Dark Mate (MATE series) (5 page)

Could she do it? Would
she...really do it?

Eva closed her eyes and
swallowed hard. She was a police officer. But she was also a woman.

Gabriel King was a rogue
Master vampire. But he was also a man.

Slowly, she undid her braid
and let her red hair tumble over her shoulders.

Her lips curved in a slow,
tight smile that didn't reach her eyes. Gabriel King might have
destroyed her gun, but she wasn't defenseless. She still had a very
powerful weapon.

She let her jacket slide off
her shoulders and walked to the bedside table. Carefully, she picked
up the plate and turned it over in her hands. It was a beautifully
hand painted china plate. It must have cost a lot. Pity.

She weighed the plate in her
hands for a moment, admiring the intricate design.

With a wince, she brought the
beautiful plate down against the side of the table. She stared down
at the broken pieces with both satisfaction and sadness.

Slowly, she picked up a jagged
shard with trembling fingers and turned it over in front of her.

This would do.

After hiding the remnants of
the plate under the bed, Eva slipped the long, jagged shard under the
pillow and began to undress.

She was shaking so hard it
took three tries before she could unhook her bra. She laid her
clothes on the chair and climbed into bed.

Pulling the covers up over her
naked body, she squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to breathe.
She wouldn't chicken out now.

There was no other way.

She would just have to risk
it.

As dawn broke over New Moon
City, Gabriel misted back into his bedroom, frustrated and denied yet
again.

Another fruitless night.
Where the hell was Vonetta? Why couldn't he find her? She was his
betrothed, his love, his mate. Wasn't she?

He was now a Master vampire.
He should have been able to find her without much effort. And yet,
all this effort, night after night, had yielded nothing.

He had nothing.

All he had was...

...a warm, human woman in his
bed.

Gabriel jerked at the lush,
female scent in his room. His eyes snapped to his bed, where he saw
tendrils of red hair spread across his pillow.

Eva was lying on her side,
curled up tightly in a ball as she slept fitfully. As he neared her,
she whimpered softly in her sleep and shivered.

Gabriel stared down at her
sleeping form. She looked so much smaller and younger when she was
asleep. He saw her shiver again, and instinctively he reached out to
tuck the covers in snugly around her.

His hand brushed against her
bare shoulder when he touched the warm covers and he jolted back.

He had touched her bare skin.

She was...naked.

Gabriel could feel his heart
rate and breathing speed up. No, she couldn't really be naked under
the covers.

His fangs stabbed out
painfully, long and aching. Another part of him was long and aching
as well, and Gabriel felt a tremor course through his entire body.
Her scent, her sweet, rich scent was driving his mind and body wild.
He wanted to take her now, take her body and her blood.

He blinked hard to try to
clear his mind. This wasn't right. She shouldn't be affecting him
like this. This human woman was not his mate. He shouldn't be
feeling anything for her, not desire, not overpowering hunger and
want.

He should fight this, fight
this...insanity.

He stumbled back and hit his
boot against the leg of the chair. The sound woke her up, and she
jerked up with a cry. Her gray eyes were wide and wild, and for an
instant, they were filled with terror. She looked lost, confused and
absolutely terrified. Then she gasped and blinked rapidly. In three
quick blinks, she blinked away every last trace of fear in her eyes.

“
Shit, I fell asleep...”
He heard her curse softly at herself as she yanked the covers up to
her chin.

“
What are you doing?”
Gabriel said harshly. His words came out on a hiss of pain and
anger.

She stared up at him with eyes
that were hard, cold and steely.

“
And a very good morning
to you too,” she said coolly. “It is morning now, isn't
it?”

Gabriel stared at her as she
took a deep breath and let the covers slide down her bare body. The
soft, satin sheets fell to her waist, exposing her round, lush
breasts. Gabriel saw her hand shake as she instinctively reached out
to grab the sheets but instead of pulling the covers up, all she did
was twist the fabric viciously in her fists. Her throat moved as she
stared up at him, her eyes blazing, her jaw tightly clenched.

Gabriel read the dare in her
stormy eyes.

Isn't this what you want,
Gabriel King? Do it, Gabriel. I dare you to do it. Take me. Take
what you want.

He took a step forward, and
she gulped audibly. Her breath hitched but she remained unmoving.

“
Are you...tempting me,
Eva?” he asked in a voice so hoarse and low he could barely
hear himself.

The corner of her lips curved
in a smirk.

I know your weakness,
vampire.

“
Do you know what I can
do to you,
human
?” Gabriel dragged the last word out.

But she didn't look
intimidated or insulted. “Kill me, if I'm lucky. Turn me, if
I'm not,” she deadpanned, and he heard the scorn in her voice.

Gabriel stared at her for a
long while. She wasn't afraid of him, of death. Instead, she
despised him. Gabriel narrowed his eyes and advanced towards her.
If she despised vampires so much, perhaps he would turn her. Turn
her into the very thing she so despised. She would be...like him,
forever.

She would hate him, enough to
try to destroy him...or destroy herself.

The last thought caused a
piercing pain in his heart. The blow was so sharp and sudden it made
him gasp and stagger back.

The image of her turning her
back on him and stepping defiantly out into the fiery sunlight burned
through his mind. He had no doubt that she would do it. If he
turned her, she would kill him, and then meet the dawn.

He read the hard resolve in
her eyes.

In a flash, he was on the bed,
his hands locked around her bare arms. He grabbed her so hard he
could feel his nails digging into her flesh, and he saw the sudden
glint of tears in her eyes.

He released her with a hiss.
She turned away, and he felt the sudden urge to grab her and hold
her. Hold her forever.

“
You will sleep with me
tonight,” he gritted out. “Just...sleep.”

He saw her bite her bottom lip
to stop it from trembling, but she kicked up her chin to meet his
gaze unflinchingly. She tensed, waiting for him to make a grab for
her again. And force himself on her.

“
Sleep, Eva,” he
growled.

When she didn't move a muscle,
he blew out a sigh and pulled the covers up over her shoulders. She
stiffened when he tucked her into his side so that her head rested on
his chest. He put his hand on her waist and held her, feeling her
body press against his.

“
Go to sleep,” he
said gruffly. “I'll just hold you, and...” He sighed
deeply. “...sleep here beside you.”

She held herself perfectly
still for a long time, but finally he felt her hand curl up under her
chin. He didn't move at all, not wanting to spook her further. His
hand rested on the sheets, quavering slightly on the curve of her
waist.

“
Where did you go
tonight, Gabriel?” she asked softly.

He froze as she lifted her
head to squint at him. Her gaze was firm and steady, but the
hardness was gone. She was looking at him with curiosity and
concern, and a small furrow had appeared in the middle of her
forehead as she studied him quietly.

“
Were you out looking
for something? Something important?” she said. Her gaze was
appraising, astute. “You...don't seem happy.”

“
I...” His throat
felt too dry and tight.

“
That makes two of us,”
she muttered and shrugged. Looking up, she smirked at him. “Well,
misery loves company.”

“
Why did you...”
he began, gesturing vaguely at her body. “Why did you get
naked?” he blurted out.

She looked down and swallowed.
She suddenly seemed self-conscious and angry as she tried to inch
away from him. His arms instinctively tightened around her. He
would not let her get away from him.

Her face reddened and she
looked away. She seemed to be regretting her actions.

Finally, she said very softly,
“I wanted to seduce you.”

Before he could respond, she
rushed on, “I thought...I'd use sex as a weapon. Since you've
taken away all my weapons, I have only...” Her voice trailed
off. “I'll just use what I have, to get out of here alive.
But...you're not going to let me live, are you?” She laughed
bitterly. “You're going to kill me, or turn me. As a human,
I'm just your toy and your food. And after you've turned me, I'm
your slave. Isn't that your plan for me?”

She looked straight at him,
and he read the fierce promise in her eyes.
But I will seek the
sun, Gabriel. I will rather burn for eternity than be your slave for
the rest of my pathetic, immortal life!

“
I'm not going to turn
you, Eva,” he said, the words falling from his lips even before
he was aware of them.
I'm not going to hurt you.

She let out a shuddering
breath. “Thank...” She clamped her mouth shut and
swallowed. Finally, she asked without looking at him, “Is
it...going to hurt?”

“
What?”

She squeezed her eyes shut.
“Your bite,” she whispered. “When you drain my
blood, will it...hurt much?”

Gabriel reeled back almost as
if she had sucker punched him in the gut. Her words were like
knives, twisting and burrowing into his core. He shook his head
hard.

“
No.”

He saw her attempt a small
smile, but it looked too much like a wince.

“
I mean, no, I
won't...hurt you.”

Slowly, she pulled her knees
up and tucked them tightly under her chin. It was clear that she
didn't believe him.

“
Then why won't you let
me go?” she whispered.

“
I...can't.”

She turned back to face him.
“You mean you won't,” she said flatly.

“
I...”

She turned away sharply to
stare stoically at the far wall. She seemed to have frozen to stone,
and he just couldn't stand it. He wanted her to turn back to him, to
look at him, talk to him, smile at him. Now...why would he want
that? His own strange, inexplicable reaction to this human woman was
highly frustrating and completely out of reason and character. But
he just had to talk to her, and...touch her.

But he wouldn't force her.

Inhaling deeply, Gabriel began
to speak, letting his voice float out into the darkness, “I was
out looking for someone tonight.”

“
You were out hunting?
For another prey, another prisoner?” she sniffed sarcastically
over her shoulder.

“
You're not my...”

“
Yeah, I know. I'm not
your prisoner. I'm...a guest, right? A guest who can't leave,”
she snorted.

He let her finish mumbling
some choice swear words, then continued gruffly, “I wasn't out
hunting. I was searching for...my fiancee.”

The pronouncement seemed to
catch her interest.

She turned to stare at him.
“You have a fiancee? Isn't she dead by now? I mean...oh.
She's like you.” She laughed suddenly. “I'm sure she
wouldn't be too happy to find a naked woman in your bed! You should
let me go, you know, before she finds out,” she added in a
conspiratorial tone. “I won't tell, I promise.”

Gabriel glared at her. She
shrugged. “Or maybe I'm the engagement ring.” She made
her voice low, mimicking him no doubt. “Here's a nice, tasty
human for you, my love. Now will you be my vampire bride?”

“
Eva.”

“
What?” She
widened her eyes at his sharp tone.

“
I'm trying to...”

“
Fine. Go on. Tell me
about your vampire fiancee. But I still think you should let me go.
Women can be so jealous and emotional. She might jump to
conclusions, seeing us like this, even though we haven't...”

“
Will you...”

“
Shut up?” She
smiled sadly. “Yeah, I will. I'll be dead soon, won't I? The
dead can't talk, so I'd have shut up for good then.”

Gabriel opened his mouth to
speak, then snapped it shut furiously. How could he tell her that he
wouldn't hurt her? But...why wouldn't he hurt her? She was just a
disposable, little human. She was just his food and his plaything.
She'd said it herself.