He used his fury to yank his body over the top—and froze when he made it all the way up.
Glenda was just a few feet away from him. Her ass was in the air, her chest against the grass. The woman seemed to be kissing the ground.
He arched his eyebrows but couldn’t look away from her rear end.
Veso moved before he could stop himself, crawling forward until he was on top of her, his limbs bracing her into position.
She gasped and twisted her head, her eyes wide.
He froze again, realizing what he was doing. The urge to tear off the clothes between them and just take her was so strong, he battled with it.
“What are you doing?” She lifted her chest and it bumped her ass against his dick. She jerked away but her shoulders hit his arms that were locked in front of her, keeping him from crushing her with his upper body, his hands braced on the ground.
“Hold still.” He needed to think around the desire to fuck her. It would be so easy to take her. That scrap of material she called panties was flimsy. The skirt he wore made him very aware when the breeze blew that it wasn’t an obstacle, since every draft hit his balls.
She hunched her shoulders and tried to squeeze forward between his arms. He growled. He didn’t like her trying to get away from him. She stopped, her gaze locked with his over her shoulder.
“What are you doing, Veso?”
“There could be guards.” His mind started to work. He refused to fuck a human. He’d never live it down if any of his clan found out. “Hold still while I look around.”
“Won’t all the Vampires burn if they come out into the sun?”
“Sometimes Vampires have humans under their control.”
“Oh. You didn’t need to cage me under you. Just tell me not to move.”
He wanted her to move. He’d like it if she dropped her arms and shoved her ass up in the air again to press against his groin. It would be simple to rip away those panties covering her pussy, jerk up the material covering his dick, and enter her from that position.
He forced his gaze away from hers, looking around. Think! He breathed through his mouth, a sad attempt to avoid her scent. The Vamps had let her bathe and wash her clothing. She didn’t smell bad at all. He wished she did.
The truck was gone and no other vehicles were within sight. “The master must have left and took the vehicle with him. It explains why he didn’t come after us.” His anger at that suckhead helped him ignore the desire to fuck Glenda. “He must have a day place nearby though. He wouldn’t go far from his nest.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Bad. We’re going to have to hike out of here and find a road or a home.”
“Great. Between us, we’re almost dressed.”
She had to remind him of how little they wore. He lifted up and straightened, adjusting his dick before she noticed. It was impossible to hide his erection though so he decided to ignore his lower half. He got to his feet and walked toward the entrance of the mine. He refused to see if she followed. It was safer for Glenda if he avoided looking at her.
“So rude,” she muttered.
He hoped she didn’t like him. It would mean she wouldn’t come on to him. At this point, he’d fuck her if she did.
Veso let the entire situation sink in and the rage that surfaced helped to cool his desire for the human. He’d been drugged, taken from his territory, had to depend on a human to help him escape, and now they didn’t have access to a vehicle.
He examined the tracks in the dirt. “There is only the truck. These were all made by the same one. We’ll follow the tire tracks and it will lead to a road. Keep up.”
“Sure. No problem.”
Sarcasm. He remembered why he didn’t like humans. The problem was, Glenda was growing on him. She hadn’t burst into tears or acted the way he thought she would. It left him a little off balance. That has to be it, he decided. That was where the attraction had sprung from.
“What do we do when we reach a road? Hitchhike?”
“Yes.” He wasn’t about to tell her that he’d pull whoever stopped out of their vehicle and alter their memories. The person would never remember picking up two people or driving them anywhere. He wouldn’t leave an innocent in the middle of nowhere.
She’d just find out what he could do, and possibly guess she might get her memories wiped too. He could always take control of her mind if she panicked and tried to run away.
Veso was careful not to walk too fast. She was barefoot but the dirt road wasn’t rocky. He didn’t want to tire her out too quickly. The last thing he needed was to have her in his arms ever again. She didn’t complain as he led her forward, always watchful for anything that could be a danger.
They came across a house a mile down the road. He held up his arm to indicate she should stop, and then sniffed the air. “Shit. Stay here.”
“What is it?”
“I smell death. The Vamps had to drive right past this place. They probably fed off the inhabitants.”
“I hope not.”
“It’s what they do. Humans are cattle to feed from to them.”
“Nice.”
He glanced back, holding her gaze. “It’s how they think. I don’t have the same opinion since I don’t drink blood. I’m going to look inside. Don’t move.”
“Like my feet are glued to the ground,” she promised, crossing a finger over her heart.
He understood the gesture and shook his head. Silly humans.
He strode toward the house, hoping the master hid somewhere inside. He’d love some payback and ripping off his head would help. He was wearing a woman’s skirt and it was all that prick’s fault.
The back door opened at the twist of his hand on the knob. The smell of death didn’t travel inside with him. It meant the body remained outside. He searched the one-story cabin, finding no trapdoor or life inside. He listened, sniffing again. There wasn’t a trace of cooked food or that of the fireplace being recently used. He checked the two closets and even climbed up inside the loft. It was empty. He dropped down and exited through the back door. No vehicle was within sight.
He rounded the cabin and spotted Glenda almost where he’d left her. She’d moved off the dirt road to sit on the grass. He sniffed, following the smell of death.
He found where the human had been buried in a shallow grave behind a tall wood pile. The earth had been turned over but it didn’t look too recent. Perhaps a week, maybe two. He couldn’t tell how many bodies were down there but the interior of the home had appeared as if a single human had lived inside. He left the wood pile and whistled.
Glenda lifted her head.
“Come inside. It’s safe.”
“Nobody’s home?”
“No.” He didn’t want to share what happened to the homeowner. It might make her leery. Some humans didn’t like to enter the dwellings of dead people.
She followed him inside and immediately lunged toward the phone. He grabbed it from her but didn’t hear a dial tone. It either wasn’t connected, or the Vampires might have pulled a wire to the house before they attacked so the owner couldn’t call for help.
“Give that back. I need to call the police.”
“No.” He wasn’t certain how she’d take it if she found out it was damaged. It was possible she’d cry. He didn’t want to witness that. He’d have to go out and see if he could fix it, but even if he were able to get it working, he still didn’t want her to use the phone. The last thing he needed was a bunch of humans around.
Her mouth parted.
“My kind will handle this. Do you want more humans to die? Those soldiers would slaughter humans, even ones with guns. Do you understand? Go shower. There’s a bathroom. I’ll make the call.”
She bit her lip. “You’ll let me call the police later though, right? I’m sure they’re looking for me.”
“Yes,” he lied, jerking his head. “Go shower.” He wanted her out of the way, and some space from her would be good. “There’s
a propane tank outside. It means heated water.”
He almost felt guilt at the longing on her features. “Okay.”
He watched her go and waited until the bathroom door closed and the water came on. “Simple-thinking humans,” he sighed.
He hung up the phone, searching for anything with a hint of their location. The human had bills in the top drawer of a desk. They were addressed to a post office box but he had a town name. That angered him off too. The Vamps had taken him farther from home than he’d estimated.
He walked outside to see if he could get the phone working and call his people.
Chapter Four
“He thinks I’m an idiot,” Glen muttered, using the soap to scrub her skin where blood had dried from Veso killing Vlad and those other creatures. The hot water did feel heavenly as she stood under the spray.
He didn’t want her to overhear his conversation when he called someone. He could have just said so instead of treating her like a child.
She rinsed the conditioner out of her hair and turned off the water when she finished. The towels were cheap, harsh ones she wouldn’t have bought herself but they were nicer than anything she’d been able to use since her kidnapping. The few baths she’d been allowed to take had been miserable.
Something registered as she finished drying off. The cut to her finger hadn’t hurt when she’d used soap.
She stared at where the cut had once been, noticing for the first time that it had completely healed. It stunned her as she touched the undamaged skin. There wasn’t a mark on it anymore from where the underwire had sliced her fingertip.
“What the hell?” She planned to ask Veso how that was possible. First though, she’d have to get dressed.
She grimaced at the sight of her discarded shirt and panties. The last thing she wanted was to put them back on. She stepped over them, wrapping the towel around her body. The cabin probably had clothes she could borrow. She unlocked the bathroom door and stepped out.
Veso wasn’t within sight. She took a few cautious steps into the living room, searching for him. The only other interior door was wide open, and she could see a bed. She crossed the room and paused there, looking inside. It was obvious a man owned the cabin. There was only the bed and one dresser. No knickknacks were in sight but a deer head hung over the bed. She turned away.
“Veso?”
He didn’t answer.
Fear crept up. Had he just abandoned her? He’d gotten her out of the mine and found a cabin so he’d kept his promise. She hustled to the phone—only to come up short.
“You son of a bitch,” she muttered.
He’d smashed it into half a dozen pieces, all of them strewn across the counter below where it had been mounted on the wall.
Anger came next. The bastard had broken the phone on purpose, stranding her in the middle of miles of woods.
She rushed to the front door in hopes of seeing another cabin or signs of life. Just a vast view of trees met her wandering gaze.
She clutched at the towel with both hands to keep it in place as she began to pant. It was rare for her to suffer from a panic attack but it was certainly the time for it. She was a city girl. Images of bears and wolves filled her head. She’d have to walk along that dirt road for who knew how far to find someone to help her.
Wood creaked from somewhere on the other side of the cabin and she spun, staring out the windows. Movement caught her eye near the back door, and she almost tripped on the bearskin rug near the fireplace as she dashed in that direction.
Glen halted at the door, and her mouth dropped open.
Veso hadn’t left her after all.
He was totally nude and standing on the back porch. He held a garden hose over his head as he tipped it back, letting the water run over his face. Her gaze lowered, openly admiring his muscles and that broad chest of his. His eyes were closed so she allowed herself to peek lower. He wasn’t hard anymore.
She was glad when he turned a little, presenting her with his beefy ass. It was as tan as the rest of him, proof that he didn’t wear anything when he sunbathed. He shook his head, water spraying in her direction, but the door’s big glass window took the hit instead of her. He lowered the hose and held it near his chest, using his other hand to wipe across his throat and lower.
She took a few deep breathes to calm down, now that she knew he hadn’t taken off. But the phone still angered her, and she gripped the handle of the door, shoving it open.
He turned his head, opening his eyes.
“Why?”
He scowled. “You were in there a long time. I hate having dirt and blood all over me.”
“I meant about you mangling the phone, Veso. Why did you do it? I wanted to call someone to get me!”
“I told you. No police.” He adjusted the hose so the water ran down his back. “Come here if you’re going to stand there. Be useful.”
“Excuse me?”
“Scrub my back.”
She glanced at the expanse of skin, from his neck to where his waist dipped right before it flared out at his ass. That was a lot of flesh to wash. “No thanks. Wash it yourself. You broke the phone!”
He shrugged.
“You said I could make that call.”
“I told you what you wanted to hear to get you to do as I asked.”
She fumed. “You jerk! You actually admit it?”
He dropped the hose, shutting it off when he released the clamp that allowed the water to flow. She locked her gaze on his face when he slowly turned around. The guy had balls, and he didn’t seem to care that she could currently see them if she glanced down. He stalked closer and reached out.
“This is being a jerk.” He fisted the towel and yanked hard, tearing it off her. “Thanks. I forgot to get one.”
Glen was so taken aback that it took her a second to react. The guy had just stolen her towel. She threw one arm over her breasts, lifted her leg and twisted, trying to hide her body from him. She bumped into the doorframe with her shoulder and just froze.
He had the gall to chuckle and start drying his chest with the stolen towel. He also didn’t hide the fact that he was taking in every inch of her as his gaze lowered.
“Don’t worry, female. You’re too small to fuck and not my kind.” He stepped closer, his bigger body crowding her and rubbing against her side as he maneuvered through the door she partially blocked. “I’d break you.”
Heat flooded her face and she was muted by a mixture of anger, outrage, and shock. He got past her inside the house and moved away. She turned her head, watching him wrap her towel around his hips as he entered the kitchen.
She frantically looked for something to grab, the curtains on the window the closest thing she could find. The rod snapped loose when she ripped it down and the curtain barely covered the front of her as she turned.
“You asshole!”
He ignored her.
“How dare you!” She recovered fast and moved to the left, pressing her bare ass against the wall. Anyone in the woods would be able to see the back of her otherwise. There weren’t any neighbors but that was beside the point.
“Go in the bedroom and find clothes.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
He opened the fridge and bent a little. “Don’t then. Walk around naked. I still won’t fuck you.”
Glen forgot how to breathe while her temper raged. She shook a little from it and her shoulder brushed up against a frame hanging on the wall. She turned her head, seeing it was a photo of some bearded guy in fishing gear, holding what appeared to be a two-foot-long trout or some other kind of trophy catch.
He had a lot of nerve to say that to her. He probably thought he was a super-stud, and being kidnapped by her crazy Vampire relative to become some kind of supernatural breeder had just amplified his monster ego.
She reached up and lifted the picture off the wall. It was in a five-by-seven frame. She pitched it at the jackass.
Her aim was off and it slammed in
to the cabinet about two feet to his left, missing him. Glass shattered and the frame dropped to the floor.
Veso straightened and looked in her direction. His eyes were wide and she knew she’d surprised him.
“I’m sorry I missed. I was aiming for you thick skull. I do not want to have sex with you. How many times do I have to say that? Get over yourself!”
He took a step closer and his lips parted, fangs showing. He growled. “You came after me in a towel.”
“I thought you left me here to die! I freaked out a little and then I was upset about the phone. You broke it and you lied to me. Excuse the hell out of me for not waiting to get dressed first to confront you.”
He advanced a few feet and growled again. “Don’t throw things at me.”
“Don’t be such an asshole and maybe I won’t.”
His eyes narrowed, the color of them changed. They went from golden brown to almost all yellow. His hands fisted at his sides and his upper lip curled. “Don’t insult me, human.”
She was over her limit of dealing with crazy freak shows after all she’d been through. “I am human, and guess what? I’m glad. You should see yourself right now. Your eyes are all weird and you have those messed-up teeth. What’s next? Are you going to beat on me? Rip off my head? What a big bad jerk you are. I didn’t ask for any of this! I didn’t want to be kidnapped by some gang of sickos who drink blood and I sure as hell didn’t sign up to be locked inside a room with you. You think you’re attractive to me? Ha! I don’t do dogs.”
He tilted his head a little, glaring at her. He didn’t growl again. She figured that was a plus. He also didn’t come any closer. His hands remained fisted at his sides though and his body looked tense. She could see most of it since he was only wearing her towel around his waist. It looked a lot smaller on him than it had on her.
Long seconds ticked by and some of her anger faded. “I’m going to go get dressed now. We’re in this together until we’re not, so try to remember that I helped you escape. We did that working together. Remember? Please don’t lie to me again or insult me. It’s getting old when you accuse me of wanting to jump your bones. That was that creepy weirdo master’s idea, not mine. Plus, I’m a bit freaked out.” She held up her once cut finger. “It healed. The cut is gone. How is that even possible?”