To Die For Read online

  His hand glided up the back of her thigh and slid beneath her ass, lifting her to meet his thrusts. Breaking the kiss, he whispered against her lips. “Is this what you had in mind when you said to make it worth it?”

  “I—” She swallowed and opened her eyes. “You don’t really expect me to answer that, do you?” she whispered.

  Kaelen snorted. “A fighter till the end, I see. Perhaps you should just give in, my little dark angel,” he sighed against her mouth. “It’s much easier if you just accept it.”

  Amy trembled, thinking deep inside that Kaelen would be the last thing she felt or smelled or experienced before she died. There was no way in hell she could fight against him and get away. He was too strong, too heavy. Was she giving up too soon? She stared into his eyes and saw the slight flicker of mischief. A glimmer of hope spurred in her heart. Was he only teasing about killing her? Was he just trying to scare the hell out of her? Was this a game to him?

  She scowled and pursed her lips together. “Are you playing with me, Kaelen?”

  Kaelen grinned wickedly. “I thought we’d already established that I’m playing with my food.”

  She shook her head. “This isn’t funny. This is my life…or my death, as it were. I deserve to know.”

  He stopped his movements and lifted up slightly to better see her. “Would you really want to know if you were going to die?”

  “Yes.” Kaelen opened his mouth to say something else, and she quickly corrected, “No.”

  Kaelen tilted his head and studied her seriously. Without saying anything, he released her hands and sat back on his knees. She rose tensely to her elbows but froze when Kaelen began to wag his finger back and forth.

  “I didn’t tell you to get up. Lie back down.”

  “Excuse me?”

  He pushed at her chest, sending her to her back. “I said lie back down. You wait there until I decide what to do with you.”

  “Are you kidding me?” She gaped. “I’m supposed to just lie here and wait for you to determine if you want to kill me or not?”

  “It would certainly be easier if you did,” he snarled, and his eyes took on that predatory glow again, making her shrink back down into the mattress. “I can’t think when you’re asking me questions and looking at me like a deer stuck in someone’s headlights.”

  She quickly lifted her foot and kicked at his chest. The move caught him off guard, and he fell backward, allowing her to slip out from under him, all the while yelling at him. “You arrogant, dominating, sadistic bastard!”

  He gripped her ankle just as she was about to climb off the mattress and jerked her backward. Obviously, she hadn’t caught him as off guard as she’d thought. He’d let her get that far just so he could prove his strength against her. She landed beneath him again, this time on her stomach. Kaelen moved to settle over her hips, using his body weight to hold her down.

  “Damn you,” she snarled as she tried to buck him off. “Let me go!”

  He lifted up and grabbed the edge of her skirt, exposing her bottom. He slapped his hand against it hard, and she squealed at the harsh sting. “Be still and stop this nonsense! You’re going to be the death of me, you little minx,” he growled close to her ear. “What is it about you that keeps me awake? What is it that makes me want to fuck you as opposed to kill you?”

  Amy stilled at the heat traveling up her back from the sting on her hip. She was sick; that was all there was to it. Closing her eyes, she silently prayed she could make it through this without crying.

  Kaelen turned her over abruptly so she was on her back. She stared up into his face, expecting to see death. Instead, she saw compassion and something else. The firm line of his lips softened and tilted up just a little. He was amused. He found her funny, and though the fact should’ve relieved her, instead it pissed her off.

  His hair fell forward, covering his eyes and the wrinkles surrounding them. He looked to be in his thirties, but Amy understood him to be well over four hundred years old.

  “I’m not going to kill you, Amy,” he said, then added, “yet.”

  She was sure her surprise showed on her face as she gaped at him but quickly sobered. “Fuck you,” she snarled.

  “Oh, trust me. You will,” he purred, and her heart practically jumped from her chest.

  Good Lord.

  “Are you going to give me the password?” he asked as he stared down at her.

  She gaped at him, and for the first time since meeting him, indecision plagued her. She was terrified but at the same time so wildly turned on by his wicked lips and hands, the way he manhandled her. Swallowing, she tried to think but couldn’t.

  “If I give it to you, will you go away?” she asked.

  “No. We have other things to take care of before I leave.”

  “Such as?”

  “Such as what the hell it is about you that’s…”

  He didn’t say anything else, just stared at her strangely.

  “Then why should I give it to you?” she asked.

  He blinked in confusion for a brief moment as though he hadn’t even been listening to her. He cupped her chin, holding her head steady as he stared angrily into her face. “Damn, you’re stubborn,” he growled. “You have more bravado than you have common sense.”

  Amy’s own anger rose at his words.

  “But God help me, I can’t seem to…”

  Amy watched in stunned silence as his head dipped. He was going to kiss her again, and God help her, despite the fear of losing her life, despite her anger, she couldn’t fight against this. She realized with growing anguish that she actually wanted him to kiss her.

  Behind Kaelen, the glass of her bedroom window shattered, sending shards of sharp pieces raining down on them. In reflex, Amy closed her eyes and screamed. She felt Kaelen’s weight move off her, allowing her to roll to the side.

  “Amy, get out!” Kaelen snapped.

  She tried to sit up but found herself slung several feet across the room. In her shock, she only realized after she’d landed against the wall with a thud that Kaelen had never actually touched her. He’d sent her flying with a wave of his hand. Had he really been trying to protect her?

  She attempted to move to her knees and winced at the pain in the back of her head where it had hit the wall. She looked toward Kaelen on the bed just in time to see a large man lunge toward him. The man raised his hand, showing the long silver blade of his knife just before he rushed forward and plunged it into Kaelen’s chest with a sinister growl of anger. It had all happened so fast. Kaelen had lost precious time trying to get her out of the way, and as a result, he now lay in the center of her bed, blood flowing from his chest.

  The attacker fled out the window, leaving as quickly as he’d come. She climbed to her feet and gingerly made her way toward the bed. She could see the slight rise and fall of Kaelen’s chest and realized he was still alive.

  “Oh my God,” she murmured and took a step toward him.

  He slowly raised his hands as though to grab the handle, but they froze halfway. His fingers trembled as his breathing became even more labored. Was he dying? Was there something she could do to help him?

  “Get it out,” he snarled between tight lips.

  “What?” Amy asked as his raspy voice made her jump in surprise.

  “Get it out,” he repeated.

  Amy took another step closer and rubbed her palms over her shirt to dry the sweat. She placed a knee gingerly against the mattress, trying hard not to jostle him and make the pain or bleeding any worse than it already was. As she pressed her weight into the mattress, blood oozed from the material to cover her knee and shin.

  She shuddered in revulsion before turning a blind eye. She worked with this stuff on a daily basis. She took pictures of crime scenes. All this blood shouldn’t bother her like this.

  But there was so much of it.

  “Get it out,” Kaelen repeated again.

  “I’m working on it,” she grumbled.

&n
bsp; She moved to straddle his hips and studied where the knife had entered his chest. Just below and to the left of his heart. The attacker had missed, but barely. It was still lodged in his ribs, which would take a pretty good tug to loosen it.

  She grasped the handle with both hands. She had a moment of indecision. Shouldn’t she just let him die?

  Staring down at his face, his pain-filled eyes watching her closely, she realized she couldn’t. She didn’t want him to die, despite his threats. He’d told her to run, to get out. He’d actually tried to protect her, even though the attacker hadn’t been after her.

  “It’s going to hurt,” she said.

  Kaelen nodded just enough to let her know he understood. She tightened her hold on the handle and for the first time realized the weapon was made of silver. What was it Vincent had said silver did to vampires? She couldn’t remember. She glanced back down at him and his stiffened arms, his unblinking eyes, and remembered. Silver paralyzed them. Stab them in the heart with it, and it killed them. She had to get this out of him, and fast.

  Taking a deep breath, she pulled hard. As the knife broke free of the bone, his whole torso lifted from the bed. She cringed and continued to pull it from the flesh. He fell back down with a scream of pain that made her gasp, and she moved quickly to cover the now profusely bleeding wound with her bare hand.

  “Call Vincent,” he whispered through lips that could barely move.

  “Vincent?” she replied. Vincent was a witch. He would know what to do to help Kaelen. She looked around for her cell phone. “Where the hell is my phone?”

  She spotted her purse and jumped from the bed to grab it. Once she found the phone, she flipped it open and called Stacy.

  Her friend answered the phone after the first ring. Before she could even get her hello out, Amy interrupted her.

  “Someone attacked Kaelen. I need Vincent.”

  Chapter Two

  Vincent moved quickly to Kaelen’s body the second he and Stacy arrived. Considering he was a witch, he’d been here before Amy had even hung up the phone.

  “What the hell was he doing in your house?” Vincent demanded as he examined Kaelen.

  “Don’t ask,” Amy said with a shake of her head.

  Vincent gave her a hard stare. “I will ask again later, Amy, and I expect an answer from both of you.”

  Amy sighed. “I really don’t know why he was here.”

  “What happened?” Stacy asked.

  Amy gestured toward the broken window. “Someone just broke in and stabbed him before he could even defend himself.”

  “Did you get a good look at him?” Vincent asked.

  Amy shook her head. “It happened too fast. He stabbed him, then jumped back out the window.”

  “What did he stab him with?”

  Amy pointed to the silver knife on the floor. Vincent took one look at it and cursed.

  “Just another inch or so, and it would’ve hit his heart,” Amy said. “I pulled it out, but he still can’t move.”

  “He’s lost too much blood,” Vincent said. “We need to get him back to Europe. He needs blood.”

  “Should I…” Amy licked her lips nervously. “Should I give him some of mine?”

  “No,” Vincent and Stacy both said in unison.

  Vincent shook his head at her bewildered expression. “He needs more than you can survive without, sweetheart.”

  Amy nodded in understanding and continued to stand to the side, unsure what to do. “Can you help him?”

  Vincent looked over at her and frowned. “You and I need to have a serious chat, Amy.”

  Amy rolled her eyes. “I know you told me to stay away from him, but what am I supposed to do when he shows up at my house? He wouldn’t leave.”

  Vincent nodded as though in reluctant understanding but said nothing more on the subject. Kaelen grabbed his arm as Vincent reached out to move his shirt so he could better see the wound.

  “Bring Amy.”

  “Kaelen, do you know who did this?” Vincent asked.

  “Bring Amy. She saw him. They may come after her too.”

  Kaelen passed out, leaving Vincent to stare at her in surprise.

  “What?” Amy asked with trepidation.

  Vincent moved his gaze to Stacy. “Help her gather a few things while I get Kaelen ready for transport. She’s coming with us. Kaelen thinks she might be in danger if she stays here.”

  “What? No!” Amy gave him a firm shake of her head.

  “You don’t have any choice, honey,” Stacy said as she walked by her and touched her arm.

  “Damn it,” Amy growled toward her ceiling. She had a sinking suspicion her life would never be the same again.

  * * * *

  Amy sat outside on the veranda, watching as the sun set slowly over the rolling hills of Jason’s estate. The place was definitely gorgeous. It was like something out of a Victorian novel. Vincent had gotten word to Jason about Kaelen but had told him to keep it quiet for now. They didn’t want anyone knowing he’d survived the attack just yet.

  Vincent and Stacy joined her at the table and sat down. Vincent appeared tired and stressed. So did Stacy.

  “How is he?” she asked.

  “He’ll live,” Vincent replied. His curious stare made her incredibly uncomfortable. “You took a big chance by not giving him all the stuff he asked for, Amy.”

  Stacy scowled at her. “You kept some stuff?”

  “Not intentionally. I forgot until earlier today that my computer has an online backup. So I just redownloaded my work and the sample studies.”

  Vincent sighed and dragged his hand down his face. When he wasn’t scowling in disapproval, Vincent was a very handsome man. Old-world English with long black hair and eyes of deep sapphire blue.

  “And I thought Stacy would be the death of me.” He sighed.

  Stacy reached over to slap his thigh, and he grinned at her before leaning forward and pointing a finger at Amy. “Okay, listen. Kaelen will get better in a few days, but until we find who did this, you’ll have to stay here. Jason will be here day after tomorrow, and we’ll start work on tracking this person or vampire down. Kaelen doesn’t have that many enemies brave enough to go up against him, so it shouldn’t take long to compile a list and figure it out.” He eyed her speculatively. “What were you doing that had him so distracted? He should’ve been able to defend against this.”

  Amy felt the heat of a blush move up her cheeks, and Vincent’s stare narrowed. “You’re kidding me,” he said, and her blush deepened.

  “Oh, shut up!” she snapped. “It wasn’t my idea.”

  She glanced over at Stacy for help, but Stacy just looked at her in silence. Her eyes held just a hint of amusement.

  “He wasn’t raping you, was he?” Vincent demanded.

  “No! He was just… He called it playing with his food.”

  This time Stacy laughed, and Vincent shot her a scowl. “Oh give me a break. Don’t look at me like that. It was funny,” Stacy said, smiling. “He apparently has a thing for Amy and was in the process of seducing her.” Vincent started to open his mouth and say something, but Stacy silenced him with her next comment. “He cared enough about her to make sure you brought her here. He can’t be all bad, Vincent.”

  “Trust me. He’s all bad.”

  Amy shook her head and sighed toward the last rays of light as the sun lowered behind the hills. “I appreciate the big-brother thing, Vincent, but give it a rest. I’m an adult; I can do what I want.”

  “I know you are,” he agreed.

  “Can I expect this same vibe from Jason when he gets here?”

  Stacy snickered, and Vincent nodded. “I’ll warn him to lay off.”

  “Thank you,” Amy said and gave him a soft smile.

  “Has anyone told Merrick?” Stacy asked.

  Amy frowned as she lifted her teacup. “Who’s Merrick?” She took a sip of the Earl Grey as she waited for one of them to answer.

  “Merrick is K
aelen’s twin brother, and no,” Vincent replied.

  “They’re identical, right?” Stacy asked, reverting to cop mode. Amy could tell the wheels in her mind were spinning. “Is it possible the killer was actually after Merrick and not Kaelen?”

  “I don’t think so. Merrick should be in Kent, but so far Jason hasn’t been able to get ahold of him. It’s possible, I guess, but doubtful. Merrick lives a quiet life, except for the times he’s filling in for Kaelen with the council. There are some vampires out there that don’t even know Kaelen has a twin. Even when they see Merrick, they think it’s Kaelen.”

  Amy frowned. “That must make him feel awfully insignificant.”

  Vincent shrugged. “If it does, he hasn’t said anything.”

  “If the two of them were standing side by side, could you tell them apart?” Amy asked with curiosity. Even identical twins had little quirks about them that set them apart.

  “Probably not,” Vincent said with a shake of his head. “They talk alike, move alike, gesture alike. It’s uncanny, really.”

  “Well, I guess they would. They’ve had four hundred years to perfect it,” Amy said drily.

  Vincent nodded as one side of his lips lifted in a tiny smile. “Very true.”

  Amy tried to imagine two of Kaelen. One was obviously more than she could handle. While ménages sounded sexy in theory, she couldn’t do what Stacy was doing. One was enough for her, especially if that one was Kaelen. Yawning, she set her teacup back down on the table. She felt like she’d been up for hours, and truthfully, she had. She knew she’d been here at least seven hours, which would make it close to six her time. She rubbed her forehead tiredly. Talk about ultimate jet lag.

  “Why don’t you try to get some sleep, Amy?” Vincent asked softly. “Kaelen will be out for a while yet. The blade came incredibly close to his heart. It’s going to take him a while to heal.”

  Amy nodded in agreement. She was really tired. It would do her some good to sleep for several hours.

  “I made up the third room on the left, just down the hall from Kaelen on the second floor. Jason, Vincent, and I are on the third, toward the tower.”