Frost Burn (The Fire and Ice Series, Book 1) (7 page)

There were a thousand responses running through her mind. Instead of speaking, she found herself simply staring at him as she tried to figure him out. She was beginning to think it might be impossible to do so. “I don’t need your help.”

“But you do; you’re just unwilling to admit it,” he replied.

“I don’t
want
your help,” she insisted.

“And I don’t want to be stuck in this Podunk town, but I’m not leaving here until I’m sure you’re safe. We’ve all been through hell to make sure The Hunter line stays intact; I’m not about to let it all fall apart because of you.”

Her hands fisted as she fought the urge to claw his infuriating eyes out. The pressure on her jaw caused her teeth to ache as she ground them together. “I have friends in this town. I’m not going to leave them behind to be destroyed by a bunch of vampires because you’re too scared to stand against them.”

A strange flash of red blazed around the white band circling his pupil while the rest of his eye remained blue. It was the oddest thing she’d ever seen and yet strangely captivating. “I’m afraid of nothing and no one,” he growled. “But I don’t like putting my friends in danger unnecessarily.”

This time she was unable to stop her mouth from parting as his aura of power rose to a whole new level. It pulsed against her in vibrant waves that caused her skin to ripple and her mouth to go dry. His obvious care for the people standing around him caused his more lethal air to break through his steel exterior. Yep, there would never be any figuring this man out, she decided.

She would like to trust this group gathered around her, but she didn’t know them and she wasn’t going to bet her life on them. She’d made it this far by staying to herself; that wouldn’t change now.

“Then go,” she whispered.

He shook his head no. “Not an option.”

He was the most infuriatingly stubborn man she’d ever encountered, but as she looked around the room, she saw the same resolve on all of the faces surrounding her. They weren’t going to leave, and she wasn’t going to go with them. Her shoulders slumped as she glanced toward her bedroom.

“Your choice, but I’d like to get some rest now if you don’t mind,” she grated out.

“Not at all.” Julian walked over to her front door and pulled it open. He made a sweeping gesture with his arm to the others. “I’ll stay here.”

“You’re not staying here!” Quinn blurted.

That smile, no matter how adorable, really should be wiped off his face for a few hours. She could feel her right eye beginning to twitch when he closed the door behind his friends. “I’m not walking into the sun and bursting into ash either Dewdrop, so you’re stuck with me for the day.”

Now not only was her eye twitching, but she could feel a muscle in her cheek beginning to jump.
Control your temper
, she told herself. She couldn’t afford to lose control around this man. Too much would be revealed if she did. “You can’t stay in my apartment.” It took everything she had to keep the panic from her voice, but she couldn’t have him in here touching her things, learning about
her
.

“And why not?” he inquired.

“I’m not going to have a strange man I don’t know staying in my apartment.” She kept her tone reasonable but she hadn’t been able to keep an edge out of it.

“I didn’t take you as someone to be frightened of things.”

“I’m not, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let a stranger in my apartment while I’m sleeping.”

“Fair enough.”

Stunned by the lack of a fight, Quinn stared at his back as he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. She remained unmoving for a few minutes before walking over and sliding the deadbolt into place. She didn’t know where he’d gone, but she had a feeling he hadn’t gone far.

Julian lifted his head at the sound of footsteps in the hallway. He winced at the discomfort the movement caused his twisted neck. He’d managed to fall asleep for a couple of hours, but sitting on the faded, dirty blue rug, with his neck down, hadn’t been the best sleeping conditions. His body reminded him of that now.

Luther fought back a grin as he stared down at him with his hand resting against the wall and a bag in his hand. “Sweet dreams?”

“Bite me,” Julian muttered.

Luther chuckled before sliding down the wall to sit beside him. He dropped the bag in between them. “Chris assumed you’d appreciate some clean clothes.”

“Thanks.”

“Our newest friend didn’t like the idea of having you in her place?” Luther asked.

“Apparently strange men aren’t welcome in her home.”

“At least she’s not stupid.”

Julian leaned his head against the wall and draped his arm over his knees. He stared at the popcorn ceiling over his head. “No, she’s most certainly not stupid, but she is a rarity. She has far more power than any vampire of her tender years should.”

“Cassie level power?” Luther inquired.

“No one has that level of power. However, Cassie was an empty vessel waiting to be filled. Quinn
is
stronger than she should be for her age. Maybe she was a Hunter before she was changed, it might explain why she’s so strong.”

Luther shook his head and lifted his glasses up to rub at the bridge of his nose. “I spent all night pouring over books. I’ve called the only other Guardian I trust. Neither of us were able to locate a Hunter named Quinn who would fit her age parameters. Even if she’d lied about her age by a couple of years there is no record of a Quinn ever having existed amongst the Hunter line. She’s more powerful, but it’s not because she was a Hunter before being turned.”

Julian pondered this as he continued to stare at the ceiling. “If she’s lying about her age, it’s not by much. She’s a fledgling vampire; I can feel it. Is there any chance her family could have kept her hidden from The Commission and other Hunters?”

“There’s a chance, but I don’t see why they would. She would have been born before The Elders unleashed The Slaughter on The Hunters and Guardians. Born before we realized what bastards the members of The Commission were. There would have been no reason to keep her hidden.”

“So we’re back to square one.” It felt like a woodpecker had mistaken his head for a tree. He rubbed at his temples as he tried to ease the throbbing there.

Luther dropped his glasses back into place. “Perhaps she was turned by an extremely powerful vampire and that’s why she’s so strong.”

Julian shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“I didn’t think so, but it’s the only other guess I have.” Julian turned to look at the man beside him. Luther was the smartest guy Julian knew, if he was out of guesses then they were in trouble. “Chris thinks she’s trustworthy. She’s fearful of our intentions, and he thinks she’s had it rough, but she’s not malicious.”

“She’s not,” Julian confirmed.

“What did you see when you touched her?”

“A lot of death, blood, pain and screams, but she didn’t create it. She’s definitely experienced a traumatic and brutal past event.”

“You didn’t see anything to explain her existence?” Luther asked.

“No.”

“Do you plan to try and look deeper?”

Julian bowed his head and ran his hand through his disheveled hair as Luther asked him the question he’d been contemplating all night. “No. She’s not a threat. If it becomes necessary for me to search deeper, I will, but she should be allowed to keep her life her own, for now.”

“Maybe if you tell her that you’ll get the couch tonight,” Luther replied with a laugh.

“You could always keep watch tonight.”

“I think I’d get the couch, she seems to like me more.”

“I think you always get the couch when it comes to women,” Julian retorted.

Luther laughed and slapped him on the back. “Not always my friend. You’re just not used to being kicked out of a woman’s place.”

Julian shook his head at him, but after two years, he couldn’t deny he still found pleasure in moments of friendship like this. “I’m not,” he agreed with a smile.

Whatever Luther’s next words were going to be, they were cut off by the deadbolt being released. A second later the door to Quinn’s apartment opened, and she poked her head into the hallway. Her eyebrows shot up when she spotted them sitting there. “Did you stay out here all night?” she demanded.

“I did. This old bag of bones wouldn’t have been able to handle it.” Julian waved his hand at Luther before rising to his feet.

Delicate lines etched her forehead as she shook her head. “Are you going to stay out here for the rest of the day?”

“You may prefer it if I did, but I’m not walking into the sunlight anytime soon,” he replied.

She glanced at the other closed doors lining the hall before looking at him again. “You’re going to freak out my neighbors.”

“Sweet old lady across the hall, we exchanged pleasantries this morning.” His smile only earned him a scowl. He’d known many women in his lifetime, but she’d glared at him more in one day than any of the others.

Her attention turned to Luther before she took a step back. “You might as well come in again.”

“I have to get back to the motel,” Luther said and rose to his feet. “I need some sleep.”

Julian’s attention was drawn to her right hand on the doorknob and the faded red scar marking it. The scar ran across almost the entire back of her hand in a straight slit. Judging by how faded it was, it was about the same age as the scars marring her face. His gaze slid to her left hand. The palm was turned toward him to reveal a nearly identical scar running across it.

What has she been through?
He thought as his eyes darted back to hers. Her skin had become paler, her face drawn as she held his gaze. “Try not to ruin anything,” she told him briskly and stepped aside.

A lot of cracks about what he was sure was junkyard furniture ran through his mind, but he held his tongue. She’d kick him back out faster than she’d let him in. The command had also been her way of saying,
don’t come in and snoop around by touching my things.
His interest in her grew stronger with each passing second; he would find out about her, but she would be the one to tell him.

“I’ll see you tonight,” he said to Luther and stepped into her apartment.

Quinn stared at Luther before shutting the door and sliding the lock back into place. She gave him a large side step as she walked toward the kitchen. He contemplated telling her he could turn his ability off, but he figured as long as she kept her secrets he could keep a few of his own too.

***

Quinn had been hoping she’d be wrong, and he wouldn’t be sitting in her hallway. However, it hadn’t surprised her to see him there. She felt his eyes burning into her as she walked around him. She resented that he’d inserted himself into her life, but she had to admit he looked more delicious than any peanut butter cup right now.

His hair was tussled; a shadow lined his square jaw. The predatory glint in his eyes made her body quicken in response. She was supposed to be staying as far from this man as possible, not admiring him.

“Is your hair dyed?” she blurted. It was the most inane question, but it had been meant as a way to distract herself from the urge to jump him.

He ran a hand through his platinum blond hair. “Do I look like the kind of guy who would dye his hair?”

“You look like the kind of guy who would rip off someone’s head and use it as a soccer ball, so I imagine you’d be up for anything.”

A smirk curved his luscious mouth. “I can assure you Dewdrop, I’m not much for soccer, but I am one hundred percent natural. I was simply blessed with these abnormally striking good looks.” No one could ever accuse him of having no self-confidence or being shy, she realized. “I can always prove I’m a natural blond if you’d like me to,” he added with a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows.

There wasn’t one drop of saliva left in her mouth. As enticing as the proposition was, and she wasn’t above admitting it was
extremely
enticing, it could never happen. “Thanks but no,” she responded with more composure than she felt.

“Your mouth says no, but your eyes say yes.”

Her skin felt like it crackled as fury slithered over her. How he’d managed to survive for as long as he had without someone killing him completely mystified her. She may be the one to remedy that by the time she was able to free herself from him. “Believe me that’s not what my eyes are saying,” she bit out.

“Murder and passion are a fine line, no?”

“Ugh!” she shouted. She threw her hands up, turned on her heel and stormed into the kitchen. Peanut butter cups and Mountain Dew weren’t going to be enough to take the edge off, but she didn’t have to look at the windows to know the sun was still out. What she needed was blood and not animal blood,
his
blood. She shot him a scathing glance over her shoulder as she grabbed a soda from the fridge.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He leaned in the doorway of the kitchen to watch as she walked over to sit on the edge of the garden window. It was the one place in the apartment she truly loved. Even if she couldn’t stand in the sun’s rays without suffering excruciating pain, she could feel their warmth through the blinds on the window.

“How has someone not killed you yet?” she asked.

“Many have tried, all have failed.”

“I believe you.”

“You’ll learn that I never lie.” She didn’t have his or Chris’s ability, but she didn’t doubt him for a minute. He rubbed at his neck as he studied her. Dropping his hand down, he gestured to the bag at his feet. “Do you mind?”

“Do I mind what?” she inquired.

“If I change my shirt.”

“No, the bathroom’s through…” Her instructions died on her lips when he grabbed hold of the end of his shirt and pulled it off. Whatever she’d been about to say became lost in the rapid circuit fire of her brain as she strained not to gawk at him. His adorable sleep disheveled appearance became the least of her problems when presented with his broad, muscular chest. Those pecs were enough to make any woman drool, and forget about a quarter, those abs would bounce a brick!

The compulsion to start whistling and stare at the ceiling grabbed her. She would
not
back down from this man though, no matter how much she yearned to run her fingers over his pale, silken skin. The wings of his angel tattoo touched against his shoulder, the muscles it was etched onto flexed as he bent to tug another shirt free from the bag. He slid the maroon colored shirt over his head and tugged it down over the muscles she was doing everything in her power not to lick. He finally covered the body she’d found so unsettling just seconds ago, but she knew if she closed her eyes she would vividly recall every chiseled detail of that torso.

“Where did you get that couch, the dump?” he asked.

And nothing like his insults to douse the heat he’d stoked within her. “The roadside.”

He gave a small snort. “Dewdrop come on, you’re a vampire.”

“So?” she retorted.

“So you can still get things without having to kill people. Steal if you must, but living in squalor is below any of our kind.”

“I’m not living in squalor!” she snapped. Her gaze slid over her apartment, it wasn’t a mansion, but it was far from an alleyway. She had everything she needed. “I’ve worked for everything I have. I didn’t steal it, hustle anyone for it, or use my abilities to get it. Maybe you should try being a decent person sometime.”

“But we’re not people, Dewdrop.”

Frustration got the best of her. “Why do you keep calling me that?” she demanded.

He gestured toward the can of soda in her hand. “You’re still trying to be human; the rest of us have accepted our fates.”

Her fingers curled around the can as she briefly contemplated heaving it at him. The aluminum crinkled inward with a crunching noise that made him grin. “I accepted my fate years ago.”

“Not completely.”

“That’s awfully freaking funny coming from someone hanging around with a group of Guardians and Hunters. If you’ve accepted your fate what are you doing with them? Shouldn’t you be hanging out with your own kind?”

“
Our
own kind.” Quinn’s nostrils flared; before she could heave the can at him, he continued speaking. “It’s a long and complicated story, one I’m not much in the mood for telling.”

“And I’m not much in the mood for your outstanding insights, but I’m still forced to hear them.”

He’d stopped smiling as he studied her. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you, but not today. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Oh sure make yourself at home,” she muttered when he turned away.

She couldn’t complain too much, at least he remained dressed while he walked through her living room toward her bedroom. The idea of him in her bedroom unsettled her. At least she’d remembered to make her bed and toss all her dirty clothes in the hamper before opening the front door.