Sunset to Sunrise (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7.5)

The girl with the blue hair was back. She easily captured my attention in black, thigh-high boots and a dress that was little more than a scrap of fabric. I watched her with growing excitement as she approached. Leaning on the bar next to me, she ordered a drink.

“Falon went to find her,” I said to Willow, distracted by the woman on my other side. Goddamn her legs were long. I couldn’t wait to get between them. “I looked further into that whole Arys situation. It’s looking pretty serious, actually. I hadn’t really expected that.”

Willow glanced past me to the woman dominating my focus and shook his head. “I imagine that kind of thing won’t end here. Alexa and Arys will always be in danger. So, what are you going to do about it?”

That snapped my gaze back to him. I studied him, searching his pensive green eyes. “What the hell do you mean by that?”

“You know exactly what I mean. Are you going to let it happen? Or are you going to do the right thing?” His gaze was unflinching. Despite the amount of liquor he consumed, he was as sharp as ever.

I broke eye contact; Willow was too damn intuitive. I couldn’t shake the feeling that he could see into parts of me I no longer even saw myself.

The knockout next to me smiled. It reminded me what my current priority was. I told the bartender that her drinks were on the house and received a dazzling white smile. With a flirtatious wink, she sauntered away, leaving me staring after her.

Willow was still staring at me, awaiting my response. So I decided to be honest. “I want to let it happen.”

He seemed to weigh my words, considering them carefully. “But you won’t.”

Or maybe not so carefully. “I might.”

He turned back to his booze then, a chuckle shook his shoulders. “Who are you trying to convince? I’ve been where you are. I know the hell of forbidden love. The urge to take the selfish route, it’s just a way to cover the pain. Beneath it all, you know you’d do anything for her, no matter what it cost you.” Well that explained why Willow spent night after night in a desperate attempt to numb out.

I wasn’t ready to have this conversation with him or anyone else. Escaping between the legs of the blue haired vixen was all I wanted to do. “Discussing my forbidden feelings for Alexa doesn’t strike me as a great way to end the night.” Something about Willow encouraged me to talk, to spill everything that had been building up inside me over the past year. “The only time I’m free of her is when I kill. And even then, she’s not far from my mind. It’s driving me mad, and I can’t take it anymore.”

I don’t know why I said that. It had been my intent to end the conversation and walk away. Still, when Willow nodded as if he understood in his own way, I felt a little less alone.

“She cares so much for you,” he said. “Alexa is so young yet and dealing with so much. She’s going to need you.”

So much for making me feel better. That was my cue to leave. “And I need a shot of that sexy thing over there. So I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Hey, Kale, let me know if you need a hand with those vampires. I’d be happy to back you up. You know, when you decide to do the right thing.” Willow smirked and turned his back on me, leaving me to mull that over. Cheeky bastard.

There was just one thing on my mind. The hunt. I glided through the sex-charged room with my sights set on my prey. In her I would find freedom… for a little while.

Chapter Five

She said her name was Lily. It sounded fake to me, but what did I care? In a liquored haze, she slipped into my arms and laughed. Lily wasn’t new here. She knew how this worked. That made my job much easier.

We blended in with the rest of the crowd, becoming just one more couple caught in the throes of passion and pleasure. With a playful glint in her eyes, she backed me up against the wall and descended to her knees before me.

I groaned when she took me into her mouth. Running my hands through her hair, I watched the brilliant blue strands slide between my fingers. She was skilled, working me with her mouth until I thought I might crumble.

A wicked chuckle racked me as I surveyed the room. The scent of blood joined with the musky aromas of sweat and sex, creating a smell that would drive even the most tightly restrained vampire wild. I basked in the freely exuded energies of those around us, both human and vampire. It was reaching a dangerous level. The lesser vampires would be feeling this high for days.

I took a few minutes to enjoy watching Lily’s pretty mouth on me. It took great strength to keep from climaxing. I wasn’t ready for that yet. First, she had to bleed.

“Come on,” I said, pulling her up. “Let’s go to my room.”