Darkness Unleashed (Guardians of Eternity #5)(17)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

“Aren’t you coming back to bed?” Jenna whined.

Salvatore didn’t bother to glance in her direction. “Get your clothes on, and get out.” Reaching the door, he jerked it open to gesture toward the massive, shaven-headed cur that stood guard in the hallway. “Hess.”

Dropping to his knees, the cur pressed his forehead to the crimson carpet in proper deference. “Yes, sire?”

“We have a problem in Hannibal. I want you to gather up three of our best soldiers, and pack the Humvee with enough arsenal to clean out a pack of rogue curs. We leave after my lunch with the mayor.”

Chapter 5

Regan watched as Jagr slipped the cell phone into the pocket of his jeans. Jeans that hung low on his hips and clung to his powerful legs with yummy determination…

Crap.

Tilting her chin, Regan tried to ignore the constant awareness that buzzed through her like an electric shock. Okay, the damned vamp was the most beautiful creature she’d ever seen. And he oozed sex from the top of his golden head to the tips of his shit-kicker boots. And his kisses were making her so randy she thought she might scream if she didn’t have relief soon.

But he was still the most obnoxious, arrogant, unpredictable, pig-headed brute it was ever her misfortune to encounter.

“If you intended to call Salvatore, then why did you send Levet to look for the curs?” she demanded, her voice sharp with…hell, she’d might as well admit it, if only to herself. Sharp with frustration.

He shrugged. “Salvatore has no greater ability to sense magic than I do. A gargoyle is a creature of magic. There’s no spell, no matter how powerful the demon or witch, that he won’t be able to track.”

“Well, I’m not just waiting in this cave for Levet to return.” She folded her arms over her chest, ready (no, aching) for a fight. “As you pointed out, we don’t even know if Culligan is with the curs.”

He flicked a golden brow upward, tossing her bags of clothing into a far corner. Clothes he’d bought for her just because he knew she wanted them. Her frustration became downright painful. Damn the vampire.

“And what is your plan?” he mocked. “To roam the streets, and hope you stumble over the imp?”

“Do you have a better idea, chief?”

“Yes. I think we should find the RV. The curs might be capable of hiding an imp, but they wouldn’t expend the magic to hide his vehicle.”

She snorted. “What does it matter if he isn’t in it?”

“Culligan was no doubt in a hurry to disappear. He might have left something behind that will reveal why he chose Hannibal.”

Against her will, Regan recalled those chaotic hours after her rescue. She’d been certain Salvatore Giuliani must be some sort of gorgeous guardian angel sent to free her from Culligan’s clutches. It was exactly what she’d dreamed of for years.

Until, of course, the freaking Were had allowed Culligan to escape, followed by her being informed that she had an extended family who obviously hadn’t given a damn that she was being used and abused, and then topped it off with the news she was worthless to him since he could smell her infertility.

Bastard.

“Why would Culligan be in a hurry?” She didn’t bother to hide her bitterness. “Salvatore made it clear he wasn’t going to waste his time tracking down a mere imp to punish him. Not when I’m barren and worthless.”

His lips twisted. “Culligan wasn’t afraid of the damned King of Weres. He was afraid of you.”

“He should be,” she muttered.

His artic gaze flicked over her tense body. “Do you need to feed before we begin?”

She was starving, but she wasn’t about to admit as much. Allowing this vampire to take care of her needs was…disturbing.

“I will later.”

His eyes flashed with annoyance. “That’s no answer.”

“Well, too bad, because that’s all you’re getting.”

“If you need to feed, then you’ll do it now. You’re no good to me weak.”

Regan snapped. There was no other word for it.

One moment she was standing near the entrance of the cave, and the next she was flying through the air to tackle the six-foot-three, two-hundred-fifty-pound vampire.

When they tumbled to the hard ground, Regan wasn’t certain who was the more astonished, her or Jagr.

She did know who recovered first.

She’d barely managed a smirk at the realization she’d landed on top when Jagr gave a low growl, and with one smooth motion had rolled her beneath him, his body pinning her to the hard dirt.

Regan felt her breath being squeezed from her lungs. Of course, who wouldn’t suffocate with a massive vampire squashing them?

It didn’t have anything to do with the thick hair that had loosened from its braid to tumble about them like a curtain of gold satin. Or the scent of raw power flooding her senses.

Nope. No way in hell.

So why were those blue eyes thawing as if Jagr could sense the hot rush of her blood, and the renegade softening of her limbs?

“We both know I could force you to Chicago if I wanted,” he husked, his hand cupping her face in a gesture of pure possession. “Unfortunately I understand your thirst for revenge and I’m willing to indulge you for a day or two. But not if this is a death wish. You take one unnecessary risk or try to sneak away from me again, and I will stuff you in a bag and carry you to your sister.”

Regan hissed, her body trembling with the need to rub against the hard thrust of his arousal.

“You’re really pissing me off.”

His gaze lowered to her lips. “Do we have a deal?”

“Screw you.”

Muttering words she didn’t understand, Jagr buried his face in the curve of her neck, the sensation of his fangs scraping her sensitive skin sending a shocking rash of pleasure through her body.

“You’re playing with fire, little one.”

Regan’s lips parted, her fingers digging into his upper arms as his tongue lightly traced the line of her collarbone revealed by her new pink T-shirt.

“Jagr,” she breathed.

“You smell of hot nights and jasmine.” His mouth brushed her skin as he spoke, the cool stroke of his lips branding her flesh. “Exquisite.”

Regan squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to halt the dark tide of need. Okay, her body wanted Jagr. Wanted him with a force that was close to going nuclear.

But it was just lust. The reaction of a woman who had been denied sex her entire life.