That left Mr. Drake.
“How do you even know the vampire you’re looking for is still alive?”
She didn’t want to tell him the truth, but it was the only way to get him to take her seriously. “After we fought the fledgling, I noticed a bruise on its neck. It was the same mark I found on my parents the night they died. That can’t be a coincidence.”
Jonathan groaned. “You don’t understand what you’re asking.”
She stepped forward. “There are places in the city where your kind congregate. My family has been trying to find them for years but has had no success. You must know where those places are. Take me to them. That’s all I’m asking.”
He lifted a strand of her hair and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. “You would be putting yourself in tremendous danger.”
“I know.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Do you? If any vampire we met realized who or what you were, they’d kill you in an instant. I might not be able to protect you. They’d probably killmejust for accompanying you.”
There was the selfish motivation she’d been expecting. He wasn’t afraid for her safety. His only concern was for his own welfare.
“I suppose it might be fun,” he said. “I’ve never helped a hunter before.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “I accept your deal.” The corner of his lip quirked. “But I suspect your courage will falter when you learn where you will have to venture to complete your mission.”
She snorted. “I doubt that.” He did not know everything she had faced in her quest for vengeance. There was nothing he could say that would make her change her mind. She thrust out her arm. “We have a deal.”
He slid his hand around hers and squeezed. It was merely a sealing of their agreement, but it felt like so much more, especially when he rubbed her knuckles with his thumb. A shiver went down her spine. She put a more appropriate distance between them and squared her shoulders. “Where do we start?”
His eyes swirled with blue again. “We start with you letting me bite you.”
Her jaw dropped open before she slammed it shut. “That is quite enough, Mr. Drake. What possible reason could you…?”She trailed off as he raised his hand to his nose and inhaled deeply.
When his eyelids fluttered open, his pupils were dilated. “Your scent,” he whispered. “It grows stronger with anger. Being bitten will dim its intensity.”
She clutched her trembling hands together. “M-My scent?”
He tilted his head to the side and grinned. “Change your mind already?” He licked his lips. “Too bad. I was looking forward to tasting you.”
Her cheeks heated. She donned her most fearsome scowl. “Your crude manners will not distract me.”
He laughed. “The little hunter has claws. Perhaps that is good. Most humans find a vampire’s bite rather intense.”
“I can manage anything you can do to me.” Before she’d known he was a vampire, she’d been prepared to become his mistress in exchange for his help.
“Well, then, we shouldn’t have a problem.” He narrowed the distance between them so quickly that she had to wrench her neck upward. She tried to reach for a weapon, but her arms and legs were stuck, as if she’d sunk into the floor to her chest.
He draped his arms over her shoulders and leaned forward until his forehead pressed against hers.
She opened her mouth to order him to release her when he slapped his palm over her mouth. “As much as I am enjoying your righteous anger, I cannot accompany you to the places you wish to visit unless you have been claimed.”
She scowled. The crucifix was terribly powerful, but it was still limited by her ability to speak.
He removed his hand from her face. “Damnable stubborn woman. Fine, I will explain. If you, an unclaimed human, entered one of my kind’s gathering spots, any vampire present would notice immediately.” He ran his fingertips along her jaw. “They would try to bite you. If you resisted, they’d kill you.”
She absently scratched the skin he had caressed. “I could wear a scarf. They wouldn’t know if there was a wound.” That sounded much better than letting him get so close to her. The thought of his lips caressing her neck made her feel like a thousand butterflies were flapping inside her chest.
“I would not leave a mark. The problem, my dear hunter, is your scent.” He dipped his head and inhaled deeply. “I can smell your purity from a mile away.”
She lifted the fabric of her blouse with two fingers and delicately sniffed. There was nothing aside from the faint odor of sweat and hints of the soap she’d used that morning.
“What do you say?” he whispered. He slid his arms around her back until she was pressed tightly against him, her palms flattened against his chest, her hips grinding into his. She shivered. He was so cold, a pillar of marble absorbing the heat from her body. If anyone caught them, her reputation would be ruined, and she would certainly lose her position.
Was the risk worth the possibility of avenging her parents?
