Yannah arched her brows. “Well, aren't you the fussy one?”
“You would be fussy if you were forced to play babysitter to that ...” Jaelyn snapped her lips together, words failing her.
“To that delectable, gorgeous, completely edible ...”
The words returned in a rush. “Temperamental, stubborn, egotistical Sylvermyst.”
“He's a man.” Yannah shrugged. “They're all a pain in the backside.”
Well, wasn't that the freaking truth?
“Some more than others,” she muttered.
“I suppose so.” Yannah appeared to consider the various flaws of the male sex before heaving a deep sigh. “Still, it's a pity.”
“What is?”
“You cost me one thousand latinum.”
Jaelyn frowned. Had the demon had made an appearance just to mock her?
“Which might make sense if this was
Star Trek
and we were both Ferengi.”
“I made a bet with my neighbor, but Mother won't allow me to wager with real money.” She wrinkled her tiny nose. “Besides, Jinns are touchy about their treasures.”
Jinn? Holy crap. Just what neighborhood did this female live in?
She dismissed the inane thought as she concentrated instead on the suspicion she was being led into a trap.
“What were the details of this bet?”
“I said you would have the Sylvermyst leashed and properly house-trained by the end of the week. Maric said you would kill him before you could ever reach the baby.” She pointed a finger at Jaelyn. “Neither of us thought a mighty Hunter would simply throw in the towel. It's a grave disappointment, I must say.”
Jaelyn narrowed her gaze.
Yep. Definitely a trap.
“Do you have a specific reason for ... popping in?” she demanded, refusing to rise to the bait.
“Have you forgotten you're supposed to be reporting to me?”
“No, I haven't forgotten, but for now there's nothing to report.”
“Nothing?” There was a short, dramatic pause before Yannah smiled with wicked enjoyment. “Nothing at all?”
For the first time in decades, Jaelyn was relieved she couldn't blush. Did the female know she'd committed the ultimate sin and had sex with her mark?
“Ariyal is still searching for the child,” she said, her words clipped. “We were attacked by zombies. Tearloch's summoned a crazy-ass spirit wizard from the depths of the underworld, and Sergei might or might not be with them.” She absently stroked the wood stock of her shotgun, not above her own dramatic pause. “Oh, and there's a gargoyle named Levet who has been following me around like a lost puppy because he's searching for you.”
The creature's smile only widened to emphasize the sharply pointed teeth.
“The sweet thing.”
Jaelyn waved an absent hand. “He's that way if you want to put him out of his misery.”
“No.” She gave a rueful click of her tongue. “Not yet.”
“Fine.” Jaelyn shifted with a growing impatience. “Now you're all up to date. Was there anything else you needed?”
Yannah drifted closer, her power a tangible force in the air. “I do have a question.”
Jaelyn shivered. “What is it?”
The black eyes surveyed her with an unwavering curiosity. “Shall I tell Mother that you've decided to break your contract?”
Jaelyn jerked at the dangerous suggestion. Hunters who failed in their missions didn't get second chances.
And who the hell knew what happened to anyone stupid enough to fail a contract authorized by the Oracles?
“Of course not.”
“Then you intend to go after the Sylvermyst?”
As if she had a choice?
“Eventually,” she grudgingly promised.
“That seems dangerously vague.”
Not missing the warning in the low voice, Jaelyn lifted her hands in defeat.
“I'm going, I'm going,” she growled, stepping around the tiny demon to stomp across the meadow.
She ignored the sensation of Yannah watching her stiff retreat, instead concentrating on the man who was swiftly becoming the bane of her existence.
Not that she had to use her considerable Hunter skills to follow in Ariyal's trail.
She could have shut down her senses entirely and been able to find him.
And that, of course, was what scared the hell out of her.
“Christ, why won't someone just shoot me?” she muttered, picking up her pace as she skirted past the trees and crossed the stream, where she caught the scent of a wounded hellhound.
Obviously Ariyal had managed to find the blood he needed to restore his strength. But instead of returning to her, he was moving even farther away.
At a pace that assured her he wasn't just pouting.
He was truly trying to leave her behind.
Annoying fairy.
Jumping over a fence that marked the edge of a cow pasture, she at last caught sight of Ariyal as he crossed through the overgrown yard of a farmhouse.
She briefly surveyed the white, two-story home with black shutters and peeling paint before shifting her attention to the nearby chicken coop that lurched to a drunken angle and the more distant sheds and a tin-roofed barn that held the lingering scent of hay.
The place was deserted of humans, although the stale stench of beer cans warned they occasionally used the isolated property to party in private. And she couldn't detect any nearby demons.
This seemed as good a spot as any to confront the angry Sylvermyst.
With a graceful motion, Jaelyn was leaping on top of the screened-in porch attached to the house and then dropping directly in front of Ariyal.
The Sylvermyst came to a grudging halt, his unbearably beautiful face set in lines of leashed fury.
He was so different from the male vampires who had sought to become her lover, she recognized.
There was no cold calculation. No aloof expertise that offered a clinical pleasure without the messy involvement of emotions.
No.
Ariyal was fierce and temperamental and so passionate he nearly set the air on fire with the force of his emotions.
He was dominating, but he was no bully.
And while he had more than his fair share of male arrogance, there was an inner vulnerability to him that touched her in places she didn't know she could be touched.
He was exactly what she didn't need, at exactly the wrong time.
The bronze eyes blazed with breathtaking power. “Get out of my path, vamp.”
She ignored the sudden heat that swirled through the air. She was relatively safe. At least until he called for that damned wooden bow and arrows he could conjure from thin air.
Then things might get dicey.
“Where the hell are you going?”
“I don't discuss my plans with my foes.”
“Are you pouting because I wouldn't share my blood?”
“You're the one who insists on treating me like the enemy,” he snarled. “So either do whatever it is you were sent here to do, or get out of the way.”
Foe? Enemy?
Ah, if only.
That she understood.
This messy, confused muddle that plagued her ...
“You need me,” she said abruptly.
He snorted, folding his arms over his chest. The picture of a male at his most stubborn.
“And you call me arrogant?”
She tilted her chin. “Do you know where the babe is?”
“I will.”
“And you can battle your tribesmen as well as the spirit on steroids without me?”
The muscle in his jaw knotted, his pride once again threatened.
“Yes.”
“What about Sergei?”
He shrugged. “What about him?”
“Enough,” she hissed in exasperation. “I'm not going to let you waltz into a trap just because you're pissed off at me.”
He arched a mocking brow. “And just how do you intend to stop me, Hunter?”
Later Jaelyn would question whether she was overly stressedâit had, after all, been a crazy few days and any vampire was bound to feel a little on edgeâor whether it had been temporary insanity.
In that moment, however, there was no thought.
Just mindless, primitive instinct.
Grasping his face in her hands, she leaned forward to kiss him with all the raw hunger that refused to leave her in peace.
“Like this.”
Chapter 12
Ariyal reeled beneath the impact of Jaelyn's sudden kiss.
He couldn't have been more shocked if she'd pulled out her gun and shot him directly in the heart.
What else could you expect from a cold-blooded leech?
Death and mayhem were her specialty.
But this ...
This was white-hot, all-consuming pleasure that bypassed his brain and sent his body up in flames.
Without giving himself time to question what the hell she was playing at, he grasped her around the waist and with one motion had her tossed over his shoulder. Ignoring her startled squeak, he headed directly toward the nearby house, entering through the screened-in porch.
A few long strides led him into the kitchen with its worn linoleum and white-painted cabinets. There was a forgotten china cabinet pushed against one wall and a matching table in the center of the floor.
A nice, sturdy walnut table.
With a flare of anticipation he kicked aside the chair blocking his path; then, leaning forward, he rolled Jaelyn off his shoulder and seated her on the edge of the table, tugging her legs apart so he could step between them.
His hands remained on her slender hips as he at last allowed his gaze to shift to the pale beauty of her face.
He'd half expected to find her fangs exposed and her eyes flashing with the cold promise of death.
Jaelyn was not the sort of woman a man went all caveman on.
Not if he wanted to keep his heart beating in his chest.
But while her expression was cold and diamond hard, she couldn't disguise the hunger that smoldered in the depths of her indigo eyes.
He might not know why she insisted on being near him, but he did know she wanted him.
Even if the stubborn female would rather slice out her own tongue rather than admit it.
As if to prove his point she gave a toss of her head, placing her hands flat on the table so she could lean back to meet his heated gaze with a pretense of indifference.
“Do you feel better now you got to play macho man?” she demanded.
A slow, wicked smile curved his lips as he reached to grasp the stretchy fabric of her barely there top. With one ruthless tug he had it over her head and lying on the floor.
“Not yet, but I intend to feel much, much better.”
“Careful, fairy,” she hissed, her fangs suddenly visible. “I've killed men for less.”
He didn't doubt the threat, but he was filled with a strange sense of reckless need.
In the distance he knew that Tearloch waited along with who knew how many of the Dark Lord's minions to protect the child. There seemed a damned good chance he was going to die before the night was over.
For now he wanted to drown in his aching need for this woman.
“You started this, poppet,” he reminded her, his voice thick as his gaze lowered to the proud thrust of her breasts. “Are you just a tease or do you have the balls to finish it?”
Her expression became wary although her fangs remained fully extended. Insanely the sight of them was hot as hell.
“I didn't start anything. I kissed you to try and keep you from storming off in a huff.”
His gaze narrowed. No. Hell no. She wasn't going to hide behind a pretense of duty.
Not this time.
“What do you care if I storm off in a huff, Jaelyn?” He trailed a finger down the curve of her throat.
She shivered, her eyes darkening with the same craving the pulsed deep inside him.
“I don't care.”
“I think you do.” His finger continued downward, tracing the curve of her breast. “Why else would you follow me? It's obvious you can't bear to be away from me.”
Ariyal watched the emotions that flitted over Jaelyn's delicate features. Outrage, wariness, and ... fear?
Her tongue darted out to touch her lower lip, sending a shock wave of need through Ariyal and making him forget her odd reaction.
He had walked away from Jaelyn in the meadow, determined to leave her behind. Didn't he have enough troubles without adding a beautiful female who made a sport of trampling his manhood?
Now any desire to be alone with his seething anger was seared away by the intoxicating scent of woman and cool, satin skin beneath his searching finger.
“You arrogant ...” She hissed as his fingers found the tip of her breast, tugging the nipple to a hard peak.
“You like that?” He growled deep in his throat as he continued to torment her nipple. He was already fully aroused, his erection pressing painfully against the zip of his jeans. “Tell me, Jaelyn. Tell me what you want.”
Her lips parted as she tilted back her head to meet his hooded gaze.
“Sanity,” she muttered. “Unfortunately it seems in short supply.”
She was right.
There were a thousand perfectly rational reasons why this was all kinds of a bad idea. But as he moved forward, pressing the hard width of his cock to the juncture of her spread legs, he couldn't think of a damned one.
“Sanity is highly overrated,” he assured her, his head lowering to tongue the tip of her hard nipple. “Shall we drown in madness together, Jaelyn?”
Her lashes drifted downward as she shifted to clutch at his shoulders, her legs wrapping around his hips in silent invitation.
“Ariyal.”
“Tell me.” He blazed a path of kisses over her breast, lingering in the small valley before seeking out the tender bud on the other side. “Say the words.”
She moaned softly. “What words?”
“That you want me.”
“I ...” With an obvious effort she tilted back her head to regard him with a smoldering gaze.
“The truth, poppet,” he commanded softly.
She shivered against his tense muscles, her eyes raw with a stark need that slammed into him with brutal force.
“Yes, dammit,” she growled. “I want you.”
A fierce satisfaction jolted through him at her unwilling confession.
“Thank the gods,” he muttered.
“Not that I'm happy about it,” she continued.
He gave a short, humorless laugh. “Join the club. Do you think I want to be distracted by an arrogant leech? Especially one who happens to be bipolar?”
She frowned. “What's that supposed to mean?”
“You swing from hot to cold so fast you give me whiplash,” he rasped. “I have better things to be doing with my time.”
He swallowed a laugh as she narrowed her eyes. She looked offended by the thought that he might not be any more anxious than she was to be tormented by this ruthless craving.
Then, as if unable to resist his deliberate challenge, a small, tantalizing smile curved her lips, her body deliberately arching to press her soft breasts against the hard planes of his chest.
“Bipolar, eh?”
“Yes.”
Her legs tightened around his hips, rubbing against his cock with a promise that nearly sent him to his knees.
“And yet you're desperate for me.”
He grunted, feeling as if he had just been kicked in the gut.
Yeah. Desperate just about covered it.
He had barely touched her and yet he was ready to explode.
It was downright embarrassing for a man who was known to make sex last hours, if not days.
“Careful, Jaelyn. Don't start something you're not prepared to finish,” he warned.
In answer, she reached to tug at the button of his jeans. “You are wearing too many clothes, fairy.”
His heart slammed against his chest as she tugged down the zipper, her fingers circling his straining erection.
A groan was wrenched from his throat at the sheer bliss of her touch.
His gaze skimmed over her pale, beautiful face and down the elegant curve of her neck to the small mounds of her breasts. A part of him admired her sleek lines and well-defined muscles. There was no mistaking the fact that she was honed to be a lethal weapon. But a greater part was busy savoring the perfect ivory skin drenched in the moonlight that was peeking through the kitchen window and the contrast of her rosy nipples.
“Gods, Jaelyn, you're killing me.”
Without warning she leaned forward, circling his nipple with the tip of her tongue.
“Hmmm, warm skin ...” She nibbled a path to the center of his chest, lightly scraping his skin with the tips of her fangs. “A pounding heart.” She pulled back with a taunting smile. “You still have some life left in you.”
Their gazes locked and held as a tangible, branding awareness scorched the air between them.
Despite their bickering and sniping, there was a potent force binding them together that was bigger than both of them.
Destiny had entwined their fates for its own mysterious reasons.
And he didn't have the sense to give a damn.
“Let's find out just how much life,” he muttered, shifting to sweep a soft kiss over her lips, wisely taking the precaution of removing her holstered shotgun and tossing it onto the floor. One less weapon seemed like a good idea if things went to hell. “What do you say, poppet?”
“Yes.”
He deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue between her dangerous fangs, his fingers tugging at her hard nipples with increasing urgency.
For a heartbeat Jaelyn stiffened beneath his onslaught of raw hunger, her fingers digging into the muscles of his chest. Ariyal groaned, but before he could leash the savage need pounding through his body, she was tangling her tongue with his, meeting his every thrust with a ready fervor.
Any hope of restraint was shattered by her response.
He groaned, drinking deeply of her lips as his hands ran an impatient path down her back until he reached the edge of her pants.
Still it wasn't enough.
He needed more.
Slipping his hands beneath the waistband of her pants, Ariyal peeled them off her legs and tossed them aside, pausing only long enough to kick aside his own jeans before he slowly sank to his knees.
Jaelyn made a faint sound of surprise, but Ariyal was too enthralled by the sight of her spread before him to notice.
She was exquisite.
Perfect.
And, unable to resist temptation, he leaned forward to worship the very heart of her femininity with his tongue and teeth.
He wrapped his arms around her slender thighs, urging them farther apart as he relished the slick satin beneath his tongue. She tasted of cool shadows and stormy nights.
A heady combination that could easily become addictive.
Her faint moan whispered on the air, and Ariyal glanced upward to catch a glimpse of her as she gripped the edge of the table, her back bowed and her head tossed back in blatant pleasure.
Yes.
This was what drove men to conquer empires and destroy civilizations. It made reasonable men commit murder.
This exquisite, wondrous madness.
And he was lost, he inwardly accepted, capturing her clitoris between his teeth. She gave a keening cry as he tormented her tiny knot of pleasure. The sound echoed deep within Ariyal, stirring that primitive, possessive part of him that he wanted to ignore.
Mine ...
The potent word echoed through his mind, branding across his heart.
With a low growl he forced away the dangerous thought, concentrating on Jaelyn's pleasure. He wasn't going to ruin the moment.
Not when he couldn't be certain it would ever come again.
As if to reward his dedication to his current task, Jaelyn moaned, her fingers plunging into his hair to pull it free of the braid. He gave her a last, lingering lick before he was off his knees and standing between her legs.
Grabbing her hips, he scattered heated kisses across her cheek.
“Are you ready for me, Jaelyn?” he breathed.
Her hands skimmed downward, grasping his cock and angling it toward her waiting body.
“I'm ready,” she said with an edge of desperation in her voice, her fingers stroking him from the tip of his erection to the thick base. “Please, Ariyal.”
Ariyal hissed as he battled back the looming orgasm. He wasn't ready to lose himself in oblivion.
“Tell me, Jaelyn. Tell me you want me,” he commanded as he watched her eyes glaze with need.
“I already told you,” she rasped.