The Elfbitten Trilogy (20 page)

     I reached in the back seat and grabbed my short teal leather jacket and pulled the glass bottle out of the leather pouch and slipped it into the front pocket of my jacket. I got out of the car and swung it over my shoulders to pull it on. I examined myself in the reflection of the car windows and was satisfied that the bottle didn’t cause an obvious bulge in the pocket. I left my purse in the car an slipped my keys into the other pocket of my jacket before smoothing my hair back from my face and walking across the street to the Hunter’s house.

     I decided I would simply knock on the front door and wing it as I crossed the street. It would be stupid to try and use force against the Hunter, even with my magic, so I was going to try a more subtle route. I didn’t like stepping into the pool of shadows at the front door, but my elven eyes could see well enough in the dark that I shrugged off the creeping feeling crawling up the back of my neck. I pressed the button for the doorbell and felt a swarm of butterflies erupt in my stomach as the chimes rang behind the door. I could hear light footsteps and saw a shadow break the line of light at the threshold before the lock in the door clicked and the doorknob turned.

     He looked magnificent framed in the doorway with soft light flooding around him like a sunburst. His massive shoulders were almost as wide as the doorway and his tattoos curled over his skin like caressing fingers. I felt the urge to reach out and touch his chest but I was able to fight it, grateful for the foul tasting potion Corbin had made me. Because of the shadowed doorstep and the light pouring out behind him, the Hunter’s face was hidden but I still managed to catch his look of surprise, giving way to suspicion when I smiled at him.

     “Taryn Malloy,” he said my name with a trill of his tongue, pronouncing it in the old brogue. I liked that, it made me wish he wasn’t such a manipulative bastard. “So you’ve finally answered me.”

     “Yes,” I said, making sure my voice was soft, going so far as to lower my gaze in a submissive gesture. He chuckled in a self-satisfied way at that. He stepped back and held the door open for me. Keeping my eyes down, I walked passed him into the entry way. It was small, only big enough for a coat rack and to divide the living room from the kitchen. I didn’t turn to face him when I heard the door close the lock turn.

     “I’ll take that for you,” he offered and I felt his hands on my shoulders, trying to take my jacket.

     “I’ll keep it for now, thanks,” I said quickly, tugging it tighter around me and out of his grasp. “I’m a bit chilled at the moment.”

     “Well, we’ll have to do something about that,” he said as his hands slid around my waist and pulled me into the curve of his body. I tried not to tense at his touch, knowing that would put him on edge and ruin my plan. I tried to relax my shoulders and meld to the bend of his body. He bent his face to the crook of my neck, on the same side as the bite and breathed against my skin. I knew he was looking for a reaction to his power so I forced a shiver to shake my body, though it felt more like a shudder of revulsion to me, but it seemed to satisfy him. I felt his chin move and I realized he’d opened his mouth. I ducked quickly and slipped out of his grasp and moved a few feet away from him before I turned to face him.

     “I think one bite is enough,” I let him hear my anger and lifted my chin in defiance.

     “For now,” he agreed but the glint in his eye told me more than his words. “So, Taryn, why are you suddenly here?”

     “What do you mean? Haven’t you been calling me?”

     “Yes,” he nodded slowly, crossing his arms over his massive chest, “but you were resisting me, why are you here now?”

     “The compulsion has grown too strong,” I shrugged before I turned and walked into the living room as if I owned the place. “I couldn’t fight it anymore. The more I fought it the stronger the bite became. I even lost two days while trying to resist it.” He laughed at that as he followed me into the room. I noticed, though the house appeared to be as suburban as they come, he’d decorated in a tacky bachelor sort of way. The living room was dominated by a large black leather couch, the “art work” on the walls was mainly posters of music bands and one wall was obstructed by an obscenely huge television set. I was reminded of a human frat boy’s dorm room.

     “Its better if you just answer the call,” he said, his voice deeper, as if trying to soothe me, but all it did was put my nerves on edge. I was happy that my back was to him in that moment.

     I spied a wet bar in the corner and had a spark of inspiration and said, “How about we talk about it over a drink?” I moved across the room before he could and set out two glasses.

     “Sure,” he said cautiously. I could feel his eyes burning holes through my jacket and forced my shoulders to ease away from my ears before I turned around with a smile on my face.

     “What’s your poison?”

     “Scotch,” he said, lowering himself to sit on the couch. “Neat,” he added. I turned back to the bar and tried to be as discreet as possible as I pulled the flask out of my pocket. I was grateful now that it was glass and not silver so it would blend into the other bottles and glasses easily. I doubted the scotch would camouflage the flavor of the potion, but I had to hope he’d swallow enough of it before he noticed anything strange. I remembered Corbin’s warning that I had to want to break the bond more than anything but thinking of the Hunter’s smirking smile and his self-assurance that I would eventually bow to his will, I knew no matter what supernatural pull he had over me with his bite, I’d do what I had to to be rid of him. I made a bit of noise making my drink, a whiskey sour with cherries, to hide the fact that I had to unstopper the flask and add the potion to his glass. I carried both glasses over to the couch with a smile on my face. He was watching the sway of my hips as I moved and when he took the glass from me as I sat next to him, his eyes traveled to the swell of my breasts, effectively distracting him from the off-color of his drink as he raised it to his lips to drink.

     I watched with rapt attention as he lifted the glass to his lips and the amber liquid tipped into his mouth. He threw the entire drink back, swallowing it all at once. He made a face as he swallowed and looked at his glass as if he could see what was so offensive in its empty depths. My heart was slamming into my chest, threatening to burst out; I felt a bead of sweat form on the back of my neck. He lowered the glass and eyed me. I quickly dropped my eyes.

     “Taryn,” he said, in his tone I could hear the command and something on my shoulder twitched; he was trying to compel me with the power of his bite.

     “Yes?” I answered, raising my eyes to meet his, using the power of determination to push him out of my head.

     “What have you done?” he demanded, his voice little more than a growl of anger now. In a flash my drink was knocked from my hand and I was pressed into the couch with the Hunter hovering over me. His face was contorted with rage and his breath was hot on my face as he bore down on me. My throat threatened to close and my stomach was knotted up to my spine, but I held his gaze with my own defiant one.

     “What I had to do,” I rasped, swallowing past the lump in my throat. “I am no man’s slave.”

     “You are mine!” he roared, making me flinch from the volume of his voice. I felt his magic lash out at me but the familiar thrum of the bite on my shoulder was weaker now than it had been even a moment ago. I clenched my jaw and glared up at him.

     “I belong to no one!” I screamed in his face as I brought my hands up, alive with snapping, biting power and lashed out at his face. My nails raked his skin as my power struck him, blasting him back and away from me so that I could scramble to my feet.

     “Taryn,” he called my name and something in me made me hesitate, the bond was not yet broken. Would I have to kill him? I turned to look at him, just as I knew he wanted me to and when I saw his eyes, I knew that yes, I could kill him. If I needed to.

     He got to his feet and advanced towards me. I backed up quickly, my hands held in front of me to ward him off. I hit a wall and the Hunter pressed forward until he was looming over me, bracing one hand on the wall above my head. He smelled of cinnamon, leather and violence. Something low in my body clenched and I had the undeniable urge to touch his skin. His muscled chest was so close to my face I knew I could lick his skin and taste those spices. I closed my eyes and shook my head to clear it, push those thoughts away.

     “You want me,” he said, gripping the length of my hair with his free hand and pulling to tilt my head back to look at him. A small noise fell from my parted lips at the movement and he grinned at me in a way he didn’t deserve.

     “No, I don’t,” I said weakly. He dropped his other hand and gripped my leg, just under my ass and pulled to hook it on his hip. He pressed his hips into me, pushing my skirt up so that I could feel his hard, bulging cock beneath the fabric of his pants and ground it against me. Another noise betrayed me as I fought the desire to rub myself against him. I put my hands on his chest and pushed feebly.

     “Yes,” he said, smiling now so that I could see those damned sharpened teeth that had marked me all those nights ago. He bent his face closer to mine, his lips were so close to mine and I fought to meet them. The bite on my shoulder began to stir again.

     “No!” I screamed and unleashed my power. A bolt of energy shot through my body and struck him in the chest. He lost his grip on me and fell back on his ass, sliding a few feet. I nearly fell to my knees, suddenly unsupported.

     “You will,” the Hunter started to say but I waved an angry hand and struck him with another bolt of lightening, effectively cutting him off.

     “No I wont!” I screamed, all control lost now that I was the one advancing on him. “I will kill you before I bend to your will!” I flung my arms out, all the magic I had been gathering since that fateful night singed through me and struck him, knocking him on his back again. I heard him grunt in pain and before he could get his wits about him I struck him again and again until I felt weak with the loss of power. But he was still on the floor and the bite on my shoulder was quiet. I stood over him, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. I felt my hair drifting away from me on the wind of my magic. And as I looked at him I felt nothing but anger and loathing. Our bond was broken. I lifted my booted foot and brought it down on his unconscious face, feeling his nose burst under my heel.

     “I belong to no man,” I said even though he couldn’t hear me before I spun and walked out the door.

     I didn’t remember making it back out to my car or driving through town. I’m only grateful that it was so late at night that there were few others on the road otherwise I doubt it would have been such an uneventful drive. I couldn’t tell you if I pressed the buzzer to be let in, but I was just coming back to my senses as I climb the mountain of stairs leading up to Corbin’s floor of the old, creaking building. This time the life hidden behind the walls of the lower floors seemed quieter now, as if the beings I couldn’t see were fast asleep before the coming dawn.

     I raised a heavy hand to knock on Corbin’s door. I expected he would be asleep and I would have to wait for him to get to the door, but he had it open almost as soon as my hand dropped back to my side. A tired smile curled my lips at the look on his face when he saw me. I could only imagine what I looked like just then; clothing in disarray, hair mussed and disheveled, scorch marks on my fingers. Corbin on the other hand looked much the same way as when I had left him; baggy gray sweats hanging from his narrow hips, topless from the waist up with his golden curls haphazardly tumbling around his jaw.

     “Did you kill him?” Corbin asked once he collected himself.

     “Not for lack of trying,” I said with a sigh. Corbin’s mouth twitched at that, like he would laugh.

     “But the bite?”

     “Your potion worked,” I said with a nod. I reached out for the door frame then to brace myself. I didn’t have much left in me and I didn’t know how much longer I could remain standing. Corbin finally picked up on my signals and stepped back to let me pass. I saw a look of worry cross his face before he turned to close the door and hide it from me.

     “That’s good,” he said when he turned around, trying for the life of him to sound casual, but I could see the strain in face just around his eyes. We both knew the bite had been influencing me since it’s magic seeped into my blood and once I broke the bond with the Hunter there was a chance all my desires and impulses for the men I had met in the last few days would fade away. But my first thought when I walked out of the Hunter’s house was how Daniel was doing and that it would only be a few weeks before he’d be back in town. My next thought was the pile of pillows on Corbin’s bed and the curling tattoo on his chest.

     “So are you going to stand there all night or what?” I teased though my voice lacked the conviction.

     “Right,” he chuckled lightly, pushing away from the door and moving into the room. “You should probably eat something.” He took my hand and led me to the kitchen, guiding me into a chair. I hadn’t really thought about food, but as soon as he mentioned it, my stomach rumbled. I watched as Corbin moved around the kitchen, making me some hot chocolate and toast with strawberry jam. Carbs and sugar, if he wasn’t careful, I’d fall in love with this man. He slid the steaming cup in front of me with the small plate of toast. I took a careful sip of the hot chocolate, pleased to find out he made it real chocolate and milk, no instant powder here. The bread really helped steady my nerves as it settled my stomach. I was feeling more like myself when I licked the sticky jam from my finger tips, watching Corbin across the table.

     “Better?” he asked, cradling his own cup of chocolate. I nodded, licking my thumb slowly. Corbin watched my tongue curl around my fingers, a glint in his eye shone as they caught the light. My stomach was full but my magic was still depleted. Corbin looked like a human, but being a witch, he held power that called to mine. I stood up, pushing the chair back with my legs before I moved around the table until I stood over him. Corbin set his cup on the table before turning his chair to face me. There was a mixture of emotion in his eyes as he raised his face to meet my gaze. I saw his trepidation mixed with hope; he really thought once the power of the bite was gone I’d forget about my offer, forget about him. But right now I needed him as much as he needed me.