Not Quite Dead (A NightHunter Novel) (22 page)

"It's not worth it! Get off!" He tried to push her off, but then his foot hit the mist, and his eyes were completely black, glistening with such evil that she sucked in her breath. She saw the moment he changed from Eric to the monster he'd been trying not to be.

She'd been here before, when the man she'd trusted had gone crazy, and she'd killed him. Screw that. She wasn't going to do it again. This time, she was going to fight for him. "If you die, I die. Do you want that guilt on your shoulders? What did you just think of that we could do?" She slammed her fist into his chest. "Tell me!"

His gaze flicked to her neck, right where Tristan had bitten her, and sudden desire plunged through her. "Bite me? You want to bite me? Are you a vampire?"

He closed his eyes, his entire body shaking violently as his feet began to dissolve, swept into the growing mist. "No."

Screw it. Vampire or not, she wasn't ready to die today. She shoved her wrist in front of his mouth. "Do it."

"No!"

"Do it!"

He opened his eyes, and she saw absolute guilt in them, and she realized he'd let himself die before he'd ever do whatever it was going to take to save himself. "I'm not doing that to you, Jordyn. I'm not worth it."

"Screw you!" She grabbed his face and kissed him. For a split second, he fought the kiss, but the sex-crazed hunk of burning love was completely unable to resist her charm. With a roar, he grabbed her face and kissed her, hard, ruthlessly, with everything he had. He poured his soul into the kiss, flooding her with desire and lust, and something so dark and evil that it ate away at her soul.

Her leg was in the mist now, and she called more of the warm spirits to her, encasing them both in a protective circle that kept out the worst of the pain, enabling her to think clearly enough to function. She slipped her tongue inside his mouth and ran it over his teeth.

They were sharp. Pointed.

For a split second, fear ripped through her. What in heaven's name was he? Then his body convulsed, and the screams of the dead surged through her protections, and she knew she had no more time. "Guess what, Eric? Tonight, it's about what I want, not what you want. My choice, big guy, not yours."

 She slipped her tongue between his teeth, and then she smashed the heel of her palm into the bottom of his jaw, slamming his teeth together and piercing her tongue with his fangs.

Jordyn's blood tasted like the nectar of life, and it thundered through Eric like the gods themselves had just given him a second chance to live. With a roar of passion so intense that it stripped all control from him, Eric cupped her face and drank of her offering, mixing the salvation with a kiss so deep that he felt he would never be able to reclaim himself, and he didn't want to.

No longer was it about doing the right thing or being the hero, or being willing to die to spare her from what he was. It was all about Jordyn now. It was about the burning need for her that had been eating away at him since the first moment he'd seen her in the jungle, pointing that damned gun at him. She'd broken the wall he'd erected between them, and now there was no turning back. He poured himself into the kiss, and his body fed upon her life force, thrusting it through him. Energy ignited in his cells, and he shoved it at the darkness trying to consume them.

Flashes of light and dark exploded off him, showering them both in a cascade of sparks so bright and so dark it felt like he was alternating between heaven and hell, which he probably was. Jordyn returned his kisses with equal passion, until their lips and tongues were a tangle of raw sex and pulsating need.

With each kiss and drop of her blood, strength flooded him, not just his body, but his mind and soul as well. It became about surviving, about saving her. It was no longer about protecting her from what he was, because she'd broken that seal. There was no halfway now, not anymore.

She screamed suddenly, and he looked past her. They were in the mist from the waist down now, and his lower legs were almost gone. Now that she'd connected with him, it was preying on her as well, and he saw her skin starting to flake off into thousands of fragments.

Fuck that.
No one messed with his woman.

Without hesitation now, he swept her hair back off her neck and kissed her throat. She gasped, and he felt the desire roaring through her, even though they were both being consumed by a force so dark and deadly that it was almost unstoppable.
Almost.
He swept his tongue over her skin, calling her blood to the surface. He could taste the mark of his brother, where Tristan had left his brand behind. Heat poured through her flesh as she screamed again. "If you're going to do something, do it now, Eric! Don't be so damn slow!"

Lust exploded through him, and he gripped her hair more tightly. "Forgive me, Jordyn." Then he sank his fangs into her neck, and took the lifeblood that would save them both.

Ecstasy flooded Jordyn as Eric bit her. Her entire body clenched with need so strong she felt like it would tear her apart. Heat flooded her, and the cold that had been attacking her so violently screamed with outrage.

Let me in, Jordyn. Open your mind to me, and anchor yourself to your spirit guides. I'll connect to them using the bridge you establish.

She did as he instructed, lowering her mental shields. She was immediately overwhelmed with the magnitude of his being. She could feel the corded strength of his body, the agony of his soul, and the strength of his will as he fought to hold them together. The skin on her legs burned, fighting the disintegration.

Connect with the spirits!

Trying to ignore the desire and cold warring for supremacy inside her, Jordyn reached out with her mind to the spirits she'd brought in to save them. She opened her heart to them, embracing the benevolent warmth of their female energy. Mothers. Daughters. Grandmothers. Infants. All those who had died and offered their energy back to the earth to heal and endure for future generations. They wrapped their feminine strength around her, protecting her against the doom trying to obliterate her defenses.

Jordyn realized suddenly that the darkness trying to take her was pure male energy. All of the spirits were masculine. She was Eric's anchor, not only because of her goodness, but because she was a woman, the complement to his maleness. Eric touched her mind, sliding down the pathway she was holding with her spirit guardians.

They recoiled from his dangerous male aura and tried to sever the connection, but Jordyn didn't allow them to retreat. She held the connection between Eric and the females, allowing him to wrap the tendrils of his soul around them, one by one, until he was so connected with them that they couldn't break away. For a moment, she and Eric were held in suspended animation, the maleficent forces battling with those protecting them.

Eric's arms tightened around her.
Stay with me, Jordyn. Hang on.

She nodded, concentrating on the feel of his body against hers, his teeth still deep in her neck as he drank from her, connecting them on a metaphysical level. His skin was as cold as hers, but there was a strength emanating from him that she clung to. She could feel her blood singing through his veins, giving her access to his every thought, every emotion, and every need.

She felt his anger. His guilt. Deep, deep loss. The strongest sensation, however, was his need for her. His desire flowed through her, and she clung to him, sliding her hands beneath his shirt to feel his skin. His groan of desire saturated her mind, and his cock pressed against the junction of her thighs, where she was still straddling him. A carnal craving burned through her, so acute she wanted to scream.

It was different from when Tristan had bitten her and infected her with his lust. This time, the passion was emanating from her as well as Eric. Together, they were a raging combination of heat so penetrating that it was shattering the last bit of her self-control.

With a low groan of capitulation, he flipped her beneath him. She landed on her back, and then gasped as he slipped his hand beneath her shirt and cupped her breast. "God, yes." She arched her back, her body aching for more as his finger brushed over her nipple. Need raced through her, battling the cold still screaming at them.

Eric's fangs slid from her skin in a tantalizing seduction that made her entire body clench with need. He met her gaze, and she saw the battle raging in his eyes. "We need more connection," he said. "My bond with your guides isn't strong enough yet."

She didn't need to ask. She knew what he was talking about. "Make love to me."

The moment the words were out of her mouth, the most incredible sense of rightness poured through her, as if this was the moment she'd been hurtling toward for her entire life.

Eric's face darkened, and he framed her face. "I will not betray you," he said urgently. "I swear it."

She nodded, the pain in her head so great she could barely think. "I believe you."

He swept her up in a fierce kiss even as his hands went to her jeans. She tried to help him, but her fingers were so cold she couldn't grasp the button. He fumbled, but eventually succeeded. It took precious seconds, but then her jeans were gone, and so were his.

He slid between her thighs, his cock pressing against her entrance. He met her gaze, and behind him was a towering inferno of doom. A face was starting to take shape in it, and she realized it was Eric's face. "Dear God," she whispered. "Is that you?"

"It's my true self." And then, he caught her mouth in a kiss and sheathed himself inside her in one swift move.

Her entire body clenched in response to his invasion, a burst of need and passion so extreme she felt her soul fragment. She wanted every part of him to be hers on every level. He moved inside her, slowly at first, then faster, even while he continued to kiss her, devastating kisses that drained her of all thought. She felt his soul wrap around hers, gripping so tightly she almost couldn't breathe, but it was a beautiful, amazing sensation.

She was being pulled in all directions: the ruthless pull of frigid evil against the warmth of her guardians, her own ardent longing, Eric's passion, and her crushing need for him. She felt her grip on the benevolent spirits beginning to falter, but Eric's immense strength surged through her. He reinforced the bond, calling upon centuries of discipline to lock their protectors to them and keep them from breaking away.

Her spirit guardians shrieked in protest, trying to escape from the darkness, but Eric held on, using his physical connection with Jordyn to bridge his gap with them. As they retreated, Eric kept them connected, forcing them to take Eric and Jordyn with them. As she and Eric were pulled away from the darkness, he continued to kiss her, his hips driving in a relentless rhythm that sent shards of desire knifing through her. Her nipples burned for his touch, aching for more, and her body was trembling with hunger for him.

The lovemaking grew more demanding. His thrusts became deeper and faster. His kisses became even more passionate, but she still needed more. She clung to him, kissing him back just as fiercely while her hips bucked and twisted, unable to hold still beneath his lovemaking. The howling coldness raged in protest, but it was in the distance now, growing fainter and fainter, until finally, it was gone.

The moment it vanished, she and Eric released their guardian spirits, so there was nothing left but the two of them. Eric became her world, his kisses, his body, his mind, and his seduction.

She held onto his shoulders, gasping as she felt his legs solidifying against hers. Suddenly, there was no more coldness, just burning hot flesh. They were fully corporeal, and alive. Sensation cascaded through her newly awakened body, and desire coiled more and more tightly between them.

It unleashed with sudden fierceness, catapulting her into ecstasy as the orgasm erupted through her. She convulsed beneath Eric, and then he shouted her name, driving even deeper into her as he stiffened, his body going rigid as his climax took him. Together, they clung to each other, barely holding on as the orgasm elevated them both, drawing them over the precipice, and hurling them ruthlessly into the beautiful beyond.

Jordyn didn't want to ever move again.

The floor of the basement was hard and cold, and a piece of metal was digging into her back, but she didn't care. All she could focus on was the feel of Eric's body wrapped around hers. His leg was draped over her hip, and he'd pulled her against him, cradling her against his chest and sliding his arm under her head for a pillow.

He was playing with her hair, an instinctive, tiny movement that was intimate and tender.

She closed her eyes, basking in the feel of his warmth and strength. It had been so long since she'd been intimate with a man, and her time with Walter had been besieged with the fear of what was to come. Of course, the worst had still come despite all the time she'd spent worrying about it, but she'd survived, older, wiser, and carrying enough battle scars to toughen her up.

She'd learned her lesson. Now, with Eric, the worst would come whether she worried about it or not, so it simply wasn't worth getting all neurotic and upset about. If he was going to kill her, well, then, he could go ahead and try. If Tristan was going to try to make her his personal sex toy/blood donor, well, then, she'd deal with it. But right now, neither Hunter twin was actively endangering her life, so she just wanted to be in this moment, to appreciate what it felt like to be protected by a man who had pretty much just sacrificed his soul to save her.

Seriously, that was incredibly romantic, even for a woman who had long ago given up on romance as a practical emotion. He made her want to be soft again, and that felt good.

He traced his finger over her neck, and her body trembled with sudden lust as he touched the place where both he and Tristan had bitten her. She opened her eyes to find him studying her, his dark eyes unfathomable. His skin was normal again, devoid of the dangerous shadows that had nearly taken him.