to the mirror.

  The reflection showed a sickly pale face with dark circles encasing my deep brown eyes. My hair lay in a stringy matted mess that made me cringe. A shower, that’s what I needed and I turned, twisting the nozzles until steam filled the small space. With a great deal of effort, I stripped the stained and soiled night-shirt off and stepped under the stream of water.

  I exhaled and closed my eyes, letting the water cascade down my skin. The effort of just standing there sucked whatever energy I had right from my bones and I reached for the wall. His soft hand took mine instead. I opened my eyes and stared at his fully dressed and soaking form, a chill blanketed me and I cocked my head, too tired to articulate.

  Instead of explaining why he was standing in the shower fully dressed, he reached for the shampoo and poured some in his hand. The silence unnerved me just as much as the torture in his gaze. He lathered up my hair, running his fingers through my locks in slow patterns and I succumbed to his pampering, letting him clean me from head to toe without the usual sexual foreplay.

  When I was squeaky clean, he pulled me into his arms and just held me, pressing his lips to the top of my head. It was only after dozing off in his arms did his tremors break through my hazy brain. I pushed away and looked into his eyes.

  Tears slowly traced down his cheeks.

  His tears sent my heart into overdrive and vaporized the fog surrounding me.

  “What is it?”

  His hand came to rest on my cheek and the depth of his agony ripped at my soul, leaving it in tatters.

  “I gave Lilith the chance to explain what she meant by toxic before I ripped her to pieces.” He reached and turned off the water.

  I wasn’t sure I had the strength for an explanation, but after he tucked me in a towel and sat me down on the toilet lid without any further words, I cleared my throat. Damian turned toward me, his fingers nimbly unbuttoning his shirt and he shrugged.

  “Bullshit,” I whispered with the first bite of anger. He was completely avoiding the subject. “Tell me what it means,” I said, my voice sounding much stronger.

  “You know what toxic means,” he said, nearly ripping the dripping shirt off his well defined chest. His pants came next and he hung them over the side of the shower before reaching for a towel and meeting my gaze.

  “My blood is poison to you.”

  He let out that sarcastic laugh that set my nerves on edge. “God, if only it was that simple.” A sheen of tears covered his blue eyes and he inhaled. “It isn’t just your blood that could kill me,” he whispered and stepped closer, stopping in the middle of the floor.

  A low growl came from my stomach, settling over the silence of the room.

  “I stocked the kitchen,” he said in response but I was still staring at him, trying to figure out the meaning of his words.

  I blinked a couple of times and studied the distance between us, the dripping clothing over the shower and then my gaze shot to his. Understanding crushed my heart to bits. “You mean...I’m your kryptonite?” The words rushed out in a gasp.

  His chin dropped to his chest and he turned, walking out of the bathroom with his shoulders sagging.

  “Damian,” I whispered and he stopped in the doorway without turning.

  “I need to make you something to eat,” he said.

  “Look at me.”

  He spun, gripping the doorway with both hands and his gaze locked with mine.

  “Is being near me...” My throat tightened, cutting off my voice, and I pressed my lips together. He held my gaze and kept silent. I swallowed and pushed the word out. “Painful?”

  He shook his head. “No, baby, being near you isn’t.”

  “But?”

  “But touching you burns like you’re made of platinum,” he said and walked away.

  I glanced at the dripping clothing and they blurred through my fresh tears.

  Chapter Three

  Once I found the strength to pull clean clothing on, I stumbled to the kitchen and found Damian standing over the stove, reading the label on a can of chicken noodle soup.

  “You just add a can of water to the soup and heat it up,” I said and collapsed into the chair.

  “Thanks, captain obvious,” he said and shot a glance in my direction.

  I was too tired for a verbal spar with him. What I really wanted was to cuddl
e in his arms and I bit my lip, blinking away the sudden sheen blurring my vision. “What time is it?”

  “It’s almost ten in the morning.”

  Morning. I turned toward the door and then back to him, suddenly full of energy. “Can I go outside?”

  The way his eyebrows arched when he turned toward me made my excitement fizzle.

  “Not until your fever is gone and then we’ll have to head somewhere warmer.”

  “But I can go out in the sun?” I asked, feeling like I was a child again asking my father to go out and play.

  His huff and nod told me enough. “Yes, you’re no longer in danger of turning into a smoking pile of cinder.” He stirred the soup in the pot. “Come night fall, I’ll have to go out for a few,” he said.

  My stomach clenched and it wasn’t because I was hungry. “Why?”

  He glanced back at me. “I need to eat and I need to get you something warm enough to fly you out of here, otherwise you’ll freeze to death before I can get you to civilization.”

  “What if he’s out there?” I couldn’t help asking.

  Damian turned off the small burner and sighed, pouring the soup into a bowl and bringing it to me with a spoon. “There isn’t a god damn thing I’ll be able to do if he’s waiting for me,” he said and sat down across from me. “But with the mess I made out there, I’m sure he’ll figure we moved on.”

  “Mess?”

  He met my gaze. “I was more destructive than you in tigress mode,” he said. “When I was done, there were pieces of her scattered over a hundred yard radius.” His laugh filled the small space. “Lilith actually thought I’d let her walk away after what she did.”

  His eyes flashed with anger so deep I wanted to shrink into the chair.

  “Stupid bitch thought I’d drop to my knees and just give up.” He let out a harsh laugh meeting my gaze. “She thought she’d be able to hand us over to that bastard and win his favor.” His head swayed from side to side. “She grossly miscalculated my strength and fury.”