Shifting Dreams (41 page)

Authors: Elizabeth Hunter

BOOK: Shifting Dreams

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Her eyes were blue. A clear blue that reminded him of old memories of the sky reflecting on the water. She was a creature made for sunlight, a dusting of freckles covered her nose and dotted her shoulders. Though her skin was pale, it was flushed with life. The unexpected curl of arousal surprised him. Human women rarely interested him.

“Listen, I don’t want to waste your time. I’m looking for Baojia because someone told me he could help me with a story I’m writing.”

“Oh? You’re a writer?” In his experience, humans usually abhorred silence and would fill it with useful information, given the chance. One rarely had to question them. Just remain silent and they would tell you what you needed to know.

“Yes.” The woman remained silent, too. One hand was placed on her hip and the other clutched her too-large purse. He couldn’t stop the smile. Apparently, they shared the same sentiments about silence. Finally, he gave in with a friendly smile.

“I’m sorry, Ms. Ellis. I can’t help you.” He turned back to his car.

“You
are
Baojia, aren’t you?” She was persistent; he’d give her that. “If you won’t help me, I guess I’ll have to go talk to Ivan myself.” He spun so fast her eyes swam. “Hey, how did you—”

Within seconds, Baojia had her tucked in the back of his sedan and told his driver to circle the block. Closing the privacy screen, he held her hand and watched her.

Well, that was poorly done. He tried not to curse, but the sound of the other immortal’s name on her lips had alarmed him. What did this soft, sunshine girl want with Ivan? And why the hell did she know to come to him for an introduction? She clearly did not know about their kind from her reaction to his speed.

“Ms. Ellis?” Still holding her hand, he called her name softly to rouse her. He had hit her with a jolt of amnis intended to knock her senseless. Now, it was time for a more subtle approach. He lessened the electrical current that ran over his skin and onto hers. “Natalie?”

“Hmm?” Her eyes blinked open, but still swam with confusion. “Where am I?”

“In my car. I’ll make sure you get home safely. Where did you hear the name Baojia, Natalie? Who gave it to you?”

“Dez did, silly.” She sounded drunk, a result of too much vampire influence on her cerebral cortex. “You know, Desiree Riley… well Desiree Kirby now. I think she changed her name when she married Matt.”

“Desiree Riley?” Beatrice De Novo’s best friend was also the wife of Matt Kirby, who ran security and other sensitive assignments for the Italian fire vampire who had taken somewhat permanent residence in Southern California. Giovanni Vecchio was Beatrice De Novo’s husband and a wary ally of his sire’s. Desiree Riley was, to put it bluntly, a human who knew things. Also, a human who wouldn’t have given out his name without reason, from what he knew of her. “Why did Dez give you my name?”

“Badgered her.” Natalie laughed. “Poor thing. Kept at her until she cracked. It’s an important story, she knows that. Needed information. My editor…” The woman drifted off again and Baojia realized he had lost control of his amnis for a moment.

“Natalie?” She was a lovely rumpled heap in the back of his car. Her red hair tumbled around her, falling into her face. Her nose wrinkled at the ticklish strands, causing Baojia to smile as he brushed it away.

“Need to talk to Ivan. Name keeps coming up.” Her forehead was wrinkled now. “So many gone. Can’t… can’t continue. ’S wrong, you know?”

“No.” He didn’t know. Didn’t know what she was talking about, but the mention of Ivan’s name was not something to be taken lightly. And there was no way this girl should be going to speak to the leader of Ensenada on her own. That was out of the question. He’d have to call Dez and investigate tomorrow night, but until then…

“Natalie,” he whispered.

“Yeah,” she whispered back.

“Where do you live?”

She told him her address without question, along with a rather amusing anecdote about her neighbor Mr. Sanchez and his new chihuahua. Finally, he had to interrupt. “I’m going to take you home now. Forget about Ivan.”

She smiled mischievously. “I don’t forget anything, buddy.”

“You will this time. Trust me.” He pulled her up, and she slumped against his side, her head rolling to the side. Her neck was bared to him, beckoning him despite his earlier meal. Baojia felt the pressure increase as his fangs pressed down and the earlier curl of arousal turned into a jolt. He wanted this woman. Eyeing her neck, he considered what he knew about her.

Natalie Ellis was a writer, a persistent one. She was also a friend of Dez, and possibly, Beatrice. Did she know them from school? He searched his memories of Beatrice’s time at university, but could find no mention or memory of this woman, but she seemed to be the right age to have been in grad school with Dez and Beatrice.

“Who are you, Natalie?” He brushed away another strand of hair, twisting it around his finger for a moment. “And why did you come looking for me?”

He saw her grin, even though her eyes were closed. “Knew you were Baojia.” They flickered open and met his. “You’re really handsome. How did you move so fast?”

“I’m magic.”

This caused her to giggle uncontrollably, throwing her head back in delight and sending a wave of her scent toward him. He growled at the back of his throat, which caused her to stop short and look at him with sleepy calculation. “You’re not magic,” she said. “But you’re something.”

“Something?”

“Something… different.” She leaned closer and pressed herself against his chest, one hand going to his mouth. Her blue eyes looked up into his, then she looked down at his lips and traced around them. His teeth throbbed in his mouth and his lower lip dropped open on an exhale, revealing the tips of his fangs to her gaze.

A tentative finger reached out and stroked along one. “Cool,” she whispered.

“Natalie,” his voice was low and hoarse. “You are not to contact Ivan in any way. Do you understand? Forget about him.”

He increased the pressure of his influence on her mind until she slumped against his chest. “Okay,” she sighed.

“Never. Never speak to Ivan.”

“Sheesh.” She curled her lip. “Bossy.”

“I’m serious.”

“I can tell.” Natalie rolled her eyes and pulled away. He let her go reluctantly and tried to ignore the suddenly cool spot on his chest where she had rested. “Baojia?”

“Yes?”

“You’re taking me home?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’m tired. And I have work tomorrow. I can’t believe I wore this dress.”

He smiled, oddly sad that she’d have no memory of their encounter. “You look lovely in it.”

She smiled. “Even with the wrong purse.”

“It made you stand out.”

“True.”

She was silent after that, his influence and the late hour lulling her into a peaceful slumber. He relayed her address to the driver, then sat back, pursing his lips as he looked at the human woman in his car.

“A writer,” he muttered. Writers took notes. Notes that might contain Ivan’s name. It wouldn’t do for her to find those and start getting curious again. He didn’t have time to search her apartment before dawn, but he’d definitely be asking Dez some pointed questions tomorrow. What if she started looking for Ivan before he could find out the truth about Natalie Ellis and why she knew about him? What would happen if she ran into the wrong people while he was in day rest?

He frowned. She was just a human. Why was he so concerned?

Baojia let out a frustrated breath. Stupid curious human. Still… it was more intrigue than he’d had in months. He was actually looking forward to a bit of investigation, even if it was regarding a human. Her leg moved against his. And she was an attractive one. Interesting, too. For a human.

What if she went looking for Ivan? She had no standing in their world. The name of Desiree Riley certainly wasn’t going to mean anything to anyone other than a few. She didn’t belong to anyone. She was under no immortal aegis at all.

What if she went looking for Ivan?

Natalie’s neck rolled to the side again and his eyes traced over the smooth unmarred expanse of her neck. He felt his fangs lengthen and he leaned closer. Slipping one arm around her back, he brought her body close to his and her eyes blinked open.

“Hey, handsome.”

“Hey.”

“Whatcha doing?”

He took a deep, satisfied breath. “I’m putting you under my aegis.”

“What does that mean?” She frowned. “You’re kinda weird.”

“You have no idea.” He leaned closer and heard her sigh when his lips brushed against her pulse. Was he doing this for her? Or for himself? Baojia found that he didn’t really care.

“What are you doing?” she asked again.

“I’m going to bite your neck and drink some of your blood,” he murmured. “You won’t see the bites, but others will. And it will offer you a measure of protection.”

“I didn’t hear that right.” She blinked rapidly. “You’re going to… what?”

He didn’t wait any longer. His amnis fluttered over her skin and he felt the damp coastal air draw closer as his energy wrapped around her. Baojia closed his eyes and slid his fangs into her neck, trying not to groan. The rich taste flooded his mouth, and he felt Natalie arch her back.

“Ohhhh, that feels really good. Holy… Wh—what are you doing to me?”

He grunted and forced his head back, licking the bit of blood from his mouth before he pierced his tongue and licked at the delicate wounds in her neck. He closed his eyes, trying to will away the natural reaction of his flesh to hers.

“Natalie—”

Suddenly, he was cut off when she kissed him. She grabbed his face with both hands and threw herself into it, moaning into his mouth as he gently pushed her away.

“Natalie, you’re under my influence. It’s—” He cleared his throat. “This is not appropriate.”

She was dazed, staring at him in confusion, hands still on his cheeks. “Why not?”

He sighed. “Trust me. I have a feeling if you ever remembered this, you’d be more than a little pissed off.”

She did the adorable wrinkling thing with her nose again. He tried not to smile. “I’m not going to remember this?”

“No.” He gently pushed her back and buckled her into her seatbelt. “But I believe I will. For quite some time.”

~Acknowledgements~

Many thanks to all the usual suspects.

Thanks to my amazing pre-readers, Kristine M. Todd, Nichole Chase, Sarah, Kelli, and Gen. The sheer volume of the neuroses you handle gracefully when I’m writing and editing is a wonder to behold.

Thanks to my editing team, Amy and Cassie at The Eyes for Editing, who clean up my prose, slap me over the head with proper punctuation, and send my books out into the world looking pretty.

And many thanks to my cover artist, Gene Mollica, who really captured my vision for the character and the book with his artwork. Beautifully done!

Thanks to all those who are so supportive and helpful in my career. Particularly my agent, Jane Dystel, and the whole team at Dystel and Goderich Literary Management. My writing friends (you know who you are), and most of all, my family.

~About the Author~

Elizabeth Hunter is a contemporary fantasy, paranormal romance, and contemporary romance author. She is a graduate of the University of Houston Honors College and a former English teacher. She once substitute taught a kindergarten class, but decided that middle school was far less frightening. Thankfully, people now pay her to write stories and eighth-graders everywhere rejoice.

She currently lives in Central California with a seven (almost eight!) -year-old ninja who claims to be her child. She enjoys music, writing, travel, and bowling (despite the fact that she’s not very good at it.) Someday, she plans to learn how to scuba dive. And maybe hang glide... but that looks like a lot of running.

She is the author of the Elemental Mysteries and Elemental World series, the Cambio Springs series, and other works of fiction.

Website:
ElizabethHunterWrites.com

Elemental Mysteries fan site:
ElementalMysteries.com
.

E-mail:
[email protected]
.

Twitter:
@E__Hunter

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~Other books by Elizabeth Hunter~

The Elemental Mysteries Series

A Hidden Fire

This Same Earth

The Force of Wind

A Fall of Water