Seduce the Darkness (Alien Huntress 4)

"I feel good." He grinned, and it lit his entire face. "Better than I've felt in years, actually."

So. Her blood had helped him. What else had it done? Defeated his disease, or just muted it for a while? Had it turned him? Again, another vampire would have known. I hate being the lone wolf. Or rather, lone fang. "Any unusual cravings?"

His brow wrinkled in confusion, as if he couldn't follow the thread of the conversation. "Like what?"

Like blood. "Have you wanted to drink something you wouldn't normally want to drink?”

“I'm still lost."

"Never mind." If he began craving blood, she'd know it. He would stare at her neck, sweat when he couldn't get closer to her pulse; he would pale.

What would Devyn think of this development? Would he and his agents want to study her? Poke and prod her? Poke and prod Nolan?

"Thank you for once more not shouting for help and bringing my neighbors rushing inside," she said. Before, he hadn't wanted to be mobbed. In his former condition, he wouldn't have survived.

Like this, he could have charmed his way free. That he hadn't was a blessing.

He snorted. "Why would I want them to release me? I want more of that wine you gave me. And no, that's not an unusual craving. I love wine. But this wine ..." He closed his eyes as if just the thought was ecstasy. "My stomach settled the moment I downed it. What kind was it? What brand?"

"Uh, it's just a little something I make myself. I'm almost out, so let's hold off on more for a while." Bride slouched forward and flopped onto her couch, keeping Nolan's cell in view. He'd been by himself and on his best behavior, so she owed him. If he wanted company, she would be his company, no matter how fatigued she suddenly was.

"What do you put in it?"

"Can we not talk about that right now? I feel like I'm dying.”

“You hurt? That why you're covered in blood?"

Oh, shit. The blood. She'd forgotten about it. No wonder the few people she'd passed on the streets had given her weird looks. She needed to wash it off, but standing seemed like an impossible dream. Her thighs were shaking, the muscles bunched and knotted. Too much adrenaline crashing, she supposed, and not enough neck sucking.

"I'm not hurt. Just tired."

"I take it you found Devyn," Nolan said hopefully. "Yes." Her eyelids fluttered closed, open.

He clapped, a smile lifting the corners of his lips. "Wow. I didn't think you'd do it. Hurt the otherworlder, I mean. But look at you. Covered in the blood of your enemy. I'm misty-eyed. Honest."

Wait. What? He thought she'd killed Devyn? "I found him, but I didn't hurt him. This isn't his blood. Someone tried to abduct me, and Devyn actually helped me neutralize him."

A moment passed in silence. Then Nolan popped his jaw, irritation replacing his joy. "He helped you?”

“Yes."

"So now you think he'll never hurt you, right?”

“No, of course not." Maybe. "I recognize that look." His tone was grave. "You're smitten."

"I'm not smitten." She was, she really was. "That's ridiculous." Devyn might have pissed her off by forcing her to strip in front of him, but he'd also rushed to her rescue.

Why had he done that? she wondered for the thousandth time. She'd taken Nolan from him, outsmarted him in front of his friend Dallas, and threatened to cut off his balls if he hurt Aleaha. Yet still he'd come, still he'd decapitated her enemy. Because she was the only one who knew where Nolan was, as he'd claimed? No, couldn't be. He wouldn't have killed Tom like he had if he'd only wanted Nolan's location.

She didn't understand him. He was a seducer and a warrior, charming yet callous, self-involved yet kind. Back at the apartment, he could have forced her to lie on that bed, spread her legs, and welcome him inside, but he hadn't. He'd given her the sweetest of kisses, the gentlest of touches, and sent her on her way.

Why? He didn't care about her. She was one of a thousand, perhaps a million, to him. A novelty. Forgettable. Right?

I want to be more to him. The desire drifted through her, and she laughed bitterly. What the hell? No way. No damn way would she allow herself to care for him and dream of the impossible. Enjoy him, yes. She owed him three kisses, and she would give them to him. Because she was honorable, not because she craved them more than her next breath. But give him more than that? Hell, no. She valued herself a little too much to willingly be used and discarded.

"Bride?"

She blinked and pulled her hazy focus to Nolan. "Yes?" He sighed. "Thought you'd fallen asleep."

Fallen into stupidity, more like. "Almost. Like I said, I'm tired. If you want to keep me awake, tell me something interesting. Like how you were able to bypass Devyn's mind control of your body."

A calculating gleam filled those silver eyes, making them sparkle like diamonds. "Give me another glass of that wine, and I'll tell you."

Argh! "What happened to waiting till tomorrow?”

“That was your dumb idea."

She dragged herself up, stumbling along the way to the kitchen, and prepared him another glass. She was only able to squeeze a handful of drops from her palm. After she'd passed the concoction over, she flopped back on the couch, her fatigue a thousand times worse. "God, I don't even have the strength to smack you for making me move," she muttered.

Nolan downed every drop of the wine, then licked the bottom of the cup. "So. Good.”

“Don't forget what you owe me."

"Very well. I told you that the disease inside me is alive. Well, it's able to learn and study and change to best defend itself. When the disease is most active, I'm weak and it's in control of me. During the battle in the alleyway, it somehow rewired my energy molecules, for lack of a better explanation. They were sporadic and swirling, so Devyn could never lock on them and force me to his will."

Bummer. No way would she allow herself to be infected just to beat Devyn. "Feel like sharing some details about your previous captivity?" Because, if she wasn't careful, the same thing would happen to her. God, what had she gotten herself into?

"Sure, why not? Beats sitting here in silence.”

“How long were you locked up by AIR?"

He shrugged. "About a month. Maybe longer. Hard to keep track of day and night when you aren't allowed outside."

Bride maneuvered to her side, resting her hands under her cheek. "Are there others like you?”

“Not here. Not any longer. AIR killed them.”