Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(33)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

She hadn’t lied to Ariyal when she told him that Hunters had specific dietary requirements.

Although vampires tried to keep the knowledge a deep, dark secret, their greatest vulnerability was through the blood they had to drink to survive.

With the proper skills and the willingness to risk certain death if they failed, a demon could inject just enough silver into their bloodstream so a vampire could not scent the danger until too late. Of course, they would have to be impervious to silver themselves and then convince a vampire to drink enough of their blood to poison them.

Not as easy as one might think.

And then there was the danger from their primary food source … humans.

When a vampire consumed the blood of an addict there was a danger they could become addicted themselves. Slowly and inevitably they would be driven insane as their brains rotted from the contaminated blood.

She’d been trained never to put anything in her fangs that hadn’t been tested.

A task made considerably easier by technology, she conceded, taking a small drop of blood from each bag and studying it beneath the high-powered microscopes. Her senses were extremely acute, but they could be deceived.

Science was absolute.

Once assured the blood was hygienic, she swiftly emptied the bags, telling herself that it didn’t matter that it tasted flat. Food was for sustenance, wasn’t it? She fed because it was a necessity. Only idiots combined passion with their dinner.

And if her hunger for a certain herb-scented blood continued to plague her … well, too bad.

Cursing the day, or rather night, she’d crossed paths with Ariyal, the pain-in-the-ass Prince of Sylvermyst, Jaelyn took time for a thorough shower in the employees’ private bathroom before heading out of the hospital and back to the main avenue. Once there she found the nearest clothing store and pulled on a pair of black stretchy workout pants that hugged her from her hips to just below her knees as well as a matching crop top that covered her br**sts and not much else.

She didn’t bother to consider what she looked like in the outfit. She chose the clothing because it didn’t impede her movements and would blend into the night. Her feminine vanity had been the first thing to be taken from her by the Ruah.

On her way out the store, her attention was captured by a rack of men’s clothing. A slow, wicked smile curved her lips as she yanked one of the shirts from the hanger, then for good measure moved to collect a pair of faded jeans from the sale bin before heading out of the door.

With her foul mood abruptly lightened, Jaelyn tucked the clothes in a bag. Then, leaving the store, she made one more stop before heading out of town.

Ariyal had never understood the claim that someone was “fit to be tied.”

Not unless it included a beautiful female, a length of satin rope, and a soft bed.

Forty-five minutes after Jaelyn had disappeared he was learning the painful meaning of being “fit to be tied.”

Pacing through the meadow, he absently gathered handfuls of blackberries that were just ripening as well a few of the more tender leaves that he dipped in fresh honey. Like most Sylvermyst, he was a vegetarian who preferred his meal directly from nature, although his brute strength came from the blood of his enemies.

But satisfying his physical hunger did nothing to ease his frustration.

It was insane.

After centuries of being enslaved by a vicious bitch, the last thing he should want was to be at the mercy of another female. Especially one who couldn’t seem to decide if she wanted to lick him to paradise or rip out his throat.

Psycho women should be on his list of things to kill not on his list of those to get in his bed with all possible speed.

So why wasn’t he getting on with his business? He knew better than anyone that as long as the child remained with Tearloch there was the danger that the Dark Lord would be returned. The clock was ticking, and he couldn’t afford to waste a second.

Instead, he was pacing the meadow and imagining a dozen different scenarios, all of which included Jaelyn injured or captured or …

A frigid chill swept through the air, sending a flood of sharp relief through his body, closely followed by a ready male response to the potent womanly scent that filled his senses.

Precisely the two reactions he didn’t want, dammit.

He turned to watch as she stepped into the meadow, his heart squeezing at the mere sight of her.

Gods, but she was beautiful.

She’d showered while she was gone. Her silken hair was still damp and it glowed as glossy as a raven’s wing in the moonlight despite being wrenched into a tight braid. She’d also changed, although the stretchy bits of black cloth did nothing to lower his blood pressure. To top it off she’d matched the sexy ensemble with a brand-spanking-new sawed-off shotgun, which she’d strapped to her slender waist with a belt lined with cartridges.

Holy … shit.

Beautiful didn’t come close to capturing the sight of her drenched in moonlight.

She halted next to Levet, who was perched in the low branches of a tree, and with one smooth motion she tossed a sack into his stubby arms.

“Food?” The miniature beast sighed in pleasure. “Ah, you are an angel.”

Ariyal snorted. “You just consumed an entire deer.”

“There is always room for cake.”

He was distracted from the smirking gargoyle as Jaelyn turned to toss him a second sack.

“What’s this?”

“Clean clothes.”

He lifted his brows, sensing her hidden anticipation. He was almost afraid to check and see what she’d brought for him. Then his enjoyment at her unexpected playfulness was destroyed as he noticed the faint color that stained her cheeks.

She’d obviously fed. And the mere thought of her fangs buried in some stranger’s throat was enough to send a raw burst of fury through him.

“Did you enjoy your dinner?”

She stiffened, futilely attempting to scurry behind the icy dignity that he detested. Thankfully his ability to annoy her overcame her brutal training and she moved forward to punch him in the center of the chest.

He would take a broken rib to her clamping down her emotions any day of the week.

“Oh for God’s sake,” she hissed. “I went to the nearest hospital and raided their blood supply. Can we move on to something more interesting than my dietary habits?”

He grasped her wrist, using her blow to tug her off balance.

“Come with me,” he urged as she tumbled against his chest, his arms automatically wrapping around her slender body.

“Where?”

“There’s a stream hidden by the trees.” His gaze dipped toward her full lips, his feral satisfaction at the knowledge she hadn’t taken another man’s vein pounding through his blood. “You can wash my back.”