Blood Hunger (An Adult Paranormal Romance) (Deathless Night Series #1) (29 page)

     The urge to vomit was overwhelming as she felt the thing humping her, excited from her thrashing underneath it. But she couldn’t let it get a good grip on her. It would rip her apart. And this time, she had no doubt, she wouldn’t survive.

     Pieces of its rotting flesh came off in her hands as she pushed and clawed at its chest and arms. Gripping her wrists, it tried to hold her arms down, its yellow claws slashing open her skin on the inside of her arms. But still, she fought. She didn’t know where her strength was coming from, but didn’t stop to think about it.

     Kicking frantically, and rocking her body from side to side, she finally managed to get one of her legs between them. With all of her strength, she slammed her knee into its balls.

     Throwing its head back, it shrieked in pain, but didn’t roll off of her. Sobbing uncontrollably now, she managed to pull one of her arms from its grip, and slammed her palm into its exposed throat, but she couldn’t get her fingers far enough around the rotting flesh to get a good grip.

     Ignoring her weak attempts to strangle it, it lowered its head and pulled its lips back, tongue flicking out to lick her face. Gagging, she turned her face away only to see that the other two had joined them and were eagerly waiting their turns.

     Tongues flicked over their sharp teeth as they palmed themselves disgustingly, grunting at the feel of their own hands and the sight of her wrestling with their companion.

     She released a low, keening cry as hopelessness washed over her. It was over. She could feel her strength waning against its superior might with every second. Once one of them got its fangs into her, they’d fight over her like dogs, and rip her apart.

     A ragged sob escaped her as she thought of Nik finding what little would be left of her. He would blame himself for not protecting her. For not insisting she stay inside. The guilt would eat him alive. He didn’t deserve that. It wasn’t his fault she hadn’t listened to him.

     She floundered a bit as these thoughts flew through her head, but then she gritted her teeth and rallied herself. She couldn’t let that happen.

     With a yell, she bucked underneath the thing in one last ditch effort to get it off of her. Her muscles screaming in agony, she nevertheless fought like a wild thing. She kept it up as long as she could, even when the only thing she seemed to accomplish was arousing the thing more. Until, finally, she could feel her muscles giving out on her. With one last feeble attempt to save herself, she curled her fingers in and squeezed her hand around its trachea.

     As its eyes bulged, and it struggled to breath, she dared to hope…But she’d forgotten its two sidekicks.

     Almost instantly, her hand was ripped away by one of the others. Reaching down with its long arms, it pulled both of her arms up over her head and held them there. On top of her, the beast gave her a look of pure evil as it rasped and coughed.

     Hate shooting from its red eyes, it pulled its lips back again, exposing those razor-sharp fangs. Emma froze in terror as it reared its head back to strike.

    
A terrified scream tore from her throat, a deafening roar joining it. Before she’d even processed the sound, the weight of the monster was ripped from her body. A second later, her wrists were released.

     She lay there, unmoving, not fully comprehending that she was free. She listened to the sickening noises around her in a daze. Unearthly screams blended with the sounds of crunching bone and the wet sucking noises of flesh being ripped from flesh, until she thought she
was
going to vomit after all.

     A few seconds later, all was completely quiet.

     Emma cautiously turned her head to the right. She blinked, not quite believing what she was seeing.

     Nikulas stood with his back to her, sides heaving, fists clenched at his sides. Scattered around him were piles of rotting, grey flesh, ripped into pieces so small they were unrecognizable as any particular body part.

     The wind picked up at that moment, and her stomach convulsed from the smell, as the pieces started to flake away.

     Pulling his hood back up over his singed hair, Nik swallowed hard. Slowly, fearfully, he turned around. But he kept his eyes closed, afraid at what he would see. Afraid he hadn’t made it on time. She hadn’t moved or made a sound since he’d torn the creature off of her.

     Taking a deep breath, he opened them to see Emma’s wide hazel eyes trained on him, shock reflecting deep within the depths. Her body was deathly still. Her face was white. Blood trickled from slashes on her arms.

     He stared at her lovely face, those invisible hands squeezing his heart harder and harder, and then…she blinked.

     Wait. What?

    
Please, please tell me I’m not fucking hallucinating. Tell me I arrived in time.

    
He’d fled the cave before the sun had completely set, Aiden close on his heels. They’d stayed to the shadows, following the lure of Emma’s blood to the creek.

     He didn’t hesitate as he was pulled to the scene of those things hunched over something on the ground. He knew it was Emma. A red haze had clouded his vision as he ripped the first one off of her, quickly annihilating the other two as well. He’d barely realized what he was doing.

     However, he was sure as hell feeling it now.

    
Emma inhaled sharply. “What happened to your face?” Her voice was so hoarse from screaming, he barely understood her.

     Falling hard onto his knees, Nik groped for Emma’s hand and brought it to his burned mouth, kissing her palm and holding it there. His eyes burned with tears he couldn’t shed. A dry, heart-wrenching sob tore its way out of his scalded lungs.

     “Nik? What the hell happened to your face?” Emma rasped. She lifted her other hand, but hesitated before touching the blackened skin.

     But he couldn’t answer her. He couldn’t speak. He could only kneel there, her small hand engulfed within his larger ones. His blue eyes hidden behind their burned lids.

     Aiden dropped down into her view, squatting on his haunches next to Nik. “Hey there, poppet. Brilliant idea you had here, luring them out this way. But you really should’ve waited for us to help you.”

   
 
Moving her eyes to Aiden, she redirected her question at him, “What the hell happened to his face?”

   
 
Grinning at Nik, he gave him a pat on the shoulder. “He looks a bit better now. You should’ve seen him when I found him.”

   
 
Emma used her free hand to push herself up into a sitting position, as Nik had a death grip on the other one, and he wasn’t going to be letting it go anytime soon. “That doesn’t answer my question, Aiden.”

   
 
“The arse tried to follow you into the sun. I finally had to tackle him before he managed to roast himself.” Smiling reassuringly at Emma, he glanced over at Nik. Then went back for a second look.

     “In spite of your recent one man destruction show, you’re not looking so good, mate.”

   
 
Worry made uncharacteristic creases in his forehead. “Do you think you feel up to giving him a drink, luv?” he whispered aside to Emma.

     Nik’s big body swayed in the wind, but he managed to stutter, “I’m ok. I don’t need any… She’s been through enough…Just need to rest.” He was staying upright only out of pure stubbornness.  Now that he’d saved his beloved female, his body was giving in to all of the trauma it’d been dealt recently.

     Gently pulling her hand from his, she pushed her sleeve back and offered him her wrist. “Here. Drink. And don’t argue with me.”

   
 
Aiden grinned at her in approval. “You know, luv, I’m beginning to develop quite a crush on you.”

   
 
Nik bared his teeth at his friend, and was about to insist again that he was fine, but at her reproving look, he gently took her arm in his hands and sank his fangs into her wrist. Closing his gritty eyes, he took a deep pull on her vein, groaning as her blood hit his tongue. A few swallows later, and his skin started to heal.

***

     Emma watched, fascinated, as the damaged areas began to fuse themselves together, new skin cells multiplying and creating fresh tissue at amazing speeds right before her eyes. He was nearly completely healed within just a few heartbeats. 

     Holy shit. Her blood did that? If that’s how it affected his outsides, she couldn’t imagine how he felt on the inside.

     No sooner had the thought drifted through her mind than Nik’s blue eyes flashed open and locked onto hers. The hunger in them so intense, she was momentarily taken aback. She’d never experienced anything as erotic as those smoldering blue eyes burning right through to her core.

     She watched him as he fed, each pull a direct tug on her desire for him. Every needy moan he made making her breath hitch and her heart beat faster. Her body responded to him of its own accord. Her breasts swelled, her nipples tightening into hard, little buds that begged for his touch, his tongue, even his bite. Her lips parted, her tongue sneaking out to wet her bottom lip.

     She moaned softly as a rush of wetness drenched her panties, her belly clenching with need for him. 

***

     Nik’s eyes narrowed in on her, and a low, deep growl rumbled through his chest as he watched her respond to his feeding. The scent of her desire made his blood rush through his veins, made his body harden. His cock swelled painfully as he watched her little pink tongue wetting her lip, her body leaning closer to him of its own accord. He wanted to bite that lip as he came inside of her.

     The sound of Aiden noisily clearing his throat barely kept him from ripping the clothes from her body and pushing himself into her hot, tight passage. With a displeased snarl, he reluctantly removed his fangs from her inner wrist. Still holding her wide eyes with his, he licked the soft skin, healing his bite, and the slashes from the attack. Taking her other arm, he did the same.

     Aiden stuck his face in front of Nik’s, breaking the contact. “Hate to interrupt the moment, mate, but we have company.”

   
 
Nik’s head immediately whipped around to where Aiden was gesturing, lips pulled back, fangs bared in warning, his body blocking Emma from this new danger.

     Cedric, Lucian, and Duncan came jogging up to them, too shocked to take mind of Nik’s show of aggression.

     “Whit th' fuck was that?” Cedric’s deep voice thundered through the ravine.

     Dropping down onto his haunches by Emma, he looked at her beseechingly. “I'm so sorry, lass! I had no idea. I would've ne'er sent ye off on yer own had I known.”

   
 
He looked from Emma to the vampires.  “Whit th' fuckin’ hell
were
those things?!
”

   
 
Nik’s nostrils flared and his mouth flattened into a thin line. “What do you mean, ‘you wouldn’t have sent her off on her own’?”

   
 
Rising to his full height, he again took up a protective stance in front of Emma. Aiden stepped up to stand at his right. Infuriated, Nik stared down the wolves one by one, watching as they each dropped their gaze guiltily.

     Lucian and Duncan kept their heads down and took a step back, letting Cedric answer that one.

     As he
should
.

     As their
leader
.

     And, the whole thing being his idea and all.

     Belatedly realizing the sticky situation his impulsive apology had gotten him into, Cedric had also stood, slowly and cautiously, careful not making any sudden moves. Although he towered over Nik by a good five inches, he nevertheless visibly braced himself against the wrath emanating from the vampire.

     He lifted his hands, palms out. “Now Nikulas, before ye go suckin' me dry, gimme a chance ta explain.”

   
 
Nik gave his head a quick shake, a look of incredulity coming over his features. “Please, tell me that I misunderstood. Tell me that my
friend
would never be stupid enough to purposefully put
my
female
in danger.” His entire body was shaking with rage by the time he was through speaking.

     “Nik, I didna ken those things existed. I swear it!” Cedric’s steady gaze proclaimed that he was telling the truth. “I thought a few normal vamps would be guarding the walls. There would've been
no
danger ta Emma wi' us there. And I didna ken she was yours 'til we had already taken her!” he insisted.  “I thought she was just a normal human, 'n' thought we'd have a bit o
’
fun.”

   
 
“Well, that was just a horrible idea,” Aiden piped in.

     “That’s exactly what
I
said,” Emma agreed.

     Cedric rolled his eyes at Aiden. “Ye’r one ta talk. Ye would've done th' same thing. If na’ worse.”

   
 
Aiden recoiled at the insult. “Are you daft, man? I wouldn’t do something like that! That’s just crazy!” He screwed his forehead up, deep in thought. “Or maybe it’s completely brilliant. You did manage to flush out the guards and get us straight here at the same time. Hmm. Maybe I
would
do it.” He shook his head. “No, no…I would never risk…well?” He slapped his hands onto each side of his head. “Ahhhh! I just can’t decide.”

   
 
Now that he’d distracted the silly Brit, Cedric turned back to Nik, who’d never taken his seething eyes from him throughout the entire exchange. “Once I figured it out, that was even better!” He gave Nik a knowing wink. “I knew ye'd come after her. Bonnie lass that she is.”

   
 
Nik bared his fangs, a deep growl radiating out from deep inside him.

     Cedric’s wolf nature reacted instinctively to the threat. Bowing up, he ground out, “We were aff to surprise ye! That we were 'ere te help.” He slashed his hand through the air between them. “That’s all! Nothin
’
happened te her. She's braw. I would ne'er hurt a wee lassie! Ye ken that.”

   
 
His lips pulled back, exposing his own lengthening canines. “Now git out o' mah face afore I lose my temper.”

   
 
Emma stood up behind Nik, and laid her hand on his back, rubbing small circles over the tense muscles. “Nik, they didn’t hurt me. And they treated me with the utmost respect. Well, other than throwing me into a bag and toting me around like a sack of grain…” As Nick leaned forward aggressively, she grabbed his fist before he could take a swing, and hurried to continue, “but they didn’t hurt me! I promise!”

   
 
Stepping in front of him, she finally managed to break up the pissing contest between him and Cedric and redirect his focus onto her.  Locking eyes with him, she held his gaze until he calmed down. “Come on. They’re here to help, even if they did go about letting you know that in a rather strange way.”

   
 
She couldn’t believe she was actually defending the dogs that had kidnapped her.  “The bitch of evil has one of theirs also.”

   
 
That got his attention. He turned back to the werewolves, noticing for the first time that one of them was missing. They always traveled together in a pack. “Marc? She has Marc?”

   
 
Cedric nodded, their near fight already forgotten. “Aye. She took him three weeks ago. She thinks we owe her a debt, 'n' took him as her pay.”

   
 
Duncan smiled roguishly. “We've come ta take him back.
”

   
 
“What debt is that?” Aiden asked.

     Giving Lucian an unreadable look, Cedric shrugged off the question with a derisive smirk. “Nothin
’
I'm wantin' ta get inta right now.”

   
 
No other information seemed to be forthcoming, and they didn’t have time to try to pry it out of them, so Nik let it go. “Alright. Well, as the rest of our guys seem to be MIA, we’d sure appreciate the extra manpower. Or wolfpower, such as it is.”

   
 
“Who does she have o’ yours?” Duncan asked Nik.

     “Luukas.”

   
 
“Luukas??” Cedric breathed. His mouth hung open in shock, Duncan and Lucian echoing his astonishment. “That’s na’ possible! How can that happen? He’s a master vampire.”

   
 
“Luukas took it upon himself to go and confront her, alone. He refused to let me or anyone else come with him. He never came back.”