Hunter's Surrender (2010)

Vampire hunter Rand Wilder hated vampires--even if they were as beautiful and alluring as vampire princess Dominique Valois. For years he fought the beings who had killed his father, resisting their dangerous sensuality. Yet even Rand was tempted by the intoxicating Dominique and her shocking offer: to hurt the vampire court by taking her virginity....

A desperate need to ruin her reputation had forced Dominique to seek out the hunter known as The Darkness. But she hadn't expected Rand to be so captivating and compassionate.... Soon a very different sort of need drove her desire to take Rand to her bed. And with Dominique's survival depending on it, she would have to use all her skills of seduction to make this strong hunter surrender to passion....

"He's here somewhere. Find him!"

Rand Wilder stood silent in the desert darkness. Despite the moonless night, his enhanced vision allowed him to see the six vampires hunting for him.

The thump of music from the run-down highway bar nearby sounded like a heartbeat in the night. The lights of Las Vegas shimmered in the distance. The warm desert air brushed over him.

As did the vampires' energies, prickling over his skin and pulsing under his heart.

Anaharta
. Vampires ruled by the heart chakra. And ones who'd let their energy course out of alignment.

Unbalanced vampires were Rand's favorite prey.

"Come out, come out." The tallest vampire spun in a slow circle. "We know you're here, hunter."

One of the vampires came closer, his feet kicking up the coarse desert sand. Rand's hand tightened on his stake--a shaft of pure titanium. The vampire's jagged energy was evident in the creature's jerky movements.

Come on, just another inch
. Rand waited. His career as a vampire hunter had taught him patience. Against unbalanced rogues, it was his greatest weapon.

The vampire paused, lifting his pretty face to the star-scattered sky. It seemed a cosmic joke that such powerful, vicious beings were so beautiful. No doubt the Indian vampire goddess Kali had laughed when she'd created the first of her children thousands of years ago.

Vampires were ruled by the energy coursing through their chakras--energy they got from blood. Over time it improved their skin, trimmed their bodies and smoothed out their features.

But it didn't hide their rotten insides.

Dark memories of his father's blood running like a river across the floor twisted through Rand. A man who'd dedicated his life to protecting the innocent hadn't deserved to be tortured to death.

Rand tried to recall his father's deep voice and booming laugh, but the sounds were lost to him. His heart thumped hard against his ribs. Time, and the blood of all the vampires he'd killed, had dulled his memories.

Now he knew only rage and death.

The vampire inched closer, unaware his executioner stood within a breath of him. Rand thrust out his arm.

The stake sank into the vamp's heart, the executed seeing no more than a blur of shadow. He didn't make a sound as he crumpled to the sand.

Using his speed, Rand attacked the two closest vampires. They, too, died in silence.

"What the hell?"

"Alban and Jago are down!"

"Where is he?"

The frenzy of panicked voices echoed through the dark. Again Rand waited.

"It's The Darkness," one of the vampires moaned.

It was the name the vampire community had given Rand many years ago. The darkness hid him, was a part of him, one of his many hunter skills. He came from it when the vampires least expected him. It also filled his soul.

Long nights in the darkness had taught him that to fight the monsters, he had to become the monster.

But killing when he couldn't be seen was hardly a challenge. He wanted the fight to be personal. He wanted to see their fear, smell their terror, hear their ragged heartbeats...and if he got too close...well, it wasn't like there was anyone who'd miss him.

He strode forward, coming out of the dark like the predator he was.

"So, finally I meet The Darkness." The tall vampire stood flanked by his two remaining followers. His voice was composed, but his fear stained the air.

Rand didn't say anything. He didn't talk to those he executed.

The air between them hung heavy, tension thickening like building thunderclouds.

The vampires attacked.

For Rand, time slowed. He heard every solid beat of his heart. Felt the touch of cool steel in his hand. Sensed the spike of pranic energy from the vampires.

He blocked the strike from the first vampire with a forearm. Took down the second with a smooth thrust of the stake. A hard kick sent the tall leader tumbling back into the sand.

Spinning, Rand moved lightning fast until he was face-to-face with the first vampire.

"No, please--"

His father had begged for mercy. But no one had listened. That long-ago vampire had forced a teenaged Rand to watch as he'd ripped Brody Wilder apart.

Rand stabbed the stake through the vamp's chakra and didn't wait to watch him fall.

"Just you and me,
vishuddha
," the tall vampire said.

Rand straightened and eyed his final foe. The vampire had used the formal name for Rand's kind. He was a descendant of a pure-blood vishuddha, the rare child resulting from the union of vampire and human.

Gifted with enhanced strength and senses, and a much longer life than humans, vishuddha made the perfect hunters of vampires.

He was doing what he'd been born to do.

They flew at each other and went crashing to the ground. At six foot five, Rand was bigger, but the vampire was strong. They wrestled and Rand felt the scrape of sharp fangs on his cheek.

"I'll take your blood, Darkness. And I'll make it hurt."

Fangs ripped at the side of Rand's neck and he felt his flesh tear. For a second, he relished the pain. Then he thrust a fist at the vampire's head.

Rand had never let a vampire feed from him and he wasn't starting now.

He'd been hardened in the blood and pain of many battles. One unbalanced rogue wouldn't be his undoing.

Raising an arm, Rand rammed the metal stake into the vampire's back. The tip pierced his heart from behind.

With a garbled cry, the vampire slumped forward, heart chakra destroyed.

Sucking in a deep breath, Rand rolled the body off him. He pushed to his feet.

Another monster dead.

He stared at his bloody hands and the stake resting in them. It was all he knew. Blood. Death. Darkness. What would his father think of him?

Before Rand could clean his stake, headlights cut across the desert, blinding him. A car jerked to a halt on the rough ground, doors opened.

"Police! Stay where you are and drop your weapon."

Damn
. Someone from the bar must've spotted them. He'd hoped when he'd lured the vamps out of the bar--and away from the humans they'd been planning to snack on--that no one would notice.

Rand didn't move. He tried to avoid humans, especially the authorities. They knew nothing of the beings existing alongside them. And it was best it stayed that way.

Still, he wasn't going to hurt them. He dropped his stake into the sand. He was damned good at killing but he wouldn't injure an innocent.

"Cuff him," one of the officers said.

A shadow moved forward. Rand's eyes adjusted and he saw an older cop by the car, gun aimed at Rand's chest.

A younger one approached him with cautious steps. Rand saw the officer's eyes stray to one of the vampires. Dead, fangs retracted, they looked like humans.

How in hell was he going to get out of this?

The young cop swallowed. "You're under arrest--"

"Now, you don't want to do that,
cheri
."

The female voice floated through the night like an angel's song. It stroked over Rand's nerve endings like caressing fingers, setting his body aflame.

She came out of the darkness like an underworld goddess. Tall, slender, pale skin glowing in the dark. She wore a white leather catsuit, which should have looked ridiculous, but only accented slim curves and feminine limbs. A fall of raven hair reached her waist.

Light in the darkness. Rand blinked, unable to look away.

She stopped, pressed a hand to her hip and looked at the cops. "I believe you were leaving. You saw nothing here that concerns you." The older cop nodded. "Yes, ma'am. You're right. Let's go, Johnson."

The younger man stared at her with glazed eyes. "We were leaving. Nothing here that concerns us."

Rand fought his body's instinctive urge to follow the men.

The woman sauntered forward, moving with a liquid grace that mesmerized. She patted Johnson's cheek, then watched them get in their car and drive away.

Then she turned to Rand.

A searing pain hit him between the eyes. Her unearthly beauty struck him like a blow to the head and his body hardened. Her features were perfect--slim nose, sharp cheekbones, sensual lips and eyes the color of amethysts.

Eyes that held an impossible blend of experience and innocence.

Innocence?
He snorted. The brow chakra belonged to the
ajna
. Those born to vampire parents, the equivalent to undead royalty.

The strongest and most powerful of all the vampires.

But even knowing what she was, his hands itched to run over her marble-smooth skin. She pumped off sensuality like heat off a roaring fire.

Unblinking violet eyes watched him. "I've been looking for you."

Rand watched her, his mind racing for a way to survive her attack. She looked young, but she felt powerful. Ajna were the only vampires strong enough to survive the rush of solar energy through their chakras and walk in the sun. They were damned hard to kill.

It'd been an ajna that had destroyed his father. Since then Rand had tangled with only one in his career and even with his enhanced healing abilities, it'd taken two months for him to recover.

She tilted her head. "Don't you speak?"

"Not with vampires," he growled.

She crossed her arms under her breasts, accenting her already mind-scrambling cleavage. "Well, you will talk to me."

Used to giving orders, this one. What the hell did an ajna want to talk to him for? "You think so?"

Her nod sent a ripple through her shiny hair. "I have a deal for you, Darkness."

Dominique had never expected The Darkness to be so big, so broad or so...wild.

When she'd set out to find him, she'd never given any thought to what he looked like. She'd only cared about his reputation. Amongst vampires, he was known as the biggest and baddest of the vampire hunters.

And Dominique needed big and bad.

She studied his large form--massive shoulders, a wall of chest and roped muscles under his worn jeans and black T-shirt. Shaggy brown hair threaded with the glint of gold hung to his shoulders. His eyes were moss-green and filled with shadows.

A throb of heat went through her, weakening her limbs. Energy washed over her, clogging her throat--the chakra of the vishuddha.

Dieu
, she'd never felt energy like this--scalding hot. She swallowed and fought for control. She'd never realized how cold she'd been until now.

Dominique was raised to have exquisite control of her energies. Her calm, controlled parents never let their energies run wild.

The thought of her parents reminded Dominique why she was here. A shiver wracked her. The energy in her drained away, leaving her deathly cold.

Please let this man be the one who could save her and her family. Save her from the ruthless vampire determined to make her his possession and kill her parents if she refused.
She resisted the urge to squeeze her hands together and forced them to stay at her sides.

"I don't deal with vampires." The hunter's deep voice was little more than a growl. It skittered down Dominique's spine.

She sensed the power vibrating off him. He wasn't pure-blood, but if the rumors were true, his grandfather had been a full vishuddha, so Rand Wilder was still very powerful.

He'd certainly wasted no time dispatching the six anaharta.

But he'd let the last vampire close enough to wound him? Through the murky night she studied the blood staining his stubble-covered cheek and neck. Its scent was rich, strong.

She wondered what he tasted like.

Her heart thumped against her ribs. At the ajna court, no one fed from live hosts anymore. They were much too civilized. So why had that thought jumped into her head?

Remember why you're here, Dominique.
She was a lawyer for the ajna and a damned good one. She knew how to get her argument across. "My deal is one you should find very pleasurable."

He grunted. "Not a word I use in conjunction with vamps, sweetheart."

She moved closer to him, watched him tense. She felt the heat pumping off him, hot against her cool skin. It drew her, made her wonder how hot his hands would feel running over her.

She smelled more than his blood now and breathed deep--sweat, soap and man. The muscles in her belly tightened. She'd come here in desperation, but now she realized she might get more than she'd expected.

She only hoped she could handle Rand Wilder.

"If you take my deal, you can drive a wedge into the ajna court. How do you Americans put it...flip them the bird?"

His green eyes narrowed. "Why the hell would I want to do that?"

Those eyes lasered into her and Dominique swallowed the knot in her throat. She wasn't afraid of this man. She was done being afraid.

Research was one of her best skills and she'd done her research on this man. "An ajna killed your father. The court and their Paladins did nothing to bring the killer to justice." She tilted her head. The fact that the Paladins--powerful vampires who policed the vampire world--had done nothing must torment him. "Wouldn't you like them to pay?"

His mouth firmed. "What do you want?"

She smiled now. "I want you to take my virginity."

Rand felt his body tighten so hard it hurt. Brutal arousal flooded his system.

It'd been months since he'd taken a woman to his bed. He savored the desire for a moment before he clamped down on his traitorous body's reaction.

She was a
vampire
. He knew she was nothing like the out-of-control rogues he'd just killed. It'd been the first lesson his father had taught him--they only hunted vampires who willingly let their energies run wild. The others were left to live their lives.

But it didn't change the fact she had fangs and drank blood.

Despite vampires' sensual natures, he'd never been tempted to tangle with one before. He wouldn't insult his father's memory, what he'd fought for, by being with a vampire.

Rand let his gaze skim over her perfect lips, then traced over the smooth, white skin of her throat. God, he bet she'd be delicious. She'd feel silky and supple. And he'd be the first to slide his body into the warmth of hers.

Jesus
. His chest heaved. "Sorry, sweetheart. I'm not interested in screwing a princess with fangs."

Heat seared along her cheekbones. "Watch it, hunter."

Time for him to get out of here. Before he did something stupid--like touch her. He stepped around her. "I'm leaving."

She sidestepped in front of him. "I haven't finished with you yet."

That silky voice stroked over him. Rand went to move around her, but found his feet rooted to the ground.

Damn!
Usually a vampire's thrall didn't work on him, but this woman's voice was a powerful weapon.

She came closer and he smelled her scent. Fresh water with a hint of some flower he couldn't name. It wrapped around him. So clean in the blood-soaked darkness.

Her violet eyes widened. "You're so hot."

She lifted a hand. It hovered between them for a second before she pressed her fingers to his chest.

Lightning. They both gasped. Her fingers clenched on his shirt, then moved in a caress. She smoothed those long, elegant fingers over his muscles.

"So much energy, so much rage," she whispered. "How do you function with such chaos inside you?"

Rand had dealt with his frenzied emotions all his life. It was the curse of the vishuddha to feel too much and deal with strong energies.

But with this woman touching him, he felt himself skate close to the edge of his control.

Her fingers slid down his T-shirt, stroked over the ridges of his stomach. Fire followed her touch, roaring through his body and arrowing to his groin.

But something else about her caught his attention. The wonder lighting her face.

"You're not what I expected, Darkness."

"My name's Rand," he bit out. For some unknown reason, he didn't like that name spilling from her lips.

She lifted her flawless face. "I am Dominique Valois."

Valois was the cream of vampire royalty. The blue-blooded family had been around for centuries. They were known for only breeding with other ajna to keep their line pure.

Now why would a Valois princess want a roll in the sheets with a vampire hunter?

Not his problem. "Let go of your thrall, princess."

"You must hear me out."

He gritted his teeth. The hint of desperation under her tone caught him. "Talk fast."

Her hand moved back up his chest, skirted the wound on his neck and stroked over his jaw. Flames licked down his body

"Why did you let the vampire do this? You could've killed him before he savaged you."

"He got lucky."

Her thumb brushed his lips. "I hear the lie in your voice." Her head tilted, exquisite black hair sliding across her shoulder. Her voice lowered to a seductive whisper. "Tell me."

He couldn't stop the words that tumbled from him. "I don't care if I die."

"You court death?" She shook her head. "
Non,
you flirt with it."

"Say what you have to say and release your thrall." He was already working to break her control over him. The fingers on his right hand moved.

"I told you, I want you to take me to bed and take my virginity."

Instant images flooded Rand's head. His big hands stripping away white leather. Dominique naked amongst his sheets, all marble-smooth skin and husky cries. He saw his body covering hers, her long legs wrapping around his hips.

Sweat broke out on his forehead. "Why's a Valois looking to slum it?"

She lifted her chin and for a brief second, he saw a flash of something dark in her eyes.
Fear?

It couldn't be. She could snap his neck or command him to stab the stake through his own throat.

"That is my business. All I need is your cock."

Hearing the blunt words in her exotic, proper tone made his arousal thicken. His body yelled yes, the hunter in him told him no.

The fingers he could move curled. "I told you, I'm not interested."

Her eyes narrowed. "Really?"

That one word dripped with feminine challenge. Rand's nerves stretched tight.

Her hand moved across his chest, a nail scraping over his nipple. He swallowed a groan. Her hand inched lower and then even lower.

"I do believe, Monsieur Wilder, that you are lying again." Her hand cupped his rock-hard erection through his jeans.

Jesus
. Pure electricity flooded through him, making his skin feel too tight and his muscles threaten to turn liquid.

She stroked him and savage hunger sang through his system, screaming for him to touch her, take her.

"Don't you want me?" Her husky murmur carried so many forbidden promises.

Her hand continued its torture, stroking the hard length of him. Her other hand curled around his neck and brought his head down. She was tall, but he was taller, and he felt her go up on her toes to press her crimson lips to his.

That luscious mouth moved like a whisper over his, small nipping bites that teased, barely giving him a taste of her.

But what grabbed at him was the trace of hesitancy. Like she hadn't kissed many men.

The thought fired through him. Emotions--hot, rich emotions--stormed through him and riding the wave was the strongest desire he'd felt.

It'd been so long since he'd felt pleasure, enjoyed anything other than killing. It'd been far too long since he'd held another against him. He needed to taste her.

With Dominique caught up in her seduction, Rand broke through her thrall. His hands gripped her hips, his fingers sinking into leather-slicked skin. He yanked her to him and took control of the kiss.

He plunged his tongue into her warm mouth and swallowed her groan. She tasted of fresh and sweet, cool spring water and natural honey. She tasted of innocence and desire, a combination that stole his sense. He dragged that taste inside him.

The force of his kiss bent her head back, but Dominique returned everything he gave. Her hand slid into his hair, clenching there. Rand slid one of his hands between them and pressed her other hand against the bulge in his jeans, crushing those elegant fingers against his heated body.

Right now, Rand didn't care who she was, or what she was. Right now, Dominique was a light in the darkness his life had become.

Mon Dieu
, she was going up in flames.

Dominique felt the full force of Rand Wilder's arousal swamp her. Was amazed to feel her own energy rise up to meet his. Her fangs sprang into her mouth.

He tasted ruthless, wild and dangerous. What would it feel like to have him take her? To feel his muscled, iron-hard body move within her?

Her fingers clenched on his erection. It felt huge under well-worn denim. And it made her hunger.

She'd danced with men, kissed them, shared bold caresses, but at twenty-eight, she was young for a vampire and had been expected to keep herself pure for her marriage. She'd never felt what she felt right now. When the hunter known as The Darkness kissed her, she felt like she was necessary for his survival.

One of his big, hot hands slid down her thigh. He gripped her leg and lifted it around his waist. In a thrust of hips, he ground himself against her softness. Her belly exploded in wild flutters.

Energy rushed through her and over her skin. She'd always suspected there was more than the cool control she'd known growing up. She'd always yearned for more than the icy politeness of court.

And Rand Wilder was showing it to her.

"Please," she whispered against his lips. She needed more. She wanted this man to show her what had been missing from her life.

Suddenly he pushed her away. She stumbled, then caught her balance. Her head felt light, her body heavy.

They watched each other, chests heaving. She felt her energy straining for him.

When he lifted a hand and rubbed the back of it across his mouth, like he was wiping the taste of her away, Dominique's stomach contracted. The rejection hit her like a blow.

"I can't help you," he bit out.

He didn't want her. She bit down hard on her bottom lip and tasted her own blood on her tongue. The one man who could save her and her parents from Vilein didn't want her.

It seemed the only man who wanted her was one she was trying to escape from.

"Why?" She hated that even she heard the hurt in that word.

He shoved a hand through his hair. "I kill your kind."

Dominique pressed two fingers to her temple and worked to control the wild energy inside her. Slowly she felt her control cooling the rush. "You have vampire in you, too."

"Enough to make me good at killing those who get out of control." He shook his head. "I've never taken one to my bed."

"And I've never taken any man to mine."

Even though she'd come here to ruin herself with a man Vilein would consider the worst possible choice, Dominique now wanted Rand Wilder for a very different reason. One even she didn't understand.

Rand's stubbled jaw tightened. "Like I said, I can't help you."

Her stomach knotted. Lifting her chin, she pushed the unfamiliar emotions away. She had some pride. She wouldn't throw herself at a man who didn't want her.

She straightened her shoulders and tossed her hair back over her shoulder. "Fine." She shot a pointed look at the dead vampires scattered around them. "Death makes a cold, lonely companion, but it looks like the two of you are happy together."

He didn't say anything but his moss eyes darkened.

Forcing a sultry smile, she ran a finger down her chest, between her cleavage. "You aren't the only hunter in Las Vegas. I'm certain I'll find many others happy to accept my offer."

She turned and walked away into the night.

She'd find someone to ruin her. Someone with a bad enough reputation that Vilein wouldn't want her anymore. She sucked in a breath. Her plan
had
to work.

Bile rose in her throat. Cold, sharp fear ate at the edges of her sanity. Dark flashes of the things Vilein had done to her and worse, the things he'd promise to do once she was his, burst through her head.

She swallowed back the need to be sick. She was ajna. She'd been raised to know no fear. She was tired of being afraid and now she was doing something to save herself.

The lights of Las Vegas cast a golden glow on the horizon. There were plenty of vampires in the city.

And where there were vampires, there were hunters.

Her heart squeezed. Just not the one she wanted.