The Kyriakis Curse (5 page)

With a quick shake of her head, she examined the rest of the man. Since she was an

inch shy of six feet herself, she figured he stood at least seven inches taller. The stranger was lean but athletically built and had a broad chest. He was so blatantly masculine that he actually made an Amazon like her feel petite and feminine.

“Why did you run?” he asked smoothly.

Sarah’s body heated with awareness. No. Please don’t let me be attracted to this man, who’s quite possibly a psychotic killer. Replying with bravado she didn’t quite feel, Sarah snapped, “Why were you and your friend following me?”

An amused smirk tilted his lips. “I asked you first, sweetheart.”

“I’m not your sweetheart, and I’ll thank you to take your damn hands off me!” When

she tried to wrench her arms out of his grip, he held on effortlessly, much to her surprise.

Sarah was no weak woman, so why couldn’t she break free of his hold? “Besides, I don’t owe you any explanation. It’s my prerogative where I choose to go. Now, I insist you release me, or I swear I’ll scream.” As each second passed, she began to lose the little bit of courage stored within her.

“Go ahead and scream. No one will come to your rescue. My cousin can be persuasive

when he wants to be, and right about now he’s probably convinced everyone in there that they simply imagined everything or that the locked bathroom door and broken window was the result of a prank.”

“You don’t think I will?”

“Oh, I think you will, but it won’t you any good.”

Sarah narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

“Try it and find out.”

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Opening her mouth to do just that, she was shocked when his lips covered hers. She

began to hammer his arms and any part of his body she could reach with her balled fists.

Dear Lord, he was probably a killer and a rapist!

Even though she had above-average strength, nothing she did seemed to faze him.

Then something incredible happened. As his tongue slid between her slightly parted lips, her body began to respond to him.

A buildup of heated sensuality started at the base of her spine, slowly moving through her body, and made Sarah melt against the insistent pressure of his mouth. Her pussy tingled with sexual awareness, something she’d never allowed any male to get close enough to do before. Sarah couldn’t even think of a man who could ever have ignited such a burning need within her so instantly.

His large hands cupped her bottom, pulling her against him. Sarah felt the outline of his hard cock against her thigh. Unable to help herself, she dug her fingers in the thick mane of his dark hair and thrust her tongue out to meet his. He tasted tangy and masculine, and she wanted more.

Suddenly, he shoved her against the building, pressing hard. Sarah’s nipples tightened to stiff pebbles, aching to be released. She finally tore her mouth away to take a much-needed breath and saw something that frightened her to the core.

The stranger’s eyes were no longer human. His pupils had constricted to tiny pinholes, and the irises were a deep, sinister yellow. What the hell?! This couldn’t be happening. He was one of them!

Sarah managed to wedge her hand between their bodies and thrust with all her might.

This apparently took him by surprise; she doubted he would have budged an inch otherwise.

Taking advantage of her freedom, she turned to flee, only to be caught in the arms of the second stranger.

His scent was similar to his companion’s and distinctive. He had to be like the other one! She struggled and clawed at him, trying to escape.

“Let me go!” she screamed, bringing a sharp-heeled boot down on his foot.

“Shit!” he exclaimed, but his grip didn’t loosen. “Stop it. We mean you no harm, but if you step on me again I just may change my mind.”

The one who’d kissed her soundly approached them, his eyes now a dark shade of gray.

“Relax; you’re more in danger of hurting yourself than you are from us.”

“In case you two goons haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not interested in talking to you.”

Gray Eyes smiled. “That’s too bad, sweetheart, because you don’t have a choice.”

Despite what he said, she didn’t believe things would end well for her. How could she have responded to him when she knew he must mean her harm?

Sarah twisted and writhed, but to no avail. She knew she would have been kidding

herself if she really thought it was possible to wiggle herself loose, but she still had to try.

24 Eve Vaughn

Dammit, this second stranger was also much too strong. Sarah faced the fact that her time had come, that they had finally caught up to her, but she never could have imagined her life would end like this, in the back of some alley. Did these men intend to rape her before killing her?

Deciding to hang onto her dignity the best she could, she stopped her struggles and

raised her chin. “Do what you have to do, but make it quick. I’m not going to beg for my life.”

Gray Eyes frowned, then raked a hand through his dark mane. “What are you talking

about?”

“You plan on killing me, don’t you? Then go ahead; I’m not afraid of you.” She was

terrified of them, but she would be damned if she admitted it.

“Aries, let her go.”

“But she might run.”

“I think she knows if she does, we’ll only catch her.” Gray Eyes glanced at her. “What’s your name?”

Sarah’s lips tightened mutinously. He had to be crazy if he thought she’d give that

information so easily.

Gray Eyes chuckled, walking back to her until he was mere inches away. “I like your

spirit, but my will is stronger.”

Why was he toying with her? Why didn’t he just get it over with?

When the one called Aries loosened his grip, she wrenched her arm away. Her mind

said to get the hell out of there, but her feet refused to obey; something held her still.

Besides, what was the point? She knew he’d told the truth when he said they’d catch her.

Furthermore, even if she got away, did she want all the bother of moving to yet another city?

She’d been on the run for as long as she could remember.

Sarah was tired of fleeing and hiding. With a ragged sigh, she strode to the wall, careful not to make eye contact with the men, and leaned against it. “What do you want from me?”

she asked with resignation.

“A name would be helpful for starters.” Gray Eyes’s voice sounded like an intimate

caress.

“As if you don’t know. Haven’t you or your group been tracking me for twenty-some

odd years?”

“You must have us mistaken for someone else,” Aries said.

Sarah lifted her head then and snorted, glaring at each of them in turn. “I’m not an idiot. I saw your eyes. You’re... you’re one of them. Still, I have a request; before you kill me, could you at least tell me why? I have to know the reason you’re doing this to me.”

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When Gray Eyes stepped forward, she flinched. “I give you my word that I don’t know

what you’re talking about.”

Did he think she was nuts, that she’d trust him just because he’d given his word? “How do I know you’re not lying?”

“You don’t, so you’ll just have to believe me when I say no harm will come to you.

Now, tell me your name.”

“Sarah.” It had occurred to her to give them a fake name, but she’d decided against it.

That was all they were getting out of her anyway, at least until she figured out whether she could really trust them or not. As it stood, she was even now filled with an acute awareness of the hunk standing so close to her.

“I’m Constantine Kyriakis, and this is my cousin, Aries.” He said her name as though he were testing it on his tongue. “Sarah. I like it. It suits you.” His gaze delivered a wealth of meaning, making her shiver. She wrapped her arms around her body to keep from shaking.

“Why did you run?”

“I thought... I thought you were someone else, but I’m not wrong in assuming you

aren’t human, am I?”

He frowned. “Of course not, but neither are you, which is why I’m having trouble

trying to understand you.”

The implication of his statement caught Sarah off guard. She’d always known there was something different about her, but she’d never doubted her humanity before. Her throat went dry. This couldn’t be true... Could it?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do, Sarah.”

“No. I’m not... like you.”

“You’re only partially right. Tell me, what pack do you hail from?”

“Pack? You’re speaking in code.”

Constantine shot a questioning look to his cousin as if he were trying to determine whether she was telling the truth. Aries shrugged, his green eyes indecipherable.

Constantine turned his intense gaze her way once more. “You do know what we are,

don't you?” His eyes began to glow, and he opened his mouth to reveal very large, very sharp teeth.

A rush of heat swept through her body, leaving Sarah feeling like she couldn’t breathe.

Then everything went black.

Constantine hurried forward just in time to catch Sarah. He lifted her into his arms.

“What the hell?” he muttered.

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Aries peered at the unconscious woman. “I don’t think you should have done that. I

know this sounds strange, but I get the feeling she has absolutely no clue what she is or what we are.”

Constantine furrowed his brows. “But how is that possible? She’s a half-breed, and by the looks of her, a young one. She can’t be more than thirty. A half-breed without a pack.

What do you think she meant by someone’s been trying to kill her for years?”

Aries shrugged again. “I don’t know, but what should we do with her?”

“I think we should take her to your apartment. It’s not too far from here. Maybe then we’ll get the answers we’re looking for.”

“What about Uncle Paris’s mission?”

“Damn my father’s mission. There’s still time to deal with that.” Constantine looked into Sarah’s face, and his heart sped up as though he’d just gone on a long run. When he’d kissed her, he’d only intended to quiet her, but when their lips had met, the sensations were an altogether new experience in his one hundred and fifty years.

What was it about this half-breed that had awakened feelings of longing within him?

Yes, she was lovely, but he’d been with women far more attractive. And yet, it was Sarah who made his cock throb with an aching need. A wave of fierce possessiveness swept

through him; he hugged her closer.

Aries chuckled. “God, you’re a fast worker. You want to get into her pants, right? Don’t you ever think of anything other than pussy?”

“Fuck you.” Constantine glared at him. For some reason it bothered him to hear Sarah spoken of so casually, when it would never have fazed him with most other women. “Let’s get her back to your place.”

“Do you want me to take her? You’re driving after all.”

Constantine held Sarah tightly. He didn’t want his cousin to touch her. “No. I’ll carry her. You drive.”

“You’re going to let me drive the Hummer?” Aries sounded both slightly disbelieving

and amused.

“Yeah, but only this once.” Constantine managed to extract his keys from his jacket

pocket without jostling Sarah, tossing them to Aries. Then the cousins made for the car.

When they reached the vehicle, Constantine slipped into the passenger seat with a limp Sarah on his lap.

Aries started the engine. “What are you going to do with her once we get to my place?”

“She intrigues me. Don’t you wonder why she thinks someone is trying to kill her? She took one look at us and fled, which makes me believe she knows what we are. I mean, how could she not realize what she is? She’d have to shift during the full moon, right?”

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“I thought about that, too, but the fear in her eyes was genuine, and she really doesn’t have anything to gain by lying to us. You also need to remember that half-breeds run the risk of losing themselves when they shift.”

Constantine frowned. “Meaning?”

“Meaning she may not remember when it happens.”

Sarah chose that moment to come to. “Where am I?” she asked groggily, apparently

trying to take in her surroundings.

“We’re going to Aries’s apartment.” Constantine was once again aware of her delicious scent and thought how melodic the sound of her voice was to his ears.

When she wiggled on his lap, his cock shot up, straining against his jeans. Sarah must have felt it, because she stiffened.

“Was it necessary of you to place me on your lap? I don’t recall saying I’d go anywhere with you.”

“Maybe not, but what were we supposed to do when you passed out? We couldn’t very

well leave you in that alley. What was that about, anyway?”

She clutched her head in her hands. “Oh, my God. Now I remember. You implied that

I was one of you. Your teeth... Are you... werewolves?” She whispered the last word as if it were dirty.

“You could call us that, I guess, but it’s not what we truly are. I have to ask again. What pack do you or did you belong to?”

“I already told you I have no pack.”

“But you must, unless you’re a lone wolf -- and I just can’t picture you as one.”

“None of this is making sense. Look, why don’t you just drop me off here, and I’ll find my way home.”

“You know we’re not going to do that,” Constantine mock-scolded her.

“Why the hell not? Kidnapping is illegal in all fifty states!”

“Those are human laws. Immortals have their own laws.”

“Immortals?” she asked in clear amazement, twisting around to face him. “None of this makes sense!”

The movement of her ass rubbing against his crotch was nearly more than he could

take. If she kept this up, he’d make Aries pull over, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be to drop her off.

Damn. He couldn’t remember when he’d wanted to fuck someone as badly as he did