Raven's Desires (Night Hunters) (19 page)

“Oh God, I’m sorry.” Raven had her hand over her mouth as she spoke.

Kristian did a back flip off the ground.

“Sorry for what?”

“I hit you.”

“You didn’t hit me hard. I saw the gleam in your eyes and even though your slayer instinct had kicked in, you still know that I’m not here to hurt you.”

“What kicked in?”

“Did you think when I was attacking you?”

Raven shook her head.

“No, I concentrated on you and I felt what move you were going to make before you did it and I was able to avoid your punches. But how? I’ve never fought a day in my life. How could I get over on you?”

“I did let my guard down, and you were able to land a punch much easier than I thought. And as far as how you know this, I told you, it’s like you have been reprogrammed. Now, let’s keep going.”

Kristian made sure to watch her this time. As he attacked Raven, he watched his mate move with grace. Every move he made, he knew she had picked up on it before he did it, giving her an opportunity to move out of his way.

Kristian let the happiness of having Raven in his life consume him. His mind drifted to him and her and how happy they would be ten even twenty years in the future. Nothing could take away his joy.

Raven caught him with a roundhouse kick, sending him flying. He heard her giggle as he lay on the ground.

“Are you laughing at me?” he asked as he jumped up.

“Maybe.”

Raven caught the towel he tossed to her, wiping the sweat from her body.

“Slayers, so over confident.”

“Well, your butt has met that mat more than mine in the past hour.”

“I let you knock me down,” Kristian snarled at her.

Raven snorted. “Sure you did.”

“Ready for more?”

“Yes, but first,” Raven sat on the bench, “tell me about us.”

Kristian sat beside her.

“What do you want to know?”

Raven fumbled with the towel some. “What’s this mate thing all about? I know I feel something every time I’m near you. Sometimes it’s this overwhelming joy that makes me want to scream to the world at how happy I am. Then…”

Kristian looked at Raven.

“Then what?”

“Nothing bad. It’s that my body is telling me that what we are doing now is not what we should be doing.”

“Are you saying that we should be having sex?”

“Well, yeah. As a human, I know that three days of knowing someone and sleeping with them makes you a whore. But I can’t stop the feeling that just keeps rising inside of me. I don’t want to stop it.”

Kristian touched her chin, turning her to face him.

“It’s a feeling that will never stop, Raven. I never want it to stop either, and I feel the same pull that you do. It seems fate is making this a game for us, always putting up distractions to keep us from being together. But it will happen soon, and when it does I will make sure you will remember it for all times.”

“I’m sure you will.”

Kristian sat back on the bench, not wanting to try to do just that now. They were both sweaty, and making love to her in the workout room wasn’t the romantic setting he wanted for her.

“About mates is more difficult to explain than I thought it would be. Mates were non-existent until about a century ago. It’s not really known to my kind why God gave us this gift, but we are glad to have it.” Kristian looked into Raven’s brown eyes. “That night at the café, I didn’t know what you were to me. I felt the pull the moment I walked through the door, but I didn’t act on it. I realized after the fight with the wolf that you were my mate. I felt connected to you in ways I have never felt with any other woman in my life.”

“So all of this is new to vampires?”

“Yes. And you and I are especially different.”

“Why is that?”

“You are a slayer, sent out to destroy the evil in this world. I am considered evil. We were not supposed to be matched in any way. I learned over the years many slayers gave up on their lives after being lonely for so long. They dated humans, but soon had to leave and let go of that love. I have never heard of a slayer dating any other being besides humans.”

“Wow, so this, what is going on between us, is like the start of something new?”

Kristian nodded.

“We vampires pick a partner and mate with them, hoping that we have long lasting relationships. It usually doesn’t turn out that way. We usually get bored and break up
—or so I’ve
heard. I know with you I would never get bored. I feel that my love for you will only grow.”

He watched as Raven looked away when tears stung her eyes.

“Raven, don’t cry
—
tell me what’s wrong?”

When she turned to him, he felt his heart break at the look in her eyes. Did she not want to be mated with him? Did it hurt her to know that her life partner was a vampire?

“It’s well…I don’t know if you want to be with me forever.”

“What? Why would you say that?”

“I have only been with one other sexually. Jana and Arthas speak as if our relationship should be open. I have these deep feelings for you and now I have to learn to accept sharing?”

Kristian held her to him, holding her in his arms.

“God, Raven, I’m so sorry. It’s natural in some relationships, and that keeps things interesting but not complicating things.”

“What do you mean?” Raven laid her head on his shoulder.

“Meaning, that if the man or female sleeps with another, it would not jeopardize their relationship. They love each other so much that sex with another is only a physical release, not mental.” When Raven didn’t speak he continued. “Raven, love, I’m in no way interested in any other woman right now. I haven’t been interested in sleeping with anyone in a very long time now. Shane never said it, but he was beginning to worry about my sexuality.”

Raven pulled away from him, a frown on her face.

“Why?”

“You want to know the truth?”

“Yes I do.”

“I haven’t had sex with anyone in over two years.”

“Really? Why not?”

“You will find out sooner than later that all vampires have a strong appetite for sex. Some are very strong willed and can control it like I can. Then there are some who can somewhat control it then there are some like Shane who is like sex on a stick. Shane has to have sex constantly, almost hourly if he possibly could.”

“I see. But what about you? Why can you control it?”

“I was brought up to control a lot of things, and sex was one of them. I suppose you can say that I am to have high standards of who I’m with. I learned to control it.”

“Your parents taught you?”

“My adopted parents taught me that.”

“Adopted? Why were you given away?”

Kristian didn’t want this conversation to lead this way but he would keep as much about his past out of it as he could without actually lying to Raven.

“They wanted to keep me safe. Remember I told you that I got the mark when I was a baby?”

“Yes.”

“Well my adopted parents were humans. They wanted me to have a normal life.”

“But didn’t they wonder about who would be cruel enough to give a baby a tattoo?”

“Sure, they did, but the damage had been done and my adopted parents brought me up as their own. Thank God they had the same last name as my real parents.”

“That makes it easy. Do you know your real parents now?”

“Yeah, but I stay away from them for many reasons.”

“Oh, okay. So your adopted parents taught you to be selective of your females?”

“Pretty much. I will say that I’m glad that they did.”

“Why is that?”

“Because, my lovely mate, I feel that all the patience of being with a woman is about to fail. The first time we make love I feel I will not be able to control myself. I think that my sexual need will grow ten-fold.”

“Really, you think that you will grow to become a sex addict?”

“I feel that way. It’s something about mates, I heard that they can’t get enough of each other.”

Raven giggled.

“What’s so funny?”

“I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.”

“You don’t, do you?”

“No, having a handsome man wanting to ravish me at all times could be fun.”

“Fun? Don’t tease me, Raven, or you can end up tied up to some bed for my pleasure at any time.”

“Oh, sounds kinky.”

Kristian pressed his lips against hers, kissing away her smirk. He pressed his tongue into her mouth, tasting his mate. She moaned and pressed at his chest, pushing him away from her.

“No you don’t,” she said with a smile on her face.

“What?”

“You take my mind off things and then we end up naked in a bed somewhere.”

“And that’s a bad thing, why?”

“Why, because I’m not done talking to you yet. When this day has ended I want to have asked all my questions.”

Kristian took a deep breath hoping that her questions were not any deeper into his family.

“Okay, ask away.”

“I don’t know why I’m taking this all in so calmly instead of running away and screaming, but I believe if I do run away it’s not going to go away. So, my next question is, blood.”

“What about it?”

“I know you drink blood
—
you have mine
—
but what about me? Do I have to drink yours? Would I crave it?”

Kristian didn’t know how to explain something he didn’t know about slayers.

“The mates I’ve met have been vampire and vampire, or vampire and human. It has been known that humans require a taste of their vampire mate’s blood every now and then. They don’t consume a lot to complete a transfer just enough to stay connected. With you, I’m sure it will be the same need as a regular human.”

“Will I become a vampire?”

“I don’t have a need to change you, Raven. Your life span is just like mine, forever. You will never grow old or change. I really don’t know that trying to convert you would work.”

“So no one has ever tried to convert a slayer before?”

“I think that it has been thought about and put into place but like Alec, a slayer’s blood is like drugs times a hundred. Once you taste it, it’s hard to stop, and that’s why all the slayers died at the hands of a vampire. They couldn’t stop drinking.”

Raven eyes widened and her hands shot up to her neck.

“What about you? You stopped when you drank mine.”

Kristian grabbed her hand. “I stopped because I have control. Maybe it’s that you are my mate that I stopped. Maybe I have this will that I never thought I would possess. Do I want to taste you again? Yes, but while making love to you. I don’t just want to feed off you. I would never do anything to hurt you. Always remember that.”

“I will.”

Kristian looked up when Shane came down stairs.

“Kristian, we have to go. Bring your slayer.”

“What’s going on?”

“I spotted a pack of werewolves around the area.”

“Where is Veronica?” Kristian asked.

Shane pointed upstairs. “She’s sleeping well. She will not wake until we get back.”

Kristian took Raven’s hand and pulled her out the door.

Chapter 9

Raven walked outside the house.

“Stay close,” Kristian told her.

“Hell, she’s a fucking slayer, Kristian, let the girl do her work. Let’s find these bastards and push them off our property.”

Raven heard Kristian sigh in regret, admitting that Shane was right.

“Okay, I’m going this way
—
Kristian, take the middle, and Raven, you take the west side of the house. If you see a wolf don’t attack it, draw it back here where we can handle it together.”

“How would you know that I found one?”

“You have a link to Kristian, so use it.”

Shane disappeared into the woods after he told her about the link. It wasn’t dark but with all the trees and debris, it made it look darker than it really was.

“You be careful and if you need help use the link between us. Do you understand?”

Raven nodded. Kristian kissed her on the lips before taking off in the direction that Shane told him to.

Raven stood there for a moment wondering if leaving her was a good idea. The situation here was she was a not-so-trained slayer on the hunt for werewolves. She didn’t have any weapons, so she assumed that she had to fight with her hands.

“Man this is nothing like Buffy,” Raven whispered as she walked off.

The deeper she entered the woods the more cautious of her surroundings she became. A tree branch broke and she turned, ready to strike. She relaxed when she spotted a mouse running across the ground.