Deadly Pursuit (A Blood Hunter Novel, #2) (20 page)

Getting
to
his
feet,
he
stretched.
He
had
a
plan.
If
he
could
ignore
the
fact
his
butt
hurt
like
hell,
he
might
even
feel
optimistic.

When
he
reached
his
quarters,
the
door
to
his
cabin
was
open,
and
he
could
see
Al,
down
on
her
hands
and
knees.
So
much
for
keeping
out
of
his
way.

“What
the
fuck
are
you
doing
here?”

She
jumped,
scrambled
to
her
feet,
and
stood
chewing
on
her
lower
lip.
“I
was
cleaning…”
She
trailed
off
and
gestured
to
the
mess
on
the
floor
where
the
food
had
spilled
earlier.
“
And
there
are
more
clothes.”
She
pointed
at
a
pile
on
the
bed.
“They
should
keep
you
going
until
we
reach
Trakis
Two.”

He
strolled
across
the
room,
picked
up
a
white
shirt,
and
held
it
to
his
nose.
“Did
you
pinch
them
from
the
vampire?”

“No—they’re
from
the
Trog—he’s
the
engineer
but
he
doesn’t
come
out
much,
so
he
won’t
even
notice.”
A
smile
flashed
across
her
face.
“Rico
only
wears
black—I
think
he
likes
to
match
the
ship.”

“I’ll
bet.”

“I’ll
just
finish…”

Crouching
down
again,
she
picked
up
the
cloth
she’d
been
using
and
bundled
it
into
a
bag.
Her
gaze
kept
flicking
up
to
him
as
she
worked.
Her
eyes
were
really
quite
amazing,
the
irises
almost
silver
rimmed
with
black,
and
very
expressive.
How
had
she
managed
to
hide
what
she
was
for
so
long?
She
must
be
one
hell
of
a
good
actress.
Shit,
she
might
even
be
acting
now—with
those
shy,
little
“I
might
be
a
virgin,
but
I’m
willing
to
change
that”
glances
she
kept
sending
his
way.
He
shoved
his
hands
in
his
pockets
and
shifted
uncomfortably.
These
pants
were
definitely
too
tight.

Al
straightened,
wiping
her
hands
up
and
down
her
thighs,
and
he
bit
back
a
groan.
She
still
wore
a
baggy
shirt,
but
the
material
was
thin,
almost
transparent.
Through
it,
he
could
clearly
make
out
the
outline
of
a
pair
of
surprisingly
full
breasts.
Where
the
hell
had
they
come
from?

As
he
stared,
unable
to
look
away,
she
thrust
back
her
shoulders
so
her
dark
nipples
pushed
against
the
fabric,
sending
a
jolt
of
heat
to
his
groin.
It
had
been
way
too
long.

He
forced
his
gaze
upward
and
caught
a
small,
catlike
smirk
of
satisfaction
on
her
face.
The
expression
was
blanked
out
as
soon
as
she
saw
him
watching,
and
a
wave
of
anger
rolled
through
him.
The
little
priestess
thought
she
could
manipulate
him.
She
needed
to
learn
she
couldn’t.
Nobody
could.

But
he
hoped
she’d
learn
fast
and
get
the
fuck
out
of
here,
before
his
dick
exploded
out
of
his
too
tight
pants.
She
was
still
fussing
about
the
cabin,
and
he
growled
low
in
his
throat.

…

He’d
noticed
her
breasts.
Alex
was
sure
of
it.

It
was
such
a
relief
to
get
rid
of
the
bindings
that
had
been
part
of
her
disguise,
she
hadn’t
considered
this
added
advantage.

Tannis
had
given
her
some
breathing
space,
but
that
was
all
it
was.
Her
time
was
running
out.
If
Hezrai
found
her
once,
he
would
find
her
again.
The
Church
was
powerful,
and
she
didn’t
want
anyone
to
get
in
trouble
because
of
her.
Next
time,
she
would
hand
herself
over.

But
there
was
so
much
she
wanted
to
experience
first.
She
had
a
lengthy
to-do
list
she’d
been
adding
to
since
she
came
on
board.
And
today
she’d
added
one
more
thing.

She
gave
Jon
a
small
sidelong
glance.
His
hands
were
in
his
pockets,
and
he
was
lounging
against
the
wall.
He
should
have
appeared
relaxed;
instead,
he
radiated
barely
leashed
tension.

“Is
there
anything
else
I
can
do?”
she
asked,
her
tongue
darting
out
to
moisten
her
lips.

His
eyes
narrowed.
“You
can
get
the
hell
out
of
here,
little
girl.”

“I’m
not
a
little
girl—I’m
twenty-four.”
Why
did
she
have
a
feeling
she
was
going
to
have
to
repeat
those
words
many
times
before
they
would
make
any
impact?