Lord of Capra (6 page)

She heard him grab
his jacket and jump to his feet to follow her as he grumbled out a response. “That’s
another downside.”

Chapter Eight

Evana strolled to
his Harley, allowing him to catch up with her. He was at her side in record
time. Even though his appetite for food was present, her blood was strong
within him, and because of that, he was a target for her enemy. He was also a
vulnerable liability for her now. If any creatures were to attack, she was sure
she could dispose of them before Drake was harmed.

Actually, given his
strength level, he could help her fight them. However, if the abomination was
present, it’d take all her attention. She feared she’d be forced to call upon
Nem to protect him.

She’d wanted him to
know everything about her before making his choice—stay on Earth to live out a
natural life or follow her to a life among the stars with Nemesis. Just the
thought of him deciding to stay on Earth brought Evana such a great sadness she
felt her heart would surely stop beating.
Oh gods. I have such strong
feelings for this man,
she realized.

Pilot,
Nemesis’ voice
filled her mind.
He is your mate. Why does that cause you pain?

Oh, Nem,
Evana replied
silently
. Because he is.

By this time, Drake
had already started the Harley and waited for her to join him. Thankful he’d
not tried to interrupt. She climbed on behind him and embraced him.

He spoke to her
over his shoulder. “I want to take you somewhere special.” At her nod, he sped
off into the night.

* * * *

One hour later,
Drake turned the Harley off the main highway, and after a few twists and turns,
pulled to a stop. Evana took a deep breath filled with the scent of sea breeze
and salt. The sound of waves crashing against rocks confirmed her suspicions.

“An ocean?” she
practically shouted as she leaped from the motorcycle.

She kicked her
stilettos off, removed her jacket and trotted toward the water’s edge, trusting
that Nemesis would warn her of any danger. She took in the scene with her night
vision and saw waves lapping in cadence all along the sandy shore stretching
out to her right. To the left were large granite rocks, forming a line that
seemed to march out to sea. The ones farthest from the beach edge stood guard
against the waves that with each surge broke over their defenses, sending white
spray and foam several feet into the air.

Evana dug her toes
into the sand, just far enough from the water’s edge so as not to get wet, but
close enough to feel the cold dampness left from the tide. She felt transported
back in time to her village near the seashore, to a place that until this
moment had become nothing more than an unreal dream of a past life. She sensed
Drake standing at her side, leaned against him and his arm surrounded her.

“I come here when I
can. It’s always been a place where I can think,” he told her.

Evana looked at
him. He seemed focused on a point far out in the distance. She studied his
profile as the cold sea breeze whipped against his unruly hair. It revealed a
glimpse from time to time of his strong jaw and exposed neck. One strand tried
in vain to cling to the spot she focused on. The pulse, his pulse, beckoned
her.
No.
She stiffened in his embrace.

“Are you okay?” He
glanced at her and then moved away slightly as he continued to stare. “Why do
your eyes do that?”

She realized she
looked at the night world by tapping into her power and that he’d seen. She
closed her eyes.

“No! Show me,
Evana,” he pleaded, shaking her gently. “Let me see you, please. We’re alone.
No one else will know.”

Slowly, she opened
her eyes. Evana tapped into a bit more of her power, allowing the
transformation to come forth. The whites of her eyes would have darkened to
obsidian, and her pupils would remain unchanged while her irises would glow an
intense brilliant green.

“You see?”

Drake nodded and
asked softly, “Is there more?”

“Yes, but you must
promise me you won’t try to run away,” Evana warned. As a precaution she
grabbed his wrist. Her action must have surprised him, because it took a few
seconds for him to answer.

“I won’t run away,
Evana. Ever.”

Satisfied, she
released him and backed several feet away. Gradually, she allowed the power to
come forth and transform her fully. Her canines lengthened into fangs for him
to see. She swept the area with her acute senses to determine no one was
nearby, then stripped her sweater off so he could at least see her upper body.

*

Startled at first,
Drake stood his ground while every instinct he had ordered him to run for his
life. Her eyes alone would’ve sent any other man fleeing for safety. The fangs
she revealed weren’t as intimidating as the change in her body. Her smooth,
athletic curves had hardened into a form any female bodybuilder in the world
would kill to have. Almost naked, she stood before him. Ebony hair blowing
around her muscular shoulders, she seemed poised, as if waiting for a signal.
Captivated, he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

“I’m pilot to
Nemesis.” Evana’s voice rang out, steady and firm. “Is there any being within
your mythology that I resemble?”

Drake didn’t know
how he knew, but he was certain he wasn’t being questioned by Evana alone. He
studied her
. Well, sure
. There was a being, but he rebelled against stating
out loud the name she sought. It was just plain crazy.

“Drake.”

“Evana, I don’t…”

“Nemesis seeks any
reference to our enemies. Do you know anything that might help?”

“Tell her to search
for vampires,” Drake suggested.

Vampires? Really?
How he wished he
was just having a bad dream. The presence of the waves, sand, wind and a living
example standing right in front of him assured him everything he saw was real.

He noticed Evana
still watched him. Thankfully, she didn’t look as if she was about to pounce on
him so he took a step toward her. Instantly, it seemed, she vanished from in
front of him and reappeared behind him. He could sense her presence. She was
only inches away.

“So what now,
Evana? Are you going to drain me of blood or just play with your food?” He
hoped he wasn’t playing a deadly game of tease the vampire.

She laughed. And
even though she was much shorter, he swore he felt her breath on the back of
his neck.

“Neither. Sorry.”

Her apology sounded
sincere, bringing Drake a sense of welcomed relief. In another instant she
appeared in front of him and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace.

Much to his own
amazement, he realized he wasn’t afraid of her. Perhaps he should be, but
seeing her this way only strengthened his belief that he’d made the right
decision.

With extreme
caution, he slipped one arm around her waist and used his free hand to lift her
chin, tilting her face upward to study her. Maybe it was idiotic, but the idea
of trying to make any sudden moves seemed like a very bad idea while she was in
this state.

He was acutely
aware she could stop him with little to no effort on her part, but she didn’t. She
became soft and supple in his embrace, and he watched in amazement as the
darkness faded from her eyes. She relaxed even farther, and he came back to the
realization that he held a half-naked beauty who gazed at him with an expectant
look. Her full lips parted slightly with just the tips of former fangs exposed.
She seemed to beg him to come closer. There was so much more about her he
wanted to know, so many questions he wanted to have answered, but for the
moment he could wait.

He bent his head
and kissed her tenderly. Her eager response flamed his desire as the tip of her
tongue explored his lips with light strokes, teasing him before withdrawing. He
followed her retreat, and her soft moans drove him to kiss her thoroughly. With
bold thrusts, he explored her mouth. Nothing else was more important than her.
Craving to strip down and carry her into the surf so they could make love, he
ended the kiss. As he took his mouth from hers, the tip of his tongue flicked
across a partially retracted fang, leaving behind a minute amount of blood from
the tiny wound. The result was instantaneous.

Chapter Nine

No longer lost in
the pleasure of his kiss, Evana came to her senses almost as fast as she
transformed. She held the object of her desire in a death grip. One of her
hands threaded in his hair, pulling his head back to expose his throat while
she held him locked against her body with her other arm. Her fangs were poised
millimeters from his jugular.

Mortified, she
growled, “Don’t move!”

She took deep
breaths, trying to regain some control over her instincts, and shouted in
silence to Nemesis. He’d taste so good. She resisted, fighting for control.

Pilot. I am here.
You must release him or I will take him.

The ghost ship’s
presence in her mind helped. Evana forced the power within her to retreat
.
She
regained control and eased her vice-like grip on Drake.

“I’m so sorry.” She
rasped the shaky apology before releasing him, allowing him to stand. She
turned her back on him. “If you hate me or fear me, then now is the time to go.
I won’t follow, and I promise you’ll never see me again.” Even as the lies
spilled from her mouth she knew she’d never be able to leave him.

After a brief
silence, he spoke. “Are you withdrawing your offer?” His voice sounded steady
and firm, no trace of fear.

She glanced over
her shoulder. He didn’t look like a man about to run screaming into the night.
Confused, she continued to stare at him as she gathered the courage to speak.

“Never. That offer
is always open to you.”

“Then we better
figure out a way to stop you from killing me. Besides, I think we’re almost out
of gas, anyway.” He grinned and then gestured toward his Harley.

Unable to form her
thoughts into words, Evana turned to face him. If she could have trusted
herself, she would have jumped into his arms at that very moment, taken him to
the ground and made love to him in the sand. Unfortunately, he was right. She
could easily kill him and she would.

He bent over to
retrieve her sweater, shook the sand off and tossed it to her. “You might want
to put this on.”

“Perhaps.” Evana
caught it and slipped the top on quickly.

“I think there’s a
jogger coming up the beach.” He hooked a thumb at the shoreline.

Evana whipped
around and froze.
Nem?

Yes. A creature,
one of three I detected earlier. I have been monitoring them
.
The abomination
has not revealed itself. Take care, more creatures could be under the water.

“Let’s hope not.”
Evana looked at Drake. “Back away from the water,” she ordered. Relieved to see
him obey without question, she scanned the shoreline. “Nem, we need weapons!”

The creature that
had been running at a shaky gait toward them slowed to a stilted walk, perhaps
being more cautious in its approach. The other two Nem had mentioned crept
along the rocks.

Two bladeless sword
hilts appeared in her hands. She tossed one to Drake. He caught it and glanced
back at her, doing a double take.

“Are you serious?”
He shouted the question.

Evana dashed to his
side. “Yes.” She pointed out the three creatures, then indicated her weapon. “This
will be easy for you,” she assured him. She touched the control pad on the hilt
bottom of her weapon. One click and a dagger-sized black blade emerged from the
top of the handle. Another click and it grew to sword length. A soft, deep hum
of power came from it as infinitesimal undulating waves rippled up and down its
length.

“Easy.”

“For you,” he
grumbled and activated his own sword. “So we’re just gonna kill these guys?” He
took turns staring at her and the weapon in disbelief.

“Of course not.
They’re already dead. Just cut off their heads,” she instructed. “It’s the
fastest way to destroy them.”

Hearing no
response, she glanced up at him. He gaped at her, obviously appalled.

“If you don’t wish
to help me then just please stay out of the water.” She snarled the request and
dashed away to take a position facing the creature stalking them from the
shoreline. “And try not to cut yourself,” she called back. “You’ll only
distract me!”

*

Drake stood
motionless, taking in the scene.
What the hell?
Just moments earlier his
vampire lover had wanted to rip his throat out and now she’d turned into some
kind of warrior princess? And from the look of things, she seemed truly intent
on destroying these dead creatures, her enemies. He came to a decision as he gripped
the sword hilt tighter and sprinted over to her, taking a rear position to
protect her back.

He studied the two
very human-looking forms approaching them. Every step they took seemed forced,
as if they had no control but to come closer. As they drew nearer, he could
make out their features. The beings had pasty white skin partially covered by
tattered clothing and red eyes that darted nervously, taking in their
surrounding before always coming back to focus their hungry gaze on him. Their
obscenely long and sharp yellowish teeth turned his stomach. It wasn’t hard to
imagine just how putrid their stench might be. She was right. These creatures
were zombie-like dead humans.

Behind him he
sensed Evana move with unimaginable swiftness toward the creature in front of
her. There was the low sound of the sword slashing through the air, a dull
grinding hum followed by a shriek, then silence. For a moment, the destruction
of one of their own halted the two creatures approaching him. Evana appeared by
his side, weapon ready to take on the last two.

With halting steps,
the creatures moved closer once again. Growls mixed with hissing and whining
whimpers came from their distorted mouths. He glanced at Evana. She hadn’t even
bothered to turn into her vampire form. Okay then. No problem, he determined,
and gripped his sword even tighter.

“This might be
easier in daylight.” Drake complained, still not satisfied with the conditions.

He heard her soft
laugh. “Yes, they don’t see as well in bright sunlight, but Earth is
technologically advanced with too many people. We don’t want any witnesses.”

“Or our fifteen
minutes of fame on the nightly news,” he added in understanding. Hacking heads
off dead creatures would go viral for sure.

“Together?” At his
nod, she whispered, “Now,” and sprang forward.

In unison they
charged, surprising the creatures. Drake thrust his sword deep into the chest
of the one closest to him. Instead of wasting the time it’d take to withdraw
the blade, he twisted it in the wound before slicing the edge down and to the
side, coming out above the creature’s hip. A foul shriek sprang from its throat
as it made an awkward lunge in a clumsy effort to attack. He jumped sideways
and brought the blade down across the creature’s neck, severing its head. The
body collapsed to the sand, and to his astonishment, disintegrated to dust
before his eyes. He looked away in time to see Evana dispose of her own enemy
in much the same manner.

She turned toward
him, smiling happily. “Easy?”

As he gave her an
answering nod, he saw movement in the water several feet behind her. Before he
could shout to warn her, the creature sprang from the surf in an attempt to
grab Evana. It closed its arms around empty space just as Drake’s blade sliced
neatly through its neck. Evana reappeared at his side.

Drake panted from
exertion and gawked in amazement at the distance he’d crossed.

“I hope that’s the
last of them,” he muttered, exhausted.

“Impressive.” Evana
congratulated him as she grabbed him around the waist and pulled him away from
the water. “You’re just weakened now from using the strength my blood has given
you.”

He stumbled a few
steps, but managed to keep up with her. Apparently reaching a far enough
distance she let him collapse onto the sand. She kneeled beside him, removed
the sword from his grasp and turned it off. He noticed hers had already been
deactivated.

“I don’t see any
others. Two or three is the usual, but a fourth one?” She seemed to be thinking
out loud. She looked at him, and said, “Moving so fast when you aren’t yet
strong enough can drain your strength. I need to give you more of my blood.”

“Now?”

“Now!” Her tone
left him no choice. “Nem, can you tell if we’re safe for the moment? No, I
should stay for a time to see if the abomination might show itself. Drained.
Keep watch. I’ll let you know.”

Drake listened to
the one-sided conversation. He suspected some of it pertained to him, but
thought better about asking. The abomination she kept mentioning seemed to
really worry her.

After recovering a
bit more, he pushed upright beside her and waited for her to finish. Almost
immediately she turned her attention to him. “Ready?”

“Let’s do this.” He
was ready to accept his fate.

*

Evana was tempted
to laugh. He looked so much like a young boy who was being forced to take
punishment for some wrong doing. Only moments before he’d proven himself as a
warrior, capable of fighting at her side and even protecting her. She wondered
if she’d ever be able to figure him out.

She shifted her
position and sat behind him on the sand. Once she slipped her arms around him,
she encouraged him to lean back against her chest. “Relax. Rest against me. “

As he eased back,
she nuzzled her cheek close to his jaw line and whispered seductively, “This isn’t
the way I’d planned to share my blood with you.” She pressed her lips against
his skin. He flinched slightly from the contact.

“So what was your
plan?”

She detected a
slight amount of nervousness in his voice. “I would’ve liked to be in your
water bed. Both of us naked, making love.” She described a scenario to put him
at ease. “It’d feel so good if we both—”

“Okay, stop. Let’s
go there now.”

“Later perhaps, if
you’d like.” His frustrated groan was her reward. Evana gathered her courage
once again, and said, “Drake, when this is done there’s no reversal. You’ll
begin to change, become immortal. Do you truly wish to be with me?”

He took a deep
breath before he nodded. “Yes, Evana, I want you, now and always.”

Evana couldn’t
bring herself to ask the most important question of all. Did he want her
because he had feelings for her? She was terrified he might only wish to stay
with her due to blood loyalty, not love. Even worse, she feared he might not be
able to tell the difference. She’d fallen hopelessly in love with him at first
sight, and she wasn’t about to release him. Loyalty was something her blood
demanded. Her heart wanted more.

She extended her
fangs and drug them across the inside of her forearm, ripping the skin open
enough to bring a good amount of blood gushing forth. She put her wounded arm
in front of him.

“Take it, quickly,”
she urged. “Drink!”

He hesitated for
only a heartbeat before his mouth covered the wound. He fed, hesitant at first,
then faster. The sensation was so intensely erotic she had to fight against her
natural instincts to feed on him in return. To her surprise, the pleasure she
experienced as he fed distracted her from her own hunger.

“Continue until the
blood stops.” She managed to gasp the order before a wave of pure ecstasy
washed over her.

*

After swallowing
the last drops, Drake released her and watched in amazement as the wound closed
and then disappeared without a trace. His strength had returned. He felt better
than good. In fact, he felt ten times stronger than before. Concerned he’d
taken too much blood, he whipped around to face Evana. Could he have hurt her?
He looked at her anxiously. Taking in the sight of her half-closed eyes, parted
lips and shallow breathing he suspected she felt better than just fine.

“Was it good for
you?” he asked playfully.

Her eyes snapped
open to catch him studying her. He gave her a sly smile.

“You must be
feeling better,” she commented. Her lips pulled up into a shy smile.

Drake stood, then
offered his hand to help her. She took it, letting him lift her to her feet.
Still holding on to her, he drew her to him.

“I feel much
better,” he told her. “You sure seemed to be enjoying something too. Care to
explain?”

She scowled. “You’ll
find out soon enough,” she warned mysteriously. “So save your strength, you’re
going to need it.”

“I can’t wait.” He
raised his brows suggestively and patted her bottom.

She laughed and
snuggled against him. Drake held her protectively while he scanned the beach.
Although it was dark, he realized he could see everything. It was like looking
through night vision goggles, but with color. It just wasn’t as vivid as in
daylight. It was an odd sensation.