Keeping one eye on Nathan, she crept across the weapons room to examine the newspapers. There had to be hundreds of articles pinned to the wall. A yellow highlighter emphasized some sections of the papers; others had words, locations, or dates circled in them.
The more she examined the circled words and highlighted sections, the more words—like brutal, neck wound, savage, blood loss, violent animal attack, police have no clues—jumped out at her. Many of the locations centered in Boston, but a fair amount were in surrounding towns. Some were in New Hampshire and a couple from Connecticut.
On the map, countless thumbtacks were placed in the same locations as some of the articles. Vicky suspected a few more tacks had come from somewhere else, most likely fights Nathan had with Savages recently. A cluster of red pins were stuck into some woods in Plymouth.
“Is this the location of the warehouse where Joseph was keeping his recruits?” she asked and pointed at the cluster.
Nathan settled a blind back into place before looking at her. “Yes.”
“All of this is because you’re tracking Joseph.”
It hadn’t been a question, but he answered anyway. “Yes.”
Vicky glanced around the apartment again. An apartment with the weaponry to go to war, but she suspected this was a one-man war.
“Are you going after him on your own?” she asked, ignoring the twinge of anxiety the possibility gave her.
“I plan to do whatever’s necessary to take him down.”
“But you’re the leader of the hunters. You have numerous men who follow you; why aren’t they helping you with this?”
He didn’t respond as he walked by her to the hallway. She stepped back to watch him turn a light on before disappearing into a small bathroom.
When he reemerged, her breath caught and her heartbeat doubled. He’d washed his face and pushed his dampened black hair back from his forehead in a way that emphasized the planes of his handsome features and the black stubble lining his narrow jaw. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him as he stalked toward her with a fluid, predatory grace.
“My men are helping me with other things,” he said after another minute passed.
“You’re working with Ronan to hunt Joseph.”
“I am.”
“Does he know about this?” she asked with a wave of her hand to the map and weapons.
“No, and I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell him. This is my project.”
“You want Joseph for yourself,” she guessed and knew she was right when a muscle in his jaw twitched. “That’s a suicide mission.”
“No, it’s not,” he said brusquely and stopped beside the kitchen counter.
He rested his hand on the green Formica and set his stake down as he tilted his head to study her. Of average height, she was slender, but the way she stood pushed her jacket back to reveal her rounded hips, and the black, formfitting sweater emphasizing her full breasts.
Her skin was a sun-kissed golden color that made his mouth water as he envisioned running his hands over every inch of her curves. While he’d held it, he’d noticed her hand was silken, and he imagined the rest of her body was much the same.
When her inherent, sweet jasmine scent tickled his nostrils, his fingers curled on the counter as he struggled to suppress his growing lust for this woman. No, not just a woman, a vampire, and a pureblooded one with a lot of power.
He never would have considered it possible to experience desire for a member of the vampire species, yet as he watched her stroll back toward the newspaper clippings, he found his gaze dipping to her firm ass. He shifted his stance to hide his growing erection from her when she glanced over at him.
The sharpening of Nathan’s cypress scent drew Vicky’s attention back to him. She stopped breathing when she discovered him watching her with the ravenous stare of a man who craved a woman’s body. Red warning bells screamed in her head as her body quickened in response to his need.
She felt a pull to him, but she’d never expected to have him desire her too, not with what she was. Disgust was what she expected from him, not want.
However, there was no denying what was on his mind as his gaze lifted to her breasts. When he shifted his stance, her eyes fell to the noticeable bulge in his jeans, and the sight of his arousal caused her nipples to harden.
Banging this guy is a bad idea! Don’t be stupid! she reminded herself.
Vicky focused on the newspaper clippings and map again. After what happened with Duke, she’d steered clear of men, but she couldn’t read anything as every part of her remained hyperaware of him.
Am I lusting after a vampire? Nathan wondered. Yes, he was, and he couldn’t stop himself from imagining stripping her clothes away and licking every inch of her. Would her skin be golden all over? He suspected the answer was yes, and he was dying to know for sure.
It had been months since he’d been with a woman, but even with his drought, he’d never desired one the way he did her. He’d never jumped from one bed to another, but he’d never had a relationship with someone either, and he often only saw a woman a few times before moving on. There was no point in staying any longer with those women when it could never go anywhere; the elders would pick his future bride for him.
He’d still had sex on a somewhat regular basis, yet he couldn’t recall the last time he did.
He ran a hand through his hair as he remembered it had been at least six months—before he first encountered Vicky. He’d had opportunities to be with other women since then, but he turned them down. Now he realized it was because she was the one he wanted and none of them would have satisfied him.
“Were you hunting Joseph tonight? Is that why you were on the street?” she asked, her voice hoarser than normal.
Her question pulled his attention away from the perusal of her lush body. “I was. I figured the concert might be a draw for vampires, and possibly Joseph. Then, I saw you.”
Uneasiness swept through her. “You saw me?”
“Yes. When you emerged from the Garden, I spotted you in the crowd. Curious as to what you were up to, I followed you.”
“I….” Her voice trailed off as she didn’t know what to say. She’d been so focused on hunting Duke, she never noticed she’d become the hunted. She’d been an idiot; she wasn’t prepared to face Duke. Her family, Ronan, and the others had all been right about that, though she’d never admit it to them. “I screwed up.”
“It happens to the best of us,” Nathan said. “Sometimes we’re lucky enough to have an ally to help us when it happens, and sometimes we’re not.”
“And are you my ally?”
“I thought so.”
“Yeah,” she muttered. “What do you plan to do if you find Joseph on your own?”
“The same thing you plan to do with Duke, I assume. It seems you were hunting him, on your own. Where’s your sister and her mate?”
“They’ve gone home to visit my family.”
“What about your brother, Aiden? Isn’t he training with Ronan to become a Defender?”
“He’s taking a break to spend some time with his newfound mate, Maggie. He also returned home for a bit.”
“So, while they’re away, you took the opportunity to go after Duke. I doubt Ronan approved of this.”