The Rogue Hunter (31 page)

Groaning, he dropped his hands to her behind next, and cupped her there firmly to draw her up against him so that their groins met and they rubbed across each other, and then he moved forward, taking her with him. Mortimer urged her onto the bed, easing her back until she lay with her legs dangling off at the knees, her feet brushing the floor.

Sam gasped and clutched at his shoulders, sucking frantically at his tongue. She also opened for him, spreading her legs to offer him a cradle. Mortimer took advantage of their position to drive them both crazy by simply rubbing his hardness against her slick heat until the pleasure bouncing between them reached the point where he just couldn't stand it anymore.

When Sam dug her nails into his back and tore her mouth from his to gasp, "Please!" he finally gave them what they both wanted and allowed himself to slide inside her moist heat.

It was like coming home and the Fourth of July all at once. Pleasure shocked through him, tearing at his control, urging him on as he caught her by the hips and drove himself into her again and again until they both shouted out with victory as release exploded over them. It seemed to go on forever before the darkness washed up over him, making his eyes slip closed as he started to lose consciousness. In the last moment before the lights went out completely, Mortimer tried to shift himself to the side so that he wouldn't crush Sam, and then he knew no more.

Chapter Sixteen

Mortimer woke slowly and reached for Sam, only to find the expanse of bed beside him empty. Immediately awake, he sat up and glanced toward the door to see that it was closed but unlocked. He launched himself quickly out of bed, concern for Sam uppermost in his mind. He hadn't meant to, but he'd bit her the last time they'd made love, and he was now a bit frantic to see that Sam was all right.

She'd probably gone in search of the bathroom, Mortimer told himself as he dragged on his jeans. Of course there was the slim possibility Sam was in search of food again and might look in the fridge downstairs, where she'd find the bagged blood. That would be a problem, but Mortimer was more concerned about how she was feeling. He was feeling pretty damned good himself, but…

Having finally consummated their desire, Sam and Mortimer had binged on each other. He'd awoken several times in the last twelve-plus hours since finding Sam in the cottage and had reached for her first thing. He'd found her warm, willing, and even welcoming each time, and together they'd repeatedly sought and found their ecstasy again.

Only once had they troubled themselves to go in search of food to power their pleasure. However, they'd hardly touched the goodies they'd managed to retrieve from the refrigerator upstairs before he'd been unable to resist kissing her, and their attention had once more turned to each other. That time they'd started on the kitchen counter, and it had almost been too late by the time he'd had the common sense to carry her to his room so that they wouldn't be found unconscious on the kitchen floor.

Mortimer had been stupid. While he might be able to ignore his hunger for food in favor of devouring Sam, his need for blood wasn't so easily subverted. He'd had only one bag before finding her upstairs after awakening that day. It hadn't been nearly enough. The last time they'd made love, his hunger for blood had exerted itself, and he'd unthinkingly sunk his teeth into her neck as he'd taken her. Worse yet, he'd been so excited and overwhelmed by the combination of both needs being fulfilled that he'd taken more blood than he should have before realizing what he was doing and forcing his fangs from her throat. His last thought before unconsciousness had claimed him had been to worry that she was all right.

And it was that worry that was foremost on his mind as Mortimer rushed out of his room, and hurried upstairs to find that she wasn't there either… but Bricker and Decker were. His gaze slid over the two men enjoying a bag of blood at the table and then to the window where the dawn was threatening on the horizon.

"Sam left right after we got here," Decker announced, pulling his empty bag from his mouth.

"She snuck out the screen door downstairs," Bricker added as he removed his own empty bag and grinned. "We heard her, but pretended not to."

"Oh." Mortimer ran a hand through his hair, glanced at the food he and Sam had left out on the counter earlier, but then turned to go back downstairs, his feet taking him to the refrigerator where the blood was stored. He was worrying about whether she was all right as he retrieved a bag of blood and slapped it to his teeth.

"She's all right," Decker said, bringing Mortimer's attention to the fact that the two men had followed him and that Decker was again reading his mind. "She looked a bit weak and pale as she crossed the lawn, and she'll probably sleep all day while her body recuperates, but there was no lasting harm done."

Mortimer felt relief slip through him. Unable to speak around the nearly empty bag in his mouth, he merely nodded.

"I put the thought in her head that she'd been bitten by blackflies," Decker added as Mortimer finally tore the empty bag away.

"Thank you," he said gruffly, opening the refrigerator door again.

"So?" Bricker asked.

"So what?" Mortimer growled as he retrieved another bag of blood.

"When are you going to tell her?" Bricker asked.

Mortimer frowned with irritation. Dear God, he'd just finally consummated his feelings for the woman and they were already on him about telling her. "I'll tell her next Saturday or Sunday."

"Waiting as long as you can, huh?" Decker asked dryly as he leaned past him to grab a bag himself. "I don't blame you for wanting to enjoy her as long as possible in case you have to give her up."

Mortimer frowned at that possibility being spoken aloud. It was what he most feared.

"But," Decker added, "you might want to factor in that she'll need time to consider everything before she makes her decision."

Mortimer popped the second bag of blood to his teeth in response.

Decker left him to think about that as he popped his own bag to his teeth. Bricker immediately leaned in to grab one for himself, and the three of them were silent until these were empty. But the moment Decker ripped his from his teeth, he said, "Giving her a couple of days to consider it seems reasonable, don't you think?"

"Maybe," Mortimer allowed reluctantly. "But she doesn't have to think about it up here. I can tell her before they leave Sunday and then drive down to Toronto after we catch our rogue and…" His voice trailed off. Decker was shaking his head. Shifting unhappily, he asked, "No?"

"No," Decker said firmly. "It's too dangerous. She might tell someone. Sam has to decide before she and her sisters leave so that we can wipe their memories if she decides against being your life mate."

Mortimer winced at the suggestion, but knew he was right. Their people's safety came first. If he wanted to give her time to think about it, which was only fair, he had to tell her soon.

"I'll tell her tonight," he said quietly, and then taking another bag of blood, headed to his room so that he could be alone and figure out just how he was going to do that.

"You're glowing," Jo said with glee and then called out, "Isn't she glowing, Alex?"

"Stuff it, Jo," Sam muttered, feeling her face heat with embarrassment as she opened the refrigerator and peered inside at the offerings. It was late. Nearly eight o'clock and she had just finally woken up after sneaking home at dawn from the cottage next door. Sam couldn't believe how long she'd slept… or perhaps she could. She'd certainly had a workout with Mortimer. They'd made love so many times she'd lost count. Her body wasn't used to it and had apparently decided she needed rest.

Now Sam was hungry and crazy thirsty. She felt like all the liquid in her body had been sucked out of her.

"Yes, she's glowing," Alex agreed, coming into the kitchen from the hall. "I can't believe you slept all day. What time did you get in?"

"Six a.m.," Jo answered for her, and then explained. "I woke up when you crept past my door."

Sam flushed with embarrassment, but didn't comment as she pulled orange juice from the refrigerator and poured herself a glass.

"Well, it must have been something," Alex said almost enviously, pulling a set of pies from the oven. "We heard you screaming from over here at one point."

"What?" Sam turned with dismay to find Jo grinning widely and nodding.

"We weren't sure if he was killing you or what," her younger sister admitted.

"And you didn't come see?" she asked, struggling between embarrassment that her cries of pleasure had been heard, and indignation that they hadn't checked on her.

"Well, we considered it, but jeez, I mean if he was killing you, you were dying happy," Alex said dryly as she set the pies on the stove and turned to consider her with hands on hips. "Girl, I didn't know you had such healthy lungs. You sure can howl."

Sam groaned and turned back to her orange juice, gulping it down with a thirst that wouldn't be denied.

"I thought those blackfly bites had healed," Jo said suddenly, moving closer to her side. "They look almost fresh again."

Sam shrugged and poured herself more juice. "They got me again last night."

"When?" she asked dryly. "I thought you were inside. Oh! Were you two doing the nature thing again? I thought you'd sworn off that."

Sam flushed. Fool that she was, she'd told them about the stay in Minden. Her sisters had been very sympathetic, once they'd finished laughing themselves silly.

"It must have been on the walk back," Sam muttered, though she'd seen the marks in the bathroom mirror at Decker's as she'd dressed. She hadn't wanted to wake Mortimer, so had checked that the rec room was empty and then had gathered her clothes and slipped out to dress in the bathroom. She'd heard the men return just as she'd finished and had hurried to slip out through the sliding doors downstairs before her presence could be discovered.

Sam had seen the marks on her neck while in the bathroom, so knew she hadn't gained them on the walk back. It must have been on the walk over, she thought, and then frowned as she peered at the pies Alex was fussing over. No wonder she felt so dried out. Alex had been baking and heated up the cottage with the oven.

"Who is that for?" she asked, moving to peer hungrily down at the pies.

"Us and Grant," Alex answered. "I thought I might as well get it done today rather than tomorrow. That way we'll be sure to get it to him and not have to leave it on the deck with a note like last year. I swear, that man is hardly ever home."

Sam nodded. They always gave him a pie with the check to cover the work he did for them over the year. It had started as something their mother had done for Mr. Warner before him. Alex had carried on the tradition after their parents' death and simply continued to do so with Grant.

"Alex made the second pie for us," Jo said happily.

"I didn't have a choice," Alex commented dryly. "You two picked at the crust so much last year that he probably thought mice had been at it."

Sam smiled at the memory. "So can I have a slice?"

"No," Alex said at once. "You aren't having pie for breakfast."

"It's eight o'clock at night," Sam pointed out in an almost whining tone. "You can't call this breakfast."

"I can when you're just waking up for the day," she said firmly and then added, "We'll have it tomorrow after dinner. Make yourself an egg or something now."

"So?" Jo said, following her to the refrigerator. "Are you going to tell us about it?"

"No," Sam said at once, opening the door between them and scouring the refrigerator. Her eyes settled on some lunch meat and cheese and she decided on a sandwich.

"Well, at least we know this time it wasn't interrupted by bats or some other form of wildlife," Jo teased, and then frowned and moved closer again to better examine her neck. "These bites look even more like a vampire's kiss than the last two. Those were a little too close, but these are the perfect distance apart to be from a vampire bite."

"Eww! Stop saying stuff like that," Sam said with disgust, but suddenly had a flash of memory of a pinch at her neck as Mortimer nibbled on it while thrusting himself into her. In the next moment that pain had been rolled under by the wave of ecstasy that had claimed her as he drove them both toward a screaming climax.

Legs weakening under the onslaught of remembered passion, Sam shook her head and grabbed for the counter to steady herself. She really needed to eat.

"What if Mortimer was one," Jo teased. "I bet you wouldn't mind vampires so much then."

Pausing, Sam turned a glare on her. "That's so not funny. Don't even joke about it."

"Joke about what?"

Sam glanced around to see Mortimer at the screen door. Nothing could have stopped the welcoming smile that curved her lips as he pulled the door open and stepped inside to join them.

"About you being a vampire," Jo said with a laugh as he moved to Sam's side, slid his arm around her, and gave her a quick hello kiss. "Sam isn't keen on them. I think she'd toss you over if you were one."

"What?" Mortimer stiffened against her, and Sam smiled wryly when his gaze turned sharp on her face.

"She's probably right. Good thing you aren't a vampire, huh?" she teased, slipping her own arm around his waist and giving him a squeeze. When Mortimer simply stared at her, looking slightly stunned, she added, "Ignore Jo."

"Yeah, ignore her," Alex said lightly. "She's just teasing. Our Sam has a phobia about bats, you see."

"Bats," he murmured, sounding confused.

"Yeah. So she isn't keen on vampires and all that nonsense either. You know, they turn into bats and stuff." She shrugged.

"Right, bats and stuff," he said quietly and seemed relieved.

"Speaking of bats, Jo and I were thinking about going into town for bat night," Alex announced.

Mortimer looked bewildered. "What is bat night?"

"Oh, they're going to put up this huge wall of netting and catch bats and then everyone gets to look at them and learn what kind of bat they are and stuff before they set them free. You two should come with us. It'll be cool," Jo assured him.