Night Sins Read online

  Even the deaths of those women close to him hadn’t affected him as Kayla did. Yes, they upset him because he felt as if he’d created the women’s death sentences. But he was a warrior. He knew the evils of battle, the poison of the enemy. But Kayla was changing him. He couldn’t begin to think of her death, even in a mission of war, even knowing she was born into a life of battle.

  No. He wouldn’t see her die. No matter what he had to do, he wouldn’t let harm come to her. With that decision, he shackled her legs with his own bigger, stronger one, pulling her close even as he moved toward her.

  “What are you doing?” Kayla demanded, her soft curves now pressed to his body.

  “When a vampire drinks blood, he is stronger. I need to be stronger, Kayla.”

  Her face went pale. “What are you saying?”

  He stared into her eyes, hoping she would see and feel the good intentions in his actions. But he couldn’t give her time to debate his actions. Any minute, the van could stop, and the door would open.

  “Forgive me, little one,” he said, and he sunk his teeth into her neck. Their lives might well depend on him drinking of her. And being a Watcher, she would offer him more power than a human.

  Kayla stiffened beneath his bite, a gasp escaping her lips. Ethan stroked her back, telling her without words he meant her no harm. And she didn’t fight. Slowly, her body eased into his. Slowly, she gave him her trust.

  And he knew then, with her blood on his tongue, that Kayla was indeed his mate. Somewhere in her bloodline, she had a vampire ancestor. He closed his eyes, losing himself to the next few seconds, tasting the truth as it flowed through his veins. He felt her connection to him in his body, in his soul. But fate had played an evil trick on them. For he didn’t dare complete the three blood exchanges needed to fully mate. He could never fully claim Kayla.

  Kayla whispered his name, drawing him back to the present. Ethan reminded himself to be careful, not to drink too much. Though he no longer lived with the thirst, the taste of blood revived the hunger. And the taste of one’s mate set a male on fire. Ethan forced himself to pull away, to seal Kayla’s wound with his tongue.

  He pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

  But she didn’t yell, didn’t complain. “Just tell me you can kick their asses now.”

  He laughed. He didn’t remember anyone ever making him laugh the way she did. “Yes. Now I can kick some ass.”

  She smiled. “Good. Because I really want to beat some vampire ass.”

  Ethan laughed at her outrageous comment. “As long as it’s not mine.”

  “Oh, we have some fighting to do, Ethan,” she said, leaning back to fix him in a reprimanding stare. Her eyes darkened. “Don’t take what isn’t given freely ever again.”

  He gave her a short nod. “You have my word.”

  “Good,” she said, seemingly satisfied. “But when this is over, there will be further conversation over what just happened.”

  “I certainly hope so,” he said, leaning forward to claim her lips. And though he merely brushed her mouth with his own, not daring to linger, he couldn’t help wondering how he would ever walk away from her.

  He knew he had no other choice.

  Kayla watched as Ethan yanked hard and broke the rope holding his arms over his head. “You weren’t kidding about being stronger now.”

  He didn’t respond but focused on ripping the ties from his wrists and tossing them aside. And just in time. The van pulled to a stop.

  “Oh crap,” Kayla murmured, her heart racing. She wanted to be free so she could fight. She didn’t have any plans to die this night, or anytime soon, for that matter. “Untie me. Hurry.”

  But Ethan didn’t do as she bid. Instead, she watched in horror as he bit his wrist, drawing blood. A second later, he was by her side, shoving his arm at her mouth. “Drink. We can’t wait until we’re trapped again. We need to act now.”

  She shook her head, curling her lips inward. What the hell was he thinking? She wasn’t a vampire. “Drink, Kayla. My blood is rich with power. Power you’ll need to survive this night.”

  She shook her head, refusing again.

  Ethan made a frustrated sound. “You said you trust me,” he said. “If that’s true, do as I ask now. I mean you no harm. You can sense that.”

  The front doors opened and shut. Kayla didn’t have time to process, only to trust. And trust Ethan she did. She drank long and deep, surprised that the taste didn’t make her gag. In fact, it was sweet and easy to swallow.

  The sound of someone messing with the back door said they were out of time. Ethan yanked his arm away from Kayla, leaving her to her own devices to free herself—clearly more confident than she that she could do so—and he moved toward the exit, preparing to attack.

  Kayla yanked at her ropes, amazed to find she could, indeed, break them, amazed to find how powerful she felt.

  As she tore the restraints away, the doors burst open and Ethan charged forward. Kayla quickly made her way to the edge of the van. She could see Ethan surrounded by a group of vampires a few feet away. Though he was holding his own and then some, he needed her help and he was going to get it. But before she could exit the van, Jac appeared, blocking her way.

  “Ethan’s a little busy right now,” he said, smiling. “But no worries. I’ll take care of you myself.”

  “You can try,” she said, grabbing a strap across the top of the van and kicking her feet at him. She slammed him in the chest and he stumbled backward.

  Not about to wait until he found his footing again, she jumped out of the van and landed in a squatting position, retrieving her knife from inside her boot at the same time. She dared a quick sideways glance at Ethan, noting he now battled only two vampires, having taken down several others. Nothing but old vacant warehouses surrounded them, and Kayla couldn’t place their exact location. The only positive thing about being in the middle of what appeared like nowhere was a lack of humans to worry about.

  Jac started to get up and she charged at him, hand wrapped around the handle of her weapon. Strong legs had always been a plus for Kayla, and they were even stronger now. She used them, kicking Jac again, relieved to see him land flat on his back.

  She caught a look on his face, too. A look that said he was as surprised as she was with her newfound strength, strength born of Ethan’s blood and of her own ability to funnel her enemy’s malice. And one thing was for sure: Jac had plenty of darkness in him to use to her benefit.

  Kayla dove at Jac, ready to go hand to hand with him, only to find herself lifted mid-air and pulled hard against a muscular body. “Not so fast.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. She knew the voice. It was Rigo. And she remembered what Ethan had said. Rigo had elder blood in him. He was the strongest enemy she had to face today. She didn’t want to give him the upper hand, and as long as he held her from behind, that was what he had. Her elbow landed solidly in his ribs but he didn’t budge. She followed that by planting her knife in the meat of his thigh muscle.

  He laughed. “I like pain.”

  Damn! Kayla’s blood was pumping, her adrenaline in overdrive. She had to get free. As if he sensed she was about to act, Rigo lifted her off her feet, carrying her with the ease of someone lifting a small child.

  Kayla screamed for Ethan, having no idea if he could hear her, half afraid she’d break his concentration and get him hurt. Worse, she could see Jac was getting to his feet. Now, she’d have Jac and Rigo to deal with at the same time. Jac she could take. But Jac and Rigo together, she wasn’t so sure.

  Ethan’s blood boiled into pure rage when he saw Rigo carrying Kayla toward an old warehouse in the distance. He yanked a dagger from the waistband of the vampire he was facing off with and jammed it in the vampire’s gut. A second later, Ethan removed the dagger and watched as the enemy crumbled to the ground.

  All strategic thoughts of using Jac and Rigo to find the main operation of the Blood Brothers disappeared. Ethan simply wa
nted this over and Kayla safe.

  Ethan charged at Jac, who eagerly met him halfway. But then, Jac had no idea Ethan had fed, no idea that Ethan had the strength of Kayla’s blood. Jac was young and weak, no match for Ethan. With a mere few blows exchanged, Ethan was able to bury his weapon in Jac’s chest. Before bidding farewell to the traitor he’d once called a friend, Ethan gathered Jac’s armory, including three silver stars.

  Then Ethan took off running. When he was close enough, he fired those stars into Rigo’s back with all his might. One. Rigo jerked but kept running. Two. He stumbled. Three. Rigo stopped in his tracks. Ethan raced forward, closing the distance between himself and Rigo, desperate to get to Kayla.

  But Kayla proved she could fight, and fight well, on her own. She took advantage of Rigo’s injuries, struggling with such fierceness that for several seconds she broke free. Ethan felt an instant of relief that was quickly smashed as Rigo grabbed her again and turned to face Ethan, Kayla as his shield.

  “I’d love nothing more than to kill your woman, Ethan.”

  “Hurt her and I swear I’ll make you beg for death.”

  Kayla fixed Ethan in a look and then let her gaze discreetly move to the knife in Rigo’s leg, silently telling Ethan her intentions. For several seconds, Ethan and Kayla stared at one another. One. Two. Three. Kayla reached for the knife, and, at the same time, Ethan moved forward.

  In a hard, fast blow, Kayla slammed the knife into Rigo’s side. Rigo roared with pain, his injuries finally taking a toll on him, his grip on Kayla going slack. Instantly, Kayla skirted away, out of reach.

  Ethan blasted into Rigo, taking them both down to the ground, Ethan on top. The stars were still planted in Rigo’s back and Rigo screamed out as they pressed deeper into his skin. Ethan shoved Rigo’s shoulders hard against the dirt, ensuring the silver made complete penetration. With that action, with the pain it delivered to Rigo, what could have been a war became another easy victory. Ethan removed the knife from Rigo’s side and sent it barreling into his chest.

  “That,” Ethan said between clenched teeth, “was for our king.” He stood up, straddling Rigo’s big body, and spit down on the vampire who had been a trusted member of his government’s most elite military. “Traitor.” He stepped away from Rigo, disgusted that someone of Rigo’s stature would behave with such evil.

  Kayla appeared by Ethan’s side. “Feels kind of anticlimactic.”

  He quirked a brow. “Meaning?”

  “I thought they’d be harder to beat.” She smiled. “They weren’t so tough.”

  “They were nothing. Just a couple of greedy bastards with a private agenda. The Blood Brothers aren’t so easy to defeat. Their leader wants to rule more than his own people’s destiny: he wants to rule the vampire world and move on from there.”

  “And he’s starting with Las Vegas,” she said.

  “No,” Ethan said. “Vegas is one statement of power.”

  She eyed the warehouse. “Any hope this is their main operation?”

  Ethan shook off the idea. “Not a chance. The Blood Brothers have money and power. This is nothing but a place where Jac planned to murder us.”

  Kayla hugged herself with those words. “We should check it out anyway.”

  He nodded. “Agreed.”

  Thirty minutes later they’d finished their search, and, as Ethan had expected, there were no signs of the Blood Brothers. They did, however, find a phone and he called for help. The van’s tires had been sliced sometime in the midst of battle. A car was on its way to pick them up and he’d arranged a crew to clean up evidence of their battle.

  Kayla sat down on an old crate and sighed, her frustration obvious. “So we basically achieved nothing, it seems.” She ran her hand through her wind-ruffled hair. “Nothing besides killing a few assholes.”

  Even tired and beat up, she looked beautiful. “That’s not true,” Ethan assured her, claiming a crate across from her. “We saved lives. The murders will end now. They were all a part of Jac’s plan to drive me out of town. You can tell the Council—problem solved.” He winked. “That should get you some points.”

  She didn’t seem concerned about the council. “What about traitors inside your operation? Someone was helping Rigo.”

  “They’ll be handled,” he assured her.

  “And what of the brothers?” she inquired. “Will this be enough to drive them out of town?”

  Ethan laughed, but not with humor. “Not a chance in hell. They’ll lie low and regroup, but they aren’t going anywhere.” He studied her a moment, thinking of what that meant for Kayla. She’d remain at risk, a target for the Brothers. “Which means I’m not going anywhere, either.”

  Their eyes locked and held, awareness rich within the air. “That makes two of us,” she said, softly.

  So there it was, Ethan thought. They were both there to stay. Where did that leave them? So much had happened, had changed, in such a short time.

  They were bound together by the very circumstances and fate that had pressed them apart. And Ethan didn’t know what the hell to do about it. And truth be told, at least for tonight, he didn’t want to think about it either.

  What he wanted was to take Kayla home and make love to her. To end this nightmare of a night with her in his arms. The problems, the questions needing answers, would all be there in the morning light.

  But he wasn’t a fool. Holding her, feeling her body surround his, would only make walking away harder. And he had to walk away, no matter how much he didn’t want to. The writing on the wall was clear. They were of two different worlds. She was a Watcher. He was vampire.

  A match made in hell regardless of the fact that, in his arms, she felt like heaven.

  8

  Kayla sat in the back of the black car with tinted windows that had arrived at the warehouse to pick them up, Ethan by her side. But they weren’t touching. They weren’t even speaking. The distance between them spoke of strangers, not of two people who’d shared the heat of passion and the victory of battle.

  The closer they came to her apartment, the more Kayla’s stomach twisted in knots. What came next for her and Ethan? By the time they drew to a stop, she was ready to come unglued.

  “I’ll walk you to the door,” Ethan said, moving to get out of the car.

  Kayla grabbed his arm and he turned back to her, a brow lifting in question, those damn blue eyes fixing her in an intense stare. “Yes?”

  She didn’t want him to do the gentlemanly thing and escort her to her apartment. Being a gentleman had never been what she’d wanted from Ethan. “I don’t need to be walked anywhere.”

  “Humor me,” he said, as he had hours before in a similar situation.

  She’d broken rules tonight. She couldn’t turn back time. The way she saw it, the damage was done. Tomorrow was a new day. No, damn it, she would not humor him. There was plenty more she’d be happy to do, though.

  “If you want to walk to that door with me, then it better be to come inside.” She paused with intent. “To stay.”

  Ethan stared at her a long moment. “You’re sure about this?”

  She wanted this. She wanted Ethan. “Very.”

  He gave her a short nod and then spoke to his driver. “We won’t be needing your services any longer this evening.”

  A few seconds later, they stood at her door and Kayla handed over her keys to Ethan, per his insistence. No matter how much she didn’t care about him being a gentleman, he insisted on playing the role. She stood there on her front porch, her skin tingling with awareness as she watched Ethan turn the key.

  He stepped inside her apartment, turning on the lights and motioning her forward. She went ahead of him, pausing on the bottom step. Ethan flipped the locks into place and Kayla had the satisfied feeling of shutting off the rest of the world. This was her place, her comfort zone.

  She realized then that Ethan had willingly come to her territory, her safe zone. Prior to this night, she’d always assumed he’d demand she go
to his. But the truth was, on many occasions he’d come to her, sought her out. Offered her help where he could have turned away.

  Ethan turned to her. Appearing satisfied he’d completed his task, he walked toward her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She stood on a step that put them closer to eye level, and somehow that put them on even ground, offering a more intimate more intense connection.

  “You can still change your mind,” he said softly. “In fact, you probably should.”

  She narrowed her gaze on him, surprised by his words. “Why is that?”

  His tone was dry. “Surely your Council wouldn’t approve.”

  A tiny smile played on her lips. It was late to think of such things. “I doubt they’d approve of much I’ve done this night.” That brought her to an important subject. “Like me drinking blood.”

  His lips brushed hers. “My blood,” he said, his voice low, almost possessive. “You drank my blood. Just as I drank yours.”

  The way he said the words came out incredibly erotic. It was clear it aroused him to think of them sharing as they had. It shouldn’t do the same to her, yet, it did. Her nipples tightened and tingled, her body warmed.

  “I need to understand,” she said. “I need—” He cut her words off with a kiss. A deep, passionate kiss. Kayla melted into him, her body sizzling and ready for more. So ready. She’d wanted him forever, it seemed. She’d resisted because of what was right and what was wrong. But as his tongue slid against hers, taking her deeper and deeper into the passion that burned between them, the lines of right and wrong faded. There was only this night, only the two of them.

  Ethan’s fingers lightly brushed her hair from her face, his lips nipping and teasing, before he soothed her with a gentle caress of his mouth. “I swear I’ll answer your questions,” he finally said. “I know what you need—”