The Warrior Vampire(8)

Naya’s hand shook, the dagger becoming unsteady in her grasp. She’d known the first time she’d heard it last night that the music was too pure for the magic to be stolen goods. After she’d managed to get the bulk of his weight off of her, Naya had been prepared to extinguish the magic and call it a night. But his full lips had parted on a breath, revealing the porcelain points of his dual fangs. Vampires were supposed to be extinct. But there he was, his head resting on her legs, as real and tangible as she was. Curiosity had gotten the better of her. The magic’s song too pure for her to simply end his life. So she’d dragged him to her safe house and secured him with silver cuffs and chains. If the vampire hadn’t stolen the magic, then how in the hell had he come by it? And why couldn’t she shake the feeling that somehow she was meant to find this amazing specimen now at her mercy.

Naya shook herself from her stupor and willed her gaze from the hills and valleys of sculpted muscle beneath the dagger’s point. “Did you not hear me? I said, answer me or I’ll drive this dagger through your heart.”

His calm demeanor scared her more than any shouts or threats might have. The vampire’s brow creased in concentration as if he were trying to hold back a wall of water from a broken dam with nothing but the power of his mind. The way he looked at her was unnerving. Such deep intensity.

“I think a lot clearer when sharp objects aren’t being jabbed into my skin.”

Her eyes darted to his and she was momentarily taken aback by the beauty of them. As vibrant and green as the rain forest. His brows were tawny slashes, made slightly sinister by the look of concentration on his face, and he had the longest lashes she’d ever seen on any male. Plenty of women—including her—would gladly give up a limb to have eyelashes like those. She’d save a fortune in mascara. His cheekbones were sharp and his nose a fine, straight line. His jaw was equally strong, shadowed with stubble. Gods, but he was magnificent.

He cocked his head to the side and studied her with those gorgeous green eyes. “I’m going to assume that your silence means you’re considering my request?”

She eased up on the dagger, pulling it away from his chest. The sound of the magic’s song quieted and, after a moment, grew silent. Naya took a steadying breath as her own body calmed, no longer responding to the magic’s call. All right, so the guy had been a little wound up. She guessed anyone would have been in his situation. “I’m not going to free you,” she said as she took a couple of much-needed steps back. “But I still expect you to answer my questions.”

“Magnanimous, aren’t you?”

A lazy, tantalizing smile stretched across his mouth. So wicked. Naya’s lower abdomen tightened and her fingernails bit into her palms. The vampire was built for sin, every inch of him tight and bulky with corded muscle. A killer, that much was apparent, and she couldn’t help but wonder if his appetite for violence would rival his appetites for other … things. Naya swallowed, forced the lust rising up through her chest back to the soles of her feet. This male was dangerous. He could kill her before she even had a chance to defend herself. No matter how good he looked stretched out and bound to her bed, she couldn’t forget that he was an unknown variable. And Naya couldn’t afford unknowns.

The vampire sighed in resignation and tried to stretch his arms, wincing with discomfort. Raw, angry burns marred his skin where the silver made contact, but it couldn’t be helped. The silver would weaken him and Naya needed an equalizer until she decided whether or not to alert the elders to the vampire’s presence. “For starters, I don’t know your name, so I’m not going to be able to help you on that one. I’ve never seen you before today.”

Bullshit. After he’d sacked her like a quarterback, he’d said her name. And that he needed to protect her. A surge of emotion rose up in Naya’s chest. Tenderness toward this male that she couldn’t afford to feel. Protect her from what? Why? Who was he to her? And what did he know that she didn’t? This was her town. Anything supernatural went down and Naya knew about it. The only reason he was here now was because he’d passed out afterward. “You’re lying. You said my name last night.”

The vampire let out a measured breath and Naya had a feeling that if his hands were free he would have raked his fingers through the tangle of his tawny hair. “I don’t remember a gods-damned thing about last night,” he said. “I may be wrong, but I think we’ve been over this. I’m kind of drawing a blank here.”