Amaury's Hellion (14 page)

Amaury rattled the chain, his flesh sizzling where the silver came in contact with his skin. The scent of singed flesh and body hair stung her nostrils as she watched his face distort in pain.

“The less you move, the less it’s going to hurt.” Good, the chains were holding. Her heartbeat slowed a fraction, grateful the silver worked. At least something went her way tonight.

“You devious bitch!”

“Hey, manners!” she chided. “Now—let’s talk.” Finally she had the upper hand. She had to use it to her advantage now and keep a clear head.

“Release me!” He pulled on the chain again, but couldn’t break them. Instead, it appeared to dig deeper into his flesh. She noticed his jaw clenching as if warding off the pain.

“I don’t think you’re in the position to order me around right now.”

He flashed his fangs at her, his eyes glaring red.

“Ooh, looks like the big bad vampire is angry.” And looking even sexier than before. Was that at all possible? A pleasant shiver travelled up her spine and curled around her neck. Her nipples beaded involuntarily.

Traitors!

“Nina, I warn you. Take this chain off me, or you’ll be very sorry …”

Amaury could growl with that sexy voice all he wanted. She wouldn’t release him.

“Empty threats. Cut it out, Amaury. You lost, I won. You’re so easy to distract. You shouldn’t let your dick rule you.”

She looked down to where their bodies were still touching. His cock was as hard as ever and still pressing against her. With her finger she touched its head and lazily smeared a drop of moisture over it. The velvety smooth head twitched under her touch, tilting toward her, asking for attention.

“Stop it!” His order was issued in a hoarse voice, followed by a barely suppressed moan. It pleased her that even tied up and in agony he still wanted her. She could work with that.

“You don’t mean that. I think you want me to continue.” And were circumstances different, she would capture him in her mouth again and drive him wild until he lost it. And then she would arouse him again and ride him until he could take no more. But circumstances were what they were. He was the enemy, and she had to deal with him now.

“What do you want from me? Damn it!” His eyes blinked shut for a second as he let out a sharp breath. She glanced at this hands where blisters had formed as if acid was burning through his skin.

“I want answers.”

His eyes locked with hers, and she could feel his mind working. She heard a voice in her head, invading.

Release me.

Nina sensed he was trying to control her mind, but she pushed back, refusing to listen, trying to shut him out. That sneaky bastard, he was using his powers on her.

Get out of my head!

Suddenly his eyes turned blue again, and he looked at her with wonder in them.

“You’re blocking me. How?”

She ignored his question, not that she had an answer anyway. All she’d done was push against him, deny him entry. How it worked she was unable to explain. “I need answers. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. What’s it gonna be?”

Instead of a reply, his legs suddenly lifted and hit against her back, pushing her forward onto his chest, bringing her head to head with him. His mouth rocked forward, and he captured her lips. But he didn’t bite. His tongue swept over her lips, demanding entry. Did he really think she’d falter this easily? She pressed her lips together, refusing him.

“Release me now, and I won’t hurt you.” Amaury paused. “Except for a little spanking.”

Nina pushed against his shoulders and brought herself upright, away from his tempting mouth and his drugging scent. The thought of being spanked by him like a naughty child sent a tingle through her body.

“Tempting, but no thanks. I’d rather keep the upper hand.”

“I’m warning you, Nina. You’ll regret this later.” His voice was a low growl now. There was something feral about him, something so animalistic, she should be afraid. Instead she felt like answering his growl with one of her own. She shook her head to stop her errant and clearly stupid thoughts.

“There will be no later.”

“What do you want?”

“Revenge, justice. That’s what I want.”

He answered with a surprised look. “I haven’t hurt you. I’ve done nothing you didn’t want me to do.”

“You’ve taken what was dearest to me. You and your friends, you’ve taken Eddie away from me.”

“Eddie? Who’s Eddie?” The wrinkles on his forehead were witness to his lack of understanding. He appeared completely clueless.

“See, you don’t even know. You guys are so callous about human life that you don’t even remember what you did. Just another human life, isn’t it? Another one who didn’t count. How many others are there besides Eddie that you can’t even keep track?”

She slammed her fist into his chest, but he barely flinched.

“Damn it, Nina, you make no sense. Who the hell is Eddie?”

“Was. Who the hell
was
Eddie. Eddie’s dead. And it’s because of you guys.” Because he worked for them and somehow got embroiled with them. Until they got rid of him, somehow.

“I haven’t killed anybody. You’ve got the wrong vampire.”

Nina shook her head. “I’ve got the right one. He was working for you guys, you and Samson. He was a bodyguard for Scanguards. All he did was work for you, and what did you guys do? Betray him, use him.”

Recognition lit in his eyes. “Edmund Martens. You’re talking about Edmund.”

Finally he was catching on. About time.

“He killed his client and then himself,” Amaury elaborated. “It’s a fact. Ask the police. They have the evidence. Neither Samson nor I have anything to do with his death.”

“You guys made him do it. You forced him, coerced him. One of you set him up.” Her Eddie would have never killed anybody, least of all himself.

“That’s crazy. I barely knew him. We didn’t do anything to him. None of us, not I, not Samson.”

Amaury was stalling, and she couldn’t accept it.

“Eddie wasn’t a killer. He couldn’t hurt a fly. Yes, he stole, he cheated—because he
had
to.
We
had to. We had nothing else. But he wasn’t a murderer, he wasn’t evil. He was gentle and kind.” She felt tears build in her eyes.

“Listen, Nina. Maybe you didn’t know your boyfriend that well, but he—”

She cut him off. “
Boyfriend
? Eddie wasn’t my boyfriend, he was my brother! My baby brother. I looked out for him. I cared for him.” She knew him better than anybody. She’d taken care of him after they’d run away from their last foster home. And then when he’d finally managed to get a real job with Scanguards, he’d taken care of her, so she could go back to school to get an education. But that was all over now. Because he’d gotten mixed up with vampires.

“Your brother? Oh,
chérie
, I’m so sorry.”

Amaury sounded so genuine, she wanted to believe him. But she knew better. With an impatient wave of her hand she stopped him from saying anything else.

“You and your friends, you’re responsible. You turned him. You did something to him, controlled him with your minds, just like you tried with me a minute ago. You made him do it. And now you’ll pay for it.”

She pulled out a stake from her inside pocket. His eyes widened when he honed in on the weapon in her hand.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m dead serious.” She felt it her duty to get justice for her brother. He would have done the same for her.

“Nina, your brother won’t come back even if you kill me.”

She knew that. “But I’ll feel better once it’s done.”

Amaury shook his head. “No, you won’t. If it’s true what you say, that your brother wasn’t a killer, what makes you think you are one? You’re cut out of the same cloth.”

His blue eyes seemed to want to penetrate her. She didn’t want to listen to him any longer, because his words began to ring true.

“You’re a vampire, you’re already dead. It wouldn’t be like killing a human.”

“I’m not dead. My heart beats, my blood runs through my veins. I breathe.” Amaury pushed his hips against her, making her all too aware of the part of him that was even more alive than the rest of him. “I’m alive, and you know it.”

That explained it—with blood running through his veins and his heart beating, of course his body would be warm, not cold. But anyway— “It doesn’t matter. You’re responsible. You’ll have to pay, just like your friends. They’ll all pay for it. He was just a kid.”

“None of us did this to your brother. But I know something about it stinks. That’s why we brought in reinforcements. We’re investigating this. Nina, believe me, we’re trying to get behind this. We’re just as worried about this as you are. We’re trying to figure out who did this to him.”

“More like sweeping it under the rug.”

“No. We know something is wrong, and we’re doing everything we can to find out what it is. We need some time. Please trust me. I’ll help you find out who’s done this to Eddie. I can find who’s responsible.”

His eyes were pleading with her, but she couldn’t trust him. As soon as she released him, he would turn the tables on her and punish her. No, she couldn’t go back now. She’d already gone too far.

She gripped the stake tighter. “Somebody has to pay for his death.”

“Somebody
will
,
chérie
, I promise you. But don’t do this.” His voice was the softest whisper. Too soft for a vampire—too gentle for a murderer. “You’ll hate yourself for hurting an innocent person. I can help you. Let’s work together. I can protect you. You don’t want to be out there on your own. Whoever is responsible is dangerous. Please.”

***

Amaury didn’t understand what he was offering her, but the sad look on Nina’s face tore at his heartstrings. Suddenly she looked smaller and more vulnerable, not like the slayer she was trying to portray. Despite the stake in her hand, he knew she had a good heart.

And despite the agony he was currently in, he wanted to help her. The silver was painfully eating into his skin, the blisters that had first formed now breaking open, making any further contact with the silver even more painful. He tried to move as little as possible to confine the effects of the poisonous metal to a smaller area, but it was hard not to shift as the burning sensation became worse.

All he could do was distract himself. Amaury concentrated on Nina and saw a flicker in her eyes which he recognized as doubt. She wasn’t sure anymore that her action was right. He had to use her doubt to get to her.

“Let me kiss you and make it better.” He had sensed how her body had reacted to him, and doubted she had faked it all. She wasn’t that good an actress. “Please, you know my body doesn’t lie. And neither does yours. Do you really think you would have enjoyed touching and kissing me, if you truly thought I was guilty? Trust your instincts.”

His own instincts told him she was good, and only desperation had driven her to these extreme measures. Somehow he would get through to her. He had to try.

“Before Zane captured you tonight, we had a staff meeting. My colleagues from New York and I are trying to figure out who knew anything about your brother and what happened. We have some leads.” They weren’t really leads, just hunches. He’d sensed some oddities about several of the staff present and had selected those to be interviewed separately.

“What leads?”

There was interest in her eyes now. He was getting somewhere.

“Some indication that some guys aren’t telling us the whole truth. There’s something hidden, and we’ll find it, trust me. Finding the truth is just as important to us as it is to you.”

“You’re just saying that to pacify me.”

Her plump lips parted. What he’d give to kiss her right now. She would believe him then.

Amaury shook his head. “If we can’t get behind this, it’ll ruin the company. We’ll lose our clients. Nobody wants to be protected by bodyguards who are unstable. Samson spent years building up the company and making it into what it is today. Do you really think he’d throw that all away by driving his staff to commit murder?”

He noticed the expression in her eyes change. Something was getting through to her. Was he making any sense?

“You know what I am, and have I hurt you? No. Because that’s not me. I don’t hurt women.”

Well, spanking didn’t count as hurting anyway, especially not when the other party encouraged it.

“I’m a vampire, and you kissed me. You allowed me to touch you, and you shared your passion with me.” He dropped his gaze to her mouth. “You have the softest lips I’ve ever tasted. No woman has ever ignited this kind of desire in me. Your mouth on me gave me more pleasure than I’ve ever felt before. Nina, you can’t tell me you didn’t feel that. You didn’t fake it. It was real. Now let me show you the same pleasure. Please, let me make love to you.”

Amaury searched her eyes for signs of acceptance and wished he could have sensed her emotions, but her heart didn’t release any emotions for him to read. He’d never learned to read people’s faces since he never had to, because his gift always provided him with everything he needed to know. Now he regretted his ineptness.

Nina shook her head as if to shake something off.

“No. I can’t. I can’t betray Eddie. He was all I had. He was the only one who ever cared about me.”

She suddenly jumped up and off the bed. Amaury rattled at his chains, but the silver stung his skin. He bit his lips to stop himself from screaming in pain. Shit! His wrists felt like they’d been dunked into deep fryer.

“Nina, I care about you. Don’t leave.”

Without another word, she turned and stormed out of the bedroom.

“Nina, come back!”

She didn’t answer. He heard her footsteps as she crossed the living area. Then the entrance door opened.

“Nina, damn it! Come back and finish what you’ve started!”

And he didn’t mean killing him.

His cock stood fully erect, the tiny slit in its tip looking at him accusingly. He was aching now, yearning to be inside her, to find his release with her. And he realized that for the first time his pain was different. He wasn’t aching for a climax because his head was exploding. No, this time his body was aching for a connection, a connection with Nina.