The Vampire's Protector [The Protectors 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 2

  He watched her through hooded lids, and shook his head.

  “Myshka, do I look as though I need to kidnap women?”

  Normally speaking the arrogant tilt to his mouth would have earned him at least a verbal dressing down, but her ability for snarkiness seemed to have disappeared with her clothes. Besides, he had a point. The man was walking, talking Viagra for any female, after all.

  “Why do you keep calling me that? And who the hell are you. Fucking untie me, you...you…”

  Her world tilted anew when he frowned and there was a distinct click, she was all too familiar with. No, it couldn’t be. It was daylight for fuck’s sake. At least the jolt of seeing his fangs cleared her lust filled brain, as the events of last night came back to her in glorious Technicolor detail. She’d pranged her bike, and then she’d fought those vamps, and he’d been there, sitting on his car. Watching her with the same slightly bemused expression he wore now. And then the others had arrived, and she’d shifted, and then…

  “Fuck, you’re a vamp.”

  “Very observant of you, girl, but if you don’t stop swearing in front of me, I’ll have to gag that pretty mouth of yours. Young ladies should not need to resort to such degrading words.”

  Eva knew her mouth dropped open at his words, and he laughed. It gave her a clear view of his fangs, and she shook her head in disbelief.

  “Young ladies? Really, enough of this. What the hell are you? A period actor? I get it now, this is all a prank. Explains this whole ridiculous set up.” She frowned at him when he simply stared at her, as though he suddenly couldn’t understand English, and rolled her eyes in annoyance. His mouth set in a grim line and the way he raised one eyebrow at her almost made her relent, but this had to be a set up. It just had to.

  Taking a deep breath in, she firmed her voice and hollered.

  “Sasha, enough, call your actor off, and let me loose, or so help me, when I get free I’ll have your fucking hide.”

  The man in front of her moved so fast she never saw it coming. One minute she was shouting the next another one of those linen handkerchiefs she’d seen him use last night to dust off the vamp remains of his shoes, was stuffed in her mouth, and his large hand closed over her lips.

  Eva yanked at her restraints, and screamed around the gag in her mouth as loud as she could, but nothing came up bar a muffled sound.

  “I told you what would happen when you swore again in front of me, and I always follow through on my words. Now hold still, and stop struggling. It took a fair amount of my blood to heal you, and I really don’t want to see it going to waste. If you don’t start doing as you’re told, I’ll have no compunction to put you over my knee and paddle that luscious ass of yours, until you do listen to me. Do you understand me, myshka?”

  He paused to assess her reaction, and when she grunted her acknowledgement, his hold on her mouth relented. Eva spat the handkerchief out, and he lifted a glass of water to her lips.

  “Here, drink this, and if you promise me to behave yourself I’ll cut you loose.”

  In her astonishment at his words the sip of water she’d just partaken of went completely down the wrong way, and he swore. The world tilted again, and in the next instant her hands were free and she was sitting up with him gently patting her back.

  When she could breathe without coughing, she stared at him through watery eyes. That was it she’d lost her mind. He was sitting right in that beam of sunlight. What the holy fuck was going on?

  Chapter Two

  Amusement bubbled up inside of Dimitrius. It was worth the discomfort to witness her reaction to his sitting in the sun. He hadn’t even realized he was doing so at first, until the itch in his skin warned him that he needed to move. Still, he was well fed, so he could afford to stay here a little while longer. He got the impression that not much got past this young woman and being speechless was not something she was used to.

  He did like a sassy mouth, if only because it gave him the perfect excuse to think of suitably inventive punishments. That was the only downside to using the tourists. He never got a chance to explore his dominant side in great detail. With this delightful young woman, however…Well, time would tell, but, he sensed her inner submissive. Her reaction to finding herself tied up in his bed had told him that much. She hadn’t freaked like any other woman would have done, and for his part it had been fucking hot to see her like that on his bed.

  She licked her lips in a nervous gesture, and her eyes widened as she stared at his arms.

  “Erm, you’re smoking. Maybe you should move,” she said, and despite the niggling pain that shot up his exposed arms and burnt his face and neck, he stayed where he was.

  “Careful there. That almost sounds as though you care?” He winked at her and enjoyed the way her mouth fell open.

  “Please, do me a favor, why would I care about a vamp? You’ve made your point, okay. Just move for fuc—” She stopped speaking and slammed her mouth shut when he growled at her and then continued.

  “I mean, please, move. I don’t have the stomach for seeing you burst into flames in front of me. Not without breakfast anyway.”

  Dimitrius laughed, and she blew out a huff when he moved out of the offending beam of light. Her eyes widened anew when his skin healed instantly, and he shrugged his shoulders.

  “No bursting into flames today, got it. At least not until I feed you.”

  “Feed me?” She regarded him warily, and his amusement increased tenfold. She really had a very expressive face, and he couldn’t help but goad her a little more.

  “Yes, of course. I’m sure I have some blood on standby that should do the trick. Excellent vintage I have to say. You’ll like it.”

  The eagle shifter’s mouth opened and shut, and she turned an interesting shade of green, before she squeaked her reply.

  “You’re joking, right?” When he didn’t show any response other than to look at her, she really did look as though she was going to be sick.

  “You didn’t…I mean you wouldn’t have dared…” Anger won out over her shock in the end. The way she glared at him made Dimitrius glad for his well-tailored soft trousers, as his cock hardened. Oh yes, he would enjoy taming this one.

  “What exactly did you do to me last night, and for heaven’s sake untie me properly.” She glared at her feet, while maintaining a death grip on the sheet she held to her breasts. It still gave him a tantalizing view down the slim curve of her back, and the well-rounded bottom that he really wanted to spank raw right now.

  He’d looked his fill at her naked form last night, when he’d brought her back here and tied her to his bed as a precaution. While he could have fought her off easily should she have woken up and attacked him, he’d rather wanted to reserve his energies for other forms of exercise. So, even though he’d looked, he hadn’t had quite the visceral response he had now. Unconscious, a body, no matter how pleasing to the eye, was just that—a body.

  A body come to life, full of breathing, fragrant, and spitting mad woman, now that was an entirely different matter. He grinned at his thought processes, and the little minx sat in his bed growled at him, and threw one of the cushions at his head.

  Dimitrius ducked it easily enough, and shook his head at her.

  “What’s so damn funny, vamp?” She glared at him and he admired the way her breasts rose and fell in her agitation. They were the perfect little handful to tease and torment. Blood rushed to the surface of her skin, giving her a rosy glow, and his smirk deepened. With her pale complexion she would mark beautifully under his hands, but first things first. It had been a while since Dimitrius had bothered to hang around when a woman woke up, but he did know one thing. Most of them were decidedly grumpy in the morning until they had their caffeine hit, and that was without waking up to the information overload this one had woken up to.

  “I was just musing about the human female’s penchant for awaking all ornery, that’s all,” he said and ducked another two cushions flying his way.

>   “Of all the male, chauvinistic things to say.” Her color increased further and her eyes vacillated between the chestnut brown of her human self and the keen yellow of her eagle’s form. It was truly fascinating to see, and he half expected her to sprout talons and shift. The silken bonds around her ankles would be no match for her bird’s sharp claws, and a small part of him wondered why she hadn’t done that the minute he’d freed her arms.

  Thanks to the blood he’d given her to heal, he could read her emotions clear enough. She was attracted to him, and horrified at her lustful thoughts at the same time. Her confusion was rather delightful, and his grin deepened, much to her annoyance.

  “It’s only chauvinistic if it isn’t true,” he said, and nodded toward her feet. “And you can untie them yourself. Come and meet me in my kitchen, when you’re dressed.” He gestured toward the antique wardrobe taking up the length of the opposite wall of the room.

  “You’ll find an assortment of clothes in there. You’re about the same size as my last submissive, so they should fit. I should warn you, however, they may be slightly outdated, but I gather you would be more comfortable dressed.” He paused when her mouth fell open and she looked from him to the wardrobe and back again.

  “Your last submissive?” The catch in her voice gave her away, and Dimitrius smirked. Bingo, as they said in this lifetime.

  “Of course if you prefer to come down naked, that’s fine with me, too. We’re not overlooked, so stay au-naturel if you like, but I shall take that as an invitation.”

  Sure enough the last of the cushions sailed through the air toward him and he caught this one before it made contact with his face.

  “And know this, girl. I enjoy a certain amount of sass in my women, but you’re beginning to reach the limit of my tolerance, so unless you want to be able to sit down in comfort, I suggest you start showing some gratitude. I could have just left you to those vamps last night…”

  He let his words trail off, and he knew the minute they sunk in because she bit her lip, and the fight went out of her. She busied herself by untying the bonds around her ankles and he threw the cushions back on the bed. When she got the ties free she finally looked up at him, and offered him a tentative smile.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just a little confused. Why didn’t you?” she asked, and resumed worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

  Dimitrius flashed her a grim smile, and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Ah, the million-dollar question that I can’t answer. Let’s just say, they annoyed me. Winning in a fair fight is one thing. But those...things ganged up on you, and didn’t play fair. It’s not honorable.”

  Her eyes widened at his grudging admission, and she licked her lips, and tucked her hair behind her ear in a clearly nervous gesture.

  “Not honorable? Since when do vampires care about honor?” She looked him up and down, and he could almost see the wheels turning in her head.

  “How old are you exactly?” she asked, and he held up two fingers.

  “Two hundred,” he said and her face fell.

  “That’s not that old for you to have…well, I mean how exactly can you be up during daylight and sit in the sun? I’m presuming that’s some form of vampire evolution, right?” She stopped talking when he nodded and all the color drained out of her face as the implication seemed to dawn on her.

  “Holy sh…I mean sugar.” He laughed out loud at the word she chose to substitute for swearing, but the dominant in him was rather pleased at her following his earlier diktat.

  She threw him a glance from under her naturally long eyelashes, and Dimitrius had to fight the urge to close the distance between them and kiss her. He wanted her, and the fierce need that pulsed through his veins at this moment, surprised him. It had been a long time since he’d felt this strong a connection to anyone, and that hadn’t ended well. It never did, when you toyed with humans for anything more than food. He should stay well away from this one, if he had any sense.

  “That doesn’t seem that old for you to—”

  “Before Christ, myshka,” he said, interrupting her, and smiled at her sharp intake of breath.

  “But that means you’re like...Holy Cannoli. Are there more of you?”

  Dimitrius chose not to answer that, and she screwed up her nose, and nodded.

  “Yeah, dumb question, I get it. You’re hardly going to tell me, when I hunt your kind.” She pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them to her in a defensive move that meant he had to close the distance between them, and she flinched when he sat down next to her and lifted her hair off her face.

  “You’re very good at it, too, from what I observed last night. It was one of the reasons why I interfered. And don’t call them my kind.”

  She looked up at him and frowned, presumably at the intonation he put on the last two words.

  “Really comparing me to those things would be comparing a Moped to a Harley.” He grinned when she laughed at that comparison, and visibly relaxed.

  “Yeah, guess they’re not quite in the same league, huh? So, is this where you’re telling me that you’re really a good and peace-loving vamp?”

  Her smile slipped when he bared his fangs at her, and burying his hand in her hair bent her backward until her bare throat was exposed to him. Her heartbeat went into overdrive when he ran his canines along her skin, and then retracted them before he hovered his mouth over hers. Her lips opened in a silent invitation, and her sweet, aroused scent hit him in the gut.

  “Don’t make the mistake of underestimating me, myshka. There is no such thing as a good vampire.”

  With that he released her and stalked from the room.

  * * * *

  The loud bang of the door shutting behind him broke through Eva’s lust-befuddled brain, and she drew in a much needed breath. Holy Cannoli—she grimaced at her choice of words even in her head—and swore loudly.

  “Fucking hell.”

  That was better. She was a grown woman, after all. A freaking Protector, for fuck’s sake, and no man, ancient, sex-on-legs, dominant vampire or not, was going to dictate what she could or couldn’t say. At least not when he wasn’t in the room. There was something about him that meant she couldn’t bring herself to swear in front of him, which was ridiculous.

  This whole set up was…well she couldn’t even find the words for it. The implications of there being an ancient vampire in their midst—one who could walk in daylight, and wasn’t immediately recognizable as a vampire—god that was huge. If she made it out of here alive, then she would have to tell Mrs. H. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what Ronan, Leon, and even Sasha would make of this. Sasha, in particular would have a field day about her having pranged her bike and being set upon by that nest of vamps, and needing to be rescued. She was uncomfortably aware of the fact that she owed this particular vampire her life and she didn’t even know his name. And where in god’s name had he taken her?

  Leaving the cover of the sheet behind, she stalked over to the window and wrenched the heavy curtains aside. Sunlight streamed in, and the familiar view of the Cumbrian countryside greeted her. Well that was something at least. In fact that view was far too familiar, and her heart beat faster when it dawned on her where she was. This was Tulip House, and it was one of the properties on Tina Bernhard’s cleaning Rota. Bile rose in her throat, when Eva realized this nugget of information. Jesus, Ronan would do his nut realizing his wife cleaned house for a vamp. Not that Tina did the cleaning herself, anymore, not since the birth of their twins, but, fuck.

  No, she couldn’t tell anyone about this, not until she had a handle on this particular vampire. She didn’t want to be responsible for causing anyone’s death, and she had the niggling suspicion that trying to take this vamp down, would prove nigh on impossible. There was also the small matter of his having saved her life. He’d said, he’d given her his blood, which no doubt explained her unreasonable attraction to him. Or, maybe he’d used some fancy mind control thing on her, though Eva d
idn’t feel as though she was under his control. She wanted to please him, yes, but that was just her inner sub responding to the experienced Dom in front of her.

  She hadn’t really allowed that side of her free rein since she took on the job of one of the Protectors. There wasn’t that much opportunity for play out here, and while the resident wolf packs were all in the lifestyle, none of the shifters had ever caught her interest, not like this vamp had done.

  That’s because he’s our mate.

  Her inner animal’s excited squawk made her frown. Surely the fates wouldn’t be that cruel? No, her eagle was just confused, and she told the bird to shut up. Wings flapping wildly, she eventually did, but there was a mutinous lift to her deadly beak that made Eva roll her eyes.

  Really, this was insane. Her eagle ought to be itching to tear this vampire to shreds, not think happy families. And right now, Eva had far more pressing concerns. Fortunately the other door leading off this huge room revealed a state-of-the-art en-suite bathroom, and Eva made a dash for the loo. The huge bathtub called her, but she settled for a quick shower instead, and having hunted out a toothbrush and toothpaste from under the vanity, brushed her teeth.

  She finger combed her shoulder-length hair into some semblance of order, and then approached the wardrobe warily. The doors creaked as she opened them and the faint smell of lavender greeted her.

  “Sweet Jesus.”

  Rows upon rows of dresses were in front of her, carefully wrapped in their see through covers and the girl inside of her squealed in delight. When she opened the inbuilt drawers she found the most beautiful selection of silk stockings and cami-knickers in an assortment of soft muted colors that took her breath away.

  He’d said these belonged to his last submissive, and the beautiful clothes were without doubt original twenties clothing, so did that mean he hadn’t had one since then?