Monsters—damn it,
Levi was so damn tired of the monsters that preyed
on others. Snarling, he pulled back his fist and
would have driven it over and over into the man’s
busted face if something hadn’t caught his arm.
The hand on his
forearm was feminine, delicate. Very delicate,
incongruous with the strength there. Struggling to
jerk away, Levi snarled, “Get the fuck off.”
A soft sigh. “You
wanted to help me. You did it. You don’t need to
beat him to death. I think he got your message.”
He tugged again, but
that hand holding him didn’t budge. Hell, it might
as well have been a chain of titanium restraining
him, though he knew it was a trick of the mind.
Brought on by grief. Liquor. Rage. Slowly, he looked
down at the man but he couldn’t even make out the
face. With a snarl, he shoved to his feet and
stumbled off.
As he did, the man
whimpered and scrambled off, crawling the first few
feet before clambering upright and stumbling away.
Fucking miracle the bastard can even move,
Levi thought distantly.
Sucking a deep
breath of almost frigid air, he glanced around,
looking for the woman. Fuck, the other one…where was
the other guy? Had she been hurt?
Squinting in the
darkness, he forced words out through a raw throat.
“Are you okay?”
A long silence and
then again, that soft sigh he’d heard earlier. “Okay
enough, I guess.”
“Did they hurt you?”
“Hurt me?” She
sounded confused. A pause. As though them hurting
her hadn’t occurred to her. “No, they didn’t hurt
me.”
Her voice was closer
now, hough he hadn’t heard her move. Hell, he could
barely see her, a slim, slight shadow lost among
darker shadows. He caught the impression of a pale
face, hidden behind a dark fall of hair. Her voice
changed, dropped to a low, hoarse rasp, as she said,
“You’re hurt, though.”
She touched him, her
fingers quick and light, too cool as they glided
across his wrist. “I’m fine,” he said, glancing down
at his hand. It hurt like a mother and would be
worse once the adrenaline faded. But the physical
pain was almost a sweet release. Especially since
he’d been able to vent some of the rage trapped
inside him. He flexed his fingers and tried to
assess the damage but it was too dark. Not even the
thinnest slice of a street light penetrated this far
into the alley and overhead, clouds obscured the
moon.
“What are you doing
out here this late?” he asked, getting more
irritated by the second as pain and adrenaline
chased the alcoholic haze from his mind. “Not the
safest part of town for a midnight stroll. At this
hour, you’re going to run into all sorts of freaks
and sickos.”
He wasn’t sure, but
he thought she might have laughed. “Freaks. Yeah,
there are all sorts of freaks around, aren’t there?”
She touched his
wrist again and this time, she lifted his hand
upward. He shifted, trying to get her a little more
into the light so he could see her face, but she
didn’t budge. Keeping her head down, she studied his
hand closely, too closely. “It’s fine. Hell, not
like you can see it that good in here anyway. Come
on, let me…”
She dipped her head
and pressed her lips to the back of his hand,
carefully avoiding his torn, ragged knuckles. “Thank
you.”
Her lips were soft,
cold. Hunger punched into him, flaring to life from
nowhere, emerging from the dark despair that had
gripped him for the past three days. Hissing out a
breath, he tugged on his wrist. She reluctantly let
go and sighed, a shuddery, shaking sound. His voice
gritty, Levi rasped, “Come on. I dropped my phone by
the sidewalk. Let me find it and we can call the
police.”
“No!” Her voice was
sharp, nearly desperate.
“Lady, you need to
file a police report.”
“No. I can’t call
the police.”
“Look, I know you’re
upset, but you need to—”
“No, I don’t
need to. I’m not hurt. There’s no reason to file a
report.”
She wouldn’t do it.
Arguing with her wasn’t going to do anything but add
to the headache that threatened to take the top of
his head off. “Then let me get you home,” he said,
sighing. He couldn’t leave her here. If she wouldn’t
file a police report, he’d at least make sure she
got home safely. How, he wasn’t sure—he was too
fucking drunk to drive and too fucking broke to call
a cab.
“No.” She shook her
head and backed away, keeping her face averted so
that her hair hid it.
“I’m not leaving
you.” Levi squinted his eyes, trying to get a better
look at her. Her voice. There is something
familiar about it, he thought.
She moaned, her body
swaying.
“Damn it.” He closed
the distance between them and caught her arm in his
hand as she faltered. Terror clutched his heart,
made his voice harsher as he snarled, “I thought you
said they didn’t hurt you.”
“They didn’t hurt
me.”
And they hadn’t, but
Cori was still in pain. All but reeling with it.
Half sick with it, and it was compounded by her
stupidity. She’d figured that she could find some
guy in a bar who’d be willing enough to give her
what she needed without asking much of anything in
return. She’d stopped at the first one she’d found
in Richmond. But just before entering, a wave of
self doubt had washed over and she’d ducked into the
alley to give herself a pep talk.
The two men had seen
her and, though she’d heard them approaching, she
hadn’t worried overmuch. She was short, female, and
looked like a stiff wind would blow her over but
that vampire strength that usually failed to impress
her would come in handy. When they’d grabbed her,
she’d tried reason first.
They’d laughed and
that was when Galahad, or whatever his name was, had
come rushing up. She’d been startled by his sudden
appearance, but completely taken off guard by the
way her body reacted.
The way her body was
still reacting. She couldn’t really even see
him that clearly, though granted, she was trying
very hard not to even look at him. Looking directly
at him would make it worse, so she just didn’t look.
She’d caught a glimpse of dark hair, the vague
impression of his height, but nothing else. And
still, she was hovering on the brink of orgasm, just
from being close to the guy.
Her nipples, hard,
hot little points, stabbed into her bra, rubbing
against the silk, the sweet abrasion almost painful.
Her thighs shook under her and she had to lock her
knees to keep from sagging against him. Worse, her
gums throbbed in warming and as he moved closer, she
could feel her fangs extending.
The taste of blood
was heavy in her mouth. Blood. She’d bitten one of
the men who had been getting ready to attack her.
Cori had bitten somebody, and not because it was
time for a midnight snack either. She’d defended
herself, but now the taste of blood was bitter in
her mouth. She averted her head. Although she knew
he couldn’t see her, she couldn’t look at him with
blood on her mouth.
He reached out a
hand and brushed her hair back. Unable to stop
herself, she turned her face into his palm and
rubbed against him.
His hand shook.
Lids drooping over
her eyes, she took in a deep, slow breath. There.
She could smell it.
Smell him Smell his hunger. He felt it, too. Either
the darkness was seriously working in her favor or
the vamp mojo was kicking in, because the air around
them began to spike with heat and hunger, and not
all of it was hers. Desperation made her daring and
she took one small step closer. Then another.
Another.
The long black skirt
she wore was little hindrance to the cold wind
cutting through the night, but she barely felt it.
What she could feel was him. His heat. His
hunger. His gaze staring down at her bowed head, all
but willing her to look at him.
