Bitter Bite (14 page)

* * * *

Fuck, she’s right.
Gideon didn’t want to admit it, but Hannah had forced it out into
the open.

“Going after him might literally kill us,” he said to the shower
curtain. “Did you ever consider that?”

She swept the drape back. “What?”

He swallowed uncomfortably. “I can feel him, too, Hannah.”

She snorted. “I already knew that.”

“But he left to hunt down Brosius and the demon so you would be
safe.” Gideon needed her to know everything. If she went off without thinking
this through he’d never forgive himself. “You’re vulnerable. Human.”

“So are you.” She frowned at him. “And you’re not telling me
anything I don’t know.” Water streamed down her face, plastering her hair to
her skin. She looked like a goddess.

Gideon gathered his courage. “After we made love, he and I talked
while you were sleeping.”

Hannah nodded slowly, not looking at all surprised. “Okay.”

Yet again, Gideon wondered what had happened in her past to make
her so wary of men. Even now, after all they’d been through together, he could
tell she was still keeping secrets. “He didn’t let me know he was going to
leave, but I kind of had a feeling he might go.” Gideon sat down on the toilet
and put his elbows on his knees. Exhaustion made everything seem twice as
difficult as it really was. Even standing and talking was an effort.

“What did he say?” She’d stepped back under the shower.

Gideon watched the water run over her breasts. The sudden pressure
of his swelling cock against his sleep pants startled him. He still wanted her,
even in the midst of a semi-argument. He’d felt so twisted up inside after Alaric
left he hadn’t touched her. Hadn’t known if he was
allowed
to touch her
without their vampire lover with them. He thought maybe she’d say no.

That’s just your own insecurity talking.
He sighed, frustrated. “Alaric
said that Brosius, the vampire he hunted, killed his last surviving descendent
years ago. That why he’s been trying to find him.”

“So he could destroy him,” Hannah said, rinsing her hair. “That
doesn’t surprise me. He’d want to keep us safe.” Her voice was muffled, but
Gideon understood every word.

Gideon nodded. “And he said Brosius would become the hunter if
Alaric didn’t stop him first. Their hatred of each other has gone too far for
anything less than total commitment to mutual destruction.”

Hannah put a hand to her mouth, then let it drop. “That’s insane.”

“Yes.” He massaged the back of his neck, trying to ease the tight
muscles. “I don’t think anyone who’s lived as long as he has could be perfectly
sane, but even so, this vendetta is extreme.”

She ran a hand over her face. “We make him vulnerable, because if
someone hurts us—”

Gideon shrugged. “Yes. It hurts him, too. I don’t think he really
thought through the consequences when he bonded with us. He said the urge was
instinctive.” He stood up and touched her stomach. The last of the marks had
begun to fade. “These dreams aren’t really dreams. I know that. I just didn’t
want to admit it out loud.” He grimaced. “Because that would make Alaric’s pain
all too real.”

Hannah drew him into the shower with her. Gideon didn’t fight it.
He needed to be close to her too. “Make love to me, Gideon,” she murmured,
shoving at his now drenched pants.

He kissed her, groaning when her nipples pebbled against his
chest. “We shouldn’t.”

“He can sense it,” Hannah said.

Gideon nodded.

“Good,” she said, working the sodden cloth over his hips. “Maybe
it’ll help him.”

Gideon kicked away the fabric and pushed her against the wall.
“God help me, I can’t say no to you.” He licked down her jaw and bit her neck.
She shuddered.

“I saw him when he was younger, in the dream,” she said, gasping.
Her fingers dug into his arms. “I saw when his wife died. And when he became a
vampire.”

Gideon bit down harder, almost enough to draw blood. He knew
exactly what she was talking about. The dreams weren’t just about Alaric in the
present; they also showed his past, and parts of it weren’t pretty. “I know. I
saw it too.” He lifted his head. “That doesn’t make him any less a killer.” He
needed her to understand that Alaric wasn’t some fairytale boyfriend. He was a
blood-drinking immortal with superhuman power and strength. Alaric had gone to
great lengths to make certain Gideon understood what that meant.
Either for my own sake, or so I could help
Hannah understand him better. She didn’t see him kill. I did.

Her face went through a complicated series of expressions before
she finally frowned. “I know. I don’t care.”

“You don’t care that he’s a monster?”

Hannah dug her fingers into his arms. “He’s a survivor. That’s
more important to me than anything else. If he hadn’t been ruthless and
determined to live, we wouldn’t be here in this shower together, would we? We
would still be pining for the love that was right in front of our noses. The
love we were too afraid to reach out and grab.” She licked her lips. “He
brought us together. Alaric is the reason we’re here.”

Gideon stared at her face. She was serious. Her eyes, normally a
clear brown, had gone dark. Shuttered. Her secrets stood between them like a
dark curtain over her thoughts. It made him angry, and he had no right to be.
He’d always hated people who judged others, and here he was, turning into a
self-righteous prick.

“He’s been alone all this time.” Hannah slung a leg around his
thigh, breaking his thoughts and scattering them like marbles. “Maybe he’ll
sense us together and know he’s not alone anymore.”

I can’t stop this, can I? And I don’t think I want to.
Gideon growled when his cock slid
across her slick skin. She felt like fire and ice. He was so fucking turned on
he couldn’t make sense of anything anymore. He didn’t have the energy for it.
He picked her up and slammed her into the wall. “I need you, Hannah. All these dreams
are messing with my head.”

“Yeah. Mine too. It’s like falling in love in fast forward. It’s
exciting, but sometimes it makes you want to throw up.” Hannah wrapped her legs
around his hips and tilted her pelvis. She was so wet and ready for him,
Gideon’s erection slid right in. They both groaned.

“Jesus Christ,” he said with a gasp.

“There you go again, taking the Lord’s name in vain.” She slid her
tongue along his jaw.

He shuddered. They didn’t use condoms the first time, and he
didn’t use one now. Dimly, he wondered if she could get pregnant since the
consort bond changed their physiology.
I
would love that
, he thought, holding onto her tightly.

“Make love to me,” she whispered, kissing him. “I need to feel
alive. I’ve been so cold the past two weeks.”

“Damn. I’m sorry, Hannah,” he said, thrusting.

“Don’t be sorry.” She grabbed onto his hair and held on, making
sure he couldn’t look away. “It’s not you, Gideon.” She paused. “It’s not
just
you.”

He shook his head and fucked into her sweet pussy more slowly. “I
should’ve let us talk about this instead of cutting you off every time you
tried to tell me how you felt.” Maybe it was his own fault she kept her secrets
from him. He hadn’t shown her any compassion. Why should she trust him?

“It’s okay.” She tightened her legs and arms, and Gideon almost cried
at how good it felt.

“Alaric’s alive,” he said harshly, hips moving faster. He was
close. “I can tell.”

“I know,” Hannah said. “We’re going to get through this.”

Since when did she become the adult?
He felt both grateful and
chagrined.

“Faster,” she said, digging her heels into his ass.

I’m never letting her go.
Gideon slipped a hand between them and rubbed her clit. She
keened, and suddenly his body took over. His hips jerked and he came, feeling
half out of his mind with the intensity of it. He closed his eyes when Hannah’s
cunt contracted around him with her climax. Light flashed across his mind, and
then Hannah gasped. They were in a dark cave, chained to the wall. Red eyes set
into the stone across from them, from
him,
glared even as the pleasure
rushed through them. Gideon felt chains at his arms and feet. Abruptly he was
back in his own head with cold water pouring over him. He slid down the wall,
taking Hannah with him. They landed in a heap on the floor of the tub.

“Oh my God,” Hannah said shakily, clinging to him. “What was
that?”

Gideon held her tightly. “He must be suppressing the bond. That’s
the clearest sense I’ve had of Alaric since he left. I knew something was
wrong, but I didn’t know he’d been captured.”

“I don’t think the bond is supposed to be a full link all the
time. That would be impossible to deal with. That glimpse we had of Alaric was
so clear only because of what we were doing. Because we were making love,”
Hannah said shakily.

Gideon breathed harshly as the water washed away the evidence of
their pleasure. “Even so, I’ve been an idiot.”

She nodded. “Yes.” She smiled wryly. “Kinda. But that’s okay.” She
kissed him.

Gideon held her for a moment longer, then gently helped her up. He
stood and turned off the water. His body was confused. He felt sated, but his instincts
were screaming at him to hurry up and go. His muscles ached as if he’d lifted
far too much weight at the gym.

“Gideon, your arms.” Hannah touched his wrists, eyes wide.

Gideon looked down. Red streaks marred his skin. “Alaric,” he
murmured, staring. Alaric had been whipped with something that burned him.

“We need to find him.” She stepped out of the shower and grabbed a
towel. “We need to find him before something bad happens.” She wrapped the
towel around her body and grabbed another from the shelf.

“He’s immortal,” Gideon said, still staring at his forearms. He
shivered. He hadn’t noticed the chilly water while they’d been having sex, but
now he was cold. “He can’t die.”

“Not anymore, he’s not. He didn’t say so in so many words, but why
else would he leave and try to kill this Brosius creature on his own? He can’t
afford for us to die and we’re a lot more vulnerable than he is.” She took a
deep breath. “And we can’t afford for
him
to die, either.”

“He didn’t leave just to protect himself, Hannah,” Gideon said,
forcing himself to stop looking at his skin. Everything she said made sense,
but his heart told him there was more to it than that. “He
wants
to
destroy Brosius. Alaric’s been hunting him for over a century.”

“Is that so wrong?” she asked, handing him the towel she’d
grabbed. “He absorbed our memories, just as we’re now sensing his.” She shook
her head. “This bonding thing is much more complicated than I thought.”

“You’re not bothered by him killing people?” Gideon needed to know
how she really felt.
I kept away from her for all those years because I
thought she was an innocent. That I would destroy her if I got too close, with
my guilt and my hatred, but perhaps I’ve been selfish. She’s a strong woman.

“He’s killing an evil monster, Gideon. Not random pedestrians.”

“He’s killed people, too,” he whispered, hating himself for
pointing it out.

She stared at him for a long moment. “That doesn’t bother me.”

Gideon saw a flash of worry in her gaze before she looked away.
She’s
worried about what I’ll think of her? Why?

“Here.” She thrust the towel at him and left the bathroom.

Gideon followed her as he toweled off. “I don’t even know where to
start looking for him.”

“That’s okay,” Hannah said, pulling on a clean pair of jeans. “I
do.”

* * * *

An hour later, they stood in the middle of Hannah’s apartment. The
place had been ransacked.

“God,” she said, hand on her throat. She’d felt unsettled earlier
after the conversation she’d had with Gideon about Alaric killing people, and
this didn’t help calm her nerves at all.
My apartment is destroyed and
Gideon is pushing at me. He knows I’m hiding something from him.

“This is why I didn’t want you to come back here,” Gideon said,
staring at the mess.

She glared at him. “It’s my apartment. We should’ve come back the
moment Alaric left.”

“It wasn’t safe,” he said. “Clearly.”

Hannah sighed and kicked the pile of what used to be her favorite
book series aside. Most of the pages had been
eaten.
The edges of the surviving books were
charred, as if someone had tried to burn them and given up.
“This isn’t
a normal break in. My television is still here. And my stereo.”

“What are we here for?” Gideon asked. “Alaric didn’t come back
here. We’d be able to tell.”

She chewed on her lip as she headed for her closet. When she shoved
aside her clothes, she breathed a sigh of relief. The box was still there. She
dug the small cardboard container out of the corner and opened it. “I’m looking
for this,” she said, closing her fingers around a small silk bundle. She unrolled
the strings onto her lap, biting her lip as tears pricked her eyes.