Night Hungers (11 page)

Bruises and lacerations covered her body. Her legs were black and blue from her hips to her ankles. There was a long gash in her left thigh that still bled and another on her right calf. She didn’t remember what had put them there, but she knew they were fresh. The wound on her back where her kidney had been injured was black and at least a foot square in color. There were smaller cuts there as well. Not as bad as on her legs, but no less painful. The tear on her chest just below her breast was eight inches long and needed stitches. Her arms were also black and blue, but the cuts there were superficial.

Her jaw was bruised and her left eye was swollen completely shut. She would need more stitches in both of those areas as well. Not wanting to see anything else, she turned off the light and stepped into the steamy heat of the shower.

Zane’s night vision was excellent, so when the blood and grime began sluicing from her body she could see the river of redness as it circled around the drain.

Washing her hair Zane could feel several large and smaller bumps and cuts here and there. Her fingers found several of them and had her wincing from the pain. When she was finished scrubbing she let the hot water soothe her broken and battered body. She thought about the man, Aiden, and how he had received her pain.

Zane didn’t know why that had happened, and as soon as she’d realized that he’d felt it she’d blocked him. That had taken a great deal of energy to do, but she saw no reason for both of them to hurt like hell. Wondering if she could see if he had been bruised as well, she decided to touch him when she left her lair to find out. That was when she realized she had no idea of the time, only that it was nearing sunset.

Pulling out her ever present black leather pants and t-shirt and pulling them on, Zane went through the tunnel to go to the house she owned. The shower gave her a boost of energy. Not a lot, but more than she’d had. It took her twenty minutes to walk the three mile pathway to her house instead of the normal five. She was drained and hurting again by the time she got there. Opening the back door with a small burst of energy she didn’t have, she entered the kitchen and reached for her medical kit immediately. It was under the sink. Aiden was standing in the doorway to the outside when she stood and turned.

“You have to allow me entrance or I can’t come in. And I’d prefer to talk to you inside, not standing on the porch,” he said in way of greeting.

“How about we start you off out there and you work on allowing yourself inside?

And while you say your piece I’m going to work on a few cuts.”

~CHAPTER 12~

Aiden watched as Zane put the first aid kit on the small table. Then she unsnapped her black jeans. He nearly swallowed his tongue when he realized she planned to take them off while he watched. Then his breath caught when he saw what they’d been hiding.

“Christ! How the hell are you even upright? You look...our kidneys...your kidney had been damaged from the blow you took there. Let me in, Zane. I want to help you.”

Aiden didn’t think she would, so he wasn’t surprised when she didn’t. He realized his beast was rising when he saw her tense up.

“Say your piece, Mr. St. James. I have to finish here and go feed yet tonight. I still have a report to file and other things that I can’t put off. And control your monster. He is bringing mine to the surface.”

Aiden watched as she took a white towel and laid it across the opposite chair from where she sat. He had to look away or he’d never get his other self under control.

The kitchen was done in deep blues and whites; the appliances were all a brushed stainless steel. White tiles surrounded the long sink and on the floor. The counter top looked to be granite. There was none of the normal smaller appliances on the counter, no coffee pot, toaster, or blender. There was a microwave. The table and chairs looked new, the table top bare of any placemats and salt or pepper. Aiden looked back at the woman sitting on one of the chairs when she spoke.

“It’s an illusion. I’m sure you put one up as well. To make people, humans, believe you are just like them. There’s a TV in the other room that’s never been turned on and furniture that I’ve never sat on. There’s a bed in one of the rooms on the upper levels that is supposed to be one of the finest made. Yet I sleep far from here in a lair deep underground. Why are you here?”

The question startled him. “I came to see how you are. I felt your pain and I wanted to make sure you were all right. See if you needed anything.”

Zane’s laugh was bitter and harsh. “I’m just peachy, as you can see. I won’t die, no matter how much I try. If you’ve found this house then you’ve spoken to her majesty.”

There was a good deal of venom in the last word. Aiden would have had to be deaf not to hear it. He wondered at it, but said nothing.

“I did speak to the queen, but I found your home from having someone search for me. Pete, she works with the Brotherhood of the Gray. She found it. She said it was clever of you to use ‘Allider Zandson,’ by the way. If you hadn’t told me your name that day, we might not have figured it out.”

Aiden watched as she knotted off the thread at the wound in her thigh. When she moved to the other one in her calf, she hesitated. This one looked deeper than the one on her upper leg and the blood seeped still. He felt his fangs react to the sight of blood.

“You might as well come in. There’s fresh blood in the fridge. Your hunger is beating at me and I can’t concentrate.” She was trying to bring her calf closer to her when she continued. “The queen had a lot to say, I’m sure. All of it is true. She and I don’t get along.”

Aiden opened the refrigerator and pulled out a bag of whole blood. It was from the local blood bank, the label said. He shook it as he walked to the microwave. He much preferred his blood fresher, as in directly from the source, but he didn’t want to leave her just yet.

“All she said was you and she have a history.” Her snort made him smile. “And that you work for her. She also pointed out that I should use my favor to make you bond with me.”

Aiden waited for the fireworks or, at the very least, shouting. But he was disappointed. He’d talked to Mel about the trade thing. She’d wondered for several seconds before she remembered.

“Sherman, my supposed mate, never got that part right. He was the one that would make a person trade for a boon no matter what it was for. He was incredibly stupid, to say the least. He must have told her how it worked in his mind. She wouldn’t know any better.”

“So you’re not going to tell her?” Aiden didn’t think it was all that honest, but didn’t know.

“If I do then you have nothing to bargain with her for. If she continues to believe that’s how it works then we both get what we want. I’m sure that in the end you’ll see how it will help you.”

Her smile made him nervous and he nearly asked her about it. But there was something holy scary about the queen. For all her sweet and beautiful face, she, he knew, would do whatever it took. To do anything.

When the microwave dinged he poured the blood into two glasses and sat them on the table with her. Picking up her ankle he sat in the chair she was resting her injured leg on and pulled it into his lap.

“You surprised me. Pissed me off too, but surprised me more. Wipe this down and I’ll stitch it closed.” As she wiped the blood away like he’d asked, he started pulling the needle through her muscled calf.

“I could do this. I don’t need your—”

“Yes you do. Now shut up and listen. I’m not going to do it, the bonding with you. I just said she told me I should. I think you deserve more than that and frankly, so do I.”

Aiden finished the neat row of stitches and took the bloodied towel from her. He could feel her anger and was sure she was letting him. He couldn’t feel her pain, though, he was sure she was hurting. He looked up at her.

“Why? Why would you go against the wishes of the queen when it’s something you want as well? If it’s to impress me, it’s not working. I’m pretty stubborn.”

Aiden threw back his head and laughed. “I would say that’s an understatement. I have a feeling you’re very stubborn. Let me take care of your other wounds. I believe you have one on your chest too.”

Zane stared at him for several seconds before she stood. When she swayed, he put his hands on her hips to hold her up. Hot soft skin filled his hands. When Zane leaned back against his chest, it was all he could do not to bury his nose in her neck. Her scent filled his senses and pulled him hard. His cock, already aching, seemed to expand and lengthen in his jeans. A small groan escaped his throat before he could stop it. When she went to pull away he growled deep.

“You should leave. Now. I’ve got things to do tonight. And you...you’d be in my way.”

Leaving was probably a good idea. Very good idea as a matter of fact, but he needed to prove to her that he could be around her without taking her. No matter what he really wanted. Even though every fiber of his being wanted him to lean her over the table and take her—hard and fast. He pulled away and stepped back.

“Let me tend to your back and chest first. I want to make sure that you aren’t bleeding anymore. I know that you took quite a blow back here and I can see that the one on your front is soaking though your shirt.”

Aiden didn’t think she’d let him. He thought for sure she was going to toss him out on his ear when she turned and looked at him.

“Why are you doing this? I’m not stupid, you know. I know that you think to sooner or later wear me down and I’ll become your whatever. But you won’t.”

Aiden didn’t answer her. He couldn’t because she was right. He was hoping to wear her down. Hoping that if he let her think he was charming she would let him claim her as his. He hoped that she would become his mate, his other half, for several lifetimes.

When Zane walked to the door and opened it, Aiden hesitated for several seconds then walked to stand in front of her. Need coiled in his belly. Need for this woman and all that she represented.

“This isn’t finished, Zane. I’ll be back. You know who you are to me. But what you don’t know is how relentless I am when I want something. And I do want you.”

Aiden was shocked by the tears that welled in her eyes. More so when they began to fall. When he reached to pull her to him she stopped him with a single word.

“Don’t.”

And he almost didn’t. Pulling her close, he gave her a brief kiss on her mouth then thumbed the tears away with his left thumb. Before she could say anything, he left. When the door closed softly behind him he closed his eyes and raised his face to the night sky.

Shifting quickly into his large eagle, Aiden took to the night.

~~~

Zane knew when Aiden left her area. The tight ball of nerves loosened in her belly and the strain in her shoulders loosened as well. Taking her first deep breath since he showed up, Zane picked up their untouched glasses and dumped them into the sink.

Setting them on the counter, Zane unloaded the dishwasher and laid the clean dishes to the left of the sink. Opening the cabinets, she began pulling down dishes and arranging them in the washer. Several glasses first, then three bowls, a plate, and even a platter went in. Though Zane wasn’t sure what the cleaning lady would think about that in the washer, she wasn’t sure. Reaching behind her and beside the stove, Zane put two small pots and a frying pan in. Opening the silverware drawer, she added four spoons, three forks, and a steak knife. Satisfied, Zane shut it up and put the other dishes away.

Reaching into the bag beside the closed back door, Zane took out the most recent newspapers and two magazines and went to the living room with both the still wet glasses that Aiden had filled with blood. Putting one on the coffee table and one on the floor by the fireplace, Zane took the papers, opened them, and dropped them on the floor in several places. Picking up the remote to the television, she pushed it between the seat cushions on the couch along with a section of the paper. Satisfied with this room, she went to the upper levels.

Zane knew what she was doing—stalling. She refused to think about Aiden, and doing the work she was now doing made him seem so less real—at least for the moment.

Reaching into the top drawer of the massive dresser Zane pulled out a pair of black leather pants and pulled them on as she went into the bathroom to drop a towel and smear toothpaste on the sink.

Aiden had kissed her. No matter how much she prepared the house for the cleaning lady, that single thought kept circling in her head. Even as she mussed the bed and tossed sheets to the floor, she couldn’t quite work her head around that single thought.

When Zane made her way back to the kitchen she thought about how he’d told her what the queen had wanted and the fact that he’d refused her. Why, she wondered? Going to the basement door and pushing the panel to the right, Zane stepped into the dark hidden tunnel.

Zane started down the stairs after she secured the door. Halfway to the opening into the night, she felt the first stirrings of someone trying to touch her mind. She stilled, becoming so stiff she looked like a statue standing in the deep path.

Simon Sinclair again. This time he was pushing hard to get into her mind. Giving him a little more information to play with, she moved into his mind as well. Less intrusive and much easier, Zane searched for something to tell her what he really wanted with her.

His mind was a jumble of half thought and stupid ideas. It took her several seconds to find out three things. One, he’d never met the MacManuses. His obsession with Sara stemmed from her magic and not her and her ability to breed. Secondly, he was a vampire and wolf mix, and lastly, he was running with a little girl. Emma St. James.

As soon as she figured out who the child belonged to, her pager vibrated against her hip. Zane was in no shape to go after the kid, but shifted and raced back to her house to call in. When she was at the paneled door she felt the movement of someone on the other side. Not bothering to shift back fully, Zane flexed her hand until she had fingers and pressed the panel open. Easing the doorway open, Zane waited until the person walked to this side of the other room before stepping into the kitchen. She waited for the person to move toward her again. She only had the one chance and she refused to lose it. When the being was just on the other side of the open doorway Zane pounced at him.