Bite (Vampire Hunter 8.5)

Actually, he wouldn’t mind being put under a spell or two himself. Otherwise he’d be seeing that pit full of little corpses in his nightmares for the next couple of centuries. At least until he saw something worse.

Morgana sighed. “Let me get through this fight and I’ll attend to it. What did you do with the survivors?”

“Called the police after I killed the bastard. They’ll see the boys get home.”

She stiffened. “You didn’t let the mortals find his body?”

“I’m not an idiot, Morgana. Nobody’s going to find him. Ever.”

“Good.” The witch studied his face, her own softening fractionally. “Before you go after that cup, get something to drink. And I’m not talking about that mortal poison you love. You look drained.”

Galahad gave her a taunting smile. “So gate on over. You know I don’t drink that from a bottle.”

Morgana lifted an elegantly aloof brow. “I seem to have a prior engagement. Why don’t you nibble on your new friend instead? She probably needs it as much as you do. By the way, be careful with her. She hasn’t had combat training.”

He straightened. “Any? Merlin’s Cup, Morgana!”

“Why do you think she’s not here fighting? We’re so short-handed, I had to pull her trainer in. And I could hardly throw Caroline into a battle like this when she’s only had about a week’s instruction.”

“Let me get this straight. You left a brand-new Maja alone in Avalon with nobody to instruct her in the use of her powers? You’re lucky she hasn’t turned the city into a crater.”

Morgana snorted. “That kind of spell would require more knowledge and power than she has.”

“And you want me to take her into combat?”

“Not particularly, but we don’t seem to have a choice.”

“Morgana…”

“What do you want me to do about it, Galahad?” she snapped. “Yes, I’m aware the situation is far from ideal, but you’re just going to have to make the best of it. Keep a close eye on the girl, kill as many vampires as you can, and don’t let her blow up anything important.”

He was about to tell her just how asinine that order was when something boomed, almost knocking her off her feet. Morgana ducked with a vile Latin curse. “Take care of it, Galahad. I’ve got vampires to kill.”

The image vanished.

Galahad glowered into his darkened visor. Perfect. Just perfect. Thrown to the wolves with no backup except a grass-green Maja who’d probably blast him by mistake. He jerked off his helm and cursed.

“I gather they’re not sending reinforcements,” Caroline said.

Galahad turned to see her sprawled in a chair, long, silken legs crossed at the ankle. The view was almost enough to take him mind off their current situation. “They don’t have any to send. We’re stretched too thin, and Geirolf’s vampires seem to be creating new recruits. If we don’t get a handle on this, we’re screwed.”

“I was afraid of that. In my vision, I didn’t see anybody else on our side.” She flipped her long, silken hair off one shoulder. It reached to the center of her back, as mink brown as those big dark eyes of hers. They dominated her oval face, though that exotic full-lipped mouth did a good job of balancing them out. Add a round chin and high cheekbones, and you had a girl-next-door prettiness Galahad found more than a little intriguing.

Caroline’s body was just as mouth-watering, with a lean, elegantly muscled build that suggested she did a lot more than grade papers. Her cropped shirt clung to perfect breasts the size of brandy snifters, while those spray-paint shorts revealed long, sleek legs.

Except…Galahad looked closer and frowned. There was a hectic flush across her high cheekbones, one he knew a little too well. “How long has it been since you were milked?”

She lifted a brow. “Is that a reference to breast size? Because if it is…”

“No, when was the last time anybody fed from you?” He hated that term. The Majae considered milk demeaning, but at least it didn’t make them sound like Happy Meals.

“That would have been Dominic. I didn’t much notice, since I was busy getting barbecued at the time.” She rolled her eyes. “‘Merlin’s Gift,’ my ass. Hell of a way to ruin a good climax.”

“How long have you been here?”

She shrugged. “A month or so.”

“And you haven’t fed anybody in all that time? Didn’t they warn you that you have to donate every two weeks?”

“Or what, the Avalon Red Cross sends somebody named Guido to collect?”

“No, you pop a blood vessel and drop dead if there’s nobody around to fix you.” He watched her eyes widen and swore. “They didn’t tell you. Somebody needs to be spanked.”

“Dominic said I’m immortal!”

“You are. But along with giving you magical powers, Merlin’s Gift allows you to feed vampires much more often than mortals can. Which means if you don’t donate, your blood pressure spikes.”

Worry drew down her dark, silky brows. “Couldn’t I fix it with a spell?”

“’Fraid not. The Gift doesn’t allow that. Merlin intended Majae to feed Magi, and he made damn sure they do it.” He stubbed out his cigar in a crystal ashtray on the bar, then turned to her. “Come here, sweetheart.”

Her eyes widened in an expression of alarm he would have found amusing if he hadn’t been so damn hungry for her. “What? Why?”

“I’m a vampire, Caroline. Why do you think?”

3

GALAHAD’S blue eyes simmered with a blend of erotic heat and alien hunger Caroline found both intimidating and perversely sexy. She backed up a pace. “Hey, I thought you didn’t play those kinds of games.”

“I don’t.” He followed, his gaze so seductive, she could feel her resistance melting. “I’m not offering you a sham romance, Caroline. This is about simple mutual need.” As he spoke, she saw the flash of fangs.

God, she was tempted. What would it be like to feel those arms around her, that mouth on her skin? Would he be sweet and tender or rough and dominant?

Since they both knew what to expect, where was the harm?

But…“Believe me, I’d love nothing more than to play with all your jutting bits, but the bad guys are hungry, too. And they do hurt people. I don’t think we have time for you to take a lunch break.”

Irritation flashed through his simmering sensuality. “Do you have time to drop dead?”

Caroline blinked. “Not really, no.”

“And I haven’t fed in two days. Which is not the way I like to go into a battle to the death, particularly when I’m outnumbered. Just how long do we have before the bad guys start serving cocktails out of Geirolf’s Grail?”

“I don’t know. Probably not long.”

His gaze locked on her mouth. “So we don’t have sex.”

Caroline licked her lips, trying to ignore the whimper of disappointment in the back of her mind. “No?”

“No. I’ll just have to restrict myself to that pretty throat.” He stepped closer, lids lowering over those blue, blue eyes as he lowered his head. “At least for right now.”

She tensed, wondering if he was just going to grab her and snack, but Galahad was a lot more subtle than she’d given him credit for. He didn’t take her in his arms. Only their mouths touched, his lips brushing over hers, damp, warm, maddening satin. Knowing she shouldn’t, Caroline opened for him.

Mutual need. Yeah, she could do mutual need. That was safe.

Galahad caught her lower lip gently between his teeth and sipped at it. He was really good at that. With a groan, she slid her arms around his neck and buried one hand in the coarse black silk of his hair. The hard, cool contours of his armor pressing against her body made her wonder what he felt like underneath it. “You know,” she said against his mouth, “this is kind of kinky.”

“Oh, I haven’t even gotten started.” Galahad’s tongue stroked boldly between her lips. He tasted of enchanted smoke and whiskey, a thoroughly masculine combination that tempted her into deepening the kiss. Instead, he drew back to lick and nip at her mouth.

She leaned into him blindly, craving the contact of his body, but all her hands touched was the cool, etched steel of his armor. Caroline moaned in disappointment and seriously considered zapping him naked just so she could rub up against him.