As he walked, she noticed his smooth, predatorial gait. His air of refinement. The man was pure, fluid grace. And that was a seriously dangerous swagger he had developed. One that drew the attention of every woman they passed.
But Hunter didn't seem to notice as he headed out the back exit. Once they reached the dark parking lot, Amanda gave a low whistle as she saw a Lamborghini Diablo in one of the employee spaces. The light above it glinted across the sleek black paint much like a halo. Normally, she didn't give a whit about cars, but the Lamborghini had always been her one exception. It must belong to a surgeon.
Or so she thought until Hunter approached it. "What are you doing?" she asked. "I'm getting into my car."
Her jaw dropped. "You own this?"
"No," he said sarcastically. "I'm stealing it with the key in my hand."
"Good Lord," she gasped, "you must be loaded!"
He pulled the sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to give her a peeved glare. "It's amazing how much savings you can accumulate in two thousand years."
Amanda blinked as his words registered. Could he honestly be… "Is that really how old you are?" she asked skeptically.
He nodded. "Two thousand one hundred and eighty-two years old last July, to be precise."
She bit her bottom lip as she swept her gaze over his gorgeous body. "You look good for an old man. I wouldn't have put you a day over three hundred myself."
Laughing, he placed the key in the lock.
As Amanda waited for him to open the door, the imp in her couldn't resist teasing him. "You know, they say men who drive cars like this are compensating for little"—she let her gaze roam meaningfully down the front of his body, pausing at the bulge in his jeans—"packages."
He cocked an eyebrow at her, then gave her a crooked smile that was teasing, warm, and wicked as he pulled the door up. Before she knew what he was about, he stepped forward, overwhelming her with his masculine scent and power, then he took her hand that was cuffed to him and pressed it against his swollen groin.
Nope. No compensating there. He dipped his head down to whisper in her ear. "If you need more convincing…" Her breath faltered at the incredible feel of him in her palm. That was not a tube sock in his jeans.
He stared at her lips and cupped her face with his free hand. She knew in that instant he was going to kiss her again. Yes, please!
"Knock, knock," Desiderius said from the darkness.
CHAPTER 4
"Now, ain't this a bitch," Hunter said in an even tone as he pulled the sunglasses off and tucked them into his coat pocket. He moved with such deliberate slowness that Amanda knew it was his way of letting Desiderius know just how small of a threat the Dark-Hunter perceived him to be.
"Here I am, trying to kiss my girl, and you have to interrupt us. What, were you raised in a barn?"
With a calmness that astounded her, Hunter turned around to face Desiderius. "By the way, touch the woman—or the Lamborghini—and you're a dead man."
Desiderius came out of the shadows to stand beneath a circle of white moonlight. The contrasting buttery lamplight fell behind him at an odd angle, giving him a sinister appearance despite his angelic beauty.
"Nice car you have there, Dark-Hunter," Desiderius said. "It makes trailing it to you so much easier. As for your threat, I'm already a dead man." His perfect lips twitched into a mocking smile. "And so are you."
Dressed in a fashionable blue pin-striped suit, Desiderius looked like a highly paid male model. His skin was golden and unblemished, his blond hair a shade lighter than the Dark-Hunter's. His beauty was so flawless, it was almost surreal.
He didn't appear any older than his mid-twenties. A man at the height of his sexual appeal and strength. Amanda swallowed as a shiver of fear went up her spine. There was something insidious about a man so evil looking so sublime. The only giveaway to his real nature was the long canine teeth he didn't bother to conceal when he spoke.
"I almost hate to kill you, Dark-Hunter. Unlike the others I've bested, you have such an amusing sense of humor."
"Well, I try." Hunter placed himself between them. "Now, why don't you make this a bit more interesting and let the woman go?"
"No."
Out of nowhere, they were attacked. Amanda heard a sharp click. Grabbing her hand that was bound to his so that he wouldn't hurt her during the fight, Hunter caught the first golden vampire with the toe of his boot. As the vampire vaporized into a cloud of dust, she realized the click had been the blade in his boot being released.
The blade instantly retracted.
With a move straight out of Hollywood, Hunter clipped another vampire with his elbow, then sent him flipping head over heels onto the ground. In one lightning-fast action, he knelt, twirled open a butterfly knife, embedded it into the Daimon's chest, then twirled it closed as the vampire evaporated. Hunter rose to his feet. A third one came from the shadows. Acting on instinct, Amanda whirled and kicked him back with her leg. She caught him in the groin and sent him to the ground, whimpering.