Claim the Night

by Rachel Lee

  “So what brings you here?” Jude asked.

  “My granddaughter.”

  Astonishment caused Terri to speak. “You mean you guys can have kids?” The thought of vampire two-year-olds was a little much, and the image that sprang to her mind wasn’t pretty.

  “No,” Jude answered. “We can’t.”

  “Oh.”

  Creed regarded Terri for a moment. “I gather she doesn’t know all that much about us.”

  “She’s learning. What’s up with your granddaughter?”

  “She’s in the hospital. You heard about that attack last night?”

  Jude’s brows lifted as he looked at his friend. “That was your granddaughter?”

  “Yes.” Creed almost hissed the word. “I visited her tonight at the hospital and there’s an odor to her wounds. Something…unnatural. Since you’ve made the unnatural your business, I was going to ask you to help me hunt these bastards down. They’re going to pay for this.”

  Jude nodded gravely. “We’re getting ready to hunt them. Terri here was almost attacked by them, too. At least we think they’re the same ones.”

  “Then come with me now.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why the hell not?”

  “Because I was attacked by a demon last night. I’m still not in any condition to hunt. But I’ve got someone on his way right now who can help locate these scum.”

  Creed frowned, but finally he nodded. “If that’s the best you can do, then all right.”

  “For tonight,” Jude reassured him. “Just for tonight. I’m nowhere near back to full strength, but I promise you, we’ll get them.”

  “Not without me,” Creed said darkly.

  Terri shivered at his tone. It carried death.

  “Not without you,” Jude promised. “But don’t try it on your own, either. There’s something about these guys, and if you try to take on four men who are under unnatural control, you’re going to need help.”

  “Damn.” Creed whirled almost too fast to see, then came to light on the edge of the sofa. “Do you have any idea what they did to her?”

  “I read the police report.”

  Creed’s hands bunched as if they wanted to close around someone’s throat. “She’s barely alive, Jude. Barely.”

  “You could…”

  “No!” Creed snapped. “Not that. I want her to have a normal life, not this…this…” He left the sentence incomplete, but Terri could not mistake his revulsion. Did all vampires hate themselves? But now was not the time to ask.

  “I understand,” Jude said. But before he could say more, the bell rang again and Garner’s face appeared on the screen.

  “There he is,” Jude said. He leaned over to press the door release. Moments later, Garner sauntered into the room, trying very hard to look like a young man who had not suffered a major disappointment just a little while ago.

  When he saw Creed, he stopped dead in the doorway. “Another one?”

  Creed just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

  “Jeez, just asking,” Garner said, before turning to Jude. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Creed here is a good friend of mine, Garner. Got it?”

  The young man nodded eagerly. “Got it. And?”

  “And you’re going to go with him.”

  Garner paled a bit. “Jude, man, I know you’re okay, but…him?”

  “He’s not going to hurt you. But he needs your help. I thought you wanted to help, Garner.”

  “I do, but…” He eyed Creed warily.

  Creed sighed impatiently. “Forget it, Jude. I don’t need some frightened pantywaist to help me.”

  “Hey,” Garner protested. “I’m no…whatever that is!”

  Creed looked dubious beyond words.

  “Creed,” Jude said, “I know you’re upset. But Garner has a Gift.”

  One of Creed’s brows lifted. “What kind?”

  “He’s got a nose for the unnatural. A good one.”

  Garner actually puffed a bit. “I do,” he said firmly.

  Jude’s glance silenced any further bragging. “So here’s how it’s going to be. Are you listening, Garner?”

  “Yeah, man.”

  “Okay. Creed is going to take you to the hospital. His granddaughter was attacked by those same thugs who tried to attack Terri.”

  “You guys can have grandkids? No way.”

  Jude snorted impatiently. “Yes, way. Are you listening?”

  Garner nodded quickly.

  “They smelled odd to me. Creed smelled something unnatural about his granddaughter’s wounds. So he’s going to take you to the hospital. Memorize the scent. Identify it if you can. Then the two of you are going to take a walk around the warehouse district and see if you can figure out where those thugs are.”

  “At night?” Garner almost squeaked. “I’m not going down there at night.”

  “Garner.” Jude’s voice became hard, commanding. “You’re going under the protection of a vampire. It doesn’t matter that it’s night. But we’ve got to find those thugs before they do this again. Got it?”

  Garner glanced at Creed, swallowed, then nodded. “Okay, Jude.”

  “You wanted to be part of this. Here’s your chance. But listen to me. I do not want either of you mixing with these guys. Not when there’s four of them. Just find them, if you can, and come back here.”

  “Okay,” Garner said. “Okay. I can do that.”

  “See that you do exactly that and no more. Creed?”

  The other vampire stood, looking drawn but strong. “I said I wouldn’t do anything, didn’t I?”

  “Just make sure nothing happens to Garner. He’s only a human.”

  “I noticed.” Sarcastic.

  Then the odd couple walked out the door, Garner tossing suspicious glances at Creed with every step, leaving Terri and Jude alone once again.

  That’s when Terri noticed that Jude had begun to look paler than usual. Almost gray. “What’s wrong?” she asked, leaping to her feet. “Those wounds?”

  “I’ll be fine. It’s that damned canned blood. It takes longer to heal.”

  He went to the couch and sat, grimacing. “I should be out there with Creed and Garner.”

  “Not in this condition.” She went to sit beside him. “Besides, Creed promised he wouldn’t do anything on his own, so they should be safe. You don’t need to worry.”

  Dark eyes, eyes that now seemed darker than the night itself, looked at her. “If it were my granddaughter lying in that hospital bed, and I found those thugs, I’d probably break every law, every rule I’ve made for myself and every promise I’d given anyone. Do you think I wouldn’t?”

  She saw the truth in his eyes. Felt it shudder through her. Honestly, she couldn’t blame him. She’d seen cases in her own professional life that had horrified her enough that she might have taken the law into her own hands.

  “What do you mean by unnatural?” she asked finally, seeking at least to push the thoughts of him killing into the background. “If it’s a demon, wouldn’t you recognize the smell?”

  “Sometimes. First, I don’t have Garner’s Gift. Second, there are different kinds of demons. Levels, types…oh, there’s a multitude of evil beings out there. A whole damn pantheon. Unless I’ve met a particular kind before, I can’t identify it, beyond its being unnatural.”

  “Lovely.” Also terrifying. She thought about her feeling of being watched and realized she didn’t feel it here with Jude. What did that mean?

  As she kept watching him, she felt deep concern rising. He really didn’t look good at all. She drew a steadying breath and asked, “Would fresh blood help you?”
<
br />   The look he gave her spoke volumes, about hunger, about lust, about things she couldn’t begin to imagine. Then he tore his gaze away. “Forget it,” he said shortly.

  “Forget it? When you’re suffering? I don’t think so.”

  “I’d have to go out to get fresh. Not tonight. I need to be here in case they find something.”

  “You don’t have to go out to get fresh.”

  He became absolutely, positively still, a statue carved from black-and-white marble. After a moment he said, “Terri, no.”

  “Jude, yes.” Impulsively, she reached out and took his hand. He made a halfhearted attempt to pull it away, then quit trying when her fingers tightened. “I’d give a transfusion to a patient in the hospital. Do you think I’d do any less for you when you saved my life? I might be the one lying in the hospital bed right now like Creed’s granddaughter.”

  “Don’t tempt me.”

  “I’m not tempting. I’m offering.” She pulled the collar of her blouse away from her neck. “Take what you need.”

  “You don’t know what I need.”

  “You said it would be less than a blood donation.”

  “You don’t understand!”

  “How can I if you don’t tell me? And right now you need blood. Fresh blood you said. I know for a fact that I can spare over seven hundred milliliters without even noticing. So take a pint. A half-pint. Whatever it is you need because I’m not going to just accept doing nothing when I can help you!”

  His gaze had fastened on her throat, and there was a tension she had never before seen in his face. Was that how a tiger looked before it sprang? Her mouth turned dry.

  But the doctor in her wouldn’t let it go. Nor would, if she were to be honest, the woman in her. Whatever had made this man so central to her life, so quickly, she couldn’t ignore it. She couldn’t just stand by.

  “Not the throat.” He spoke in a near growl.

  “Why not?”

  “You wouldn’t be able to hide it. You’d have to explain. Anyway, it’s too intimate.” He closed his eyes, murmuring, “God forgive me.”

  “For what?” A frisson of panic fluttered through her. “What are you going to do?”

  His eyes opened, blacker than death. “I’m going to drink from you.”

  “Okay.” Her voice quavered a little. “Do I need to know anything? To get prepared?”

  He drew a long, deep breath. “I’m going to lick you. My saliva will numb you, so you don’t feel the puncture.”

  She managed a jerky nod. “Where?”

  His expression shifted, going from frightening to almost dreamy, and somehow that eased her apprehension.

  “I could bite you anywhere,” he murmured. “But for now…”

  He pulled the collar of her shirt over her shoulder, then he tugged her bra strap out of the way. Slowly, caressingly, his cool fingertips brushed back and forth beneath her collar bone, above her breast. A shiver of mixed delight and fear raced through her. “Somewhere here,” he whispered. “There’s a vein…” His fingers paused. “Here.”

  He could feel a vein that easily? But before she had time to feel fully amazed, his head swooped toward her. She felt the brush of his cool tongue over her skin, and a ripple of astonishing pleasure passed through her.

  Then…

  For an instant, nothing. She looked down at the top of his dark head, and wondered when he would do it.

  But all of a sudden, as if a switch were flipped, she felt the oddest sensation. Her own heartbeat seemed to grow loud in her ears, her thoughts drifted away on a tide of bliss, and her body began to throb with intense pleasure, in time to her heart.

  Dimly she realized what he had meant about giving her a sexual thrill. It was a thrill her wildest imaginings would never have even suggested to her.

  Even those thoughts drifted away. Hardly aware of doing it, she raised a hand and cupped the back of his head, holding him to her, giving him her life willingly.

  She existed now in timeless moments of feeling. Good feelings. Sexual feelings that nearly made her moan, but something even more. Something at least as deep and satisfying, but unlike any experience she had ever had.

  Her head fell back as she cradled him to her and gave herself up to the most intense, arousing experience she had ever had. She wanted it to never end.

  Slowly, reluctantly, she grew aware again. Felt his cool tongue lap at her skin. Gently. Almost adoringly.

  All too soon, he lifted his head and looked at her.

  Her eyelids drooped and she saw him through her lashes. His gaze was golden now, more vigorous than she had seen it since the attack. He licked his lips, wiping away traces of her blood, then leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth.

  This was no tentative kiss. This was a deep, demanding kiss, one that almost seemed to claim her. Her body leapt again in response, and she wrapped her arms around him, tilting her head to take his tongue even deeper into her. Oh, how she wanted him, in every way possible.

  Then, too quickly to observe or absorb, he was gone. Her arms were empty, her body screaming for more.

  She blinked and found him at the far end of the couch.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  She struggled to find her emotional footing, to ground herself once again in the familiar reality. It wasn’t easy, because he had carried her to a world she had never guessed existed.

  She wanted to reach for him again, but stopped because she noted that something was different in the way he looked at her. Something almost wary.

  She fought for her voice and found it. “Did you get enough?”

  He nodded, never taking those watchful eyes from her.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  A harsh laughed escaped him. “No. But I almost did.”

  Confusion. Her head whirled a moment, then steadied. “What do you mean?”

  “Another time,” he answered obliquely. Then he sprang from the couch, again almost too fast to see, and began to pace the office. “It’s working. Thank you.”

  “You feel better?”

  “More than I can tell you. My strength is returning.” He faced her then. “I need to go out and look for Garner and Creed. Help them.”

  Terri jumped up. “Not without me.”

  “Terri, you can’t do this. You don’t have any special skills.”

  “How do you know that? I fought off a demon, didn’t I? All on my own. And I’ve got a personal interest in catching those thugs.”

  He glared at her. She glared back.

  “Your blood pressure is too low,” he argued.

  “Don’t try to lie to me, Jude. I don’t feel in the least light-headed. My heart isn’t racing. You didn’t even take a full pint, and you could have taken more.”

  “What about work?” he demanded. “You have to go to the office in the morning.”

  “I have three days off.”

  “Woman, you’ve been a thorn in my side from the outset.”

  “Good. From what I can see, you need a few more.”

  His face creased. “What in the world are you talking about?”

  “You don’t listen to Chloe at all, and she’s probably one of the best friends you’ve got. You just sent Garner, of all people, out to hunt those thugs with no protection except a vampire neither of us trust not to try to take them out himself.”

  “Creed promised.”

  “And his promise won’t be worth a hill of beans if he finds his granddaughter’s attackers. You said it yourself, Jude. But you sent Garner because you felt weak and couldn’t go with Creed yourself. And you knew that if he walked out of here alone he would do it himself.”

  Jude scowled at her. For some reaso
n the expression no longer terrified her.

  “What’s more,” she added in the coup de grace, “you only took my blood because you’re afraid that if you don’t get out there Creed will do something stupid.”

  “Back when I was human,” he said, “women used to listen to a man.”

  “Back when you were human they just manipulated you more subtly.”

  He continued to glare at her, but not for long. A sigh escaped him, almost a laugh but not quite. “Damn women,” he muttered.

  “Damn vampires,” she retorted.

  Five minutes later, once he was sure she was properly armed with holy water as well as her cross and her St. Michael’s medal, they headed out together.

  Chapter 8

  Jude considered the all-too-few ways he could kill himself, then tossed each in the trash bin of his mind. He actually had no desire to die permanently, and less now than ever.

  But here he was, closed up in a car with Terri’s maddening scent and the all-too-recent memory of having drunk from her.

  He shouldn’t have done that. Resisting her had been hard enough all along, but now that he had tasted her, he was damn near lost. He didn’t know why, but her blood had been like the finest champagne to him, finer than any he had ever drunk. Addicting. Nearly maddening him with desire for her.

  His hands tightened on the steering wheel until he had to remind himself not to crush it. Because he could have.

  Maybe he should beat his head on the steering wheel in hopes of pounding some sense into it. But no, he was quite sure that wouldn’t work. Not anymore. Not with Terri’s sweet blood singing in his veins. Making her part of him in a way he doubted he would ever be able to explain to her. When a vampire drank, it was no ordinary transfusion, no matter how Terri wanted to think of it.

  It was one of the reasons he was so careful about who he drank from. He’d learned the hard way what it could cost to be indiscriminate. So he’d learned to take only from those who in some way were so empty that they affected him hardly at all.

  But Terri wasn’t empty. What’s more, she was turning out to be a bit of a stubborn firebrand. Now that her blood ran in him, he was more aware than ever of her heartbeat, of her breaths, of her slightest reactions as they approached the dark streets of the warehouse district.