by Terry Spear
She touched the doors. Then she parted them slightly and listened. In the kitchen, he slammed things around. She crossed the room. Outdoor lights helped to illuminate the pieces of furniture in his office. The sky was still dark blue, not having reached pitch black yet.
The sound of scratching on the glass drew her to the window. A branch rubbing against the window in the breeze?
The noise continued. She reached for the blind and twisted the rod. The blinds opened.
She gasped and her blood grew frigid.
18
Robert ensured all of the doors and windows in the house were still locked. Sweat pebbled on his brow. He knew Nicolai or his henchmen would come after him before long because of his following Crystal Anderson. But she remained the best key for him to get to Yorovitch since she had access to their homes so readily. Yet, with the realization they’d come to kill him, his heart was beating pell-mell. His family had told him it was suicide. But when Yorovitch had killed Catherine…
Pausing, Robert sniffed the air. Crystal’s scent had lingered on his uniform. The floral fragrance had distracted him more than once. He couldn’t understand why he could smell it in the air now. He returned to his bedroom and lifted his fatigue shirt off the chair. He breathed in the stimulating scent and instantly was aroused. How could one of Nicolai’s human hosts smell so heavenly?
Then something banged in his office.
He dashed for the room. Adrenaline sped through his body. The vampires couldn’t have gotten in. Not without invitation.
He hit the light switch. Damn. The chair was tipped on its side, and the blinds were open.
Checking the window, he found the latch still locked, but no sign of Nicolai now. He closed the blinds, then righted the chair. Afterward, he considered the closet. He crossed the floor and jerked the double doors open. No one.
This time he left the light on, then headed for the other bedroom. After switching the light on in there, he shoved the closet doors open. No one here either.
He flipped the lights on all over the house, checking each of the closets, the spare bath, the kitchen, living room. No one.
He looked at the door to the garage. For a few minutes, he’d left the garage door open. Had someone entered it then?
Holding his breath, he opened the kitchen door to the garage and walked inside. The door remained down. Except for the slight hum of the refrigerator, he heard no other sounds.
He strode to the laundry room. Empty. He turned and headed toward the car. After checking the door handle, he found the doors remained locked. As he walked around the vehicle, the sound of footsteps pitter pattering at the tail end of the convertible caught his ear.
Somehow a vampire or host had gotten in. If it let the others in, he’d…
Crystal’s enchanting scent grew stronger. He was torn between wishing she was here so he could wrestle with her further like they’d done in his office, and dreading that she’d found a way inside and meant to invite the devil of all vampires in to terminate him. Hell, if it was she who’d gotten in…
He rushed around the car’s rear bumper in time to see her dash for the kitchen door. Adrenaline flowed through his veins with dispatch.
She slammed the kitchen door and tried to lock it. He twisted the doorknob against the pressure she exerted. She was strong, but he was stronger as his determination kicked in. Shoving against the door, he knocked her out of the way.
She bolted through the kitchen. Then suddenly she stopped in the living area as if she’d decided to stand and face him instead. He hadn’t calculated her change of plans and ran into her chest. The impact nearly knocked her off her feet, but she quickly recovered as he grabbed her arm. She twisted it free. Instantly, her knee rose to strike him in the groin. He dodged out of its path.
Her breathing came quickly as she held her ground, waiting for him to make the next move. Her blond curls dangled in sensuous waves around her shoulders where the pins had pulled loose. She held her hands up, her feet slightly separated to give her better balance, and her knees bent for action. A vision of wrestling with her, sans clothes, sent a flood of testosterone shooting through his body.
Her blue eyes darkened, daring him to take her on. But it was her glossy full pink lips shimmering in the light that doused the image of her being hard to the core. She swallowed hard. Her stance remained resolute, but if he didn’t push her, what would she do then?
He wanted to know how she got in, although when he proposed the question, he was certain she wouldn’t cooperate with him. “How did you get in?”
Her breasts rose with every rapid breath she took. As he predicted, she refused to answer him. He stepped forward. She grabbed his shoulders and attempted to knock him from his feet as she’d done in his office. This time he anticipated the move and tripped her up instead.
She fell on her hip on the carpeted floor with an oof. Without a moment’s delay, he tackled her, pushing her flat on her stomach. Then twisting her arm behind her back, he pinned her to deter any resistance. Now what was he to do with her?
“And you say you’re not one of them,” he growled. When she squirmed, he pushed her arm farther up, threatening to break it if she moved.
“I’m not! Get off me!”
His breath came heavy as he considered what to do with her. If he opened the front door to shove her out, they could get in. Nicolai waited outside the house right this very instant, and more than likely more of his minions did, too. If Robert didn’t throw her outside, she could open the door or window and invite them in anytime during the night.
“Prove you’re not one of them!” The electricity shooting through his body from the contact with her proved she was. Only vampires or blood-tainted humans stirred every fiber of his being like that. And her strength…she could deny it all she wanted, but she’d been turned.
“What?” Her word was spoken with venom.
“Prove you have no bites on you! Remove your clothes!”
If all vampires were like Robert Parker, Crystal would have no difficulty killing them. She squirmed to upset him from her back, as his body, clad only in satiny boxers, pressed warm and hard…way too hard, against hers. He pushed her arm up again, proving he had the upper hand at the moment.
She attempted to ignore the pain in her arm. But with him pressing his weight against her, a wave of claustrophobia took hold. “I can barely breathe. Get off me!”
A scratching at the patio door made them both turn to look in that direction. The blinds were drawn but Crystal knew it was Nicolai. The vampire had to be incensed that she was in the house with Robert. Served Robert right.
Robert said, “Nicolai’s come for you. Did he send you so you’d invite him in?”
Crystal closed her eyes. If he wouldn’t let her up, she wouldn’t speak further to him.
“Tell me!”
Maybe he had the upper hand at the moment, but she rattled him just the same.
“All right.” He climbed off her, then pulled her to her feet, keeping her arm pinned back. She immediately twisted free and faced him, his hand still gripping her wrist like a vise. Quickly, he pulled her arm behind her back again. Then with his left hand he gripped her left shoulder ensuring she couldn’t twist free.
He headed back to the garage with her.
“What are you doing?” Her voice remained angry and deep as frustrated as she was for getting tripped up.
“So you’ve decided to talk again.” He grabbed a coil of rope looped on a wooden peg on the wall.
“What are you doing?” Her voice elevated. Now that she no longer controlled her situation, panic filled her.
He pushed her into the house. “If I toss you out to them, as soon as I open the door, you can invite them in.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“The most despicable thing I’ve ever done. Something that goes against everything I’ve ever been taught.”
She squirmed against his iron grip, but he shoved her into the wall
in the hallway. The pain radiating through her arm, made her gasp. Pinned against the wall, she couldn’t turn her body to free herself.
“Quit trying to wriggle free, and it won’t hurt so much.” He loosened his hold slightly, despite his words. She relaxed, knowing she hadn’t much choice but to see what he was up to.
When he pulled her away from the wall, she twisted to get her arm free though. Again he held her shoulder and marched her toward the bedroom. As they neared the doorway, she renewed her struggles, squirming and attempting to kick him with her boots. When he pulled her arm upward, she sank to her knees from the sharp pain that attacked her shoulder.
“I told you to quit struggling. Make it easier on yourself. I don’t want to hurt you…but I’m not going to allow you let them in, either.”
“Why would I let them in?”
“You’re one of them.” He helped her to her feet, and his touch gentled.
“He wants me, but I’ll never be his. I told you that already.” She turned her head to face him. “I don’t understand you. Are you from a family who’s fighting Nicolai’s? I’ve heard of opposing vampire families struggling with one another for power, but never saw it actually happen. Not around here.”
He shook his head. “I think Nicolai’s mind control has muddled your brain.” He maneuvered her to the bed. “Lean forward.”
She stiffened her back. “Nicolai can’t control me. I’m not one of them. But you sure the hell are.”
19
Robert leaned against Crystal, forcing her to lie on her stomach. With renewed gusto, she kicked with her combat boot and connected with his bare shin.
He yelled out. “I ought to break your arm, you witch.”
She smiled, deeply satisfied. Then he tied her hands behind her. As long as he didn’t hogtie her, she could get free. When he fell asleep, she’d use her wrist knives to cut the rope, unless he found them before then.
He turned her over. Her face heated with worry that he’d attempt to strip her.
“First, those damned boots of yours go.”
She tried to kick him again as he reached down to unlace the one.
He sat on her legs and tried again. “So where’d he bite you?”
“I told you, he hasn’t.”
“As many times as you’ve been with his human hosts, and he’s visited you, there’s no way in hell he hasn’t already blood bonded with you.”
He yanked off one boot, then the other. Then he pulled off her socks.
She wriggled underneath him. “Get off me, you bloodsucker.”
He ignored her, then examined her ankles and feet. “No teeth marks.”
Scratching on the window drew his attention to the closed drapes. “He wants you badly.”
“Yeah, well, you shouldn’t have been stalking me. You’ve brought this all on yourself.”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
He turned her over on her stomach and untied her hands, ignoring her question.
She frowned. Now what? If he attempted to remove her fatigue shirt, he’d find her knives.
He endeavored to tie her hands together in front, while she tried to unseat him from her stomach. She twisted her hips, quickly throwing him off. He scrambled from the mattress and remounted her. This time an upward curve to his lips, and a sparkle to his dark brown eyes appeared.
When she twisted and dislodged him from her waist the second time, his face reddened as the rope slipped again from around her wrists.
He climbed aboard again. “More fun than busting a bronco,” he said under his breath. “Lots softer ride and sure as hell more fragrant.”
She tried to knock him off a third time, but he planted his legs just right, and balanced himself to take the full thrusting of her hips. He grinned as he tightened the rope on her wrists. “Man, if you were someone else tonight…”
He pulled her around on the bed and looped the rope around the cherry headboard. “So I can get some sleep later.”
Certain he planned to strip her to search for vampire marks, she’d intended to give him the fight of his life. It appeared he didn’t care, or figured there was no sense searching for the telltale bites that he assumed were there.
Now, she had to wait until he left her alone, or fell asleep. Then she’d cut the rope.
He stepped back and considered her. She glared at him, her lips turned down. He smiled. “Try to get yourself out of this tonight.”
Her gaze shifted to the bulge in his satiny boxers, then back to his eyes. They’d darkened and a slight smile returned to his lips.
“What would Susan think of you tying a fellow Army officer to your bed?”
He frowned. “You were in my office?” Rubbing his chin, he nodded. “Yeah. Hiding in the closet. Then you heard Nicolai at the window and tripped over the desk chair trying to get to him. The noise frightened you, and you ran to the garage before you could let him in.”
“Do you just play dumb or do you come by it naturally?”
“All right, care to give me your version?”
“I came here to find out who you were, and why you were stalking me.”
“And you found?”
“You’re a daylight vampire.”
His eyes widened, then he threw his head back and guffawed. His laughing at her made her body heat with irritation. Shaking his head, he left the bedroom.
She attempted to reach the knife release to open her wrist weapon to no avail. After a few minutes, Robert’s voice reached her ear.
“Yeah, I’m not sure what to do with her. Nicolai’s consort. Crystal Anderson, an Army officer.” A pause followed. “She tried to let him in.”
“I did not, you jerk!”
He stepped into the doorway, considered her for a moment, his eyes trailing down her body, then back to her eyes. Then he closed the door. She could no longer hear his words. But she didn’t care. She wanted the privacy more. Again, she worked on trying to open one of her knives.
As soon as one sprang forth, he opened the door. “Hungry?”
“You don’t have anything that humans eat.”
“Still have an appetite for food, eh? I’ll fix something.” He left her alone again.
If she didn’t work carefully, she’d end up cutting her own wrists with the way he’d tied them so closely together. Then he’d most likely drink up the spilled blood. Hmm, it would kill him. She smiled.
She didn’t have a plan as to what to do next if that didn’t work. If she got free, which she intended to do, she couldn’t leave the house. Not without Nicolai grabbing her again. Staying the night with Robert would have to do. Only he’d be the one tied up for the night.
With as much caution as she could use, she sawed at the rope. The knife nicked her, the wound stinging worse than a paper cut. She paused as the blood trickled onto the rope. Damn. Vampires could smell blood a quarter of a mile away. Even the ones outside the house were bound to smell her blood. Nicolai would be certain Robert had decided to blood bond with her. Robert had picked the wrong huntress to mess with.
Her stomach constricted. Robert would catch the scent and be drawn to her. She closed her eyes. She’d only made a worse mess of things.
He walked back into the room, but to her surprise, didn’t seem to notice the iron scent of her blood wafting in the air. If he was a vampire, he couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
“I’m fixing a can of chicken and dumplings over egg noodles. Would you like a glass of wine to go with it?”
She nodded, afraid her strained voice might give her away.
The scratching against the windowpane renewed with gusto. Nicolai and his family had undoubtedly smelled her blood.
Robert frowned, then walked over to a cabinet. After pulling it open, he turned on the television. “Food will be ready in a jif.”
He left the bedroom. She glanced up at her hands and knit her brows to see the blood still oozing from the cut. Maybe daylight vampires didn’t need blood like normal vampires did.
She attempted to cut the ropes, but only managed to slice her skin again. The cut burned like fire, and she cursed herself under her breath.
Robert returned to the bedroom with a tray in his hands a few minutes later. “Now, do I feed you, or will you behave while you feed yourself?”
If he untied her ropes, he’d see the knife. She yanked at the rope, hoping he’d think she would be too violent to trust to untie, but the movement made her cut herself again. She cried out.
He wrinkled his brow and set the tray down on the bedside table. He reached over her to see why the ropes hurt so much and took a ragged breath as he saw the bloodied wounds. “How did you get these?”
After untying the rope from the bed, he helped her sit up. Pushing up her sleeve, he found the knife. He shook his head and unfastened the knife from her wrist, then slid her other sleeve up to find the remaining one. Her heart sank.
His piercing gaze met her eyes as she looked up from her injured wrist. She could tell he was totally confused, and yet from the very beginning, she thought he knew she was a huntress. How could he have thought otherwise?
“What are you?” he asked, still holding onto the one knife.
“I’m not Nicolai’s consort!” She glared at him.
“You’re not a huntress. You can’t be.” He frowned and waved the knife in the air. “But only a huntress would wear these kinds of weapons.”
He removed her other wrist knife and set them on the table. Taking a deep breath, he pulled up her fatigue shirt. At her waist, another knife was sheathed.
After unfastening the knife, he laid it with the others. Then he untied her wrists. She covered her bloodied wrist with her hand. Her injuries burned and throbbed with pain.
“Now, what am I to do with you?”
20
“Leave me alone,” Crystal told Robert.
He seized her arm, seemingly angry, and pulled her from the bed and into his bathroom. Corralled against the wall, she had no chance of escape. He opened a drawer, then lifted a box of bandages out.
