Kyrian opened his mouth to argue more, but if he knew anything about Tate, it was that the man was stubborn. Deciding not to waste his time, Kyrian obeyed before he remembered the coat and shirt wouldn't come completely off, thanks to the handcuffs.
He gave an exasperated sigh and left his clothes to hang against his forearm, then got back on the stretcher and leaned back on his elbows to wait for Tate.
As he watched Tate gather supplies, he heard Amanda's heart pounding and her breathing speed up. Felt her keen interest as she raked her gaze over his body. She wanted him, and her hot desire played havoc with him.
Kyrian shifted and wished his jeans were a couple of sizes bigger, since the black denim started biting fiercely into his erection.
Damn, he'd forgotten what a literal and figurative pain his body could be when an attractive woman was around.
And she was attractive. What with that charming, elfish face and those big, blue eyes ...
He'd always been a fool for blue eyes.
Even without looking at her, he knew she was licking those plump, full lips, and his throat went dry as he imagined the taste of them. The feel of her breath on his face and her tongue against his as he kissed her.
Dear gods, and he had thought the Romans had tortured him! Their best interrogator had been an amateur compared to the physical and mental agony her nearness caused him now.
Even more disturbing than her looks was the fact that she had been an amazingly good sport about all of this. Most women would have been screaming in terror of him or crying.
Or both.
But she had met the entire ordeal with a courage and strength of heart he'd not seen in a long time.
He actually liked her, and that surprised him most of all.
Amanda jumped when Hunter met her gaze. Those deep, black eyes bored into hers and made her hot and breathless.
He lay on the stretcher with one leg bent up and the other hanging over the edge. The black denim hugged his long, powerful body.
And those muscled arms ...
Lean and defined, he was all masculine beauty. His biceps were flexed as he leaned back on his elbows. She wanted to reach out and touch him so badly that she ached from it. No doubt, he would be rock-hard and satiny underneath her hand.
His shoulders were incredibly broad, with sculpted muscles that promised strength, speed, and agility. His pecs and arms were every bit as well-formed and tight.
And his stomach, oh heaven! Those flat abs had been made for nibbling.
Unbidden, her gaze followed the thin trail of coffee-colored hairs that started at his navel and vanished under the tight denim. By the size of the bulge in his jeans, she could tell he was amply endowed, and more than passingly interested in her.
The thought made her even hotter.
The deep, golden tan of his flesh defied what she knew him to be. How could a vampire have skin so tawny and inviting?
But even more tantalizing than the lean muscles that beckoned for caresses were the multitude of scars that crossed his flesh. He looked as if he had been clawed by a huge tiger, or beaten within an inch of his life with a whip.
Or both.
Hunter lay down as Tate approached, and she saw a small double-bow-and-arrow symbol branded into his left shoulder. She cringed at the thought of how much such a thing must have hurt, and she wondered if he had agreed to it, or if someone had put it there against his will.
"I take it from your scars that your vampire friends don't think much of you," she said.
"You think?" he retorted.
"Is he always this sarcastic?" she asked Tate.
"Actually, I thought he was being rather nice to you." Tate cleansed the vicious-looking wound with alcohol. He prepared to give Hunter a local.
Hunter caught his hand before Tate could inject him. "Don't bother."
"Why?" Tate asked with a frown.
"I'm immune to it."
Amanda's jaw dropped.
Tate just reached for the sutures.
"You can't do that," she said, interrupting him. "He'll feel it."
"He needs that wound closed," Tate insisted. "Jeez, you can see his bones through it."
"Go ahead," Hunter said with a calmness that astounded her.
Stunned, she cringed while Tate made the first suture.
Hunter kept his jaw locked and said nothing.
Amanda watched Tate tend Hunter. Her heart wrenched at the thought of how much pain Hunter must be feeling.
"Doesn't that hurt?" she asked him.
"No," Hunter said between clenched teeth.
Amanda could tell by the way the veins stood out on his neck and the way he clenched his fists that he was lying.
"Here," she said, taking his hand in hers. "Just hold tight."
Kyrian started at the softness of her hand in his. He couldn't remember the last time someone had touched him like that. He'd been a Dark-Hunter for so long that he had all but forgotten simple kindness.
Tate acted out of gratitude and a sense of obligation.
But her ...
There was no reason for her to hold his hand. He'd barely spoken a civil word to her, and yet she reached out to him when no one else would have. It made him feel strange toward her. Protective. Tender.
More than that, her simple touch scorched him all the way to his caged heart. He swallowed, then stiffened. He couldn't let her close to him. She was a creature of light and he was one of darkness.
The two were not compatible.
"So, how long have you been a vampire?" she asked.
"I told you," he said, his jaw tight, "I'm not a vampire. I'm a Dark-Hunter."
"What's the difference?"
Kyrian gave her a hard glare. "The difference is I normally don't kill humans, but if you don't stop quizzing me, I might make an exception."
"You are one seriously testy Creature of the Night."
"I love you, too."
Amanda dropped his hand. "Oh, that's it," she said. "I was just trying to comfort you. God forbid, you should let anyone actually be nice to you."
Irritated, she met Tate's surprised gaze. "Can you just saw his arm off while we're here and get me loose?"
Tate snorted. "I could do that, but he needs his more. I'd cut yours off before I did his."
"Oh, great, what are you, his Igor?"
"Wrong movie," Tate corrected. "Igor was Frankenstein's flunky. Renfield is the one you're thinking of, and no, I'm not Renfield. Name's Tate Bennett. Parish coroner."
"I'd already guessed the coroner part. Rather obvious since we're in a cold lab full of dead people."
Tate arched a brow at her. "And you call him sarcastic."
Hunter jerked as Tate pulled too hard on the sutures.
"Sorry," Amanda said. "I won't distract him anymore."
"I would appreciate it."
Once Tate finished, Hunter put his shirt and coat back on. He slid off the stretcher with only the slightest hiss to reveal his side was sore.
Tate's pager went off. "I'll be back in a few minutes. You kids need anything?"
"I'm fine," Hunter said. "But she probably needs breakfast and a phone."
Amanda quirked a brow at his words. Why would he let her have a phone now?
Tate quickly cleaned up the mess. "The phone is against the far wall, just dial nine to get out. I'll grab something in the cafeteria and be back as soon as I can. Stay in here and keep the door locked."
As soon as they were alone, Hunter moved so that she could sit on the small stool by the phone.
Blinking, Hunter rubbed his hand over his eyes as if they were sensitive to the fluorescent lights. "We need to make plans," he said quietly. "You wouldn't happen to know anyone in this city who might have a way to break handcuffs made by a Greek god?"
Getting used to his sarcasm, she smiled. "Actually, I think I do."
His face instantly lightened. Gracious, the man was gorgeous when not scowling or barking. "One of your sisters?"
&nbs
He nodded. "Good. We need to do that, preferably before sunset, or at least not long after it. You also have to call Tabitha and tell her to lie low for a few days."
"You know, for the record, I hate to take orders. But!" Amanda said interrupting him before he could pull rank. "I realize I'm in over my head. You have no idea how much I hate all this supernatural garbage. So I'm willing to listen to you, but you better start acting like I'm a person and not some mindless blow-up doll."
She pulled his ring out of her pocket and returned it to him. "And another thing, I really have to go to the bathroom."
Hunter laughed out loud.
"It's not funny," she snapped at him as he put the ring back on his finger. "Any idea how we can do this without my dying of embarrassment?"
"More than that, any idea on how to do that without my getting arrested for being in the ladies' room?"
She cut a sharp glare at him. "If you think I'm going into the men's room, forget it."
"Then I hope you can hold it."
"I am not going into the men's room!"
Five minutes later, she was in the men's room and cursing Hunter under her breath. "You really get off on being a bully, don't you?"
"It's what I live for," he said in a bored voice as he stood with his back to her. He had his arm bent behind his back to allow her more latitude with the handcuffs.
Amanda glared at him. Her bladder felt as if were going to burst, but she was having a very difficult time going with him sandwiched between her and the stall door.
And all because Tabitha couldn't remember to let her damn dog out! If she ever got out of this, she was going to kill her sister. Dead. Dismantled!
"What's taking so long?" he asked in an aggravated tone.
"I can't go with you standing there."
"Would you just go?"
"Just you wait! Sooner or later, it'll be your turn and I'm going to enjoy watching you squirm."
He went rigidly still at her words. "Baby, you could never make me squirm."
The coldness in his voice scared her.
It took her a few minutes, but she finally finished and her face was hotter than a summer afternoon at the equator. She washed her hands, all the while trying not to look at Hunter.
"You have toilet paper on your shoe," he said, glancing down at her foot.
"Oh, of course," she said. "Anything to make this more embarrassing for me. Could you get any more personal?"
A devilish gleam entered his eyes. Then that dark, penetrating stare dropped to her lips. She swore she could feel his hunger, feel his inner need to touch her.
Before she knew what he was doing, he cupped her head with his free hand, brushed her bottom lip with his thumb, and bent his head down to capture her lips with his.
Stunned, Amanda couldn't think, couldn't move, as his warm lips parted hers.
The scent of leather and taste of vampire invaded her senses. Never in her life had she felt anything like his mouth on hers. His kiss was fierce and hot as he pulled her into his arms and ravished her mouth like a marauder.
Every hormone in her body fired. She moaned low in her throat. Oh heaven, the man could kiss. And the feel of his hard body against hers was so incredible that she clutched at his shoulders wanting desperately to taste more of him.
His tongue danced with hers as his honed muscles rippled under her hands, and when her tongue accidentally brushed against his fangs, an unexpected shudder of pleasure ran through her.
For the first time since she had learned what he was, the thought of him biting her neck actually appealed to her.
But not nearly as much as the thought of laying him down on the cold, hard floor and having her way with all that lean, mean strength until they were both hot, sweaty, and spent.
Kyrian tensed as he tasted the first bit of paradise he'd been allowed in over two thousand years. He was instantly aware of her soft, feminine curves pressing against his hardness. Aware of the way she smelled like flowers and sunshine--things that had been taken from him centuries before.
There was magic in her kiss. A raw, untapped passion. She might have been kissed before, but he could tell no man had ever made her feel like this.
His body on fire, he ran his hand down her back, pressing her closer to him. He wanted her in a way he'd not wanted a woman since his days as a mortal man. He ached to touch her all over, to gently scrape his fangs over her neck, her breasts.
To feel her writhing in his arms ...
Closing his eyes, he breathed her sweet, feminine scent as his body throbbed and ached for her with a primitive need.
Amanda gasped as he slid his hand down the side of her breast to her waist, then down to cup her buttocks. She'd never been the kind of woman to let a man handle her this way, and yet there was something about the Dark-Hunter she couldn't resist.
When he pulled her heatedly toward the wall and pinned her to it, she thought she would literally melt.
His chest pressed against hers, making her even more aware of his lean, hard muscles. He separated her legs with his powerful thigh, and raised it to collide with the center of her body in a way that made her throb even more. Amanda hissed in pleasure as he deepened his fiery kiss.
She wrapped her free arm around his neck, pulling him closer as her head swam.
What would it be like to make love to such an untamed predator? To run her hands over all those sleek, taut muscles that rippled with every move he made?
He left her lips and seared a trail with his tongue from her mouth to her ear. She felt the barest scrape of his fangs on her neck.
Amanda shook all over in response to him as her breasts swelled, longing for his caress. And all the while his thigh stroked her between her legs, making her burn even more. Her knees weakened and she sank deeper onto him.
Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door. "Hey, you two," Tate said, cracking it open. "Someone's coming."
The Dark-Hunter pulled back with a growl. It was then she realized what she'd done.
"Oh God," she breathed. "I just kissed a vampire!"
"Oh gods, I just kissed a human!"
Amanda narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you mocking me?"
"Guys!" Tate called again.
Hunter took her arm and led her out the door. The janitor gave them a strange look, but said nothing as he entered the bathroom behind them.
Tate led them to his small office outside the morgue.
An old wooden desk was set against the far wall, with two chairs in front of it. A sofa with a neatly folded blanket and pillow on top of it was to her right and a set of metal filing cabinets to her left. Tate showed her to the phone on the desk, then left them to attend his business.
Trying her best to forget what had just happened in the bathroom and how good Hunter had felt in her arms, Amanda called Tabitha while Hunter stood over her.
Of course, Tabitha immediately started in on her for not letting the dog out.
"Okay," Amanda said irritably. "I'm sorry Terminator scored on your new comforter."
"Sure you are," Tabitha said. "So, what happened to you last night?"
"What? Are your psychic abilities failing you? I got waylaid in your house by one of your vampire buds."
"What!" Tabitha shrieked. "Are you okay?"
Amanda looked up at Hunter and wasn't sure how to answer. Physically, she was fine, but he did something strange to her that she couldn't even begin to define. "I survived it. But they're looking for you, so you need to hide out someplace safe for a few days."
"I don't think so."
Hunter grabbed the phone from her hands. "Listen to me, little girl. I have your sister with me, and if you don't leave your house and vanish for the next three days, I will make your sister wish you had listened to me."
"You touch her and I'll stake you."
He laughed bitterly. "Been there, done that. Now get out of your house and let me handle this."
"And Amanda?"
"She is safe as long as you listen to me."
He handed the phone back to Amanda.
"Hey, Tabby," Amanda said sheepishly.
"What has he done to you?" Tabitha demanded.
"Nothing," she said, her face growing hot as she remembered his kiss. Nothing other than make her incredibly horny.
"Okay, listen," Tabitha said. "I'm going to Eric's, and we'll gather the gang, then head out to find you."
"No!" Amanda said as she saw the dark, angry look descend on Hunter's face. Her heart stopped as she realized he could hear through the phone line.
You can hear her? she mouthed to him.
He nodded.
A chill went over her. "Listen, Tabby, I'm safe. Just do what he wants. Okay?"
"I don't know."
"Please trust me."
"You, I trust. Him? Hell, I don't even know who he is."
"I know," Amanda said. "You head over to Mom's and I'll stay in touch. Okay?"
"Okay," Tabitha groused, "but if I don't hear from you by eight o'clock tonight, I'm going hunting."
"All right, I'll talk to you later. Love you."
"You, too."
Amanda hung up the phone. "You heard all that?"
Hunter leaned over her, his body so close that she could feel his heat. His gaze bored into hers. "All my senses are highly developed."
His gaze dropped to her chest where her nipples drew tight from the intense stare. "I can hear your heart beating faster, your blood flowing through your veins as you sit there wondering whether or not I would really hurt you."
The man was truly frightening. "Would you?" she whispered.
He locked gazes with her. "What do you think?"
She stared at him, trying to get a reading on his mood and feelings, but the man was a brick wall. "I honestly don't know."
"You're smarter than I thought," he said as he took a step back.
Amanda didn't know what to say to that. So she called work and told them she was sick for the day.
Hunter rubbed his eyes again.
"Do the lights bother you?" she asked.
He dropped his hand. "Yes."
She remembered what he said about his senses.
Before she could ask him anything else, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Hola, Rosa. Como esta?"
Spanish? she thought with a start. He spoke flawless Spanish?
Even more intriguing was the incredibly sexy sound of the words in that strange accent of his.
"Si, bien. Necesito hablar con Nick, por favor."
Hunter cradled the phone between his cheek and shoulder as he massaged the wrist where the cuff was making a red mark. She wondered if he realized the feral intensity that came into his eyes every time he saw the cuffs.
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