White Raven

by J. L. Weil

  Warmth rose like summer’s heat. Zander was asking me out on a date. Too bad he wasn’t the Hunter I wanted. Yet, I found that my mouth was not saying what my brain told it to say. Just the opposite. “Sure. I’d like that.”

  Holy guacamole. Did I just agree to go on a date? With Zander? Too late now. This wasn’t elementary school—no take backs allowed. I barely knew him, and I wasn’t really interested in him that way. But seriously, going out with Zander didn’t mean I had to marry him. Or be his girlfriend. And it would be nice to get out of the house.

  He smiled sweetly. “Great. How about tomorrow? I could pick you up at six.”

  Tomorrow? I shrugged, my gaze flicking up to meet his. The purple flecks in his eyes were nowhere near as vibrant as Zane’s. I shouldn’t be thinking about him. “Why not.”

  His eyes lifted over my head, and I watched the soft lines around his mouth tighten. Curious, I looked over my shoulder, but before I saw who had put the frown on Zander’s face, he was twirling me in a circle.

  Zander leaned in, his breath minty and cool on my cheeks. “I think Zoe wants her dance partner back. She’s giving me the stink eye. See you tomorrow.”

  All I could do was nod.

  Zoe weaved in and around the crowd, making her way toward me and looking beautiful while doing it. “What did Zander want?” she asked. “I saw the two of you dancing.”

  “A date.”

  She didn’t try to hide her surprise…or disappointment.

  “It’s not a big deal,” I added, suddenly feeling like I had made a mistake. “Unless you don’t want me to go out with him.”

  “No, that’s not it. I just got the impression you were interested in a different one of my brothers.”

  “Well, then maybe he should have asked me instead of Zander.”

  She let out a long heavy sigh. “If Zander is interested in you, then Zane would never get in the way. Bro code and all. Believe it or not, Zane isn’t always a jerk.”

  Her words and disappointment hit me, and I knew I couldn’t go through with the date. Maybe I hadn’t given Zane enough credit or time. And I didn’t want to lead Zander on. I wasn’t that type of girl, because if I was being truthful with myself, it wasn’t Zander I was interested in. Searching the crowd, I had to set this straight before I got myself into a love triangle between brothers. That was the very last thing I needed.

  I excused myself and sidestepped Zoe, only to run into a roadblock. I smacked into something firm. And warm. And that smelled like the first frost of winter. Zane found me before I had a chance to track down Zander.

  Damn.

  I clashed into an unmistakable shade of blue, his hands gripping either side of my hips, steadying me. Zane should come with a warning label. He threw off enough testosterone to draw the attention of every girl with a pulse in a twenty-mile radius. If you got all three Hunters together, the female population would be powerless.

  I was drawn to him, whether I liked it or not.

  His eyes were fixed on me, and he flashed me a wolfish grin.

  In that second, I was powerless.

  Gulp.

  Zane twined our fingers, pulling me to him. “I think you owe me a dance.”

  I kept my face almost neutral, but ignoring the charge jolting from him to me was difficult for both of us.

  “Be a gentleman.” I heard Zoe warn, but it sounded so far away, because my heart was throwing itself against my chest.

  Zane’s lips quirked up. “A little out of your element, Princess?”

  The little network of cells in my brain started to function, my sanity returning. I was not about to let him kill the nice little buzz I had going. “Don’t you think it is a sign that your family needs to tell you to behave?” I asked sarcastically.

  He just stared at me.

  I shook my hair. “Do you want to dance or just gawk at me?”

  No matter how much I tried to be good, you can’t keep a bad girl down. He needed a lesson. There was a brazen side of me I didn’t know I had. I weaved my arms around his neck and started to move my hips. If he wasn’t going to make a move, then I would, because standing in the middle of the dance floor was getting awkward. Zane already stood out in a crowd.

  My body brushed his, and a tingle tiptoed along my spine.

  He sucked in a low breath, proving I wasn’t the only one who felt this strong connection between us. It was an affirmation that gave me courage I wouldn’t normally have, but there was also the risk of this backfiring on me. What was reward without risk?

  Safe, boring Piper. That was not me tonight.

  I was no longer in control of myself, my body doing things I wouldn’t normally have the lady balls to do. I blamed it on that misty drink. Never drink anything murky.

  Determined to get a response from stiffy, I turned it up a notch, pulling out moves that would not have made my mom proud. I wanted him to suffer. Rolling my hips against his, I placed my hands on the hardness of his chest. Those steely eyes began to burn like the center of a flame, the hottest point.

  Holy smokes.

  A dangerous smile curved his lips as he reached out his fingertips, tracing my plunging neckline. His touch seared a path of pure heat. It was a reaction I wanted, and boy, what a sizzling reaction it was. My entire body was humming, and I was damn sure it wasn’t the drink. Uncertain what to do next, my hands drifted up his shoulders, little bolts of current following my fingers.

  Definitely not the booze.

  I felt like I was radiating from the inside out. Zane was intoxicating. He was like nothing I’d ever had before. Dark. Sweet. Dangerous. Mysterious. I craved more.

  He growled near my ear, before looking down at me, eyes darkening. Black veins spidered around his long lashes. It was hard to believe what I was seeing through the sputtering of lights, but I knew I wasn’t imagining anything. They were real. I lifted a hand—

  “What do you think you’re doing?” he spat.

  “I think it’s obvious.”

  His brows knitted together. “I need to get out of here.” Dropping his hands from my waist, he spun around, grabbing my hand in the process. As we catapulted toward the exit, small crowds parted like the Red Sea, but Zane kept his head down.

  Zane Hunter has humiliated me for the last damn time, I seethed with each step he yanked me about. I would never make a fool of myself over him again.

  Bastard.

  Chapter 11

  We rushed toward the red exit sign, stopping only when we were outside. I more or less gave up trying to jerk out of his hold after a few failed attempts. He had a handcuff grip on my wrist, and I took that as he really wanted me to go with him. Why? Beats me, but I got the feeling I was in trouble. As cool as it was tonight, my body managed to feel like it was on fire.

  Zane took a deep breath, the muscles along his jaw thrumming. “Jesus, Piper. Are you trying to kill me?”

  His dark voice wove itself into my belly, causing me to shiver. “You’re the one who wanted to dance,” I reminded him. “I was just being friendly.”

  He thrust his hand into his messy hair. “You got any friendlier and Zander would have ripped out my heart with his bare hands.”

  Confusion lined my brows. “What does Zander have to do with this?” He couldn’t possibly know about the date? It was not a big deal. I didn’t see how a date could cause him to act ballistic.

  His jaw was clamped shut. “Everything.”

  We were standing toe-to-toe. Cold air blew along the back of my neck, but I barely felt it over the heat pumping between us. “As usual, nothing that comes out of your mouth makes sense.”

  “I should have stayed home tonight,” he mumbled.

  “Me too,” I snapped back. “You know what? Forget this.”

  I had no idea where I was going, no idea where I was, and no clue how to get home, yet not even an act of God could have gotten me back into that club. And standing outside with Zane was no longer an option. I looked left and then glanced right. What I nee
ded was an internal GPS.

  I whipped around, taking off to the right. The direction didn’t matter as long as it took me away from Zane.

  “Piper!” he yelled. “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Far away from you. I picked up speed. What I wouldn’t do for a Starbucks. Something frothy, chocolaty with a kick of espresso. Damn dreadful island. There was no Starbucks here. No McDonalds. No Target. Like I said, it was a dreadful island.

  Rounding the corner, I realized I no longer heard Zane calling my name. Good. He’d finally gotten a clue. I glanced over my shoulder just to make sure he wasn’t following me. Coast was clear. I exhaled in relief and disappointment, but it was fleeting.

  As I faced forward a figure emerged in front of me. I jumped. “Goddamnit, Zane.” My hand slapped him on the chest. “You scared the shit out of me.”

  “About time.”

  My earlier confidence evaporated. “That’s what you’ve been doing this whole time? Trying to scare me? Well, let me tell you…you royally suck at it.”

  A hint of amusement filled his eyes. “Glad we cleared that up.”

  I let out a long frustrated groan. “You are single-handedly the most infuriating guy I have ever had the displeasure of meeting.”

  “Thank you.”

  One smartass comment and I was fighting a grin. “That wasn’t a compliment, you baboon.”

  “Maybe not to you,” he said. “I strive so hard to be infuriating. It’s nice to know my efforts pay off.”

  “Your mother must be proud.”

  He caught my eye, giving me a gold star bar fight grin. The glint in his eyes was scary enough, but under the rough exterior, there was still a note of desire. “You haven’t met my parents.”

  What did he mean by that? I shook my head, realizing I was never going to understand him. Not just guys like him, but Zane in particular. He was a different species of male, which reminded me… “We need to talk,” I said, lips thinning.

  He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Well, what are you waiting for? Spill.”

  I couldn’t sit still, so I started to walk aimlessly down the road, assured that he wasn’t going to ditch me. Fumbling with the charm around my neck, there was no other way to say what was on my mind, so I just blurted, “I know you’re different.” I waited a beat to see if his expression would change at my insane accusation. It didn’t. “Yes, I know I sound crazy, and saying it out loud doesn’t make it any less outlandish, but I’ve seen things I can’t rationalize. So what are you? Vampire? Demon? Zombie? Frankenstein? I’m just spit-balling here.”

  He laughed, and the sound was husky, making the wide street seem too small.

  “I’m glad you think this is funny,” I muttered.

  His long strides were no match for mine, but he slowed so he was beside me. “That’s just it. It isn’t funny, but you don’t give up. You don’t listen. I warned you, Princess.”

  That was all he’d done, warn until I was blue in the face. New tactic. “Why were you in my room?” I waited for him to deny it. He was going to deny it, right?

  The longer the silence stretched, the less certain I became. Doubt weaseled its way into my head. Oh God. He had been in my room.

  Zane didn’t say anything, just pinched the bridge of his nose. I could practically hear each gear in his brain grind into action. “Why would you think I was in your room? Do you know what kind of security I would have to get past undetected to get to you? Raven Manor is practically Fort Knox.”

  I couldn’t possibly tell him I had smelled his scent, or that I swore I saw his blue eyes in the distance. Even in my head, that sounded absolutely redonkulous. “Come on, that wouldn’t stop a guy like you.”

  He shook his head. “And you’ve got me all figured out.”

  I threw my arms in the air. “No. I don’t. And that’s the problem. You won’t tell me.”

  “Some things are better left unsaid,” he said, a chariness to his voice.

  I was going to hit him. “You could have at least bought me dinner before you decided to screw me,” I shrieked, fed up and not caring who heard me. My frustration level reached a new peak.

  He moved. “Trust me, Piper. If I decide to screw you, it wouldn’t be in a public place.”

  My throat closed up as his face hovered near mine, my body hyper aware of him. “That’s rich coming from you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, angling his head.

  I licked my lips. “That you’re a douchebag extraordinaire.”

  His eyes lingered on my mouth. “That the best you can do?”

  “And you’re a—”

  In a blink, he suddenly had me pinned against the wall with that rock hard body of his. I told myself to keep my mind off his abs, which was like saying no to the last piece of bacon. Who could do that?

  “What the hell do you—?”

  A hand closed over my mouth, and he shushed me.

  Oh no he didn’t.

  I gave him a monster glare, prepared to unleash verbal diarrhea, when I heard voices.

  His hand was still covering my mouth, and I couldn’t stop the dirty girl thought even if I tried. Not that I tried very hard. Once it was there in my head, it was stuck. I wanted to lick the inside of his palm. It would be so easy, just a quick swipe of my tongue. What would he do? Would that dark scowl only intensify?

  The idea became a temptation too good to ignore. I must have made a noise, because his eyes flew to mine, and as if I didn’t have a brain, he pressed a finger to my lips, making it very clear he wanted me to be quiet.

  Wrong move.

  Our current situation might not be so titillating if his damn rock hard body wasn’t plastered to every inch of mine. I challenge any girl in my situation to resist the urge to take a taste. Having his skin against my lips—no good. I wanted to take his finger into my mouth. What would Mr. Big Shot do then?

  I hated that I found him so tempting.

  His eyes were still attached to mine, and I watched dumbfounded as they darkened.

  Oh shit.

  I’d come to learn that with the appearance of Zane’s unearthly black spider eyes came trouble.

  Under a streetlight strolled two guys not much older than Zane and I. The difference, they made my skin crawl. I considered myself a good judge of character, and my bizarre intuition never let me down. Right now, it was telling me that these jokers were bad news.

  Zane’s body went ridged, and I started to feel my first inklings of fear.

  There was a distinct leader, a blond with spiky hair who looked like he bench-pressed elephants for shits and giggles. His extra-large arms were intimidating to say the least, but Zane didn’t seem to notice. The other was scrawny, with a dusting of freckles over the bridge of his slightly crooked nose. In what was becoming a habit, I looked to their wrists. Both of them had a tattoo of a blue sparrow. I really need to figure out what these birds mean.

  Their shoes clopped on the blacktop, and they moved in jerky, excited movements. “Shit,” Zane swore under his breath.

  The beefy blond sneered. “Well, if isn’t Death’s favorite toy. Didn’t expect to see you tonight.”

  Huh?

  My confusion skyrocketed, but whatever nicknames these guys had for each other was the least of my worries. Slick and Sparky were eyeballing me in a way that had genuine fear spearing through my heart.

  Zane shot forward, stepping in front of me like a shield. I tried not to be touched. “Blake, what are you doing here?”

  Blake, the blond, turned down his lips. “Don’t insult me. I know you have half a brain in that inflated head of yours. You know what I want.”

  “And you just thought I would let you take her?” His voice was laced with disgust.

  Oh. My. God.

  They were talking about me.

  What did these lunatics want with me? The image running through my head wasn’t pretty. For that matter, it was America’s Most Wanted quality. All I coul
d think was that this had something to do with my mom’s accident. It was pretty darn evident they weren’t looking to be friends.

  I backed up, wondering how far I could get if I made a run for it. Otherwise, I was leaving my safety in Zane’s hands. I stayed planted, taking my bet on Zane.

  “What does it matter to you? Your brother’s not around.” Blake’s smile lacked warmth, and I knew I was in a precarious situation. “We won’t say anything. Scout’s honor.” He held up two fingers.

  My stomach soured. “Oh yeah. That’s convincing,” I said dryly.

  Squaring his shoulders, Zane mumbled, “Now is not the time for your particular brand of sass.”

  The thing was, I wasn’t a hundred percent positive that Zane wouldn’t just hand me over to these two seriously demented assholes. What they wanted with me, I couldn’t even think about, because if I did, I would lose my shit.

  Blake laughed, his buddy joining in. “Homegirl has attitude. Good. I like a little struggle and a lot of screaming.”

  I leapt forward. “Sick prick. No way am I letting you put a hand on me.”

  Zane captured me at the waist, pulling me against him. He kept his arms around me even as I struggled to break free. “Be quiet,” he hissed in my ear, then raised his head. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll take a hike, because my fist is begging to be in your face.”

  “Ooh,” Blake mocked, putting his hands in the air. “The problem is you have something we want. Hand her over and we’ll all leave here without a scratch, except maybe the Raven.”

  Zane didn’t like his answer. He growled low at the back of his throat. It was almost an animal-like noise. “You leave me no choice.” Then he whispered in my ear. “Princess, do me a favor and stay out of the way.”

  He released me, and I felt so exposed without his arms around me. If, correction, when we got out of this, Zane and I were going to have words about him manhandling me. I was not a doll to be tossed about. Just as I was shoving the blonde curtain of hair out of my face, Zane cocked back an iron arm and slammed his fist into Blake’s jaw. The impact knocked Blake on his ass, sprawling him on the blacktop.