Release, book 3 of The Angler series (10 page)

I clutched the sheets and raised my ass higher against him. I knew from experience how he liked it when
I stretched like this.

His growl was my reward. He pu
mped harder and faster. The pillows held my hips in place, and he set his hand in the middle of my back so I’d stay low, opening myself for his deep thrusts.

Small mewling noise slipped from my lips. Tane held
his enthusiasm back though. I wasn’t made vampire tough. He could hurt me without trying. I sensed his fingers curl on my back. He didn’t make noise like Rurik and I.

His hand traveled to my breast
, where he caressed my curves, then slid to pinch and roll my nipple.

The sharp pleasure shot straight to my core and my
inner muscles clenched around his hard cock. Life returned to my limbs and I moved with him, milking him with every stroke. He moved with such grace and focused on me like I was the center of his vast universe.

He bent, resting his forehead on my back. “I’m so close.”
Instead of allowing the passion to overtake him, he slowed to a stop and rolled off me onto his back. “Ride me?” He held out his arms. “I want to see your face.”

Something in his voice shook me. He sounded so vulnerable
, as if he’d break if I said
no
.

“Tane.” I moaned and crawled onto his body, slipping him back inside me where he belonged. His full lips pleaded for a kiss
, and I took them against mine, exploring him once more. I guided his arms over his head, where I pinned them there by pressing my weak strength to his biceps.

He rested his head
against the bed. The strongest vampire on the planet gave himself over to me and returned my gentle kisses with eagerness. His body cried
take me
and his soul pleaded
love me
.

I moved my hips to a softer beat, rolling them to maximize the
sensuous motion of our bodies. With a mental reach, I opened my mind to his and invited him inside. We’d never shared such an intimate joining during sex, mostly because I shied from letting anyone inside.

H
is body tensed, then he swarmed into my mind in a flood of passion that swept me into a whirlpool of sexual overload. Our bodies faded and all that existed was the sheer amount of love he felt for me. No words could ever express the emotion inside his aged heart. How he cherished my quirky attitude and my youth. How I made him feel young and human. How I fought him and kept him honest.

I cri
ed out and exposed my heart to him. How I loved his dry sense of humor and how he used it to tease us. How his confidence fed mine and gave me strength in the face of the impossible. How he squashed his enemies to protect those he cared for.

It became too much. My mind couldn’t handle all of him. Inside Tane’s body hid a vast ocean of power that spanned ages. Just as quickly as he
’d flooded my mind, he retreated and left a void.

I opened my eyes and found his dark stare boring into mine.
I rode him hard and fast now, out of control of my body and clinging to the mental wave of emotion.

He breathed heavy and thrust from under me. “Connie
!” He shouted my name and arched back.

I clutched him close as he came and whispered his name in his ear.

Limp, he lay still under me.

I petted his arms and sides. Whatever flesh I could touch.
We’d never connected like this. Suddenly, I never wanted to let him go. He might have surrendered all hope of our survival, but the one thing I’d learned in my short life was to never surrender. Somehow I’d have to figure out how to save us.

Time seemed to slow down as I
lay in Tane’s arms. When he’d taken a wooden arrow to his chest to save my life a year ago in his Rio home, it had changed our relationship. Before that, I would have gladly shot the arrow at him. He’d gone from being a monster to being a lonely vampire with a complicated life.

I had accepted him as a lover for both mine and Rurik’s sake. This morning changed things between us once more. Like the arrow, Tane took me by surprise. I knew he loved me but there were so many levels of affection. A person could love
his dog and love his child; however they could be different kinds of love. Some people loved their dog like a child. Same thing went for a new lover in comparison to one who’d stood the test of time. They were both love but different. Was I the dog or the new lover? Until now, I hadn’t known where I’d fit and I was so much more to him than I’d ever imagined. Somehow over the last year we’d truly fallen in love. I would
not
lose my personal demon to a simple mistake.

Quietly,
I slipped from his comforting arms and sat on the edge of the bed. I crossed the room and picked up the stake. Rolling it in my hand, I stared at the blood-stained tip.  The stake suddenly grew very heavy. It wasn’t fair that we’d be punished for a simple error. Hadn’t there ever been a relationship such as ours?

I dropped the stake onto the carpet. We would have to take a stand.
Turning to face the bed, I startled.

Tane leaned against his
pillow, watching me. He moved so quietly for someone his size. “You want to fight my brothers?”

I nodded. “You and Rurik are both trained warriors. I’m good at running and hiding. We might have a chance.”

“You’ve killed more Nosferatu than any human alive.”

“I assisted. It’s not like I did it alone.” I
grabbed my clothes and pulled out the single light grenade I owned. “I could do a lot of damage with this.”

He grimaced. “You might catch me or Rurik in the crossfire. I’d rather not get fried by
my
own
human companion.”

I sighed and set it on the night table. He
voiced my own worries. First things first, I yanked on a blond curl before picking up the paper bag next to the grenade.

“What’s in the bag,
rabbit?”

I glanced at the bed and almost jumped out of my skin as I came face to face with Tane. “Stop doing that.”

“What?”

I clutched the bag to my chest. “Moving so quiet
ly. It’s creepy.” I’d be no match fighting a Nosferatu by myself. I’d
have
to use something like a UV grenade.

He rolled his eyes. “I have to concentrate to be clumsy enough to make noise. Being this quiet is natural evolution for a predator such as me.”

I bypassed Tane on my way to the bathroom.

He followed. Quick as
a viper, he snatched the bag from my hands and inspected the contents. “No.”

I grabbed
the bag back, but it tore in half. “Yes.” The pair of scissors I’d purchased clattered to the tiled floor. “It’s only hair. It will grow back.”

He
sorted through the other items that had fallen. “Did you have to buy the tackiest hat in the store?”

I
’d originally bought it for Kam to hide his long, brown hair but it worked to hide Tane’s bald head as well. “You’d never be caught wearing a baseball cap. It’s the perfect disguise.” I grinned as he set the souvenir hat on his head. “We should get you some shorts and a T-shirt that matches mine.”

“Your sense of humor bord
ers on evil.” He picked up the scissors. “Face the mirror.”

“You want to cut my hair?” I hesitated in the bathroom doorway.

“Do you think you could do better?” He had a point. I’d planned on grabbing handfuls and hacking at the curls.

Slowly, I nodded and turned to face the mirror. My gaze met his over my shoulder
, and he winked.

He bent by my ear and whispered, “Don’t move.” With a few precise cuts, he reduce
d my shoulder-length hair to a pixie poof.

I gave my reflection a slow blink. “I look like Shirley Temple.”
My hair had been compared to sheep’s wool and cotton candy all my life. For some reason, the men in my life had always refused the idea of me getting it straightened. I picked up a cut strand in the sink. Rurik loved my hair. The night we met, he’d sat in my hotel room on the floor, picking trash out of it. Really, what woman wouldn’t have fallen in love with him?

Tane pulled the curl from my fingers and ran it over my nose.

I held up the box of hair dye. “I always wanted to be a redhead but I thought it would draw more attention than brown.”

He frowned. “Do you really think it’s necessary?”

I raised my eyebrow at him through the mirror. “You tell me. Your brothers can read people’s mind for glimpse of a blonde traveling with a scary bald dude and an incredibly handsome man.”

“Rurik isn’t that scary.”

A laugh shot from my throat. It felt wonderful and real.

Tane sat on the edge of the tub and watched me go through the process of changing my hair color with interest.

“So what do you think?” I faced him with my new hair-do.

He wore the stupid hat tilted to the side. “You’re finer th
an frog hair,” he drawled with a perfect southern accent and tipped his hat.

The heat of a
flush flashed across my cheeks, singeing the skin. I lowered my eyelashes but met his stare. “Let’s go back to bed.”

Tane nuzzled my neck, resting his fangs on my pulse point after an enjoyable afternoon in bed, but he didn’t break the skin. He made a regretful noise deep in his throat and rolled out. “I can’t afford to weaken you.”

I glanced at t
he clock that read six PM. “I’ve been transfused, and you healed my injuries.”

“
If I fed, I’d make you anemic again and I need you at your best.” He rose from the bed and sat on the edge. “I think it would be best to avoid infusing your blood with mine until this problem is resolved.” His glare darted to me. “Emergencies only.”

Frowning, I nodded. It made sense but part of me was addicted to the thrill of power his blood gave me. I’d done cold turkey once before when I stopped drinking. The experience equaled spoon
ing my eyes out with a spork.

Tane
strode naked across the room to the door and opened it, retrieving a package left in the hallway. Thankfully, no young children stood outside. The male had no shame.

I pulled the blanket over my chest and sat up. “What’s that?”
My pulse skyrocketed. Who knew where we were to deliver us a gift?

“
I sent the concierge to purchase us some clothes.” He tossed a paper-wrapped box on my lap and winked. “Hope you like it.” Retreating to the bathroom with his package, he glanced over his shoulder. “Joining me in the shower?”

“Only if it’s
ice cold.” My nether regions needed a rest and apparently Tane’s didn’t. As soon as he left the room, I opened the gift and found running shoes, jeans, and a pink cotton button-down blouse with matching sweater. Listening to the shower noise, I smiled. Everything was in my size.

Tane didn’t like to dress me like Rurik
did. Tane seemed more interested in undressing us and the things that followed. At some point, he must have taken note of what Rurik ordered for me otherwise how would he have known? Warmth spread over my body. Silly, I know, but I still wasn’t used to receiving presents.

A shower would
have been great, but I’d taken one yesterday and I didn’t want to waste valuable time waiting for my turn. With a wash cloth, I scrubbed the important bits at the sink. Funny how old habits from the street returned so easily. While I dressed, I caught a glimpse of a stranger in the mirror. I jumped and faced my reflection.

Tane ambled out of the shower, leaving a trail of water in his path. He kissed
the top of my head. “You’re beautiful.”

“Rurik wil
l hate it.” I regretted my words as soon as Tane’s amused expression grew somber.

“We have bigger issues to worry about. I’ve located Kam.
” He tapped his head. With his mental powers, he could do as his brothers and glean through human thoughts. “He’s outside of Rome. We should hurry if we wish to find Rurik tonight.”

“He left Rome?” I followed Tane back into the bedroom
, where he dried off. Try as I might, my gaze still roamed the lines of his muscular legs. Oh, mama.

He pulled on his own outfit of jeans and
T-shirt, all in black, then put his baseball cap on. “Let’s be off.”

I grabbed a sandwich and coffee to go at the restaurant in the lobby. Gobbling it down, I wait
ed out front while Tane retrieved the van. He pulled up before I was done, so I climbed into the passenger seat with my meal. The food hit my empty stomach like a ten-ton block and shattered in nauseating waves. I should stop hanging out with shifters and learn to eat slower.

“Where c
ould Rurik be heading?” Tane regarded my consumption with fascination.

“I thought you would know,” I responded around a mouthful.

“He has many connections in Europe. Some who would even brave the displeasure of my clan and give him sanctuary. But we don’t have the time or resources to investigate them all.” He wiped something off my chin with his thumb. Sniffed it and made a face. “That doesn’t smell natural.” He gave me a hard look. “Or organic.”

“Quiet, it tastes good.”
Both he and Rurik insisted I eat a healthy diet of ‘rabbit’ food. How could they understand the refined palate of a junk food junkie when they’d been born before processed meat?

A frustrated growl rumbled in his chest as he maneuvered the streets. “Paris, Florence, Berlin, Copenhagen
… There are so many cities where he could find sanctuary.”

“Maybe we should figure out why he’d go there. It might narrow our choices.” I tossed the sandwich wrappe
r on the floor and chugged my lukewarm coffee. “Or we could just follow his trail like we’re doing.”

Tane shot me a daggered glare. “I haven’t risen to my position by allowing others to guide my hand. Rurik might be heading straight for a trap. We have to apprehend him before he reaches his objective, not follow him to it.”

I set my empty cup in the holder. “Then we should set up our own trap.”

“
What are you thinking?”

“We use our secret weapon.” I pointed at myself. “
Me. I’m the one he wants to devour.”

The sultry
heat in Tane’s gaze shot straight to my core and reignited the desire I thought well satiated. “How can I forget?”

I swallowed with a throat gone dry. “The ch
ange is driving him to crave my blood to finish the process. We just need to give him the opportunity.”

“Use you as bait?” He nodded. “Excellent plan.” With
a roar of the motor, Tane took the exit for the highway.

I seemed destined to play
the role of bait. This had been my job in Budapest years ago to capture Rurik. My slayer boss had been convinced Rurik had committed mass murder and it had almost cost us our lives to prove his innocence. Now I fought for him once more. This time the stakes were higher. The vampire king might join us on death row.

Had Rurik killed anyone since escaping us? Was he technically guilty of murder
, since he no longer controlled his body? The families of any victims would think so. Rurik would too if we ever recovered his mind and soul.

Silently, I sent a small prayer to heaven that he’d avoid causing any death. Would God care about a vampire who did his best to be moral? Did they even have souls? I think in essence all good creatures deserved to have one.
For as long as I’d known him, Rurik always strived to do the right thing.

We
left Rome on the E35 heading North and continued in the direction for an hour.

“They’re moving fast.” Tane broke the quiet. “Rurik’s not circling Rome as I
’d hoped.”

“What cities are
north of here?” I peered into the dark landscape, as if I’d glimpse Kam chasing Rurik at inhuman speeds across the landscape.

“Florence. Did he mention going there after you escaped Monte Carlo?”

“No, he wanted to go to Venice.” The city of canals and the most romantic place on Earth. I’d begged Rurik to take me there many times, but he’d always managed to misdirect our conversations or draw my attention to another place to visit. Why would he want to go there now?

Tane
’s silence drew me out of my thoughts. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t probe past his mental shields and read his mind. From the look on his face, I wouldn’t want to.

I pinched his thigh.

“Hey.” He jumped.

“You
know something. Tell me.”

He squeezed the steering wheel until it creaked. “Rurik’s maker resides in Venice. She’s the Lady of the city.”

Lady? I had assumed his maker was male. Rurik had never corrected me when I’d referred to his maker as
him
. Bastard. We’d promised no more secrets between us. When he’d mentioned being trapped in Rome with his maker and the one bed in the orphanage hideout, it hadn’t
really
bothered me. He liked men as well as women. Obviously, I didn’t mind sharing him with other men, but the claws came out when another woman stepped into my territory. “What could she possibly do for him?”

“She would never deny him anything,
rabbit. And never betray him. He’s her offspring.”

Egad
, I was grossed out on so many levels. “You asked the Lady to turn Rurik into a vampire for you?” Nosferatu were incapable of creating regular vampires.

“More like hired.
” He dragged out the words as if reluctant to admit it.

“Then she would help us if Rurik arrives there first, right?
”

“None o
f us parted on good terms. When Rurik returned to me, as contracted, she viewed it as abandonment and expressed her displeasure with me quite publically. I let her live because of the service she provides my brothers. Then Dragos’s court grew too dangerous for Rurik to stay. I had no choice but to send him back to her.”

Damn and double damn.

Tane made a small noise of surprise. “We’re both Rurik’s makers now. He’s stuck between me and her until the change is finished.” He grinned. “We might be able to use this to regain control of him again.”

“How?”

“I’m not sure yet. We’re treading unknown waters and have to sail carefully.” He tried to give me a reassuring smile, but it only filled me with dread. I didn’t want to go to Venice now. Not with Rurik’s maker lurking in the shadows. “This changes nothing,” Tane continued. “We still need to capture Rurik before he hurts himself or someone else.”

I nodded. “Can you still sense Kam?”

“He’s about an hour ahead of us. We should reach him before dawn.”

I settled in for the drive. My butt felt numb from sitting, my stomach queasy from the fumes, and my bladder wanted to explode from the mega coffee I
’d chugged at the beginning of the trip.  Even with all this discomfort, I dosed. Tane kept me busy most of the day, allowing a few cat naps. That didn’t replace the solid sleep my body craved. Headlights streamed by my window as we passed other vehicles heading north. We’d spent some time in Florence last year in a villa outside the city. I had dragged Kam from one tourist attraction to another during the day and spent the nights socializing with my vampires, moving through the city to all sorts of vampire functions. It wasn’t every day the king came to visit. I rubbed my eyes, watery from exhaustion. It seemed so long ago.

Tane pulled into an all
-night fueling station.

I straightened in my seat and before he could ask my destination
, I scooted out the van, scurrying to the lady’s room.

“Connie—”

Glancing over my shoulder, I glimpsed Kam approach Tane. I’d thought the need for gas the reason for our stop. I found the public bathroom empty and relieved the pressure consuming my attention for the last hour. Why had Kam stopped here? Had we caught up to him as he tracked Rurik…?

Shit.
Jumping off the seat, I dressed and made sure the door was locked. “
Tane?”
I sensed his presence within my head.
“Tell me Rurik isn’t in the area.”

“You get very
angry at me when I lie. Didn’t you offer to be bait?”

“Fucker,” I whispered into the empty room. Pressed against the door, I listened for anything unusual. I’d volunteered but I had wanted something more organized then
run, rabbit, run
. Okay, I had Tane and Kam guarding my ass. If we were going to catch Rurik, I would have to pull on the big-girl panties and stroll outside like nothing was wrong. I could act sometimes. Mostly when my life depended on it.

I glared at my reflection in the mirror and cringed. “You can do this, chicken little.” Last night’s terror still seemed
close to the surface. I gripped the locked doorknob. If Rurik found me in here, this door wouldn’t hold. Better to be out in the open with room to move.

Counting
back from three, I exited the bathroom and continued outside, strolling without a care in the world while my racing pulse blocked out all other noise. It took all of my control not to glance behind me.

The van appeared abandoned by the pump. I stood next to it and searched the surrounding area. When had I become so frightened of someone I loved? The bright light shining
from the canopy above made it difficult to peer into the surrounding dark. I stepped toward the edge where the light and dark met. I hesitated.
“Are you close?”

“Always.”
The warmth of Tane’s presence gave me courage. I wrapped it around me like armor and stepped out of the light.