Bitter Bite (7 page)

“Exactly, Hannah. He’s beautiful, isn’t he? He could make a
stone-cold killer fall in lust.” Gideon sounded like he wanted to start
punching things.

Hannah’s heart tripped into overtime. “We shouldn’t be talking
about this, not with Alaric lying half-dead on my sofa,” she said, barely able
to breathe. Her pussy throbbed.

“He’ll be fine,” Gideon said.

“You don’t know that,” she quickly replied, not sure what to
think. On the one hand, the man she’d been fantasizing about for years had just
told her he wanted her. On the other hand, well …
Another, equally hot man
is unconscious in my apartment. A guy we both kissed not even an hour ago. This
is totally messed up.

“I do know that.” Gideon stood up and brushed her hair from her
shoulders.

Hannah couldn’t move. She stared at him as her pulse skipped over
itself. He leaned in and she knew he was going to kiss her. She’d never made
love, never even gotten to second base with anyone, but she wasn’t nervous. The
rest of her thoughts trailed away as he dipped down and touched his lips to
hers.

Dear God, he tastes like Alaric
.

Chapter Five

Gideon knew he shouldn’t be hitting on Hannah like this, but
Alaric’s kiss had eroded all of his self-control and he had years of need
pushing at him. He wanted Hannah with the desperation of a man denied sex for
two decades. He wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt so keyed up, but he couldn’t
seem to put his libido back in the box where he’d had it locked up for most of
his life.

“We shouldn’t be talking about this, not with Alaric lying
half-dead on my sofa,” she muttered.

Gideon half-smiled. “He’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I
do
know that,” he
insisted, standing up. He cupped her shoulders.
She feels so damn fragile.
He brushed her long hair out of the way before he tipped her face up. He had to
kiss her and he had to do it before Alaric woke up. He wanted this for himself,
and for once, he decided to be completely selfish. The moment Alaric walked
into his life he’d instinctively known that nothing would ever be the same. He
gently touched his lips to her mouth, then groaned and deepened the kiss,
licking inside.

She tastes like Alaric.
He
gathered her close. She was so tiny, he worried he’d break her if
he held on too tightly, but then she dug her fingers into his biceps and kissed
him back unhesitatingly.

I shouldn’t be doing this,
he told himself, even as he pulled her closer.
She used to be
my student.
His body didn’t care that he was over a decade older than her,
though. He wanted her. He’d
always
wanted her, even when she’d been a
high school student. God forgive him, he remembered her walking down the hall
in her Catholic school girl uniform, short skirt swishing past her thighs. He
used to hide in his office, praying his arousal would go away, but too many mornings
he’d ended up with an inconvenient and wildly inappropriate erection. Too many
afternoons he’d ended up in the bathroom, jacking off as he thought of her lips
wrapped around his cock or his fingers deep inside her pussy. Nothing could be
more sinful for a priest, let alone a teacher, and the torment of it had burned
at his conscience for years.

Who are you fooling?
He scoffed at himself.
It still kills you, how much you want her.
And you don’t deserve her. She’s a sweet, innocent girl and you’re dirty. So
very, very filthy.
He slid his hands down around her waist, reveling in how
small she was, and then he hauled her up against his erection. He ground
against her until she gasped.
But she’s not my student anymore. And she’s no
longer a child.

Hannah made another soft sound and touched her tongue to his,
trembling in his arms. Gideon groaned at the contact and kissed her like a man
dying. She was so damn sweet and responsive that if he didn’t stop right the
hell now, he’d soon be stripping off their clothes. He wanted to fuck her into
the floor. He wanted Alaric to watch.

Jesus, save me from this,
he begged, hips jerking into her for the sweet friction he
needed. Hannah shuddered and almost fell. Gideon wrenched his head back,
sucking air, and then he stepped back. His cock pressed painfully against the
placket of his jeans.

Hannah lifted a hand to her lips. “My God.” She stared at him with
her luminous brown eyes. “I never thought that would happen.” Her gaze shifted
to Alaric. “What are we doing? He’s sick and we’re messing around right on top
of him.” She looked away, obviously freaked out.

“Hannah.” He touched her arm, but she drew back. “I’m sorry. I
never intended for this to happen. Especially not like this.” He hated the look
of hurt in her eyes. “But I don’t regret it. I’ve wanted to kiss you like that
for years. My only regret is that Alaric beat me to it.”
And that’s the damn truth.

Hannah glanced at him and then her eyes slipped back to Alaric. “I
know,” she whispered, surprisingly.

Gideon nearly flinched. Her tone told him she blamed herself.
“It’s not your fault, Hannah. This is on me.”

She made a low sound of disagreement. “I’m an adult. I knew full
well what I was doing, Gideon.” She met his gaze head on. “I wanted to kiss
you. I wanted to kiss Alaric, too.” She took a deep breath. “And if that makes
me bad, so be it.”

Jesus, she has
courage
. Gideon was
ashamed of himself for pushing her. Her sleek auburn hair fell across her face
as she edged away. He remembered how soft it felt under his fingertips.
Stop this. Act like an adult, Gideon.
With effort, he turned his attention to Alaric. “We need to help him.”

She lifted a shoulder. “I know, but how? You didn’t want me to
call for help. He looks like he lost blood or something. He’s so pale.”

Gideon grimaced. “You’re not going to like what we have to do.”
Even the erection still shoving against his jeans couldn’t distract him from
the necessity of what they faced.

Hannah glanced at him. “I don’t understand any of this.”

He gave her a grim smile and dug out his pocketknife.

“Wait!” She grabbed his arm. “What are you going to do with that?
Are you nuts?”

Gideon pulled her closer to the sofa and then stabbed the point
into his palm. Hannah gasped and wrenched the knife away from him, but it was
too late. Blood welled up, then trickled down his skin to fall onto Alaric’s cheek.
He made a fist and directed the drops onto the vampire’s lips. “This is what he
needs, Hannah,” he said roughly. “He’s not human.”

* * * *

Alaric tasted nirvana. He swallowed, and then the world tugged at
him as if he were hurtling through a giant tunnel lined with color and heat. He
tried to turn away, wanting to go back to the dark sleep, but something pulled
him onward. Something fiery and deep and anchored to his long-withered heart.
For the first time in five hundred years, fear pierced his mind. Darkness
cradled him, but he no longer slept. No longer dreamed. He took a deep breath,
and then another. The air tasted … odd.

“It’s working,” a woman said, from far away.

Hannah
, Alaric’s memory told him.
Consort
.

“Of course it is.” A man replied. This voice, too, sounded like someone
standing on the other side of a wall. Unreachable.

It’s Gideon.
Alaric struggled to wake up fully
as anxiety dragged at him.
What happened?

More blood dripped onto his lips and Alaric licked it away
reflexively.

“That’s enough, I think,” Gideon murmured.

Alaric tried to speak, but his voice didn’t work. Emotions
battered at him, too fast to process: lust, worry, fear, and most of all, hope.
That was the strange one. The one that finally forced him to open his eyes.

Gideon and Hannah loomed over him like two avenging angels: one
dark and angry, the other small and sweet, but with a sharp edge that told him
she was likely just a dangerous as the ex-priest. Alaric stared up at them,
speechless for the first time in his long, long life. He sensed their souls pulsing
through their veins.
True consorts
,
instinct told him.

“Aren’t you going to say something? We saved your life, vampire.” Frustration
chased across Gideon’s face.

Alaric blinked. Coughed. “What happened?” His eyes darted around
an unfamiliar apartment. “Are you and Hannah all right?”

“You passed out. It was really weird. Gideon carried you to my
place,” Hannah said, frowning as she put a hand on his forearm. Whatever she
felt must have reassured her for her face cleared. “You look much better now.
Not all floppy.” She paused. “You
feel
better, too.”

Panic trickled through Alaric and he struggled to sit up. “Your
apartment?” He shouldn’t seem better to her. He should feel hard and cold.
Vampires didn’t give off heat like humans.
Sweet
darkness, we’ve bonded.

She nodded. “You weren’t making any sense, but we figured we
should get out of the club since you seemed so insistent on leaving.”

Alaric stared at her. Her mouth looked swollen. He turned to
Gideon, who wouldn’t meet his gaze. “You kissed her, didn’t you?” He sensed
Gideon’s worry thrown over the three of them like a thick, muffling cloak.

“So what?” Gideon turned back to him, hazel eyes flinty. “So did
you.”

Alaric nodded slowly. “So I did.” He examined the small apartment
before staring at the windows. Hannah’s feminine touch was evident in the
decorative pillows and pastel artwork on the walls, but flimsy curtains were
the only barrier between him and the burning sun that would rise come morning.
If he wasn’t mistaken, Hannah’s home faced east. Brosius would be coming for
him soon, too. It was unfortunate that after hunting his enemy for so many
years and coming so close to ending their feud, he’d suddenly become
vulnerable. Hunted, instead of the hunter. He sent out his senses, recoiling
when the sounds of the city rushed at him painfully. His hearing was twice as
sharp now that he’d tasted Gideon and Hannah’s blood.
And they have no idea
that we are now linked.

“You kissed
both
Gideon and me at Club Trinity,” Hannah said.
From her tone, she wanted an explanation.

Alaric ignored her. Trying to explain what happened would only
lead to recriminations, and he doubted they had the time to spare. “We need to
get out of here.” He tried to stand up, but nearly fell down when he got off
the couch. “We won’t be safe here for long.”

“Whoa,” Gideon said, grabbing his arms. “Easy.” The moment their
skin touched, arousal flared through Alaric.

“Oh God,” Gideon said thickly.

“What is it?” Hannah put her hand out and touched him, too. She
gasped.

Alaric’s eyes burned as heat he hadn’t experienced in centuries
swept through him. He’d almost forgotten what sunlight felt like on his skin,
but this was hotter than his long ago memories of standing on the beach at
noon. Hotter than fire. Suddenly, he no longer regretted the consort bond.
Gideon and Hannah made him vulnerable, but it was worth it, if only to feel
this alive once again. He turned to Hannah and pulled her into a kiss. She fell
against his chest, opening up to him so sweetly he wanted to cry.

“Alaric, stop,” Gideon said, grabbing his wrists.

Alaric fell back and pulled Gideon with him. Hannah tumbled to the
side, eyes closed as she rode the high their bond gave them.

“What’s happening to me?” she whispered, running her hands up and
down Alaric’s arm.

Gideon groaned and grabbed Alaric’s face. “This has to stop.”

Alaric laughed and dragged him closer, kissing him roughly. “It’s
too late to stop it.”
And I wouldn’t even
if I could.

“Fuck,” Gideon muttered as Alaric bit down on his neck. His fangs
descended and fresh blood slid across his lips.

“Oh my God,” Hannah cried, pulling at his shoulder. “Stop it!”

Her confusion crashed over his mind. Alaric turned to her and
kissed her again with Gideon’s blood on his mouth.

She tried to get away, but he wouldn’t let her. The moment she
tasted Gideon’s blood, she went limp, sighing as the rush hit her again, twice
as hard. He kissed her lips gently. Tenderly. He wanted her to feel how
precious a gift she and Gideon had just given him. They’d shared their humanity
with him. He couldn’t resist it. He didn’t
want
to resist it. She opened her eyes. Her pupils were dilated, black almost
completely swallowing her brown irises.

“God,” Gideon scrubbed at his face, but his eyes, too, were dark
with the high. “This is like smoking pot laced with sex pollen.”

“God has nothing to do with this, my dear,” Alaric said, pulling
him in again. He licked over the puncture wounds on Gideon’s neck to speed the
healing. His consort tasted like smoke and fine liquor. Sweet and piercingly
musky, at the same time. Alaric sighed as pleasure coursed through his body. Gideon
groaned and Alaric sensed he’d caught a taste of his emotions. Alaric shivered,
then turned back to Hannah and licked down her jaw to her neck.
She smells of cherries
. He hadn’t eaten
fruit in centuries.

“No, wait!” Gideon said, but he was too late.

Alaric bit down and Hannah’s blood flowed into his mouth like
sweet syrup. Gideon’s fear rushed through him, but Alaric didn’t stop. It was
too late to stop. It had been too late from the moment he nicked her lip during
their first kiss. If he didn’t take her blood into his body, they’d all die. He
sucked hard once, then licked the wounds, sealing her skin. When he lifted his
head, he was breathless.

“How could you?” Gideon asked accusingly.

“I had no choice,” Alaric said, swallowing the flavor of his
consorts. “If I hadn’t completed the consort bond, we would not have survived
this night.”

“You mean,
you
wouldn’t
have survived.” Gideon squeezed Alaric’s arms hard enough to break an ordinary
mortal’s bones.

Good thing I’m no
ordinary mortal
. Alaric
accepted the pain. He deserved it, not that he regretted anything. Not anymore.