Courted by the Vampire (10 page)

“You think my concern over your well-being is foolish?” Hannah
attempted to jerk away, but he was strong and had many years of experience in subduing unwilling creatures. His biceps strained and his grip held firm. “I should’ve left you out here to rot! You’re a very ungrateful soul, Edwin. You could have been hurt, you could have been injured, you could have been lying dead somewhere.”

He admired her ability to give him a tongue-lashing under duress. “The
simple fact is that I am unhurt.” He stared at her red hair, slicked to her head by the rain. “I will remind you, I have no soul. Why should I feel any compassion for you?” He frowned, but most of his anger had dissipated as it always seemed to do when she was close. “You are an apprentice when it comes to tracking. You could have been seriously injured, captured, or killed. This is not a peaceful stretch of forest. I spent much of the time watching that werewolf I told you about earlier. He is not in the mood for friendship.”

She
twisted to glare at him. Her eyes shimmered with tears. “So, you’re telling me I have no clue? That I can’t defeat Darth Vader because my Jedi powers are still weak?”
You make me very uncomfortable, bounty hunter.

“I do not know what you speak of
, but believe me when I tell say you have much to learn. I heard you coming from a fair distance, especially when you tarried to socialize with that fairy.” He narrowed his eyes. “What is your fascination with helping the fey folk?”

“I can relate to their problems.” She quit struggling in order to dig her
heels into the ground. A very maddening trait.

He continued to pull her after him as if
she were no more annoying than a suitcase. “Your resistance will do no good.”

“Damn it, Edwin!”

He lifted an eyebrow when she wrenched her arm from his grasp. She teetered for a moment, arms wind milling from the extra kinetic energy, and then she landed in a mud puddle with a loud squelch. He opened his mouth to comment, but her frustrated cry interrupted him.

“How fitting. In your opinion, I’m so far beneath you I should be
wallowing in the mud.” Hannah smacked her fist into the puddle. Dirty water splashed around her.

“Get up.” He steeled himself against the tears that overflowed onto her
mud-spattered cheeks.

“Why, so you can preach to me again? So you can tell me, once more, I’m
only on this journey with you because I possess some sort of power which you need? That the only reason I’m with you is because you can use my alleged super powers?” She shook her head and wiped rain from her face. “I think I’ll pass, thank you.”

The heavy rain swallowed Edwin’s sigh of exasperation. “Why do you
think the worst of me? I have done nothing to warrant this animosity.” Pity swept the last vestiges of anger from his being as she sulked. “I meant you should get out of the cold water unless you want to get sick. As it is, we are both soaked to the bone with no hope of getting a fire started since finding dry wood is now out of the question.” He offered his hand, pleased when she accepted. He pulled her upright then set her on her feet.

“I thought we were partners.”

“Pardon me?” This is exactly why he did not need a female in his life. They did nothing but badger a man until he died.

Damn you
!

He remained silent as he helped her over a particularly slippery patch on
the ground.

Damn, damn, damn!

Edwin gritted his teeth but refused to stop.
I
am
damned, in case you needed confirmation of that fact.

I don’t need confirmation because I don’t believe you are.

He did not know whether he was more annoyed by her fisted hands or her continuing argument.
You cannot ignore what you have seen with your own eyes.

The only thing I’m ignoring is you and your
Eeyore attitude regarding your future. Don’t complain about it if you don’t plan on changing it.

“What the hell does that mean?” When she did not answer, he probed the
edges of her mind, but she firmly threw up guards. His grudging admiration grew. His human was stubborn, independent, and fiercely determined.

“If you want to talk to me, you may do so in a normal conversation.”

This time, when his lips parted in a grin, a laugh accompanied it. Without another word between them, Hannah crawled into the cave.

“At least I can dry out, sort of. I should have brought a change of clothes,
but someone was too impatient to delay his kidnapping plan.” She sniffed in the darkness.

And she was a champion grudge holder.

“Let it go, woman.” He followed her inside, banging a knee in the process. Pain spread down his leg. “I would remind you, once again, you were not kidnapped.” Silence blanketed the darkness. “We are both being childish.” Edwin settled himself as far away from her as he could. In a cave that was roughly ten feet long, it was hard to accommodate his six foot frame and he was very aware of her. “For what it is worth, we
are
partners.”

Hannah snorted but continued to stare at the smooth limestone wall. “I
don’t think so. You treat me somewhere between having to be handled with kid gloves and a child that needs to be taught her manners.”

He frowned when the air in front of her shimmered and danced. Now
what did she play at? “I have always treated you with respect.” He hated the petulant tone that crept into his voice. Annoyed at being ignored, he had no recourse but to watch the pulsing bit of air.

“It doesn’t matter. When are we heading out tonight?”

“Hannah.” He felt the shiver that shook her frame. When she gasped with surprise, his head shot up to find the source of her fascination. The shimmering air morphed into a blue flame to dance, stationary, in the air near Hannah’s foot.

Oh, damn.

She leaned forward to poke at the flame with a forefinger. “How very strange.” She picked up the flame and moved it about her hand like a magician’s trick. “I feel the heat, but it doesn’t burn me. How awesome is that?”

Her delight appeared in his mind in a kaleidoscope of color. “What were
you thinking about just before the flame appeared?” Edwin questioned softly. He suspected she had the ability to conjure elementals but doubted she would be able to do it so soon or with such intensity. Her destiny as an Enhancer could no longer be denied. Keeping her safe was imperative.

Hannah’s eyes reflected the small blue flame as she held it close to her
face. “I wished we could build a fire that was warm and didn’t smoke. I also remember thinking I like the color of your eyes when you’re not angry with me better than when you are.” She stared at the flame. Under her guidance, it grew bigger, stronger.

She
set the flame on the floor then held her hands out to its warmth. He envied her easy acceptance of the simpler side of her power. He wished he could have an ounce of her trust. “Hannah, I am sorry.” He edged his way closer to her, and then reached around her to grab his duffle bag.

“Sorry for what?” She stripped off her dripping shoes and socks in order
to point her feet at the fire. You’re not getting off the hook so easily.

Minx.
He rifled through his duffle then pulled out his long-sleeved shirt from the day before. “I am sorry for whatever I have done that upset you. I am sorry for everything I have ever done or will do in the future.” He held the shirt out to her. “At least put this on. It is dry.”

He thought she would refuse the gift, but then her eyes watered and she
snatched the shirt from his fingers. “What will you wear? I’m sure you’re just as cold and wet as I am.”

“I will be fine.” A tiny smile turned up the corners of his mouth. “I will
give you some privacy if you wish to change.” Before she could protest, he turned his back to her. A tiny finger of happiness tickled his ribs. The connection between them grew slowly and already he knew she left an unintentional mark on him. He ignored such thoughts and dug through his duffle bag for another shirt. Fabric rustled behind him, but he refused to peek. Her curves might entice him, yet he would not betray her trust.

“
Thank you again for…”

He grinned.
She watched him. With deliberate slowness, he eased out of his shirt to exchange it for a plain white tee of thin cotton. When he finally turned to face her, his smile deepened as he took in the shock on her face.

Does
he work out to get that coveted sculpted look or did the demands of his job hone such a wonderful body?
Hannah clapped a hand over her mouth, even though she hadn’t spoken aloud.

Curls of pleasure snaked through his gut at her reaction. “It is not polite to
stare,
spatzi
. And yes, my job is very physically taxing.” With some surprise, he acknowledged that he enjoyed receiving her admiration.

“Why don’t you come nearer to the fire? Even strong and stubborn
paranormal bounty hunters can catch a chill.” She smiled when he crawled over. “Isn’t that better?”

“It is adequate
, but this is infinitely better.” Edwin scooped her up as if she weighed nothing at all, to settle her in his lap. He slid his arms around her waist. “You are cold; I can see the gooseflesh on your legs.” He tightened his grip. “Our combined body heat will warm us both.”

*****

Warmth was definitely not Hannah’s immediate concern. In such an intimate setting, with such a handsome, dangerous man, the likelihood she would combust into flames was high. Every nerve ending in her body was in a state of heightened awareness. “Uh…I…” She swallowed around a ball of nerves and glanced into his icy blue eyes. Once again, she teetered on the edge of the precipice. She wanted to ask questions, to tap into his thoughts but exhaustion was too strong, and the touch of his fingers too distracting.

“You look
as if something is on your mind. Please feel free to share.” He brushed his fingers along her ribcage.

She wrenched her gaze from his to focus on a heavy platinum band
on the fourth finger of his right hand. The foreign words and symbols piqued her interest. “What does the inscription on your ring say?”

He held her closer in order to glance at the ring. “It is an ancient prayer of
protection from my Hungarian relatives. My great-grandfather gave it to my father when he first set out in the family business. My father gave it to me when I embarked on my own.”

Hannah leaned her cheek against his chest. The close contact sent her
senses into a tailspin. She inhaled the male scent of him and stifled a sigh. It had been a long time since someone held her. That connection set her at ease. “Since you’re still alive and in one piece, the prayer must work.” She drifted her fingers over his arm, ever conscious of the raw strength he possessed. It sizzled just beneath the surface, always waiting. She shivered. What would happen if he released that power on her? “Can you please clarify for me why I was able to conjure up a fireless flame?”
Or why I feel your every emotion in my mind?
Anxiety crawled through her stomach. What else could she receive from him without being conscious of it?

“It is a relatively simple process. You were very relaxed. You used your
Enhancer powers to project the object you were thinking about and it came to fruition. This is a basic concept for those with your ability and I would caution you to practice whenever you can.”

She pushed her lips together in a frown as her mind spun with
possibilities.
I must have been asleep when they were teaching Conjuring 101.
Edwin chuckled but didn’t say more. The rain came down in a steady curtain that lulled Hannah into a woozy sort of complacency. She burrowed her cold nose against his shirt. “When do we leave this evening?”

He
swept his fingers over the curve of her arm. “We will postpone the quest until tomorrow night, when it stops raining. I do not fancy tracking in the dampness again.”

Relief warmed her insides, but the rumbling of her stomach reminded her
of where they were. “If I could conjure a flame, do you think I could summon something to eat?”

She heard
his laughter long before it left his throat. “I hardly think so. You can only conjure elementals.” He set her aside to rummage in his bag once again. “I apologize that you are hungry. I did not plan the trip very well. I am used to traveling alone.”

“It’s okay.” Hannah shrugged. She stretched out in front of the friendly
blue fire. “I guess the chance of conjuring a cheeseburger is out of the question.”

“Unfortunately, you are correct.” His eyes were sad as he came away from
his bag empty handed. “I do not have even a crust of bread to offer you as sustenance.”

Her heart did a little flip at the earnestness in his voice. “Don’t worry
about it.” The fang business needed to come out in the open. “When you are alone, what do you eat? Do you hunt your food in the forests you travel through? Do you pounce on unsuspecting victims in the cities? Snack on a lawyer or two?” She laughed at her own joke, but the notes died quickly when he only blinked at her.