And for some reason, I couldn’t tear my gaze away. There was something hypnotic about the way she moved, the way her body seemed to glow in the dim light, giving off its own power. I almost wanted to call out to her before she reached for the door handle and disappeared inside. The words rose dangerously close to the top of my throat, though I refused to release them.
It didn’t matter. All of a sudden, the woman’s face turned in my direction. Her eyes, pale and piercing, bored straight through the night into mine with uncanny precision, as if someone had whispered my exact position in her ear. Her outstretched hand dropped to her side, the door forgotten. She turned slowly.
Our eyes remained locked. A blazing heat tore through my body as I watched this woman advance on me. The shape of her silhouette awoke something feral that had lain dormant inside for decades. All I could think about was how much I wanted her, how determined I was to have her.
It seemed like she was about to make things easy.
Chapter 6
Veronica
No matter how many times it happened, there was always a rush, a surge of adrenaline that pushed through my veins the moment I laid eyes on a vampire. Maybe it was my inner ability at sensing death, or just the knowledge that those creeps never made anything easy. This one had tried to catch me unaware as he stared from the shadows. But I’d gotten pretty good at spotting their eyes, even from a distance.
Sometimes the vamps did their little disappearing act once they had been picked out. It was the world’s most annoying party trick, the way they seemed to be able to melt back into the darkness. This time, I knew immediately that things would be different. He stood almost in the middle of the street with his shoulders back and his head held high, dressed in black pants, boots, and a long matching coat that did nothing to conceal the width of his shoulders and chest. As I approached, the air grew thick with silent tension.
The vampire did not back down. Actually, he seemed to rise up taller the closer I got, standing at six-foot-six at least. His burning, gold-ringed, silver eyes, never left my face, and I studied him, hating to admit that this blood-sucker was extremely easy on the eyes. That old saying, tall, dark and handsome was wasted on him. He was ridiculously gorgeous in a rugged, going to tear your heart out, kind of way. Well, of course, vampires were ruthless killers. Yet, he had me pause long enough to admire him, the way he stood proudly, which I rarely did. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears, which meant he heard it too. We stared at each other, both of us defiant, unwilling to give any ground.
“You’re new here.” He spoke softly, but the chill in his low, silky voice would’ve carried a hundred miles. “That’s interesting.”
“Or maybe you haven’t been paying attention,” I replied, never taking my eyes off him.
He glanced over my body, and I found myself fighting against the ripple of a freezing shiver. What was it about his expression that needled its way so effortlessly under my skin? He looked at me like I was trash in the gutter he might choose to pick through. Like I was already dead.
But then his lips curled over into a smile. Half amusement, half annoyance, and totally infuriating. The short laugh that followed only made things worse. “Not likely, little one. There are very few who know this city as well as I do. And I’m sure I haven’t seen that face before.”
I could say the same to you. The words came within a breath of jumping out of my mouth before common sense took over. No name surfaced in my mind, but whoever stood in front of me was no run-of-the-mill grunt.
“Well,” I said out loud, “are you going to introduce yourself, or should we stand here and savor the awkwardness?” For good measure, I folded my arms and shifted my weight to my back foot. He didn’t seem like the typical vampire, and seeing I just arrived town, I needed to quickly work out who was who in the hierarchy of vampires. “It’s up to you. I can go either way.”
Once again, he appraised me. I could see the gears turning in his head, underneath waves of thick hair so dark it blended into the night. “I wouldn’t normally allow someone like you to speak to me with such disrespect.” The icy edge underneath each word compelled me to believe him. “But I’ll forgive your ignorance—this time.” The smirk returned to his lips. “I am the clanmaster of the Alaskan territory. My name is Orion.” He paused. “You would do well to remember it.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Most of the vamps I had met could not have pulled off a line like that without looking like corny idiots. This guy, however… He could’ve made the phone book sound like a death threat. I had known him for all of two minutes, and it was already way too tempting to get drawn into the sheer power of his energy. A shiver zipped down my spine at how my body reacted to him because that distracted me from focusing on who stood before me.
“All right, fine, Orion.” I refused to give him the satisfaction of admitting how recently I’d arrived. “Let me just start out by saying, if you want to run me out of your town, you’re in for a hell of a fight. I don’t do anything quietly.”
The way his eyes roamed over me was both uncomfortable and mesmerizing. It was like he had the power to see directly through me, and for the first time in my career as a slayer, I wondered if I might be in over my head. Eight years ago, I’d gained a supernatural ability that gave me an advantage against these fiends, but there was also my heightened strength I never gave too much thought to. I always wondered if that came after the vampire attack as well. That terrifying day of the attack had left me changed forever. It made me something I didn’t understand. Someone stronger, more agile, and coupled with the energy to trace down death, I was a force to be reckoned with. Sure, all the research in the world gave me no insight into what I’d become after the attack, but it didn’t stop me from using what I’d gained.
Yet the vibes radiating from Orion seemed different and overpowering.
The thought only lingered for a second, but it was long enough to shake me. The stake at my belt that I carried everywhere weighed heavier as a reminder it was ready to be used.
Orion chuckled. “We’ll see about that.” When he moved, my whole body tensed automatically, a motion he seemed to appreciate. I was ready for him to come at me, to start a fight right there in the street. In Seattle, we would have been at each other’s throats already. But he surprised me by stepping backward rather than forward. “Don’t get too comfortable,” he warned. “I’m watching you.”
The tone of his voice made my spine tingle. I was so used to vamps being vile, repulsive creatures, and Orion still was, in a way. There was no mistaking the monster lurking just behind his smooth exterior. But he was also enticing, which was a thought I had never dared to think before. Disgusted with myself, I shoved it as far away as possible.
“Do whatever you want,” I said coolly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He nodded. “I know.”
Then he was gone, so suddenly it felt as though he could have been a mirage. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The drum of my heartbeat was just beginning to slow down, and my cheeks burned hot against the cold Alaska night.
“What the hell just happened?” I muttered, shaking my head. I’d meant to spend a while in the bar, but now I wanted to get out of there. The vampire’s appearance had thrown my whole night out of whack, and I couldn’t shake the feeling he was still close by. With the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, I turned around and retraced my steps back to the hotel.