Microsoft Word - The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance.doc (20 page)

She wasn’t alone in the apartment, though. The beat of another heart echoed through the silence. Rhoan, her brother, undoubtedly.

He smiled and entered her apartment. She’d invited him over her threshold long ago, and there was nothing now that she could do to keep him out. It was one of the few vampire laws literature actually got right.

The apartment was in its usual mess, clothes and newspapers strewn everywhere. Neither she nor her brother enjoyed housekeeping, though Rhoan tended to be a little more domestic than Riley.

His smile grew as he headed for her bedroom. Only to stop

short in the bedroom doorway.

The other life he’d sensed wasn’t Rhoan. She might be asleep and dreaming of him, but she was sharing her bed with another wolf. His nemesis, and rival for her affections. Kellen  Sinclair.

Rage rose in him, thick and fast, and, for several seconds, it was all he could do not to rip the other  man from the bed and throw him out of the apartment. Not out through the door, but through a window, so that he could smash down onto the pavement below and be gone from her life for ever.

Damn it, she was
 
his
. His being had claimed her, and he would not  willingly share her, no matter what she thought or

desired.

163

She must have sensed his anger, because she stirred under the sheets, murmuring something he couldn’t quite catch. She turned, the sheet slipping down her body, revealing the golden skin and full breasts he’d been caressing in his dreams.

Desire stirred beneath the anger. He wanted her for real.  Right here, right now. And he’d be damned if he’d walk away and leave her in the arms of his rival. Not tonight, when loneliness was high and his body and soul ached with need for her.

His gaze switched to Kellen. Slipping into the other man’s thoughts was easy enough, as the fool wore no shields against psychic intrusion. His dreaming state was filled with sated thoughts and happiness, and again the anger stirred through  Quinn. It would be easy enough to slip deep into unconscious thought, to command Kellen to walk away and never come back. To never touch or contact Riley again.

So easy.

So,
 
so
 
tempting.

But Riley would wonder why he’d walked so abruptly, and she’d go after him for a reason. Given her considerable psychic talents, it wouldn’t take her long to uncover his interference.

And that would only make her angry. Possibly angry enough to end their somewhat tenuous relationship. The risk wasn’t  worth it, not until he was sure of her feelings.

Though nothing could stop him ordering the man away from

her side now.

He connected lightly to her sleeping mind, keeping her unaware. Then he forced the young wolf up, ordered him to

164

dress and marched him  out of the apartment. He stopped at the  door, but kept the mental leash on the young wolf until he’d  driven away. He’d wake in his own bed and wonder how in the  hell he’d gotten there.

Amusement ran through him. No one had ever said love was fair, and he  had every intention of playing as dirty as he could to win Riley’s affections.

He blew out a breath, and turned to re-enter the apartment.

And in that moment he sensed the wrongness.

He froze, reaching out with both his telepathic and empatic

senses, searching for anything  –  or anyone  –  out of place.  Riley’s apartment was peaceful, the beat of her life force strong  and rich in the silence. There was no hint of anything wrong.

No, whatever it was, it was coming from below.

He frowned, letting his senses flow downwards, sifting quickly through the various floors, searching for the source  of that oddness. Humans dozed, some dreaming, some not, the beat of their lifeblood thick and strong in the darkness. Hunger stirred, but it was a slumberous thing, easily controlled.

There were no humans, no non-humans, not even rodents, in the building’s basement. But the sense of wrongness seemed to be coming from there.

Only what might be causing it, he couldn’t exactly say.  There was an odd sort of deadness to the  feel of the thing, as if whatever it was had no heat or breath of life. It wasn’t moving, wasn’t even doing anything  untoward, but yet its mere presence made him uneasy.

It wasn’t something that should be in this building.

165

He turned to investigate, but  at that moment, Riley

appeared.

“And the dream man appears in the flesh.” Though a smile  touched her lush lips, annoyance sparkled in her cool grey eyes,  “Which undoubtedly means you’re the reason Kellen’s no  longer asleep in my bed.”

“I’m afraid so.” Surprisingly, she’d dressed  –  if you could  call a thigh-length T-shirt and little else dressing  –  and in the  cool night air, the heat of her golden skin flowed across his  senses as sweetly as a caress. It made him hungry to touch her,  taste her, and he curled his fingers into a fist to stop the impulse  to reach for her. “He’ll wake safe and secure in his own bed,  although he may be a little confused as to how he got there.”

“You’d better hope he comes to no harm as he sleepwalks  his way home.” Her annoyance  momentarily caressed the air, a  rumble of distant thunder that held the promise to be a whole lot  more. “It would have been easier if you’d just phoned ahead and  let me know you were coming.”

“I would have, but it was a last-minute decision.”

“And, as usual, you simply expect me to be sitting around in  my apartment waiting for you.” She shook her head, then added,  “Is there any particular reason you’re haunting the hallway  rather than coming inside?”

“I’ve just sensed something out of place in the basement.”

She frowned, and power shimmered across his skin as she flung out her psychic senses. In very many ways, her psi powers were as powerful as his. Only hers were still growing.

166

“It feels very odd.” Her gaze met his again, and this time  those silver depths were alive with excitement  –  and not just the  excitement of the chase. Danger was an aphrodisiac to a wolf  and her hunger had his own blood racing. Such a reaction was a  pleasant sensation for one as old as he, and it was something  she’d brought back  into his life. “Shall we go see just what  might be down there?”

His gaze slid down her luscious body. “Dressed like that?”

Amusement teased her juicy lips. “You’re right. Wait until I

get some shoes on.” She turned and ran for the bedroom.

He shook his  head and smiled. Only a werewolf would

consider shoes the only thing the outfit needed to be decent.

She came back with sturdy-looking sneakers on her feet and a laser in her hand. Once upon a time, carrying a gun would have been unthinkable to her. He wished it still was, simply because the more she carried, the more it meant she was sinking deeper into the world of guardians. And he had no doubt that it would take her life one day. Not even a werewolf with vampire blood and extraordinary powers could keep flirting with death and not have it eventually take control. Although, if carrying a gun kept her safe for that little bit longer, he wasn’t about to argue against it.

Because above everything else, he wanted her safe.

They walked back to the stairs. Though they moved as quietly as possible, their footsteps still echoed down the stairwell. In the cellar, the darkness stirred, and a sense of anticipation seemed to flow across the blackness.

“Whatever it is, it waits for us.”

167

He glanced back at her as he spoke, and she raised an

eyebrow. “Us specifically?”

“It would seem so.”

She grunted, and her fingers tightened around the laser. The weapon whined as it powered up. “So why the two of us in a building filled with people?”

“I don’t know.” He opened the stairwell door. The basement  was dark  –  no surprise given the lack of lights in the rest of the  building. Not that it was a problem for either of them  –  their  infrared vision made the most out of darkness.

“You can’t read it empathically?” she asked.

“Not at the moment.” He caught the door with his fingertips  once she’d stepped through, easing it closed as quietly as  possible.

Energy burned across his skin as she probed the darkness telepathically. “There’s a deadness ahead that feels oddly familiar.”

Though little more than a whisper, her words seemed to jar the stale air. Deep in the basement’s darkness, something stirred, and the sense of deadness seemed to retreat.

“It’s moving,” he said, rather unnecessarily.

“Yes.”

Her heart racing, the beat as sharp and as delicious as the excitement that teased his senses. His hunger stirred again, but this time, it was accompanied by desire. Although the desire had never really left him  –  she was simply fuelling the embers of it.

168

He led the way forwards through the wasteland of old machinery, boxes and rubbish. They quickly reached the far side of the room, but, even so, they were too late. The creature had left  –  and the only way out was via a fissure in the old brick

wall.

“I’ve never noticed that before.” Riley squared and picked  up a chunk of broken brick. She studied it for a moment, then  held it up for him to see. “It looks clawed.”

“And newly broken. Whatever that thing is, it’s created

itself a tunnel to get into here.”

She tossed the brick down and rose. “It’s big enough for us

to get into.”

“Not by chance, I’d imagine.”

She looked at him. “A trap?”

“Could be.” Why else would it attract their attention then

retreat?

Her sudden grin was as sexy as hell, and he found himself cursing the thing even as his fingers twitched with the urge to reach for her.

“How about I go spring it, and you go upstairs and wait?”  Even as he said the words, he knew it was useless, but he had to  try. Women’s liberation might be standard fare in this day and  age, but he  still couldn’t see the sense in allowing any woman to  put her life on the line unnecessarily. But then, he was a very  old vampire who was somewhat set in his ways, despite the fact  he’d seen eras go by and conventions change many, many times.

169

“You already know the answer to that, so why bother  asking?” Her voice was wry, but her eyes danced with  amusement and again the hunger rose in him.

He pushed it down again, even as he wished he didn’t have to. “Because one of these days, you’re going to do the sensible thing and shock the hell out of me.”

She smiled again. “Me and sensible? I don’t think so.” She paused and looked in the hole. “But I will allow you to go first.”

“I’d really rather be upstairs, with you, in bed.” He wrapped  his fingers around hers.  The warmth of her grip flooded through  him, spinning desire to greater heights.

“You should have thought of that before you began this  chase,” she murmured, the amusement so evident in her eyes  finally lacing her tones.

“True.”

He tugged her forwards.  The tunnel’s entrance was jagged, the brick cut unevenly with claws. The creature, whatever it was, had a lot of strength behind it. But brick quickly gave way to clay as the tunnel headed downwards, although the earthy smell of soil was quickly overrun by  a more odorous scent  –human waste.

“Oh Christ,” Riley said, dread in her voice. “We’re heading

into the sewage system. I think I’m going to puke.”

“Breath through your mouth.”

“It’s not helping.”

The tunnel broke into a pipe large enough to drive a car unto. He jumped into the muck flowing gently downwards then

170

turned to help her down. “At least it’s late at night. Not as many

people will be flushing their business.”

“Thanks for that cheery though,” she grimaced as her feet

disappeared into the flow.  “Wrong shoes for this sort of walk.”

“You can always go back.”

“And you can always shut up and get moving.”

He smiled and led the way forwards again, following the flow of the water. The creature was somewhere ahead  –  a blot of  ‘wrongness’ his senses could get no real fix on.

But the closer they got to it, the more its anticipation grew,

and the uneasier he grew.

Riley suddenly stopped. “I
 
have
 
felt this thing before. It’s a

chameleon.”

Chameleons were a rare breed of nonhumans, who could take on any  background and literally become part of it. They were also ferocious flesh-eaters and extremely hard to kill.

He frowned. “Chameleons aren’t usually city dwellers.

They prefer the wild areas.”

But even as he said it, he flared his senses outwards, taking a stronger, closer look at the creature ahead, It
 
did
 
feel like a chameleon.