Marked By The Vampire (Purgatory #2)(3)
Author: Cynthia Eden

The captain grunted. “I’m gonna need help on deck.” He jerked his thumb toward the vampire. “So take that guy down below and make sure he won’t be trouble.”

Olivia was quite sure the vamp would be trouble.

“Then someone needs to come up and help me through the storm.”

The guards vanished with the vamp, heading down a flight of steps. Olivia held tight to the railing and tried to make her body move with the pitching waves. The ferry chugged away from the dock, and the clouds overhead erupted with a full fury. The rain wasn’t just plopping down any longer—it was pelting their vessel.

She braced her feet and kept her death-grip on that railing. The farther they went, the wilder the waves seemed to become, and the wind was soon ripping at her, tossing her hair around her face and yanking at her coat.

“Go below deck!” The captain bellowed. He was sliding behind the wheel. One of the guards was at his side.

A big wave hit the side of the ferry and Olivia almost hit the deck face-first. Going below deck is a grand plan. She slipped and slid her way to the stairs. Then she hurried down into the darkness that waited below. The wind was howling now, the storm a vicious monster, and she wondered why they just hadn’t waited. Hadn’t tried to come out on that ferry the next day. Wouldn’t that have been better?

Another hard wave must have hit the ferry at that moment because the boat shuddered and Olivia fell down the last two steps. She tumbled down and—

He caught her.

She felt the cold metal of the vampire’s restraints against her arms as he caught Olivia in his strong grip. He lifted her up, holding her easily against him.

“Let her go!” A guard snarled.

The vamp didn’t.

The light over them was flickering. The flickering light let her glimpse the vamp’s expression. His gaze seemed to see right into her. “Better be careful,” he told her, his voice the deep rumble that Olivia knew she’d never forget. “You don’t know what waits in the darkness.”

Oh, she had a pretty good idea.

“Let me go,” she told him softly. This vampire didn’t seem drugged. Not at all. Had he started that diluted blood intake yet? He appeared far too powerful. “If you don’t let me go, that guard is going to stake you.” Her words were a real threat because the guard had already pulled out a wooden stake.

Instead of letting her go, the vampire pulled her even closer and he—inhaled?

“I like the way you smell,” he told her, and she felt the slight movement of his mouth against her ear as he whispered, “I didn’t expect to find something so sweet on my way to hell.”

Her hands were braced against his chest. The ferry was shuddering from side to side.

“Shane,” the guard snapped, “don’t make me do this to you.”

Shane.

The vampire laughed. “And don’t make me kill you, Philip.”

But the vamp—Shane—he slowly let her go. As soon as his hands dropped, Olivia jumped back as if she’d been burned, and she did feel that way. As if he’d burned her or marked her somehow, just with his touch.

“You okay, ma’am?” Philip asked her, that Texas drawl strong in his voice.

She nodded but didn’t look away from the vampire.

“You’re going to make things difficult,” Shane told her. “Wonder how many dumb bastards I’ll have to take out there…because of you?”

She shook her head, totally lost.

“I guess we’ll see…” Shane shifted his body a bit.

Her gaze fell to his shirt-front. She’d grabbed his shirt when she fell, and she’d yanked open the top few buttons there. She could just make out his golden skin.

Her gaze swept over him, studying him now in that faint light. His right wrist was turned toward her, and, curving around that wrist, she could just make out the faint edge of a tattoo.

She inched forward, still staring at that tattoo.

The ferry dipped to the right.

That tattoo…it almost looked like…

The ferry shuddered to the left. She grabbed onto the wall for support.

It looks like a dragon’s wing.

Her gaze rose. Shane was staring right at her. Smiling. Showing his long, dangerous fangs. And looking at her with a fierce desire glowing in his eyes—a desire that said the vamp would sure like to take a bite…of her.

***

The restraints were a joke. Shane August knew that he could break free of them in less than ten seconds time. It would take another ten seconds to eliminate his guard and then—well, then he could enjoy the delectable treat staring at him with such big, dark eyes.

She wasn’t letting fear show on her face. Impressive. Most humans usually cracked quickly when they were afraid. But her expression didn’t reflect her terror, but her scent did. Fear hung in the air around her. Fear because of the storm. Fear because of him.

He knew who she was, of course. Pate had briefed him on Dr. Olivia Maddox. Shane had been planning for this particular undercover assignment for weeks.

But he hadn’t counted on the Hot Doc.

Pate had totally screwed him on this one.

You work to get Intel your way. Pate’s words played through his mind. And let Dr. Maddox work the inmates her way. She may be able to uncover information that you can’t.

Right…because all the monsters in Purgatory would take one look at her and start salivating. Just like he was doing.

She was all curves and smooth, golden skin. Her hair—long and black—had escaped from the twist she’d worn when she first stepped onto the boat. Now that hair slid over her shoulders, glistening with water.

Her lips were parted faintly, and he sure liked her mouth. The doc’s lips were wide and full, and he wanted to feel her mouth beneath his. No, he wanted her beneath him, and that damn well wasn’t going to work.

He had a mission. He couldn’t afford to get distracted, no matter how hot the doc might be.

She is plenty f**king hot.

His tongue slid over his fangs. Oh, but it would certainly be fun to have a little bite of her.

“Stop it,” Olivia snapped, some fire shooting through her voice as red stained her cheeks. “I’m not on your menu.”

Are you sure about that?

Philip jerked on Shane’s restraints. Ah, Philip—a transport guard who had no clue who Shane truly was. The guy just figured Shane was another inmate. He certainly had the fake rap sheet and sentencing papers to go along with that cover.

But Shane wasn’t a cold-blooded killer. He’d killed, yes, but all of his recent hunts had been sanctioned by the FBI.