Elaina’s skin prickled and blood still raged through every inch of her. She gnawed at her bottom lip and then looked out at the warehouse in front of them. It was dark outside, and not one of the half a dozen street lamps was operational.
She took a moment to concentrate and tune in with her surroundings, using her sense of hearing the most. Her talents weren’t as strong as Vicq’s, and all she picked up were the sounds of the distant winds and the smell of putrid smoke from the paper mill to the left of them.
Vicq’s ears perked up. “No heartbeats inside. Either our weapons dealer was a no show or he’s dead inside.”
“Is he…or was he human?” she asked.
“Sí.” Vicq nodded. “He’s human. He aids Dresdan-kind, but he wasn’t one of us.”
“Let’s check to be sure,” she replied, pushing forward past Vicq.
He caught her arm. “It’s no longer safe to do business here. We don’t know what our weapons dealer has gotten himself into. The rogues were here before we arrived. We have to move out.”
She shrugged out of his grip. “But what if he’s in trouble? There’s nothing preventing the rogues from circling back around and finishing what they’ve started.”
“He’s not inside. If he is, then he’s not alive. Trust me on this one,” he urged. “We can’t risk it now.”
Reluctantly, Elaina returned her blade to its case, but she was still curious.
“Fuck.” Vicq glanced at her, his brows furrowing downward. The blood red hue around his irises returned. He spun around and looked out toward the fog and mist behind them.
“What is it?” she asked.
The trees to the right of them rustled violently.
“Soldiers,” he groaned. “They must have detected the blood kills.” His eyes flickered again, the fiery red deepening. “Now we really must move out.”
If these Soldiers had ties to the Dresdan Court, Vicq’s location would be compromised and the Master that wanted him dead or alive would likely be informed.
“How?”
“Come.”
He wrapped his arms around hers and used his vampire abilities to shift her away to another location.
As vampires do, Vicq shifted several times from one point to the other. Her human conscious wasn’t capable of understanding how far he’d taken her or where they landed each time.
After what seemed like several minutes had passed, their final stopping point came to be inside of Vicq’s underground vault.
Elaina recognized it immediately as the place he came to when he needed to seek refuge and total solace. No one—not even his coven members—knew where his vault was. Except for her.
“Are you okay?” he asked, brushing a thumb against her chin.
“Yes.”
Vicq frowned and then leaned forward to press a kiss against a long scrape across her shoulder. His healing touch warmed her, and when he lifted his lips, only a slight bruise remained. He didn’t stop. He lifted her fingers and brushed his mouth gently across the blisters on her palm where she had gripped the hilt of the dagger firmly during the attack.
Elaina blushed, unable to control the sexual response that consumed her as he took great care to make her feel better and to ease the discomfort.
“I’m okay, really.”
“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you,” he mumbled against her throat.
“You’d find another blood donor,” she said.
“No,” he said, firmly. “There’s no one else for me.”
“If I were to ever succumb to any injury, promise me you’d go on and help others,” she replied, taking his hand in hers and linking their fingers together. “Promise me.”
“I can’t.”
“Why? These were your intentions before, right? To h—”
Vicq kissed her. “Sssh,” he said. “My priority is you. Keeping you alive are my intentions.”
Warm lips took hers. Her pain was almost gone now and replaced with the sheer comfort of Vicq’s arms wrapped around her. Her body overflowed with energy and urgent need as he placed his palm at the back of her neck, tilting her at just the right angle to claim her mouth over and over again.
Elaina’s body responded even more, and liquid heat spread through her. Vicq separated from her briefly and circled her like a predator. He stood behind her and his mouth was on her neck again, licking and stroking. He gathered the ends of her top in his hands and pulled it over her head.
After unclipping her bra, he slid his palms upward along her belly and cupped her breasts from behind. Her nipples were already taut as thimbles. When he rolled the sensitive buds between his fingers, she leaned back into his chest.
His hands slid downward again. He expertly undid the button and zipper of her jeans. The pads of his fingers slid downward until they reached her nether lips, invoking immediate pleasure.