The Dark-Hunters (360 page)

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Susan sat, bathing Ravyn’s hot brow as he whispered unintelligibly in his sleep. Otto had helped her clean up the earlier mess and now they were alone again while Ravyn drifted in and out of consciousness and she skimmed through more information in the handbook that Otto had also brought for her.

The Squires seemed to have an affinity for the monstrosity and were insistent that she learn every nuance of it, and she was anxious to learn absolutely everything. But she also didn’t mind taking a break whenever Ravyn came to.

The hardest part though was whenever he was awake, he was either groping her or leading her hand to parts of his body that she really did want to explore—but not while he was this far gone. Something about it just wasn’t right. Even so, she had to admit, he was scrumptious and while under the influence of the drug, he was also extremely affectionate.
Very
catlike.

He opened those deep, dark eyes to pin her with a lusting stare again. He pulled her hand from his brow so that he could nibble her fingertip, then the back of her knuckles. Each sweep of his tongue sent a razor-sharp spike of pleasure through her. This man knew his way around a woman’s senses and how to elicit pleasure with the smallest move or stroke. It was what made pushing him away so difficult. That evil part in the back of her mind was dying to know what he’d be like naked in her arms.

“Sleep with me, black-eyed Susan.”

How could a girl resist a line like that?

Oh wait, very easily. He was still out of it.
Yeah, and what would it hurt?

No, she couldn’t take advantage of him. She wasn’t the kind of woman to take advantage of people while they were down. Not to mention the small fact that he’d never seemed that interested in her while at full capacity. If, when he awoke, he was still interested, there might be some grounds for negotiation. But at the moment, those talks were moot.

She pulled the cloth away from his brow with her left hand while she tried to get the right one away from that deliciously erotic tongue of his. “That’s okay, Leopardman. I’ll just keep bathing your brow.”

“That’s not what I want you to stroke.” He pulled her head down toward his.

Tired of fighting him, she let him kiss her only to learn that that was a serious mistake. Her entire world spun at the decadent taste of him. He had a way with his tongue that should be illegal and it probably was in some states. She’d been kissed a lot of times in her life, but never like this. It was strong and powerful and left her completely breathless.

He led her hand back to the swollen bulge in his jeans. He held her hand there as he rubbed himself against her open palm. Grinding her teeth, she could just imagine him doing that inside her. Feel him hard and deep, stroking her until she finally had ultimate satisfaction.…

But she’d gone a year without a guy. She could certainly go a little longer.

Reluctantly, she broke away from his kiss. “Easy, Puss in Boots.”

He actually whimpered as she pulled her hand away. Pouting, he reached for her again, only instead of kissing her, he nuzzled her neck. Susan hissed at the warmth of his mouth on her flesh until something strange happened.…

Her eyes started watering and her nose immediately became stuffy. The more he nuzzled, the worse it got until she sneezed.

“Oh my God,” she said, pulling back to wipe at her eyes. “I think I’m allergic to you.”

He rose up and stalked her across the mattress. “I’m addicted to you.”

“Ravyn!” she snapped, holding him back. “I’m serious.” But now she was getting better. Maybe she was wrong.

“You’re not allergic to me,” he said, playfully grabbing her. He rolled her over onto the mattress and pinned her under him.

Susan was fine until he dipped his head back toward hers to kiss her again and his hair fell down over her face. She immediately became stuffy again.

Clearing her throat, she rolled him over until he was pinned under her. He gave her a grin so wicked that it alone could have made her horny. He lifted his hips, rubbing himself against her again.

“Stop that and listen to me. I
am
allergic to you,” she said sternly.

At least to his hair, which made complete sense she supposed, since it was cat fur that set her off. But the worst part was that deep down inside her, a part of her was extremely disappointed. Which made no sense to her whatsoever.

It wasn’t like she could ever have a relationship with a man who was an undead cat, Dark-Hunter thing.

“C’mon, Susan,” he said in that deeply provocative voice as he lifted his hips to rub with a part of her that was way too interested in that swollen part of his body. “I need you.”

Stifling the wicked imp that wanted her to strip him bare and sate both of their baser instincts, she shook her head. “What you need is a cold shower.”

“Take one with me and I’ll wash your back.”

He was relentless!

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door.

Grateful for the interruption, Susan immediately scooted off Ravyn, got to her feet, and straightened her rumpled clothes. “Come in.”

The door opened to show Erika, who looked past her to see Ravyn stretched out on the mattress.

Ravyn snorted as he rolled to his side and curled into a very catlike pose. “Hey, kitten. Got any change?”

Erika wrinkled her nose as she stepped past Susan, into the room. “What is he? High?”

“Yes. Very,” she answered, duplicating Erika’s clipped tone.

That appeared to amuse her a great deal. “Man, any idea what it is?”

Susan folded her arms over her chest as she watched Erika slowly approach Ravyn, who was now singing something that sounded like it might be a lullaby in a foreign language, while lying on his side. “I’m not one hundred percent sure. Why?”

“’Cause whatever it is, let’s up the dosage. He hasn’t called me kitten since I was ten.” Erika gave her a wide, delighted smile, which might have amused Susan had they met on better terms. But given Erika’s blasé attitude toward both her and Ravyn, Susan wasn’t feeling overly charitable toward the younger woman.

“Is there a point to your visit?”

“I just wanted to make sure he was all right.” There was an underlying tremor in her voice that made Susan feel like a heel for being so short with her. After all, Erika had known him all her life and with her father off in Hawaii, Ravyn was the only family she had here.

“He’s fine,” Susan said, softening her tone. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, but there was something in her eyes that was sad and hurt. “I just don’t like people dying on me, you know?”

“Yeah, being alone sucks.”

Erika tucked a piece of hair behind one ear. With that one, hesitant action, she went from being a snotty teenager to a little girl who needed someone to tell her everything would be okay. “You’ve no idea.”

“Actually,” Susan said, stepping closer to her, “I do. By the time I was your age, I was an orphan, and I’ve been alone ever since.”

“Was it hard alone?”

Susan swallowed as old memories haunted her. “Yeah, most of the time. You stand there alone on graduation while all of your friends are surrounded by their families. You’re alone the first day of college with no laughing mom and dad to tease you while you find your dorm room. Unless someone feels sorry for you, there’s no place to go when the dorm’s closed. But the worst are the holidays, especially Christmas. You sit in your house, looking at the one gift under the tree that you bought for yourself, and you wonder what it would be like to have a mom or dad, or just anyone to call.”

Now she didn’t even have Angie and Jimmy anymore. Angie had always been the one who’d invited her home. She’d always taken care to call her on Mother’s Day and Easter to make sure she was okay. And she’d always lied and said she was fine, even though inside it still hurt to have absolutely no one.

She glanced over at Ravyn. How much harder were those moments when you knew your family was alive, but not to you?

It explained why he was so understanding of Erika. Annoying though she could be, she was better than being alone. Better than watching the rest of the world take for granted the very things you would sell your soul to have.

She saw a grudging respect in Erika’s blue eyes as the girl nodded in mutual understanding. “I’m sorry about your parents. I lost my mom a few years ago.… It still hurts.”

“I know. I’m sorry, too.”

“Thanks.” Erika looked over at Ravyn, then frowned. “
You
need anything? Like a cage or flea repellent?”

Smiling, Susan paused as she watched Ravyn move his hands as if he were singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” in that lyrical language of his. “An antidote would be nice.”

“I don’t know,” Erika said teasingly. “He’s kind of amusing like this. It’s like having a big kid around or something.”

Ravyn rolled over onto his stomach and tried to push himself up. Susan rushed to his side to keep him down on the mattress.

“I need to go,” Ravyn said, trying to push her back.

“No, no. You’re right where you need to be.”

“No,” he said in a tone so whiny that it stunned her. She’d have never thought such a sound could have come out of a man with such a deep voice. “I have to
go.
”

Why was he being so stubborn?

“No, Ravyn. You need to stay right here.”

“But I can’t go here and I really have to go.”

Erika made an odd hissing noise. “Susan, I think what he’s saying is he needs the litter box.”

A feeling of dread consumed her. No … even her luck wasn’t
that
bad. “Oh, surely not.”

He pushed himself away from her grasp only to fall back down. He looked at the mattress as if baffled by it. “This isn’t the bathroom.…”

Oh, shoot me, please!

But there was no reprieve. If he really had to go, she couldn’t very well let him go in here. That would be gross
and
disgusting. “I can’t believe I’m having to do this.”

Erika indicated the door with her thumb. “You want me to get one of the guys to help?”

Susan let out a long, tired breath as she considered it for a second. “No. I somehow doubt they’ll be any more enthused about this than I am.” No doubt, they’d kill him if they had to help him with this. Dreading this down to the deepest part of her being, she assisted Ravyn to his feet and almost fell under his weight. The man was so solidly built that it was like lifting a car. “Could you help me get him to the bathroom?”

“Sure.”

With Erika’s help, Susan was able to get him across the hall to the small bathroom. The space inside was tight and cramped. She started to wait outside with Erika but then thought better of it. In his current condition, Ravyn might fall and damage himself. The last thing they needed was for him to whack his head on something.

She watched as he fumbled with his fly like a two-year-old. “My zipper’s broken.”

She rolled her eyes. “No, it isn’t.”

He dared to give her an exasperated look. “Yes, it is.”

What did I do to deserve this?
She figured it had to be divine retribution for something. There was no other reason for her day to have turned on her so viciously. Cursing her own fate, she moved forward to push his hands out of the way so that she could undo his pants. Which she learned were button fly. No wonder they wouldn’t unzip. Unbuttoning them, her face flamed as she realized that he didn’t have on any underwear. Not that she hadn’t already seen him naked, but this was somehow different. More private. With a deep breath for courage, she helped him lower his pants, then turned her back while he took care of his needs.

This has to be the weirdest moment of my life.
She’d never done something like this for a stranger before. But then again, if she ever somehow found herself in a situation like this, she only hoped that someone took the same mercy on her and helped her through it. What little she knew of Ravyn, she was sure he’d die of embarrassment about being this helpless. He seemed to pride himself on his independence.

And given the way his family treated him, it was obvious he’d been alone a lot longer than she had.

When he was through, she helped him dress and wash his hands. Susan paused while soaping them. His weren’t pampered hands. They were large and callused, brutally scarred by untold fights against who only knew what. One in particular was wide and deep, and ran all the way up his forearm. Another one looked like something had taken a vicious bite out of him. Her stomach lurched at the sight of them. Yeah, her life and troubles seemed so mild by comparison.

“Your touch is so soft,” he whispered. “Like a butterfly’s wings.”

It was stupid, but those words touched something inside her. No, it wasn’t the words so much as it was the emotion she heard in his voice. The tone that told her he wasn’t used to anything so gentle touching him.

“Thank you,” she said, rinsing his hands off, then drying them with a small hand towel.

Placing his damp hand on her chin, he tilted her head back until their gazes were locked. “You are so incredibly beautiful.”

Oh, yeah, the man was definitely high. Not that she was Quasimodo or anything, but Susan wasn’t stupid, either. She wasn’t the kind of woman men thought of as beautiful. “Yeah, yeah. You just want me to sleep with you.”

“No,” he said in a deepened voice. “You are beautiful … like an angel.” He pressed his forehead against hers before he gave her the gentlest kiss she’d ever known. Something inside her melted as he wrapped his arms around her and held her not like a horny man out to get laid, but like someone who actually had feelings for her. And it brought out an ache so deep inside her that her throat tightened.

All her life, all she’d ever wanted was to be loved. To have a family again, and this kiss only reminded her of what she didn’t have.

Of what she’d most likely
never
have. And the pain from that thought washed over her like ice.

“Okay, Ravyn, we need to get you back in bed.” She expected him to argue. Instead, he merely nodded before he withdrew from her, then opened the door.