The Dark-Hunters (209 page)

It howled at the feel of her hot, wet body wrapped around his. And as always, it gave his magical powers a surge. Sex always charged his species, making them stronger.

More dangerous.

She covered his hand with hers. The sight of her spread out while he thrust into her made his heart pound even harder. His powers shivered through his body, sparking and dancing until he was raw from it.

Bride couldn’t breathe from the intensity of her pleasure. This was the most incredible encounter of her life. He was so thick and hard inside her. So commanding. And oddly enough, he felt as if he were getting bigger. He filled her to capacity, but it wasn’t uncomfortable in the least.

And when she came this time, it was even more forceful than the last. She screamed out with such satisfaction that it made her hoarse. Weak. Her body shook uncontrollably as he continued to give her even more.

“That’s it, baby,” he whispered to her. “Come for me.”

And she did. In a way she had never orgasmed before. It was so primal and powerful she wasn’t even sure how she survived it. Oh mercy! How could anything feel so wonderful?

Every stroke he continued to give her only made her orgasm more. Made her entire body sensitive. This had to be the longest climax of her life!

Vane kept a tight grip on her as he felt his own pleasure mounting. He quickened his strokes as he neared the peak.

Bride turned her face into his and laid the sweetest kiss imaginable on his lips. It sent him careening over the edge.

He wrapped her in his arms as he released himself deep inside her body. Unlike a human, he wouldn’t be finished quickly with this. His orgasm would last for several minutes.

Holding her tight, he used his powers to heighten her pleasure and to hide the time he stayed inside her while his body spent itself. He leaned his head against her neck and just reveled in her scent. Reveled in her.

He buried himself deep, then gently rocked her in his arms while he let his release and an unfounded sense of peace and comfort wash through him.

Vane couldn’t take his eyes off Bride as his body finally relaxed. Slowly. Peacefully.

He held her in his lap and watched the slight smile that still hovered on the edges of her lips. This woman was a goddess. Pure and simple. Lush and full, she was everything a man could ever desire.

“That was incredible,” she breathed, reaching up to run her fingers along his jaw.

“Yes, it was,” he breathed gently, still amazed at what he had felt inside a human female.

Maybe Acheron had been right after all. Maybe there was more human in him than he thought. It was the only reason he could think of for why he felt the way he did right now.

A phone rang from outside the dressing room.

She jumped in his arms, then checked her wristwatch. “Oh no,” she breathed. “That’s probably Tabitha. I’m supposed to meet her and her sister for dinner tonight.”

Vane sighed. For some reason he couldn’t name, he didn’t want to let her go. Didn’t want her to leave his side.

If she were one of his people, she wouldn’t even think about leaving until dawn.

But she wasn’t.

And wanting to stay here was crazy. He was a wolf under a death sentence and she was a human.

What they had shared had been exceptional, but it was time he put her out of his thoughts.

Forever.

Kissing her cheek, he withdrew from her and got up to dress.

Bride felt a bit awkward as Vane handed her her clothes. He didn’t ask her for her number or for anything else as he pulled on his pants and boots.

Did he regret what they had done?

She wanted to ask him for his number, but her pride wouldn’t let her. Maybe she was being stupid, but given Taylor’s actions she didn’t want to risk another dent to her ego tonight.

Vane buttoned her dress, then pulled his shirt on over his head. “Is your car nearby?” he asked.

“It’s parked in the back, but I was just going to walk over to the restaurant. It’s only a few blocks away.”

He brushed her hair with his fingers. There was an air of sudden sadness to him. “Would you like me walk with you?”

She nodded.

He held the curtain open for her. She ducked out and turned to watch while he tucked his T-shirt into his jeans. He raked his hand through his hair to settle it back into place.

All the playfulness was gone from him now. There was something almost predatorial about him.

He went to wait outside while she set the alarm and locked the door.

She felt even more awkward as she straightened to smile at him outside her store. The air was a bit chilly, but he didn’t seem to notice. He draped an arm around her shoulders as they headed toward Tabitha’s favorite restaurant, Acme Oyster House.

They didn’t speak while they walked. Bride wanted to, but what did a woman say to a guy who had just given her the best sex of her life?

A guy she didn’t know.

A guy she would most likely never see again.

Oh, how she hated this. This was the first time in her life she’d ever had a one-night stand. It was disconcerting to have been so intimate with a complete stranger.

He slowed as they neared the restaurant.

Bride peeked in the large, painted window. She’d been right, her friends were already there and she saw Tabitha dialing a cell phone. No doubt Tabitha had been the one calling, and if Bride didn’t go in soon, she would start to worry.

“Well,” she said, pulling away from Vane. “I guess this is where we say goodbye.”

He nodded and offered her a kind smile. “Thank you, Bride.”

“No,” she said, touching her necklace that he had given her. “Thank you.”

He kissed her hand, then turned, tucked his hands inside his pockets, and walked slowly down the street toward Bourbon. Her heart heavy, she watched that deadly masculine swagger.

“Bride?”

She turned to see Mina Devereaux standing in the open doorway. “You okay?” she asked.

Nodding, Bride forced herself to go inside. Mina led her to a table near the window where her sister, Tabitha, was seated.

“Hey, Bride,” Tabitha said in greeting as she unwrapped a cracker. “You okay? You look a little distracted.”

“I don’t know,” Bride said as she took a seat across the table from Tabitha. “I’ve had the strangest day of my life and I think I may have just made the biggest mistake of all time.”

Only she wasn’t sure if the mistake was sleeping with someone she didn’t know or letting him leave her.

Chapter 2

His heart heavy with regret, Vane made his way through the French Quarter down to 688 Ursulines Avenue where the bar Sanctuary stood on the corner. The redbrick building had saloon-type doors with a sign outside that featured a dark motorcycle silhouetted by a full moon on a hill.

A tourist attraction, the biker bar was crowded as always with natives and tourists. There were already several motorcycles lined up on the sidewalk outside that belonged to the local biker gang who called themselves the Vieux-Doo Dogs. The first time he’d seen the gruff bikers enter the building, Vane had laughed. The biker humans had no idea that Sanctuary wasn’t just a place for them. It was one of the very rare true havens for his kind.

All over the world and in various time periods, certain Were-Hunter families had established places like this one where Katagaria members could hide out while running from their enemies. But of all the known animal havens, Mama Bear Peltier’s Sanctuary was the most respected and renowned. Mostly because hers was one of the few establishments that welcomed Dark-Hunters, Apollites, Daimons, and gods equally. So long as you came in peace, you were allowed to leave with all body parts intact.

As the Sanctuary slogan went:
Don’t bite me and I won’t bite you.

Anyone who breached that one rule was quickly sacrificed by one of Mama Peltier’s eleven sons or her exceptionally large mate. It was a well-known fact that Papa Bear Peltier played with no one but Mama Bear.

Though Mama and her boys were bears in their native form, they welcomed all Katagaria branches: lions and tigers and hawks and wolves. There wasn’t a single known group that didn’t have at least one member hiding here.

Hell, there was even a drakos, and as a rule the dragons seldom made the twenty-first century their home. Due to their size, dragons had a tendency to live out their lives in past times where a smaller human population and open fields made it easier for them to hide.

The Peltiers even had an Arcadian Sentinel who watched over the place and that was the greatest feat of all. Arcadians were the Were-Hunters who had human hearts and they were mortal enemies to the Katagaria, who had animal hearts. In fact, the two species had been at war with each other for thousands of years.

The Arcadians were supposedly the kinder branch of Vane’s people, but his experience said that was wishful thinking on their part. He’d much sooner trust a Katagaria with an animal heart than an Arcadian with a human heart any day.

At least the animals attacked you openly. They weren’t nearly as treacherous as a human.

But then, no Katagaria female had ever held him the way Bride had. None had ever made him feel this strange protectiveness that wanted nothing more than to go back to the restaurant where he’d left her, take her into his arms and carry her home with him.

It didn’t make a bit of sense.

He strode through the saloon doors to find Dev Peltier sitting on a tall barstool at the entrance. Dev was one of Mama Bear’s quadruplets. Even though they were identical in looks, each of the quads had a very distinct personality and carriage.

Dev was easygoing and slow to anger. He exuded an air of powerful grace and moved methodically like most bears—as if he had all the time in the world. But Vane knew the bear could be damned near as quick to move as any wolf. The first time he had seen Dev lunge at his younger brother Serre in a play fight, he’d developed a healthy respect for the bear’s abilities.

Tonight, Dev wore a black T-shirt that didn’t quite cover up the Artemis bow mark on his biceps that he had as a goof on the Daimons and Apollites who occasionally ventured inside the bar. He was playing five-card draw with Rudy, one of the human employees who had no idea that half the “people” in the bar were really animals walking on two legs.

Rudy had straight black hair pulled back into a ponytail, and a rough face that showed every sign of how hard the ex-con’s life had been. He had a full black beard and every inch of exposed skin was covered with some kind of colorful tattoo.

The man was truly grimy and, unlike the Were-Hunters who made this their home, he wasn’t attractive. In fact, that was the easiest way to tell the humans from the animals. Since Vane’s people valued beauty above all else, it was rare to find an unattractive Were-Hunter.

Like his brothers’, Dev’s curly blond hair fell all the way down his back. As always, he wore it loose. He had on a pair of tight, faded jeans and black boots.

Dev acknowledged him with a tilt of his head. “Hey, wolf, you okay?”

Vane shrugged as he neared them. “Just tired.”

“Maybe you should cop a nap at the house,” Dev said as he reached for two more cards.

Peltier House was adjacent to the bar. It was there that they could assume their animal forms without fear of discovery. The Peltiers had more alarm systems than Fort Knox and at least two members of the family were on guard at all times against any intruder, human or otherwise.

“It’s all right,” Vane said. He earned his keep and Fang’s. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to accuse him of taking charity from the Bear clan, so he worked an average of ten hours a day, every day, for the Peltiers. “I told Nicolette I’d relieve Cherise at the bar tonight.”

“Yeah,” Rudy said as he took a drag on his cigarette, then adjusted his cards. “Cherise is dying to go home early. Nick is going to take her to Antoine’s for her birthday.”

Vane had forgotten it was the human’s birthday. For some reason, those were special to humans. Probably because they had so few of them.

Vane excused himself and headed toward the bar. He passed the tables where Wren, a rare white leopard Katagaria, was clearing them. Marvin the monkey (the only animal at Sanctuary that couldn’t take human form) sat on the leopard’s shoulder and held tight to Wren’s blond hair.

Those two had a strange relationship. Much like Vane and Fang, Wren had come to the Peltiers as an exile. He kept to himself and seldom spoke to anyone other than Marvin. Even so, there was something lethal about the leopard’s eyes that told everyone to leave him alone if they valued their lives.

Wren looked up at Vane as he passed the tables Wren was cleaning, but said nothing.

“Hey, Vane!” Cherise Gautier said, her face beaming as she caught sight of him. She was a beautiful blond woman in her early forties. Her ever-ready smile and warm heart could win over just about anyone. “You okay, honey? You look tired.”

It still amazed him just how intuitive Cherise was for a human. Vane lifted the back section of the bar’s countertop and let himself into the serving area. “I’m fine,” he said, even though he didn’t feel that way.

He felt as if something were missing. As if he should go back to Bride.

How stupid was that?

“You sure?” she asked.

He could sense her concern. And that made him extremely uncomfortable. No one other than his brother and sister had ever given a damn about him.

Cherise was a strange human.

She flipped the white towel she’d been cleaning the bar with over her shoulder. “You know, my son is your age…”

Vane fought the urge to laugh at that. Nick Gautier was twenty-six in human years while Vane was four hundred and sixty. But of course, Cherise had no idea of Vane’s true age. Any more than she knew her son was working for the Dark-Hunters, who were all immortal vampire slayers.

“And I know how you guys burn yourselves out. You need to take better care of yourself, sweetie. I swear you haven’t had a day off since Mama hired you. Why don’t you take the night off for once and go have some fun?”

“It’s all right,” he said quietly as he took the towel from her shoulder. “I’ve got it. Besides, Rudy said it was your birthday.”