chapter FOUR
“I’m gonna fix something to eat.” Denver stood and held out her hand for Reed to grab.
He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled himself up from the floor. The movement so fast he wavered and almost fell.
“Steady.” Denver stared up into his eyes. “Just stand here for a second and gather yourself.”
“I’m okay.” He wasn’t but he refused to discuss the pain going through his body to Denver, not yet anyway. He needed to figure out what was going on.
Denver’s eyes scanned the length of Reed’s body. He followed and glanced down at his nudeness.
“I guess I need to find some clothes, huh.”
She coughed to clear her throat and then said, “I think I can find you something.” Her voice cracked and she shook her head.
Her body trembled slightly before she turned her back to him and walked over to the closet. She rummaged through the sparse clothes hanging there grabbed a pair of old tattered jeans. Turning, she held them up toward Reed, glanced over the top of them and then tossed them on the bed. A tee-shirt followed. He sat on the edge of the bed, tugged the jeans on and then stood.
“Is this better for you.” He slid his arms into the shirt and pulled it over his head. It was too small and pulled taunt across the wide expanse of his chest. He pulled the shirt off, tossed it on the bed. He’d find something less binding later.
“Much.” She turned and left the room.
Reed took another step and then another. He followed Denver through the house and into the kitchen.
He took in every inch of his surroundings. He wanted to know every entry and exit point. He needed to know the weaknesses and strengths of the house Denver had them laid up in because he knew the hunters would find them. They had in the past and there was nothing that told Reed that they wouldn’t find him again. His only hope would be to turn the tables and get the jump on them.
Reed leaned against the doorjamb and blew out a steadying breath. His body was killing him. He’d had pain before but nothing like this. This pain never faltered. It only got worse, piercing his body like a flame. He felt as if he was burning up from the inside out and the pain in his back was mind-boggling.
“Whose house is this?”
“A friend’s.” she didn’t turn to look at him.
“This friend got a name?”
Denver stepped over to the refrigerator and paused as she opened the door. She gave Reed a quick shot of her eyes and said, “Do you?”
He realized he’d not told her his name, only his first name. Her voice was agitated and cool. Did she think he’d stay in a house and not ask questions? Did she think he’d not need to know the particulars of where they were, who else may know and how safe it was?
He shook his head, folded his arms across his chest. “Reed, Reed Stephenson.”
“Thank you. Now was that so hard.”
“Harder than you could ever imagine.”
“The house belongs to a lifelong friend, Maggie. And before you ask, out of the country for the next six months.”
Reed nodded and took a step toward her and stopped. He opened his mouth to give her the same smart ass remark but the pain that shot through him stilled his words. He moved back to the door and propped himself against it.
“Hey, you don’t look so good.” Denver said as she poured them both a glass of juice. She stared at him for a brief second and then moved closer to Reed when he didn’t answer but only stared at her.
He went down on one knee, grasping the doorjamb for support. He blinked and Denver was at his side.
She cupped his face and turned his head so they were looking into each other’s eyes.
“God, Reed, you’re burning up. Why didn’t you say something?”
“I usually don’t feel like this after an injury. I heal pretty fast.”
“I just bet you do.”
He reached up and grabbed the doorjamb to pull himself up. “My back--” he sucked in a harsh breath, blew it out. “--is on fire.” He tilted his head in an attempt to look over his shoulder.
Denver slid her hand across the plane of his back and pulled it away as if it burned her.
“What is it?” Reed asked when he saw her shocked expression. “What do you see?
“It’s… it’s… welted in streaks of red, like lightning bolts, crisscrossing across the skin and your back is scorching hot.”
She ran her hand over his back again, pausing over the hottest spot. “What did they shoot you with?”
Reed didn’t answer.
“When was the last time you shifted?”
Reed stiffened, and then pushed her away. How’d she know about it… about him? Had someone told her? Certainly not. Few knew his past, only the ones who hunted and killed. Only the ones who killed his brother knew.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes-- you do,” Denver said. “I can smell it, feel it, see it.”
Reed stared at her but didn’t say anything. He straightened and walked over to the sink, grabbing the counter top for support.
“My brother was my twin. He shifted at thirteen. It took me until I was twenty-one.” He turned and settled his gaze on Denver’s face. “And, no. I haven’t, lately. Tried in the hospital. Couldn’t.”
Denver moved to him now, touched his back with the palm of her hand. “Then that would explain why you’re healing so slowly.”
Reed had hidden his inner self from so many that at one point in time he almost started believing the lies himself. But no, it was evident that he would never come to full Lycan strength. He had the endurance and physical strength and sometimes mental strength as well, but he would never have the strength of shifting to the full Lycan… the werewolf such as his brother and his father and the fathers before them. He was a reject in more ways than one. Who he was or who he could become wasn’t the question or the answer. The question was how was he going to seek out and destroy the ones who sought him and the others? If they found him with Denver she would be killed just the same. Regardless.
“I think there’s something stuck under your skin.”
“Well, what are we you going to do about it?” He stared into her eyes, trying to read her.
“Sit down.” She gestured to the small table in the corner of the room. When Reed didn’t move she said it again. “Sit.” Her voice raised an octave.
“And then what?” Reed moved toward the table, pulled out a chair and sat down. He rested his head on his folded arms and flinched when Denver touched his back.
“Sorry. There’s something right under your skin. It feels like a pebble or something like that.”
“Buck shot?”
“Maybe, but more like silver shot.”
“That would explain it then, now wouldn’t it?” Reed flinched when she ran her hand over his back again. “Damn.”
He glanced up at Denver at the sound of her pulling knives out of the kitchen drawer.
“What exactly are you planning to do with that?” He motioned toward the small paring knife she now held in her hand.
Denver raised an eyebrow.
“Is it sharp enough?”
She ran the knife across the tip of her finger and curved the corner of her mouth into a devious smile when the small droplet of blood bubbled up. If he hadn’t known better, he would have sworn her eye color turned from brown to black to red when she slid her finger between her lips and licked the dripping blood.
Reed laid his head on his folded arms again and tried to push back the urges surging in his body. The curve of her lips, the plumpness of them sent a wave of heated desire straight to his groin, and when her tongue slid around the tip of her finger, it almost undid him. God, he hoped the knife was dull. Only then would it distract him from the images rolling through his mind.
“This is probably gonna hurt.”
Reed nodded but didn’t look up when she touched his shoulder with her free hand and pressed the skin taunt. The sharp prick of the knife breaking the skin hurt more than he anticipated.
“Shit.” His moan fractured the silence just as his hands gripped the edge of the table.
“Sorry.”
“Just get it done.”
“It’s deeper than I thought.”
“Get it done.” He grunted out the words as he sucked in another breath. “Quickly.”
A few minutes later Denver slapped an alcohol soaked gauze onto the open wound and taped it in place. She stared at the small silver pebbles that she held in her hand. There had been more than one, three to be exact.
“Are you all right?” She asked as she held out her hand, palm up, so he could examine what she’d pulled from his back.
“I am now.” Reed glanced over his shoulder as if he could see her handiwork. “Was that all of them?”
“I’m pretty sure.” She rolled the silver shots in her hand. “I didn’t see anymore. I guess they missed these on x-ray.”
Reed pushed up from the table, nodded and stretched his arms above his head. He cracked his neck to the right and then to the left. “I feel better already. I’m starved. What’s here to eat?” He moved toward the refrigerator and pulled the door open. He could feel his core temperature dropping as healing blood pumped through his veins.
“You do bounce back fast. Geez.” Denver turned on the small television that sat on the counter. “Give me a minute and I’ll fix us something to eat.”
Slowly she clicked through the channels, pausing briefly on each to see what was on. Her hand hovered over the local news channel.
“Shit. Reed.” Her voice quivered.
Reed took a step closer to the TV. There was nothing like seeing your own picture on the news. He swallowed past the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. He didn’t have to look at Denver to know she was crying. The gasp of air broke the silence that had suddenly engulfed them.
“A home invasion last night ended with the victim in a coma at a local hospital. The police spokesperson said the victim was held for several hours in her home. She was beaten, tortured and left for dead. The reasoning behind the home invasion is yet to be determined.”
They flashed Reed and Denver’s pictures again and then a picture of Laura, beaten and battered.
“These two people are of interest for questioning. Anyone with knowledge of their whereabouts, please call 1-800-REWARDS. Do not attempt to approach or apprehend.”
“F*ck.” The word was out of his mouth before he could stop it. He caught a blur of Denver as she ran from the kitchen. “Wait.” He stormed out behind her. Grabbing her arm, he swung her around to face him.
“I’ve got to go, Reed. I’ve got to go see Laura. That was Laura. My friend. My…” She pressed the palm of her hands to her eyes, her head shaking rapidly. Reed drew her close to his chest and wrapped his arms around her.
“Listen to me, Denver.”
“No!” She pushed away from him and turned to leave the room. “I’ve got to go.”
“I’m sorry about your friend, but I can’t let you go to the hospital.”
Denver stopped just as she was stepping out of the kitchen. She turned so fast Reed took a step back.
“You can’t let me go?” Her words came out on a wave of anger. “What are you going to do, Reed? Stop me? Tie me up?”
“If that’s what it takes, then yes.” His voice was a low and deep. Almost a growl.
“I’d like to see you try.”
Denver dashed for the front door. She moved with such speed if he had blinked he would have missed her. Reed let out a grunt and with one leap stood in front of her, blocking her exit.
“Get out of my way, Reed.” She shoved at his chest, cursed when he didn’t bulge.
“I’m sorry, Denver, I can’t let you do this. It’s too dangerous. It could be a trap, most likely is.”
“Then keep your ass here. I’m going.” She pressed her hands on his chest and again attempted to shove him out of the way. “I see you’re feeling better,” her voice hissed, when she met a brick wall.
“Loads.” He stared into her eyes unblinkingly.
“Listen. You don’t understand. I caused this.” She sucked in a breath. “I’ve got to make sure she’s okay.” Denver reached into her side pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Reed snatched it from her hand and tossed it across the room, cracking it against the wall.
“No calls either.”
“Screw you.” Slowly Denver slid her gaze up to meet Reed’s eyes. She blinked and then curled her lips into a not so demur smile. Her fangs extended a split second before she grabbed Reed by the arm and twisted it behind his back. The motion was swift and smooth, but he was ready for her.
He countered her move and took them both to the floor. Denver rolled, kicked him dead center in the chest and sent him hurling across the room. Reed’s body slammed against the far wall and tumbled to the floor. Denver had the front door open a fraction before he was on his feet. He leaped, slammed his body against the door shoving it shut.
Denver jumped back, just missing his grab for her arm.
“Out of the way, Reed.” She stood opposite him, her fighting stance at the ready.
“No.” He took a step toward her.
Denver jumped, her foot connected with the coffee table and then the back of the sofa. Her body hit him dead center. Together they toppled to the floor, body parts tangled together. They rolled, something crashed. They grappled, something shattered. The energy in the room crackled, raising the hairs on the back of his neck.
Reed pinned Denver to the floor, her back to his chest. His arm wrapped around her like a vice.
“Get off of me.”
“Not until you listen to reason.” His words were cool, almost cold, but he didn’t care. He had no idea she would be so strong, having not encountered many vamps in his lifetime. She wasn’t as weak as she thought she was.
“Get. The. Hell. Off me!”
Denver did the last thing he would have expected. The sudden prick of pain in his arm shot through his body like a bolt of lightning. However, as soon as the pain was there it dissipated to something else, something different, stronger, and new. He muffled a curse and sucked in a deep breath, the air suddenly growing thick and hot surrounded his head and clogged his lungs. What was happening? It should have hurt. This much he knew. Instead the heat pulsing in his groin said something else, something totally different. Every muscle in his body tightened when Denver bit him and sealed her mouth to his arm.
Did she feel the same sensations? Was the air strangling her as well? His arm released the hold he had on her but she didn’t release him. Instead she pressed her body up and against him. Her moans fractured the air and made his body draw in tighter, hotter.
“Denver--” He could only say her name before more sensations flooded his body, his mind, stilling the words in his throat.
The more she suckled the more she ground her body back against his and the hotter, larger, thicker his shaft grew. The need to be inside her drove him crazy, the need to have her. He’d never felt this strongly for a woman before. What was she doing to him? It burst in him like raw rage. Raw enough to make his skin peel back from the bones.
He had to stop her. How long would she be latched to his arm? The room began to spin. She could drink him dry if he didn’t stop her.
“Denver… Damn it. Stop.” She groaned and electrical impulses shot through his body like a bolt of lightning.
“Um.” Her mouth sucked harder. Her teeth dug deeper into his flesh. Searing electrical impulses exploded throughout his body and tightened his gut. Blood rushed through his veins, pulsing through his groin.
Reed groaned as his hand cupped her breast and began to caress it, tweak the nipple. His moan was feral. It bounced off the walls and slapped them both dead center. Reed’s body betrayed him. His hand left her breast, grabbed the collar of her shirt and ripped it down the back. His tongue licked at her sweat-drenched skin.
Sweet Jesus! She reminded him of the wind, the rain, the air and the earth. Even though he knew she wasn’t feeding and wasn’t at a major artery, he’d give himself to her. He’d let her have every drop of his blood just to experience these sensations again. Denver slapped her flattened palm on the floor just as her mouth released Reed’s arm. She yelled. The ear piercing scream vibrated the windows just to the point of shattering.
“No!” her voice laced with heat one second then cracked ice the next. “What the hell?”
A split second passed and Denver jack-knifed and shoved her body back and up. Reed fell backwards onto the floor. Denver scrambled to the far corner and pulled her knees under her chin, wrapping her arms around them. She rocked back and forth and stared at Reed. Her eyes were as black as the darkest night, her fangs receding. His blood coated her lips.
Reed sat up, glanced at his arm and the two fang marks. He stared at the puncture marks and watched them as his skin begin to re-knit back together. He then brought his gaze up to Denver and settled his eyes on her face, not sure what was happening, what was going through her mind. Did she feel the same sensations, the same heat? Even now his blood continued to boil. Her tongue jetted out and slowly she licked the last remnants of his blood away from her lips. Another wave of heat shot through Reed’s body and again clenched his groin, tightened the band around his heart. His balls tightened and he moaned.
Long minutes passed and neither said a word. They just stared at each other. He knew, trying to read each other’s mind.
“What happened just then?” He finally asked when he recognized her breathing had slowed and her eyes had taken on the dark brown he remembered.
Denver didn’t answer. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling in rhythm with his, her shirt lying haphazard on her shoulders.
“We need to talk about what just happened?”
“No, we don’t.”
“Yes, we do.”
Reed stood and walked over to her. His heart sank when she flinched, drew her body tighter. He didn’t like what was raging in his body either. He remembered his father telling them about the bond a male has with his woman. Once they came together nothing could or would come between them. He’d told them they would know their mate the first time they laid eyes on her. Had he? This energy or connection he’s never felt before … with anyone. He had resigned himself to believe he would never meet his mate. But was she his? The look in her eyes told him she despised him. He didn’t blame her. After all the mess that swamped them now was because of him. She should have left him at the hospital. He would be dead by now and forgotten.
Reed kneeled in front of her, stared into her eyes. They were so dark he couldn’t’ read them. She’d shut herself off to him. He didn’t like that. “Has this ever happened before?”
Denver closed her eyes, lowered her head and shook it.
Okay then. At least this wasn’t just some normal response that everyone gets after fighting and then being bitten by a female vamp. Did it mean something that connects them even tighter? His shaft throbbed from the thought with the pain of not releasing. He needed that but wouldn’t have it until he was buried deep inside her, her hot core milking every ounce of his soul. Regardless of how much a bad idea it was, deep down he knew it was going to happen, if not today, then another day. But, it was going to happen.
“I’m still going.” She mumbled the words but he heard them.
“I know.”
Slowly she lifted her head and stared into his gaze. “I could have killed you.”
“No, you could have tried and tried is the relative word.” He knew she bit him to deter, to maim, but not to kill. He wondered now what would it have taken to push her to the point of actually attempting that.
She glared at him, let her fangs extend partially and then recede.
“You didn’t bite me at a pulse point.”
“Didn’t have to. If I had kissed you any longer, you would have been begging me to take more and then even more. So much more that you would have given me all of it.”
“So you have done this before?”
Again she shook her head. She stood, the movement so fast Reed had to move back a step. Denver grabbed a handful of her torn shirt and tugged it from her body. She dropped it on the floor, pushed past Reed and disappeared into the bedroom. Reed dragged in a deep breath, taking in the scent of her. His head swirled just as his shaft grew harder. What a mess and it’s only going to get worse.
Denver stood next to the door, her hand lightly touching the knob. “Are you coming with me? Or not?”
He growled under his breath and said, “With. Does your friend have any guns, anything we could use as a weapon?”
“Like this one.” She said as she pulled up her pants leg and showed off the forty-five secured to her calf.
“That’ll do.” Reed nodded. “Where’s mine?”
She reached behind her and pulled another from the band of her pants. This one was a Glock. “We don’t use them unless absolutely necessary.”
“You have your rules. I have mine.” He raised an eyebrow and moved towards the door.