Aiden's Betrayal (5 page)

“
Everything okay?” She grabbed his hands wishing she could comfort him, wishing she could smooth out the worry lines creasing his forehead.

He finally
looked into her eyes and spoke after what seemed like forever. “I’m sorry, Elle. I should've known better than to get involved.”

Of course.
“I understand your work comes first. You save lives. There’s no reason to apologize for that.”

His gazed darted away before he looked at her with regret.
“That’s not why I’m sorry. I’ve put you in danger with my carelessness.”

She attempted to swallow the large lump in her throat. When Anya told her she needed adventure, danger
never came to mind.

“
What do you mean by danger?” Maybe he lied about being a cop. After all, Elle had never seen a cop who looked as sexy as him and surely not one who showed interest in a boring, overweight girl.

M
ore than one scenario fluttered through her head and she started to shake. What if the criminal he was supposedly searching for was really him? She should've stayed home.

Aiden held his hands up.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Elle. You’re in danger because I’ve been tracking a murderer who it seems is also tracking me. I was supposed to be working tonight and I fucked up.” Grabbing her hands, his gaze seemed to look straight through her. “He saw me tonight. With you. I’m afraid you could be his next target.”

Murderer.
His next target?
Her throat closed. Shaking her head, she stepped back only to bump into someone else. She jumped and nearly ended up back in Aiden’s arms. Her parents were murdered.  Elle couldn't handle knowing someone was after her.

Moving through the crowd
, she searched for Anya as the crowded club closed around her. Suddenly she couldn’t move without touching someone. What if the murderer was still watching them? What if he was waiting for her to bump into him? The door! She ran for the door at full speed. Outside, she took a deep breath.

Aiden stepped in front of her and she went into his open arms.
“I’ll keep you safe, Elle. Nothing and no one will harm you.”

The warmth of him and his words seeped in to rid the cloud of fear choking her. She needed her best friend.
“Please find Anya. I can’t go back in there.”

“
I didn’t see her but I’m calling Nicolas now.” Aiden didn’t sound happy.

“
No answer.” He gripped her hand and pulled her toward his black SUV.

Elle
looked at her phone and saw a text from Anya. “She text me that she was home. Alone.”

“
Good. We have to go now.” His worried voice hit her hard.

This couldn't happen to her.

His lips met hers before he reached across her lap to buckle her seat belt. “I'll protect you. Calm down.”

His words sent a wave of relief through her body and she took a deep breath. It surprised her at how calm she felt and how much she trusted him to protect her.

****

Nicolas didn't miss a call
because Aiden didn't call him. While Aiden hated to deceive Elle, sex had never been a suitable excuse when competing against their job. If Nicolas has gone rogue, it was reason enough. Not that Aiden would chance communicating to his cousin with Elle at his side.

At least he knew that her friend was safe. Not only did she text Elle but she wasn't redheaded like the victim.

Elle had no way of knowing how much danger Aiden put her in. A vampire turned rogue hunting her?  An animal that cared for nothing but the kill?  It would be unfathomable.

Could Nicolas really be the rogue?

Protecting Elle became Aiden’s new goal. So the attraction he felt for her had to stay just that. An attraction. Aiden hadn't felt anything for a female in a long time. Maybe their attraction was merely about getting laid. Sex was fun but a relationship with a human couldn’t work.

Aiden
kept telling himself that.

The ride to Elle's home
was too quiet. He tightened his grip on the wheel until his knuckles turned white. Her arousal filled the confined space and had him itching to pull over and take her right there. But he had to stay focused.

“
I think it’s best if you pack some things. We'll find a place to stay until this blows over.

“
I want to stay home. I have to work.  And I guess I’ll need to cancel reservations.” Elle’s face dropped.

Looking at her eyes on the verge of tears
and her lip poked out in a slight pout, how could Aiden tell her no? “Okay, we’ll stay here. Stay in the car until I check the area,” he said as he pulled into her driveway.

He moved out of the vehicle and glanced at her one last time.

Locking the doors, Aiden walked around the outside. Sniffing the air, he caught no scent of a rogue. He hurried back to get Elle inside the house.

When he stepped through the door
, a shaggy black dog came running up to him, barking and growling. The dog would be an inconvenience.

“
Princess!” Elle bent down to grab the dog’s collar. “What’s wrong with you?” She turned back to Aiden. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with her. It’s unlike her to act that way. I’ll take her upstairs.”

D
on’t worry. She’s only barking because I’m a vampire. No problem.
Aiden watched Elle's perfect ass bounce and wiggle as she tried to get the dog up the stairs. Clearly there would be no chance of the dog trusting Aiden. Dogs usually didn’t care for his kind.

“
I’ll be just a minute!” Elle yelled from up the stairs.

Damn. He thought about her dress slipping off her shoulders to be discarded on the floor. No, that didn’t seem like Elle. Slowly, she’d slip the dress off and lay the silky fabric neatly on the bed.

The shower came on. His mind over flowed with her dripping wet body. He wanted so badly to be the water flowing over her soft skin. His cock tightened and he tried to refocus his thoughts.

It
didn’t help matters ten minutes later when she sauntered down the steps barefoot in lounge pants and a midriff t-shirt. Fuck him. If he thought she looked sexy in the red dress, her simple clothes beat that by a long shot. He spied her creamy skin as she clipped her hair up.

He stood frozen, unable to take his eyes off her. Before he could think or stop himself, his arms wrapped around her,
their lips connected and he lost it. Her tongue invaded his mouth and he tossed his self-control out the window.

For the second time tonight, he had her backed against the wall with her legs wrapped around his waist. He growled when his cock stroked against her.

Her hands slid under his shirt, stroking his back as if taming a lion.

He pressed his forehead against hers, their breaths mingl
ing together. “We shouldn’t be doing this.” No matter how damn bad he needed her.

“
Maybe not.” She nibbled his chin.

Holy shit that felt good.
Her teeth had been gentle at first then she bit hard, causing his hips to thrust forward.

He kissed her hard as he shoved her shirt up. She moaned against his mouth
as he bent down to take her hard nipple in his mouth. Another moan and he knew he needed inside of her soon. Holding her with one hand on her ass, Aiden slipped his free hand between them, inside her loose pants.

His fingers found her pussy soaking wet
just like before. Without giving her warning, Aiden pressed one finger then two inside of her. Even slick with arousal, his fingers stretched her. “You're so tight.”

Aiden feared he'd hurt her if they had sex. The only emotion he wanted to see on her face
was pleasure, not pain. He pulled his fingers out and slipped his hand out of her pants.

He lifted his fingers to his lips then sucked her essence from them.

Big blue eyes watched him intently as they grew wide with shock and her breaths quickened.

“We'll go to your room, which way?” Aiden needed more of her.

She lifted her hand to point up the stairs.

Thump.
A finger against her swollen lips, Aiden lowered her to the ground then pulled away. He listened to the footsteps on the porch then heard a click.
Someone was here.
He eased toward the hall and peeked around the corner where he only saw one shadow.

The rogue outside had to be a lesser vampire, not Nicolas.
Damn his luck.
Quietly he moved back to Elle as she watched him. How did he kill the rogue without her seeing? No way would he win any points by decapitating a monster in front of her.

Leaning close, he whispered in her ear.
“I need you to go upstairs and wait for me to come for you. Okay?”

She nodded, but her hands fisted his shirt tight
ly. Letting her go had to be the hardest thing he’d ever done and the notion quickly made him feel ashamed. He felt as though he was betraying Luciana by feeling so protective of another woman. Another human.

“
I’ll keep you safe. I promise.” Elle started to protest before he nudged her up the stairs.

With her gone
, he unsheathed his special made daggers, large enough to take down his target and small enough to conceal. Along the blade’s edge, sharp teeth lined the edge to the tip and the blade split to form a sharp hook.

The door splintered when the rogue gave up picking the lock
and red eyes locked onto Aiden as he crouched in a fighting stance and waited.

T
he rogue grew impatient and rushed him.

Aiden dodged, ducked,
then swept the rogue’s feet from under him. With the rogue down, he swung his dagger to slice smoothly through the neck.

His target executed, he started toward the door
as a sharp burn speared his back, knocking him to the floor. Aiden should've known the kill came too easily. Recovering quickly, he jumped to his feet but blood seeped from his wounds too fast for comfort. Weakness slowed him, but not enough to keep him from protecting Elle.

Just as Aiden was regaining his strength, he caught si
ght of Elle.  Son Of A Bitch! Elle snuck behind the rogue like she had some kind of plan. He swiped his dagger at his opponent, hoping the rogue didn’t catch sight of her. Aiden tried to see what she had in her hand.

Th
e second rogue fought with more skill than the first and Aiden could see the real battle was just beginning.

If Aiden weakened anymore, he'd have no way of beating the second rogue on his own. With his last
burst of strength, he advanced on the rogue.

****

Elle crept behind the intruder. Although her blood ran cold at the sight of him, she cast her fear aside, drawing on anger instead and shot him in the neck with the taser. Aiden jumped him at the same time and her heart froze.

The man didn’t collapse!
He just stood there like a stone wall, his narrowed eyes the color of rubies watching her, right before razor sharp fangs appeared.

Her worst nightmare stood before her
.
A vampire.

He lunged and
Elle stumbled backward onto her ass, blood encompassed her. The rancid smell of copper and rotting flesh invaded her senses as another vampire lie decomposing before her eyes. Two of them in her home? Aiden yelled at her, but she couldn’t hear anything over the pounding of her heart in her ears.

Thin lips lifted into a grin, giving her an up-close and personal look at blood stained daggers.
Elle grabbed her throat as if to protect her exposed flesh and shuddered at the thought of the creature piercing her neck.

In one abrupt movement, the vampire
was wrenched backward as Aiden seized him by the throat. He oozed with power as he held the vampire dangling in the air, never flinching as the vampire struggled uncontrollably in his solid grip. Turning his back to her helped Elle see the wound causing Aiden's pain.

He needed her help and she didn't let him down. Elle spotted a dagger only a
n arm’s reach away. She slowly maneuvered her body over the blood, forcing herself to hold her food down as she grabbed the dagger. The blood ate through her clothes but she ignored the burn as she surged to her feet then onto the vampire giving him no time to stop her. The blade pierced into his back with ease, but didn't bring him down.
What did she have to do to stop him?

Her heart dropped with disappointment until
she saw Aiden thrust another dagger through the vampire’s heart. He finally fell, body twitching, but far from dead. His arms flailed and teeth snapped in a last attempt to kill his target.

Aiden glanced over at her, his face drawn back in physical pain and regret.
“It has to be done,” he warned before taking his opponent’s head.

Her stomach rolled and her head spun
and Aiden shifted toward her as she fell into his open arms and darkness enveloped her.