Sacrifice (3 page)

Chapter Two

“Oh
my God, oh my God.” Hallie chanted the prayer like a mantra, pacing in tight,
erratic circles. She’d been back in her own apartment for almost an hour and
her heart still hadn’t stopped threatening to beat its way out of her chest.

What
was he?

Vampire,
a
little voice in her mind whispered.

The
first time she’d put a name to what Ethan was, she’d cried. The next, she’d
laughed. In the end, she just kept repeating the word in her head, trying to
desensitize herself to the panic knotting in her chest every time she thought
of it. Any argument she might raise that such things didn’t exist were crushed
by the overwhelming evidence of what she’d just seen with her own eyes.

Hallie’s
mind raced through the facts. She finally understood why he looked so different
and suffered such agony that night she’d watched over him…which meant she’d had
a vampire living under her roof for two weeks.
Okay, so what did that tell her?
For a start, he obviously meant
her no harm. He could have broken into her apartment and killed her any time he
wanted, but he’d stayed away—tried his hardest to avoid her in fact. And if
things hadn’t gone as far as they just did between them, she might never have
known.

The
memory of the lust raging through her at his touch made her breath catch and
her stomach flutter with anticipation. God help her but whatever he was, she’d
wanted him so badly it hurt. Never in her life did she crave someone’s touch the
way she needed Ethan’s. He made her come alive after feeling alone for so long.
Her lips tingled from his kisses and her nipples throbbed from the memory of
his touch. A heady ache pulsed between her legs, sensitive to her every motion that
eventually she had to sit down to stop the torture.

When
the adrenaline finally faded away, Hallie couldn’t fight the exhaustion and fell
asleep on the sofa. She dreamed of Ethan again— an erotic edge to every image
now, her lust for him an integral part of the dreams. Hallie saw herself wrapped
in Ethan’s arms as his body claimed hers, his handsome face taut with pleasure.
Then his expression suddenly contorted in agony and he was dragged away from
her by unseen hands. She searched for him through the dark labyrinths of her
nightmare, just as his life ended in a cruel and violent way, killed by a demon
wielding an ancient sword. She screamed out in agony and terror as she watched
the man she loved die.

“Hallie.”

She
woke with a gasp. Strong hands held her down and she struggled against the restraint,
her breath ragged from the effects of her dream. After a heart-pounding moment,
the fog of sleep cleared and she recognized the face looming above her.

“Ethan!
What are you doing here?”
What was he
doing in her room? Oh God!
“Please! Don’t hurt me. I…I won’t tell anyone.”

He
leapt to his feet and staggered away from her, horror etched in his handsome
face. “Jesus, Hallie. Is that what you think I’m trying to do? Don’t you know
I’d die for you?”

Ethan’s
passionate vow pulled her up short and chased away her fear.
Since when had he cared enough to even speak
to her, never mind die for her?
She processed his words, unable to look him
directly in the eyes.

“I’m
sorry. You frightened me, that’s all.”

Ethan
had lost some of the clothing he’d had on when she spoke to him earlier. He wore
no shirt. The fly of his jeans gaped open, exposing a dark line of hair that
disappeared inside the hard ridges of fabric. She dragged her gaze away and
turned towards the wall, gasping again when she saw the familiar picture that
hung opposite her bed and realized she wasn’t in her lounge anymore.

“What’s
going on?”

“It
seemed unfair to leave you sleeping on that hard sofa when it’s my fault you’re
not in your own bed.”

“But
how…” she looked down to check she was still fully clothed before struggling to
sit up. “Did you carry me in here?”

Ethan
arched a dark eyebrow. “As I said, you were asleep.” He dropped his gaze. “I
checked in on you a couple of times and put you to bed about an hour ago. I
wouldn’t have come back again except I heard you scream.” He lifted his gaze,
concern furrowing his brow. “Did you have a nightmare?”

Hallie
nodded, surprised to realize she actually felt safer with him near, and undeniably
touched knowing he’d been watching over her.

He
grimaced. “Well I guess there’s no need to ask who caused it.”

She
saw the self loathing in his eyes again and it hurt her to know what he’d gone
through—was still going through—must be terrifying for him. The fear and
repulsion she’d shown him were all he could expect from others now as well. Hallie
reached out and grabbed hold of his thumb in a gesture of comfort.

“It’s
not your fault. You tried to protect me and I was too stubborn to let you.” She
tugged on his hand and forced him to sit on the bed beside her. “It was a
shock, that’s all.”

“For
you and me both.” A slight smile curved his lips. It was the first she’d seen
in weeks.

“You
poor, poor man.” Her voice trembled and the tears that had been building
overwhelmed her. Ethan looked so scared and alone. He had no-one to turn to.

“Hey…hey,
I’m okay, sweetheart. Don’t cry for me. I’m not worth it.”

He
pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, crushing the side of
her body to his chest before she had a chance to be scared. For all his bravery,
Hallie could sense the agony in him and a need for comfort, and she didn’t want
to pull away, despite the cold touch of his skin. It seemed only natural to
turn her body fully against him and hug him too, but again he tried to move away,
so she clasped her hands behind his neck and hung on tighter.

She
wasn’t aware of the exact moment her touch turned from simple comfort to a caress,
but suddenly she was holding him a little closer and letting her hands wander a
little further. The desire that left her weak hours earlier roared back to life
and she lifted her gaze to his.

“Ethan?”
Was he feeling the insane heat between them? Did he know what he was doing to
her and how much she wanted him?

He
averted his gaze to the window. “You need to sleep.”

‘That’s
not what I need…” She left the sentence hanging, hoping he’d read between the
lines and react the way she wanted him to. The tension of his jaw drew her
attention and she couldn’t resist the urge to run her tongue over it.

Ethan
groaned and leaned away. “Hallie, I don’t know yet where my limits are,” he
warned, his gaze locked on her mouth.

“You
won’t hurt me,” she whispered, angling her body closer to his and brushing her
lips against his mouth. “You’ve had plenty of opportunity to do me harm, even
tonight while you watched me sleep.”

“But
you don’t know how intensely I feel things now.” He gazed at her again and the
midnight blue of his eyes seemed to darken with each spell-binding moment. “The
hunger I have for you scares me.”

“It
scares me too but not in the way you think.” Hallie grasped his face between
her hands so his gaze would stay focused on hers. “I’m scared because knowing
what you are doesn’t lessen my desire for you.”

“But
what if it’s not me you want? What if you are just reacting to some inbuilt
lure, designed to trap you so I can prey on you?”

Hallie
smiled. “
Are
you going to prey on
me?” Ethan looked like he wanted something from her but she didn’t think for
one second it was her blood.

“No,
but that doesn’t change the fact that your reaction to me might be beyond your
control.”

“Would
it help you to know I think I fell a little bit in love with you the first time
I saw you?” Ethan seemed about to argue with her so she put her hand against
his lips to silence him. “It’s you who didn’t want me, remember?”

He
groaned and shook his head. “It may have looked that way but I couldn’t afford
to act on how I felt. My getting involved with you could have put you in harm’s
way and I thought it was for the best if I kept my distance until this
assignment was over.”

“What
assignment?”

“So
you’re in love with me, huh?” Ethan’s smile lit up his face, her question
either forgotten or ignored.

She
blushed. “Just a little bit.”

He
closed his eyes, sighing deeply. “That’s more than I deserve.”

Hallie
kissed him then, desperate to show him how worthy he was. He gasped when her mouth
met his and his hands reached up to tilt her head as he deepened the kiss, his
tongue urging her lips apart. The hunger of his kiss tingled throughout her
body, and she whimpered when he tore his mouth away from hers too soon, only to
sigh with pleasure as he grazed his teeth down her throat.

Ethan
stood with her in his arms and let her body slide down his as he set her on her
feet.
He bunched the fabric of her sweats in his hands, using them to bring
her hard against him. One of his thighs pushed between hers, and she felt another
flush of heat course through her. He slipped the sweatshirt over her head,
dropping his gaze to her pink lace bra when it came into view. Hallie moaned
languidly as he sucked her aching nipple through the fabric, all the while
fumbling with the tie at the waist of her pants. The touch of his fingers made
her gasp again and he slid his palms inside the fabric at her hips, running his
hands over her skin to knead her buttocks.

Hallie freed Ethan’s erection from the confines of
his clothing and rubbed the hard shaft between her palms as he pushed her pants
down her legs to pool at her feet. He stepped around, unhooking her bra and
slid it away from her body, releasing an agonizing groan as his cock slid out
of her grip.

He kicked off his jeans with a devilish grin.

Bathed in the soft amber light of her lamp, they
embraced, completely naked, every inch of Hallie’s skin touching his. Ethan was
so tall he had to bend to kiss her and he took advantage of the opportunity to
run his hands up her thighs and over her butt, before bringing one around to
dip into the wetness between her legs. Hallie shuddered and threw back her
head, her fingers digging into Ethan’s shoulders to steady herself.

He pushed her down onto the bed and leaned over to
kiss her mouth again before trailing his lips over her collarbone to her
breasts, sucking each nipple tenderly. Then, with agonizing slowness, he
continued down her body to her pulsing clit. Hallie held her breath as he
flicked his tongue over her for the first time but couldn’t control her sudden
gasp when his next taste was possessive. She jerked upright from the bed,
burying her hands in his hair to keep his mouth against her. Ethan slid his tongue
along her wet lips with devastating skill, holding her firm, repeating his
ministrations over and over again. Her legs began to shake, and he pushed them
out of the way with an urgent nudge on the inside of each thigh, groaning as he
buried his head further. Hallie felt a thick finger probing at her entrance, but
he didn’t enter her, leaving her to jerk helplessly against him as he held her
on the brink.

She gazed at him, wondering what he might be
waiting for, only to find him staring up her body as if drinking in the sight
of her reaction to his touch. Ethan’s thumb circled her clit and suddenly, slid
the rest of his finger into her pussy, sending her muscles into convulsion
around him as he pushed deeper and deeper with each thrust. Hallie’s hips arched
off the bed when her orgasm hit, and Ethan moved up to suck a nipple into his
mouth while his fingers continued to coax her devastating release.