Nightwalker

by Rhonda L. Print

  I closed my eyes and rubbed the tension away from them with my thumb and forefinger. “I was mad as hell when I left your place.”

  “Yes you were.” He stood before me with his arms held as if he didn’t know what to do with them. “I don’t know where I can touch you, I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Do I look that bad?”

  “We need to discuss Zarendia,” he persisted matter-of-factly.

  “She has been coming to me in visions,” I relented. “I’ve never had a soul come to me so long after her death.”

  “Are you dreaming her?”

  I shook my head. “In the beginning, no. Now… I don’t know what to think.”

  “Have any of the other souls recently departed come into contact with you?”

  I could hear the urgency in his voice now. “No, why? What do think this all means?”

  He cupped my face in his hands. “Someone may be trespassing upon your dreams.”

  “A Dream Psi?”

  He nodded. “It is possible.”

  “How do I defend against that?” I tried to keep my annoyance out of my voice but damn, now I couldn’t tell the difference between a vision and a dream. Perfect. Just fucking perfect.

  “I am afraid that is not so easy. A Dream Psi works in a different manner than the rest of the world. Once he or she finds a way into your dreams, it is difficult to close that gap.”

  “But it is possible to shield against it?”

  He rubbed his fingers along his chin in thought. “It is possible to prevent future intrusions, but with it already within you, I fear there is nothing we can do to dispel it.”

  I took a long drink of my coffee and sat heavily on the remaining chair in the room. “What can this,” I waved my hands in front of me, “Dream Psi do to me?”

  Ian knelt next to me. “It is not what it can do to you as much as what it can make you do, my love. Do you understand? You should not be left alone, especially during sleep.”

  “Yeah, great. I’ll hire a nanny.”

  “Allow me to watch over you, my love. Do not be stubborn on this point.”

  “I’ve heard that before,” I muttered under my breath.

  “By whom?” he responded as if I’d spoke loud and clear. Oh yeah, vampire hearing.

  “Zarendia’s message to me has been to, and I quote, ‘stay with the nightwalker, it will protect you’.”

  A smile caused his dimples to wink. “Zarendia has entrusted your safety to me.”

  “Don’t look so damn happy about it and unless you know another ‘nightwalker,’ then yes, she wants me to stay with you.”

  “Then it is settled.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I have a life to live, Ian.”

  “You don’t have to live it alone. Take some precautions, you admit yourself that Zarendia coming to you is unusual. Heed her warning, my love.”

  I stood and threw my hands up. “I could just be dreaming up this shit.”

  “Just the same, I would feel better if you would take additional protection.”

  I tensed and stood my ground. “I will not be terrorized out of my own home, Ian.”

  “Then allow me to stay.”

  I snorted. “And watch you burn up at sunrise.” I shook my head. “I don’t think so.” I threw my arms wide. “This place isn’t set up for you and I don’t want anyone here anyway. I will not cower and hide,” I protested vehemently. “I appreciate the ride home, Ian, but I need to get some damn sleep.”

  He placed his hands on my shoulders. “You know that I am capable of tolerating some daylight. Why are you being so obstinate? Why won’t you let me keep you safe?”

  I turned my head away, unwilling to meet his eyes. “I can’t be involved with you, I’m sorry, I just can’t.”

  He slid one hand up to my cheek and turned my face to his. I closed my eyes and he put one finger under my chin to lift my eyes to his.

  “Can’t or won’t?”

  “I wish I knew,” I whispered.

  “I am a patient man, my love. I have had hundreds of years of practice.” He kissed my forehead. “I will wait.”

  With that he left. I locked the door behind him, did my usual weapons check. I swallowed a couple of the yummy painkillers the hospital had sent me home with and fell into bed.

  * * * *

  I spent the next day at the station while Wilson had me go over my statement again and again. Ian insisted that I not go alone and since Wilson echoed his concern I was left with the choice of a squad car escorting me or Bear. We compromised. I borrowed Alli’s car and met Bear at the station. I figured he was big enough to take care of himself and knew what he was getting into as opposed to some poor rookie getting saddled with bodyguard duty who knew nothing of the supernatural.

  Joaquín decided to drop his report off in person. Oh joy. To say it had been awkward in the presence of my new boyfriend’s bodyguard and my ex-fiancé is the understatement of the year. The two men obviously knew each other, although I didn’t know how and no one volunteered the information. It seems there was a lot I didn’t know about Joaquín.

  The tension and anger flowing through Wilson’s office became so unbearable that I had to walk out into the busy squad room for a moment of relief. The fact that walking into a room filled with busy cops and pissed-off criminals was better than enduring the anger in Wilson’s office said just how much animosity was in there. The second time I felt the need to leave the room I had had enough and told both men that I didn’t need to be in the middle of an adolescent pissing match and if they couldn’t play nice they would have to go home. Anger flared so hotly from Joaquín that I felt it burning along my skin. Bear however, had the grace to look embarrassed and apologized. After that, Wilson sent Joaquín packing and we resumed our search for similar cases of demon hunts.

  After hours of rummaging through local and federal databases with no new leads we called it a day. I waved off Bear’s offers to follow me home, thanked him and sent him on his way. Wilson walked me to my car.

  “Ian must really care for you to send a bodyguard along to look after you.” Wilson’s voice held a touch of both amusement and concern.

  “I figured Bear could take care of himself better in this situation than a cop with no supernatural experience.”

  Wilson nodded. “Let yourself be happy, Leah. Whatever that means to you.”

  With that he shut my car door and walked back toward the police station.

  * * * *

  I pulled up to my house just after the sun disappeared behind the mountain range. The sky was streaked with pink clouds against dark blue, the first stars of the evening twinkling above me. The moon rode low, full and bright. The rain the earlier clouds had suggested never produced a drop. I turned off the car I’d borrowed from Alli and lay my head upon the steering wheel.

  Wilson had told me to be happy.

  I had struggled against myself most of my life. My “gifts” had brought me nothing but misery. When I’d finally made peace with who and what I was, Joaquín had cast me aside for it. Now another man wanted access to my bruised and battered heart. I didn’t know if I had the capacity to let myself love again, to trust. Maybe it was time to find out.

  I opened the door and walked the distance to my front porch. My porch light was out. Damn, I’d need to buy bulbs next time I went into town.

  As I stepped up to my door I heard the ominous sound of rattlesnakes. Not one rattlesnake, several. Instinct had me jumping onto the short post of the porch. A snake struck out and grazed the edge of my jeans. My adrenaline pumped through my veins as sweat trickled down my spine. I looked around at the coiled bodies of the Western Diamondbacks as I reached for my holster. I was screwed. If I managed to survive the bites, I would at the very least need to be airlifted to the hospital for the antivenom. I kept my gun steady in my hand and with as little movement as possible pulled out my cell phone and dialed Ian’s number. I’d need someone to know where to find me and what happened. One of the sn
akes nearest me coiled and struck. Startled, I dropped my phone. It caused the snake to back off but now I didn’t have my phone. I could only hope the call had connected. I spoke as quietly as possible so not to piss off the snakes, but still loud enough to be heard.

  “This is Leah. I am at my house, surrounded by rattlesnakes, Western Diamondbacks, I think. If you can hear me please send help.” I took aim at the snake nearest me and eased the trigger back. The snake split in two when the bullet made contact. One down, many more to go if the increasingly louder sound of rattles was anything to go by.

  The porch light flicked back on and illuminated the mass of snakes below me. I fired blindly in the dim evening light until the gun clicked empty. The snakes coiled all over each other to form a mass of writhing, rattling nightmares. There were many more than I had imagined and that wasn’t comforting at all. Several of them appeared to be longer than I am tall. One began to slowly wind its way up the post I was standing on. I carefully stepped out on the thinner area of the courtyard wall and began stepping toward the other supporting post only to find another large snake beginning to climb it. I briefly considered trying to jump as far as I could and making a run for it but dismissed the idea as a vision of me lying helpless on the ground and covered with snakes flitted through my head. Sometimes being gifted majorly sucked.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Don’t move!” I heard from somewhere near the driveway. My eyes followed the sound and relief flooded through me. “Ian?” I asked; then froze as I saw the silhouette of a large bear standing a few feet from me. I heard a deep growl and saw the bear lunge.

  I lost my balance and found myself in Ian’s arms.

  “Keep your arms and legs as high off the ground as possible,” Ian ordered. As if it was necessary to tell me that.

  He held me high upon his chest effortlessly and ran to the front door, kicking it open as he went. He turned and kicked a snake out of the doorway then slammed the door. He jammed a chair under the door to secure it; then turned and examined the room before setting me on the sofa.

  “Were you bitten, my love?” He ran his hands over my legs looking for wounds.

  “No,” I shook my head quickly, “I don’t think so. My God, Ian, you have to be bit. There were so many of them,” I stammered. “You shouldn’t have come to me. You should have just called for help.”

  Satisfied that I was not bitten he cupped his hand at the back of my neck and pulled me into an intense kiss. Relieved, but badly shaken, I let my body sink into his. Our tongues danced together as the taste and feel of him ignited every nerve in my body. He broke the kiss and cradled me in his arms. “I am not injured, my love. The only thing the snakes succeeded in was killing themselves.”

  I looked up at him as confusion furrowed my brows.

  He rubbed between my eyes to smooth the tension there. “I am venomous, my love. Theirs cannot harm me but mine most certainly killed any that bit me.”

  “Are all vampires venomous?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did you get here so fast?”

  He pursed his lips in thought. “I was … nearby when I got your call.”

  “There were so many of them. My porch light was out, I didn’t see them.” I spoke faster than usual and at a higher pitch. My heart was still pounding against my chest.

  “Shh. It is over now. You are safe.”

  He pulled the blanket off the back of the sofa and wrapped it around me.

  “I’ve always had a phobia about snakes.”

  “She knows your fears.” He muttered the words under his breath.

  I wasn’t sure I heard them right. “What?”

  A knock on the door made me jump and gasp. Ian removed the chair and opened the door to reveal Bear standing on the porch.

  “I have taken care of the remaining snakes,” his deep voice rumbled. “There were no tracks to follow, I will continue to monitor the perimeter.”

  “You’re a shifter?” My voice was still a little unsteady.

  Bear nodded. “I found your phone on the porch.” He tossed it to Ian.

  “Thanks.”

  Ian sat back on the sofa. His long arm hung casually along the back, a serious expression on his face. “You should not be alone, my love.”

  I stopped to look at him.

  “Your lock is broken.” He held out his hands. “Be reasonable, my love. I am only offering you a place to stay, as a friend would.”

  Yeah right. I didn’t believe that for a minute. Reluctantly, I nodded. I hadn’t really thought past the next few minutes. I could go to Wilson and Alli’s but I didn’t want to worry them any more than necessary.

  “You’re right and thank you. I’ll gather some things for the night and have a locksmith here in the morning.” I gathered some toiletries, a fresh set of clothes, my new laptop and some weapons in a small duffel bag.

  I closed the door behind us and walked to his car.

  “How did you get here so quickly?”

  “I told you I was nearby.” He shrugged, a gesture that I knew meant I wouldn’t get any more information than that from him. Too tired to argue, I let it go.

  The moon rose higher in the sky as more stars glittered above the shadows of the mountains. “I never tire of the view.” I breathed sleepily as I sank into the luxurious leather seat.

  “Nor I, my love. It is so peaceful.”

  I laid my head back as Ian reached his right hand over to grasp mine. Such a small gesture to give me an immense amount of comfort. I closed my eyes, and what seemed like moments later, the car was stopped in Ian’s driveway.

  “I must have fallen asleep.” I yawned.

  “Like a babe.” He took my hand and helped me from the car; then reached into the back seat to retrieve my bag.

  Once inside, he swirled my back to the closed door. I was trapped between him and the door, his arms one either side of me. The look on his face was passionate, hungry. His lips slightly parted in invitation.

  I closed the distance and captured his mouth. He wrapped his arms around me, his hands mingling in my hair. He lifted me into his arms and took me to his room without ever breaking the kiss.

  “We shouldn’t,” I whispered against his lips.

  He pulled his head back to look at me. His blue eyes were dark with need and desire.

  “Allow me to convince you.” He kissed the tip of my nose, his hands resting on my shoulders. His mouth trailed tender kisses over my cheeks until he found my mouth. He kissed me gently as his fingers caressed down the sides of my arms and to my back where he gently stroked up and down my spine. His tongue licked along my bottom lip and I leaned into him with parted lips to welcome him. He eagerly accepted my invitation and our tongues danced together, teasing, inviting, until I found the entire length of me melded to the length of him, my arms trailing along the hardness of his back. He slid his hands to the front of my blouse and undid the top button.

  I pulled my mouth from his and looked up, with our height difference it was a long way up, into his eyes. His eyes had turned midnight blue. “I haven’t been with anyone since…” I let my voice trail off.

  He dipped his head and provocatively sucked my bottom lip into his mouth. “There is no one but us, my love. Just you and me,” he whispered.

  I leaned back into him and let my hands trail up his shoulders and then down the front of his chest. I gently slid them lower until I reached the fine hairs low on his stomach. I ran my finger around his navel and down the feathery hairs to the top of his jeans. He sucked in a breath and traced the neckline of my blouse up and down the hollow of my breasts. He slowly undid the buttons and slid the blouse off my shoulders. He slid my shoulder holster off and dropped it to the floor. Goose bumps covered my skin and he chuckled as he lightly ran his hands over them.

  “I love the way your body responds to mine. I can hear your heart drumming faster and feel your blood rushing through your veins.”

  “You’re not planning on biting me, are you?�
�� I was suddenly suspicious.

  “Only if you want me to,” he whispered. His mouth blazed a river of heat down my body as he fell to his knees. He cupped my breasts in his hands, gently kneading them. He undid the front hook, spilling them into his hands. “I love the feel of your skin in my hands.” He licked a slow line around my nipple and I shuddered as pleasure filled my body. He sucked, and teased and licked until I cried out, then he released that one and started on the other. He trailed kisses down my stomach; then slid his tongue just under the waistband of my jeans, causing me to shudder. I looked down at him as he undid the button of my jeans; his shiny, black hair lay in waves around him. He pulled my jeans to the floor and slid them over my feet. I stood before him in my black lace underwear. His hands gently caressed my legs as he slid them back up to my waist.

  He lifted me into his arms effortlessly and carried me to the bed while our lips danced together. He set me on the bed and hovered over me. The only thought in my head was of Ian, the way he looked, the muscles of his arms tensing as he held himself above me. I reached to the fly of his jeans and slowly slid down the zipper. He wore nothing under the denim as I slipped my fingers inside and released his erection. He groaned as I brushed along the hard length of him. He shifted and in one swift movement removed his own jeans and tossed them to the floor. He settled himself lower between my legs and dipped his mouth to the triangle of lace that covered my most intimate parts. He kept his eyes on mine as he licked just under the edge. His tongue drew a wet line of heat along the tender skin of my thighs. His moans vibrated along my skin, sending shivers all over my body. He moved his mouth over me, covering my core, his breath hot as he nibbled and sucked at me through the silky fabric. I threw my head back as he relentlessly teased me, my entire being aching for him. He drew my panties down my legs while his mouth and tongue continued their assault on me. I cried out as he swept his tongue in one long tantalizing stroke over the cleft of my body.

  “I love tasting you.” He teased and licked while I rocked with pleasure, small moans escaping my lips. “Release for me, my love. Give me all of you.” His breath fell hot against my skin, his tongue dipping and probing, exploring me inside and out while cascading waves of intense pleasure rippled throughout me.