Huntress (9 page)

His cock had sprung to life as if she were in the room with
him. He smelled her sweet, musky scent and heard her labored breaths. She
reached for her sword and then the image was gone.

Trent grabbed the edge of his sink and squeezed in
frustration.

Damn it all to hell!

He took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles one by one.
Where was she now?

It came quickly then. She was in a dark place. The distance
was too far for him to know where. There were no distinguishing markers around
her.

He caught a glimpse of her in the light from the other end
of the alley. He almost lost his concentration then. She was killing him
quickly with that outfit of hers. He held on for a few seconds more and the
last thing that touched him was that she had decided to have wine instead of
coffee when she got home.

She wasn’t afraid. He had to admire her for that, and she
was armed.

But he was unsure of what he should do. If he went to her
she would know he loved her. No man would be able to deny it and it would tip
his hand forever. There was also the fact that she would be royally pissed at
him for interfering.

He wasn’t the man he once was and knowing it held him back.
But only for a second. He wished it had worked out differently but he wasn’t
the type of guy to sit on the sidelines.

Especially when there was a woman involved.

The woman he loved.

Fiona moved slowly as she stalked her prey. Once she got to
the entrance of the alley she could hear their heavy breathing echoing off the
narrow walls. They were halfway down the pitch-black alley.

The vamp had the advantage. He would be able to see better
in the dark than her. But she had the element of surprise. She moved in closer,
her steps making no noise.

She had to hurry. She could suddenly smell the metallic
scent of blood and she knew he had bitten into his victim.

A door opened farther down the way and light spilled out on
the three of them. She was still ten feet away and the vamp was too caught up
in bloodlust to turn around. A drunken man stumbled from the open doorway and
moved the opposite way with halting steps.

Fiona pulled her sword out, the sound of the grating metal
finally catching the attention of the vamp.

He turned to her, his fangs bared and bloody.

“Release the woman or die,” Fiona growled.

He stared at her for a second and then had the nerve to
laugh wildly at her. He released the woman and she slid boneless to the ground
in a heap.

She only had seconds to react as the vamp lunged at her. Her
sword sliced through the air silently and when she stood back in her original
position the head of the vamp rolled away as his body fell to the ground.

It only took seconds for the body to turn to black ash and
disintegrate into unrecognizable dirt under her boots. Fiona quickly made her
way to the woman.

“Hey! Can you hear me?” Fiona asked as she slapped her
cheeks.

Her eyes fluttered open and connected with Fiona’s for a
brief second before she went limp again.

Fiona desperately felt for a pulse but there was nothing.
The woman was dead. She had failed.

She drove straight home. When she pulled into her garage she
rested her forehead on the steering wheel and took several deep breaths before
getting out of the car.

As soon as she closed the door behind her she started
stripping the clinging leather off her body. Her boots and sword were dropped
to the floor in various places as she made her way to the bathroom.

It was just as hard to get out of the damn thing as it was
to get into and she was cursing and stomping her foot in frustration by the
time she threw the clinging black leather to the floor.

Taking a hard look at her reflection in the mirror, she
wasn’t happy with what she saw. Her eyes were huge in her face, she was pale
and there was a smattering of dried blood along her cheeks.

She cranked the shower on as hot as it would go and stepped
into the scalding spray. The tears came then. She was helpless to stop them and
didn’t try to.

They mixed with the water of the shower as she scrubbed her
skin hard enough to hurt. When she was done she started all over again because
she still felt dirty.

She finally got out of the shower when the water ran cold.
She wrapped her wet body in a fuzzy towel and wrapped another around her hair.

As soon as she stepped from the bathroom she heard the
pounding on her front door. Then the shouting as she got closer.

“Fiona! Are you all right? I know you’re home! Damn it,
woman, you have three seconds to open this door or I’m breaking it down!” Trent
yelled, followed by more pounding.

She opened the door and whatever he was about to shout next
died on his lips.

He jerked her into his arms, holding her tight against his
chest. She knew she should pull away but he felt too good and she just wanted a
minute.

His heat warmed her better than the shower had but the night
air was cold on her wet skin.

She pushed out of his embrace and stepped back inside. He
followed her in and closed the door behind him.

“Are you all right?” he asked. His eyes traveled over her
body, looking for any signs of injury, she was sure. When he got to her toes
and started back up, his gaze heated with undeniable desire.

By the time he reached her eyes she no longer felt the
previous chill and her sex clenched in need of him.

“I’m fine, Trent,” she said quietly. The look on his face went
soft and understanding as she sniffed and felt the lump return to her throat.

I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry!

Even as she chanted it over and over in her head she felt
the tears slide silently down her cheeks.

He was inches away in a second. His big hands cupped her
face and his thumbs wiped the wetness away.

“Talk to me. What’s going on?” His voice was gentle and it
only made her cry harder.

He sighed and scooped her into his arms, the towel falling
from her hair as he swung her up. He carried her into the living room and fell
to the couch with her in his lap.

He rubbed her back and smoothed her hair as she cried
quietly against his chest. She didn’t know how long they sat there together but
after what felt like hours she pulled it together and lifted her head.

He handed her a tissue from the coffee table and she gave
him a wobbly smile.

When she had wiped her face she noticed the huge wet spot on
his shirt.

“I’m sorry. I made your shirt all wet.”

“Not a problem. Want to talk about it?” he asked gently.

She shook her head and then nodded. “I don’t know,” she
sighed.

“Try it. It might make you feel better.”

She hesitated and then it all came out in a big rush. She
told him everything. The vamp and the woman, how dark it had been and how she
had failed to save her.

Trent listened without interrupting her. But he didn’t seem
surprised by her story. Then something occurred to her.

“Why did you come over?”

“I saw you leave the house in that black leather outfit. I
couldn’t figure out where you were and I was worried. I knew if all went well
you would come home when you were done so I came here first.”

“You saw me?” She knew she shouldn’t be as shocked as she
was but after being alone and hiding who she was for so long it still surprised
her that he was so open about his talent.

Although he didn’t know about all of that until he had met
her. Did he regret it? It wasn’t always easy to live with.

“Yeah. I saw you.” He didn’t elaborate and she was about to
push him until she saw the look on his face. He looked almost…angry. Maybe he
wasn’t having as easy a time of it as she thought.

Was he angry she had gotten him mixed up in all of this? She
suddenly slid to get out of his lap.

He stopped her with arms that came around her like bands of
steel. She grunted in surprise as he jerked her back to where she had been
sitting. His gaze caught hers and they clashed with all the things left unsaid
between them.

But there was something else there too. A connection she had
never felt before and it drew her like nothing else ever had. It was getting
stronger between them.

It changed in an instant. Before she even had the time to
blink his mouth was crushing hers. It wasn’t a gentle kiss or even one that
felt as if he was trying to seduce her. He was branding her as his.

Something inside her that she didn’t even know had been
waiting came to life and she clung to him.

Her fingers went to his hair and she clenched them into
tight fists. Trent released a growl from somewhere deep in his chest. She
moaned in reply and he took advantage of her parted lips.

His tongue went deep and Fiona forgot about how messed up
everything was right now. Forgot about responsibility and doing her duty.
Forgot about failing.

All she knew was that she wanted to have Trent’s hot body
pressing harder into hers. Her fingers left his hair as he turned her toward
him and she felt her breasts come up against his wide chest.

Her nipples pebbled against the towel and she kissed him
back with new abandon. Her nails dug into his shoulders as their tongues and
lips tangled, deep and passionately.

They broke apart only when they couldn’t breathe. Fiona’s
head lolled as she tried to get control of the raging heat rolling inside her.

Trent kissed her neck and tightened his fingers in the tips
of her hair. He gave it a tug until she lifted her head and looked at him.

“Holy fuck I want you,” he groaned against her neck.

“Yes,” was all she could manage to get out.

He stood suddenly with her in his arms and headed for the
stairs. Sanity took over and she wiggled. The towel shifted but stayed together
and she clutched it to her chest.

“Trent, put me down. I can walk.”

“Quit squirming. I would hate to drop you,” he told her with
a devilish grin. She opened her mouth to make him put her down and he
unceremoniously tossed her over his shoulder at the bottom of the steps. The
towel fell to the floor and he sucked in a deep breath.

“Trent! Put me down!” she screeched but he just chuckled and
headed up the steps.

He didn’t stop until he was standing at the foot of her bed.
He gave her naked ass a good smack before tossing her down on it.

He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the
floor. She couldn’t drag her gaze from his ripped chest. She wanted to scrape
her nails over every inch of it.

He kicked off his boots, toed off his socks and popped the
button on his jeans. She held her arms out to him but he stood and just stared
down at her for a few seconds.

“Damn, you’re sexy,” he growled as he reached down and
adjusted the bulge in his jeans.

Fiona was trembling by the time he grabbed her ankles and
tugged her to the end of the bed until her feet were on the floor.

He knelt between her knees and ran his hands slowly up and
down her thighs. She watched him for a few seconds but when his head lowered
and he nibbled on her inner thigh her eyes closed. She could feel the stubble
on his cheeks brushing against her.

She was vulnerable and exposed but in that moment she
realized how much she had come to trust him. The tightness left her muscles and
she relaxed into the bed.

She felt the cool air on her pussy and knew she was
incredibly wet. Trent noticed it too.

“God, baby, I can see you dripping for me. Your body doesn’t
lie, Fiona, you want me.”

His words were spoken close to her sex and she quivered with
each gust of breath. She knew what he wanted from her. To admit what was
between them. But what he wanted to hear wouldn’t come out.

She had a duty to hunt vampires and she wasn’t going to let
him get hurt. There was no way she was going to live with his blood on her
hands because she couldn’t save him.

He lifted his head. “Fiona?”

She opened her eyes and looked down at him, his green eyes
boring into hers. He was waiting.

She shook her head and whispered, “I can’t.”

He growled in disapproval but then his hot mouth was
covering her clit. Everything else scattered and her back arched off the bed
with the exquisite pleasure.

Moans were ripped from her throat as he attacked her with
his mouth. He wasn’t careful with her but she didn’t want gentle. Her hands
reached blindly for him. She needed something to hold on to.

Her fingers found his hair and tangled in its silky waves,
pulling him tighter against her. Her only thought was to get closer.

She lifted her feet and put them on his back. He groaned and
sank his tongue into her. But it wasn’t enough. She squirmed and then his mouth
closed over her clit again.

He shoved two fingers in her waiting opening and curled
them, hitting just the right spot.

She exploded hard on his fingers, her hips bucking and
high-pitched noises coming from her mouth.

“Oh yeah, come for me,” Trent groaned.

He pumped his fingers and rode her through the waves of
ecstasy until they faded to gentle rolls.

Her body went limp against the bed and she was breathing
heavy when he removed his fingers and sat up.

She had to drag her eyes open when he stood and pushed his
jeans off his narrow hips. His cock sprang free, long, thick and hard. She
licked her lips and knew she had to have a taste.

The lethargic feeling from her orgasm left her and she sat
up and lay on her belly, facing him. Using her arms to hold her torso up, she
scooted closer until she was at the edge of the bed.

He took a step forward and his cock twitched up against her
cheek. He groaned at the contact.

Fiona gazed up at him as she flicked her tongue over the
swollen head. His eyes closed and he tangled his fingers in her hair. But he
didn’t move her head as she expected.