A Taste for Blood (The Godhunter, Book 6) (2 page)

Constantin was stumbling to his feet, the other drunk members of the band trying to reach for him but failing, so I lurched forward, effectively slamming him backwards. I used the momentum to propel myself up and forward, over to my lion lover, who looked as if his patience was about to leave the building. Hopefully along with Thor and his My Little Pony.

“Take voman and leave now,” Kirill's Russian accent was as thick as his long, black hair, which was hanging loose around his hips tonight. I stared at the sexy display of all that shiny, straight hair around his perfectly shaped ass and totally forgot why I was standing there.

“
Vervain,” Thor's voice reminded me.

“
Thor,” I jerked my gaze away from my lover's assets guiltily. Though why I should feel guilty about staring at my boyfriend was beyond me. I didn't owe Thor anything, I could stare at Kirill if I wanted to. So I gave Kirill's chest a thorough once over just to prove the point.

“
Is there a reason why we can't come upstairs?” Thor growled and I glanced back over at him in surprise.

“
Is there a...,” I stumbled forward and Kirill caught me in a slick maneuver that made it look like he'd reached out just to put an arm around me, not because I was about to fall flat on my face. “How about, I told you I didn't want you around?” I got back on track after shooting Kirill a grateful glance.

“
I didn't think it applied to public places,” Thor's eyes were starting to fill with lightning.

“
This is my fucking club, you ass!” I shouted at him and the muted conversations going on behind me stopped dead.

“
It's also the only club that caters to gods,” he ground out.

“
Look,” Epona apparently decided she needed to add something to the debacle. “We're not here to cause any trouble, let's just go have a drink downstairs, Thor.”

“
Not here to cause trouble?” Constantin growled from the back of the hill he was flung over, and held down on, by Ilario and Adriano. “Go bray your lies elsewhere. You're here just to whip me to a frenzy and you know it.”

“
Great, more horse references,” Sommer drawled. “I'm never going to get these images out of my head.”

“
I am not, Constantin,” Epona lifted her long face in the air. “I didn't even know you were going to be here tonight.”

“
Alright, that's it,” I waved a hand in a cutting motion and was surprised to find that it was steady. Sober already. Well yippee, just in time to come up with some good insults. “I don't know you, horse-face and I don't care if you're here under good intentions or not. You're upsetting my employee and you being in the company of Undesirable No. 1 over here, doesn't help your case.”

“
You mean Public Enemy No. 1,” Epona raised a sassy eyebrow at me. “If you're going to be rude, you should at least get your insults straight.”

“
No, I don't and don't fucking correct me,” I snarled. “Go watch a Harry Potter movie and learn something important... like knowing when to shut the hell up.”

“
Vervain,” Thor growled.

“
Watch it, Sparky,” I shot back. “I'm not in the god damned mood for your bullshit. Take your little friend and gallop away before I call in the wolves.”

“
My bullshit?” His eyes started to flash lightning. “I simply wanted a nice evening out with a woman who actually enjoys my company.”

“
No problem,” I nodded very reasonably. “Take said woman and go enjoy your evening together... elsewhere. May I recommend the Polo Field? She might enjoy that but really, I don't care where you go and I don't care that I own the only club that caters to gods. Just because this is a god specific club, doesn't mean you can't go anywhere else. Hell go to fucking Timbuktu, it'll only take a few seconds, just go away from
here
.”

“
All that time I watched you,” Thor shook his head, “I never saw you behave with such avarice.”

“
Really?” I blinked at him, wide-eyed, “you're going to bring up your
previous
stalking of me while
currently
stalking me and  trying to insult me? Weak, very weak. In fact, you're kinda making my point for me.”

“
Fine,” Thor narrowed his glowing eyes on me. “We'll leave but I'm going to remember this, Vervain.”

“
Oh please do because I am so fucking tired of repeating myself to you.”

He snarled, turned, and tromped back down the stairs, leaving Epona to trot down after him(I know, I know, there's just too many horse jokes). Behind me, a concert worthy round of applause had begun and Kirill leaned in to kiss my cheek.

“Vell done, Tima,” he whispered. “So sexy with the spank talking.”

“
It's
smack
talk,” I laughed. “We can do spank talking later, as long as your kissing improves.”

“
Oh,” he chuckled, a low rumbling in his chest, “it vill improve
and
relocate.”

“
I'll look forward to that,” I slapped his ass, a little spanking preview, before I went back to my appreciative audience.

“
Thank you,” Constantin was on his feet, free of restraining hands now that Epona was gone. “That made my entire year.”

“
Hey,” I pointed at him, “nobody fucks with my people but me.”

He laughed and gave me a quick hug. “Still, I appreciate it. It was a hell of a show.”

“Yes, bravo,” slurred Krystal, poor thing was trying to keep up with gods and that was virtually impossible when it came to drinking. “Send that horse-bitch packing!” A shocked silence sobered her up enough to look around. “What I say?”

“
Nothing,” I laughed and shook my head, “werewolves get a little sensitive about the “b” word.”

“
Oh,” her eyes got round, “sorry, Sam, never even occurred to me.”

“
No prob,” Sam shrugged. “I'm not as sensitive as some of the others. I think it was more of the combination horse and bitch insult. Kind of silly sounding to us shifters.”

“
I like a woman with spark,” Rain leaned in closer to Krystal.

“
And I like a man with less hair,” she stared at the shiny fall of his tresses like they were personally offending her.

“
What?” Rain looked shocked and confused, so very confused.

I smothered my laugh.

“I don't like men with long hair,” Krystal said slowly, like he was mentally challenged.

“
But women love my hair,” he sounded like a three-year-old. “It's rock star hair and I'm a rock star.”

“
I don't think I like rock stars then,” Krystal looked thoughtfully into her empty lemonade glass. “I
would
like some more lemonade though. Can you get me some?”

“
Can I... what?” Rain looked at me like I might be able to explain the insanity of my friend.

It was the last straw on the back of my camel of laughter. I bent over double with the force of my merriment, delighting in both Krystal's frankness and Rain's discomfort. The rest of the group finally joined in, with Rain, Krystal, and Kirill being the only exceptions.

“She just don't like you,” I finally got out. “It happens.”

“
No, it doesn't,” Rain looked Krystal over carefully, like she might have a warning label attached someplace.

“
I don't find you all that attractive either,” I shrugged.

“
Yeah but you have like five-hundred lovers,” he shook his head. “You're a little too distracted to notice my good looks.”

“
I still notice a good looking man, you narcissist,” I huffed. “And you're just not that hot. I'm sorry, someone had to tell you sometime.”

“
You could try cutting your hair,” Krystal mused when she realized he wasn't going to get her a new drink. “And you could try being a little more courteous to thirsty ladies.”

“
Cut my hair?” He lifted a hand to his hair.

“
It's not like you've never worn it short,” Ilario observed. “I actually think you look better that way too.”

“
Traitor,” Rain hissed.

“
Hey, you're the only one who thinks rock stars have to have long hair,” Adriano piped up. “It's not like it's the eighties. I think Krystal has a point.”

“
Well that's where we differ,” I shrugged and looked over at Kirill. “I like my men with long hair, gives me something to grab onto.”

“
I can grab onto short hair,” Krystal insisted, still lifting her empty glass in Rain's direction until he finally took it.

“
Jessica,” I called for our waitress as I looked Krystal over. “We need some coffee and water up here please.”

“
And a pair of scissors,” Krystal added.

Chapter Two

I took the emerald off my neck, hanging it by its thick, gold chain on a dragon horn, part of an intricately carved panel that made up one of the four walls enclosing my Chinese wedding bed. The wall I'd chosen to hang it on was the one at the foot of the bed, the one with the two foot wide opening that granted the only access to the bed itself. I scurried through the opening and up the bed, climbing under the covers to await Kirill.

As I waited, I thought back to the confrontation I'd had with Thor. I didn't want him as an enemy but his words had hinted at that result. I wondered what it would be like to have to fight Thor and I was surprised to find that I was too worn out with his bullshit to care. If he decided to attack me, he'd have to stand in line. I probably had much more enemies than I even knew about, who were probably plotting against me at that very moment. It was pretty much how my life had been going ever since I'd decided to hunt gods. Sometimes it felt like I couldn't seem to walk down the street without tripping over trouble.

“Tima,” Kirill's voice brought me out of my musings.

Oh but ask me if it was worth it. I looked over Kirill's beautifully naked body, his wide shoulders, thick arms, the cuts that formed a V just below his waist. I let my gaze wander over those muscled thighs and what stood proudly between. Then I looked back up, into eyes the kind of blue usually reserved for mixed drinks and fine china. So bright, if they were a drink, they'd stain your tongue. They were filled with something even brighter than their color though, undiluted love.

That sounds corny, or even worse, way over done. Undiluted love. Oh please, right? How can you see undiluted love in someone's eyes and what does that even mean anyway? There's no simple phrase that can aptly describe what I was somehow lucky enough to be the recipient of. Of all my men, Kirill loved the purest. Probably because he'd been the one who was the most damaged before I came along. He'd been physically and mentally abused by his last Tima. Forced to do things that still haunt him and to have things done to him which were so horrible, I felt compelled to find vengeance for him. So horrible, that even though his tormentor is dead, I dream of raising her from the grave just so I could kill her again more slowly.

By the time I'd come around, Kirill had retreated into insanity and his fellow Intare had begged me to simply end his life and his misery. I had refused. One look at him and I couldn't let him go. I brought him back through willpower and luck. I pulled him from his nightmare and gave him a safe haven. I even let him move in with me and Trevor to help him heal. Somewhere along the way, he
had
healed, taking my heart to replace his damaged one.

The result of this cataclysmic reprogramming was surprising, especially to me. You'd think so much abuse could only hinder a man when it came to love but it was different with Kirill. Nyavirezi had completely destroyed him and I had to go in, clear away the rubble she left, and rebuild him with my own materials, from the foundation up. When I was done, Kirill was a brand new fortress, ready to be filled with whatever life would bring him. He feared nothing, not love or death, because he'd seen the worst of both. There was nothing that could be done to Kirill worse than what he'd already gone through.

So when I say that he looked on me with undiluted love, I'm not trying to be cheesy or romantic. I'm trying to describe the rare type of commitment Kirill blessed me with. He loved with everything he had, without any thought of holding back, because to him, I was safety, solace, freedom, and life. Even though he shared me, I was completely his because our love was a separate thing from the love I had for anyone else. Each love was different for me and I think it was the only reason I could make all of my relationships work.