“No, I’m definitely not self-appointed,” he revealed. “Though I can’t imagine why anyone would want to be. It’s not a choice I would make.”
Interesting. So Luca wasn’t happy with his lot in life. And yet he was keeping with family tradition anyway. Surely it wasn’t mandatory. Kat didn’t ask, knowing she wouldn’t get the answer out of him.
“I’ll be completely honest with you, Luca. I have fantasized for years about seeing the end of Arden. No matter where I go on this planet, the bastard always finds me. His sick obsession has gotten on my last nerve. Now, I just want to be free of him.” The sense of relief that swept through Kat at the admittance felt good, like she had freed a part of herself simply by saying the words to someone else.
“He’s obsessed with you?” Luca’s tone grew hard, causing Kat to do a double take.
“Well, I can’t go about my own business for any great length of time before he pops up again to make my existence a thorough living hell. I just want it to end.”
Try as he might to deny the questions that popped into his mind, Luca couldn’t help it when they spilled out. Hearing the pain that crept into her songbird voice caused his stomach to tighten. He knew he shouldn’t care, couldn’t care. So why did he?
“Are you afraid of him? I mean, has he hurt you?” Was that too personal? He wasn’t sure. He didn’t want to ask anything of her he wouldn’t be willing to share, but she had volunteered the information.
Kat fidgeted, playing with the hem of her skirt. “You could say that he has. If killing me counts.”
A heavy weight settled in Luca’s stomach, and dread washed over him. Of course Arden had been the one to turn her. That would make her of his bloodline and therefore another vampire he had to kill to escape his father’s curse. It should have been easy; she was right there. So close. But the thought of plunging a stake into her chest was almost painful.
If only she hadn’t gone and revealed her wretched history to him. How could he dust her if he saw her as more than a vampire?
Luca gave himself a mental shake. He’d been doing this for more years than he’d kept track of. Being cursed and unable to age made time seem to blur until it was indistinguishable. He was committed to whatever it took to avenge his father’s foolish choice. That meant taking out Kat right along with the rest of Arden’s clan.
Clearing his throat, he struggled to swallow around the lump that had formed. “You’ve always had this hatred for Arden? He’s never meant anything to you?”
She looked at him suspiciously then, and he fell silent. Why the hell had he asked that? It was irrelevant, as well as none of his business.
“Arden has never been anything more to me than a hindrance I can’t escape. If I never look into his lying eyes again, it will be too soon. He goes out of his way in his attempts to control me. It’s got to stop. And I just don’t have the power to do it alone. He’s too strong and constantly flanked by his underlings.”
“How many underlings are we talking?” There, that was a safe topic. Luca steered the conversation back toward the business side of things.
The personal stuff wasn’t safe. He couldn’t allow it to chip away at his carefully constructed shield. Kat was insanely gorgeous, and no doubt, she stirred the lust to life within him. But that was it. He was not falling into the trap of seeing her as something she was not. She was a killer, a vampire. She was everything he lived to destroy.
“I’m not sure exactly. About a dozen, I’d guess. Arden likes to surround himself with flunkies. I think in his mind he’s some kind of vampire godfather or something.” She motioned to the next block ahead. “You can let me out up there. I won’t keep you any longer.”
Luca tensed, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. He wasn’t ready for her to leave him yet. He had more questions, things about Arden he needed to know. At least, that’s what he told himself.
Pulling to a stop, Luca felt at a loss for words. He had to say something. “Will you be all right? This isn’t the best neighborhood.”
Could he have possibly spit out anything stupider than that? He hoped the dark interior hid the color that crept into his cheeks. Get it together, man. This was no time for acting the idiot.
Kat stepped out of the SUV and paused to toss a card onto the passenger seat. “I think I’ll manage. That’s the number you can reach me at. You know, if you choose to.”
As she moved to close the door, Luca found himself saying, “What? No kiss this time?” He met her surprised expression with a cool, steady gaze.
She recovered quickly. Her sexy smile revealed razor-sharp fangs, and Luca groaned inwardly when his body reacted against his will. It was just so wrong, but Lord, how he wanted her. Lying to himself didn’t affect the telltale erection between his legs.
“Hungry for more already, are you? Just imagine what I’ll give you if you help me kill Arden.” With that, she gave him a sexy wink, closed the door, and sauntered away.
Luca stared after her. She moved with an inhuman grace, not once looking back. He knew everything about it was wrong, but he couldn’t deny that he desperately wanted her. Vampire or not, she was a hell of a woman.
And he had to kill her.
* * * *
Most of the fine ash had already been dispersed by the night breeze. But there was no mistaking the fact it was the remains of a vampire.
Signs of a scuffle were apparent due to the broken foliage and flattened grass. Whoever Ryan had come across out here, they had won the confrontation and were clearly long gone. Arden had seen more than enough. Someone was hunting his people. Were the killings random, or was it someone who knew exactly who they were dealing with?
He’d been in town for mere months, and already his coven was under attack. This wasn’t new. In fact, it was beginning to get old. There was only one man who could be behind the sudden slaying of three of his vampires: Luca Alexander.
One would have thought staking his own father would have allowed Luca to live peacefully. No, instead the man was determined to be a thorn in Arden’s side. Luca had been little more than an extreme annoyance over the years. Now he was becoming a serious problem. Perhaps it was time to deal with Luca. Arden hated the idea of wasting someone with such potential. Luca would make an even better vampire than his father had.
As Arden stalked back down the long driveway, his coattails flapping in the wind, he was occupied with thoughts of Kat. He couldn’t allow Luca to get to her. If he found out she was one of Arden’s, she could be next. And that was a risk Arden refused to take. It was time to hunt down Luca Alexander and make him sorry he’d ever been born.
The night was still young. No time like the present to take care of business. It wouldn’t be all that difficult to track down a man like Luca. He was likely to be open about his identity, hoping to draw the attention of Arden and his coven. Well, if that was the case, he would get his wish.
“Son of a bitch!” Arden burst into the house, barking orders.
He had big plans for the relentless vampire hunter. He couldn’t wait to bleed the man who had been tormenting his existence. Every time he thought he’d seen the last of Luca, dead vampires turned up to prove him wrong. How could one pitiful human cause him so much distress? It was unnatural.
The son of Malcolm Alexander would be the last in a long line of predestined hunters of the undead. It was up to Arden to ensure it. He had little time to waste on such trivial nonsense. He had much more important things to deal with. Like Kat. Making her realize that she was nothing without him was more essential now than ever before.
He didn’t give a damn what it took. He would bring Kat home where she belonged. He’d been more than accommodating, allowing her the freedom to discover she needed him as much as he needed her. And he was damn sick of waiting for her to figure it out.
Chapter Five
Restless and confused, Luca headed home after watching Kat disappear into the throng of people on the street. Her parting comment had left him with
a raging hard-on, and he squirmed uncomfortably in his seat. The eager need to know what it felt like to be inside her was strong. Her playful manner was enticing, drawing him in and feeding his desire. How could a vampire who was inadvertently part of the curse that held him incite such a strong reaction? Sure, he might be in need of a good roll in the hay, but Kat? She was nothing to him. And yet she clouded his thoughts in ways he couldn’t comprehend.
Luca had spent so many years intent on destroying Arden and all who were linked to him, he hadn’t paused to consider the fact that doing so might destroy innocents in the process. Could Kat be considered an innocent? She’d said Arden stole her human life away. She hadn’t offered it up for the taking like his father had.
He groaned aloud, turning the radio up in an attempt to drown out the noise inside his head. His thoughts were moving too fast to make sense, and he just wanted it to stop.
The first thing Luca did when he got home was to go around the town house to his work shed in the backyard. A little thoughtless work was just the therapy he needed right now. Despite having the inheritance his mother had left him, he worked as a carpenter. He got much more out of it than money. It was an art form, and through it, he was able to express himself in ways words never could.
After working for more than an hour on a custom decorative bookshelf one of the neighbors had ordered, Luca wiped the sweat from his brow and went inside. A cold beer would be just the thing to quench his thirst. No sooner had he twisted the cap off a bottle than he felt it. He wasn’t alone.
A crash from the front of the house brought Luca running. Three vampires stood in his living room. The front door was closed but damaged from where it had bounced off the stair railing behind it. The wooden railing was broken and splintered, but that was the least of Luca’s immediate concerns.
He stood frozen, staring at the unwelcome visitors. Well, wasn’t this just fantastic? So they’d found his house. Point for you, Arden, Luca thought. He had no reason to believe anyone else was behind this.
That hadn’t taken long.
Fear gripped him as he wondered if Arden knew he had been with Kat. Luca didn’t have much time to worry about it. The vampire closest to him moved fast.
Luca had only one weapon on him. He raised the full beer bottle and brought it down hard. It smashed over the vampire’s head, barely stunning him but leaving Luca with a jagged piece of glass. He was almost as fast as the undead. Grabbing his attacker by the hair, he dragged the broken bottle across the vampire’s throat with a heavy hand.
Blood spilled onto the cream-colored carpet, staining it deep red. After tossing the wounded vampire aside, Luca prepared to meet the other two when they came at him. With a flurry of precise kicks and punches, he easily beat down one of them. The other managed to land a lucky blow that rocked him hard.
Before he could recover, the third vampire hit him with a blast of metaphysical power. It burned throughout his entire body. The pain was pure agony. Luca gasped for breath, his hand clenched tightly around the neck of the broken bottle.
“Stop it!” The bleeding vampire deflected the power away from Luca. “Arden wants him alive.”
Luca coughed and sucked in his breath. Apparently he hadn’t injured the vamp enough. A beer bottle made one shitty weapon against the undead. If he could get to his weapons, they’d all be dust.
His gaze strayed to the wooden chest beside the sofa. It doubled as a coffee table, but it held everything he needed to successfully bring these monsters down. There was no way in hell he was letting them take him to Arden. Not like this. When he faced Arden, it would be on his own terms.
Luca acted fast, throwing a hard elbow at the vampire closest to him. He followed up with several blows before kicking and connecting with the skull of the injured one. Another well-aimed kick distanced him from the third, giving him that extra second or two he needed to reach the chest.
He popped the lid and whirled around, a stake in one hand and a foot-long silver dagger in the other. He was hell-bent on finishing what he had started with the bottle. His three opponents eyed him warily. He didn’t give them a chance to rush him again.
With the flick of his wrist, he flung the dagger with perfect precision. It struck the tall, dark vamp who had used mental powers on him, sinking deep into his chest. He burst into dust. Rounding on the one who no longer bled, Luca lunged with the stake held ready.
The remaining vamp grabbed him around the throat and squeezed. It was too late. There was a small explosion of dust, and Luca was left with just one. His airway was constricted due to the icy hands that cut off his breath. Slamming his head back, he connected with the face of his attacker. A loud crack resulted, along with a pained cry.
Adrenaline guided Luca’s motions as he threw another blow before body slamming the guy onto the floor. Blood streamed from his ruined nose, and fury filled his brilliant eyes. It brought a smile to Luca’s face.
Placing a foot on the vampire’s chest, Luca stared down at him with a deadly serious gaze. “How bad do you want to meet the same fate as your friends here?” When he didn’t receive anything more than a snarl in response, he twirled the stake threateningly in one hand. “All right. Fine with me. I can send Arden a message many other ways. I don’t need to let you walk out of here.”
After plunging the stake into the vampire’s heart, Luca stepped back and watched him explode in a small shower of ash and dust. Luca picked up the silver dagger from where it lay and did a careful search of the house. When he was confident he was alone, he went to the kitchen and pulled Kat’s card from his wallet.
He stared at the phone number for a long time after flipping his cell phone open. He punched the number in, hesitated a moment, then pressed Send. How close could he allow himself to get to this woman before it affected his ability to do what he needed to do?
The sensation of her full lips pressed to his flashed through his mind. God, why did she have to go and do that? More than the average bloodsucker, Kat had become a thinking, feeling being in his eyes. One that certainly affected him not only physically, but mentally as well.
Regardless of the curse his father had bestowed upon him, Luca knew Arden was the priority. Even if he never walked free of the power that bound him, Arden had to die.
That thought convinced him to connect the call. When it began to ring, his anxiety level shot through the roof. He wiped a sweaty palm on his jeans, expecting no answer after the third or fourth ring. When Kat’s musical voice greeted him, he almost dropped the phone.
“Kat? It’s Luca. I think we need to talk. If we don’t get to Arden first, things are going to get worse and fast.”
“What did he do to you? Are you okay?” The concern in her tone was genuine. It touched Luca in a warm way that made him uncomfortable.
“He sent three guys to my house. They made it sound like they were supposed to take me to him. They’re pretty much just an inconvenience on my carpet now, but I assume there will be more. Is there somewhere we can meet? I’m not interrupting your evening, I hope.” He tried for polite, but the idea of what a vampire’s evening generally consisted of brought a horrific image to mind.
There was a slight pause on Kat’s end. The background noise grew quiet, as if she had gone somewhere private. “I can meet you at the all-night coffee shop on Fifty-first Street in half an hour.”
“I’ll be there.”
* * * *
The incessant tapping of Kat’s long nails on the smooth surface of the small table earned her an annoyed look from the couple seated nearby. She pointedly ignored them, her gaze fixed on the door. Nervous energy rolled over her as she waited anxiously for Luca’s arrival.
Her mind had been racing a mile a minute since his call. It was enough to make her stomach turn. Why it bothered her so much, she didn’t know. Something about Luca spoke to her in ways that were new and surprisingly pleasant. True, she’d never known a man like him in her human life. And since the change, she had only seen human men as a
means of easing the ache of the hunger.
Until Luca.
She scowled, aggravated by the unwelcome new sensations and thoughts. He was a human who killed her kind. He was the enemy. She couldn’t forget that. The moment she did, he’d likely kill her, and she would deserve it.
Even though she sensed his approach, she couldn’t help the reaction that took place within her when Luca strode into the coffee shop with a look of determination on his handsome face and their eyes met. Had Kat still been human, her pulse would have been pounding in her ears. As it was, she tingled with the thrill of just looking at him. She ached to know what his blood would taste like.
The briefest image flashed through her mind, the fantasy of having him inside her while his blood spilled into her mouth. What would it feel like to clench him deep within her pussy, draining him of both life force and orgasmic release? The heat of his lifeblood in her mouth and his hot seed coating her insides… She shook her head slightly and focused on the matter at hand.
“Thank you for meeting me.” Luca paused near the table, looking down at her with dark brown eyes that beckoned her to fall into them. “I’m going to grab a coffee. Be right back.”
Kat watched him saunter over to the counter to place his order. He was perfectly sculpted, lean and firm. The way his jeans outlined his fine ass taunted her. What would it hurt to have just a taste of the rich blood that ran through his veins? She groaned and leaned back in her chair, pushing the wanton thoughts away.
The couple at the next table got up to leave. The woman cast a dark glare at Kat, bringing a smile to her lips. People were so quick to lash out in irritation and anger, never knowing whom or what they were really dealing with. Fools.
When Luca returned with a foam-topped mug, Kat couldn’t help but give him another head-to-toe once-over. Human men were just not this gorgeous. It was beyond ridiculous how intensely she burned with desire for him, so unexpected.
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