The man Jaden was with leaned in to her, giving her a meaningful look. He didn’t hear what they said, but he saw the possessive way the one called Rick stayed close to her side. The human’s eyes always strayed to her with a longing Tyr could sense easily from across an ocean and his mortal body was always inclined to lean in. It was the same man who interrupted his conversation earlier in the night. Who was this mortal to her? And why did Tyr care?
Tyr cursed himself for being affected by the dhampir. But try as he may, he couldn’t deny he was fascinated. When it looked as if Rick would reach out and touch her, the knight dropped the cloak he carried over his emotions to block himself from Jaden. He watched her shiver as she felt his nearness. He saw her eyes dart around, searching. A grim smile spread out over his features when she hurried away from the park.
Following them for some time, he glided behind them, invisible. He ignored their words but tried to feel what Jaden was feeling. Without seeing her eyes, he couldn’t read into her thoughts. He found himself edging closer, reaching out to touch her. Suddenly, her head snapped around to look back. It was as if she pierced him with her stare. Tyr knew it was senseless to lurk, and pulled his emotions away from her. Jaden visibly relaxed, her walk becoming lighter now she believed him to be gone.
Tyr silently tracked her location until he felt her arrive at Mack’s building. To his displeasure, the man was still beside her. With a scowl, he fled into the city night. Jaden was safe—for now. But as soon as the man left her side, Tyr would go for her again. And this next time, he wouldn’t be as indulgent with her.
* * *
Mack was gone. Outwardly, Jaden stayed calm. Inside, she cursed the blackest string of profanity she knew. She wanted some answers and she didn’t want to have to wait for them.
The penthouse seemed empty without her uncle’s dynamic presence. The servants faded into the background until they became part of the walls. Jaden felt them around her, but tried to ignore them as she always had.
Mack left a message with the butler that he would be back in three days. He didn’t say where he had gone—only that Jaden should be ready to leave when he got home. Jaden grimaced, scanning over the note. He bid her, most insistently, to stay in until he got back. Jaden made no such plans.
For Rick, Mack left a different message. The man found it slipped under the door of his apartment. Rick lived directly beneath Mack’s home. The loft style suite was simply decorated with an industrial type of feel to the metal bar walls and black furniture.
Mack warned that Jaden might be in danger and ordered that Rick should stay close to her. Whatever happened, he was not to let her leave the house. Attached to the note were two forms of tranquilizers—a dart and a vial filled with powder. There were enough drugs to keep Jaden sedated for a week. Rick frowned. Shoving the package into his duffel bag, he packed to go up to Mack’s apartment to stay.
In the penthouse, he was met with as warm a welcome as he could imagine getting from Jaden. She sneered, looking with disdain at his bags, before turning to go to bed. Rick sighed, dropping his bags as he went to follow her.
Catching up to her on the stairs, he said, “It’s only for a few days.”
Jaden paused halfway up to turn her needling eyes at him. “I don’t need a babysitter, Rick. I can take care of myself.”
“Mack is concerned, is all. You’re his niece. He worries about you.” Giving her a sheepish grin, he offered, “We can train if you like. I’ve been working on my swordplay and could use a worthy partner. Not many of the guys are interested in the old styles.”
It was the only offer he could’ve made that would’ve piqued her interest. Jaden allowed herself a small smile. Studying Rick’s handsome face, she nodded. “All right, Mr. Fletcher.”
A boyish grin spread over his features. His eyes sparkled with mischievous intent and hope. Jaden turned from him, her smile fading when he could no longer see. She saw the look and was sorry for it.
Once she was alone in her room, the door safely latched behind her, she allowed herself to breathe. Her head hit against the frame of the door with a heavy thud. She thought of Rick downstairs in the den watching television on her uncle’s couch. He really wasn’t a bad guy. He was generous and kind, athletic and smart. He was a gentleman. And in bed, if memory served, he was quite the inventive lover. Why was she fighting him so hard? Sure, she didn’t love him, but why fight animal nature? And it would seem she had enough pent-up animal nature inside of her to fuel the most indecent of vampiric fantasies.
If she made her intent clear to Rick in the beginning, why shouldn’t they resume their affair? And maybe if she released some of the tightly wound tension Tyr created in her body, she would be better able to face the irritating vampire. It wasn’t the first time she thought about resuming her meaningless affair with Rick, but it was the first time she really considered it.
Jaden lifted her head to stare at the door. Her fingers trembled slightly as she reached for the lock. A nervous flutter came to her stomach. It had been nearly three years since she allowed herself to get close to someone. Life had just gotten too complicated to make time for men. And being with Rick tonight would beat being alone.
Her decision made, she unlocked the door. The latch slid easily beneath her fingers. But when she pulled on the knob, the door didn’t move. Jaden frowned. She looked at the lock. It was still undone.
“What…?” A puzzled frown edged her face.
“Do you really think he can make you happy?”
Jaden froze. She heard a match strike behind her and the slow puffing of a cigar. She dropped her hand from the knob. Slowly, she turned around. The lock slid into place as she moved, untouched by human hands. The red glow of a cigar tip floated eerily in the darkness as her eyes adjusted to the low light.
“He’ll never understand you.” Tyr sat in her chair by the vanity as if he’d been waiting for her all evening. His coat lay over the side of her bed, draping the edge. His lips closed around the tip of the cigar in a slow caress as he savored it. Jaden shivered at the deliberate action. She recognized the cigar’s smell as one of her uncle’s.
“I should have known you’d be here,” she grumbled. His brow rose, reminding her of the still creature she’d met with in the alleyway. What a fool she had been that night, so off her game. Any imbecile could see him for what he was—a strong, willful vampire. As if to prove her point, his fangs peeked out from beneath his lips. Swallowing, she forced her attention away from his sensually kissable mouth.
For all the care he seemed to exude, she could’ve been a pile of pig droppings sitting in the middle of a grassy field—a small annoyance that must be considered for only a passing moment before being stepped over or swept away. She wondered which fate he would chose for her. Would she be released from him, left behind as he went on to ageless centuries? Or would she be snuffed out, swept away beneath the heel of his boot, forced into the stirring of his whims?
Jaden walked over to her bed, sitting as she pulled off her boots. She threw them haphazardly onto the floor. Smelling the smoke crossing her face, she coughed and waved her hand through the air. “That thing will probably kill me. Could you put it out?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” he asked with a tilt of his head.
His middle finger smoothed over the chair’s arm, the fingernails moving in undulating circles that reminded her of a naughty caress, and Jaden felt a fire in her limbs, stirring in her belly to weaken her will. She kept her gaze trained on his hand, letting her eyes travel up the length of his pale arm when his fingers ceased in their movements. She took in the girth of his chest. After a long moment of silence, he let the smoke escape his parted lips.
Jaden watched in a curious state of awe as the smoke left his firm mouth, curling around his fangs. Even the elements of that simple action seemed controlled by the vampire who allowed it to be. When the last of the smoke dissipated above his head, he finally moved. Taking his dry fingers to the end of the cigar
, he crushed the tip.
Tyr chuckled, the sound low and sultry. He called forth her most primal of desires—the kind of need that didn’t seek permission or logic, only a reason to be.
“I’m not going with you.” Jaden tugged off her socks before moving across to her vanity barefoot. She didn’t like coming so close to him. It was said vampires made excellent lovers. They had years of experience and the bodies to back it up. They could make a human woman believe anything. Jaden was no fool. She knew that for the vampire it was an illusion, another way to stir the blood before tasting it.
She refused to let him see her apprehension. Glancing at the table, she took up a brush.
“That button won’t work,” he said.
Jaden hated the amiable light in his eyes, the bored set to his jaw as he watched her.
As he spoke, she instinctively knew her answer. “You cannot call for help this time. I promise to kill any who answer. Besides, I disabled your little button. I should hate for another rude interruption.”
“Why are you here, Tyr?” She stood proudly, watching him. Like most vampires, he hadn’t changed his clothes since before the alley. Vampires didn’t sweat. The burgundy sleeves of his silk shirt were pushed up to his elbows. Jaden saw the markings of a scar on his right forearm. Her eyes narrowed, trying to make out the branded symbol. Tyr rotated his arm down, hiding it from her view.
“We weren’t finished talking.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his head dangerously close to her side.
Jaden looked down, meeting his eyes peeking out from beneath the top of his silky lashes. With a small sound of derision, she strode to the bed and sat quickly to hide the shaking of her legs. Her heart pounded in excitement. “I was finished. So why don’t you leave.”
“Doesn’t anyone say please anymore?” he grumbled. His brows furrowed in concentration. “I do confess politeness must be an antiquated custom, but surely the world has not lost it completely.”
“Please leave,” she muttered. She pulled her hair free and ran the brush through it, ignoring the pounding in her chest as she did her best to act nonchalant towards him.
“No,” he answered with a half-smile. He leaned back in easy repose.
Jaden shivered at the change in him. He seemed almost…nice. “Stop being…pleasant. I much preferred your indifferent disdain. Niceties don’t suit your kind, vampire.”
The smile faded from his features. “You are a harsh judge, m’lady.”
“Yes, I am. And quit calling me m’lady, bloodsucker.” Mocking him, Jaden purposefully batted her eyelashes coquettishly at him.
Slowly, he came to his feet. The effort took no strain as if he floated more than stood.
Parting his lips so she could see his fangs, he whispered, “I have ways of quieting your foolish mortal tongue and taking the information I seek from you by force. I do not need this aggravation. I can control you.”
Jaden shivered. All thoughts of Rick faded from her as her primeval lust transferred itself easily from the man to the vampire. Her eyes dipped to Tyr’s mouth as he loomed closer, the firm set of his lips, lips that would move with tantalizing expertise if he let them. His whole body had the gift of time when it came to control. Tyr knew himself, knew his power and wore it comfortably.
Unbidden, her head titled to the side. She stepped close. The brush slipped from her grasp, falling forgotten to the floor. The thin sliver of air between them heated with the sparks of their bodies. Electricity flowed, joining their chests with gossamer strands of attraction. She resisted the pull, refusing to sway into the last breath of their separation. The two wounds on her lip throbbed. Raising her hands, she hesitated slightly before reaching to touch his cheek.
His face was smooth and cool. A jolt ran down her fingers, leaving her panting breathlessly. Her fingertips grazed over the length of his eyebrow, stopping gently to quiver at the arch before moving on. The ice melted from his gaze, capturing her with the beauty of it.
Tyr didn’t move, didn’t touch her. Jaden didn’t care. Lifting up on her toes, she breathed in the intoxicating scent of him. It was so unlike the artificial smell of cologne. It was natural, fresh, earthy. Her eyes stayed trained on his face, studying him for a response, feeling him for emotion where there was none. Her head fell to the side. Her body brushed lightly next to him. She detected the beginning press of hardened muscle to her sensitive skin.
Closing her eyes, she drew closer. Her nose angled next to his. She felt her own breath echoing in harsh pants against his mouth. Her lips parted wider and molded around his bottom lip to suck gently. She shook with insecurity, knowing what she wanted from him. Wasn’t her own existence proof that he could answer her request? That he was fully shaped as a man should be?
She felt him smile as she held him firmly in place. A suspension of time cocooned her. She waited for the response that had to come—that must come. She waited for his mouth to part, to lay claim as it surely ought to. She waited for the feel of his tongue, wondering how it would taste, how it would feel, how precisely it could move under his command. And his strong hands, how they must know the inner working of the female body. Jaden’s fingers curled, dipping into the overlong streaks of blond hair.
And then he spoke and the spell was broken.
“I told you I could control you, m’lady. I can make you love me.”
Agonizing pain crossed over Jaden. His words slapped her, the ultimate rejection in her vulnerable state. Never had she opened herself up in such a way. Normally, she knew the man wanted her before she tried. She could lie and make them believe what she wanted them to believe. But Tyr was different. He could feel inside of her, could control her. And, yes, he could make her love him if she allowed him access to the last bit of her control and defenses. The love would be a lie, a ruse brought forth from the brainwashing power of his mind, but she would be convinced of it nonetheless. A lie, when believed, became the truth.
Jaden pulled away from him. His gaze was cold, unfeeling. Her eyes burned with unshed tears of frustration. Rejection. The realization echoed harshly in her. The desire wasn’t completely of his doing. He only pushed her over the edge to make her react to it.
This creature could never truly return the passion she felt. She threw his face away with a hard push. His head snapped to the side, but his body didn’t move.
“I could never love a creature like you, vampire. You can’t even know the feeling. A creature like you would never be able to touch my heart, not with all the tricks in your book.” Her words dropped to a mere whisper. “I loathe you. I hate you. I despise your very existence.”
Tyr closed his eyes to her anger, not allowing himself to react to it. His jaw tightened but his expression otherwise stayed intact. Jaden flung herself away from him and stormed over to the bed to sit down.
He forced a cold, crackling laugh at her tantrum. When he turned to look at her, his smile faded. Back was the cold employment of his visit.
“Get on with it then,” she said. “I won’t waste anymore of my time on you. I have a real man waiting for me. A man of flesh and blood, a man of fire and heat—”
“It’s getting late,” he interrupted, pretending as if her declaration didn’t sting. His thumb ran absentmindedly over the coolness of his own hand. Only after eating did he feel warm. “Maybe we should go.”
“I’m not going with you. Tell me what it is you want from me.”
“What were you doing tonight?” He thought of Rick. A wave of displeasure crossed over his face. Was that the lover she spoke of? He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He didn’t like his brain muddled. The long years had taught him that everything worked itself out given enough time, and some things would always be the way fate wished them to be.
“You should know. You were there.”
“Ah,” he mused silently, remembering why he was sent for her. “Then you are a part of it.”
“A part of what?” she snapped in aggravation. “Tell me wh
at it is you think is going on.”
“I know what is going on,” he stated. “I just want to know your part in it.”
“What happened in the park tonight? Do you know where they took that vampire?” she asked.
“Did you ask your uncle about it?”
“He’s gone.” Jaden bit her lips meditatively before ordering, “You tell me.”
Tyr ignored the command. Thoughtfully, he turned from her, paced to the window to look out over the city. His fingers threaded behind his back. He felt Jaden start to move forward, her hand reaching to touch him from the distance. Then she caught herself, and pulled back. Her hands balled into fists. The connection between them was strong. He felt her move, breathe, even some of her thoughts as they filtered through her mind.
Tyr tried to block out everything he didn’t need to hear in her, but it was hard. Not bothering to speak aloud, he asked her, How long will Mack be gone?
Jaden wondered if he spoke or merely directed his thoughts at her. It was rumored some of the old had very powerful gifts, though she herself had never experienced such things as mental telepathy. It was said that all vampires could converse amongst themselves by such means, but only some of them with humans. The problem with the facts she had been given was that she never knew when they would be exaggerated as a means to frighten her and others like her.
“How long?” he repeated.
“Can’t you tell, oh mighty one?”
Tyr glanced over his shoulder, shooting her an unamused grimace.
“Three days,” she grumbled.
“Fine. You have three days to find out what you don’t know or to try to hide what you do. But remember, Miss MacNaughton, the vampire council does not need evidence of the deed, only my word in the matter.” Tyr moved swiftly to her, holding her face tenderly in his large hands. His eyes glistened with an inner light. “I could be your best friend or your worst enemy. I could bring them your heart and they wouldn’t question it.”
The Jaded Hunter Page 8
