Chapter Eight

 

 

Nick laughed at the astonished look on Kayla’s lovely face.

She stared up at him, her pretty hazel eyes wide and her lips kiss-swollen as she lowered her feet to the floor.

He shrugged. “I wanted a bigger bed beneath us so my feet wouldn’t hang off the end when I bury myself balls deep inside you.”

She shook her head. “I swear you could make me come just by speaking.”

Rampant need tightened every muscle despite the amusement she inspired. “Do you want to make me come, Kayla?”

“Yes.”

He took a step back. “Then strip for me.”

A blush climbed her cheeks as she reached behind her back and found the zipper of her dress. When the fabric across her breasts loosened, she peeled one shoulder down and slipped her arm out.

“Slower,” he murmured, wanting to savor this moment.

She paused. Then she reached for the other shoulder and slowly slid the fabric down her arm, delivering a sensual caress to her soft-as-silk skin as she did.

“That’s it.” He took another step back, his hands curling into fists to keep from reaching for her.

Gripping the fabric bunched at her waist, she hesitated, then leaned forward and arched her back, sticking her exquisite, lace-covered ass out as she eased the material over her hips and down her thighs.

Shit, she set him on fire. She was so damn desirable. Nick didn’t think he had been this turned on even when he was a randy teenager looking to get laid for the first time.

The dress dropped to the floor. All she wore now was the black bra and panties that provided such an alluring contrast to her pale skin and those high fuck-me heels.

She straightened. Giving him a heated look, she brushed her fingers over her collarbone, then drew them down over one breast. “Do you like what you see?” she asked softly.

His cock strained against his pants as he watched her glide those delicate fingers around the taut peak the lace both concealed and revealed, watched her stroke that nipple, pinch it, then saw the desire that darkened her eyes. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”

“When you look at me like that,” she said, her voice so low and sultry it sent a shiver through him, “you make me believe it.”

How could she not believe it? She stole his breath. “Now the rest of it.”

The fingers brushing her nipple stilled. Some of the hunger in her gaze receded as uncertainty crept in.

“What is it?”

She bit her lip. “My breasts aren’t what they used to be.”

He glanced at her gorgeous breasts, then met her gaze again. “What did they used to be?”

She laughed, some of the sudden awkwardness leaving her. “Perkier. Pregnancy and breastfeeding changed them.”

He stared at her breasts. “Then thank you, pregnancy and breastfeeding. Because I love your breasts.”

Shaking her head, she touched a little piece of plastic between the lush mounds and the lacy cups parted.

Nick swallowed. Front-clasp bras were his new favorite thing. It had been so long since he’d been with a woman that he’d never actually seen one before, only advertisements for them.

Kayla arched her back a little as she eased the straps down her arms and let the black lace fall to the floor.

He stared at the plump flesh she revealed. “Perfect.” The word emerged almost a growl.

“Really?” she asked, the soft question betraying her uncertainty.

Nick strolled toward her, his cock painfully hard, until he was so close she had to tilt her head back to look at him. He cupped her breasts in his hands, squeezed them lightly, and drew his thumbs across the hard pink peaks.

Her breath caught. A flush of desire darkened her cheeks.

“If they were any more perfect,” he confessed, “I’d come in my pants like an untried boy.”

She smiled.

Nick shook his head. “That’s not a good thing, woman. I’m clinging to control by my fingertips.”

“And what happens when you lose control?” She arched her back again, pressing her breasts harder into his palms.

He squeezed.

She moaned.

“I bury my cock deep inside you and take you fast and hard.”

“Oh shit,” she whispered. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

He laughed and groaned at the same time, both amused and eager to comply. “Get on the bed.”

Kayla backed up until she hit the mattress. Propping her hands on the edge behind her, she jumped. Her bottom barely grazed the top of the bed before sliding off.

A chuckle escaped him as he shook his head. “You are too damn adorable.”

She laughed. “I can’t help it. Your bed is freaking huge.”

Closing the distance between them, he clasped her hips and lifted her up onto the mattress. “I’m a big man.”

“Hell yes, you are.”

Since his hands were already on her hips, Nick drew her panties down, baring a dark thatch of curls. Tugging the lace down her lightly muscled legs, he caressed her soft skin until he reached her shoes. The panties fell to the floor. One high heel followed them, then the other.

Nick parted her thighs with his hips and lowered his lips to hers for a tender kiss. “Scoot back a little.”

He heard her heartbeat pick up as she edged back on the bed. He curled a hand around one of her ankles. “Not too far.” He clasped her other ankle and drew her legs farther apart. “I want to be able to do this.” Slipping his hands under her thighs, he gripped her tempting ass and slid her a little closer. Then he bent, lowered his head, and delivered a long, slow lick to her clit.

Kayla fell back on the bed with a moan that nearly undid him.

He circled the little bundle of nerves with his tongue, teasing and stroking.

She threw her hands out to the sides and fisted the covers. Her knees rose. Planting her feet on the bedding, she began to rock against him, arching up as he licked and nipped and sucked and teased.

“Nick,” she moaned.

He loved the sound of his name on her lips. Loved her scent. Her taste. Every moan he elicited. He moved his tongue with preternatural speed so it would feel like a vibrator.

She bucked against him, muscles straining as she cried out with another orgasm.

Nick straightened. Need pounded through him. Reaching over his shoulder, he gripped the back of his T-shirt and yanked it over his head. His pants and boxers hit the floor half a second later. His boots joined the pile before Kayla could even catch her breath.

Still clutching the covers, she devoured what she could see of him with her eyes. “Crap,” she breathed suddenly.

He stilled. “What?”

She bit her lip as her brow furrowed. “Do you have any condoms? I haven’t done this in so long that I completely forgot.”

He shook his head. “I’m immune to all human illnesses, including STDs. And you’re not ovulating—I would sense it.” He couldn’t get her pregnant even if she were ovulating but didn’t want to go into that right now.

“Cool to the first thing. The second’s a little weird,” she said, a twinkle of amusement entering her eyes. “But good. I don’t want anything between us when you’re inside me.”

Shit. Joining her on the bed, Nick counseled himself not to be too rough and silently cursed when he immediately disregarded that, slid his arms beneath her, lifted, and tossed her.

A startled sound escaped her as her head landed on the pillows. Subtle ab muscles rippled as she propped herself up on her elbows and stared at him. Her eyes widened when they fell to the erection jutting toward her.

“I’ll go slow,” he vowed. It might kill him, but he’d do it for her.

The tip of her pink tongue slipped out and glided over her lips as though she were imagining how he’d taste. “Don’t.”

He paused. Don’t what? Don’t take her?

Her eyes met his. She parted her legs to make room for him. “Don’t go slow. Don’t hold back.”

Fire raced through him.

“And don’t make me wait any longer. I want you inside me. Now, Nick.”

Fuck. He wanted that, too.

Nick settled himself between her thighs and nudged her entrance with his hard cock. She felt so small beneath him. So delicate. He loved that. Loved her. But knew it was too soon to tell her.

Wrapping her arms around him, she pulled him closer.

Both moaned as he pressed forward, entering her slowly despite her entreaties. She was so warm and wet and tight, squeezing him as he thrust a little deeper and withdrew, thrust deeper and withdrew, continuing until he was finally seated to the hilt inside her.

Her fingers curled against his back, her short nails pricking his skin. Lifting her knees, she wrapped her legs around him and rotated her hips, grinding against him. “Soooo good.”

His control snapped. Nick did as she’d requested then, taking her fast and hard, driving into her over and over again, no holds barred. She felt too good. He’d waited too long. Had wanted to be with her for years.

He teased her breasts, devoured her lips, and thrust even deeper as she scored his back with her nails. Slipping a hand beneath her, he gripped her beautiful ass, altered the angle of her hips, and ground against her clit with every hard thrust. Moans of pleasure escaped her as she clutched him tighter, urging him on and driving him wild until she threw her head back and cried out.

Her warm walls clamped down around him, squeezing and releasing until he shouted her name and came deep inside her.

Heart racing, muscles relaxing, Nick braced his elbows on the bed so he wouldn’t rest too much weight on her, then lowered his head to the pillow beside hers. His breath came fast and ruffled her hair as he nuzzled her neck. Hers did, too, emerging in pants that slowly lengthened and calmed.

Moisture gleamed on their skin, cooling as passion faded.

A peace and contentment he had never experienced before settled upon him. Usually once Nick satisfied his sexual needs, he couldn’t leave the bed fast enough. He had never in his long life wanted to linger afterward. To snuggle closer. Indulge in slow, leisurely caresses. Express affection with light kisses.

Only Kayla made him want those things.

Lifting his head, he gazed down at her.

Her pretty hazel eyes reflected the bright amber glow of his as she stared up at him with the same wonder he felt. “Wow,” she whispered.

Smiling, he brushed her tousled hair back from her face. “I was thinking the same thing.”

She cupped his face in both hands.

Nick dropped his gaze to her left arm and sent her a look of chagrin. “I forgot to remove your cast. Sorry about that.”

When he started to lean back so he could do it now, she halted him and shook her head. “Leave it. You can remove it later.” A playful gleam entered her eyes as she arched a brow. “Because I believe you mentioned something about two hours being too quick for our first time?”

He grinned. “Far too quick.”

She shifted her hips and sucked in a breath. “You’re still hard.”

Nick bit back a groan. “As I said, immortals don’t need recovery time. We can go all night. Or all day in this instance.” Dawn wasn’t far away.

“Well,” she said with a smile, “as a mere mortal, I don’t know if I can go all day, but I’d sure like to try.”

“Yes!”

She laughed, then moaned when he withdrew almost to the crown and thrust hard.

“Better yet…” Nick rolled onto his back, bringing her with him so she straddled him with his cock still buried deep inside her. “I want to watch you ride me.” Her long hair draped around her like a curtain. “While I play with your beautiful breasts.” He cupped the lovely mounds and teased her nipples.

Bracing her hands on his chest, she flexed the muscles in her thighs and rose, sliding along his length, then plunged down and seated him deep again.

“Fuck, that feels good.” He continued to fondle her breasts while she set the rhythm, her movements growing bolder as pleasure erased whatever insecurities lingered over baring her body to him. Insecurities he was determined to banish completely over the next few hours.

She raked his chest lightly with her nails. Nick groaned, and she pinched his nipples. Swearing, he tweaked hers. She rotated her hips, altering the angle hers met his, picked up the pace, and drove him wild until he was clenching his teeth to hold back his release. Nick slid a hand down her stomach, teased her curls with his fingers, then began to stroke her clit as he thrust up to meet her.

Kayla cried out as she came, again clamping down around his cock and squeezing him until he joined her. As the last ripples washed over them both, she sank limply onto his chest.

Nick wrapped his arms around her and cuddled her close.

Her heart slammed against her narrow rib cage, matching the frantic pace of his.

Burying his nose in her hair, he found her ear and whispered, “I still want you.”

She smiled against his chest. “You did say two hours wouldn’t be enough.”

“Not nearly enough.”

“Can I catch my breath first?”

He chuckled. “Yes.”

Resting her cast atop his chest, she propped her chin on it and smiled. “Then what?”

Lifting his head, he pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose. “Then I’m going to stand right there”—he looked at the side of the bed—“drag you to the edge of the mattress, flip you over onto your stomach, and show you how advantageous a bed this high can be.”

Her warm sheath rippled around him. “Forget catching my breath,” she said, her voice hoarse with resurging desire. “I want to do that.”

Laughing, Nick hugged her close.

“I wish you could see the adorably dopey smile you’re wearing,” Eliana called out a few nights later as they fought four vampires.

Nick didn’t even try to school his features into a more somber mask as he fended off a vampire’s strike. The vamp’s eyes glowed silver and sparkled with insanity as he swung wildly again and again until Nick severed his brachial and carotid arteries.

He swung to face the vampire creeping up behind him. That one halted, eyeing Nick warily.

She laughed. “I think it’s freaking out the vampires.”

Her opponent howled in pain, then stumbled backward.

Nick’s grin merely widened as he faced the vampire. “You could always surrender,” he offered. “Our doctors are working on a cure and—”

“Fuck you!” The vampire leapt forward, raising his weapon high… and left his stomach vulnerable.

Nick’s blade sank deep.

The vampire stared at him with a combination of fury and disbelief. Roaring in rage, he again raised his weapon high.

Nick buried his blade in the vampire’s heart, severing his aorta and ensuring he would bleed out swiftly. As the vampire collapsed, Nick swung around to check on Eliana.

Her last opponent fell, spewing foul epithets until he drew his last breath.

Eliana turned, took in Nick’s fallen attackers, then glanced up at him. She grinned, her pretty face once more speckled and splattered with blood. “You’re still smiling.”

“I am?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t help it.”

She winked at him. “That good, huh?”

“Better,” he admitted. He hadn’t told her he and Kayla had become intimate, but she’d known. He had so wanted to savor the hours he had spent making love with Kayla that first night… and morning… and afternoon that he hadn’t showered before going on his nightly hunt. He’d wanted to carry the scent of her with him. And, of course, Eliana had caught it.

He’d spent every morning in Kayla’s arms since and knew he’d never get enough of her.

Laughing, Eliana shook her head. “I envy you. I’ve never slept with a man I loved before. Does it really make that big a difference?”

“For me? It makes a huge difference.”

“How huge?” she asked curiously as she wiped her blades on one of the vampire’s shirts.

He shook his head. “It’s like craving something sweet and having the option of either a green banana or a banana cream pie.”

“Damn.” She slid her blades into their sheaths. “That is a huge difference.” Then she grinned. “Did you finally remember to remove her cast?”

He laughed. “Yes.” Kayla had insisted he use the utmost care when cutting it off so she could save it. My accident brought us together, she’d said as she cradled the cast to her as though it were a precious treasure. And your painting it was a really sweet gift.

Nick bent and began to collect the fallen vampires’ weapons.

Eliana’s cell phone rang. “It’s probably Max,” she murmured. “He’s been mother-henning me from afar.” Wiping her hands on her coat, she tugged her phone out of her back pocket.

Seconds tended to be overly protective and seemed to share the collective belief that their immortals couldn’t make it through a night without them.

“Oliver has been doing the same,” he said. His Second still called him before dawn every day to make sure Nick was still living and breathing and not roasting in the sun. “Where’s Max?”

“Visiting his family in Maine.” When she glanced at her phone, her face lit with a smile. “Nope. It’s Seth.” She tapped the screen. “Hi, Seth.”

“Are you busy?” the Immortal Guardians leader asked.

“No. We just finished taking out some vampires.”

“Any lookie-loos around?”

She laughed. “Not a one.”

“Cameras?”

“Nope.”

Seth abruptly appeared beside her. Pocketing his phone, he glanced at what was left of the fallen vampires. “Any trouble with these?”

Nick smiled. “None. And no surveillance cameras caught anything.”

“Good.” He turned a discerning gaze on Nick and studied him a moment. “You seem awfully chipper tonight.”

Eliana laughed and whispered, “He and Kayla have become lovers.”

Nick fought a groan and began to clean his weapons. There really were very few secrets among Immortal Guardians.

Smiling, Seth clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m glad things are going well for you two.” As he turned to Eliana though, his expression sobered. “May I have a moment of your time, Eliana? There’s something I wish to discuss with you.”

Nick paused, his happiness receding a bit as his glance bounced back and forth between them. There had been something in Seth’s voice. Something… unidentifiable that sparked both caution and curiosity.

Eliana tilted her head back and stared up at their powerful leader.

Had she heard the same thing Nick had?

“Sure.” She sent Nick an uncertain Do you think I fucked up? look.

No one wanted to piss Seth off or get on his shit list. An honorable and generous leader, he nevertheless would not hesitate to punish those who transgressed. But such was very rarely necessary. Seth was the most powerful immortal among them, so just the threat of punishment was usually enough to keep Nick and his immortal brethren in line and out of trouble.

Eliana motioned to the mess. “Can you clean this up without me, Nick?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

Seth smiled. “You haven’t done anything wrong, Eliana. I just have a task I wondered if you would be interested in performing and wish to explain the details to you.”

“Oh.” She smiled. “Okay.”

Nick’s curiosity skyrocketed. What kind of task?

Seth nodded to him and rested a hand on Eliana’s shoulder. They vanished in the next instant.

Nick made swift work of cleaning up the battle fallout. The vampire’s clothing found a new home in the nearest dumpster. He would take the wallets and weapons left behind to network headquarters so they could concoct plausible explanations for the dead vampires’ sudden disappearances. Then he would hie his ass home to shower and spend what was left of the night and then the day with Kayla.

His buoyant mood returned. His lips stretched in a grin that would no doubt make Oliver laugh and join Eliana in deeming it a dopey smile. But he couldn’t help it. Nick loved spending time with Kayla. He loved Kayla. And he’d tell her as soon as he sucked it up and disclosed the last two little secrets he’d kept regarding his existence… which weren’t so little. Some might, in fact, deem them colossal, which merely made him more nervous about telling her.

“Leah loved Seth after he told her,” he reminded himself as he drove home. And, having lived thousands of years, Seth had a hell of a lot more secrets than Nick.

The love Leah bore their illustrious leader was truly something to behold. Seth was a different man when he was around her. As was Nick when he spent time with Kayla. She just made everything better. Brighter. So he really should pry his head out of his ass and start searching for the right words to explain the rest of his life to her. He couldn’t very well ask her to share it without letting her see it all.

He swung his Tesla into his driveway, cut the engine, and eyed the garage that served as an art studio for production of his larger or messier works. The motion-sensing light above the garage doors didn’t come on. It must need a new bulb.

Making a mental note to change it before Oliver’s vacation ended so his Second wouldn’t look at it, roll his eyes, and declare Nick helpless without him, he headed for the front door.

Music boomed a couple of blocks over, accompanied by a roaring guitar in what reminded Nick of music produced by an eighties hair band. He grimaced. Having preternaturally sharp hearing could really suck sometimes. What would manifest itself as irritating background noise to ordinary humans sounded more to his preternatural ears like a damned DJ—surrounded by massive speakers—was spinning tunes right on his front lawn.

If the inconsiderate ass blasting the music became a repeat offender, Nick would do what he usually did in such instances and get one of his telepathic immortal friends to scare the crap out of him by mentally bellowing at him to turn that shit down every time he cranked up the volume.

He smiled. Such had been astonishingly effective in the past.

Locking the front door behind him, Nick tossed his keys onto the table by the coatrack without reaching for the light switch and started to remove his coat.

A warning crawled up the back of his neck.

He stilled, his hands gripping the lapels. His nose twitched as scents invaded it. Gun oil. Sweat. A brand of deodorant neither he nor Oliver used.

At the same time, heartbeats reached his ears beneath the booming base of the asshole two blocks over.

Multiple heartbeats.

Shit.

Something pricked his chest.

He glanced down. Fury rose when he saw the large tranquilizer dart sticking out of him. Fury and alarm. There were only two drugs on the planet that affected Immortal Guardians: a tranquilizer developed by their enemies that could render both immortals and vampires unconscious within seconds and the antidote that network doctors had created to counteract it.

There should be no one left to use the tranquilizer against them. The immortals had destroyed them all, hadn’t they?

Wait. Nick tilted his head thoughtfully. He wasn’t feeling sluggish. At all.

Another dart struck him.

He smiled. No. This wasn’t the drug mercenaries had wielded against immortals. This was just an ordinary tranquilizer that didn’t do squat to him.

Feigning a stagger, he glanced around the room. There, there, there… there, there, and there. Six men garbed all in black with ski masks and night vision monoculars concealing their faces as they aimed weapons equipped with silencers at him.

Who the hell were these guys?

Another dart pricked him.

Nick glanced down at it, then eyed the man who had fired it. “Oh, you shouldn’t have done that.” He leapt forward in a blur.

Shouts of surprise and alarm erupted. Fingers tightened on triggers. Bullets buzzed through the air like bees high on coke.

Shit. He hoped they wouldn’t hit any of his neighbors.

Fear for Kayla rose.

Since Josh—his other next-door neighbor—was in San Antonio, Nick tried to stay on that side of the house to keep stray bullets from hitting Kayla. Or the neighbors behind him. Or the ones across the street. Life had been a lot less complicated when all a man could fight with was a sword and shield.

Quick as a blink, he disarmed the man with the tranq gun and drew his fist back.

Bullets peppered him. Pain drove him to strike a harder blow than he’d intended.

The man dropped dead at Nick’s feet.

Shit. He needed to keep some of these bastards alive so he could find out what was going on.

He sped on to the next attacker and dragged him in front of him.

The man cried out and danced as bullets struck him, some passing through and hitting Nick. Well, that answered that. These guys weren’t above taking out one of their own in order to capture the prize.

Crashes sounded all around him, crap splintering and flying off shelves as bullets wrecked his home. Glass shattered, fragments sparkling like fairy dust in the little bit of moonlight that swam through the windows. Nick dodged as many projectiles as he could, but even preternaturally fast immortals had their limits. As soon as he reached the next man, he yanked the gun out of the bastard’s hands and swung it like brass knuckles.

As the prick collapsed to the floor, Nick spun toward the next. Stuffing flew from his sofa cushions, floating in the air like snowflakes. Rips and holes appeared in his paintings.

Motherfuckers! That’s it!

Pain and rage engulfed Nick. His shirt clung to him in front and back, saturated with his blood, as he dove at the three remaining men. He grabbed the first. “Who sent you?” he demanded.

When the man tried to shoot him, Nick snapped his neck, dropped him, and stepped over his body.

“Who sent you?” he shouted as he leapt at the next. A bullet nicked his damn carotid artery just before he reached him.

While he yanked the gun from the bastard’s hands, the last man darted out the back door. Nick tossed the weapon aside and punched the man he held in the head.

The man dropped, unconscious, to the floor.

Spinning around, Nick raced for the door. Rampant blood loss from all the holes bullets had carved in him slowed his steps to mortal speeds. Once outside, Nick followed the fleeing man’s scent and felt fear tear through him.

He’d gone over the fence into Kayla’s backyard.

With a last burst of speed, Nick vaulted over the fence.

The man was two steps away from her back door when Nick caught him by the collar and yanked.

The man’s hand tightened on his gun, firing it twice as he flew backward. Thankfully, both bullets pierced Kayla’s roof rather than the windows or the walls.

Despite the weakness that rapidly weighted his limbs, Nick picked the man up and threw him down.

The man cried out as his back hit pavement. His night vision monocular flew off.

Nick fisted the man’s shirt, leaned down over him, and got up in his face, flashing fangs and glowing eyes. “Who sent you?” he snarled.

The man pissed his pants.

Nick’s ears caught the sound of movement inside Kayla’s home.

Swearing, he grabbed the monocular and dragged the man off into the shadows on the opposite side of her home where the floodlights didn’t reach. Once out of sight, he knelt on the man’s chest, drew a dagger, and pressed the sharp tip to the man’s throat right above the pulse that gyrated wildly beneath the surface.

The man stared up at him with wide blue eyes, his irises shrinking as his pupils dilated.

The blinds on Kayla’s sliding glass doors rattled as she peered out. She must have heard something. The bullets piercing her roof? The man’s grunt of pain?

Nick looked toward the back patio to ensure she couldn’t see them.

Dizziness struck. The backyard tilted sideways.

Shaking his head drunkenly, he used his hold on the man beneath him to brace himself.

Maybe that bullet had done more than nick his carotid artery. Maybe the nick was more of a gash.

Inside, Kayla padded toward the back door.

Nick leaned down over the last attacker and hissed, “Tell me who sent you.” As soon as he did, Nick would partake of the man’s blood and try to regain enough strength to get home and call for help.

The man tensed, then shoved a hand up, burying a tactical knife to the hilt in Nick’s belly.

Pain pierced him. Shit! He was really off his game tonight. Why the hell had he let himself get distracted?

Nick dropped his knife and slammed a fist into the man’s temple. The bastard went limp.

Nick damn near did, too. Unconsciousness beckoned, but he fought it furiously. His breath emerged in jagged puffs as he sat back on his heels and glanced down at the blade buried in his belly.

This was going to hurt.

Clasping the hilt of the knife, he gritted his teeth and yanked it out. Only hundreds of years of sustaining similar wounds kept him silent.

Hand shaking, he dropped the tactical knife to the grass.

Agony shot through his middle and just about everywhere else. Now that the battle had ended, he could feel every single wound, beginning with the one in his gut that felt like someone was trying to yank his entrails out through his belly button.

The lock on Kayla’s back door turned. The inner wooden door opened, then the outer screen door.

Nick started to topple over and hastily braced a hand on the grass to keep from collapsing on his damn attacker like a lover who had just climaxed. He glanced down. Ah hell. When the bastard had stabbed him, Nick had inadvertently shoved the blade of his dagger into the man’s neck and done some serious damage. Blood poured out onto the grass in thick pulses that slowed even as he watched.

Grabbing the man’s wrist, Nick brought it to his lips and sank his fangs in to try to siphon what little blood was left in his veins.

There wasn’t nearly enough.

Kayla’s scent reached him on the breeze as she stepped outside, so fresh amid the odors of blood and death that filled his nostrils.

Dropping the man’s arm, he fought to remain conscious.

“Nick?” she called softly, hope brightening her voice.

How he wished he could answer her. But he couldn’t let her see him like this.

“Oh shit,” she whispered. “Is that blood?”

Damn it. He was leaking so much of the crimson liquid that he must have bled on the patio when he’d stopped this prick from seeking refuge in her home.

She gasped. “It is.”

He heard her back toward the door. If he didn’t do something, she might go inside and call 911, which would kick off a shit storm when police arrived and found the bodies.

Or go to his house to tell him about the blood and find his home full of holes and dead bodies, which would kick off a similar shit storm.

Or go back inside, lock her door, and wait to see what he thought about it when he joined her. Which he wouldn’t be doing, because at the rate he was going, he wasn’t even going to make it back over the damn fence before passing out. So he could very well end up roasting in the sun when it rose.

He tried to think, but drowsiness tugged at him and muddled his thoughts.

Her back door opened, forcing his hand.

Time’s up. He had to act now.

Hopefully the little bit of blood this bastard had provided would be enough to get him through what came next.