Hunter by Night (14 page)

Good.
So
good.
He buried his face in the crook of her neck. His fangs were still extended. He wouldn’t drink from her again. He couldn’t. He just wanted to be close to the tick of her pulse.

He breathed her scent, like fresh rain and sweat. Her honeyed blood.

“Lee. Oh God, Lee!” Short gasps of breath. Her legs tightened, her muscles squeezed his shaft. Her sweat-slicked body trembled and writhed, meeting him with every thrust.

He slid his hand over the softness of her stomach, tracing with his thumb through the thicket of curls between her legs. He moved in small circles over her clit, pulling a delightful symphony of whimpers and moans from her throat. “God, yes. You’re so fucking gorgeous. Come for me, Lexi.”

He rested his forehead on her shoulder, focused on getting her off and avoiding the temptation of sinking his fangs into her lovely body. So close. So goddamned close, and he ached all over. He needed her to be the one to come first.

“Lee… Yesss.”

Her orgasmic cry brought his head up. He needed to see her face.

Eyes glazed in ecstasy, she reared up and sank her teeth into his arm. Lee cried out from the surprise, the pain, and the thrill of Alexia’s human teeth sinking into his skin.

Alexia gasped at the sensation of her teeth sinking into Lee’s solid muscle.

Lee roared his release, pulsing hot and hard inside of her. His skin gave way under her teeth as the aftershocks of her orgasm rocked her body.

He thrust hard one last time, creating a good ache in her belly before he stilled. All at once, Lee’s massive body was remarkably tense for a guy who had just gotten his rocks off. His head turned toward the uncovered window. “Wait. There’s a full moon. Are humans fertile during the full moon?”

What? “Not even. Why, what’s wrong?”

No answer.

“Lee. What?”

He straightened so fast he pulled out of her, tugging his pants up in one quick jerk.

She sat up quickly in the chair.
Ow.
“What’s the problem?” Even though she was vulnerable and exposed and suddenly chilly, she made a point not to curl up or cover to hide her nudity.

As buttoned up as Lee was, she should have known he’d freak. Alexia refused to apologize for what they’d done. Instead, she planted her hands on either side of the chair and stood, moving toward him slowly like he was a trapped bear.
Easy, big fella.

He backed against a wall papered with little mauve flowers. He finished fastening his pants and gained control of his breathing. He brought his hand to his arm, to the place she’d bitten him only a minute ago. No blood there, but she’d left a mark.

Oops. Damn. Really, what had she been thinking? She shook her head. “Yeah, sorry. I got carried away.” She glanced out the window at her barely there, runny reflection. Heat rushed to her cheeks. “It seemed like you didn’t mind.” It hadn’t seemed that way, but now, of course, he was being all Sketchy McSketcherton.

Did he just shiver? The moonlight coming in through the window caught his eyes with a dramatic twinkle. “Anyway,” she said, “if you did, sorry.” Looking at it sort of logically now, she’d think maybe a vampire wouldn’t mind taking a tumble with a girl who liked to nibble on her lover. But logic and Lee didn’t always seem to apply where she was concerned.

“It’s fine.” His breath slow and steady now, shoulders back against the wall like everything was normal. Were he not shirtless, ripped abs and help-me-Jesus pectorals shiny with sweat, perhaps he could have pulled off normal and fine. Not so.

She bit her lip. “Uh, stupid question. You can’t… turn me or anything, right? I mean we’ve swapped an awful lot of fluids so I thought I’d make sure.”

He chuckled low in his throat. “Of course I can’t turn you. Humans are born human. Vampires are born vampire.”

The corner of her mouth lifted again. “Sure. Yeah. I was kidding. Mostly.” Not that she hadn’t gotten aggressive in bed before. It was just that the urge to sink her teeth into him had taken hold of her and that craving had been so
very
intense. What she’d wanted was to bite his throat. She’d wanted another taste of his blood.

Frankly, that kind of urge had freaked her out.

His eyes softened. “You probably acted on my urge to bite you. The strength of our blood tie is why you were so compelled. At least, I believe so.”

“Huh. Weird.” She pressed her lips together. She definitely looked forward to whenever that blood-tie thing would fade. A little rough sex was one thing, but she didn’t want to go around craving blood.

He nodded slowly. “This is unfamiliar. Human blood must bond differently than the way vampire blood does. Maybe the number of times we’ve shared tonight boosted the effect. It’s obviously not something I’ve thought about before. Either way, this intensity seems unusual.” He rubbed his forehead and dropped his head against the wall. He glanced out the window again. “Lexi, you’re sure human fertility isn’t affected by the phases of the moon?”

She shook her head and laughed. “Oh my God, what a revolting thought.” She frowned. “That’s how it works with vampires?” She put her hands on her hips, looking around for her pants. “God, I couldn’t imagine every human woman on the face of the planet hitting her time of the month the same week. Think of the chocolate shortages.”

He cocked his head, brows pulled tight. Confused. Of course.

She pulled on her
ohthankyoujesus
dry pants and shirt, holding her torn bra aloft. “Thanks for this, by the way. Do you
know
what Victoria’s Secret charges these days?”

No answer to that joke, either. Not that she expected one.

“Lucky for you my boobs aren’t that big.”

An exasperated sigh.

Great. So this was gonna be weird. “I’m on the pill,” she said finally. His irritation was clearly ratcheting over the fact that she hadn’t answered the bizarro fertility question. Best to put him out of his misery. When his face remained blank, she added, “Birth control. Surely you’ve heard of it in seven hundred years.”

He nodded finally.

“Or maybe you don’t know as much about humans as you think you do,” she said. Sure, it wasn’t the most mature thing to say, but he was harshing her afterglow. And at least she didn’t do the “I told ya so” dance.

Silence from Lee.

“You don’t know as much about
me
as you think you do.”

“I’m getting there.” Was that a smile? It was tough to read his face with all these shadows, and the vibe right now was so strange.

He took a deep breath and Alexia spotted something she hadn’t seen before. On his rib cage, where the shadow of his arm nearly covered the marks, two dark circles. Or were those hearts? “Wait, I didn’t know you had tattoos.”

She took a step forward but he moved away, restlessly grabbing for his shirt. “It’s more of a mark of remembrance.”

Alexia wanted to ask. She was dying to ask, but the icy tremor that shimmied through her kept her jaw clamped tight. This was something painful, and she couldn’t bring herself to pry. That ghost of emotion told her it wouldn’t go well. She focused instead on pulling herself together.

She was lacing up her boots when he said, “My mother and sister. They were killed by humans during the plagues.”

Oh. Shit. Her heart and lungs took a pause while she absorbed that info. Hadn’t she heard a rumor around the estate about his mother dying in childbirth? Whatever she’d heard, it must have been wrong.

She took a deep, steadying breath. “So this is the real reason you hate humans.”

He licked his lips. “I suppose. Yes.”

Alexia’s gut churned. She ached for him and whatever he had gone through. For his loss. But to blame all humans for what someone else had done? Neither thing was right. She closed her eyes and nodded her head. “I understand, and I’m so sorry.” She reached to touch lightly on the back of his hand, unsure now about where they stood. “It would be nice, though, if you didn’t lump me in with all the rest of the people who destroyed your family.”

Lee tipped his head silently in what she hoped was a sign of agreement. He made a show of looking down at his watch. “We should go,” he said.

That certainly seemed the best sentiment of the night, didn’t it?

***

Once they’d gotten themselves fixed up, Lee strode into the hall on Alexia’s heels. Just in time to see Thad storming toward them. Fantastic.

“Good, I was hoping to catch you two before you left.” He looked from Alexia to Lee and back again. “Everything all right?”

“Fine.” They both said it in unison.

Alexia’s face displayed a pasted-on smile, but the chill that passed through Lee’s system broadcast her unease to him as clearly as if she’d painted it across her naked body. God damn, what a body.

Well
done, Lee. You’ve exposed the darkest parts of yourself and made love to her, and now it’s time to move on with business as usual. Good luck forgetting the taste of her on your tongue. How smooth her naked skin feels beneath your hands. Or that she’s seen and heard things you’ve never shared with anyone.

Alexia gave him a curious stare.

Thad cleared his throat. He gave Alexia a visual sweep. “You sure you’re okay? You look a little banged up.”

She glanced away, jamming her hands into her pockets. Hiding the bite on her wrist? Fuck, she was. Probably for the best if nobody knew. They weren’t…
anything
, were they?

All the same, something primal in Lee’s center screamed that those marks proved his possession of Alexia. He wanted them on display for the world. Her hiding them away made him want to roar until the windows shook. “She had an unpleasant tangle with security a little while ago,” Lee supplied. “On top of the run-in I already told you about in the woods. It’s been a trying night.”
Nice
bogus
story, jerkhole.

This earned him a glare from Alexia. “I can speak for myself, but yes. I’ll feel better once I’m able to get cleaned up and everything.”

Thad nodded, but he nearly crossed his eyes at Lee. Something was wrong. Thad wasn’t stupid. Lee wasn’t thinking clearly, but something nudged at the back of his mind. What piece of the puzzle was he missing?

Thad nodded finally to Alexia. “Do me a favor and come see Isabel and the baby before Lee takes you back to the estate. She’s still groggy from surgery, but she’s been asking for you.” He pointed. “Go on ahead. Last door on the right after you turn down that hall. Tyra’s guarding outside.”

Thad hung back to walk next to Lee. “You want to talk?”

Lee shook his head. “Nothing to talk about.”

“Sure.” Thad rounded on Lee, stopping him with an arm to the shoulder. “Then listen.” His voice was a harsh whisper. “I know you like to keep things close to the vest, and I respect and trust you enough to honor your wishes. I trust you. I love you like a brother. I killed that shit with the Elders’ Council trying to lower the induction age because you asked me to, and I didn’t ask any questions about why.”

Lee stiffened. The Council had wanted to lower the mandatory age at which upper-class and military vampires retired. Lee had all but begged Thad to have the proposal tabled because even then he’d known his health was declining. He wanted to go out fighting, not sitting on the Council like some stooge. Too late now, he realized it wouldn’t matter. Who knew if he had even weeks left? Days? “I know, Thad.”

“And things could have been handled better with Tyra’s disappearance this past winter. I’ve been understanding about the friction between you and Agnessa, which despite decades seems only to have gotten worse.”

Lee wrapped his lips around his fangs and bit down. He counted to three before he said, “I already offered to resign.”

Nobody needed to tell Lee he was losing his grip. He’d have canned his own ass easily for some of the shit he’d pulled these last several months. And those were the things the others knew he’d done. He hadn’t mentioned his underlying health problems and his blood abuse, both of which made him a walking liability.

Thanks to Alexia’s blood, at least he finally had hope he wouldn’t eat it in the middle of a fight and leave everybody hanging. Not tonight, anyway.
Thanks
to
Alexia’s blood. A human’s blood. Unbelievable
.

Still, it behooved him to appoint a replacement. The sooner, the better.

Thad’s blue eyes pegged Lee with a chilly, knowing stare. The grip of Thad’s hand on Lee’s shoulder had tugged his shirt collar to one side, and Thad’s lips pursed thoughtfully even as his fingers dug into Lee’s shoulder. The king was eyeballing the scratches and bites Alexia had left on Lee’s skin.

Lee stilled like a stone under the king’s scrutiny. Inside, his temperature rose again, remembering the ferocity of Alexia’s lovemaking. So many times he’d wondered what she’d be like in bed…

With a final squeeze, Thad stepped back. “I know it’s been a rough year for you, and I’ve been happy to let you deal. I respect that you’re older and wiser. If it weren’t for your position relative to mine, it wouldn’t be any of my damned business.” He glanced down the hall. “Isabel tells me that girl’s been through some shit she won’t discuss. I know you work to keep everyone at a distance. But if this becomes a problem—”

“It won’t.”

Thad maintained his silent glare. An orderly with a cart stopped just shy of hitting them both and awkwardly maneuvered around rather than pass in between their standoff. “Be very sure,” Thad said finally.

Lee nodded. He would resolve things with Alexia. He didn’t know how, but he would.

As they entered Isabel’s semi-dark room, Alexia leaned over the bed, speaking softly to Isabel. She cuddled a tiny, scrunched-up ball of wrapped-up newborn in her arms. She’d laid a striped hospital blanket over her shoulder, and with her eyes closed and her face nuzzled against the pink-cap-covered newborn, it was easy to forget the way he’d seen her minutes before. Hours before. Alexia wore boots and tromped through the woods and stuck her middle finger up at the world. Now, she snuggled a tiny baby and looked incredibly right doing so.

Even at his age there was clearly a great deal Lee didn’t know. Especially when it came to females. Humans. So easy to forget.

Isabel, who’d seemed on the verge of sleep, looked up at him just then. Her skin appeared pale and puffy. Lee sympathized with her exhaustion but squirmed with an uncomfortable urge to leave the room. Even after so long, he had difficulty being around pregnancy and babies. All the happiness.

“Would you like to hold her?”

“Of course.” He smiled. He didn’t want to at all, but he couldn’t refuse. Such an offer from the queen was an honor, and it would have been rude to say no.

With hope, nobody noticed that his arms shook. That baby was so tiny. Innocent. Fragile.

Alexia avoided eye contact as she handed the bundle over.

Whoa. Light as a feather. He hadn’t done this in so long. Centuries. “She’s beautiful.” Unexpected warmth slid over him, settling in his chest.

“We’re still working on a name,” Thad murmured. “We’d been expecting a boy.”

Lee refrained from asking for details. Truthfully, holding this tiny baby girl put a hard and painful squeeze on his lungs, and he wasn’t sure he could even speak. Not only for the loss of his mother and sister… He realized then that he would never be a father. He never thought that mattered. Now, the knowledge came heavily infused with regret.