"If you bite me, I swear I'll kill you."
"Ye have so much rage trapped inside." His gaze drifted downward. He placed a hand lightly on her thigh and dragged it up to her hip. "There are other ways to find release."
Her heart thudded. She was wrong again. He was using more than psychological warfare. He meant to seduce both her mind and her body. And it didn't help that his gentle touch was igniting a trail of sparks along her thigh and hip. She sucked in a shaky breath. Okay. She could play this game, too. And once he was thoroughly distracted, she'd use her one remaining stake.
She placed her palms on his forearms and glided up and over his bulging biceps. Good heavens, no wonder he wielded that heavy sword so easily. "I suppose you're just the man to help me." She slid her hands onto his shoulders and gave him what she hoped was a seductive look.
She gasped. His eyes were red. And glowing. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. Shit, this had to mean he was hungry. She needed to act fast. Remain calm. She forced her fingers to relax and slid her hands down his chest.
"Ye're so beautiful," he whispered, brushing her shoulder-length hair away from her neck.
Oh God, he was preparing her neck. But she was ready. Her hands had reached his waist. She fisted one hand and punched him in the gut while she whipped the final stake from her belt and aimed for his godforsaken heart.
"The devil take it, woman." He yanked the stake from her hand and slammed it into the ground beside her head.
With a gasp, she turned her head to look. Only an inch of the stake showed above ground. She'd be dead if he'd impaled her with it.
He placed a thumb on the rounded end of the stake, and with a growl, he pushed it so far into the ground, it made a hole. He glowered at her, his eyes still red but less luminous. "I was a fool to think ye could like me."
For some strange reason, she actually felt bad about disappointing him. "I had to defend myself. You were going to bite me."
"Nay, I only wanted to kiss you."
She snorted. "Right. A kiss with teeth. You were looking at my neck. And your eyes were red and glowing. You were hungry."
"Ah, lass." He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, they were turning back to their usual forest green. "'Tis a hunger of another sort."
What did a vampire need besides blood? Her question was answered when he shoved his sporran aside and lay close beside her. She gasped. He was pressed against her in a big way. Very big. Very swollen. Very hard. How could a cold, dead creature be so turned on?
And why did her hands itch to touch him? He had to be playing with her head. "You—you must be controlling my mind."
The corner of his mouth quirked. "Are ye having naughty thoughts?"
"No! I… " She didn't know what to say. Or think. She was supposed to be killing vampires, not lying next to one with a hard-on. She glanced over at the rhododendron bush where her bag of stakes was hidden. She'd never reach it in time if he attacked her.
"If you try to rape me, I'll hunt you to the—"
"Emma." He sat up with a jerk. "I would never harm you."
"You wouldn't have to. You would take control of my mind to make me willing. That's how you turn a woman into a victim."
"I have no desire to make ye a victim. I admire yer strength and fiery spirit."
Did he really? No. Emma rejected the warm, fuzzy feeling. Nothing was warm and fuzzy when it came to the Undead. "You're trying to confuse me. I won't have you playing games with my head."
His mouth twitched. "Can I play with yer body then?"
"No! I want you to leave me alone."
He nodded, his face growing sad. "Ye're right. Nothing good could come of this." He hefted himself to his feet.
She felt suddenly cold without him next to her. She sat up slowly and hugged herself for warmth.
He wandered to the tree where his knife was embedded. "I'll leave ye alone if ye agree to one thing." He yanked the knife loose. "Ye'll give up slaying."
"Never." She scrambled to her feet. "Your fellow vampires are murdering people. I have to protect the innocent."
"I know about evil vampires, lass. I've been fighting them for centuries."
"Yeah, right." She scoffed. "Then how come there are so many of them? You haven't been doing a very good job." As if she believed him in the first place.
"They have us outnumbered, that is true." He slid his knife into the sheath beneath his knee sock.