Chapter 1
Laylah was tired.
She was tired of the dark, cramped tunnels sprawling beneath the northeast corner of Missouri that she’d been running through for the past two days. She was tired of being chased by an enemy she couldn’t see. She was tired of her stomach cramping with hunger and her limbs screaming in protest at her relentless pace.
Reaching a small cavern, she came to an abrupt halt, shoving her fingers through the short, spiky strands of her brilliant red hair, her black eyes searching the shadows for her pursuer.
Not that she expected to actually catch sight of the frigid pain in her ass.
Vampires not only possessed supernatural speed and strength, but they could shroud themselves in shadows, making them impossible to sense, even to most demons. It was only because she had the power of Jinn blood running through her veins that she could detect the relentless leech following her mad dash through the tunnels.
What she didn’t know was …
Why.
She shivered, her mouth dry. Christ. She’d thought she was being so clever when she’d initially allowed the vamp to catch her scent. She’d hoped to lure him, along with the other intruders, away from Caine’s private lair.
Not that she gave a damn about the cur, but she’d hidden her most precious treasure at his estate, and she couldn’t afford to allow any creature with the superior senses of a vampire, or even a full-blooded Were, near her secret. She’d thought the demons would give chase for a few hours and then grow tired of the game, hopefully returning to Hannibal or even St. Louis.
But her hasty plan had fallen apart right from the start.
The Were had continued on his path to Caine’s lair, and the vampire had refused to give up, no matter how far or how fast she’d run.
Now she was too weak to call upon her shadow walking powers, and too far from Caine to call for his help.
“Oh, screw it,” she muttered, planting her hands on her hips and tilting her chin in unspoken defiance. “I know you’re following me, vampire. Why don’t you just show yourself?”
A warning chill thickened the air, prickling painfully over her skin.
“You think you can give me orders, half-breed?” A dark, sinfully beautiful voice filled the cavern.
Laylah’s heart missed a beat. Even with her demon blood she wasn’t immune to the ruthless sensuality that was as much a part of a vampire as his lethal fangs.
“What I think is that I’m done running,” she gritted. “So either kill me or go chase someone else.”
“Ah. Then you’re confident you’ve managed to lead me far enough away?”
“Away?” Laylah stiffened, licking her suddenly dry lips. He couldn’t know. No one knew. “Away from what?”
“That’s what I’m wondering,” the dark voice drawled. “It must be of great importance.”
Laylah forced herself to suck in a deep breath, refusing to panic. The stupid vamp was simply trying to press her buttons. Everyone knew that they loved to toy with their prey.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Hmmm. Have you ever watched a quail?”
She felt unseen fingers brush her nape, the cold touch ironically sending a bolt of heat straight to the pit of her stomach. She whirled around, not surprised that the predator had disappeared.
“The bird?” she rasped, belatedly wishing she was wearing more than a pair of cutoff jeans and a muscle shirt. Having so much skin exposed was making her feel oddly vulnerable.
Not that clothing would halt a determined vampire.
It wouldn’t matter if she were dipped in cement and wrapped with barbed wire.
“When a predator approaches the nest, the mother quail will feign a broken wing and dash away to lure the danger from her chicks,” her tormentor murmured, his voice seeming to speak directly into her ear.
She instinctively stumbled backward, her mouth dry with a sudden fear.
“The only quail I care about are baked and served on a bed of rice.”
“What are you trying to protect?” There was a deliberate pause. “Or is it who?”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“Is it a lover? A sibling? A child?” His soft chuckle grazed her cheek as the sharp leap of her pulse gave her away. “Ah, that’s it. Your child?”
Laylah bunched her hands into fists of frustration. He was getting too close. She had to distract the bastard.
“I thought vampires were known for their courage,” she deliberately taunted, willing to risk a battle she couldn’t win if it would keep her secrets. “Are you such a coward you have to hide in the shadows?”
The chill thickened, the danger a tangible force in the air. Then, the shadows directly before her stirred, and the vampire slowly became visible.
Laylah reeled, feeling as if she’d just been punched in the gut.
All vampires were beautiful. And sexy. Wickedly, indecently sexy. But this one …
Reminding herself to breathe, Laylah allowed her gaze to skim over the elegant features that revealed his Polynesian ancestors, lingering on the slanted eyes that were a brilliant shade of honey and the inky black hair that had been shaved on the sides, leaving the top to form a mohawk that fell past his broad shoulders.
Her gaze lowered, that vicious awareness twisting her gut at the sight of his half naked body barely covered by a pair of khaki shorts.
Damn the annoying leech.
Had he deliberately left his body on full, wondrous display? After all, he had to know it would make her fingers twitch with the desire to investigate the smooth muscles of his chest. Or wait… maybe she would go down the flat plane of his stomach …
Lost in her helpless response to his sensual beauty, she was jerked back to the danger of her situation as the demon stepped far too close, his fingers casually stroking along the curve of her neck.
“Have you never been told the dangers of provoking a vampire?” he murmured.
A chill inched down her spine, but she forced herself to meet his hypnotic gaze.
“Do you intend to drain me?”
His lips twitched. “Tell me about the child.”
“No.”
“It’s yours?” He paused, his fingers drifting to the pulse that hammered at the base of her throat, an intense concentration etched on his beautiful face. “No. Not yours. You are as pure as an angel.”
Genuine fear speared through her heart. Damn the interfering leech.
“Leave me alone,” she breathed.
The honey eyes darkened with a dangerous hunger. Laylah wasn’t sure if it was for blood or sex.
Probably both.
“A beautiful angel,” he husked, his arms wrapping around her to yank her hard against the strength of his body. “And I have waited too long to have a taste.”
Unable to halt her panic any longer, Laylah’s unpredictable powers lashed out, the electrical charge that filled the air enough to make the vampire leap back in wary surprise.
“I said, leave me alone,” she hissed, wrapping her arms around her waist.
A dark brow arched. “Well, well. You like to play rough?”
“I don’t like to play at all,” she snapped. “What do you want from me?”
“My first intent was to capture you so you could be brought before the Commission.”
She jerked at the threat, her powers abruptly faltering. She’d been hiding from the official leaders of the demon world for two centuries. To be taken to the Oracles that made up the Commission was nothing less than a death-sentence.
“I’ve done nothing to earn such a punishment,” she attempted to bluff.
“Your very existence is worthy of punishment.” The vampire smoothly countered. “Half-breed Jinns have been forbidden.”
Laylah squashed the familiar anger at the sheer injustice. Now was not the time to debate whether or not she should be exterminated for the sins of her parents.
“You said that was your first intent,” she said, her voice thick. “Have you changed your mind?”
A dangerous smile curved the vampire’s lips as he reached to trace the plunging neckline of her shirt, his touch searing a path of pure pleasure.
“Let us say I’m willing to postpone our journey with the proper incentive.”
“Incentive?”
“Do you need me to demonstrate?” he murmured, his lips softly brushing over her mouth.
“No …” she choked, attempting to deny the piercing need that lashed through her.
Gods. She had been alone for so long.
So very long.
“Tell me your name,” he whispered against her lips. “Tell me.” “Laylah.”
“Laylah.” He said her name slowly, as if testing it on his tongue. Pulling back he studied her pale features, his hands skimming down her sides to grasp her hips and boldly press her against the hard evidence of his arousal. “Exquisite.”
Laylah clenched her teeth, ignoring the sizzle of excitement racing through her blood.
“I assume you have a name as well?”
There was a brief pause. Not surprising. A name in the hands of a magic user could give them power over a person. Then he shrugged.
“Tane.”
It suited him. Ruthless. Powerful. Stunningly male.
“Great.” Placing her hands against the steely hardness of his chest, she arched back to meet the honey heat of his gaze. “Let me make this perfectly clear, Tane. I don’t use sex as a bargaining chip. Not. Ever.”
Expecting him to be angered by her blunt rejection, Laylah was unnerved when his lips curled in a smile of pure anticipation. Hauling her tightly against him, he spoke directly into her ear.
“Now let me make this perfectly clear, Laylah,” he whispered. “When we have sex it will only be after you have begged me to take you.”
It was the explosion of awareness that jolted through her lower stomach as much as his arrogance that pissed her off. After all, vamps were flaming narcissists. He would naturally assume she was frantic to jump his bones.
No, it was the fact he was right that made her want to punch him.
“Never going to happen, bloodsucker.”
He smiled with wicked promise. “Want to bet, mongrel?”
She shoved him away, wrapping arms around her waist in a protective motion. “If it isn’t sex, then what do you want from me?” “The truth.”
Damn. Were they back to that already? He was supposed to be distracted. Well, she could easily correct that. No matter what the sacrifice.
“Could you be a little more vague?” she deliberately taunted.