Crave the Night (33 page)

"I'm not sure where we're at," the human
said. "Which way's the Tiki?"

The demon gave him directions and the guy
took off. Nicole did a quick scan, but there was only a stray
person or two and no human gangs. He should make it back to the
club safely.

She turned to the demon. He had his arms
crossed over his chest again and was watching her. Nicole couldn't
read his expression or guess what he was thinking and that should
have made her uneasy, but it didn't.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Nicole Ruiz." She cursed herself
immediately. It wasn't that names had power—that was an old wives'
tale—but giving information to some unknown demon was stupid. Even
if he was so sexy she'd probably go up in flames if he let her get
within touching distance. "What's yours?"

"Daktan, but I prefer Dak," he said.

She could hear reluctance and displeasure in
his voice. That made them even and it improved Nicole's mood.

"Do you go by Nikki?"

The growl was low, and because she made no
attempt at disguise, it came out sounding very demon-like. He was
treading on sacred ground, and while it was inadvertent, it still
made her mad. Her mom had called her by that nickname; she wouldn't
allow anyone else to use it. "No. Nicole. Always and forever
Nicole. Got it?"

Dak nodded. "You hate being called Nikki. I
got it."

"Great. Now you're going to use it just to
rile me, aren't you? I should have kept my mouth shut."

"I won't." He sounded as solemn as if he
were making a vow. "It's not my intention to irritate you."

Something about the way he said that made
heat flare deep inside her again. This time she didn't realize
she'd moved forward until he stepped away. Nicole fisted her hands
at her sides. Why did she have this need to touch him? And that's
what she wanted—to feel the heat of his skin against hers.

Get back to
business.
She'd been at a disadvantage against the
vampire and that was unacceptable. Maybe she hated her demon
heritage, but Nicole wanted revenge more than anything else in the
world and she'd do whatever it took to kill Mary Beth. Maybe she
didn't know Dak, but there was no one else she could ask and
he
had
saved her
tonight.

"Can you teach me how to use my demon
powers?" Her question came out quietly.

"Can I? Yes. Will I? No. The vampire's mine,
Nicole. Stay clear." Dak turned and walked away.

Dak fucking hated wizards. Humans with power
were bad enough in general, but when one of them used his magic to
interfere with Dak's job, it really pissed him off.

With a scowl, he sidestepped the person
talking on his cell phone. The streets were crowded on a Saturday
night, but the throng didn't interfere with his ability to track
Nicole. Nothing could. It wasn't a matter of energy imprints. He
and Nicole had something more than that, a connection that would
allow them to find each other anywhere at any time. Their own
personal homing beacon.

Dak's frown deepened. He'd planned to avoid
Nicole, to stay as far away from her as possible, but Mabilia—Mary
Beth—had destroyed that intention.

At some point between when the vampire had
disappeared last night and when Dak had begun his search tonight,
Mary Beth had hired a wizard. Those bastards didn't work cheap, and
it had probably cost her an arm and a leg. But then a spell that
concealed her from demons took a ton of power to pull off and was
worth a lot.

But it wasn't absolute. Maybe
he
couldn't locate the vampire, but
the wizard's spell hadn't blocked half demons. That left Dak with
two choices, either stick close to Nicole or concede defeat. The
second option wasn't one he'd entertained long.

A gap opened in the crowd just long enough
for him to see the sway of Nicole's hips as she walked ahead of
him. Heat surged through him so fast and so strongly, there was no
way to stop it.

He could go to her, put an arm around her
waist, and pull her against him. She might be surprised, but Nicole
wouldn't fight him, not the way she'd looked at him last night, not
the way she'd reacted to him. Feeling her body pressed to his,
finding someplace where he could strip her, explore her, taste her,
and yeah, bite her— Dak shuddered with need.

Nicole stopped abruptly and looked over her
shoulder, her eyes scanning faces.

Damn, she'd probably picked up his arousal.
She might not know exactly what she'd sensed yet, but she'd figure
it out quickly. Dak worked to get his desire under control before
she zeroed in on him. He wasn't sure how successful he'd been until
she resumed walking.

Shaking his head, Dak followed. One
conversation. One conversation while he'd kept her more than five
feet away and he was already dealing with the repercussions.

If this assignment hadn't come from his
king...

But it had and Dak was stuck until he killed
the vampire. He'd just have to finish the job tonight.

No problem.

He pushed his fingers through his hair,
driving it off his face, before lowering his arms to his sides and
blowing out a long breath. The mission should have been over and
done with last night. He'd had his hands on the vampire, it would
have been an easy thing to kill her in that moment.

Except he'd been running on instinct, not
intellect.

Nicole came to a sudden halt again. He knew
the instant her awareness sharpened and followed her gaze. There
were too many people in his way to see anything and he was forced
to extend out beyond his body. He only needed a moment to spot the
vampire.

Dak came back to earth with a lurch. The
situation got better and better. Mary Beth had fed recently. If the
vampire—

Nicole went from standing to threading
her way quickly through the crowd. He followed. Mary Beth must be
on the move again and he hadn't known.
Fucking wizards.

Something played at the periphery of his
senses, something that made him edgy. His skin tingled and not in a
good way. Dak looked around, but nothing seemed off. What was he
getting? There was a feeling of energy and his brain raced,
searching for answers.

Blast amulet. Mary Beth had bought a blast
amulet from the wizard and that gave her the power to direct an
invisible current—

The burst hit him hard. Dak stumbled into
the side of a building and clutched at the brick, trying to stay
upright. His nerve endings screamed, his body spasmed as it fought
the magic. His vision went black, but he wasn't unconscious. He
just wished he was because it wouldn't hurt this badly if his brain
shut off.

He wasn't sure how much time passed before
he regained awareness of his surroundings. Dak didn't think he'd
been out too long, not with tremors continuing to shudder through
him. His shield was down, making him visible, and humans were
giving him a wide berth as they walked past.

The wizard Mary Beth had hired was good. And
damn powerful. He had to be or the energy wouldn't have hit with as
much force as it had.

Dak made an attempt to push himself away
from the building, but his arms gave out and he collapsed back
against the structure, the brick abrading his cheek. A couple more
minutes and he'd try again.

How the hell had the vampire known he was
there? His concealment hadn't slipped until the energy had slammed
into him, yet somehow she'd known. It gave her another advantage.
All he had on his side was Nicole's ability to track and the time
it would take for the amulet to recharge before Mary Beth could
wield it again.

Dak's eyes opened fast as a thought struck.
The energy block might be on full demons only, but that didn't mean
the amulet hadn't been tuned to affect anyone with demon blood.

Had Nicole been hurt?

His sluggish senses refused to work, but Dak
willed them into compliance. It took a minute for his mind to find
her—unharmed. And she was far enough away to tell him that he'd
been out of it for more than a couple of minutes.

Pushing off from the wall, he locked his
knees to stay upright. As soon as he could walk, Dak moved.

Within a couple of blocks, he'd healed
enough to stop swaying and for his brain to start working again.
The wizard-for-hire was strong and that meant the amulet was going
to recharge faster than he'd originally thought. If Mary Beth sent
out another blast before he had time to fully recover from the
first, she'd put him on the ground.

Dak increased his speed and ignored his
body's protest. Everything ached, even his hair, but there wasn't
time to wait.

Nicole was in pursuit, and as long as she
didn't know how to use her abilities, she was an easy target for
the vampire. He might be slow, but he'd figured it out. Mary Beth
hadn't realized he was there—there was absolutely no way for her to
sense him—and there were no other demons in the vicinity.

Except Nicole.

He'd bet big the blast had been meant for
her, and he was simply collateral damage.

Wizards were bastards, but Dak had to
appreciate that in this case. Sure, it was possible there'd merely
been a misunderstanding, but he doubted it. The human had cheated
Mary Beth. She thought she had an amulet geared for anyone of demon
blood and she was wrong.

Deciding he was in no shape to consider what
kind of games the wizards were playing, Dak cloaked himself and
concentrated on Nicole. Her accelerated heart rate and adrenaline
buzz made his own speed up. He broke into a jog.

The neighborhood, which hadn't been great to
begin with, went downhill rapidly, and she was stationary now. Dak
dug for more speed.

Nicole's turmoil buffeted him. The side
effects of their link were unexpected and unwelcome. He worked to
limit the connection, keeping a line on her, but nothing more.

As the bond began to narrow, Dak felt Nicole
reach for him, trying to hold it fully open. Dissonance rose. She
didn't know what she was doing, but it made it hard for him to shut
her out. He did it anyway and ran faster.

The entrance to the park registered seconds
after he passed it. Dak screeched to a halt. Yes, here. He felt
Nicole. Cautiously, he walked through the opening, fighting the
instinct that urged him to rush to her side and damn the
consequences. He had the element of surprise, and he wasn't giving
that up.

Silently, Dak wended through the playground
equipment. He found Nicole at the back of the park. Mary Beth was
stalking her, forcing Nicole to retreat, and with a chain-link
fence maybe twenty feet behind her, it wouldn't take long before
she was cornered.

He ran his gaze over Nicole. Blood trickled
down her neck.

A growl began low in his throat, but he
stopped it before it became audible. He couldn't contain the red
haze that filled his brain.

A burst of preternatural speed put him
between Nicole and the vampire. He chanced a quick glance at
Nicole's injury. She'd taken a slash over an artery, but it wasn't
deep and it was already mostly healed.

Dak raised his gaze to meet Nicole's and
became lost in her brown eyes. He started to reach out, wanting to
trail his fingers over the wound and finish its healing. Hell, he
wanted to feel the warmth of her skin against his fingers and
reassure himself that she was well.

The blow to his back sent him stumbling, but
his leather jacket prevented injury. He scowled, pissed at himself
for letting his mind shut down. For fucking forgetting the enemy
was there and dangerous.

Whirling, he faced the vampire. She snarled
at him—no fangs, but he didn't expect to see them—and the rest of
her arsenal was on full display. Hoping it would hide the fact he
was too depleted to risk a battle, Dak did his own posturing. He'd
been born to the strongest branch of demon and there were some
visual cues—like the intensity of the red burning in his eyes as
well as the length and strength of his own talons.

If Mary Beth was intimidated, he saw no sign
of it, but she didn't launch another assault. "This is the second
time you've interfered."

"I won't let you hurt her," he said.
Unbidden, and despite his effort to sound unconcerned, there was a
growl underlying his words. Dak hated not being in perfect command
of himself especially when he needed to be. A vampire would know
demons had trouble thinking clearly with emotion running hot and
he'd revealed his weakness to this one. She didn't miss it either,
not judging by the way her lips curved.

"I've been minding my own business," Mary
Beth said conversationally. "She continues to hunt me."

Dak shifted when Nicole moved, keeping her
securely behind his back. He wanted the two of them out of here
ASAP. If he didn't get Nicole safe before the vampire's amulet
recharged, they were both in deep shit. Mary Beth would be able to
kill him while he was down and Nicole didn't have the skills to
fight off the other woman.

Stay put,
he
sent to Nicole. It wasn't until he felt her shock that he realized
what he'd done. Mistake number two in less than five
minutes.

"Did you just talk in my head?" Nicole poked
his shoulder, but Dak didn't turn.

Mary Beth smiled. "Well, isn't this
interesting?"

Fucking great. Bluffing would get him
nowhere—vampires knew too much about demons—but he tried anyway. If
he didn't, it would be the same as an admission. "What's
interesting about telepathy?" Dak asked, trying to sound bored.
"Your kind use it as easily as mine."

He battled within himself. The instinct to
protect Nicole urged him to attack the vampire. His brain whispered
warnings that he was in no shape to engage Mary Beth until he
healed from the blast he'd taken earlier.