CHAPTER 3

Mr. “Do Me” Gorgeous Man is a vampire!

“Oh no, no, no.” Amanda’s entire body shook from terror and it took every piece of self-control she possessed not to launch into a screaming fit. “Are you going to suck my blood?”

He arched a sardonic brow. “Do I look like a lawyer to you?”

She ignored his sarcasm. “Are you going to kill me?”

His face completely unamused, Hunter sighed irritably. “If I intended to kill you, don’t you think you’d already be dead?”

He stepped closer to her and offered her a wry, evil grin she knew was meant to intimidate her. And boy howdy did it work.

He lifted his free hand up to stroke the skin of her neck where her jugular was. The feather-light touch sent chills over her. “Come to think of it, I could just suck you dry, then gnaw your hand off with my fangs and be free.”

Her eyes widened in terror.

“But lucky you, I have no intention of doing that, either.”

“Don’t be sarcastic, okay?” she breathed, her heart still pounding because she wasn’t sure if he was joking with her or if he really would turn all grisly on her and start feeding off her blood. “I can’t cope with it. Imagine if you were in my shoes. I just went to let Tabitha’s dog out so he wouldn’t mess on her bed. I went from that to being knocked on the head, and chained to a vampire. Excuse me if I’m a little freaky at the moment.”

To her amazement, he dropped his hand and backed off. “You’re right. I imagine you’re not used to having people attack you for no apparent reason.”

By his tone, she could tell he, on the other hand, was rather experienced at finding himself in the middle of such situations.

He offered her a tight-lipped smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “If it makes you feel better, I don’t feed on humans.”

For some reason, it did make her feel better to hear him say that. Not that she believed it. But still, it was a little reassuring. “So, you’re like Angel?”

He rolled his eyes at her. “You watch way too much television,” he muttered. Then louder, he said, “Angel has a soul. I don’t.”

“Now you’re back to being scary again.”

The look on his face reiterated his earlier words: Baby, you ain’t seen scary yet.

He glanced back out the door. “All right. We’re going to have to run for it before the sun rises any higher.”

Hunter gave her a penetrating stare. “The main problem is that I don’t know where that hallway leads. In the event it leads out into the open and I die a particularly agonizing death where I spontaneously combust into flames, I need a favor from you.”

“A favor?” she asked in disbelief. The man had one serious set of cojones on him. He bullied her, threatened her, then dared to ask a favor?

“Sure, why not?” she asked.

He took the ring off his right hand and gave it to her. “I need you to take that and find a tree.”

Amanda frowned at the ring in her hand. The gold was scuffed and nicked in a number of places as if it had been seriously mistreated. Or rather the hand that bore it had been through a lot of damage.

The top of the ring was made of flat rubies and held the design of a sword of diamonds surrounded by emerald laurel leaves and topped with a sapphire crown. She could tell it was a valuable antique.

Why would he entrust it to her?

Unsure of what to make of him, she placed it in her jeans pocket. “Any tree?” she asked.

“Any tree. Then say the words ‘Artemis, I summon you to human form.’”

“Artemis—”

He put his hand over her mouth. “For the love of Zeus, only say it once I’m gone. After you utter the words, wait until a very tall, red-haired woman appears and tell her you need protection from Desiderius.”

Amanda arched a brow. “You want me to summon a goddess to protect me?”

“If you don’t, he will get you and your sister.”

“Why do you care?”

“It’s my job to protect the humans from the Daimons. That’s what a Dark-Hunter does.” Though his face was harsh, there was a light in his eyes that told her there was much more to the story than that.

“What are Daimons?” she asked.

“They’re vampires on steroids with a God complex. Now, promise me you’ll do it.”

Why not? It was a strange request, but then, considering the fact she was handcuffed to a vampire, who was she to say what was or wasn’t strange? “Okay.”

“Good. Now, let’s run for it.”

Before she could protest, he grabbed the handcuff over her wrist, and ran out the door to the right and down the hallway.

As they ran along the rusty floor, Amanda realized they were inside an abandoned factory of some sort.

At the end of the hallway were stairs that led down.

Hunter pulled her along after him until they reached the bottom of the stairs that opened into an enormous empty room with a cement floor. The old steel walls were cracked, with rays of the dawning sun streaming through.

The Dark-Hunter fell back into the shadows, away from the sunlight. His face looked a bit sunburned, but overall he didn’t appear too much the worse from their mad dash.

“Now what?” she asked as she tried to catch her breath.

The Dark-Hunter wasn’t even breathing hard. But his gaze was just a little too hot as he stared at her breasts with interest.

Amanda crossed her arms over her chest.

For the first time, she saw a real smile from him as she realized his hand was dangerously close to her breast. So close, his fingertips brushed the nipple, making fire rip through her veins.

She immediately dropped her hands to her sides while his smile taunted her. Though tight-lipped and devilish, it was still devastating. The amused gleam in his eyes was breathtaking, and his features softened into a boyish charm that could melt the heart of anything female.

He glanced around the empty factory. “Now I wish we either had a cell phone or subway system. I knew I should have taken that open position in New York.”

Confused, Amanda looked up at him. “Open position? What? Is hunting really a job?”

“Yes. They even pay me to do it.”

“Who pays you?”

Instead of answering, he held up a hand for silence in a gesture that was starting to piss her off—the main reason being because it seemed to herald trouble. And she was tired of finding trouble meant for Tabitha.

Two seconds later, Amanda heard someone walking around outside. Hunter pulled her deeper into the shadows with him while they listened. He had his free arm draped over her shoulders, pinning her to his body.

Amanda went stock-still as her back connected fully with his chest and a wave of misplaced desire tore through her. The heat of him warmed her and that raw, masculine aura of power overwhelmed her. Even more disturbing, his welcoming scent of leather and sandalwood invaded her head.

She wanted this man.

What are you, nuts? The man’s a vampire!

Yeah, but he’s a really, really sexy one.

Kyrian couldn’t breathe with her so close to him. His heightened senses felt her all the way through his entire body. He heard her heartbeat speed up, felt the dryness of her throat, but even worse, he could taste her desire.

It whetted his appetite for her even more. And it reminded him why he had made it his habit to avoid being around women as much as possible.

Damn you, Desiderius.

Because right then it was hard to remember he couldn’t have her. And even harder to forget the way she smelled. The way she moved—like a confident dancer. Her lithe body was a symphony of grace and all too easily he could imagine her sitting on top of him as he showed her a sexual pleasure he was quite certain no other man had ever given her.

His loins tightened to the point of pain. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had been this hard for a woman. And it took all his willpower not to kiss her. Not to bury his lips against her throat and inhale her warm sweetness as he …

Kyrian flexed his hand on her shoulder as he realized all he had to do was lower his hand three inches and he would be cupping her breast.

Just three tiny inches …

Suddenly, the sound of a walkie-talkie broke the silence.

“It’s a construction worker,” she whispered, bolting to a window.

Kyrian hissed as she pulled him into the sunlight. He jerked her back into the darkness.

“Sorry,” she whispered. She edged closer to the window, making sure to keep him out of the sun.

“Hey!” Amanda called as she saw the man a few feet away, poking around an old tractor.

The construction worker looked up at her and did a double-take. Scowling, he walked over to the window and looked inside. His eyes narrowed on them. “What are you doing in there? This area is off-limits to the public.”

“It’s a long story,” Amanda said. “The short version is I got left here. You wouldn’t happen to have a cell phone I could borrow, would you?”

Still scowling, he handed his cell phone to her through the open window.

Hunter immediately took it from her hand.

“Hey!” she snapped, reaching for it.

Moving it out of her reach, he ignored her while he dialed a number.

“Where are we?” Hunter asked the construction worker as he placed the phone to his ear.

“The old Olson Plant.”

“In Slidell?”

Amanda arched a brow that the Dark-Hunter would recognize it. She’d lived in New Orleans all her life and had no idea this place existed.

“Yeah,” the worker said.

Hunter nodded.

“Hey,” he said into the phone, “it’s me. I’m at the Olson Plant in Slidell. Do you know where it is?”

He paused as he listened to whoever was on the other end.

Amanda watched him closely. It amazed her that he was able to talk without showing his fangs, but he disguised them well.

And now that she thought about it, how could a vampire be so tanned and warm? How could he have a pulse and a heartbeat?

Weren’t vampires supposed to be the cold, pale undead?

“Yes,” Hunter said. “I need a ride out of here, preferably before the sun gets any higher.”

The Dark-Hunter turned the phone off and tossed it out the window to the construction worker.

“Hey!” she snapped, reaching out of the window to reclaim the phone. “I need that.”

“Who are you going to call?” Hunter asked menacingly.

“None of your damn business.”

Hunter took the phone out of her hand. “As long as we’re attached, it is my business.”

She narrowed her eyes on him as she grabbed the phone. “Mess with me, buster, and I’ll take another two steps to my right.”

His heated glare sent a shiver over her. “Don’t you dare call your sister.”

The seething look on his face made her rethink pushing her luck. She handed the phone back to the worker. “Thanks,” she said.

The construction worker clipped the phone to his belt and gave them a chiding stare. “You know, you two need to get out of there. This b—”

The Dark-Hunter held his hand up and the man’s eyes went blank, empty. “There’s no one in the building. Go do whatever you need to do.”

The man walked off without another word.

Mind control? Amanda gaped at Hunter.

Of course he had mind control. He was a vampire.

“You better not use that on me,” Amanda said.

“Don’t worry. You’re too strong-willed for it to work.”

“Good.”

“Not from where I’m standing, it isn’t.”

Though the words were edged, there was an amused light in the depths of his eyes that said he wasn’t as peeved as he sounded.

She looked askance at him. He was leaning nonchalantly against a post with his eyes closed, and yet she had the distinct impression that he was alert to everything around them, both inside the building and out.

“Why did you become a vampire?” she asked before she could think better of it. “Did someone turn you against your will?”

He opened his eyes and cocked a brow at that. “No one becomes a Dark-Hunter unless they are willing.”

“And you were willing to…” Her voice trailed off as she expectantly waited for him to explain.

“To sacrifice a nosy little human if she doesn’t stop pestering me.”

She should be frightened of him and yet she kept hearing Desiderius’s words in her mind telling her that he would never harm a human.

Was it true?

She ran her gaze over his scrumptious body wishing she knew for certain.

They stood without speaking for quite a bit, until Amanda couldn’t stand it any longer.

“So,” she said, trying to break the awkward silence. “How long do you think we’ll have to wait?”

“I don’t know.”

“Who did you call?” she tried again.

“No one.”

Amanda took a deep breath and fought the urge to strangle him. “You don’t like to answer questions, do you?”

“Honestly? I don’t like to talk at all. I’d rather just stand here in silence.”

“And brood?”

“Yes.”

She blew her hair out of her face. “Well, I happen to be bored and if I have to stand here waiting for your ride, I’d like to do something to pass the time.”

His gaze dropped to her lips, then slid slowly down to her breasts and hips. He shuttered his eyes, but even so she saw the raw hunger in the midnight depths. She felt it, hot and demanding.

“I can think of one way to pass time…”

She widened her eyes. “You’re not going to bite me, are you?”

He smiled wickedly. “I don’t want to bite you, agapee-menee. I want to nibble every inch of your bare flesh, especially your bre—”

She reached up and stopped his words by placing her hand over his lips. The softness of them contrasting with his whiskers stunned her. And the sensation of his skin under her hand jolted her with electricity. Swallowing hard, she dropped her hand. “I didn’t think vampires could have sex.”

He arched a taunting brow at her. “Why don’t you and I conduct a little experiment and see?”

Amanda knew she should be offended. She should be angry. She should be anything other than turned on by his words. But the idea actually appealed to her as she ran her gaze down his lean, perfect body.

Kyrian felt her confusion. She was actually considering his offer. Had the fire in his groin not been so fierce, he would have laughed. But as it was, he wasn’t sure whether or not he was toying with her, or truly propositioning her.

All he knew was that the sight of her parted lips tempted him in a way he’d never been tempted before.

Not that he should be surprised by the way his body responded to her. She was just the type of woman who had always appealed to him. Intelligent. Brave.

And simply beguiling.

He glanced to the wall behind her, and imagined what it would feel like to press her against it while he took her hard, fast, and furious.

He swore he could feel himself already inside her. Could hear her moaning in his ear as he …

Kyrian shook his head to dispel the image. There were times when he hated his psychic abilities. Right now was definitely one of them.

Licking his dry lips, he remembered a time when he wouldn’t have hesitated to take a woman such as this to his bed. A time when he would have peeled those safe, conservative clothes off her body and kissed every single inch of her bare flesh until she was wild with unbridled desire. Touched her until he brought her to the edge again and again as she clung to him and begged for more.

Kyrian clenched his teeth at the heat searing his blood. How he wished he could relive those days.

But that was a long time ago. And no matter how much he might want her, she was not his to take.

He would never know her body.

He would never know her. Period. It was why he hadn’t asked her name or given her his. He had no intention of using it. She was nothing more than another nameless person he had sworn to protect. That was as close as he intended to get.

He was a Dark-Hunter, and she was an uninitiated human. The two were not to mix.

Kyrian looked up as he heard the faint sound of a siren approaching. Silently, he thanked Tate’s timing.

Amanda glanced out the window as she heard an ambulance. Oddly enough, it stopped in front of the factory.

After a brief pause, the two front factory doors opened and the ambulance pulled inside.

“Your ride?” she asked.

The Dark-Hunter nodded.

Once the ambulance was deep enough inside the factory so that the sunlight didn’t reach it, a tall African-American man got out and approached them. He gave a low whistle as he caught sight of Hunter’s sunburned face. “Man, you look like hell. Should I ask about the handcuffs?”

Hunter led her toward the driver. “Not unless you want to die.”

“Okay,” the driver said good-naturedly. “I can take a hint, but here’s the next problem. You’re not going to be inconspicuous in a body bag wearing those. People are definitely going to notice.”

“I already thought of that,” Hunter said. “If anyone asks, tell them I died of a heart attack during a wild sexcapade with her.”

An eerie chill went up Amanda’s spine as she recalled Selena’s words the day before. “I beg your pardon?”

Hunter cast an amused look to her that let her know he was thoroughly enjoying her torment. “And she can’t find the key.”

Tate laughed.

“I don’t think so,” Amanda said heatedly.

Hunter gave her that devilish grin that warmed her all over, and the look he swept over her made her tingle. “Look on the bright side; you’ll have men lining up to date you.”

“You’re not funny.”

Hunter shrugged. “It’s the only way out of here.”

“For you maybe,” she said. “I can walk right out of here on my own, and dust you.”

He cocked a taunting brow at her. “Try it.”

She did, and quickly learned that tall, dangerous vampires didn’t budge unless they wanted to.

“Okay,” Amanda said, rubbing her wrist where the cuff was biting into it. “We’ll be getting in the ambulance, then.”

Hunter led the way.

When he got to the back of the ambulance, Hunter lifted her up with such ease that it startled her. She moved to the left, trying to make room for him, but he was so tall, he was doubled over. In one fluid motion, he lay down on the stretcher, inside the black body bag that was on top of it.

Without a word, Tate zipped it closed.

“You two do this a lot?” she asked.

Tate smiled in easygoing friendship. “Every now and again.”

Amanda frowned as Tate adjusted the bag so that her hand was on the outside and Hunter’s inside it. It seemed strange to her that Tate was so willing to help a vampire.

“How did you two meet?” she asked Tate.

“I was feeding off a body when he found me,” Hunter said from inside the bag.

Tate laughed as he straightened. “One night while I was on call, I went to pick up a body that wasn’t dead. If not for Hunter, I’d be the one in the body bag.”

“Shut up, Tate,” Hunter snapped, “and drive.”

“I’m going,” Tate said as if completely unoffended by the high-handed way Hunter treated him.

“You know,” Amanda said to Hunter as Tate got up front and started the ambulance. “You could try being nicer to people. Especially when they’re helping you.”

She heard his aggravated sigh even through the plastic. “Shouldn’t that advice apply to you, as well?”

Amanda opened her mouth to respond, then closed it. He was right. She had been rather testy with him since all this started. “I guess you’re right. Maybe we should both try and make the best of this.”

If he responded, she didn’t hear it since the siren blared again. Tate drove them to the hospital in record time, but the ride was far from smooth.

By the time they arrived, she felt as if she had been tossed around like sweatsocks in a dryer.

Tate pulled up to the rear of the hospital, under an awning that kept the sunlight from touching them. With a warning to her to remain quiet, he carefully pulled the stretcher out of the back so that he wouldn’t hurt her arm as they descended out of the ambulance.

Once inside the hospital doors, Amanda held her jacket closed to hide the bloodstains on her sweater.

Hunter remained completely still and silent as Tate pushed the stretcher through the bustling areas. Amanda walked along beside them, and wanted to cringe and die given how obvious the handcuffs were.

Did they have to gleam so brightly under the fluorescent lights? Couldn’t Desiderius have found nice, small police-sized cuffs?

Oh no, these had to be five inches thick with some kind of weird Greek design all over them. And a chain that ran a good four inches in length. Anyone who saw them would definitely think they came from one of Tabitha’s weird sex catalogues.

The horror of it! Amanda had never even been inside a Frederick’s of Hollywood. For that matter, she’d blushed profusely the handful of times she’d been in Victoria’s Secret.

And everyone they passed turned to gawk at them.

“I haven’t seen that in at least six months,” an orderly said as they passed the admissions desk.

“I heard that,” another orderly responded. “Wonder how old the poor guy was?”

“I dunno, but by the looks of her, I’d say sign me up.”

Their laughter made her entire face burn. By the interested looks the men were raking over her body, she could surmise Hunter’s words about her having dates might not have been too far off the mark.

“Hey, Tate?” a young doctor asked as they drew near the elevators. “Should I ask?”

Tate shook his head. “You know all the weird shit comes through my office.”

The doctor laughed while Amanda covered her face with her hand.

As soon as the elevator doors closed behind them, Amanda whispered under her breath, “Hunter, I swear, I’m going to kill you for this.”

“Dearie,” an elderly hospital volunteer said from beside her. “It looks to me like you already did.” She patted Amanda lightly on the arm. “The same thing happened to me and my Harvey. Poor thing. I sure do miss him, too.”

Tate choked on his laughter.

Amanda groaned and prayed for this ordeal to end.

Once they reached the morgue, Tate took them into a dim, metallic lab and locked the door. Hunter unzipped the bag from the inside.

“Thanks,” he said to Tate as he sat up and removed the bag from his body. He folded it and placed it on a table.

Tate opened a drawer in the small cabinet next to the door. “No problem. Now, take your coat and shirt off and let me see what happened to you.”

“It will heal.”

Tate set his jaw stubbornly. “What of infection?”

Kyrian laughed. “Immortals don’t die from infections. I am completely incapable of carrying any disease.”

“You may not die from it, but it doesn’t mean it won’t hurt and it’ll heal faster if treated.” He gave Kyrian a look that said he would not be swayed. “I’m not going to take no for an answer. Let me treat that wound.”

Kyrian opened his mouth to argue more, but if he knew anything about Tate, it was that the man was stubborn. Deciding not to waste his time, Kyrian obeyed before he remembered the coat and shirt wouldn’t come completely off, thanks to the handcuffs.

He gave an exasperated sigh and left his clothes to hang against his forearm, then got back on the stretcher and leaned back on his elbows to wait for Tate.

As he watched Tate gather supplies, he heard Amanda’s heart pounding and her breathing speed up. Felt her keen interest as she raked her gaze over his body. She wanted him, and her hot desire played havoc with him.

Kyrian shifted and wished his jeans were a couple of sizes bigger, since the black denim started biting fiercely into his erection.

Damn, he’d forgotten what a literal and figurative pain his body could be when an attractive woman was around.

And she was attractive. What with that charming, elfish face and those big, blue eyes …

He’d always been a fool for blue eyes.

Even without looking at her, he knew she was licking those plump, full lips, and his throat went dry as he imagined the taste of them. The feel of her breath on his face and her tongue against his as he kissed her.

Dear gods, and he had thought the Romans had tortured him! Their best interrogator had been an amateur compared to the physical and mental agony her nearness caused him now.

Even more disturbing than her looks was the fact that she had been an amazingly good sport about all of this. Most women would have been screaming in terror of him or crying.

Or both.

But she had met the entire ordeal with a courage and strength of heart he’d not seen in a long time.

He actually liked her, and that surprised him most of all.

Amanda jumped when Hunter met her gaze. Those deep, black eyes bored into hers and made her hot and breathless.

He lay on the stretcher with one leg bent up and the other hanging over the edge. The black denim hugged his long, powerful body.

And those muscled arms …

Lean and defined, he was all masculine beauty. His biceps were flexed as he leaned back on his elbows. She wanted to reach out and touch him so badly that she ached from it. No doubt, he would be rock-hard and satiny underneath her hand.

His shoulders were incredibly broad, with sculpted muscles that promised strength, speed, and agility. His pecs and arms were every bit as well-formed and tight.

And his stomach, oh heaven! Those flat abs had been made for nibbling.

Unbidden, her gaze followed the thin trail of coffee-colored hairs that started at his navel and vanished under the tight denim. By the size of the bulge in his jeans, she could tell he was amply endowed, and more than passingly interested in her.

The thought made her even hotter.

The deep, golden tan of his flesh defied what she knew him to be. How could a vampire have skin so tawny and inviting?

But even more tantalizing than the lean muscles that beckoned for caresses were the multitude of scars that crossed his flesh. He looked as if he had been clawed by a huge tiger, or beaten within an inch of his life with a whip.

Or both.

Hunter lay down as Tate approached, and she saw a small double-bow-and-arrow symbol branded into his left shoulder. She cringed at the thought of how much such a thing must have hurt, and she wondered if he had agreed to it, or if someone had put it there against his will.

“I take it from your scars that your vampire friends don’t think much of you,” she said.

“You think?” he retorted.

“Is he always this sarcastic?” she asked Tate.

“Actually, I thought he was being rather nice to you.” Tate cleansed the vicious-looking wound with alcohol. He prepared to give Hunter a local.

Hunter caught his hand before Tate could inject him. “Don’t bother.”

“Why?” Tate asked with a frown.

“I’m immune to it.”

Amanda’s jaw dropped.

Tate just reached for the sutures.

“You can’t do that,” she said, interrupting him. “He’ll feel it.”

“He needs that wound closed,” Tate insisted. “Jeez, you can see his bones through it.”

“Go ahead,” Hunter said with a calmness that astounded her.

Stunned, she cringed while Tate made the first suture.

Hunter kept his jaw locked and said nothing.

Amanda watched Tate tend Hunter. Her heart wrenched at the thought of how much pain Hunter must be feeling.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” she asked him.

“No,” Hunter said between clenched teeth.

Amanda could tell by the way the veins stood out on his neck and the way he clenched his fists that he was lying.

“Here,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “Just hold tight.”

Kyrian started at the softness of her hand in his. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched him like that. He’d been a Dark-Hunter for so long that he had all but forgotten simple kindness.

Tate acted out of gratitude and a sense of obligation.

But her …

There was no reason for her to hold his hand. He’d barely spoken a civil word to her, and yet she reached out to him when no one else would have. It made him feel strange toward her. Protective. Tender.

More than that, her simple touch scorched him all the way to his caged heart. He swallowed, then stiffened. He couldn’t let her close to him. She was a creature of light and he was one of darkness.

The two were not compatible.

“So, how long have you been a vampire?” she asked.

“I told you,” he said, his jaw tight, “I’m not a vampire. I’m a Dark-Hunter.”

“What’s the difference?”

Kyrian gave her a hard glare. “The difference is I normally don’t kill humans, but if you don’t stop quizzing me, I might make an exception.”

“You are one seriously testy Creature of the Night.”

“I love you, too.”

Amanda dropped his hand. “Oh, that’s it,” she said. “I was just trying to comfort you. God forbid, you should let anyone actually be nice to you.”

Irritated, she met Tate’s surprised gaze. “Can you just saw his arm off while we’re here and get me loose?”

Tate snorted. “I could do that, but he needs his more. I’d cut yours off before I did his.”

“Oh, great, what are you, his Igor?”

“Wrong movie,” Tate corrected. “Igor was Frankenstein’s flunky. Renfield is the one you’re thinking of, and no, I’m not Renfield. Name’s Tate Bennett. Parish coroner.”

“I’d already guessed the coroner part. Rather obvious since we’re in a cold lab full of dead people.”

Tate arched a brow at her. “And you call him sarcastic.”

Hunter jerked as Tate pulled too hard on the sutures.

“Sorry,” Amanda said. “I won’t distract him anymore.”

“I would appreciate it.”

Once Tate finished, Hunter put his shirt and coat back on. He slid off the stretcher with only the slightest hiss to reveal his side was sore.

Tate’s pager went off. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. You kids need anything?”

“I’m fine,” Hunter said. “But she probably needs breakfast and a phone.”

Amanda quirked a brow at his words. Why would he let her have a phone now?

Tate quickly cleaned up the mess. “The phone is against the far wall, just dial nine to get out. I’ll grab something in the cafeteria and be back as soon as I can. Stay in here and keep the door locked.”

As soon as they were alone, Hunter moved so that she could sit on the small stool by the phone.

Blinking, Hunter rubbed his hand over his eyes as if they were sensitive to the fluorescent lights. “We need to make plans,” he said quietly. “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone in this city who might have a way to break handcuffs made by a Greek god?”

Getting used to his sarcasm, she smiled. “Actually, I think I do.”

His face instantly lightened. Gracious, the man was gorgeous when not scowling or barking. “One of your sisters?”

“One of their friends.”

He nodded. “Good. We need to do that, preferably before sunset, or at least not long after it. You also have to call Tabitha and tell her to lie low for a few days.”

“You know, for the record, I hate to take orders. But!” Amanda said interrupting him before he could pull rank. “I realize I’m in over my head. You have no idea how much I hate all this supernatural garbage. So I’m willing to listen to you, but you better start acting like I’m a person and not some mindless blow-up doll.”

She pulled his ring out of her pocket and returned it to him. “And another thing, I really have to go to the bathroom.”

Hunter laughed out loud.

“It’s not funny,” she snapped at him as he put the ring back on his finger. “Any idea how we can do this without my dying of embarrassment?”

“More than that, any idea on how to do that without my getting arrested for being in the ladies’ room?”

She cut a sharp glare at him. “If you think I’m going into the men’s room, forget it.”

“Then I hope you can hold it.”

“I am not going into the men’s room!”

Five minutes later, she was in the men’s room and cursing Hunter under her breath. “You really get off on being a bully, don’t you?”

“It’s what I live for,” he said in a bored voice as he stood with his back to her. He had his arm bent behind his back to allow her more latitude with the handcuffs.

Amanda glared at him. Her bladder felt as if were going to burst, but she was having a very difficult time going with him sandwiched between her and the stall door.

And all because Tabitha couldn’t remember to let her damn dog out! If she ever got out of this, she was going to kill her sister. Dead. Dismantled!

“What’s taking so long?” he asked in an aggravated tone.

“I can’t go with you standing there.”

“Would you just go?”

“Just you wait! Sooner or later, it’ll be your turn and I’m going to enjoy watching you squirm.”

He went rigidly still at her words. “Baby, you could never make me squirm.”

The coldness in his voice scared her.

It took her a few minutes, but she finally finished and her face was hotter than a summer afternoon at the equator. She washed her hands, all the while trying not to look at Hunter.

“You have toilet paper on your shoe,” he said, glancing down at her foot.

“Oh, of course,” she said. “Anything to make this more embarrassing for me. Could you get any more personal?”

A devilish gleam entered his eyes. Then that dark, penetrating stare dropped to her lips. She swore she could feel his hunger, feel his inner need to touch her.

Before she knew what he was doing, he cupped her head with his free hand, brushed her bottom lip with his thumb, and bent his head down to capture her lips with his.

Stunned, Amanda couldn’t think, couldn’t move, as his warm lips parted hers.

The scent of leather and taste of vampire invaded her senses. Never in her life had she felt anything like his mouth on hers. His kiss was fierce and hot as he pulled her into his arms and ravished her mouth like a marauder.

Every hormone in her body fired. She moaned low in her throat. Oh heaven, the man could kiss. And the feel of his hard body against hers was so incredible that she clutched at his shoulders wanting desperately to taste more of him.

His tongue danced with hers as his honed muscles rippled under her hands, and when her tongue accidentally brushed against his fangs, an unexpected shudder of pleasure ran through her.

For the first time since she had learned what he was, the thought of him biting her neck actually appealed to her.

But not nearly as much as the thought of laying him down on the cold, hard floor and having her way with all that lean, mean strength until they were both hot, sweaty, and spent.

Kyrian tensed as he tasted the first bit of paradise he’d been allowed in over two thousand years. He was instantly aware of her soft, feminine curves pressing against his hardness. Aware of the way she smelled like flowers and sunshine—things that had been taken from him centuries before.

There was magic in her kiss. A raw, untapped passion. She might have been kissed before, but he could tell no man had ever made her feel like this.

His body on fire, he ran his hand down her back, pressing her closer to him. He wanted her in a way he’d not wanted a woman since his days as a mortal man. He ached to touch her all over, to gently scrape his fangs over her neck, her breasts.

To feel her writhing in his arms …

Closing his eyes, he breathed her sweet, feminine scent as his body throbbed and ached for her with a primitive need.

Amanda gasped as he slid his hand down the side of her breast to her waist, then down to cup her buttocks. She’d never been the kind of woman to let a man handle her this way, and yet there was something about the Dark-Hunter she couldn’t resist.

When he pulled her heatedly toward the wall and pinned her to it, she thought she would literally melt.

His chest pressed against hers, making her even more aware of his lean, hard muscles. He separated her legs with his powerful thigh, and raised it to collide with the center of her body in a way that made her throb even more. Amanda hissed in pleasure as he deepened his fiery kiss.

She wrapped her free arm around his neck, pulling him closer as her head swam.

What would it be like to make love to such an untamed predator? To run her hands over all those sleek, taut muscles that rippled with every move he made?

He left her lips and seared a trail with his tongue from her mouth to her ear. She felt the barest scrape of his fangs on her neck.

Amanda shook all over in response to him as her breasts swelled, longing for his caress. And all the while his thigh stroked her between her legs, making her burn even more. Her knees weakened and she sank deeper onto him.

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door. “Hey, you two,” Tate said, cracking it open. “Someone’s coming.”

The Dark-Hunter pulled back with a growl. It was then she realized what she’d done.

“Oh God,” she breathed. “I just kissed a vampire!”

“Oh gods, I just kissed a human!”

Amanda narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you mocking me?”

“Guys!” Tate called again.

Hunter took her arm and led her out the door. The janitor gave them a strange look, but said nothing as he entered the bathroom behind them.

Tate led them to his small office outside the morgue.

An old wooden desk was set against the far wall, with two chairs in front of it. A sofa with a neatly folded blanket and pillow on top of it was to her right and a set of metal filing cabinets to her left. Tate showed her to the phone on the desk, then left them to attend his business.

Trying her best to forget what had just happened in the bathroom and how good Hunter had felt in her arms, Amanda called Tabitha while Hunter stood over her.

Of course, Tabitha immediately started in on her for not letting the dog out.

“Okay,” Amanda said irritably. “I’m sorry Terminator scored on your new comforter.”

“Sure you are,” Tabitha said. “So, what happened to you last night?”

“What? Are your psychic abilities failing you? I got waylaid in your house by one of your vampire buds.”

“What!” Tabitha shrieked. “Are you okay?”

Amanda looked up at Hunter and wasn’t sure how to answer. Physically, she was fine, but he did something strange to her that she couldn’t even begin to define. “I survived it. But they’re looking for you, so you need to hide out someplace safe for a few days.”

“I don’t think so.”

Hunter grabbed the phone from her hands. “Listen to me, little girl. I have your sister with me, and if you don’t leave your house and vanish for the next three days, I will make your sister wish you had listened to me.”

“You touch her and I’ll stake you.”

He laughed bitterly. “Been there, done that. Now get out of your house and let me handle this.”

“And Amanda?”

“She is safe as long as you listen to me.”

He handed the phone back to Amanda.

“Hey, Tabby,” Amanda said sheepishly.

“What has he done to you?” Tabitha demanded.

“Nothing,” she said, her face growing hot as she remembered his kiss. Nothing other than make her incredibly horny.

“Okay, listen,” Tabitha said. “I’m going to Eric’s, and we’ll gather the gang, then head out to find you.”

“No!” Amanda said as she saw the dark, angry look descend on Hunter’s face. Her heart stopped as she realized he could hear through the phone line.

You can hear her? she mouthed to him.

He nodded.

A chill went over her. “Listen, Tabby, I’m safe. Just do what he wants. Okay?”

“I don’t know.”

“Please trust me.”

“You, I trust. Him? Hell, I don’t even know who he is.”

“I know,” Amanda said. “You head over to Mom’s and I’ll stay in touch. Okay?”

“Okay,” Tabitha groused, “but if I don’t hear from you by eight o’clock tonight, I’m going hunting.”

“All right, I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”

“You, too.”

Amanda hung up the phone. “You heard all that?”

Hunter leaned over her, his body so close that she could feel his heat. His gaze bored into hers. “All my senses are highly developed.”

His gaze dropped to her chest where her nipples drew tight from the intense stare. “I can hear your heart beating faster, your blood flowing through your veins as you sit there wondering whether or not I would really hurt you.”

The man was truly frightening. “Would you?” she whispered.

He locked gazes with her. “What do you think?”

She stared at him, trying to get a reading on his mood and feelings, but the man was a brick wall. “I honestly don’t know.”

“You’re smarter than I thought,” he said as he took a step back.

Amanda didn’t know what to say to that. So she called work and told them she was sick for the day.

Hunter rubbed his eyes again.

“Do the lights bother you?” she asked.

He dropped his hand. “Yes.”

She remembered what he said about his senses.

Before she could ask him anything else, he picked up the phone and dialed a number.

“Hola, Rosa. Cómo está?”

Spanish? she thought with a start. He spoke flawless Spanish?

Even more intriguing was the incredibly sexy sound of the words in that strange accent of his.

“Sí, bien. Necesito hablar con Nick, por favor.”

Hunter cradled the phone between his cheek and shoulder as he massaged the wrist where the cuff was making a red mark. She wondered if he realized the feral intensity that came into his eyes every time he saw the cuffs.

“Hey, Nick,” he said after a minute. “I need you to retrieve my car from the corner of Iberville and Clay, and bring it to St. Claude. You can leave it in the doctors’ lot.”

He let go of the cuff and took the phone back in his hand. “Yeah, I know I’m a real asshole to work for, but you can’t knock the pay and perks. Head out at three, and after you drop my car off, you can go home early.”

He paused as he listened for a few seconds. “Also grab the backup case out of the cabinet … yeah, that one. I need you to bring it and my spare keys to the hospital and leave them for Dr. Tate Bennett.”

He stiffened as if Nick said something that irked him. “Yes, you can take tomorrow off, but keep your beeper and phone on in case I need something.”

Hunter growled. “Boy, don’t make me change my tone with you. You forget, I know where you sleep.” Though the words were harsh, there was an underlying note of humor in his voice. “All right, but don’t burn out the clutch again. I’ll see you later.”

Amanda arched a brow as he hung up the phone. “So who’s Nick?”

“My gofer.”

She gaped at him. “My God, can it be you actually answered a question? Holy cow, we’d better call Tate in here quick before you keel over dead or undead or whatever it is you vampires do.”

“Ha, ha,” he said with a smile.

Good night, this is one sexy vampire when he smiles …

“Does Nick know what you are?” she asked.

“Only the people who need to know, know what I am.”

She thought about that for a minute. “I guess I’m privileged, then.”

“‘Cursed’ would be more appropriate.”

“No,” she said as she thought more about it. “When you’re not being sarcastic, scary, or bullish, you’re actually not bad to be around.” Impishly, she added, “Of course, I’ve only been around you for about two minutes when you weren’t one of those three things, so who am I to judge?”

His face softened. “I don’t know about you, but I have to sleep. I had a long night and I’m exhausted.”

She was rather tired, too. But as she slid her gaze to the fake leather sofa, she realized it would never fit both of them.

Hunter grinned at her. “You take the couch, I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“Can you do that?”

“I’ve slept in worse places.”

“Yeah, but don’t you need a coffin?”

He gave her a droll stare, but said nothing as he led her to the sofa.

No sooner had Amanda lain down than she realized it wasn’t going to work. “This isn’t comfortable. I can’t sleep with my arm hanging over the edge and I’m twice as long as the couch is.”

“What do you suggest?”

She grabbed the blanket and pillow and lay down on the floor beside him.

Kyrian flinched as she lay so close to him that he could feel her body heat. Worse, the only way to comfortably sleep would be to drape his arm over her.

Like lovers.

The thought tore through him, lancing his heart so deep that for a minute, he couldn’t breathe as he remembered the last time he had made the mistake of being with a woman and letting his guard down.

Unbidden, the sight of blood, and the memory of grueling, unrelenting pain ripped through him with such ferocity that it made him flinch.

That was the past, he told himself. Ancient history. Still, some things were impossible to forget. And not even a man with super psychic powers could bury them.

Don’t think about it.

This wasn’t the time for memories. It was a time to be practical.

Desiderius would be after him tonight and if he was to save her and her sister, he would have to be awake, and fully alert.

Closing his eyes, he made himself relax.

Until she shifted, and her buttocks collided with his groin.

Kyrian ground his teeth. He was on fire as he inhaled the sweet rosy scent of her. It had been so incredibly long since he had last taken a woman. So long since he had dared close his eyes with one by his side.

Necessity was a bitch. But then he had learned that lesson the hard way when he had fought against the Romans.

Swallowing, he forced his mind to blankness. There was nothing in the past worth remembering. Nothing back there except pain so profound that even after two thousand years it could still bring him to his knees.

Focus, he told himself, relying on his staunch military training. Now is the time to rest.

Amanda tensed as he moved to spoon up against her spine. And when he put his arm over her, her heart pounded.

All that lean, hard strength was pressed against her back in a most distracting way.

She stared at his hand in front of her face. He had long, graceful fingers that looked as though they should belong to an artist or musician. Goodness, but it was hard to remember this man wasn’t really a man.

You’re lying with a vampire!

No, he’s a Dark-Hunter. Not that she really understood the difference, yet.

But she would. One way or another.

Amanda lay for hours listening to Hunter breathe. She could tell when he had finally fallen asleep because his arm relaxed against her and the breath on her neck evened out.

Outside Tate’s office, she heard people coming and going, the hospital paging system calling out for different doctors and orders.

A little after noon, Tate brought them lunch, but she wouldn’t let him wake Hunter. She ate half of her sandwich and continued to lie there, all the while wondering how she could feel so strangely safe with a vampire she barely knew.

She rolled over slightly to look at him. He really was scrumptious. His hair fell over his eyes as he slept and his relaxed features held a boyish charm to them.

As she stared at his perfect lips, she remembered the way they had tasted. The raw, powerful feel of them on her neck.

The remnants of that kiss made her lips burn, her body quiver.

She’d been kissed more times than she could count, but no man had ever made her feel the way he did. The touch of his mouth on hers had set her on fire.

How had he done it? What was it about Hunter that made her ache to have him in spite of herself?

Was it part of his immortal powers?

She wasn’t a nymphomaniac. She had a normal, healthy sex drive that wasn’t too low or too high. Yet every time she looked at him, she wanted to touch his skin, his lips, his hair.

What was wrong with her?

Put it out of your mind. Closing her eyes, she started counting backward from one hundred.

When she reached negative sixty, she realized it was futile.

Sighing, she absently reached out and toyed with the ring on his hand. Before she realized it, she was holding his hand in hers.

Hunter murmured dreamily as he snuggled closer. Amanda’s eyes widened as his hot breath fell against her cheek and his erection pressed disturbingly against her hip. His grip tightened on her hand an instant before he gathered her in his arms and cradled her body protectively with his.

He whispered something in a foreign language, then settled again, still fast asleep.

Her heart hammered. No one had ever held her like this. So possessively. So completely. It felt as if she were cocooned by his strength. The weirdest part of all was that deep down she liked the feeling a whole lot more than she ever wanted to admit.

Nestled in his arms, she finally drifted to sleep.

*   *   *

Amanda came awake to a hard thigh wedged between her legs and to a hot hand beneath her sweater, skimming the flesh of her stomach. Hunter’s arm held her so close to him that she could barely breathe.

“I’ve missed you,” he whispered tenderly an instant before he slid his hand under her bra and cupped her breast.

Amanda hissed in pleasure as his warm fingers brushed against her flesh in slow, simmering circles. That touch branded her with desire and it was all she could do not to turn her head to his and kiss him.

“Theone,” he breathed lovingly.

“Hey!” she snapped at him. It offended her to the core of her soul that he would dare call her by someone else’s name. If he was going to grope, then he better damn well remember who it was he groped. “What are you doing?”

Kyrian tensed as he came fully awake and opened his eyes wide. The first thing he felt was the warm, soft breast that overfilled his palm. The second was the throbbing ache in his body that demanded release.

Oh shit! He jerked his hand away as if it were on fire.

What the hell was he doing?

His job was to protect her, not touch her. Especially not when she felt this good in his arms. The last time he’d made that mistake with a woman, it had cost him his very soul.

Amanda saw the confusion on his face as he pulled away from her and sat up.

“Who’s Theone?” she asked.

Hatred flared in his eyes. “No one.”

Okay, he didn’t like Theone while conscious, but there for a minute …

He rose slowly to his feet and helped her up. “I slept longer than I meant to. The sun is already setting.”

“Is this some weird psychic thing you have with the sun?”

“Since I live and die by when it sets and rises, yes.” He pulled her toward the door. “Now then, you said you know someone we can see about getting free?”

“Yeah, they should be home. Want me to call and make sure?”

“Yes.”

Amanda went to the desk, picked up the phone, then called Grace Alexander.

“Hey, Gracie,” she said as soon as Grace answered. “This is Amanda. I was wondering if you guys would be home tonight? I have a bit of a favor to ask.”

“Sure. My in-laws are over for a bit, but that’ll keep the babies occupied. You want to tell me—”

“Not over the phone. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

“We?” Grace asked.

“I have a friend in tow, if you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all.”

“Thanks. I’ll see you in a bit.” Amanda hung up the phone.

“Okay,” she said to Hunter. “She lives off St. Charles. You know the way?”

Before he could answer, Tate came in with a black briefcase in his hand. “Hey,” he said to Hunter, “I figured you’d be getting up about now. A guy named Nick came by a couple of hours ago and left this for you.”

“Thanks,” Hunter said as he took the briefcase from him. He placed it on the desk and opened it.

Amanda’s eyes bulged at the sight of two small handguns, a recoiling gun, a holster, a cell phone, three wicked-looking knives, and a pair of small, dark, round sunglasses.

“Tate,” Hunter said with a friendly note in his voice she wouldn’t have thought him capable of. “You’re the man.”

“I just hope Nick didn’t forget anything.”

“Nope, he nailed it.”

Amanda arched a brow at the strangeness of hearing modern American slang coming out of a man with such a heavy, seductive accent.

Tate nodded to them, then left.

She watched as Hunter strapped the holster to his hips, then he slid the plate back to lock a bullet in the chamber of each gun. He flicked on the safety, twirled them around, then holstered them so that his coat concealed them.

Next, he picked up a butterfly knife and shoved it in his back pocket. The other two knives went into his coat pockets and he clipped the cell phone and his PDA to his belt.

Amanda arched a brow at his weapons. “I thought only a wooden stake through the heart killed a vampire.”

“A wooden stake through the heart will kill just about anything. And if it doesn’t, run like hell,” Hunter said blandly. “Again, my lady, you watch too much television. Don’t you have a life?”

“Yes, unlike you, I have a blessedly boring life where no one tries to kill me. And you know what? I like it, and I really want to get back to it.”

His eyes glowed with humor. “All right, then, let’s go find your friend to separate us so that you can get back to your boring life and I can lead my dangerous one.”

Raking her with a hot, lustful stare, he ran his tongue over his fangs. Then he placed the sunglasses on his face.

Amanda’s pulse quickened. With those dark glasses on, he looked even more like a soulful poet than ever before. It was all she could do not to step back into his arms and demand he kiss her again.

He tucked her hand into his coat pocket with his to conceal the handcuffs, then led her out of Tate’s office and through the hospital corridor.

As he walked, she noticed his smooth, predatorial gait. His air of refinement. The man was pure, fluid grace. And that was a seriously dangerous swagger he had developed. One that drew the attention of every woman they passed.

But Hunter didn’t seem to notice as he headed out the back exit.

Once they reached the dark parking lot, Amanda gave a low whistle as she saw a Lamborghini Diablo in one of the employee spaces. The light above it glinted across the sleek black paint much like a halo. Normally, she didn’t give a whit about cars, but the Lamborghini had always been her one exception.

It must belong to a surgeon.

Or so she thought until Hunter approached it.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m getting into my car.”

Her jaw dropped. “You own this?”

“No,” he said sarcastically. “I’m stealing it with the key in my hand.”

“Good Lord,” she gasped, “you must be loaded!”

He pulled the sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to give her a peeved glare. “It’s amazing how much savings you can accumulate in two thousand years.”

Amanda blinked as his words registered. Could he honestly be …

“Is that really how old you are?” she asked skeptically.

He nodded. “Two thousand one hundred and eighty-two years old last July, to be precise.”

She bit her bottom lip as she swept her gaze over his gorgeous body. “You look good for an old man. I wouldn’t have put you a day over three hundred myself.”

Laughing, he placed the key in the lock.

As Amanda waited for him to open the door, the imp in her couldn’t resist teasing him. “You know, they say men who drive cars like this are compensating for little”—she let her gaze roam meaningfully down the front of his body, pausing at the bulge in his jeans—“packages.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her, then gave her a crooked smile that was teasing, warm, and wicked as he pulled the door up.

Before she knew what he was about, he stepped forward, overwhelming her with his masculine scent and power, then he took her hand that was cuffed to him and pressed it against his swollen groin.

Nope. No compensating there.

He dipped his head down to whisper in her ear. “If you need more convincing…”

Her breath faltered at the incredible feel of him in her palm. That was not a tube sock in his jeans.

He stared at her lips and cupped her face with his free hand. She knew in that instant he was going to kiss her again.

Yes, please!

“Knock, knock,” Desiderius said from the darkness.