Vampire's Hunger Read Free Page B

somber gaze held hers. “She wants your necromancy services, Kimber. She’ll keep coming until you give in.”
    Kimber crossed her arms and tipped her head back so she could look into his handsome face. He had six inches on her in height and outweighed her by at least a hundred pounds, making her feel feminine. Protected, even though he was what he was.
    She looked her fill. Pretty, pretty man with long black eyelashes framing those incredible eyes. Her gaze drifted to his mouth, those sensual lips that tempted her so much. She drew in a bracing breath. It would take more than what he had to make her put herself into harm’s way. As much as she didn’t want to, the memory of her parents’ deaths at the hands of vampires—vampires who had been under Maddalene’s command—that memory kept flashing into her thoughts. It didn’t matter that Duncan had destroyed the ones who’d killed her parents. It was all too little too late. There was no way he would tempt her to forget exactly what he was, what he was capable of.
    Yep, keep telling yourself that, Kimber. Maybe at some point it’ll actually be true. She cleared her throat. “She can’t force me.”
    “Can’t she?” He leaned closer until his mouth was a mere inch from hers. “You have no idea what she’s capable of.”
    “Oh, I think I do. I have a scar to prove it, remember? You were there.”
    “And you’ve never forgiven me for not protecting you then.”
    She clenched her teeth. He’d promised no harm would come to her, and she’d believed him. She’d trusted him. Even after Maddalene had given the order to have Kimber’s parents used as vampire bait, Kimber had believed that Duncan would somehow protect her from the bitch queen. He’d kept Maddalene from killing her, but Kimber had a scar that ran from the left side of her throat down her back—a constant reminder of her fight with the vampire race.
    “No, I haven’t,” she said in answer to his claim. In reality, she had, at least intellectually. Emotionally was another matter. It all came down to trust, and she wasn’t sure she could trust him.
    He was so close she could see herself reflected in his eyes. Her pulse pounded in her throat. She resisted the urge to clap her hand over it, though as close as he was she suspected he could hear the increased rhythm of her heart. She couldn’t deny his appeal, and she refused to be ashamed of having a natural reaction of female to male. But she wasn’t going to let him seduce her into doing something she didn’t want to do. “I said no, and I meant no.”
    He stared into her eyes. She didn’t feel him in her head, so she knew he wasn’t trying to use his vampire wiles to influence her. “You need to reconsider,” he said, his breath puffing against her lips as he spoke. “I promise you, this time I will protect you. With my life if need be.” His voice deepened. “I’m telling you this for your own good, Kimber. Reconsider.”
    She planted her palms on his chest and pushed him back, aware with some anger that the only reason she was able to budge him was because he allowed it, not because she’d been strong enough. “Is that a threat?” she asked, staring hard at him. She didn’t care if he was faster and stronger than she was. She wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. She made sure her voice was hard and tough. “Are you threatening me?” She almost added “punk” to the end but her sense of self-preservation prevailed.
    Nevertheless, his eyes narrowed at her tone. “No, I’m not. I’m trying to help you.”
    “Help…” She shook her head. Vampires didn’t ordinarily go out of their way to help people, especially people like her, people who held sway over the dead. It made them nervous, she supposed, seeing as how they, too, had been dead once upon a time. They had to have the thought, somewhere in the back of their minds, that maybe, just maybe, she’d be able to control them if she put her mind, and her magic, to