Night's Pleasure (19 page)

“So, you're saying those Vampires would have smelled like Mara?” Savanah asked, looking skeptical.

“Something like that.”

“Do you know where they're staying?”

“Why? Are you planning to take their heads?”

“It crossed my mind,” Savanah replied flippantly. “I'm supposed to be a hunter, after all.”

But they were empty words, and they both knew it. She lacked the knowledge, the expertise, and the desire to hunt down those two young women and destroy them. Except for their pale skin, they had looked just like the other women in the shop.

“I need to pay for this,” she said. “It won't take more than a few minutes.”

With a nod, Rane watched Savanah retreat into the dressing room. She talked a good fight, he thought, but only time would tell whether she had the fortitude to plunge a stake into a Vampire's heart.

Savanah pressed her forehead against the dressing room door. Vampires, here, in the town. Were they everywhere? she wondered as she pulled on her jeans and straightened her sweater. After stepping into her sandals, she collected her handbag and the skirt she had tried on and left the dressing room. She glanced around, searching for Rane. He was standing by the door with his back toward her.

She paid for the skirt, grabbed the bag with a mumbled thank-you, and hurried toward him.

He turned at her approach.

Savanah skidded to a stop, alarmed by the peculiar glow in his eyes. “Are you all right?”

He looked away for a moment; when he looked at her again, the glow was gone.

Had she imagined it?

He held out his hand. “Are you ready to go?”

With a nod, she put her hand in his, and felt the same little tingle she had experienced when she saw the two female Vampires in the store.

“What's wrong?” Rane asked.

“I don't know.” She stared at their clasped hands. She had felt the sensation before, with Rane, but had always thought it was just her hormones jumping into overdrive whenever he was near.

“Savanah?”

“I felt something…”

“What do you mean?”

“Just now…and in the store…I felt…I don't know how to describe it. A kind of tingling.”

“Go on.”

“I've always thought it was just my reaction to you, but I felt it in the store when I passed those women….”

Rane swore softly.

“What's wrong?”

“Nothing. I'd venture to say what you're feeling is a legacy from your mother.”

“What do you mean? What kind of legacy?”

“Vampires and Werewolves can sense their prey. It's a handy trait.”

“So?”

“What you sensed in the air was the preternatural power common to all the Supernatural creatures. It's a trait shared by some hunters. No doubt your mother had it and passed it on to you.”

“Why did I feel it when I looked at those two Vampires, but with you, I only feel it when we touch?”

“I've been a Vampire a long time. I've learned how to shield my power from those around me. I've done it for so long, it's second nature now. Perhaps when you get stronger…”

“But I sensed those women.”

“They're both young Vampires, still learning to adjust to their new way of life. Sort of like you,” he said with a grin.

No doubt Savanah and the two fledglings would get stronger in time, he thought. If they lived long enough.

“You mentioned my mother,” Savanah remarked as Rane pulled away from the curb. “Did you really save her life?”

“Yeah.”

“And she saved yours? How?”

“I was out hunting late one night and I came across your mother in an alley. She was a new hunter back then, trying to make her first kill.”

“How do you know that?”

“She told me.”

Savanah turned in her seat so she was facing Rane, eager to hear more about the mother she scarcely remembered. “Go on.”

“Well, it was kind of like that old story about the hunter who tracked a cougar until he caught him and discovered the cougar wouldn't let him go. The Vampire was about to sink his fangs into your mother's throat when I came along.”

“Why did you help her and not him?”

Rane shrugged. “I've always been a sucker for the underdog, and she was outmatched in every way. I stepped in and pulled the Vampire off her, and he turned on me. He was one of the old ones.” Rane shook his head at the memory. “Strong as an ox. He grabbed me and buried his fangs in my throat, then held me down and let me bleed. I might have bled out, but your mother came up behind him and drove a stake into his back. It pierced his heart and he turned to dust right there in front of us.”

Savanah shuddered at the grisly image.

“Anyway, there I was, lying on the ground, bleeding, with your mother standing over me. I figured I'd bought the farm for sure. Instead, she told me we were even, but that if she ever saw me again, she'd take my head.” Rane grinned. “She was a tough broad, that one.”

Savanah smiled faintly. Maybe things really did happen for a reason, she thought. Rane had saved her mother's life and now, years later, he was here, protecting hers, because her mother had let him live.

“Do you know who killed her?”

He shook his head. “No, but we can ask Mara when she gets back from Egypt. She might know.” Of course, there was no telling when that might be.

“Thank you for telling me about my mom,” Savanah said as Rane pulled into the driveway. “And for taking me into town. It was good to get out of the house for a while.”

He nodded. “Anytime.” Switching off the engine, he exited the car and opened her door for her. Savanah grabbed her package from the back seat, then took Rane's outstretched hand. They had only taken a few steps when he came to an abrupt halt. Lifting his head, he sniffed the wind.

“What is it, a skunk?” Savanah asked, although she couldn't smell anything other than the scent of pine trees and the honeysuckles that grew near the front porch.

“A little more dangerous than that.”

Alarmed, she glanced around. Anyone, anything, could be hiding in the shadows. The night that had once seemed so lovely now seemed fraught with danger. Fear of the unknown sent a shiver down her spine.

“Stay close,” Rane warned as he continued up the path.

“Like glue,” she muttered.

Rane paused at the front door, his senses reaching beyond the barrier. There was no one inside. The house was empty.

“Rane?” Savanah tugged on his arm. “You're scaring me.”

“Someone's been here.” He removed the Supernatural barriers he had placed around the door, then opened it and stepped inside.

“Are you sure?” Savanah looked behind her, her gaze probing the shadows. Was the prowler still there, lurking in the darkness even now?

“Don't worry, they're gone.”

“How do you know?”

Rane glanced at her over his shoulder as he crossed the threshold, his expression clearly reminding her that he was no ordinary man.

“Oh, right,” she muttered. “Superman lives.”

“I guess that makes you Lois Lane,” he said as he switched on the lights. He locked and bolted the door; then, summoning his powers, he replaced the protective barriers around the house.

Savanah dropped her purse and shopping bag on the sofa. “Do you know who it was?”

“No, but I've got a pretty good idea what they were hoping to find.”

“The books!” Savanah exclaimed, her eyes wide. “My mother's books.”

“Right the first time.”

“What if whoever tried to get in is still here?”

“They're gone.”

“How can you be sure? What if they're hiding somewhere in the house?”

“They didn't get in.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Savanah sank down on the sofa. “You're sure they didn't get in? That the books are still here?”

“I'm sure.” He sat beside her, his arm slipping around her shoulders to draw her closer. “Why don't you destroy those books? You'll never be safe as long as you've got them.”

“I can't. I have so little that belonged to my mother….”

“Would she think they're worth your life?”

“I don't know. So,” she said, changing the subject, “did your supernose tell you who was here?”

Rane shook his head in exasperation. She was a stubborn creature, but somehow, it only endeared her to him more. “It wasn't a scent I recognized,” he said, answering her question.

“Was it a Vampire?”

“I'm not sure.”

“Well, that's a first.”

He grunted softly. “Whoever it was, they were wearing something to mask their scent. I'm not sure what they used, but it was common enough during the war.”

“Were you involved in that?”

“Not as involved as Mara and the rest of my family.” He had kept to the sidelines, getting his licks in when he got a chance.

“Tell me about her, about Mara.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Is she really as old as they say?”

He nodded.

“And she's your godmother?”

“Yeah. She's the one who named me. And Rafe. She came to see us every now and then while we were growing up, checking on us, bringing us presents at Christmas and on our birthday. We didn't even know she was a Vampire until after we were turned.” He laughed softly. “Rafe and I look older than she does.”

“Is she pretty?”

“More beautiful than you can imagine.”

“Oh.”

“You're not jealous, are you?”

She was, but she didn't want to admit it.

Rane stroked her cheek. “Don't be. She might be beautiful on the outside, but you're more beautiful on the inside, where it counts.”

She slipped her arms around his waist. “I love you.”

“I know.”

She grinned at him, thinking they sounded just like Princess Leia and Han Solo.

Rising, she took him by the hand and tugged him to his feet.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“You'll see.”

He let her lead him up the stairs and into the bedroom. “Now what?” he asked.

“I want to show you something.”

“Oh?” His gaze moved over her from head to foot. He could hear the rapid beat of her heart, smell the musk on her skin. “And what might that be?”

With a smile, she slipped her sweater over her head and tossed it on a chair. “Me, of course.”

Rane sat on the foot of the bed. “Show me more.”

She kicked off her sandals, slithered out of her jeans and tossed them aside.

Rane's gaze moved over her, his eyes hot. “More.”

The look in his eyes sent frissons of heat coursing through her. With hands that trembled, she removed her bra and stepped out of her panties. Even though they had made love before, even though he had seen her naked before, she was tempted to cover herself with her hands. After all, it was one thing to be naked together, and quite another to be naked alone.

“One more thing,” Rane said.

Savanah frowned. What else did he want her to take off? She was naked. And then she realized she was still wearing her mother's crucifix. Reaching up, she slipped the chain over her head and dropped it on the dresser, and then she looked at Rane and said, “Now you.”

“You want me to do a striptease?” he asked with a wicked grin.

“Yes.” She tugged on his hand, then took his place at the foot of the bed when he stood.

With a wry grin, Rane removed his shirt and dropped it on the floor. He wasn't wearing an undershirt.

“More,” she said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

Rane heeled off his shoes, removed his socks with a flourish, then unfastened his belt and drew it slowly out of the loops. After dropping his belt on top of his shirt, he removed his trousers, revealing a pair of black briefs.

“More,” she said, her voice a hoarse whisper. He was gorgeous, all broad shoulders and rippling muscles.

Any doubts she might have had that he wanted her vanished when he removed his briefs.

She went eagerly into his arms, a soft moan rising in her throat as their bodies melded together. He moved deep within her, pleasuring her, completing her. Closing her eyes, she lost herself in the magic that was Rane.

The full moon cast long silver shadows across the countryside. Clive lifted his head, basking in the glow of the moon's light, feeling it swell within him, growing, expanding, calling forth the wolf that lurked just under the surface. It was a glorious sensation. Usually, he enjoyed running with the pack, but not tonight. Tonight, he didn't want to share the hunt with anyone else, didn't want to share his kill. As the alpha male, it was his right to hunt alone.

Eager to shift, he kicked off his shoes, excitement rising within him as he caught the scent of prey on the wind.

He was unbuckling his belt when his cell phone rang. He considered letting it ring; then, with a growl of annoyance, he reached for the phone. “What?”

“Clive? It's Roc.”

“Did you find the books?”

“No, I couldn't get into the house. There's some kind of protective barrier around the doors and the windows.”

Clive swore. “Is the woman still there?”

“Yeah.”

“And Cordova?”

“He's with her. What do you want me to do?”

“Keep an eye on the house, follow them if they leave.”

“And if I get a chance to grab her?”

“Take it, but don't kill her unless you have to. I'll get up there as soon as I take care of a few things here.”

“Anything wrong?”

“Some pack trouble.”

Roc grunted. That usually meant one or more of the wolves needed disciplining, or worse.

“Keep in touch,” Clive said, and ended the call.

After dropping the phone inside one of his shoes, Clive removed his shirt and his trousers. He would take care of his business here, and then he'd call his lieutenant and they would pay a visit to the Gentry woman. He was pretty sure she wouldn't willingly give him the books, but that was all right.

Clive grinned inwardly as he threw back his head and surrendered to the beast within. He was sure he could persuade her.