Dom didn’t look at her. As he sank his teeth into her, he focused on just that—the hot, potent rush of shifter blood and the energy it sent hurtling through him. He drew at her flesh, shuddering as a second hunger roused.
Blood and sex—for a vamp, they often went hand in hand. When he fed, his body wanted sex. When he fucked, he craved blood.
Lindsey seemed quite happy to give him both, curling close. She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, her warm body a welcome invitation. Her scent, wild and rich, grew heavier.
He kept it businesslike, even though his cock was pushing for more. He withdrew his fangs and flicked his tongue over the pierced flesh. Between his saliva and her own hyped-up healing, the small wounds were closed in seconds.
“Thank you.”
Lindsey chuckled. “Oh, no problem, honey. If you’re ever in the mood for . . . well, much of anything, you come find me. Rafe said to haul ass once you fed. He’ll be waiting in the garage—you’re being taken to the airport in one of the vans.”
He didn’t look at her as she left.
Now that he’d fed, his head was clearer. It wasn’t an improvement though, because now he couldn’t stop thinking about just what it was that had him out of bed before sunset.
Shit.
He’d much rather walk around in a fog for a while.
Too late now.
J
UST as Lindsey had promised, Rafe was waiting in the garage. He wasn’t alone, either.
Toronto was with him. Toronto, one of Rafe’s lieutenants, was a werewolf and a general pain in the ass. He had pale, pale hair—almost too white to be called blond—and it fell in a straight line more than halfway down his back. His eyes were also pale, a faint silvery blue. He looked almost too pretty for a man, a fact that Dominic loved to razz him about, under normal circumstances.
Today’s circumstances weren’t normal and Toronto’s smart-ass ways weren’t welcome.
As he stormed into the garage and caught sight of the werewolf, he stopped dead in his tracks and met Rafe’s gaze. “Fuck. Shit. Damn it. Rafe, find somebody else.”
A faint grin tugged at Rafe’s mouth.
Toronto popped a piece of gum into his mouth. The scent of Hubba Bubba filled the air.
“Sorry, Dom. There isn’t anybody else. You need a pilot. Tor flies. Nobody else here does.”
“Fuck. Shit. Damn it.” Dominic whirled around and drove his foot into the base of the concrete wall.
“Lighten up,” Toronto said, grinning at him. “You act like I’m flying you to your own staking.”
Dominic climbed into the back of the plain white van. “You need to do something about your van, Lassie. Don’t you know serial killers just love this make and model?”
Toronto flashed his sharp white teeth. “Don’t worry, Dom. You might be pretty, but you’re not my type.”
Memories—ugly and hated—flooded Dominic’s mind. Slowly, he turned and gave the werewolf a look.
“Ease up, Dominic.”
It was a quiet order.
Sliding his gaze past Toronto’s shoulder, he glanced at the Master. Rafe stood just a few feet away, his face dark, his mouth unsmiling. To a stranger, it might have looked as though the vampire was in a shitty mood.
But Rafe looked the same on good days, which made it harder to tell when he was really pissed.
He might not be really pissed now, but he was heading that way as he gave Toronto a dark look. “You’re playing chauffeur today—so be a good little chauffeur. As in get your ass in the driver’s seat and drive—leave Dom alone.”
Toronto obviously wasn’t as skilled at gauging Rafe’s moods as the others were. “We touchy today?” He cocked a brow. “Gotta suck, losing your punching bag. Don’t worry. While Dom here is gone, I’ll let you pound on me in the gym. I might even let you win a time or two.”
“Just shut the fuck up and get in the van,” Rafe snarled.
That
clued Toronto in and his brows drew together, something swirling in his eyes. Tension mounted in the air, heavy, thick, like a summer rainstorm about to open up over them.
Toronto might be happy to play at serving a Master, but he was powerful enough to
be
a Master if he chose.
Werewolves were notoriously hot-natured, too, and Rafe’s pissed off mood looked like it was now feeding into Toronto’s. A growl rumbled out of his chest.
Rafe narrowed his eyes and said quietly, “You gave a vow when you settled here, Toronto.”
“I’m aware of that.” Toronto’s eyes began to pinwheel, swirling with shades of gray, black and blue.
“Then why don’t you—”
“Rafe.” Dominic settled on the floor of the van and closed his eyes. “Just drop it, okay?”
Rafe grunted under his breath and backed off. Toronto opened his mouth, but then he glanced at Dominic. The shadowed interior of the van didn’t do a damn thing to conceal him, and Dom didn’t need a mirror to know there were dark, ugly secrets written all over him. He knew it, and even though he blanked his expression, he didn’t do it quickly enough.
The anger faded from Toronto’s face, quickly replaced by self-directed disgust. A red flush crept up his neck and he rubbed it. “Dom—”
Without saying anything, Dominic slammed the door shut behind him.
He wished he could have waited for full night. Then he could have just taken one of the bikes and driven himself to Excelsior. Would have taken two nights to make the trip, though, and that was the problem. Rafe wanted him there quicker than that, which meant flying.
Outside, he heard Rafe snapping at Toronto. If he focused, he could have heard the words. But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to think, didn’t want to remember.
I
T was just after midnight when they landed at the private airstrip a half hour from the school. The entire flight had passed in tense, uneasy silence. Toronto, sensing Dominic’s uneasiness, hadn’t attempted to break it, not even once—proving he actually
did
possess two brain cells in that pretty blond head of his.
As the plane touched down, Dominic took a deep breath and braced himself.
All the
what-ifs
in his mind were screaming. What if he was going crazy? What if there was something wrong with him? What if . . . what if . . . what if . . .
Kelsey would be here waiting for him. No matter what Rafe said, Dominic had the worst feeling she was going to look at him and tell him he was going insane.
As he climbed out of the little plane, he glanced around. It was still and quiet, the air cool and damp, smelling of spring flowers and grass. The air smelled different here. Different kinds of trees. Different people. He grabbed his duffle without waiting for Toronto. Up ahead, he could see Kelsey at the hangar.
“Let’s get this shit over with,” he muttered. Behind him, he heard Toronto trotting to catch up.
As the blond wolf fell in step beside him, Dominic shot him a dark look. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Wanted to say I’m sorry.”
Well, shit.
Maybe the bastard didn’t have those two brain cells.
Thanks to his preflight meal—courtesy of Lindsey—Dominic had plenty of blood circulating in his body. Right now, it circulated right up his neck, settling in his cheeks as humiliation and shame curled through him.
He worked to bury it—it had been years.
Years.
He wasn’t helpless anymore. He’d been in medical school before the attack and since then, he’d worked with so many victims—he knew all the logistics. The feral vampire that had Changed him had done a hell of a lot more than that, showing Dominic just what it felt like to be brutalized.
Dominic had done his time in hell. He knew it wasn’t his fault, he wasn’t to blame.
But even now, the memories still had the power to sneak up on him and sucker punch him like this.
“Leave it alone, Lassie,” he said, hearing the edge in his voice and not caring.
Toronto sighed but said nothing else, ambling along at Dominic’s side, hands tucked in his pockets.
Kelsey met them halfway between the hangar and the plane, smiling at Toronto. The werewolf caught her hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the back of it. “Kelsey, you look gorgeous. Leave that fucking vamp of yours. You need a warm-blooded man.”
A smile curled Kelsey’s lips and she leaned forward, kissed Toronto on the cheek. “I’ll be sure to give him your regards, Toronto.”
Toronto grinned at her. “You do that.”
As Kelsey focused on him, her smile faded. Dominic’s gut clenched. She arched a brow at him, her green gold eyes curious. “Well, you don’t look happy to be here.”
Dominic didn’t say a word.
He’d rather be sunning himself on a beach somewhere. Even though it would leave him with a murderous sunburn—literally.
Charred vamp
sounded a hell of a lot better than having some witch play armchair shrink for him, and he had a feeling that was what lay ahead for him.
T
HE drive to Excelsior took place in silence. Dominic appreciated that. He’d much rather the interrogation start once he was wherever he was supposed to crash for the duration. Preferably some place loaded with tequila. If he got enough of it in him, maybe it would dull the effects. Might take a tank of Patrón, but he could do it. He thought.
Toronto wasn’t hanging around—one small favor, at least. Dominic’s mood was pushing toxic and if he had to listen to the werewolf’s wisecracks for too long, he’d lose his own damn temper.
That wouldn’t help things at all. Physically, he was strong and could hold his own against non-masters.
But if he went after a Master werewolf, he’d be doing the same thing he did when he sparred with Rafe—wiping his own blood off the floor.
Nope. Wouldn’t help. Although a good, vicious fight . . .
“You know, I don’t bite.”
Dominic slanted a look at the witch. She looked like a schoolteacher, he decided. He’d met her once or twice, but hadn’t ever seen her for more than a few minutes. She had strawberry blond hair, big hazel eyes and freckles sprinkled across her nose. She’d be the kind of teacher half the boys had a crush on, and the girls would love her, too. She just had that way about her.
Right now, she was smiling a little, glancing at him from the corner of her eye as she drove the sleek little Mustang down the road. Her brow arched and he remembered—she’d said something.
Oh, yeah. He remembered now.
But he didn’t how to respond to her comment, so he just shrugged.
Kelsey sighed. “Will it make you feel better if I tell you that you aren’t going crazy?”
“It might.” Cautiously, he shifted in the bucket seat, studying her profile. “You think you’ll be able to tell me that?”
“Oh, I can already tell you that.” Kelsey shot him another smile and then hit her blinker. As she slowed the car down for the turn, she shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going on and Rafe wasn’t able to tell me much . . . probably because you weren’t telling
him
much. But it seems his main concern is you—because
you
think you might be losing your mind. He says you aren’t. I agree with him. So does that make you feel better?”
Dominic scowled. “You don’t even know the kind of shit going on inside my head. There’s no way you can know.”
“You haven’t been around witches much.” She sighed. “That’s fine. But yes, Dom, I
can
tell. All I had to do was look at you when you got off the plane. I’m a witch and I’ve got healer tendencies. I know madness, I know insanity. Whether it’s organic, or induced by magic or trauma, I know it. You’re not losing your mind. Which is good, because I really don’t need another tetched Hunter running around.”
“Another?”
She scowled and arrowed the car into a parking space, slamming on the brakes just in time to avoid hitting the curb. The serene smile on her face was gone, replaced by a tight, cold mask. “We’re here.”
“You’ve got another crazy Hunter running around?”
With a withering look, she said, “No, I don’t have
another
crazy Hunter. You’re not crazy. Anything other than that isn’t your concern.”
He might have pointed out that she had been the one to toss it out there, but he saw the sharp glint in her eyes. He might have some smart-ass tendencies of his own, but he wasn’t about to give this woman grief. Whatever else was going on, it was hurting her. He saw it in her eyes before she managed to hide it.
Silently, he climbed out of the car and grabbed his bag from the miniscule trunk. Then he moved to join her on the sidewalk, glancing around.
Excelsior looked the same. It had been a couple of years since he’d been here—the last time had been at Rafe’s insistence as well. Dominic was apparently showing Master traits but he seemed too young for it. He had been sent to the school for a second opinion. Which added up to a waste of time in his opinion.