Night Pleasures (Dark-Hunter #2)(14)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

What was it about Hunter that made her miss him so… ?

But she knew. He was gorgeous and smart and heroic. He was mysterious and lethal. Better yet, he made her heart pound every time he flashed that dazzling smile at her.

And he was gone forever.

Depressed, she prepared to leave.

After putting her files in her briefcase, Amanda headed out of her office, to the elevator, and pushed the button to the lobby. She didn’t want to keep Grace waiting outside with the twins. Besides, she was tired of the office.

This had been the longest day of her life.

Why had she ever wanted to be an accountant, anyway? Selena was right, her life was mind-shatteringly boring.

When the doors to the elevator opened to the glass-enclosed lobby, she stepped out and looked around. Even though it was dark outside, the parking-lot lights were so bright, she could tell Grace wasn’t there yet. Damn! She was more than ready to go home.

Irritated, Amanda went to stand by the door.

As she shifted her briefcase, Cliff came out of the next elevator, surrounded by his friends.

Great, just great. Her day kept getting better and better.

Spotting her alone, Cliff preened like a peacock as he approached her. "Is something wrong?" he asked as he stopped by her side.

"No. My ride isn’t here yet," she said curtly.

"Well, if you need a ride home…"

"I don’t need anything from you, okay?" She headed out the doors to wait in the dark cold. Better to freeze in the winter chill than spend another minute around the last man on earth she wanted to see.

Cliff pulled her to a stop outside the building. The streetlights glinted dimly against his dark blond hair. "Look, Mandy, there’s no reason why we can’t be friends."

"Don’t you dare be magnanimous about this after the stunt you pulled today. Who do you think you are, telling everyone about my family?"

"Oh, c’mon, Mandy-"

"Stop calling me Mandy when you know how much I hate it."

He looked over his shoulder and she realized half the office was standing there, listening. "Look, I’m not the one who had to stay home yesterday because I was so emotionally distraught over Saturday night."

Her anger ignited. Emotionally distraught? Her?

Over him?

Amanda took a good look at him. And for the first time, she realized just what a weasel he was.

"Excuse me, but I wasn’t home yesterday, either. In fact, you know where I was? I spent the entire day in the arms of a gorgeous blond god. I am so over you."

He snorted. "See, I knew it was just a matter of time before your family rubbed off on you. You’re crazy like the rest of them. I bet you show up tomorrow decked out in black leather and talking about staking vampires."

Never in her life had she wanted to slap anyone as much as she did him right then.

Why had she ever thought they were compatible? He was vile and rude. Worse, he was judgmental! Tabitha might be a nutcase, but she was her sister and no one not related to them had better insult her!

Suddenly, every flaw she had dismissed about Cliff came to the forefront. And to think she had spent a year of her life trying to please this jerk.

She was an idiot! And stupid, dumb…

Amanda felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise an instant before she heard the revving noise of a finely tuned engine in the distance.

Cliff turned his head toward the street and gaped.

She looked to see what had captured his attention and froze at the sight of a sleek black Lamborghini heading up the drive and stopping at the curb in front of them.

A smile broke across her face.

Surely not…

Her heart pounded as the door lifted and Hunter got out Dressed in faded jeans, a gray and black V-neck sweater, and a black leather jacket, the man was drop-dead stunning.

And that deadly swagger of his made her weak in the knees.

"Oh baby," she heard Tammy whisper as he came around the car.

Hunter stopped in front of Amanda and raked a hungry look over her body. "Hi, luscious," he said in that deep, evocative voice. "Sorry I’m late."

Before Amanda knew what he was doing, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a sizzling hot kiss. Her body burned in response to his tongue tasting hers as he fisted his hands against her back. Then, he dipped down and picked her up in his arms.

"Hunter!" she gasped as he carried her effortlessly toward the car.

He gave her that devilish tight-lipped smile. His midnight eyes were warm and alive with humor and hunger.

With the toe of his boot, he opened the passenger-side door and set her inside. He retrieved her briefcase and purse from the sidewalk where she had dropped them and handed them to her. Then, he turned and gave a knowing smile to Cliff. "You really have to love a woman who lives to see you nak*d."

The look on Cliff’s face was priceless as Hunter closed the door, then gracefully walked over to the driver’s side of the Lamborghini. In one fluid movement, he got inside the car and they were headed out of the lot.

A thousand emotions tore through Amanda. Gratitude, laughter, but most of all, happiness at seeing him again, especially after both Julian and her mind had convinced her that she never would.

She couldn’t believe what he’d just done for her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as he headed out of the parking lot.

"You have made me insane all day long," he breathed. "I could sense you in turmoil and pain, but I didn’t know why. So, I called Grace and found out she was supposed to pick you up after work."

"You still haven’t told me why you’re here."

"I had to make sure you were okay."

"Why?"

"I don’t know. I just did."

Warmed by his words, she toyed with her seat belt. "Thank you for the clothes. And for what you did back there with Cliff."

"My pleasure."

Right now, it was all she could do not to reach out and touch him. To kiss her scrumptious champion.

Hunter shifted gears and headed away from the business district. "I just have one question, why would a woman like you ever want to marry something like him?"

Amanda arched a brow. "How did you-"

"I’m psychic, remember? Your true feelings for the ‘imbecilic jerk’ are all over your mind at the moment."

She cringed and wished she could shield her thoughts.

"I heard that, too," Hunter teased, making her really wonder if he had.

"Is there anything I can do about your peeping into my head all the time? It really makes me uncomfortable."

"If you like, I could relinquish that power over you."

"Really? You can just drop a power anytime you want to?"

He snorted. "Not exactly. The only power I can relinquish is the ability to see into someone’s thoughts."

"Once relinquished, can you get it back?"

"Yes, but it’s not easy."

"Then banish it, buster."

Kyrian laughed and tried to focus on the road, but all he really noticed was the slit in her dress that bared a goodly portion of her silk-clad thigh. Worse, he knew what she wore beneath that dress. It was another image that had haunted him all day as he had tried to sleep.

The thought of her lush curves cupped by the garter belt and thong… It made his mouth water. And all he wanted to do was slide his hand underneath that well-crafted hem until he felt the tiny strip of silk that shielded her most private place. Oh yeah, he could imagine moving it aside with his fingers until he had full access to her.

Or ripping that tiny, frail piece of silk away from her h*ps and burying himself deep inside her while her silk-clad legs wrapped around his.

Hunter shifted in his seat and remembered too late he should have bought himself a pair of baggy pants.

Touching her would be paradise.

If only paradise were a possibility for a creature like him.

He tightened his grip on the gear shift as the thought tore through him.

"No woman will ever love you for anything other than your money. Mark my words, boy. Men like us will never have that one basic need. The best you can hope for is a child to love you ."

His breath caught as the repressed memory flooded back to him with total clarity. And hard on its heels came the final words he’d spoken to his father.

"How could I ever love a heartless man like you? You mean nothing to me, old man. And you never will."

The pain of it stole his breath. Words he’d spoken in anger that could never be retracted.

How could he have said them to the one person he had loved and respected most?

"So," Amanda asked, distracting him, "what happened with Desiderius last night? Did you get him?"

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focus on the here and now. "He went into a bolt-hole after our confrontation."

"A what?"

"A bolt-hole. Sanctuary for the Daimons," he explained. "They’re astral openings between dimensions. The Daimons can go in for a few days, but when the door opens, they have to leave again."

Amanda was aghast at what he was describing. How could that be possible? "I can’t believe the powers that be would give the Daimons such a haven to escape justice."

"They didn’t. The Daimons discovered bolt-holes on their own." He flashed a wicked smile at her. "But I’m not complaining. It makes my job infinitely more interesting."

"Well, just so long as you’re not bored," she said sarcastically. "I would really hate for your job to ever get dull."

He cast a glance at her that set her on fire. "Chere, I have a feeling being bored around you would be an impossibility."

His words struck a painful nerve in her. "You’re the only one who feels that way," she said as she remembered her conversation with Selena. "I’ve been told I tip the scales way into Boredom City."

He stopped at a light and gave her a penetrating stare. "I don’t understand that comment since I’ve been nothing but amazed by you ever since the moment I woke up to you calling me ‘Mr. yummy leather guy.’ "

Her face on fire, she laughed at the memory.

"Besides," Hunter continued, "you can’t blame people for saying that when you’re the one who puts up the shield."

"Excuse me?"

He shifted into first and headed down the street. "It’s true. You bury the part of you that craves excitement underneath a career guaranteed to one day replace tranquilizers. You wear drab colors and turtlenecks that hide the passion you keep harnessed."

"I do not," she said, bristling with indignation. "You hardly know me well enough to say that. And you’ve only seen me in one outfit of my choosing."

"True, but I know your type."

"Yeah, right." She mumbled her denial.

"And I’ve sampled your passion firsthand."

Amanda’s face flamed even more at that one. She couldn’t deny the truth. However, it didn’t mean she had to like the way he seemed to see straight into her heart.

"I think you’re afraid of that other half of yourself," he continued. "You remind me of the ancient Greek nymph Lyta. She was two halves of one person. The two pieces warred with each other, making her-and anyone who knew her-miserable until one day a Greek soldier came upon the two halves and joined them. From that day forward she lived in harmony with herself and others."

"What, are you saying I make you miserable?"

He laughed. "No. I find you amusing, but I think you’d be much happier if you would accept your true nature and not try so hard to fight it."

"This coming from a vampire who doesn’t drink human blood? Tell me, aren’t you fighting your nature, too?"

He smiled at that. "Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I too would be happier if I turned the wild beast inside me loose." He glanced askance at her. "I wonder if you could handle that part of me."

"Meaning?"

He didn’t answer. "Where do I need to take you? Julian’s, your mother’s, or your place?"

"Well, since you’re headed toward my house, I suppose there. I live a few blocks over from Tulane."

Kyrian did his best to stay focused on traffic, but over and over he kept seeing flashes of his dream in his mind. Damn, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d had such a vivid dream. He’d awakened early in the morning, hard and aching for her. And he could have sworn her scent was on his pillows. His skin.

He’d spent the rest of the day trying his best to sleep, but it had been fitful at best. He wanted this woman with a need so profound that it made him shake just to be near her.

Never in his life had he wanted anything more than to do what she suggested: to turn himself loose on her and devour her.

If only he dared.

As soon as it had turned dark, he had gone hunting for her.

It was the first time in his Dark-Hunter life that he’d pursued a human.

"You know," she said, that soft, lilting drawl sending an electric charge down his spine straight to his groin. "You didn’t have to pick me up. You could have just called the office and checked on me."

Kyrian cleared his throat as he felt heat creep over his face. Dammit! She had him blushing? He hadn’t blushed since he was a callow youth over two thousand one hundred and sixty years ago. "I didn’t have your number."