Not Quite Dead (A NightHunter Novel) (43 page)

An overwhelming sense of loss filled Jordyn as Eric wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into the shield of his body. She leaned back against his warmth, tears flowing down her cheeks as she watched the man she'd loved so dearly writhe and twist in the sun. "I'm not abandoning you, David," she told him, her fingers burning from the stake she'd thrown at him. "I'm giving you back your freedom from the hate that's destroying your soul."

David caught fire as Eric's arms tightened around her. He drew her back into the shadows as the man who had once been her rock turned to ash and drifted away on the evening breeze.

With David's attempt to murder her, the cycle was complete. Every man she'd trusted had betrayed her.

Every man, except one, the man who had taught her what true love really meant.

Jordyn paced restlessly outside her grandmother's old shack. It was past dark, and she was antsy. Eric had taken Tristan to ground somewhere in the depths of the swamp after they'd left the mansion, and he hadn't returned. He'd touched base with her mentally a few times, but it wasn't enough. She needed him to be with her. Badly.

Skye looked up from where she was sorting bottles of powders. "You need to relax, girl. He'll be here."

"It's been three days." She rubbed her arms, unable to shed the anxiety growing in her body. She felt as if a part of her was missing, stripped from her. "I'm not a patient person."

Skye laughed. "Maybe you should think about letting him turn you into a vampire, so you can go bury yourself in the earth with him."

Jordyn glanced sharply at her. "What? I could do that?"

Skye's smile faded. "You don't want to consider that, Jordyn. There's no way to predict how you'll react. David—"

"I know what happened to him." She sat down and hugged her knees to her chest. Her muscles were shaky, and she felt restless, unable to sit still. "I know he was a good man. He was my best friend."

Skye sat down next to her. "Jordyn, he was evil before he was turned into a vampire. The conversion didn't change him. He was that person all on his own."

Jordyn rested her chin on her knees, rocking back and forth as she digested that information. He had tried to kill her. There was no way to deny it. Whatever had happened to him had changed him irrevocably. "He was no longer the person I grew up with," she acknowledged. "There was nothing left of the David I knew." She picked up an old bone from one of her grandmother's long-abandoned altars, running her finger along the smooth surface. Talking about David helped distract her from Eric, but he was still in the back of her mind, her need for him radiating through her like a hunger that couldn't be sated. She hadn't slept since he'd left. Night had been the worst, when the grief of their separation weighed down on her so heavily. Even now, with dusk not quite here, the loneliness was sinking its claws into her. "Do you know what happened to David that made him change?"

Skye shook her head. "He was like that when I came back six months ago. I don't know what happened. I'm still trying to figure things out. Richard and I were—" She stopped, her voice breaking again.

Jordyn glanced at her. "Were you and Richard a couple?" Skye hadn't spoken of Richard since David's death, and she'd changed the subject every time Jordyn had mentioned it.

She shrugged. "I miss him," she said simply.

Jordyn nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Me, too." Skye was quiet for a moment, spinning one of Oba's gris-gris bags in her hand. "I have to tell you something," she said softly.

Jordyn glanced at her, alarmed by the edge in her friend's tone. "What?"

"I'm not sure he's dead."

Jordyn frowned. "Richard?"

Skye laughed softly. "I wish. No, I'm talking about David. Some of his vials were missing this morning. I know where I put them last night when I was sorting through his stuff, but this morning, they were gone."

Dread crept down her spine as she recalled the feeling of that stake coming toward her. "But we saw him burn up."

"I know. The logical explanation is that someone who was aligned with him is seeking to continue his mission." She hesitated. "But my gut tells me that something was off about what happened at the mansion. I'm not sure what. I've just..." She fisted the bag with sudden determination, and looked at Jordyn. "I've seen a lot of things since I started working with David, and having him affected by the sun wasn't one of them."

"But aren't all vampires affected?" But even as she asked it, she thought of Eric, who hadn't been touched by it since they'd used the rings.
Eric. I need you. How are you? How is Tristan?

There was no reply, and she pressed her palm to her chest. The gold ring burned in her heart, easing some of the anguish.

"On some level, yes, but it varies." Skye chewed her lower lip. "I just have a feeling this isn't over, Jordyn."

Jordyn took a deep breath. "Of course it isn't over. It's just starting. Whether David's alive or not, there are still vampires out there killing people, and NightHunters who are on our side, and others who aren't." She swept her hand across the swamp, where the murky water was sitting in ominous stillness. "But I'm ready."

Skye grinned. "Me, too, girl." She hopped to her feet and picked up a jar. "I'm going to go experiment with this one." Her smile faded. "Tristan needs more than the earth. I need to find a way to help him, or he's going to be in trouble. He's too close to the edge to handle it on his own."

Jordyn stood up, eager for a distraction from her thoughts about Eric. "I'll help—"

"No." Skye shook her head. "I've got this. You keep searching your grandmother's stuff. The woman was a legend. She must have more information somewhere." She paused. "I'm glad you're back, Jordyn, and I'm really pleased that you believe that not all vampires deserve to die."

"Of course they don't." She met her friend's gaze. "But some do, don't they?"

Skye nodded. "Yes, they do." She paused, assessing Jordyn. "Are you okay? You want me to stay?"

"No, Tristan needs your help. You can go. I'll keep going through my grandmother's things. I'll find something." She put her hand over her heart again, needing that contact with Eric.

Skye smiled. "Okay. See you later."

"Good luck with David's lab." Jordyn hugged herself as she watched Skye disappear down the path leading to the house. Her friend moved with a grace that she didn't remember. Skye, like David, was more than she seemed, and more than she had once been.

David. She turned to look out across the swamp, glittering beneath the night stars. "If you're out there, David," she said to the night. "Find your way back to who you once were. We need you." As she said it, she couldn't suppress the whisper in her mind that if David was alive, he knew all her secrets. He could target her in a way no one else could. How much had he stolen of Oba's knowledge? Enough. With great sadness, she realized that as much as a part of her wanted him to still be alive and able to come back to her, she knew that in truth, she had to hope with every fiber of her being that he was well and truly gone forever.

The night was silent, but she felt the faintest prickle across her skin, as if a wind had drifted its ghostly fingers across the back of her neck.

She spun around, but saw nothing. Just the increasing darkness of the night, settling down around her like a thick blanket. But just as the chills started to seep into her body, she felt a sudden warmth brush across her mind.
Jordyn.

Her heart leapt, and her entire body shuddered with relief. Just the sound of his voice eased the tension in her body. God, she missed him so much.
Eric? I need to be with you. When are you coming?

"Now."

His voice drifted out of the darkness and wrapped around her as he stepped out of the trees. He was cloaked in shadows, moving with the same grace he always did.

Elation leapt through her. Her man had come back to her.

Eric's heart came alive at the expression of pure joy on Jordyn's face when she saw him. He caught her in his arms as she leapt on him, hauling her against him. She wrapped her legs around his hips, clinging to him as tightly as he was holding onto her.

He buried his face in her hair, basking in the scent he had missed so desperately when he'd been healing beneath the earth. Flowers, springtime, and warmth, along with the life that flowed so joyously through her. He kissed her neck, his body starkly hungry for her after being without her for so long.

She pulled back, desire flooding her eyes. "You want me."

"Yeah, you could say that." His body was aching, cramping with his need for her. He kissed her hard, his incisors lengthening as he deepened the kiss.

She clung to him, frantically kissing him back. Her need was as stark as his was, though hers wasn't mixed with bloodlust. The hunger was there though, equally forceful on both sides.

With a low growl, he backed her against a tree, using the trunk to support her while he gripped her hips. His cock was hard, straining against his jeans. He swore under his breath, trying to slow himself down. "Sorry," he managed. "I didn't intend to attack you. Shit. I need you so badly, Jordyn."

"I missed you," she whispered into his mouth as she slid her hands under his shirt, tugging it free of his jeans. Her hands splayed over his chest, searching for his wound. He winced as her fingers found the spot, and she pulled back, breaking the kiss. "You're not healed," she said. "Why are you here? You should to be beneath the earth."

"I can't heal without you," he said. "I need your kiss. I need to feel your spirit wrapped around me. I need the nourishment that only you can give me." He framed her face with his hands, struggling to put into words the depths of his need for her. "When I was underground beside Tristan, all I could think of was you. The sound of your voice. That expression you get on your face when you're about to tell me to shut up. The feel of your lips against mine. The way you make me feel complete, even though I shattered so long ago. You dragged me back from hell, Jordyn. You gave me the strength to manage my magic. And you gave me a reason not only to live, but to die."

Tears filled her eyes. "The last three days were the longest three days of my life," she whispered. "It was worse than losing Walter. Every part of my soul cried to be with you. I can't do it again. I can't sit here while you go below ground to heal." She pressed her palm to his heart, and her hand glowed gold as the ring buried in his heart reached for her. "I need you, Eric. You're a part of my soul. I'm incomplete without you."

Relief rushed through him at her words. "I thought it was just me. I think it's a vampire thing. It makes everything much more intense." He pulled her close and kissed her again, less frantic, but driven with the same, pulsating need for more intimacy, on every level. Physical, emotional, sexual, and that all-powerful bloodlust that was beating at him. "It's just you I want," he said. "I have to feed, but it's just you. Only you."

She pulled back, her hands tangling in his hair. "It better be only me," she said. "Seriously."

He laughed softly and palmed her buttocks, drawing her closer against him. "I'm a one woman guy now, honey. Only you." He felt like the world had shifted into alignment now that he was back with her. "I'm not going to the earth again," he said. "I need to be with you."

She pulled back, her eyes glittering. "You should go. You're still hurt."

"I don't care. I'll heal here—"

"Turn me," she said softly. "Since I'm a NightHunter, it should work okay—"

"No." He shook his head. "I'll never turn you into a predator." He kissed her again, tenderly this time, trying to convey how deeply he felt. "I treasure you exactly as you are. A warrior who can defeat anyone. A woman who will cry for the loss of those she loves. I don't want you to be like me, hon. I want you to be you. My entire being burns with the need to protect and treasure you, not turn you into what I am."

Tears filled her eyes. "I missed you too much." she whispered. "I can't do it again."

There was pure love in her voice when she said it, no fear of being so connected with a man again. Rightness filled his heart and flooded his body. "I'll never leave you again. I swear it. We'll find a way, one that doesn't involve you getting pointy teeth and an addiction to my blood."

She fisted his shirt. "You don't get to make my choices, Eric."

"I know." He kissed her knuckles. "We make our choices together now. Right?"

The independent woman he loved so dearly hesitated, making him laugh. "Okay, you make your choices," he conceded, "but I'll continue to make mine." He pinned her against the tree again, and sank his hips between hers. "You decided to become my vampire bride. I decided your teeth are too pretty the way they are now, so I'm not going to bring you over. So, it's a stalemate. Let's have sex and battle it out."

She grinned, her grip on his shirt tightening. "It's always about sex with you, isn't it?"

"Sex and bloodlust, yeah." He put his hand over her breast, thumbing over the scars Cicatrice had left there. "But also, I'll throw some love in there too, just because I'm that kind of guy. You good with that?"

She grinned and draped her arms around his neck. "Shut up and bite me."

He chuckled to himself and lowered his mouth to hers. "Oh, don't worry, I will." Then he kissed her, a long, slow, deep kiss that told her exactly how it was going to go.

She moved against him restlessly, trying to make him rush.

He planned to savor it.

He was looking forward to having Jordyn do her best to change his mind.