The Jaded Hunter

by Michelle M. Pillow

  “What?” Tyr hesitated.

  “I want to fight,” she answered in a low tone. Lowering her chin, her eyes bore forward. Her hands lifted from her sides. She backed away from him, moving stealthily with the deadly intent of a fourteenth-century ninja. “I need to fight you.”

  Tyr tilted his head in question, not moving from his spot. Only his eyes followed her. And then, seeing her struggle for control, he understood.

  “I need to hit something,” she said. “I challenge you, Tyr of the Dark Knights. I challenge you—”

  “I won’t kill you,” he inserted. He couldn’t kill her, and not only because it was the order of the council. With the single taste, he had opened the dam between them. It wouldn’t be so easy to close. As she circled around him, eyeing him from head to toe, he was forced to turn his head to watch her approach from his other side.

  When he shared himself with her, he’d gotten a sense of her as well. Of course she would want to fight him. It was all she knew. It was the only thing she had left that was hers.

  “Fine,” she expressed, getting ready to attack. In grim determination, she charged forward. “You might not be able to kill me, Tyr, but don’t hold back.”

  Chapter Nine

  Two and a half hours passed with the slinging of fists, the darting of hands, the cracking of flesh against bruised flesh. Feet kicked, bodies arced, arms and legs soared. Little breaks were taken between bouts. Tyr allowed Jaden to catch her breath as they discussed technique in a most business-like fashion. Jaden once mentioned swords, but Tyr denied her request since he didn’t have two of anything and he wasn’t sure it was in his best interest to give a legendary vampire hunter a blade.

  Jaden’s breath came in ragged pants and sweat beaded her flushed skin. Fighting was the one thing she knew how to do. It was the one thing solid she could face and cling to. And if she must feel pain, then let it be physical. She felt her heart pounding so hard against her back that her whole body shook with the force of it. Every muscle in her body was fatigued, bruises were starting to form on her skin, she ached in ways she never dreamed possible, and she’d never felt better in her life. With a deep sigh, she eyed the chandelier from the flat of her back.

  Tyr leaned over her, his mouth pressed in quizzical worry. His blond hair fell forward, framing his devilishly handsome face. His skin was slightly flushed from the sparring, but he didn’t have breath and his lungs didn’t gasp or tire as hers did.

  “Did I hurt you?” he asked at length, referring to his last defensive move that sent her flying to the floor. Tyr reached out his hand to her. Jaden ignored it, rolling onto her side. She shot him a smile before pushing to her hands and knees.

  “Where did you study?” She pulled back on her haunches and peeled her sweaty hair off her forehead, throwing it back to look at him.

  “Everywhere,” he answered, drawing his rejected hand back from her.

  Jaden chuckled. A sense of comradeship overcame her. For a moment, she allowed herself to forget who he was. She forgot about the vampire council, her impending trial. They were just two people trapped in a cave, sparring.

  Her smile faltered, disappearing as she watched for his answer expectantly. She couldn’t feel the sadness in him, though there were other things she tried her best to ignore. At last, he broke the uneasy silence.

  “All Knights were trained for hundreds of years. At first we studied with humans, learning of martial arts, weaponry, warfare, books, languages, cultures.” He shrugged, leaning leisurely against the back of the couch. “As our skills grew, we studied with the council.”

  “Oh,” her expression wavered as she thought of the legendary tribal council. Jaden had always been aware of their existence, even when a young child. When other children got sweet tales of fairies and dream worlds, she got a lesson in horror and madness, descriptions of torture devices and the hell their world could be. It wasn’t Mack’s fault. He did his best by her. Even without his bedtime stories, she would’ve known the truth of it. She felt the silent spider-like strand of fear the vampiric elders instilled inside their benighted children. It was like a part of nature, holding the dark world together. It was a fairytale told and retold, distorted and changed, forever real and true. But never did she feel so close to meeting the council as she did now. Part of her never imagined the day would come—all of her had prayed it wouldn’t.

  “What about before?” Jaden leaned next to him. She rolled her head on her neck, taking one last deep breath as she calmed. “What about your human life? Do you remember it at all?”

  “As a human, I was a great warrior. I fought in many battles under King Guthrum.” Tyr became lost in thought. “It was so long ago, none of the ideals we clung to even matter anymore. Most humans don’t even know of the old king.”

  “And he was a Viking?”

  “A Dane, yes.”

  “Did he win?” she wondered aloud, enthralled with his voice as he spoke his tale.

  “Yes and then no. He was defeated by King Alfred of Wessex. A treaty was signed and he was given what has been referred to as the Danelaw.”

  “And that was…?”

  “In Britain.”

  “I couldn’t imagine such a life. I don’t think I would’ve done very well in it.”

  “Nay, m’lady. ‘Tis a fine Dane ye wouldst have made,” he murmured in the soft Norse accent of his mortal youth. Tyr winked at her, an incorrigible act that warred with the undead of his gaze. Turning to the side, he leaned his hip to the back of the couch and faced her. “Methinks ye wouldst have been the prize o’ the battle, after we conquered yer people, that is.”

  Jaden’s blush deepened, but she couldn’t look away. “It’d be something to see, I give you that. All you barbarians dressed in tunics—”

  “—yelling to Odin—” he added.

  “—brandishing your broadsword in long swings to hack off the heads of your enemies, sticking them with your anlace, and then finishing off the wounded with the humane misericord,” Jaden finished with a wrinkle to her nose.

  Tyr heard her laughter, free of mocking and bitterness. It struck a chord deep within. He held on to that laughter, capturing it in his memory, hoping to never let it go or let it fade. But, given enough time, he knew that would become dim as everything in his life must. Its memory would distort until it wasn’t real but an imagined realness. He would forget the lines of her face when she smiled, and beyond that, he might even forget her name. Suddenly, their time together seemed too brief—her mortality too short. He didn’t want to forget, didn’t want to lose another memory to his eternity. The realization stung—a deep, wretched ache that embittered the taste in his mouth and soured the calmness of his stomach.

  Tyr eyed her. She almost seemed relaxed. The tension eased from her body as she spoke of weaponry and battles. He saw the interest in her eyes and felt the excitement in her limbs. This was no usual woman. But then, he had known that from the beginning. Had he known the secret to unlocking her, he would’ve sparred with her a long time ago.

  “Ye know yer weaponry, m’lady.” He nodded in approval.

  “Though, being a woman,” she put in wryly, “I would probably never have seen such a thing from the right end. I’d be at home with twelve brats, sleeping with the livestock.”

  “Not you. You would be a noblewoman, married to a great king.”

  Jaden swallowed nervously and she looked away. “A noblewoman? Not likely. There is nothing noble about who I am.”

  Tyr wanted to disagree. “Would you like to see it?”

  “What?” She turned to him in confusion.

  “It won’t be real, but it will feel real if you let it.”

  “What?”

  “I can show you a bit of the past. Just a glimpse, a feel,” he turned to her. “When the Dark Knights were made, we were turned by our tribal leader and thus we belonged to that certain tribe, but we were also given the blood of each leader during the rebirth. It strengthened our power and our bond. Bu
t it also gave a few of us some additional gifts, if you will.”

  “I have never heard of such a thing,” she said.

  “I can go into a trance and remember my human past—a field, a hall filled with my people, riding atop my horse beside a castle. Other memories are vaguer. It’s what has kept me sane over the years, kept me connected. We all must find ways to stay connected.” Tyr swallowed visibly. He had never shown anyone before. He had never told such personal details of his human past. No one had ever asked. Almost timidly, he took up her hand. “Come on.”

  Jaden followed before shrinking back in uncertainty. “No, I shouldn’t—”

  “You’ll be safe. It is only in my mind,” he whispered. “I give you my word that I’ll let no harm befall you.”

  “But—”

  “And I promise not to pry into your thoughts just this once, if that is what concerns you. No tricks, just a glimpse.” Tyr turned, pulling her toward his bed. He wanted her to trust him—needed her to. Only then could they find their way out of the clutter of deceit between them.

  “Where…?” she asked, but didn’t finish. Jaden shook. As he held her hand in his cool grip, pulling her behind him with the vulnerability glowing gently in his eyes, he almost felt like a real man.

  Tyr led her to the bed. Stopping, he turned to her and motioned her onto the mattress. “It’s best if we lie down. That way, if we fall from a horse or jump from the edge of a castle we won’t actually fall.” His voice was soft and persuasive.

  “I should clean up.” She protested weakly, trying to pull back. He refused to let her go. “I’m sweating.”

  The back of his hand touched her cheek, the long nails grazing past her temple, down her jaw. “You’ll be fine.”

  Jaden nervously crawled onto the bed and faced him. His gaze shifted and glowed in the dim light, seeming to whisper, Lie down. Trust me.

  Tyr came over her with the stalking grace of a beast after its prey. His teeth glinted sharply as his mouth parted. His fingernails dug like claws into the bedding. His head fell to the side, drawing his hair gently over his sinewy shoulders so the strands reached to touch her.

  Jaden was forced to lie down so that their bodies wouldn’t touch. The mattress was chilly against her back, warring with the heat of her skin. The softness of it nestled beneath her like a cloud. Her arms trembled and weakened, as they lay helpless at her sides. Her heart fluttered faster than the thumping wings of a hummingbird—beating in her chest, her throat. The sound echoed in her head. She knew he heard it.

  Tyr looked down at her nestled beneath him on his mattress. Her body beckoned him, warm and inviting and very much alive. He was so cool compared to it.

  “Close your eyes,” he ordered in a husky murmur.

  Jaden obeyed. She peeked up at him. His chest was bare, unmarred and perfect, pale and smooth. When his eyes looked into hers, she felt as if he really looked, as if he saw her for who she was and accepted it. She wanted to believe he understood. But deep inside, she knew what he was. She knew that there could never be anything between them. Their worlds wouldn’t accept it. Her eyes drifted closed once more.

  Leaning his weight on his arms, he moved down so his lips hovered above hers, whispering next to her mouth. “I’m going to kiss you,” he said boldly, as if he couldn’t resist. “Tell me you want me to.”

  “Yes,” she said weakly, not looking. The fight was gone, expended in their exercise. Her body quivered in anticipation—in something more she didn’t want explained. “I want you to.”

  Tyr concealed his fangs beneath his lips. Slowly he lowered his arms, moving to his elbows to close the distance. The first brush of velvety softness was like a match to dry tinder. A flame struck up between them, sending passion throughout their extremities. Each fed off the other. Tyr’s lips parted instantly, diving forward to stake a claim with a deep, probing kiss that left them both weak. Though his kiss was deep, he kept his teeth back, taking care not to cut her.

  When she moaned, a soft and truly feminine sound, Tyr answered her with a heartfelt groan of his own. His knees threaded into her legs, urging her thighs to part and accept his weight. His hand cupped her face, trying in vain to deepen a kiss that couldn’t be deepened.

  Jaden’s hands worked their way up to touch him. He tasted of mint. He smelled of earth and he felt of rigid, hard man.

  Their lips broke for a moment as Tyr lifted her shirt over her head in a single motion, throwing it to the floor. Then his fingers began an exploration of discovery, gliding over the cleft in her throat, beyond the collarbone, over her side to her waist only to draw back to the swollen mounds of her breasts. He took her fully in hand, massaging through her bra, urging with his thumb so that her nipple would slip from behind its lacy curtain into his mouth.

  Jaden’s hands found hold on his smooth chest, rubbing insistently over his firm muscles. Once she explored every inch of his neck, shoulders and chest, her hands ran over his nipples, teasing them into hard nubs. Tyr groaned, grinding his hips fully against her sex.

  His hands became demanding in their search. Threading his fingers into hers, he lifted one of her arms above her head to arch her breasts towards him. Jaden felt the intimate connection of their palms as he held her down. Her head thrashed to the side as his lips slid from her mouth to taste the tender flesh of her neck. The scar on his forearm danced before her, the brand of a shield with a bar down the center. It reminded her of what he was, who he was, why they had met. At that moment she didn’t care—about any of it. This moment, Tyr, was what she wanted more than anything. She would be selfish and take it.

  Tyr’s mouth worked against her throat, along the fragile beat of her pulse that unwittingly urged him to bite into her, to really taste her. Pulling away from the temptation, he sat up.

  Jaden’s eyes flew open at his quick withdrawal. She saw the red lining his gaze, the tilt of his seductive brow.

  He chuckled, a low throaty sound as he whispered, “It’s too late to stop.”

  Jaden stared into his eyes, her gaze seeming to answer, I know. The ice-blue eyes swirled with an array of emotion, making them gleam with unearthly splinters of purple and silver. His hands went to her jeans, tugging violently to part the denim. His eyes stayed fixed.

  “But what about showing me?” she began, only to gasp as he whipped the jeans from her hips and legs in one smooth motion. Those too ended up on the floor.

  “I’ve something much more urgent to show you, m’lady,” he whispered, coming on top of her. Jaden found she didn’t mind the way he said, m’lady, this time. It made her feel special, unique. The word was as natural as the vampire who spoke it. His hands worked quickly on his own waistband. “And something much more pleasurable to give to you.”

  He managed to free himself from the prison of his black pants. Jaden gasped, feeling the hard length of his naked shaft scalding her thigh. The shaft was as demanding and big as the rest of him.

  Jaden moaned lightly as he rubbed against her thigh. It was as if they had been working towards this moment since their first meeting. Everything that was said and done could only lead to this one grand conclusion. No matter how wrong coming together was, it felt right, and they could not fight the shared destiny.

  Her hands greedily ran over his back, reveling in the strong, tense muscles before dipping lower over the firm hills of his buttocks to pull him closer. He wore no underwear, so it was easy to venture beneath the tight black material.

  Tyr growled, leaving her to quickly strip out of his pants with a supernatural speed. Completely naked, he once more rose above her, unashamed. His lips dipped to take her ripened nipple into his mouth. The rough texture of her bra ground against them. Tyr lifted his hands to the bra as he kissed her, pulling viciously at the material from both ends, ripping it in two. Jaden tensed at the show of effortless power. Wondrous sensations flowed through her. Tyr’s mouth claimed one breast and then the other. His sharp teeth grazed her flesh, dangerous and delightful.

&
nbsp; She hastened to touch his arousal. Stroking it, she marveled at the size of him as she fondled the length from base to tip, running her finger over the smooth head before reaching lower to cup the contrasting softness of the two globes underneath.

  “I want to explore every inch of your flesh with my hands and mouth. But you have toyed with me too long,” he said. “We must slow, lest I cannot keep myself from claiming you.”

  Lifting his mouth he moved to look her in the face. Jaden returned his look of passion, only wavering when his gaze began to soften. Insecure about seeing his tenderness, uncertain if she could handle softness from him, she lifted her knee to massage his outer thigh, opening herself up for his taking. His hand in hers, she led it beneath her panties. She pressed his fingers into her moisture.

  Hungrily, she asked, “Does this feel like I want you to slow?”

  Tyr groaned as she thrust herself boldly into his hand. He allowed a finger to test the slickness of her opened depths. Her essence flowed over him, but as he moved inside, her sex was tight. His eyes glinted with a dangerously possessive fire.

  Tyr turned his hand, slicing her constrictive panties with his nails and tossing them out of his way. His mouth brought kisses to her breast, circling her nipples with his expert tongue. Her hips searched for him, but he held back.

  “Oh,” Jaden gasped, tortured with pleasure. Her hips searched for him, for release. “Tyr, please…please.”

  He ignored her pleas.

  “Tyr,” she said with more insistence, weak, breathless, begging and pleading.

  “I want to taste you.”

  “I want you inside of me.”

  Tyr, with his superior strength, won. Jaden thought her body might explode, but seeing the determination in his eyes when he looked up at her through the valley of her breasts, she didn’t stop him. Her legs spread in offering. Her hips lifted up to eagerly meet his caressing mouth.

  Tyr’s tongue circled her navel. His teeth grazed the tender skin of her belly. With one bite he could’ve ripped her in two. Jaden wasn’t frightened. She liked to feel his power over her. She liked feeling as if he could control her. Never had a man or vampire been able to beat her, conquer her.