Night Huntress 06 - Eternal Kiss of Darkness (21 page)

“When we first met, I thought you were going to kill me, then, when I knew you weren’t, you were still holding me
captive
. I wasn’t about to indulge in a smutty case of Stockholm syndrome by telling my captor how hot he made me—although if you remember, I did tell you something to that effect one day. Then when you let me go, which was the one thing that made it possible for me to act on what I felt toward you, you just
vanished.
I thought you could care less about me. If not for what you did with my boss, I never would have even gone looking for you…”

Kira stopped abruptly, turning away and yanking on her sweater next. It, too, ripped beneath her strength, hanging on her like a poncho from the tears. Mencheres leapt up, grasping her arm and spinning her back around. Something twisted inside his chest.
What was this?

“You came looking for me? When?”

A harsh laugh escaped her. “The very next night after you mesmerized my boss. I went to all the places in my old case files that might have a paranormal association. You know why I was in the strip club that night? I wasn’t there investigating a missing person’s case; finding Jennifer was an accident. I was there looking for a connection to
you
because I wanted to see you again without that whole captor/captive thing between us.”

For several moments, Mencheres could not speak. She’d been at the club that night searching for him? Spent other nights seeking him out as well? Could Kira truly have felt the same inexplicable, insistent draw to him that he’d felt for her? It defied reason that she would have sought him out for any other purpose. Her personality wasn’t compatible with humans who flocked to the undead merely to seek the sometimes dangerous thrill of a vampire’s company, and she hadn’t needed him for anything else. He’d made sure of that when he gave her all the blood she would require for her sister before he’d left her.

She stared at him, moonlight reflecting in her green eyes. “Say something. Even if it’s to tell me I was an idiot for chasing after you and I deserved to end up as a vampire over it. At least that’s better than silence.”

Her naked honesty was so unlike his normal, guarded speech. Reason warned him to tell Kira she was right. That a human plunging herself into the vampire world without a protector usually did end up suffering serious consequences, but he couldn’t utter that statement. Nor could he tell Kira the other thing that would be better for her to believe, even though it was a lie: that he cared no more for her than any of his other property. Under the weight of her gaze, however, all of his cool logic crumbled and he found himself responding with the same raw honesty she’d shown him.

“I am Master of a large line of vampires and humans, and yes, I often do people’s thinking for them. Moreover, I have betrayed almost everyone I’ve loved, including participating in my wife’s murder and withholding important information from my co-ruler. My other sins are too numerous to list, and I have certain death looming in my future, so as soon as you are able to control your condition, Kira, you would do well to forget me.”

She kept looking at him with that level, penetrating stare, no disgust or shock on her face. Mencheres waited, expecting any moment for his words to sink in and her reaction to change, but the minutes ticked away, and still her expression didn’t alter from thoughtful contemplation.

“I’m getting hungry,” she said at last, turning away and starting back through the woods toward his house.

He gazed at her retreating back in astonishment. Where were her reprimands? The castigation of his character that so many others would be quick to oblige him with were he to have said the same to them? Furthermore, he didn’t sense an oncoming attack of hunger from Kira, but perhaps she was shielding it. Or learning to anticipate her cravings.

He gave his head a slight shake and followed after her, leaving his shirt behind on the ground. He’d already have too many memories of tonight without a tangible memento to torment himself with.

Despite that, he licked his lips one more time, absorbing Kira’s taste and remembering the feel of her shuddering in pleasure on top of him. If he’d known she’d searched for him, that her desire was not wholly based on her new, uncontrollable senses, would he have had the strength to refuse her before?

No.
The answer reverberated all through him, followed immediately by another taunting question.

Now that he knew these things, would
he
have the strength to stay away from
her
?

K
ira forced herself to set the mug down even though there was still a swallow left in it. She slid it across the table to Gorgon.

“I’m done.”

The words were perhaps the hardest she’d uttered, yet she felt an accompanying swell of pride even through the howls of hunger that demanded she snatch that mug back and lick every drop from it.

Gorgon grinned at her. “Only your fifth day undead. You’re a strong one, aren’t you?”

Kira allowed a tight smile to cross her face. “Years of dieting make lots of women tough when it comes to controlling our appetites. Who knew that saying no to desserts would turn out to be boot camp for becoming a vampire?”

Gorgon laughed, taking her cup and rinsing the remaining blood out in the sink. Kira noted that he never drank from the bags that compromised the entirety of her meals, but he did disappear several hours each night. She hoped he varied his donors, or that their nearest neighbors weren’t anemic.

He tossed Kira a bottle of water from the refrigerator next. She drank it, grimacing at how it tasted now, but having already been warned that drinking water was important during her first couple weeks as a vampire. It seemed her new body burned through all the sustenance it received from blood without leaving anything left over to keep her from looking like a grape left too long in the sun. Kira hadn’t asked how it was possible that she could drink or eat, but no longer had any need for a toilet. Some vampire mysteries she wasn’t prepared to have explained to her yet.

On the plus side, she’d never have to deal with her period again, but having motherhood yanked out from under her was rough. Still, Tina had weathered the same inability to get pregnant due to her disease. Kira wouldn’t let herself fall into a slump over her similar new childless state, especially since she could always adopt, way in the future when she’d come to terms with everything her new existence entailed.

“Now.” Gorgon turned around, holding out an egg carton. “Let’s try this again.”

Kira eyed the egg crate with a mix of frustration and determination. A simple rule for new vampires was that if they couldn’t handle egg cartons without breaking the eggs, then they couldn’t be around humans without running the risk of inadvertently crushing them with a casual touch. In the past several days, Kira had demolished more egg crates and had her hands coated in more yolk than she wanted to remember. She still felt like she had some of that sticky substance stuck between her fingernails no matter how she scrubbed, but she was getting better. She managed not to rip doors off anymore, or leave holes instead of footprints in the floor, and the last egg carton she’d handled only had one broken egg in it when she was done.

Kira walked over to Gorgon, chanting “gentle, gentle” in her mind as she reached for the carton. When she managed to take it from Gorgon’s open grasp without any egg guts streaming out onto her hands, she grinned.

“Ha!” Looked like the fiftieth time was a charm.

Gorgon’s smile was proud. “Now, if you can open it and take some eggs out without breaking them, you’re almost ready to be around humans again.”

Very slowly, Kira opened the container and touched the top of an egg. It didn’t break, to her relief. Now all she had to do was take it out.

In her peripheral vision, she noticed Mencheres walk by. That was how she’d mostly seen him lately—out of the corner of her eye. He hadn’t been completely avoiding her, but he always seemed to be busy doing something else aside from spending time in the same room with her. It wasn’t done in a rude way. Instead, it almost came off as though Mencheres wanted to avoid her but couldn’t bring himself to totally stay away. The motivation behind his there-but-not-quite-there presence pricked her curiosity. Was this admittedly far older and sophisticated Master vampire actually feeling
awkward
about what had happened between them?

“Take the egg out,” Gorgon prompted her.

Kira put three fingers around that cool oval shape, pressing as softly as she could to lift it. The egg trembled but didn’t explode.
Think of Tina,
she urged herself. This wasn’t an egg; it was her little sister’s hand, and she was going to clasp it
without
hurting her when she saw her again…

The egg cleared the container in one piece. Gorgon whooped. Kira almost jumped in excitement, but smashing through the floor would ruin the moment. She looked up, the egg cradled in her hand, to see Mencheres watching her. He had a pleased expression on his face that quickly turned impassive once her eyes met his.

Still playing Mr. Cool
,
hmm?
she mused, returning her attention to the egg crate. “I’m going to try for another one,” she told Gorgon.

He grinned. “Go for it.”

As she reached for another egg with her free hand, her thoughts returned to Mencheres. After his confession in the forest, Kira mulled over whether he was really as despicable as he’d made himself out to be. After all, she was the last person to think, “Oooh,
sexy
!” when a man admitted to being a controlling, ruthless bastard. She’d been through that kind of relationship before, so she knew there was nothing romantic or sexy about it. But though Mencheres had painted an ugly picture of himself, on reflection, his actions were in contrast to his words.

When he’d kept her with him that first week they met, he’d gone out of his way to give her as much freedom as possible. Then he’d let her go despite the risk to the secrecy of his race, plus given Kira the means to treat her sister’s disease so Tina would have an average life span. Then when Flare had her, Mencheres had come for her and healed her without the slightest hesitation.

Faced with that ultimatum from Radje, Mencheres did the only thing he could for her: He’d brought her back from death. Since she’d first woken up on that plane, he hadn’t placed one condition or limitation on her that wasn’t solely to prevent her from killing innocent people. She had complete freedom to do anything she wanted, including call anyone, check her e-mail, or even shop online so she could have something other than borrowed clothes to wear. And Mencheres had repeatedly stated that once she was in control of her hunger and her new strength, she was free to go. Again.

“Almost there,” Gorgon said encouragingly, as Kira began to pull out another egg. A slight crack appeared on its white surface. She pursed her lips but kept going. After another couple seconds, the egg lay in her hand, a tiny zigzag crack marring its smooth surface but its contents still safely contained.

“Put ’em back without smashing them, and I think you’ve got it,” Gorgon said, winking at her.

Kira split her attention between returning those eggs to their container and on everything Mencheres
didn’t
say or do. She’d felt his need the other night, but though she’d practically demanded he have sex with her, he’d refused on the grounds that she might be under the influence of her new senses. Then he’d told her terrible things about himself almost as if he wanted her to reprimand him. Mencheres didn’t act like someone who had little regard for others. He had extraordinary power, but he didn’t flaunt it. In fact, she’d only seen him use them when it benefited other people. If she were him, she’d use those powers all the time. Like teleporting her blood or water to her while sitting on her butt relaxing—and God help everyone if Kira ever had the ability to move objects when someone cut her off in traffic.

No, there was far more to Mencheres than the way he’d so harshly described himself. Despite his admonition for her to forget him once she regained control of her new condition, she had no intention of doing that.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kira watched Mencheres walk into the next room with his usual gliding stride, his posture straight and regal, his ass filling the back of his pants with a sexiness that was sinful.

No, he wasn’t scaring her away that easily. She would wear down that shell he’d erected around himself when it came to her. And then she’d see if the connection between them, the same one Mencheres seemed to be trying so hard to avoid, was as strong as she suspected.

Kira got the eggs back in their cardboard cradle, smiling at her accomplishment and already planning her next move.

Game on.

M
encheres heard the door to his bedroom open, but he didn’t open his eyes. The hot water in the bathtub was soothing. He was loath to break the temporary peace of soaking beneath it for something as trivial as Gorgon dropping off his laundry. Even though he’d told his friend that he could see to his own menial tasks, Gorgon insisted doing them himself.

And in truth, it might take Mencheres a few minutes to figure out how to operate a modern washing machine. He usually had a large vampire and human staff in every house he stayed at, so others had handled such tasks for him. Perhaps Gorgon thought his efforts now would be in lieu of needing to replace Mencheres’s entire wardrobe later.