Blood Hunger (An Adult Paranormal Romance) (Deathless Night Series #1) (5 page)

   
 
“Mm hmm.” Slapping his hand on the bar, he concluded, “A boyfriend! I knew someone as nice and pretty as you had to be taken.” He made a sad face, his bushy eyebrows and sagging jowls making it more comical than sad. “Though an old man could hope.”

   
 
Emma felt her face heat up at the compliment, and giggled. “Well, he’s definitely
not
my boyfriend. So, you may still have a chance.” She winked at him.

     “Is that right? In that case, let me buy you a drink...” Emma giggled again as he turned around, pretending to look for the bartender. She was glad for the banter; it took her mind off of her nervousness. “Actually, I don’t really know who it is I’m meeting here, other than the fact that it’s a man. Someone called me saying they had information about my sister, who’s been missing…” she dwindled off, not sure why she was sharing, other than it felt good to talk to someone.

     He scrutinized her for a moment with his cloudy eyes, and then suddenly they sharpened with recognition. “You’re Emma Moss! That’s where I’ve seen you before. And it’s your older sister, Keira, who’s still missing, right?” He nodded to himself. “I remember now. I volunteered on one of the search teams.”

   
 
“You did? Oh.” She gave him a sad, grateful smile. “Well, thank you.”

   
 
“They still haven’t found any new information, huh?” At the negative shake of her head, the old man shook his own sympathetically. “That’s a shame, darlin'. It really is. I’m so sorry.” He laid his gnarled hand on top of hers and gave it a slight squeeze. “My name’s Ned, by the way.”

   
 
“Nice to meet you, Ned
.”
Emma responded politely.

     He gave her a small nod in response, then his bushy brows furrowed down. “You don’t know who this is that contacted you?”

   
 
Emma shook her head again and took another sip of her drink. “No idea. I received a phone call right as I was leaving work tonight. All he said was to meet him here at 9 PM and that he had information about Keira.”

   
 
She looked up at Ned with an imploring look, feeling the need to explain. “I had to come, see what he has to say. She’s all I have left…” She trailed off again as the door opened behind her, and she saw the kindly bartender squint suspiciously at the newcomer.

     Glancing back over her shoulder to see who it was, she felt her breath rapidly leave her lungs in a
whoosh!
Good God. Who was that?

     The male who had just entered was every bad girl’s dream, and probably the good one’s too. She could practically feel her panties hit the floor, just from looking at him.

     Gauging him to be a little over six feet tall, he had dirty blonde hair that fell just past the top of his shoulders, choppy pieces giving it a careless appearance. Piercing blue eyes seemed to glow, almost eerily, with a life of their own, as he slowly perused the room. Clean-shaven, his slightly squared jaw was strong and confident. Sculpted cheekbones and a perfectly proportioned nose finished off one of the best looking faces she’d ever seen on a guy.

     Like, seriously. He put the Armani models to shame. Dressed in dark jeans, combat boots, and a long-sleeved black knit shirt…that did absolutely nothing to hide the lean, muscular body underneath…he was the most virile man Emma had ever seen.

     However, in spite of his Hollywood pretty boy looks, he had an almost predatory air of danger around him. It surged from him like an almost physical substance, permeating the room, as he stood casually just inside the door. Even the drunks on the dance floor sensed it, staggering as far away from him as they could get. This guy was trouble. With a capitol “T”.

     Emma was still staring in awe when his gaze swung her way, locking on to her and not letting go. She inhaled sharply as those eyes roved over her face, then her neck, and down to her breasts, lingering there for a few seconds.

     Lifting slowly back up to her face, they burned right through her for a long moment, like he was imagining her naked and knew she’d enjoy it. A hot surge of desire tightened low in her stomach, surprising her, and she felt a rush of moisture as her innermost muscles clenched in response.

    
Whoa.

     He closed his eyes then, and she watched him lift his nose slightly and inhale deeply like he was scenting something, or someone, as an animal would scent their prey. Lifting the corners of his perfectly beautiful lips slightly as he pierced her with those eyes again, he smirked knowingly at her.

     That smirk was like a slap in the face. What the hell was the matter with her? She gave herself an internal shake. A good-looking guy walks in and she reacts like a hormone-laden teenager, when she should be worrying about the meeting about her sister.

     She glared at the stranger.
Thank God he’s not the informant. He’s not supposed to be here until 9PM, and it was only…
Emma jumped down from her stool and straightened her spine as the Greek god started walking…no,
prowling
…directly towards her. As he got closer, she took a deep, bracing breath and steeled her spine even more, determined not to let him affect her.

     Nik arrived at the local dive a little early for his appointment with Emma. Since it wasn’t a personal residence, no invitation was needed, and he entered without any trouble. Pausing just over the threshold, he checked the place out, memorizing where the exits were out of habit.  It wasn’t hard. There were only two.

     He wasn’t surprised at the lack of a Friday night crowd. Places like this catered to regular customers who lived in the area. No one else would drive so far out of his or her way to get to such a small town dive. Assuming this was the case, he had told Emma to meet him here, knowing it wouldn’t be very crowded and they’d be able to talk.

     Continuing his scan towards the right side of the room, he found Emma sitting at the end of the bar. He let his eyes wander over her face and down to what he could see of her body as she twisted around in the stool to look at him.

     She was stunning in a simple sweater and jeans. Her hair fell in natural waves just to her shoulders, urging him to touch the bright strands, to see if they were as soft as they looked. Her cheeks were slightly flushed as she stared at him, wide-eyed, and her lips were slightly parted, her breathing shallow.

     He imagined her looking at him like that as she lay naked and open beneath him, gasping as he pumped into her hot little sheath. His eyes narrowed at the wayward thought, and he felt his cock instantly respond.

     As if she knew what he was thinking, her face reddened even more and he had to close his eyes a moment as he scented her body’s response from across the room. He couldn’t help it then, he smirked at her, and saw her wide-eyed look change to a glare in response.

     Was she angry at him, or at her body’s reaction to him?

     Nik allowed himself a moment more to enjoy pondering that question, before reminding himself of the purpose of this meeting. The thought sobered him instantly. He started heading towards Emma, watching her jump down from her stool to stand ramrod straight at his approach.

     He didn’t stop until there was less than a foot between their bodies, forcing her to look up at him as he loomed over her. She barely came to his chin; her slender form nearly half his size.

     His heart actually stuttered as his eyes roved over her face. Good Lord, she was lovely. Standing so close to her, her scent overwhelmed him, and it was all he could do not to scoop her up and take her with him, caveman style, back to his lair.

     “Hello, Emma.”

***

     Whoa,
Emma thought for the second time. His voice was bedroom sexy. Way better in person. Or maybe she’d just been too shocked to notice when they’d been on the phone for that brief time. Just listening to him say her name caused some very unladylike thoughts to jump, unbidden, into her head. Thoughts of popping buttons and tearing lace, and bare skin sliding on bare skin.

     She didn’t even wear lace.

     She stared at him blankly until, giving herself a shake, she pulled her thoughts back into the here and now. Jesus, what was wrong with her? She’d never been this affected by a man, not even extremely good looking ones.

     Annoyed with herself, she stuck her chin out and demanded, “Who the hell are you, and what exactly do you know about my sister?”

   
 
He looked amused, if a bit surprised, with her directness. “Well now, don’t beat around the bush sweetheart, just go ahead and say whatever’s on your mind.
“

   
 
Her unflinching stare didn’t waver as she waited for a response to her question.

     With a glance at the bartender who was still hovering around them, he suggested, “Why don’t we go find somewhere a bit more private to talk.” It wasn’t a question.

     Emma studied his too-perfect face for a few seconds, then nodded apprehensively once in agreement. Turning to grab her things, she gave old Ned a reassuring smile. He took her hand as she placed it on her bag. “Darli
n’
, you just give a yell if you need anything at all.” He looked directly into her eyes while he spoke, making sure he got his point across. “And you just let me know when you’re ready to leave. Alone.” He gave Nik a pointed glare. “And I’ll walk you to your car.”

   
 
Men were always offering to walk her to her car. Did she really seem that helpless?

     The beautiful male beside her tilted his head and looked at Ned with mild curiosity, like he would an animal at the zoo.

     “Do we owe you anything for the drink, old man?” he asked.

     Ned shook his grey head slowly, staring him down. “The young
lady
has already paid.”

   
 
Emma looked over at the newcomer just in time to catch him giving the elderly man a menacing smile from where he stood behind her. Fear for the old man had her turning back around to assure him she’d be ok. She didn’t know if that was true or not, but the elderly bartender was no match for a guy like this, and she wouldn’t have him risking life and limb because of her.

     She’d just opened her mouth to tell him so when he took a reluctant step back, the old bartenders
’
sense of self-preservation finally kicking in.

     A strong hand wrapped gently, but firmly, around her arm. “Good! Come on, Emma.”

   
 
Giving the bartender a last reassuring smile, she let him steer her towards an empty booth far from listening ears.

     He led her to her seat, and then settled himself across from her where he kept one eye on the kindly bartender. “Would you like another drink, Emma?”

   
 
“No, thank you.” She waited expectantly.

     “A bite to eat? Are you hungry?”

   
 
Her nerves strung out from the near confrontation at the bar, she leaned forward, getting right up into his face, and slammed her hands on the table. “No! I don’t want a drink! I don’t want food! The only thing I want is to know where the hell my sister is!”

   
 
Emma wondered where her own sense of self-preservation had gone, but her patience with this was at an end. If he had some information for her, she wanted it now.

     “Calm down,” he told her,  “and I’ll tell you everything I know.”

   
 
Sitting back in a huff, Emma crossed her arms and waited for him to speak, idly wondering where her sanity had gone.

     Leaning towards her in a much more calm manner than she had, he asked her, “Emma, do you have any inkling of who or what you are?”

   
 
What is he talking about?
“What do you mean?”

   
 
“I mean, what you are. What your sister is. What your parents were. And, more specifically,
who
they were?” Putting his elbows on the table and linking his hands, he drilled into her with those eyes, until she felt like he could see right down to her soul.

     “I’m not sure I know what you mean…” Emma hedged, genuinely confused.

     He continued to stare at her, his head tilted to the side, like he was listening to something she couldn’t hear. After a moment, he seemed to come to some type of decision. “Emma, you come from a family of very powerful witches.”

   
 
Well, that wasn’t exactly what she’d expected to hear. “Witches,” she repeated blandly.

     “Yes,” he affirmed with a nod.

     Was this guy for real? If her family was full of witches, don’t you think she would know?

     She should’ve called him back earlier, demanded more information before agreeing to meet him. Not that he had given her a choice. Clearly, he wasn’t a cop or any kind of detective. Mentally unstable was probably more like it.

     “I am so, so stupid,” she finally admitted. Disgusted with herself for falling for…whatever the hell this was, she grabbed her bag and stood to leave.

     “Where are you going?” He demanded.

     “I’m leaving. Obviously.” She spat back at him.

     “Emma, please. Sit down and hear me out.” He held up a hand, halting her. “Please.”

   
 
She paused next to the table.
I don’t know why the hell I’m doing this.
“Fine. But I don’t want to hear about whatever it is you think you know about my family. I want to know who you are. And I want to know what
you
know about the whereabouts of my sister.”

   
 
“I promise I will tell you all of that, but in order for you to fully understand, I need to give you some background about my people, and about your family, that you are apparently grossly unaware of.” He waved his hand at her seat. “Please, Emma, sit down. As much as I hate to admit it, I need your help, and you need mine.”

   
 
His tone sounded so sincere, it gave her pause. Slowly, she went back to her seat and sat down again, giving him a hard look. “Just so you know, giving me the sad puppy dog eyes will get you nowhere with me.”

   
 
His lips twitched. “Duly noted.”

   
 
“Ok, wiseass, tell me about all this stuff I presumably don’t know about. I’m listening.” Crossing her arms again, she leaned back and waited for him to speak.

     “Let me start over.” He paused. “Emma, have you ever noticed any strange things that happen around you?” Another pause. “It’s ok, you can trust me.”

   
 
Surely, her expression alone clearly showed how much she disagreed with that comment, but just in case it didn’t, she spelled it out for him, “What makes you think I would trust you with anything at all? I know absolutely
nothing
about you. I don’t even know your name! Although you seem to know quite a bit about me. Or at least you think you do.”

   
 
Emma had spent her entire life safeguarding her secrets from everyone except her immediate family; she was not about to give them up that easily. She didn’t care how hot he was. Or how lonely
she
was.

     He ran a hand frustratingly through his hair and started over again. He seemed to know he was totally blowing this. “I’m sorry, you’re completely right. My name is Nik, or actually, Nikulas. Nikulas Kreek.” He held out his hand. 

     She regarded that hand warily for a moment, and then hesitantly placed her own small one inside his much larger one. He closed his fingers firmly around hers, the skin on skin contact instantly causing electric pulses to run right up her arm, and straight down to her groin, where she felt a rush of wetness between her legs.

     Her eyes snapped up to his, and her breathing became hindered as their gazes locked. Her heart pounded in her chest, her blood rushing through her veins.

     She squeezed her thighs together to try to relieve the yearning between her legs that hadn’t totally gone away since this man had entered the bar, and was oh, so much worse now.

    
Really, what is
wrong
with me?
  

     He inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring slightly, and she watched as those strange eyes of his seemed to shine even brighter. The muscles on the side of his jaw bulged out as he clenched his jaw, and his hand tightened around hers.

     So. She wasn’t the only one affected by the touch. Good to know.

***

     Nik nearly groaned aloud as the scent of her arousal hit him, the thought of her wet and aching almost making him forget they were in a public place with watchful eyes. His body hardened as his blood sped up to match the flow of hers. His gums ached, his fangs descending, as he fought the need to pierce her soft skin. He struggled to get himself under control as he clung to her small hand, afraid to move for fear of what he might do.

     But then Emma abruptly pulled her hand from his, and at the loss of it he curled his own hand in on itself to try to keep the warmth of her there.

     Delicately clearing her throat, she repeated, “So, Nikulas, I ask again, who are you? Where did you come from? Because I know you’re not from around here.”

   
 
Nik discreetly rubbed the heel of his other hand over his throbbing erection and tried to concentrate on the conversation. “Originally? I was born in Estonia. But my brother and I, and some others in our family, have been here quite a long time.” He paused, contemplating how much to reveal about himself. “We actually live in Seattle, Washington.”

   
 
“And what brings you all the way here to PA?” Emma asked.

     Having discreetly readjusted himself in his jeans to a slightly more comfortable position, he focused again on her lovely face. “You.”