Courted by the Vampire (18 page)

Edwin brushed wisps of hair from her forehead. He licked a path down
the column of her throat, laving each nipple with his tongue. He blew on the wetness until she lay gasping beneath him.
We will fit. Stop thinking and enjoy.

For one agonizing second, he wasn’t sure she’d let him finish. Then, she
sighed and relaxed against him to press a tiny kiss to his chest. His heart contracted with joy.

“Now.” He pushed into her, burying himself in her warmth. For the first time in his existence, sex with a woman became something more
than just a physical act. He and Hannah were one, joined until he did not know where he ended and she began. Repeatedly, he thrust into her, harder and faster, until all reason left, replaced by genuine happiness. It flowed through him as if he was made of water, and she the pitcher.

It made all the difference.

As his release blended with hers, golden sparks and ice blue butterflies filled his mind. Hannah shared a powerful connection with him that went beyond the co-mingling of their supernatural abilities. He enjoyed her mind’s images and was satisfied when they dance through his. He pressed kisses to her damp forehead and collapsed alongside her, his breathing ragged.

“You are mine,
spatzi
. We belong together.” He drew her close, content with his lot in life for the first time in many years.

*****

Terror and darkness surrounded her as flames licked hungrily at the bonfire. The heat of the fire warmed her side. Frantically, she tugged on the chains that bound her to the wall. Her eyes watered from the smoke filling the room.

To her left Edwin lay crumpled on the ground. A pool of blood slowly spread
beneath his battered body. It reflected the fire. To her right the giant bonfire raged, the flames grew larger as shadowy figures continually fed it with logs.

Evil laughter echoed through the room. The whole pile of logs shifted
until it was under her feet. She screamed and tried frantically to free herself. The hem of her dress caught fire, the flames greedily consuming her body, her skin blistered with the heat, intense pain seared through her…

Hannah awoke the next morning with a start. Confused and disoriented from the dream, she blinked and came face to face with the furry body of a squirrel. It sat squarely on her stomach, as it examined her with beady black eyes.

Uttering
a strangled sort of squawk, she wrapped the blanket around herself. She scrambled over Edwin’s sleeping form to put his body between the intrusive rodent and her. “Shoo! Get out of here!” She fluttered a hand at the beast. It continued to stare with its cold black gaze.

Edwin grumbled and focused sleep-bleary eyes on her. “
What are you doing? If you didn’t want to have a conversation with the animal, why did you bring it in here?” Amusement wove through his voice to flood her mind with glorious watermelon color. “Why are you talking with the animal anyway?”

She smacked his naked arm, supremely satisfied at his grunt of pain. “I
didn’t invite it in! It probably came in through the hole at the top of the tree. The only thing I want now is for it to be out!” She glared at the squirrel, and emitted a squeak of alarm when it advanced a couple of steps. “Do something! It’s coming!”

He
rolled his eyes. “It is just a squirrel. It is not a mountain lion.”

Her heart slammed into her ribcage. “Are there mountain lions out here?”
She hastily got to her feet when the squirrel zig-zagged to the left on its little black feet, its nose wiggling. “Don’t let it get me!”

“Never, in my whole career as a bounty hunter, have I been
commissioned to capture a small rodent.” Edwin grumbled as he gathered bits of his clothing from the ground.

Hannah peeked over the top of the blanket as he skimmed his jockey
shorts over powerful hips. His drawstring pants followed shortly afterward, hiding his legs from view. She raked her gaze over the sculpted lines of his back. His dusky skin still showed a few scratches where she’d gotten a bit rambunctious last night. She sighed with remembered satisfaction. “Thanks for catching the squirrel.” She giggled when Edwin threw her a look full of exasperation. Yes, his sense of humor is coming along very nicely indeed.

Soon I can call him Snookums without any problem at all.

Not in this lifetime. That matter is closed.

She practically vaulted across the small space when the squirrel moved a
fraction of an inch. “Hurry!”

“One moment.” His sigh was long-suffering as he parted the branches that
served as the door and encouraged the rodent from the tree. “Mission accomplished.” He replaced the branches then approached her. “Ordinarily, I would collect my fee upon the completion of my task, but in this case I can make an exception.” He lifted an eyebrow and reached for the blanket.

Hannah clutched at the covering. She ignored the way her body executed
a meltdown as he nibbled her neck. “How very kind of you.”

“Come, Hannah. The squirrel interrupted our sleep. You have completely
worn me out after last night’s escapades. I am not a young man any longer.” He drew her down onto the ground, and wrapped his arms around her, spooning them together under the soft blanket.

“Edwin?” She worried her bottom lip with her teeth.

“Hannah.”

“What will happen to us once you find Andre and do whatever it is you
plan to do to him? Will you just deposit me back at my ruined apartment building, leave for your next job like nothing happened between us?” She hated to ask him at this point in their relationship, but a tiny niggling doubt tormented her. She might end up losing him after all.

“Must we talk about this now? Do you not enjoy being with me at the
moment?”

She frowned at the side of the tree, her chest tight with unshed tears. “Of
course I do. I’m worried about you. I’m worried about me now that my Gift has been activated again.” She shut her eyes with the hope her tears wouldn’t seep out. “I’m worried about what will happen if we’re separated and you can’t protect me. I’m terrified about what will happen if I accidentally kill you.”

“Do not
worry about things that have not yet occurred.” He dropped a kiss on the shell of her ear and held her closer. “Have you had a vision regarding our future?”

“No.” That one plaintive word sounded so small and afraid, Hannah was
embarrassed to have said it aloud. “Just the ever present vague dreams of death and destruction.”

“You are thinking about what happened in your past?”
He absently drew circles on her hip.

Tiny ripples of pleasure stirred in her
core. “You don’t understand. I was young and stupid. I’d ignored my gift until I was at a party one night.”

“Tell me.” His breath warmed her cheek. “Let me understand.”

Shame settled in her stomach like a boulder. “It was around Halloween and a group of us were goofing off in the kitchen. I had had a couple of drinks. I might have bragged a bit about having a Gift and abnormal powers. My best friend dared me to make the toaster move from one side of the kitchen counter to the other. I took her up on the dare because I was hopped up on alcohol and false confidence.”

“That is not so bad.”

“I’m not finished.” She swallowed a sob but continued with the tale. “I never tried to use my powers even though Gramma always pestered me to practice them for a rainy day. Because I was untried and because my mind was muddled, utensils of all sorts started flying through the air. The kitchen erupted into a madhouse. The knives in the butcher block levitated right off the counter. Unfortunately, the knives made a beeline for my best friend. All nine of them struck her. None of the wounds were fatal, thank goodness, but they did enough damage to keep her in the hospital for a while. Our friendship was over, as you can imagine. Actually, all of my friendships were over once word got out I was such a freak. In fact, they ran me out of town.” Her lips trembled. She felt compelled to confess all.

“That incident alone would have been bad enough, but for some reason I
was put on the paranormal radar. Fairies, imps, and the occasional hobgoblin paid me a visit. They usually tore things up or started small fires. I moved away, vowed never to use my powers again.” She turned in the circle of his arms to lay her cheek against his bare chest. “I couldn’t handle it if you were hurt just by being near me.”

Edwin stroked her back, the soothing motions meant to invoke calm. “You
were young and untried. You can feel the difference now. You will not harm me.” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “I cannot make you a promise regarding our future because I simply do not know what will happen. I do not want to break your heart,
spatzi
. I do not want you to mourn for me.”

Hannah sighed into his shoulder and her tears trickled onto his skin. “You
will never make me sad. Irritated, annoyed and disgusted at times, maybe, but never sad.” She squeaked with surprise when he gave her rear end a playful smack. His golden laughter filled her mind.

“Trust me, if we were not on this quest, I would take you home, lock you
in my bedroom, and never let you out until you were so tired of making love you begged for mercy.”

Her body reacted to the sound of his voice
and her nipples tightened. She shivered with pleasure as warmth slipped through her to gather between her thighs. “I never beg, bounty hunter.” She teased one of his dark brown buds with her tongue, and grinned at his inhaled breath.

Edwin claimed her lips in a gentle kiss then settled her against his chest.
“With you, I feel the darkness of my soul will never overcome me. You provide light where there was none.”

It wasn’t a promise, it wasn’t a commitment, but she took it anyway.

For the time being, she was content.

Chapter Fourteen

“I appreciate your enthusiasm regarding this matter, but might I remind you we still have a job to do?”

Hannah stuck her tongue out at his back as she followed behind
Edwin on the trail. “I thought conjuring that blue flame was nice, but this has got to be the coolest thing I can do!” She’d been practicing her levitation skills since early that evening at his request, with little to no results. He suggested she use the power of her mind to see what other energies she had at her disposal. She suspected he only wanted to keep her busy so he could plot out a new course.

The ability to use her power without fear amazed her. Somehow, during
the act of making love with the vampire, part of his abilities had transferred to her. Whatever happened, she had the new ability to make objects float. And she could conjure things beyond the organic. She hadn’t told him about the last part, yet, but couldn’t wait to find out what else she could do as an Enhancer.

“You’re such a spoilsport.”

“Be that as it may, if you want me to locate Corinne, you must stop proving to be a distraction. We are already two hours behind schedule as it is.” Edwin didn’t pause as he walked along the trail at a fast pace.

She
rolled her eyes. “I didn’t hear you complaining about being distracted when you woke me up in that particularly sexy way earlier.” She grinned. In the light of a small clearing, the red flush that colored his ears was all too evident. Edwin had kissed her awake around nine this evening, and then proceeded to make love to her a couple of times before finally conceding the need to continue on his quest. Her grin widened. There were worse ways to pass the time.

“That was different. I was trying to convey what I felt for you without
words. If that has become unsavory, I will forego showering you with attention.”

She glanced at his backside, disappointed he
’d chosen to change out of his hippie-style outfit in favor of his blue jeans and button-down shirt. It didn’t matter since he was knockdown gorgeous no matter what he wore. He was also being very touchy, touchy. “I have no complaints with your way of showing affection. You should know that.”

“It is gratifying to hear your glowing accolades in regards to my prowess
in the bedroom arts.”

Arrogant man!

Hannah scanned the canopy above her head for anything she could test her powers on. An oak tree. Perfect. She slowed her walk, closed her eyes, and concentrated on the ancient tree. She imagined herself as the tree, swaying in the breeze, reaching her branches up to the sky. She gently encouraged the tree to give up its bounty, and then opened her eyes. An acorn fell from the tree to hit Edwin on the shoulder.

Brushing it away, he paused on the path. He cocked his head to one side
as if listening for something. The next thing Hannah knew, hundreds of acorns rained down upon the bounty hunter, burying him to his shins in nuts. She laughed—hard—and circled warily around the vamp, met his gaze and laughed until her sides ached.
What I wouldn’t do to capture this moment on film. The expression on your face was priceless!

He
glared. “Was that absolutely necessary?” He stepped out of the pile of green acorns with as much dignity as a person possibly could in that situation.

“It was definitely necessary.” Her lips twitched. “The good news is I can
conjure things on a bigger scale.”

“Apparently.” Edwin brushed stiffly at the few acorn caps that clung to
his shoulder. He ran his fingers through his hair to dislodge the remaining debris, and cleared his throat, while his trademark long-suffering look anchored in his light blue eyes. “I would offer you these words of caution. When using your powers, there is often a kickback of sorts, especially when one is a novice at the art. It would behoove you to take cover.”

Her
laughter died in her throat. “What are you talking about? You never told me about that rule before.” His face gave away nothing. She glanced about, seeing only the dark shapes of trees. Nervousness played a cold march along her spine.

“Remember your impatience
when I was trying to teach you?” He shrugged and the corners of his mouth lifted as he pulled two acorns from the breast pocket of his red silk shirt. “You did not give me time to fully explain the rules.”

Before she could question him further,
a high-pitched squeaking sounded. She looked overhead in alarm. Black winged shapes filled the air, rocketing out of the tree to swirl about her, screeching.

Crouching down, Hannah wrapped her arms over her head as the bats
swarmed and flapped. Their wings stirred air on her face. Their nasty little claws reached for her, scrabbling at her hair and clothes, their screeches echoed through her head until she could do nothing but scream herself. Eventually, the bats moved off but she stayed huddled on the ground, panting. She kept her eyes closed, terrified there were more in the area.

“Perhaps you will listen to what I have to say in the future,
spatzi
. I do know a thing or two about your type of energies.” Edwin pulled her into a standing position and wrapped his arms around her waist. “The next thing you will experience is a short, sharp burst of pain. This will occur each time you test the bounds of your powers until you can master them.”

“I hate when you’re right.” She buried her face in his shirtfront, waiting
as her heart rate returned to normal. When she pulled away, she caught the smug smile that crossed his face. “It wouldn’t be so bad except you’re so annoyingly self-righteous about it.” A shooting pain began above her left eye. Gasping, she pressed a hand to her forehead and clutched a fistful of his shirt.

“I will not say I told you so
, but I did try to warn you.” He held her close to his chest, rocking back and forth as if she were a young child. “The pain will fade after a few moments. Take heart, though. Once you are fluent in your art, you will not experience it any longer.”

A minute later, the pain subsided, and she felt instantly better. “I promise
to listen to you next time.” She pouted when he released her.

He gave up a tiny smile
but said nothing else, and when he continued up the path, there was a jaunty spring to his step.

“What? I know you’re just bursting to comment.” Hannah stomped after
him since he obviously wasn’t going to slow down.

“I merely wish to compliment you on achieving that level of trickery. I am
impressed.” His smile widened. “I feel the need to advise you on one last thing. If you play another such trick on me, paybacks could be… interesting.”

She
wanted to smack that elevated eyebrow right off his forehead, but chose to pinch his arm instead. “You don’t scare me, Edwin the bounty hunter. I have seen you at your worst, and I like you anyway.”

“You have not seen me at my worst.”

She caught his hand, glad for the assistance up a slight rise. A mix of dirt and sand under their feet made movement slow. “You can’t be that hideous.”

“You will not like me when that day comes, I can assure you.” His
expression was grim as he glanced back at her. “It is a day I dread.”

“Why don’t you let me worry about that, hmm?”
His dramatics were wearing thin. “I’m pretty sure I can deal with it, otherwise I wouldn’t be with you.”

When they reached the top of the ridge, Edwin paused. “If I remember the
map correctly, there should be an unmarked path near here that will eventually lead to the oldest part of the forest. I believe we will find Corinne there.”

“How can you even know that? What makes you so sure she’ll be in the
old part?” Not waiting on his answer, She wandered further down the trail, drawn by something she caught out of the corner of her eye. It wasn’t much more than a faint twinkling, a glimmer of something just outside the periphery of her eyesight
. Maybe it’s a wood sprite.
She lifted a large fern frond, gasped and took a step backward.

She stared face to muzzle with a wolf.

With eyes glowing with an eerie citrine light, teeth barred in a low growl, he stood stiffly, crouching for an attack with whitish blond fur sticking up at all angles.

Crap!
Hannah didn’t wait around to see if he would spring. She turned and ran for her life, screaming as if the hounds of Hell chased her. Her lungs burned from lack of oxygen and her heart raced in double time. She crashed hard into Edwin as he bolted in her direction. The forward momentum was enough to pitch them both off the top of the rise. They tumbled down, crashing through bracken and ferns before finally sliding to a halt some fifteen feet below.

How much more of this can I take before I succumb to a future of drooling,
babbling retirement-home-dom?

Her
forehead ached, due to the fact that she landed on top of Edwin and cracked her head on his chin. She ran her fingertips over his face. In the low level of the forest, the dim light of the moon didn’t filter down. She felt no stickiness, which would indicate blood, and hoped that was a good sign.

Edwin sneezed. “Hannah?”

“Yes?”

“If you are quite done analyzing my facial bone structure, would you care
to remove yourself from my person?”

The mild amount of pain in her head and arm prevented her from giving
in to the streak of humor. “I will, once I determine my arm isn’t broken.”

“You are hurt?” Edwin sat up at once. Concern threaded through his voice
as he dumped her to the ground. “Show me.”

She frowned. All her work with
him had been for naught since it seemed he regressed into his arrogant, commanding self. “I’m okay. You were just lying on it.”

“Good.”

“Yeah.” Hannah sprawled on the soft ground, her skirt hitched up around her thighs, bodice slightly askew, twigs and small debris clinging to her body. She wiped ineffectually at a spot of mud on her hem as her mind dwelled on the possibility he was injured. “Are you hurt? I’m sorry to have landed on you. I can’t imagine that must have been comfortable. I’m not slim, and I gave you a pretty good smack on the chin. You’ll probably have a good sized bruise there as well.” Her nervousness transferred into meaningless babble. She clutched Edwin’s arms as fear clogged her throat. “It’s my fault we’re down here, isn’t it? I didn’t mean to act like that, but I got spooked by the animal, that wolf, and I—”

Edwin made a strangled sort of sound
in his throat. He lunged, pressing his lips to hers in a kiss that halted her words and arrested her insecurity. “Honestly, woman, I would have never brought you along with me had I known you to be a silly babbling female.”

Her heart slammed into her throat at the insult. “I’m sorry you feel I’m too
loosey goosey for you. I’ll strive to be a fine upstanding citizen like you next time I walk out of my life!” She tried to shove him away, but he pressed her into the loose sandy soil. His knee went between her legs, his hands on either side of her head. Her skin prickled with excitement or fear, she couldn’t determine which. “What are you doing?”

“Proving you wrong.” He lowered his head and proceeded to kiss all
reason from her. He tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth. “You are very, very wrong.”

A rainbow of color swirled through her mind to sweep her away with its
brilliance. “Wrong about what?” Hannah slid her hands to the back of his neck. She buried her fingers in his hair and released it from the satin ribbon.

“You think you are not good enough to be with me. I will prove you
wrong.” He skimmed his fingers up her legs, under her dress, to grasp her hips. “I will prove you wrong until you scream my name and agree. Until you say I am always right, and you are incapable of living without me.”

“Back to your arrogant, forceful vampy self.” She arched her neck when
he nibbled a fiery path down to her chest. “We can’t do this right out in the open!” The hint of danger skittered through her brain, to mingle with her excitement. She ran her hands under his shirt, sighing when she touched his hard chest, warm under her palms. “It’s risky. There’s a wolf up there.” She blazed her own trail of kisses over his abdomen, nipping and licking as the occasion demanded. The need for him outweighed the fear.

Growling deep in his throat,
he yanked off her panties. “Woman, you drive me mad with your constant gibbering!” He claimed her lips, exploring every centimeter of her mouth with his tongue. He slid a couple of fingers into her core to mimic the actions of his tongue until she panted with need. “Say it.”

Sweat broke out on Hannah’s forehead as she fought against the tide of
red desire that threatened to engulf her. “Never.” She gasped as he continued his relentless pursuit of her pleasure. He manipulated her sensitive folds until her body shook with urgency and need. “In the history of the world, a woman has never told a man he’s right. It’s against the law of the universe.”

Edwin
grazed a nipple with his teeth, biting and sucking through the fabric of her dress to bring her spine off the ground. He continued the sweet torment of her flesh, as if he were Sherman on a march through Atlanta, constantly increasing the pressure until she cried out. “Say it.”