Trina M. Lee

by Alexa O'Brien Huntress Series Book 1-4 Box Set (Retail)

  A wave of pure pleasure washed over me, completely sexual in nature. My body began to respond, a hot tingle starting between my legs. The blood flowed over Arys’s tongue, and I almost moaned aloud. The bloodlust within me shot to the boiling point, and I shoved my stool back. I had to get outside. I downed my last shot, slammed the glass on the bar and bolted for the door.

  Arys’s thoughts turned sinister, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing inside him. He was going to do so much more than simply kill her. Our shared power was riding each of us hard. The difference was that he was openly embracing it.

  My wolf roared through Arys with a lust for death that felt so natural, so right. He never resisted the way I always did. He let it take him and guide his actions.

  I’d just made it out of the bar and onto the sidewalk when Arys tore into the woman with a frenzied snap of teeth. His fangs went beyond the punctured vein to tearing flesh away. His slaughter continued while I struggled to stay on my feet, walking steadily. Every person that passed me risked life and limb unawares. I couldn’t hang on much longer. The need to give in to my instincts and join Arys in his tortured killing spree was too much.

  I knew I had to cut the link and vacate Arys’s mind. I needed to hear my own thoughts. All I could see through his eyes was blood and flesh strewn about. His hands were wet with it. I couldn’t be part of this anymore.

  What it was that really pushed me over the edge, past the point of all control, was a thought. A very clear and coherent thought that Arys had as he reveled in the bloody glory of his kill. He thought of me, and with that thought came a longing to kill me. Because he knew deep down, that the act of killing me would be the only way to truly make me his and his alone.

  I cut the tie between us so fast and hard that it physically hurt. I reeled from the pain of Arys’s revelation combined with the ache to tear things to pieces. He’d warned me, and I hadn’t listened.

  Months ago, after we’d first bonded our power, I had told Arys that he was so typically the vampire because even when he did something that appeared selfless, he always had something to gain from it. His response had been a warning that I should never forget it because once I did, I would be his forever, but I’d laughed it off like the naïve little idiot that he thought I was.

  The wolf that was my true nature along with my acquired vampire tendencies melded together, sharing the pain and the need for vengeance. After what I’d just discovered, I didn’t care enough to fight it. All I wanted was to cause the same pain and terror that I was feeling. The guy walking towards me down the street would do just fine. I didn’t give a damn who he was or where he was going. He was mine.

  A snarl began low in my throat. I waited for him to get closer. Perhaps if I could drag him in between the buildings … my mind wasn’t thinking beyond that. This time I was saying “fuck it” to sanity and going with what felt good. The initial abandon felt euphoric.

  I timed my attack so that I came at him from one side, knocking him into the darkened space between the buildings. He let out a sound of surprised fright, but it was easily drowned out by the traffic on the street. I straddled him before he could move, wrapping my fingers tightly around his throat. Baring my fangs, I moved in to spill his blood with an unnatural eagerness.

  Strong arms grabbed me from behind, dragging me to my feet. The scent of leather and the sensation of Kale’s intriguing power drew my attention instantly. My intended victim was practically forgotten. He scrambled to his feet and ran swearing and yelling down the street. My clawed nails were coated with blood from where I’d pierced his flesh. I couldn’t resist bringing a finger to my lips, licking it clean while Kale watched with wide eyes.

  “Alexa? What in the hell are you doing? You know what, never mind. You can tell me in the car. Let’s go.” He grabbed my wrist and pulled me along beside him. I was still trying to process the sudden turn in events.

  “Kale,” I growled. “What the fuck? Can’t a girl have a little fun?”

  He swore softly, a string of curse words strung together into one. “I hate it when you’re all vamped up like this. And, you are totally drunk. You reek like booze.”

  “I am not drunk.” I was vehement despite the fact that I tripped over my own feet trying to keep up with him. Maybe I’d had more than I thought.

  I let him guide me, leaning on him for support as I licked the bloody smears from my fingertips. It was such a tease. Kale looked down at me from his tall frame, a pained look crossing his face. His car was parked at the end of the street, and I protested when he opened the door and gently shoved me inside.

  “I can’t leave my car, Kale. And, where the hell are you taking me anyway? Please say it’s to kill something.”

  When we were both seated in the dark confines of his classic car, he faced me. “You should have called me before coming here. You could have killed that guy. Don’t you think at some point someone would have noticed you tearing him to shreds?”

  I didn’t respond. Instead, I slowly licked the last of the blood from my fingers. Kale watched me pensively, and I knew that he was enticed. I was so wicked in this frame of mind and knowing that didn’t change a damn thing. Overcome with bloodlust, pain and the way Kale’s eternally hungry power called to me, I was merely reacting. Thinking had gone out the window.

  “Oh so what?” I replied flippantly. “After the night I’ve had, a little fun is in order.”

  “Good Lord, you’re out of your mind.” Kale started the car and pulled into traffic. “You need to sober up, in more ways than one from the looks of it.”

  “And, I’ll bet you’re just the guy to help me out with that, aren’t you?”

  “You are so lucky that I fed tonight. I took care of that long before you arrived at the Kiss. It’s going to take a lot more than batting your pretty eyes to get to me.”

  I grinned, loving the challenge I heard in his voice. “Oh yeah? How much more?”

  “Not funny, Alexa. This madness, this whole strange thing between us, it’s got to stop.” He eased the car to a stop at a red light and fixed me with a serious gaze. “I’m here because I care about you, and you’re going to get yourself into a lot of trouble out here alone. But, we have our own unspoken issues, and sooner or later, they’re going to spiral out of control.”

  I pondered this, but in my drunken, Arys-influenced state, I just found it funny. The seriousness all over Kale’s face got me giggling like a first time drunk. I sucked the tip of a clawed nail, delighting in the trace of blood caught beneath it.

  “I need to kill something, Kale. You know exactly what that feels like. This night has been a bust, and I don’t really fucking care anymore.”

  “That’s the bloodlust talking, not you.” The traffic light changed, and we started moving again. There was no sign of the man I’d attacked anywhere.

  “So, where are we going? You won’t let me kill anything so this had better be good.” I savored the taste of human blood on my tongue, aching for more. My actions tonight had proved Harley right already. I needed to accept the bloodlust as a part of me that wasn’t going away.

  “We’re going for a drive. Maybe a walk down by the river. And, if I have to, I’ll give you my own blood to bring you back down to earth.”

  That got my attention and brought an evil grin to my lips. “Um, what? Have you lost your mind? You know that’s a sure fire way to cross the line of our issues. Don’t you think?” The thought of Kale’s blood dripping onto my tongue was powerful enough to flood me with an erotic heat. I actually had to crack the window open to let the winter air cool me.

  Ignoring my words, he changed the subject entirely. “Tell me about Arys. What happened with him tonight?”

  I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. I didn’t want to think about it but talking about it was the safest bet for me right then. The memory of tasting Kale’s blood during an intense and unexpected kiss was still as vibrant and fresh as if it had been yesterday rather than months ago. No, that had t
o be avoided at all costs.

  After stopping by an all night drive-thru to get me a coffee, Kale parked at a nice spot overlooking the river. From our location, we could see the lights from the vehicles on the bridges that spanned the rushing water, joining one side of the city to the other. I missed the stars. I knew they’d be visible in Stony. There were many reasons why I didn’t live in a major city, but nature had to be the main one.

  Kale listened attentively as I recounted my whole night, including my visit with Harley. Not only did I tell him about the argument with Arys, I even confided the things I’d seen in Arys’s thoughts and actions.

  It was easy to talk to Kale. He was neither my lover nor one of my girlfriends and that put him in a totally different category. I never worried about his reaction or opinions the way I did with the others that were close to me. Strangely, by the time I’d finished, I felt at ease with the many things roiling about inside me.

  “You are not a naïve idiot, and you know it,” he admonished once I’d finished speaking. “You are young and mortal. That’s different. This is just the beginning for you.”

  “Not if Arys kills me like he apparently wants to.” The bitterness was heavy in my tone. “Talk about sleeping with the enemy.”

  Kale shook his head. “No, you don’t understand. How can I explain this? I’m not at all surprised to hear that. For a vampire, the only way we can fully feel everything that a person has to offer is to consume them. Arys feels that way because you are so strong and independent. He longs to have all of you and tasting your death, absorbing all that you are, is the only way to do that on the deepest level possible. It doesn’t mean that he actively wants to kill you. In fact, I’m sure it’s the exact opposite. He’s afraid of losing you.”

  Whether it was the coffee, the fresh air through the open window or the calming talk with Kale, I was starting to feel stronger, more in control of myself. His dark power still taunted me, but it was a tease, not a need.

  “It sounds like I should be coming to you for the answers I need rather than Harley. Your insight never fails.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. I think I’m the last person you need to be placing your faith in. I can barely control myself half the time.” He chuckled, but it lacked humor.

  “You see everything for what it is, so clearly. I wish I could see past the fog and tangled webs. It feels like I’m walking in circles, always coming back to the same point as if I never made any progress at all.” I sipped at the hot coffee, focusing on the taste as it warmed my insides, such a simple pleasure that had nothing to do with bloodlust or vampire power.

  Kale nodded in agreement, and a comfortable silence fell. There was barely an hour until sunrise. He’d have to head for home soon, and so would I. As much as I would love to bury my head in the sand and feel sorry for myself, I had other things to deal with, like unwelcome wolves hunting down my dead lover’s daughter.

  The sound of his leather jacket moving was familiar and comforting when he reached for my hand. I tensed, ready to pull away, but nothing happened. The slightest sensation of heat could be felt through my palm, but the energy lay quiet and still. He squeezed my hand gently, reassuringly, before letting go.

  “See,” he said. “Not every action has to be about the power inside. With the right frame of mind, it just is what it is.”

  Why did I get the feeling that meant more than he was letting on? My woman’s intuition warned me to tread carefully. Kale’s touch had been warm and soothing. I found myself wondering if I’d be thinking along the same lines if Jez or Ky had squeezed my hand. I doubted it.

  “Thank you, Kale. For dragging my ass off that guy and for listening. You’re easy to talk to, and it always really helps.” I smiled at him in the dimly lit interior.

  His heavy gaze was shadowed, but he returned my smile with a grin that revealed fangs. “Hey, no worries. That’s what friends are for.”

  I knew right then that there was something more, something he wasn’t saying. It didn’t matter. Nothing was going to ruin this relaxed moment. In the past half hour or so I’d spent with Kale, I had gone from raging animal to unsettled but collected.

  “We can head back to my car now,” I offered before draining the last drop of coffee from my disposable cup. “You don’t want to cut it too close getting home before dawn.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Of course. I can’t rely on you to listen to my woes if you’re a pile of ash and dust. Oh God, the thought is horrid. Let’s go.”

  Our conversation was light and casual as we drove, but I knew the calm illusion would shatter when I was alone with my thoughts again. Shaz would no doubt be curled up in my bed when I got home. Though I wasn’t looking forward to repeating my tale of woe, I couldn’t wait to wrap myself around him.

  As much as I adored Kale, I was glad when I was finally back inside the safe, secure confines of my own vehicle. I had spent the entire night with one vampire after another, and it had been damn exhausting in every possible way. I ached for Shaz’s heavenly scent of pine and wolf, needing to reacquaint myself with the power of the earth.

  The power of the undead may live within me, but I was alive. Perhaps it was time that I stop letting the current of life sweep me along and really start living.

  Chapter Nine

  “There is no way that I’m not smashing that guy right in the face when I see him.” There was a spark of fury in Shaz’s jade green eyes. He’d been ranting and raving about Arys since I filled him in on the details of the night before.

  He’d been sound asleep in my bed when I got home at the crack of dawn that morning. All I wanted to do was slip in between the sheets with him and slumber. We’d woken some time after noon, and over coffee, I told him everything about my visit to Harley and the resulting run in with Arys.

  I sighed and gave my head a shake. I smiled though. I loved that he wanted to protect me. However, I did not want to see Shaz and Arys come to blows again. There’s no way it would end as well as it had the first time.

  “I love hearing you say that,” I laughed softly. “But, I also know that Arys is really hurting. He’s so confused. And, I can’t help but feel like a super bitch. If I were him, I wouldn’t want me anywhere near Harley, either.”

  “You deserve answers, Lex. I don’t love the idea of you walking right into a potential trap either, but I trust your judgment. And, I love you. I want you to be able to master the things inside you before they take over who you are.” He tossed a sincere look my way as he moved about my bedroom, getting ready for work.

  My heart dropped, and I was reminded that the bond between Arys and I had a direct impact on Shaz, too. He was the calm, cool and collected type. He preferred to approach things with an open mind and realistic attitude. Because he didn’t give in to emotional outbursts the way Arys and I were both prone to doing, it was easy to miss how deeply it all affected him. He just didn’t show it the same way.

  I stretched out in my bed, watching appreciatively as he strode around the room in all of his fine, naked glory. Shaz was my stronghold in life. I heavily relied on him to keep me grounded, to touch the wolf inside me and draw me away from the darkness. Did he know that it was only because of him that I was still sane?

  “You’re the only thing that keeps me here, you know? I would have been lost long ago without you.” I gazed up at him from where I lay, wanting him to see the truth in my eyes. “I’d actually probably be dead without you.” I chuckled at that. It was sadly true.

  Shaz raised an eyebrow. He held a pair of jeans forgotten in one hand. “Where did that come from?”

  “Nowhere,” I shrugged and hugged my pillow. “I just wanted you to know. You’re always so steady and strong. I know that I wouldn’t be the same person that I am now without you.”

  “You don’t give yourself enough credit.” He slid his muscular legs into his jeans and came to sit next to me on the bed. “You’re stronger than you think you are. I just help you to remember
that, but it’s all you.”

  “No way,” I said, sitting up straighter in the bed. “Don’t sell yourself short, babe. My strength has many sources, and you are one of them.”

  He leaned in to nuzzle me gently before capturing my lips for a breath-taking kiss. Why did he have to work a night job? I just wanted to drag him back into bed with me.

  “Likewise,” he whispered against my lips. “Being with you has made me realize many things about myself. Like how strong I can be when the woman I love needs me. I’d do anything for you, Lex.”

  “Like skip work?” I teased.

  “Except that.” He kissed the tip of my nose, an affectionate gesture that made me giggle. “I do have news for you though. I told them I won’t be working full time at Lucy’s Lounge anymore. I’m going part time.”

  “Really? What brought that on?”

  “Well…you mostly. I’m sick of spending all of my nights trapped behind the bar while you’re out there dealing with what’s actually important. We need more time together, as humans and as wolves.” He got up to fetch a Lucy’s Lounge staff t-shirt from the bottom drawer of my dresser as the wheels in my brain began to turn.

  He was right. I knew that without a doubt. I craved more wolf time and likely needed it if I wanted to keep the vampire-locked-within controllable. Shaz was here often. He was keeping clothes and personal supplies here already. Would it be a mistake to suggest that he just move in?

  The house had belonged to Raoul. He’d welcomed both Shaz and I into his little town pack. Shaz had every right to move back in here, too. He’d once called it home. Why not?

  While it seemed like the perfect plan, I feared rushing it. Those types of life changes should be considered carefully, and right before he had to walk out the door to work was clearly a shitty time to bring it up. I would though, when we had the right moment. It was a big house with more than enough room for both of us.