A Hunger for Darkness (2 page)

With that he let her free and Kenzi raced out of the alley and into the neon lights of Manhattan at night.

C
hapter Three

Kenzi collapsed into the arms of David Hearn. The twenty blocks she had run had left her only slightly winded. This was the only place she could think of where Center wouldn’t look for her. Their brief fling had ended a few weeks earlier; Director Whitechapel did not approve of serious relationships, and absolutely forbade them between the personnel of Center. David had been a substitute for what she couldn’t get there.

              “Kenzi, what happened to you?” Concern etched David’s face. She had always found him almost unbearably cute, and in his jeans and white dress shirt she remembered why. Despite the pressure of a junior Wall Street analyst’s job, he remained somehow boyish, and the grey eyes behind the stylish glasses were clear and bright. He had been a welcome refuge from the deadly business that occupied her at Center.

              “I’m sorry to drop in like this David,” Kenzi began. She hadn’t even considered a cover story, she had run on instinct. “I was in a traffic accident yesterday. I only got out of the hospital an hour ago.” It was the best she could think of to explain her hospital gown.

              David held her at arm’s length and carefully looked at her. “You don’t have a mark on you, and where are your clothes? And how did you get here?”

              “The accident was so bad they couldn’t believe I wasn’t hurt and they cut my clothes off in the emergency room. I left without thinking; I was just frantic to get out. Believe it or not a Manhattan cab driver took pity on me, even giving me his coat.” Kenzi moved back in to embrace David, anxious to stop the questions.

              David still seemed skeptical. “Not that I’m complaining, but why didn’t you go home? I haven’t seen you in months. You haven’t returned my calls, and I went by where you said you lived and no one had heard of you.”

              “David, I can explain…”

              “Don’t. I know what’s going on; I’m not an idiot.” David spoke softly, still holding Kenzi. “You’re married, aren’t you?”

              Kenzi looked away as she tried to think of a response. The events of the last few days had left her too exhausted to play these games.

              “Don’t worry, Kenzi. You’re secret is safe with me. Whatever the reason you don’t want to go home to him is none of my business. If you want to talk, I’m here.” He stroked her hair as he spoke and she was momentarily moved by the simple kindness in his touch.

              “Thank you, David.” She hugged him tightly.

              “Hey, that’s some grip!” David said lightly. “Why don’t you get a shower, you smell like a hospital. Do you remember where everything is?”

              Kenzi did, and padded her way down the hall and into the bath. She stripped the flimsy gown and threw it into the trash. Stepping into the hot stream from the showerhead she took a moment to gather herself. The knot in her belly receded as she tried to clear her mind. Whatever the morning might bring, she was safe and warm now. She let the water roll over her and saw that David still had a rose-scented bath soap he had bought for her rare over-night stays.

              Losing herself in the lather and scent, she let her hands linger as she washed herself. Her skin was sensitive to every touch as though she was under the influence of some kind of drug. Pausing between her legs, she found a slick heat unrelated to the shower. Her nipples were hard as well.

How can I be getting turned on at a time like this?
The thought brought her back to an unwelcome reality. She finished and exited the shower, not entirely rid of the strange euphoria. She wrapped herself in one of David’s towels and stepped into the hall.

              David was waiting. “How are you feeling now? Do you want something to eat? How about a drink?”

Her stomach growled, reminding her of how long it had been since she had a meal. “Maybe some soup?” She said tentatively, not knowing what she would be able to eat.

David didn’t ask any more questions. He prepared some canned soup and offered her one of his robes. She dropped the towel, and slipped on the robe, unconcerned at her nakedness in front of her former lover.

She ate while David told her of the recent developments in his career and related harmless gossip about his family and friends. He sputtered into an awkward silence as she finished the last spoonful.

“I imagine you’re pretty tired,” he finally said. “Why don’t you take the bed and I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Kenzi smiled and reached across the table for his hand. “I was hoping we could share the bed.”

They walked hand in hand to the bedroom and Kenzi realized what she enjoyed about David. He made her feel like she was in high school; that nervous excitement about exploring someone else’s body for the first time. High school, and all of its new experiences were foreign to Kenzi, she had only known the life built around Center. The lessons there were far more serious than anything the rest of the world could know.

Kenzi leaned into David’s hesitant kiss. As their tongues met and caressed each other she felt him relaxing. He slipped a hand into the robe and cupped a breast. She moaned as he teased the hardened nipple. Her previous excitement returned and increased until she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. David had never had this effect on her before. Kenzi reached for David’s crotch and felt a gratifying stiffness as she began to fumble with the button on the jeans.

David stopped her hands gently. “Are you sure about this? You’ve been through a lot.” Lust and concern struggled on his face.

Kenzi laughed softly. “You have no idea, just shut up and fuck me.”

David pushed her onto her back and untied the belt on the robe. He pulled it open and gazed at her body in the dim light from the doorway.

“I almost forgot how beautiful you are.”

Kenzi unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it from his shoulders as he began to kiss down her neck. David rolled a nipple between thumb and forefinger, pinching it just as his lips reached the other. He flicked one hardened bud with his tongue while his fingers clamped hard on the other. Kenzi arched her back, eager for the sensation even as she wondered why it had never felt this good before.

She finally succeeded in opening his pants and freeing his length, now hard and full. Kenzi stroked him gently, enjoying the groan this pulled from him. He sat up and removed the rest of his clothes and settled back alongside her. They melted together as he pulled her to him for a long kiss, one hand stroking down her body. He was tender, as he had always been. This touch had been a welcome refuge for Kenzi from the daily tension of her life’s work.

David moved over her and she parted her legs willingly for him, though she knew he wouldn’t enter her yet. He let his lips and tongue dance across her skin as he worked his way down her body. He paused to suck each nipple before he kissed down her stomach. Kenzi sighed deeply, a liquid heat building at the top of her thighs. Gripping his shoulders, she raised her hips to his teasing mouth.

He looked up at her, that boyish grin flashing as he lowered his mouth to her sex. The first touch of his tongue caused her to cry out. He kept his touch light; the tip of his tongue trailing up and down her silken folds before delving in to lightly stroke the center of her desire. Kenzi fought to stay still and not disturb the electricity pulsing outward to every part of her. David’s mouth grew more insistent, sucking her hardened nub between his lips. He slipped a finger into her and found that spot that sent her into spasms of pleasure.

Kenzi felt herself growing flushed. The heat that spread through her was taking an unfamiliar turn. Her lust was rising, but with it came a wild urge. She wanted to thrash herself against him somehow, to join with him in some primal, violent way. His mouth and fingers were bringing her more pleasure than anything she had ever felt, more than she thought she could stand.

“David, you have to stop,” she moaned.

He continued, slipping another finger along the crack of her ass and she knew she had to stop him. The pleasure was becoming almost painful. She pulled him up and flipped him onto his back. Kenzi sought a moment’s refuge by pleasuring him. He seemed startled by her unexpected strength, but eager to allow her the access she wanted.

She grabbed his rigid length and began to stroke it softly as her lips gently kissed the tip. David threw his head back as she lowered her mouth on him. That’s when she saw it. In the lust-clouded corners of her mind she noticed the pulse throbbing in his throat. She stopped, watching that pulse; knowing what it meant.

More than her own orgasm she craved the hot warmth that pulse promised. David stirred under her.

“Don’t make me beg, babe. Keep going.” His voice was husky with need.

His voice shook her free. With a sob she stood over him, he was still naked and defenseless. She could take what she craved.

With a cry, Kenzi threw herself into the hall and rushed to the bathroom. She made it to the toilet before she vomited. Deep sobs broke from her. She had become the monster she hated. Her repulsion of her own urges couldn’t completely drown the longing for David’s blood that still made her tremble.

When her nausea passed, she washed her face and caught sight of her reflection. Her hazel eyes had changed, they gleamed with an amber glow that made her think of some kind of demon.

“Okay,” she muttered to herself, “where is Connor and what do I do now?”

Chapter Four

A light tapping on the door startled Kenzi. She dreaded having to face David again, both from the difficul
ty of explaining and the fear of what she might do. The overwhelming hunger was fading, but she didn’t know how she might react if she saw that artery softly throbbing in his neck.

“I’m sorry David, can you give me a few more minutes?” She called through the door.

There was no answer from the other side. After a minute there came another soft tapping. Kenzi muttered a curse and threw the door open. Connor Devlin stood in the hall, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Kenzi grabbed a towel to cover herself.

“What the hell?” she whispered. “Is it true? Do vampires really have some kind of telepathic link?” The old legend she’d heard whispered in training came back to her.

Connor grinned with an insolence Kenzi was beginning to suspect was ever-present. “No, just great hearing. I followed you and I was listening from the fire escape. I needed to keep an eye on you, this transition can be ...difficult.”

Kenzi felt her face flush with anger and a tiny shred of embarrassment. “You mean you were listening to me…? What, is this some kind vampire pervert thing? Does it get you off to listen to mortals fuck?”

“One, you’re not a mortal any longer. And two; I do not get any thrill from listening to you have sex, or almost have sex. I was actually here to help you when you needed it and protect your friend from you.”

His words threw a cold dose of fear into her stomach. “David! What did you do to him?” Kenzi tried to push past Connor and found him as unyielding as granite. She became aware of the towel slipping and hastily made an adjustment. Connor watched her, his expression amused.

“Your friend is fine. He won’t remember anything after you fled. He’ll assume he passed out from his drinking.” Connor said as he let her pass.

“He wasn’t drinking,” Kenzi said as she verified that David was still breathing. His body was sprawled across bed and Kenzi felt a mix of relief and disgust at herself for having craved his blood so intensely. She smelled a strong scent of whisky.

“I set the stage for him. What will make more sense to him, that he drank too much without realizing it, or that his girlfriend is now a vampire and he was rescued by another vampire?”

Kenzi let that go without answering; instead she asked a question of her own.

“What do you want from me? Why are you following me and what do you care what I do?” She led Connor from the bedroom to the living room and turned to face him.

“I told you, I need your help.” Connor stood only a few feet away. Despite herself, Kenzi took in his size and the force of his presence. Everything in the room seemed to point at him, to relate to him in a way that unsettled her. It was as though he became the focal point of the room in a subtle way that felt like black magic.

“Why would I help you? Why shouldn’t I hate you?” This time Kenzi’s voice was soft. This was no woman made hysterical by becoming what she had hunted for so long. This was a serious question.

“I want to kill Gabriel Sands as badly as you do.” Gabriel said while watching her reaction closely.

“Is this some vampire power-struggle?” Kenzi asked without emotion.

“You might say so; I want to make vampires extinct. Gabriel, on the other hand, wants to rule humanity. I guess it is a power struggle. I warn you, I have very few allies. I had hoped that through you I might be able to make a connection with your Center. After seeing how they treated you, I realized that would never happen.”

Kenzi turned away and tightened the towel around her. There was a small part of her that felt a little ridiculous having this conversation wearing nothing but a scrap of terry cloth, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Vampires lie; why would I believe you want to destroy your own kind?” she asked.

Connor stepped forward and took her shoulders in his hands, forcing her to look at him. His eyes blazed with a green fire she hadn’t seen until that moment.

“I was once like you. I was a policeman until I was taken against my will. I never wanted this; I was a victim of a monster too. But I was saved by woman who taught me that we didn’t have to surrender to the animal hunger that is always a part of us.

“Yes, Kenzi, we are monsters. We are not tragic and romantic loners. We are bloodthirsty animals that prey on the living. We cannot live on stored blood, or animal blood. I learned that we can hold on to our conscience, that we can serve a higher purpose. I won’t lie, it is a bitter struggle, but we can do it. I know that vampires are parasites on humanity, and we must cease to exist. I have also learned that there is no more effective hunter of vampires than another vampire.”

Kenzi had listened without expression. She noted the passion in his voice, and she knew he believed what he said.

“You still have to kill humans to live. How does that make you any better than Gabriel?”

Connor smiled, and she saw for a moment the terrible joy of the predator. “We don’t have to kill to feed.”

“That’s a lie, I’ve never heard of a vampire that let his victims live, unless it is to turn them,” Kenzi said without hope.

“I feed from the criminals, and those who serve other vampires. I only kill when I must.” The sincerity in his voice made Kenzi pause.

“Go on,” Kenzi prompted. “How do you control your hunger?”

Connor gestured to the windows. “It’s almost dawn; we both need to get somewhere safe. I’ll take you to my home and we can discuss your new life and you can decide if you want to help me.”

Kenzi searched the bedroom and found a pair of jeans she could make work with a belt and by rolling up the legs and a plain white T-shirt. On bare feet she followed Connor to catch a cab and rode in silence into lower Manhattan.