Seduce the Darkness (Alien Huntress #4)(30)
Author: Gena Showalter

In the end, she stayed. And she watched. Just in case Devyn needed assistance. Tom did a lot of crying, a lot of begging, but Devyn never relented. Merciless, cruel, he took his time, slicing, taunting, inflicting maximum pain without actually killing the human. At one point, Bride asked him if she should act as lookout and keep others from approaching, but he told her he’d taken care of that. Probably with his body-control ability.

Tom spilled blood—lots and lots of blood—and Bride’s mouth watered for all of that beautiful crimson nectar. Her fangs were sharpened, cutting her gums. Still she smelled the spice, but it no longer mattered in any way. She was starving, and the human was a banquet. But she resisted. Barely. Now was not the time to gorge. Once this was done, she needed to be on her feet, not writhing and vomiting. She needed to go home and decide what to do now that others knew about her.

When Devyn cut off one of Tom’s fingers, blood sprayed her directly in the face, dripping … oh, yes, dripping … begging her to taste, and she almost crumbled. Somehow, she managed to keep her tongue inside her mouth. A single taste would whip her into a frenzy; since her body always absorbed those first sips, it thought it could handle more and so it would demand more. She would drink and gulp and lap every drop from the sidewalk, unable to help herself.

Again she thought that she should leave, but Tom also began spilling lots and lots of secrets, so she remained in place, listening. Horrified. He and his friends had been slavers for years. They hadn’t just planned to abduct her. They’d planned to abduct many women. Selling them for sex, torture, or whatever the winning bidder wanted. The rarer the species, the higher the price.

Apparently, vampires were now the pick du jour.

Names, though, Tom refused to give, and in the end Devyn carved him up piece by piece before cutting off his head and depositing it on the nearest street corner for someone to find and news stations to shout about. Tom’s friends would see what had happened to him and know he’d been caught.

By then, it was an hour before sunset. Bride was covered in blood spatter, scared to her soul about slavers knowing who she was and where she lived, rubbing her chest to stave off the pain, and in awe of Devyn. Not once had he tired or hesitated. The very man who had probably charmed thousands of women out of their panties had been brutal, savage. Emotionless.

He turned to her, eyes as bright an amber as always but filled with uncertainty. "You’re frightened.”

“Yes." No reason to deny it.

He looked away from her. "Of me?"

She should be. Anyone who could take a life like that, hurt someone like that, was not a good enemy to have, and she’d challenged him several times already. She’d even vowed to make his life miserable. Yet right here, right now, she felt safer with him than anyone else in the world.

"No, not you. I’m afraid of the men who hunt me."

There was a beat of surprise before a slow grin spread over his face and he once again met her gaze. What a morbidly beautiful sight he was, Bride thought. He waved a dismissive hand. "When they see the news, they’ll know. Mess with Bride McKells and die."

"That, or they’ll come for revenge." A shudder rocked her.

His head tilted to the side in thought. "You could always room with me." The moment he spoke, his lips pursed, as if he wanted to snatch back the words.

"No, thanks. I’ve been protecting myself for years. I’ll be fine." Most likely she’d have to move again, change her name again. Damn. She didn’t want to do either. She liked her home.

He popped his jaw, an action completely at odds with the tender way he then brushed her hair behind her ear. "They won’t come for you, not for days yet. When they find out about Tom, they’ll meet and talk about what to do. You have time to think, to plan, so rest easy tonight. Or rather, today. We’ll figure out how to handle them once Nolan and Aleaha are taken care of." He glanced up at the sky. "Much as I’m enjoying our time together, you had better go. I doubt you can tolerate the sun for long."

"You’re right. It blisters my skin." It was a weakness she shouldn’t have admitted to, but after everything he’d done for her, her defenses were down and the truth had simply slipped out.

"Until tomorrow, then."

She backed away, intending to leave as he’d suggested, but stopped herself before she’d even taken four steps. "Devyn?"

"Don’t tell me. You want to kiss me good-bye." He sighed, waved her over. "Fine. I’ll jump on that grenade. Get over here."

She rolled her eyes. "Why did you help me?" she asked. She had to know.

For a moment, she doubted he would answer. Then he shrugged. "You have Nolan. And you owe me three make-out sessions. I wasn’t about to let you die and renege."

Whatever she’d hoped to hear, that wasn’t it. "Uh, I owe you kisses. Not make-out sessions." She paused, nibbled on her bottom lip. "Will you get in trouble? For killing a human, I mean?" As an otherworlder, he had very few rights. Unfair, but the way of the world all the same.

His lips twitched. "Worried for me, sweetheart? Well, don’t be. If I’m punished, I’ll make you f**k me all better."

She spun around, giving him her back before he saw her smile. Fuck him all better, indeed. Incorrigible womanizer. "See you later, Devyn," she said, and strode away from him.

CHAPTER 9

Dallas Gutierrez clutched a garbage bag as he pushed through the mess in his living room, bending down and picking up trash. Cleaning. Ugh. It was something he hadn’t done in months. After his near-death experience, he’d just stopped caring about the state of his domicile. Why waste precious time doing something he hated? But Devyn liked clean and neat, and Devyn would arrive any moment. He knew it, sensed it.

They hadn’t talked since yesterday morning, when Dallas had taken Macy and Breean to a motel to "search" for Bride. They’d even made plans to meet for coffee at eight a.m. today, a few hours away. But Devyn was on his way even now. Lately, Dallas knew all kinds of trivial things. They seeped into his head, not visions but whispers of coming truths.

He hated it. He didn’t want to know things before they happened. Little or big. Last few months, a lot of his friends had stopped calling, stopped hanging out with him. They were afraid of him and what he could now do. Predict the future. Move at speeds the human eye couldn’t see. Compel people to obey him with only a single voiced command.

The speed, he actually enjoyed. He’d secretly used it on the job once or twice and was a better agent because of it. Only problem was, he couldn’t have one ability without the others. Okay, two problems. His control of each ability was sketchy. Maybe because he fought them so fervently. But he couldn’t help himself. When he welcomed his visions with open arms, he saw loved ones die. When he forced people to do things they didn’t want to do, the guilt ate at him for days. Therefore, he tried not to use either.