Endless Chase (4 page)

He knew he had to head back to the castle soon. He needed to eat and then he really needed a shower and about eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. He’d only stay for a few more minutes.

As the world awakened around him, and bees and other insects began to buzz around the flowers, Chase drifted off into a light doze.

18

Endless Chase

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
Katya berated herself as she raced through the woods. She should never have revealed herself, especially not to him. He was one of
them
.

Chase Deveraux. She liked the sound of his name. It was strong, like him. Of course, she knew who he was. She’d done her research when she’d discovered that the Dalakis family was her target. Information was power.

But all her research hadn’t prepared her for this.

The reality of Chase was so much more than she could have ever imagined. He was tall and well built. His shoulders were solid, his arms strong. And his chest… She slowed to a light jog as she neared the village, needing to catch her breath, and it wasn’t the run down the mountain path that was making her lightheaded. No, it was the memory of her breasts pressed against Chase’s chest.

“Get a grip.” She couldn’t afford any distractions in her life, not now, and certainly not with him.

Katya stopped at the edge of the woods and quickly put her crossbow into its leather case. She settled it on her back and yanked her knapsack over it. The sun was climbing higher in the sky, so she pulled her sunglasses out of her pocket and shoved them on her nose, pushing them high.

People were just beginning to stir in the tiny town as she hurried to the small inn where she was staying. It was more of a B&B really, but the owners liked to refer to it as an inn. Still, it was the only accommodations around, so she didn’t care what it was called. It was clean and it was close to her target. That was all that mattered.

She needed to check her file on the Dalakis family and their inner circle. She knew that Chase had been born in New Orleans and had been reared by his older sister, Delight. It was Delight who’d been the main focus of her investigation since she was married to a Dalakis. Chase had been more of an afterthought. She knew he was an artist of some kind.

She could use that.

God, what had she become?
Her mother would be ashamed of her. Manipulation and deceit were second nature to her now. Lies rolled easily off her tongue, when a year ago she would never even have considered telling an untruth.

But she wasn’t that naïve young girl anymore. That girl had died in the fire along with her parents. She’d learned that life wasn’t always fair, nor did the story always have a happy ending. The fire had scorched more than her hands. It had burned her to her core, altering her very being. What had emerged from the flames was a woman 19

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born of vengeance. That was what she lived for now and nothing would stand in her way.

She yanked open the front door of the inn with more force than necessary and barely kept it from slamming against the wooden exterior. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself, pulling her normal reserve around her like a tattered cloak. After feeling Chase’s warmth, she felt colder, more alone. Which was silly. She hadn’t changed. She was the same woman who’d left the inn last evening.

Even as she had the thought, she knew she was wrong. Something inside her had changed. Whether for better or worse, she couldn’t say for certain, but she had an unsettling feeling that her life was about to get a whole lot more complicated. She stepped inside the building, carefully closing the door behind her.

“Good morning,” a female voice greeted in heavily accented English. Olga Bratiano, who ran the inn with her husband Eugeniu, was already up and bustling around. She placed a vase of fresh flowers on the table just inside the front door and eyed Katya with suspicion. “You have been gone all night?”

Katya shook her head. “I got up early and took a walk. I couldn’t sleep.” That wasn’t exactly a lie. She hadn’t slept much in months.

The older woman clucked her tongue. “That is not good for one so young.” She shook her finger at Katya. “The mountains are not safe, not at night.” She gripped a thin silver cross that hung around her neck. “Not safe,” she repeated.

“Olga.” Her husband stepped into the foyer, his face set in stern lines. “You must not frighten the poor girl.”

“I’m not easily frightened,” Katya assured him. Fatigue was beginning to eat away at her already frayed nerves. Her eyes were burning behind her sunglasses and it was taking all her energy to remain on her feet. All she wanted was to curl up in the comfy feather bed in her room and sleep.

“Bah,” Olga protested, putting her hand on Katya’s arm and stopping her as she headed toward the stairs. “It is not to frighten, but to protect. Don’t go out at night,” she hissed. “It is not safe.”

“I’ll be fine,” she assured her host. “Right now, all I want is some sleep.”

Patting her arm, Olga gave her a sad smile. “I will bring you food.”

Katya shook her head. “No, thank you. I’ll eat something when I get up later.”

She could feel both of them watching her as she climbed the stairs and headed to her room at the far end of the building. There were six guestrooms in total and breakfast and lunch were provided in the cost of the room. If she wanted an evening meal, there was one restaurant and a local pub that served meals in the evening.

The hallway seemed extra long as she trudged to the end and dug her room key out of her pocket. She’d requested the only room with its own bathroom. It had cost her extra, but it was worth the privacy and convenience. Her vision blurred and it took her 20

Endless Chase

two tries to get the key in the lock. Finally, she succeeded and stumbled into the room, locking the door behind her.

She had her pack half off her shoulder, when a knock came on the door. “Miss Markova.”

Katya shrugged her pack back on, unwilling to let it go until she knew what the problem was. If necessary, she could easily survive with what she had strapped to her back. She unlocked the door and swung it open. Olga held out a white envelope. “I forgot. This was delivered first thing this morning.”

“Thank you.” She took the envelope and closed the door, making certain it was bolted. Not satisfied with that, she shoved a heavy bureau in front of it.

It wasn’t the greatest security, but it was the best she could do.

Walking over to the bed, she laid the envelope on the duvet while she removed her pack and crossbow, stowing them within easy reach. Picking up the envelope, she tore open the flap and pulled out the crisp white sheet within. A crest of five daggers was at the top. The first two crossed daggers formed a v, and next to it the other three formed the letter h. VH, one of the many unsavory people she’d met this past year had told her, stood for vampire hunter. Dramatic, but she didn’t care. They could have their cutesy logo and not-so-secret society as long as she got what she wanted. Personally, she wondered if there wasn’t more to it than that.

There were two words on the note, written in blood-red ink. At least she hoped it was ink.

Call me.

Her gut clenched. This was what she’d been waiting for, what she’d spent the last year of her life working toward. She looked longingly toward the bed, but knew the lure of the soft feather mattress would have to wait a few moments longer.

She swayed with fatigue, but fought it off. She would not, could not, give in to weakness. Not now. She promised herself she would rest and eat later. Once again, her quest for vengeance took priority over all else.

Grabbing her pack, she strapped it back on and went to the door, once again wishing this inn had phones in each room, considering that there was no cell phone service this high in the mountains. Shoving the dresser back, she unlocked the door and hurried down the hallway. There was a single payphone hung on the wall. Lifting the receiver, she dialed the number she’d gotten from her last contact within the society.

When the operator cut in, she charged the call to a calling card she’d purchased just for this reason.

It rang once. Twice. It was answered on the third ring.

There was silence on the other end. Katya didn’t speak, but waited.

A man laughed, the sound so evil it lifted the hairs on the back of her neck. “You have patience. That is good.”

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She wanted to slam down the receiver. Her fingers curled tight around it, but still, she held her silence.

“You have seen them?”

“Not yet.”

Now she sensed impatience coming across the line. “Why not?”

Once again, she reminded herself of her quest. Vengeance didn’t come cheap and she’d already paid in more ways than she could count. This was the last thing she had to do. She swallowed back the acrid words she longed to speak. “I have just arrived, but I may have found a way inside.” She refused to feel guilty about using Chase to get what she wanted.

“Good.” Satisfaction and pleasure tinged his reply. “You will call me when all is ready.”

“Yes.” Oh, she most certainly would. She was so close to achieving her goal she could almost taste it. She would soon have her parents’ killer within her grasp.

The other line went dead as he hung up on her. Katya slowly replaced the receiver and strode back to her room. Once she was safely tucked away inside and her pack and crossbow stowed, she pulled down the blinds and closed the drapes. She needed to reread her files, but that would have to wait.

Her hands were shaking so hard, it took her twice as long as usually to get undressed. Yanking back the covers, she crawled into the soft bed, her body sinking into the feather mattress. Moaning in pleasure, she pulled the covers over her head to shut out all light and noise.

Sleep crept over her like a lover’s caress. It seemed to start at her toes and work its way to the top of her head. A deep sigh escaped her as she surrendered to its lure.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He came to her, like the first rays of sun in the morning, strong and powerful, ensnaring her, tempting her. His hair was loose around his shoulders, the sun reflecting off the light brown, showing highlights of blond in the mix. His eyes were as pale as the blue sky behind him. He had a roman nose, aristocratic and straight. His forehead was high, his jaw firm. A light dusting of stubble on his chin only added to his appeal. He was perfect, except for a one-inch scar just below his left eye. It seemed such a shame to mar such male perfection, yet it added to his masculine allure.

This was no pretty boy, but a man.

Chase was naked, exposing bronzed shoulders so wide they blocked out the light when he bent over her. It was only then she realized she was naked as well and stretched across the rock in their mountain meadow. He braced himself over her, the muscles in his arms rippling.

Even his smell was appealing. It was a woodsy scent, the combination of earth and trees, tinged with honest, clean sweat and musk. She took a breath and allowed it to 22

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sink into her very pores. She’d know him by his scent alone, if she were ever to lose her sight.

Her breasts swelled, the tips puckering tight as he leaned forward. The light dusting of hair on his chest rasped over her nipples and she moaned, arching her back, wanting more of his touch.

Her sex ached. She’d had only one lover in her life, but she wasn’t exactly sheltered, not anymore. She’d seen too much this past year, been in bars and seedy clubs that specialized in sex and any pleasures a man or woman could want. She’d been both aroused and disgusted by what people wanted to do to one another. But never had she seen or felt anything this powerful.

Every cell in her body was screaming at her to join with this man. She parted her thighs and tilted her hips, wanting to feel him there. Her sex was swollen and wet with need and an ache started throbbing deep within her, an emptiness that only he could fill.

“No,” she groaned. She couldn’t allow herself to want or need anyone. Not now.

Not with her goal so close. She would not, could not, be distracted or swayed from her path.

“Yes,” he countered, pressing his lower body against hers.

She felt his hard length against her belly and mound. He hooked his arms beneath her thighs, spreading them wide and leaving her open and vulnerable. Panic threatened and her breathing became fast and shallow.

Chase stroked his cock over her damp folds. Heat swelled, rippling through her core, and a craving for more filled her. She wanted him so badly her teeth ached. This time when he pushed his erection against her, she opened herself to it, accepting his right to do so.

He stared down at her, fire in his pale eyes. Then he smiled.

Katya was lost as he lowered his face to hers. Their lips touched and she felt his arms slide out from beneath her. Unwilling to lose the contact between them, she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles together at the small of his back.

He kissed her with abandon. Their tongues twined, advancing and retreating in a lovers’ game as old as time itself. He cupped her face, holding her steady as he plundered her mouth, claiming it, taking it.

She slid her hands up his arms, feeling the rock-solid biceps as her fingers climbed to his shoulders. Breathing was almost impossible, but she no longer cared. Nothing in her life had ever felt this right, this good. They were strangers, yet not. It was if she’d known him forever, trusted him.

That last thought worried her. There was no one she could trust outside her small family circle. No one. Not now.

Chase tore his lips from hers and left a hot trail of biting kisses down her neck and across her shoulder. The stubble on his jaw rasped her skin, heightening the sensations.

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Katya gasped as he cupped one breast in his hand, plumping it up before taking the swollen nipple between his lips. He sucked, lightly at first, but then with growing vigor.

When he gently scraped his teeth across the nub, her entire body tightened.