She kicked again, earning herself a swipe of his claws across her chest. A burning sensation hit her. The bastard had sliced through her shirt and skin. She could feel the blood seep from the gash on her breast. It stung like hell.
For an instant, she feared nausea would overwhelm her and knock her out cold. She pushed back the feeling.
“That smells nice,” Johan said and moved his head to her open wound.
Nina thrashed harder, but his grip tightened. He would suck her dry, and there was nothing she could do. She had no chance getting out of his hold. Panic coiled through her body, her heart beating as fast as a high-speed train.
A split second before his fangs dug into her breast, he was pulled away from her. A moment later she landed hard on her butt. She stared up at the melee, expecting to see Butt Ugly fighting with his vampire friend. Instead, she looked at the broad back of a huge man. Even without seeing his face, she recognized who was fighting her two assailants now.
Nina scrambled back onto her feet. In disbelief, she watched Amaury land kicks and blows against the two vampires, keeping them at bay. Why was he fighting off the two vampires he’d sent to kill her? This didn’t make any sense at all.
“You gonna help me or what?” Amaury called out. Was he talking to her? “You, the blonde who kissed me last night.”
So, he was talking to her. After all, she was the only blonde in the alley, and she doubted either Butt Ugly or Johan had kissed him.
She rushed to his side.
“About time,” he acknowledged her with a sideways glance.
With a quick high kick she fought off Johan to give Amaury a chance to beat the crap out of Butt Ugly. But Johan came back instantly, charging at her more fiercely now. When she tried for another kick, he was faster and grabbed her foot. She twisted, but lost her balance, falling backwards against Amaury.
“Duck,” he called out. In the same instant he turned behind her. Instinctively she crouched down, and looking up, she saw Amaury land a heavy right hook into her attacker’s face, slamming him into the wall five feet away.
“Thanks,” she gasped.
“Don’t mention it.” He turned back to his own attacker. Nina caught the moment when Butt -Ugly’s claws beat into Amaury, forcing him to the ground. Having helped her had distracted him and cost him the upper hand. The attacker pinned him and raised his arm.
“No!” She heard Amaury’s scream and saw the stake in Butt Ugly’s hand glint in the faint light coming from one of the windows facing the alley. Without thinking, Nina jumped behind the nasty vampire and landed on his back. Just as the tip of his stake reached Amaury’s chest, she slammed her own stake into the vampire’s back and hoped she’d found the spot where his damned heart was located.
As the bastard dissolved into dust, she landed right on Amaury, her legs straddling him. He wore no coat or jacket, only cargo pants and a shirt, which brought her into much closer contact with his body than the night before when he’d worn a long coat. For a moment, the warmth of his body startled her. How could he be so warm? He was a vampire—vampires were supposed to be cold.
“You’re w—”
His hand snapped around her wrist which still held the stake. He nudged the offending item away from him while he pinned her with a surprised stare.
“Careful, you could hurt somebody with that,” he smirked.
Smartass!
Nina didn’t get a chance to reply. From the corner of her eye she saw Johan approach, a knife in his hands. He lifted his arm and aimed it straight at her, ready to release it with a quick flick of his wrist.
Before she could move, Amaury twisted underneath her, wrapped his arms around her and shifted. Instead of the knife hitting her chest, it grazed her shoulder, slicing into the top layer of her skin. The pain was overridden by the adrenaline shooting through her body.
She noticed Amaury’s furious look before he unceremoniously dumped her on the ground and jumped onto his feet. Obviously Johan had picked up on the same look and instantly turned tail.
With the immediate danger over, the pain from her wounds suddenly crashed over her, and she let out a frustrated moan. Amaury immediately turned back to her instead of pursuing the other vampire.
“You okay?” Was that worry in his voice?
He crouched down next to her, a concerned look on his face. Was it such a good idea to be so close to a vampire when she was a walking advertisement for his favorite food?
“What’s it look like?” She figured it was better not to show him that she was worried about the fact that she leaked blood like a self-serve soda fountain. Would he try to bite her now that he could surely smell her blood? Even her own nose picked up the metallic scent of it.