That was when he heard the distinctive sound of a round going into a chamber.
“Don’t move.”
“I’m a medical technician. I’m not a vampire. I was responding to a call at the Sinsational club and got trapped. I’m just trying to get back to the hospital.”
“Shut up!” The man brought his gun down on Trevor’s back. He collapsed on the grass, a stinging pain vibrating up and down his spine.
“Hey, Chuck! I found…”
Trevor felt drops of something hit the side of his cheek. It ran down into his mouth. Blood. His stomach rolled over and bile rose to his throat as he looked up at his assailant.
Rivulets of blood were quickly running from the man’s open mouth. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell sideways. Behind him, Guinevere stood wet and wild-eyed, her hand covered in blood and gore.
She bent down and grabbed Trevor’s arm. She yanked him roughly to his feet. “Can you run? We need to escape. I can sense Soren is near, searching the water for me.”
He nodded, not able to find his voice.
“I could carry you.”
“No,” he stuttered. “I can manage.” Trevor didn’t have an ego, but he did possess some male pride. And being carried by a woman, a vampiress yet, to safety wasn’t his idea of dignified.
She grabbed his hand and they ran from the river and into the trees.
Chapter 3
They managed to stumble downtown, hiding in the alleys and cautious with every movement they made. Guinevere had expected Trevor to go his own way but he’d promised to get her someplace safe first. His instincts were to heal. She liked that about him. She didn’t normally have that type of man in her life. Most were born dominators, killers to be blunt. It was just ingrained in a vampire’s genetics to hunt and seek blood. Lycans too for that matter.
Witches on the other hand were all about seeking solace. She needed that in her life. She’d gone too long in a state of paranoia and defense. Constantly watching her back. It was getting tedious and bothersome.
As they ducked down another back alley, she noticed a sign for a cheap ratty hotel called Blue Moon. It was probably run by lycans but she couldn’t be choosy right now. She just needed to get indoors to rest and regroup. She also needed to feed. Besides, it would be dawn soon. Although she could face the sun—most vampires could nowadays—she preferred to be under roof when the sun broke the dark sky. Being hungry and hot wasn’t a good combination.
“Do you have any money?” she asked him.
He nodded. “I always keep about fifty Euros in my kit for emergencies.”
“A room should cost about that. I’ll pay you back.”
He looked at her with a frown. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just get you inside and safe.”
The lycan manning the front desk barely batted an eye at her and Trevor as they came in and paid for a room. She supposed he’d seen much worse than a witch in an EMT uniform and a vampiress in nothing but a bra and panties. It brought a whole new meaning to sexual role playing.
The room was what she expected for forty Euros. It was at least clean. She didn’t smell any horribly offending odors when they entered, just the usual bleach and faint body sweat.
Trevor helped her to the bed although he was the one shivering from the cold. His clothes were soaked.
“You should get dry or you’ll get sick,” she suggested as she lay down on her back on the bed. She needed rest. Her body was barely hanging on.
He nodded. “Let’s get you settled, then I will figure something out.” He went over to her to inspect her bandages. “You should let me call someone. My friends in law enforcement can help you. Protect you.”
She shook her head. “Vampire politics and law enforcement do not mix well. Besides, I don’t trust easily. My enemies could have moles inside the department.”
“You’re trusting me.” He met her gaze and held it as he unwrapped her bandage to inspect her wound.
He had amazing hazel eyes with flecks of green. Warm and inviting. She knew the second she met him that she could trust him. That was why she’d beckoned him into her private room to help her with her injuries. He had a protector aura about him. Which was probably why he’d chosen his particular profession.
“You have a trustworthy look about you.”
He smiled, as he pressed his fingers to her skin around her bullet wound. The heat of his fingertips sent a wave of pleasure through her. She suspected it was more than just his healing powers that she was reacting to.
Trevor was an attractive man, with unkempt light brown hair and crinkles at his eyes when he smiled. It made a woman want to run her hands through his hair and kiss those laugh lines.
“The wound looks good. It’s healing well.” He reached for new bandages in his kit, which he’d kept through the ordeal in the river by strapping it onto his back.
She sat up so he could tape her up again. As he wrapped the gauze around her torso, Guinevere inhaled his scent. It was a mixture of wet male and nature. It was a clean smell like spring rain. It was a good smell. One that made her feel comfortable and secure.
He must’ve sensed that she was testing him because after affixing the tape securely he pulled back and distanced himself across the room. “It should be all healed in a couple of days. You might have a scar though.”
“It’s of no consequence. I have others.” She stretched out her arms, fully aware that the movement enhanced her bustline. “I wanted to thank you for saving my life. And for getting me here to safety. You didn’t have to.”
He avoided looking at her, but she could tell he was intrigued by her. Interested maybe. “Anyone would have done the same thing.”
She shook her head. “I suspect that you are just not anyone.”
He fussed with his medical kit. “Is there anything else I can do for you before I go?”
She wondered what he would do if she told him straight out what she wanted from him. Would he run if he knew how much she desired him right now?
He looked over at her, his eyes darkening. Did he sense what she needed?
“I need to feed, Trevor.” Her hands were shaking. She pressed them against the bed, hoping he did not see how much she craved him.
“I saw a vending machine in the lobby, I can get you a couple of bottles of blood. What do you prefer?”
“That will not be enough. I need fresh warm blood or I will not heal properly.”
She saw him swallow. Would he make his escape now knowing what she asked of him?
“Do you have a regular donor you could call? I could go down to the street and see if I could find you a willing one.”
She shook her head. “There is no one. No one I can trust.”
His hands paused on his medical bag. She could see his indecision in them. “I’m not sure—”
Guinevere rose from the bed and crossed the room. She stopped a foot in front of him, not wanting to scare him away. She needed him to breach the small distance between them. She needed him to agree to what she asked. She’d never taken anyone against their will before, and she wasn’t about to start now.
Even when she’d first risen as a vampire, some eight hundred years ago, she’d been careful who she took blood from. She’d never forcibly bitten someone. It had always been consensual. At first she’d had to seduce her donors but now in these enlightened times, she’d only have to ask. Most people understood the pleasure of a vampire’s bite. And most of them craved it just as much as she, like a drug.
“Have you shared blood with a vampire before?”
He shook his head.
“I won’t hurt you.”
“I know.”
Narrowing her eyes, she studied him. “Do you not find me attractive?”
“I do, yes.”
“But?”
He sighed. “I don’t want to take advantage of you. You’re hurt and—”
“You are afraid of taking advantage of me?” She laughed.
Her laughter made him frown. “I don’t take my healing oaths lightly, Guinevere, and neither should you.”
She sobered and really looked at him. She’d never met a stronger man before. A more valiant man. It was a trait she didn’t often see in people, especially those who surrounded her, those who ran in her political circles.
This just made her want him that much more.
“I did not mean to offend you. That wasn’t my intention.”
He nodded that he accepted her apology. “Look, I’m sure I can find you someone to feed from.” He turned toward the door. “It won’t take long.”
She grabbed his arm. “I don’t want someone else, I want you.”
“It’s the situation talking. We were in a dangerous, life- threatening situation together. We’ve bonded because of it.”
She knew he was trying to work out the particulars in his mind, trying to find reasons why they shouldn’t succumb to the desire she could feel simmering in the air. It was a human thing.
“Does it matter, Trevor? I want you, and I know you want me. I can see it in the way you look at me and the way your heart speeds up when you touch me.”
He didn’t say anything right away and Guinevere took that as a sign that he was considering her words carefully. There was no denying his desire for her. She could see it in his eyes and read it in the way he responded to her.
She didn’t normally, but she closed the distance between them and wrapped a hand around his neck to bring his mouth to hers. He didn’t resist her. Then finally, they were kissing, and it was hard and hot and wet and everything she was hoping it would be.
He wrapped his arms around her, and bending her back, he deepened the kiss. He was urgent, all tongue and teeth. He nipped and tugged at her lips and seemingly drank her in. It was as if he too was starving, and the only thing to sate him was her.
Chapter 4
The very last thing Trevor expected to be doing when he woke up this morning was kissing a gorgeous eight-hundred-year-old vampiress. Pulling bullets out of her maybe, but definitely not making out with her.