Alabaster Nights (The Josie Hawk Chronicles) (6 page)

“How did you get in my apartment?” she demanded. “Why aren’t you wearing a shirt? Get out of my bed!”

Hearing her voice after hours of silence was like drinking a cold beer in the heat of summer. What he remembered it to be anyway. Ecstasy. “Sage invited me in, and you’re not wearing any pants. I’d say that makes us even.” He thought he should smile, try for friendly, but he didn’t have the energy the motion required. As it were, he could hardly keep himself propped up on his elbow. Not that he would let his weakness show. He watched her and knew he would suffer forever if he had to.

She glanced down before leveling him with a look made of equal parts fire and ice. “I’m gonna kill her.”

“No, you won’t kill her. You love her too much. Besides, the circumstances called for it.”

Huffing, Josie turned, set the jarred candle on her dresser, and bent to root around the pile of clothes on the floor.

Now Keller smiled. How could he not with a view like that? Lush and plentiful curves.

She tugged a pair of sweats over her creamy legs. Unfortunate, that. He expected her to retrieve one of her blades. She didn’t. His smile widened. Perhaps they were making progress.

“What are you smiling at, and why the hell aren’t you moving?” Josie asked, hands on hips.

“I’m not leaving.”

Rolling her eyes, she said, “Oh, well, in that case.”

Her exaggerated tone had him stifling a laugh.

She stepped closer. “What’s wrong with you? Why does your voice sound like that?”

“So many questions,” was all he could manage to say. Rest. Just for a moment. Eyes closed, he let his head fall off his hand and smack the pillow.

“Look here, Irish. This isn’t Motel 6.” She tugged on his arm. “You need to get up and out of here.” She pulled harder. When he didn’t move, she let go and groaned out a sigh full of frustration.

Keller popped one eye open. “We’re not going anywhere. Take a look outside. Besides,” he said, flicking a hand in her direction. “You need to rest more. You were hurt pretty badly.”

“Wrong answer. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”

He let his gaze skim over her body when she moved to the window. More than fine, Keller thought. “You have Sage and I to thank for that.”

Another eye roll. “I don’t need, and I certainly didn’t ask for your help.”

“You’re welcome anyway.”

Josie shoved the blinds to the side, leaned against the wall and crossed her legs at her ankles. “What the hell?”

“Blizzard,” he said, closing his eyes again. Two minutes. No more than three.

“This is Nashville. We don’t do blizzards. I seriously don’t have time for this shit.”

Chuckling, Keller turned to his side and pushed the thought of a nap from his mind. “I think you forgot to relay that information to the weather gods. You’ve definitely got more than the makings of a blizzard out there.”

“How long?” She plopped on the bed and then shot straight up as if the mattress were made of hot coals.

How long would he wait for her? How long had the snow been falling? How long since he’d slid into the heat of a woman? Forever. Not long enough. Too long. “How long what, Josephine?”

“I’m only going to ask nicely one more time. Please, do not call me that.”

He nodded, which was not to say he was by any means agreeing with her. And if that was her idea of asking nicely, Keller sure had his work cut out for him.

“How long has it been since you’ve fed?”

Now why hadn’t that form of the question crossed his mind? He knew exactly how long it had been. His body wouldn’t let him forget. A chronic headache. Aching bones. Weak muscles. An internal slow burn. Five excruciating painful days. “Awhile.”

She moved back to the window. “Why?”

Keller stood on shaky legs. With precisely placed steps, he walked the perimeter of the bed, leaning against the mattress for support. He hoped she hadn’t noticed. Her narrowed eyes told him otherwise. At the window, he pulled the cord of the blinds, tugging until they moved past his head. He remained silent. So much to say and no way to say it without scaring her off.

“Why haven’t you been feeding, Keller?”

Maybe it was the softened tone of her voice. He hadn’t heard that one before. Maybe it was the fact that she’d used his first name rather than Mr. O’Leary or Irish. Though he found both to be quite endearing. Maybe it was the way they turned at the same time to study the pristine white blanket covering the world outside. Whatever it was, Keller took an unnecessary but calming breath before he spoke. “I can’t.”

“I repeat…why?” Her voice was no more than a whisper.

Did she suspect what he already knew? Her breath caressed his cheek. So close, but miles too far away. “Because yours is the only blood I want.”

Part of him expected her to punch him in the mouth, knock out a fang or two. The other part expected her to laugh in his face. Josie did neither. She simply turned to stare out the window.

“You think it holds something special?”

She made it sound like a question, but Keller heard the weariness in her statement. She’d been down this road before. That didn’t sit well with him, or her if her tone were any indication. Keller cleared his throat. “I know it does.”

Josie shrugged. “Well, you’re gonna have to get in line, fang boy.”

Instantly, anger fueled by, raw, primal possession simmered in his blood. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Stand in line? Feck that. Behind who?”

Josie flicked her gaze to his before shoving off the wall. “It means you’re just as misinformed as the rest of them.”

Them
. His suspicions were true. Josie stood front and center in the game of blood. Keller tracked her path with his ears. She padded across the worn carpet on bare feet. He heard her open the rattling refrigerator, snag what he assumed to be a water bottle since the white box contained nothing but water and two jars of jelly. The sound of her swallowing had him wetting his lips.

“The rest of them?”

At the window again, she pursed her lips and seemed to sort through her thoughts.

“There are those who think my blood carries something they need. Something
special
. I’ve had it tested. It doesn’t. You’re wrong. They’re wrong.” She drained the rest of the bottle before chucking it toward the kitchen. “Still won’t stop them from trying to prove it for themselves. You either, I suspect. But know this, Keller O’Leary. I’ll be damned if I’m offering up a sample to you or anyone else.”

Just the thought of someone else taking what was meant for him and him only had Keller ready to destroy. Struggling to maintain control, he spoke slowly. “I won’t take what you’re not willing to give.” He couldn’t say the same for the others. They’d have to get through him first.

“Then you’re in the minority.”

Yes. That was true. In this case, minority equaled one. No other was meant solely for her. He considered all he had seen and heard since getting to Nashville and narrowed down his list of suspects. Warlocks had been watching her that night in the bar. Demons had attacked and hurt her, called for her blood. Keller had dealt with demons on more than one occasion and knew the spawn could be controlled, and it didn’t take much to do it. Demons had very weak minds. “The warlocks?”

Her lips parted. Surprise flickered in her eyes. “How could you know that?”

He finally gave into the fatigue and sat back down on the bed. “I watch. I listen. What do they want it for?”

She sat next to him. Keller waited for her to jump up and away. She didn’t. Not this time.

“I’m assuming to use in their black magick spells.” Josie absently braided her hair. “What I’d like to know is who started this rumor. I’d gut him and leave him on display.”

Keller would like to know that, too. Whispers had led him to Nashville, led him to his mate. Whispers amongst the darkest beings of the occult inside the cruelest walls he’d ever had the misfortune to stay within. That his confinement had been voluntary didn’t change what went on inside the Colony. What had Josie gotten herself into?

If only the Seers’ muddled ramblings had been clearer. Maybe then their whispers would have given him more answers. In his experience, the word Seer could be found right next to insane in the dictionary. Keller imagined he, too, would be crazier than a loon if unwanted visions flooded his thoughts.

“I should give it to them and laugh when they fail,” she continued. “And they will fail. No doubt about it. But it’s the principle of the damn thing, you know?”

“Don’t.”

She titled her head. “What?”

“Don’t even give them one drop of your blood.”

“Why? Because I should give it to you?”

Yes. Over and over again. “Only when you’re ready.”

“Not gonna happen, Irish. You look terrible, though,” she said while bunching the sheets in her fists. “I could go out and get you—”

Keller placed his index finger to her lips. He nearly shook as a rush of power raced along his skin. “No.”

Brows drawn together, voice barely a whisper, Josie asked, “What are you doing?”

“Showing you something.”

“What?”

A passionate new world. Everything. Heaven. “That you want me every bit as I want you.”

She shook her head. “You’re so far from the truth on that one, you’re practically on another planet.”

He could work with words like practically. The door might not be wide open, but she hadn’t slammed it in his face either. “Prove it. Just one kiss, Miss Hawk. One kiss to show me how very wrong—or
right
—I am.”

At least thirty heartbeats passed before she spoke. Keller counted each one. “That’s it? One kiss—no fang action included—and you’ll leave me alone?”

Keller bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. He swallowed and swore he tasted the sweet flavor of victory. The shadows cast by the lone candle seemed to dance. “
If
I’m wrong.” If he had more time, he would take this slow, court her the old-fashioned way, the way his father had taught him. As it were, he ran the risk of alienating Josie by pushing too hard too fast. That was a risk he had to take.

Smug smile firmly in place, Josie said, “Then prepare to be on the first bus out of Nashville.”

Neither moved. Eyes locked, they stared, a challenge accepted on both sides, both ready to claim the prize. Keller moistened his lips and willed his fangs to retract. A promise was a promise after all. He wanted so badly to pull her against him, to possess her in one swoop of uncontrolled passion, to taste her blood and thereby her mind. The fact that Josie would expect just that forced him to go slowly.

Chest constricting, arousal spiking, he slid his palm along her arm, over the smooth skin of her elbow, inching up until his hand wrapped around the back of her neck. Pleasure surged within him, knowing he was responsible for the racing of her heart, the upsurge of her body temperature. Applying slight pressure with the pad of his thumb, he eased Josie toward him, meeting her halfway. His lips brushed against her pouting mouth, just the lightest of touches…

Ears roaring, heart pounding, skin tingling with renewed energy, Keller’s world shifted, changed forever by the barest of kisses. The color red washed over his vision, blinding him from everything but the woman he would soon claim.

-6-

The Huntress Gambles

I’m losing.

I don’t like to lose, but that’s exactly what’s happening. I’m paying the price for my misplaced bravado.

I can’t breathe.

My heart is seriously about to bust out of my chest. Sweat slides down my spine. It’s hotter than Hades in here, and yet it’s not hot enough. I want more. Dangerous amounts of more. I knew there was something between us, a mild attraction of sorts, but I never expected…

Screw this.

If I’m going down, I’m going all in. I reach up and thread my fingers through Keller’s hair, angling my head just so. His hair is softer than mine, and that kind of pisses me off, which surely explains my irrational behavior. I can’t help myself, and though I know it’s risky, I bate the vampire by using his own words against him. Lips almost touching his, I say, “You call that a kiss?” While I’m at it, I may as well sucker punch his macho ego. Why the hell not? “Pretty sad if that’s all you’ve got. I mean, come on. You promised to show me something.”

A low growl is the only warning I get before my back meets the mattress. I suck in a breath and swear I can taste the salt on his skin. We’re that close. He rises over me, grabs my hips and pulls me away from the edge of the bed before dipping his head and searing me with a kiss that has fire shooting from my stomach to my toes. I open for him, and his tongue slides across mine, stroking, licking, caressing, and ever-so-slowly driving me insane.

Heat builds at my core. Not a slow simmer, but a heat so intense I’m about to explode. Explode. From a kiss. I can’t even wrap my mind around that. I’m shaking now, a mild tremble that promises to turn into a seizure if I don’t stop him. What’s causing this? Want? Need? Fear? My throat closes with panic.

Before I know it, Keller’s rough hand slides beneath my shirt and the pad of his thumb is brushing against the underside of my breast.
Higher, please. Touch me
. My thoughts have a mind of their own.

I want him more than I’ve ever wanted another, and that scares the living hell out of me. This is worse than fighting a pack of rabid wolves alone, surrounded, and backed against a wall. I have no weapons for this. No way to fight what I’m feeling. I don’t like it. I want it—I want him—but I sure as hell don’t like it.

Hands against his bare chest, I want to explore his muscles, his skin. Instead, I try to shove him off of me, but he’s too strong. What happened to the man who could barely stand moments ago? Was it all a rouse?

No.

I won’t believe that.

I’m not some feeble-minded female and I know he couldn’t have faked it. Not without Hollywood makeup and an acting degree from Juilliard.

He sucks my tongue into his mouth. I give him more. All that I have. A sound fills my ears and I realize I’m moaning. I push against him again, but this attempt is weak at best. What the hell is wrong with me? I…he…we have to end this.