by Fawn Lowery
“Don’t let him get away!”
Crap! Of all the insane things— Jarharis hurried to lift off from the branch of the tree and bounded to the ground beneath. A moment’s thought, and he was transformed into his vampire physique. He stepped from behind the tree just in time to see Selena penetrate the circle of hunters and lunge recklessly at the vampire standing in the center. The damning blow she aimed at him missed by a mile when the creature glimpsed her charging him and simply turned out of her path. She cursed and slid on the grass, falling on her butt.
Jarharis leapt from his hiding place and quickly closed in on the group, appearing inside the circle as Selena got to her feet and began another assault on their captive. Jarharis reached one hand out to grasp the vampire by the coat front, savagely lifting him into the air as Selena lunged in for the kill. She whisk past in a flurry of brutal stabs with the dagger, only to find herself completely out of range of the vampire. Jarharis bellowed his discord and slammed the weakened body of the vampire to the ground, holding his chest to the solid earth with one foot.
All amount of savagery broke loose among the hunters as they rushed the poor victim in mass. One hunter positioned a wooden cross against his chest while another wildly swung a mallet, slamming its pointed end into the helpless chest. Blood spurted upward and fell to the dark clothing. The vampire cried out in anguish.
Jarharis took leave quickly, transforming into a black mist and vaporizing into the darkness. Momentarily he shapeshifted into his bird state and returned to the tree where he had previously perched.
The males in the group hovered around the dying vampire on the ground, continuing to slam the wooden stake into his chest with the mallet, refusing to believe that his life was ended. Selena stood near the edge of the group, her eyes searching the darkness overhead, transfixed as though not believing her eyes. He watched her, trying to decide whether to go to her or not. Surely she had seen him. And now she was trying to believe what she had witnessed.
He watched from his perch, his emotions mixed. The hunters could clearly claim now that they had killed a vampire. And his suspicions were confirmed about Selena. She was, indeed, a woman to be reckoned with. She took vampire hunting seriously. And she wasn’t afraid to use her silver dagger—if she could get close enough to land a blow—or aim correctly.
He smiled in spite of circumstances. The little club could use his help. They were amateurs to say the least. But would they turn on him should he offer to join them?
Hell yes! They profess to hunt vampires—not befriend them. The truth almost made him wretch. He pushed off from his perch. He needed fresh blood to revive his spirits. He flew toward the city. It didn’t matter whether he found a willing victim who he could control or one he had to subdue by other means. He would drink his fill—then he would consider his actions of the night—and his growing feelings for Selena.
He swooped down amid a group of people as they were emerging from a theater. He fell into step with a man and woman that seemed intent on discussing the show they had just seen, oblivious to his presence as they headed across the street to a parked car. Jarharis followed them, his steps undetected. When the man ushered the woman into the car, Jarharis gave him a push, sending him tumbling inside atop the woman. A high-pitched scream sounded as the heavy body of the man fell across her lap then laughter as she thought her husband had merely taken a spill. By the time they both realized someone else was in their midst, Jarharis had made his way into their car. He quickly subdued the pair, placing each in a trance and proceeded to take his time feeding.
He felt strengthened by the time he left the pair, revived enough to risk a tongue lashing from Selena. He transformed and rose into the night sky, his course being Selena’s apartment.
She was home by the time he arrived. He landed on the windowsill of her bedroom and peered through the window. She was pacing back and forth across the room, her arms folded across her chest. He watched her breasts jiggle, growing aroused as he imagined the fleshy mounds bare and filling his hands.
He was growing complacent, almost to the point of transforming and slipping beneath the window frame when he saw someone in the room with Selena. He leaned closer to the window as Tanya Sills rose from a chair beside the bed and came forward, halting Selena and taking hold of her upper arms.
Surprise filtered through his insides. Tanya Sills had not mentioned she knew Selena earlier in the evening when he met her in the nightclub. And why was she in Selena’s bedroom?
He reached a decision suddenly. He called forth the magic and vaporized, seeping beneath the window frame in a fine black mist. Falling to the carpet beneath the window, the mass rapidly grew and formed until he stood at the edge of the room watching the two women.
He shifted his stance, calling attention to himself and summoning a scream from Selena. She jumped back then, seeing it was Jarharis, rushed forward to stand before him.
Anger shown in her blue eyes. She raised both hands to her hips. “And just how in hell did you know that the hunters had a vampire cornered? And why didn’t you stay around and take credit for his killing?”
He glanced at Tanya Sills. Satisfaction shown across her face. No doubt his aiding the hunters had played right into her plans to annihilate Aston. He shrugged his shoulders and strode into the room. “I didn’t kill the vampire. The hunters drove the stake through his heart.”
“They couldn’t have done it without your help, Jarharis.”
He pinned her with his gaze. “Your little band of hunters is playing with deadly consequences, Selena. You’re unaware of who you’re dealing with.”
“Who are we dealing with Jarharis?”
He combed one hand through his hair. What could he say? He was new in the city. He didn’t know how many vampires were lurking about. He turned his gaze on Tanya Sills. “Why didn’t you mention that you knew Selena?”
Tanya shrugged her shoulders. “I had no way of knowing that you had bedded Selena.”
Selena jerked her head round. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Are you aware that you’ve been fucking a vampire?”
“Yes. But that’s none of your business, Tanya. What I do in my personal life is private.”
Tanya smiled and pushed her hair off one shoulder. She raised one eyebrow in speculation as she stared at Jarharis. “Shouldn’t you fuck your own kind, Jarharis? Do you have to include mortals in your sex games?”
“That’s what this is about?” Selena shouted turning an angry face to Tanya. “You’re jealous because I’m mortal!”
Tanya shrank against the bedroom wall.
Jarharis stepped between the women. There’s enough of me to go around. He chided himself for having such a thought. He glanced from Selena to Tanya and back to Selena. If he could choose, he would most definitely pick Selena—but in the absence of commonsense, Tanya would do in a pinch. He combed one hand through his hair. His thoughts seemed to be muddled. Perhaps he shouldn’t have drunk from the last two victims he encountered.
Woe with me. Trying to live in the present was proving to be quite an ordeal. So far he had managed to find a woman who he wanted to claim and now there was an enticing she-vampire that had set her sights on him. He groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. And then there was the little fairy he had encountered inside his safe haven—how did she fit into the mix?
I’m being presumptuous. “Enough!” he declared. He turned toward Tanya. “Do the other members of the vampire club know about you?”
She shook her head. “I used to work with Selena.”
“You’re a newspaper reporter?” Jarharis asked Selena.
“Yes. Aston turned Tanya and ever since, she’s been feeding the club information on his activities.”
Jarharis studied the two women. Apparently the club’s lack of success in destroying Aston and his cohorts had prompted Tanya to ask him for help. Suddenly it became clear how she had known to approach him. “So you make a habit of peering throug
h bedroom windows, do you?”
Tanya glanced about, clearly embarrassed by Jarharis’s accusation.
Selena gasped and turned angry eyes on Tanya. “How dare you! I’ll pull every hair on your fucking head out! You bitch!”
“Whoa! Hold on!” Jarharis caught Selena around the waist and lifted her off the floor. He held her body against his side. Selena thrashed about, curse words flying from her mouth. “You better leave, Tanya, before I turn this wild cat loose.”
Tanya walked to the door of the room and vanished through the solid wood without further argument.
Jarharis released Selena and pushed her onto the bed. “I have little doubt that Tanya isn’t already at the window.” He smiled and began opening his shirt. “Let’s give her a show to remember.”
CHAPTER NINE
Jarharis could sense Tanya’s presence at the bedroom window. He felt a measure of arousal and remorse congeal inside his big body for the she vampire. When he was first turned, he had difficulty adjusting so he knew what she was going through. Had it not been for the fact that three of his brothers had been turned at about the same time as he, he would have been hard pressed to accept his new way of life—or death, as he came to call his vampirism.
“Don’t count on me entertaining Tanya!” Selena stalked about the bedroom, her legs stiff and her jaw set. “So don’t even plan on taking your clothes off, Jarharis. I’m not fucking you with an audience.” She turned suddenly, facing him. “Suppose you tell me how you came to know Tanya.”
Jarharis halted his fingers on the buttons of his shirt and leaned one shoulder against the wall. “I met her in a nightclub earlier this evening.”
“Is that the truth?”
“What else would it be?”
Selena combed her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know. She’s been feeding the club information about the vampires in the city, telling us where to look for them, what they have planned in advance. She wants us to find Aston and drive a stake through his heart.”
Jarharis nodded his head. “She wanted me to help her destroy him as well.”
Selena turned imploring eyes on him. “You could help us—since you’re one of them.”
“One of them? I’m not one of Aston’s vampires, Selena. I have allegiance with no one.” He swallowed the urge to add her name to those with whom he desired attachment, but lacked it.
“But you know about vampires in general.”
He chuckled. If you only knew, my sweet Selena.
She sauntered toward him, a smile inching across her mouth. “You could tell us about vampires. What they are capable of. How they communicate with each other. Where they hide during the day time.”
He watched her with amusement. “You can ask Tanya all those questions.”
Selena waved one hand at him. “Tanya is new. She’s not really very good at being a vampire yet.”
“Do the members of your little vampire club know about Tanya?”
“Yes. She’s one of us—or rather, she was one of us. She used to work at the same newspaper with most of the club members.”
“And they aren’t planning to drive a wooden stake through her heart?”
She shook her head. “Tanya wants to help us destroy all the other vampires. There isn’t any plan to eliminate her. She’s the only help we have. For Pete’s sake, Jarharis, we would never hunt her.”
He cocked one eyebrow in speculation. “And what about me, Selena? Does your club have plans to hunt me?”
Her jaw dropped open. “The club doesn’t even know about you!”
“I imagine after tonight they have an idea that there’s another vampire in their midst.”
“Which is why you should help us. Don’t you see?”
“I see that your little group is playing with fire. They’re out of their league when it comes to hunting the undead.”
“Help us, Jarharis.” She halted in front of him and reached out one hand to slip her fingers inside his open shirt. “Tell us about vampires.”
Her fingers were warm against his cool flesh. He looked down at her and wanted to be mortal so bad that he had to bite his tongue to keep from screaming the words aloud. He covered her hand with his, halting the play of her fingers across his chest. “Your friends would never accept me in their club.”
“You never know—“
“Yes. I do know, Selena. If you profess to hunt vampires then you hunt the creatures. You don’t befriend them under any circumstance.” He stopped short of telling her that sooner or later, Tanya Sills would become their victim.
She pushed both hands inside his shirt, circling his waist and snuggling against his chest. She leaned her head back, awaiting his kiss.
He looked down into her upturned face. Arousal showed in her eyes. He groaned and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pressing her breasts against the wall of his chest.
“What kind of powers do you have?” Her voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, her tone, imploring.
He lowered his head and took her mouth in a sultry kiss that warmed his insides and started his cock rising. She moaned and pressed tighter against his chest, squeezing her arms around his waist. She opened her mouth and sucked his tongue between her lips.
He knew she was attempting to seduce him, but he was becoming so aroused that he didn’t care. He had come to her for sex—the fact that she was the one who instigated the act made the coupling even more erotic. He slid his hands the length of her back and found the hem of her top. With one quick motion, he lifted it over her head and flung it across the room. Quickly he released the bra she wore, sliding it from her breasts and pushing it from between their bodies so it would drop to the floor.
Her flesh was warm and inviting. He savored the silken texture as he caressed her back with his palms. His arousal grew, mounting faster and hotter than he could contain. He slid one hand to the waistband of her jeans, intending to rip them off her body then paused. His eyes flickered open as he sensed that Tanya had suddenly taken leave from the bedroom window.
He pushed all thoughts from his mind and concentrated on the woman in his arms. His cock was straining against his fly and his balls were beginning to ache. His emotions were racing out of control. He needed to fuck.
He tore the tight jeans from Selena’s body and lifted her into his arms. She straddled his waist with her legs. He clasped her buttocks in either hand, pulling her body tighter against his. He leaned his back against the wall and released his prick from his jeans. It sprang forth engorged and ready. He pushed Selena’s tight butt down onto his cock, and lunged his hips upward, entering her to the hilt.
She groaned and began bucking her hips, riding his hard staff as she clung to his shoulders.
Jarharis held her ass and worked his cock inside her hot passage, savoring every thrust. Selena dug her nails into his shoulders and received his mouth against hers with a greedy passion. Her breath quickened, her breasts pushed firmly against his chest.
He felt the first tingles of orgasm as they began in his belly and rapidly spiraled along his limbs until he was all but overcome with sensations of electrifying currents. A multitude of feelings coursed through his body, making him pull his mouth away from hers and pant to catch his breath. He hunched his hips, milking his cock, wanting to experience every last nuance of sensation the act wrought.
Selena tightened her grasp around his neck, bringing realization to his brain. She was coming. He pressed her buttocks tighter against his abdomen and rocked his cock inside her, rubbing her clitoris and bringing her to climax. She panted loudly in his ear and nipped at his lobe with her teeth. He smiled at her display of pleasure, holding her bare ass tightly in his big hands as she wiggled against him.
“You are such a…good…lover.”
Her voice was heavy with emotion. He dipped his head and brushed his mouth across hers, tasting the perspiration on her top lip. He opened his eyes and gazed down into her face. Her flesh was moist from the exertion. He smiled and h
ugged her close as he strode across the room to the bed and lowered her naked body to the flowered coverlet.
She settled on the bed, releasing her arms from Jarharis’s neck and unclasping her legs from around his waist. She sighed and stretched out on her back, smiling up at him as he poked his cock back inside his fly and zipped up. He stood looking down at her, a look of contemplation on his features.
I have to find Aston and destroy him—before he comes after her. The thought jarred his insides. The mere idea that the vampire might eventually come seeking Selena made his senses enraged. A shiver of awareness passed over his flesh. He jerked his head toward the window in the room, suddenly sensing a presence—a threatening presence that emanated from beyond the glass pane.
Aston! A shard of dread stabbed at his brain as he realized that the sensation had fled almost as quickly as it came upon him.
Without further delay, he passed swiftly to the window and vaporized, slipping beneath the pane and into the darkness, awareness gripping his insides like the grasp of an iron fist. All his vampire powers suddenly came to the fore, heightened by the threat of evil that had entered his midst.
He passed through the night, a blurry shadow that melded with the darkness and silently coursed through the heavens, his senses keen to any presence of the undead. Forces pulled at his body, drawing his attention to a tattered form on the street below. He drew closer until confirming that the figure was merely a victim of one of the vampires. He hurried on, investigating other signs of the undead, victims that lay in alleys, most of their life’s blood drained from their bodies, hovering near death, unnoticed.
Sorrow wrenched his heart as he pushed aside thoughts of the multitude he had come across in such a short time. The number was staggering. The unsuspecting, traveling the streets after dark and accosted by the greed of the vampires, were easy prey. He followed the blood-sucking trail winding through the city and leading to the outskirts where the population thinned. Houses were less numerous. Dense woods covered acres of land with no visible roads leading inside. Only then did the trail lessen, the bodies of the victims becoming less evident.
