Tempted

Chapter 9

A broad hand covered her lips. “Sarah. It’s me.”

“Max!” She threw both arms around him, holding tight. The coppery scent of blood filled her nostrils, and she stepped back. “Oh my God.”

Bullet holes dotted his ripped shirt. Blood trickled out. A wide scrape marred his forehead and left cheek. “I’m fine.”

Conn stood behind him. “Where’s the records lab, Sarah?” He gestured down the wide hallway with his arm, showcasing two large puncture marks in his right wrist.

Her eyes widened.

Conn followed her gaze. “Your man has sharp teeth. Get used to it.”

Thoughts swirled through her cloudy mind. Oh. Conn had fed Max. “Um. Thanks.... Jase?” she asked quietly.

“Recovering at the hotel,” Max muttered. He’d taken out the contacts he’d worn for court, and his eyes shone pissed and bright. “Let’s get the data and get the hell out of here.” He peered over her head. “What happened?”

“I knocked him out.” She shrugged, trying not to smile. “Kicked his ass, actually.”

“Good girl.” Max dragged a gun out of his back pocket, handing the cool metal to her. “Aim for the chest if you need to shoot.” He tapped his ear communicator, listening to something while nodding at Conn.

“I will.” She gestured toward the end of the hallway. “The lab you want is to the left, through several security measures the Kurjans have already taken care of.”

Male laughter echoed in the hallway. Conn slid back around the corner, out of sight. Shadows settled into place around him. More soldiers? Then even the shadows went still. Max shoved Sarah back inside the office, turning to shield her.

Heavy footsteps echoed on the innocuous tiles along with murmured voices—deep, gravelly voices.

Sarah shivered, her gaze on Max’s broad back, her hand clutching the gun.

Fingers dug into her hair. Pain ripped along her scalp. She stifled a cry as Andrew yanked her against his chest, shoving a gun barrel under her jaw.

Max pivoted. Death shone in his eyes. Slowly, he closed the door, leaning against the wood. “Let her go and I won’t disembowel you.”

Sarah tried to swallow. The weapon under her chin hindered saliva. Vibrations cascaded along her skin. The gun had been used to kill. Her mind swirled as she saw some sort of gang war. Andrew had purchased the gun at a swap meet. Illegally. If she got out of this, she’d make an anonymous call to the police. “Let me go, Andrew.”

He tightened his hold. “Erik? I’m here with vampires,” he bellowed.

An explosion rocked the hallway—the entire building, actually. The GOALS poster slammed to the floor. Something hard hit the other side of the door.

Max smiled, lacking any semblance of humor. “We brought two contingents of soldiers. The Kurjans are ... dying ... right now.” He stalked two steps forward. “Do you want to die, too?”

Andrew trembled. “If I die, so does she.”

The door splintered. Max pivoted toward the threat as a Kurjan flew inside, crashing into him. They hit the desk, slamming it against the wall. Max landed on his back, his hands clapping the Kurjan’s ears with the sound of thunder.

The mutant howled in rage. He shot his palm into Max’s chin, throwing the vampire’s head back against the metal surface of the desk. The loud crunch made Sarah gasp.

Adrenaline ripped through her veins. Remembering to keep her thumb out, she bunched her fist and shot an elbow into Andrew’s ribs. Air whooshed out of his lungs. The gun barrel pressed harder into her jugular. She froze, barely able to breathe.

The brutal fight on the floor threw blood over her lower legs, causing a chill to sweep down her spine.

Fangs out, fists bunched, the two hit and kicked with blurs of speed. The Kurjan fought with rage, with fire in his weird eyes. Max fought with cold, hard, furious precision. He gave no quarter, twisting his legs around the Kurjan’s torso while his forearms slid on either side of the monster’s neck.

A loud crack ended the fight.

The Kurjan went limp, his neck broken. Max rolled over, straddling the beast while sliding his knife out of his boot. Quick, precise, cuts—and he decapitated his enemy.

He stood, facing her, fangs low, blood splattered across his rugged face. Cold death shone in his eyes.

If she could’ve swallowed, she would have. His gaze cut to Andrew. “Let her go.”

Andrew trembled behind Sarah. Actually trembled—but kept his arm around her and the gun pointed at her throat. “ No. ”

A body flew in through the open doorway, arms windmilling out of control. A Kurjan. He hit Andrew in the side, sending them sprawling to the floor. Sarah’s shoulder bounced on the hard tiles. Pain ricocheted up her neck.

Panting, she scrambled away from the bodies and used the wall to stand up, trying to stay calm. Max grabbed the Kurjan by the nape, spinning and throwing him back into the melee going on in the hallway.

Andrew jumped to his feet. A smile, his mean one, slid across his face as he pointed the gun at Max.

Panic ripped through Sarah so fast her ears rang. Instinct overcame reason and she leaped for Max. “No!”

Andrew pulled the trigger. The shot echoed around the room, but the bullet went into the ceiling. Plaster rained down from above.

She hit Max’s chest, and he shoved her behind him. With a growl, he lunged for Sarah’s brother, digging his fingers into Andrew’s neck. He yanked, and Andrew’s head flew across the room.

Oh God. Blackness ripped through the light in the room. Sarah swayed against the wall.

Max pivoted, almost in slow motion, raw fury on his face. “You jumped in front of a bullet.”

Sarah blinked. Yeah, but the bullet had missed her. Then darkness won as she slid to the floor, almost welcoming unconsciousness this time.

She woke up back in the hotel room, wearing a huge, clean T-shirt and feeling safe under the covers. For the love of all that was holy. She had to stop falling into unconsciousness. As she stretched, her breath caught in her throat. Someone else was in the room. She turned her head to find Max sprawled in a chair, watching her. “Hi.”

One dark eyebrow rose. Tension cascaded off his large body. Pissed. Yeah, he was seriously pissed.

She shoved herself back until she rested against the headboard. Her hand felt steady as she shoved hair off her face. “Did you get the information at the lab?”

“Yes. Then we blew the building up—industrial accident with your brother as a casualty. The two scientists who created the antiprotein will be relocated to one of our labs.”

She wanted to feel sorrow at the loss of Andrew, but the sadness wouldn’t come. “The Kurjans?”

“Most dead. Damn Erik escaped, but without the information he needed.”

Silence descended. The vampire waited.

She sighed. Jumping in front of the gun was stupid, especially since bullets obviously didn’t hurt Max much. And she’d reacted without thought. Apparently they were about to have a fight. She decided to put up a strong front. “Get over it.”

She wouldn’t have thought it was possible for him to look angrier, but she was wrong.

He leaned forward slowly, deliberately. “Excuse me?”

Nerves twittered to life in her abdomen, but she ignored them. He was not going to intimidate her. “Which word confused you?”

“Oh, I got the words, baby girl.” Low and silky, his voice rumbled to a tone a smart girl would heed. A smart girl would run from that tone. He leaned forward even farther. “What confused me was your irresponsible regard for your own safety when you jumped in front of a fucking bullet.” Something dangerous flashed in his eyes.

The bullet hadn’t even come close. At the moment, Max appeared far more deadly. As a smart woman, she fully understood the opposing forces fighting inside her—fear and anger. She needed to let one loose. “I make my own damn choices.” Anger was so much easier to deal with than fear.

“Are you my mate?” His soft question stopped the world.

Sarah had no emotion, no thought, and felt nothing for the briefest of a heartbeat. Then her heart sped up. Sometimes the truth, whether it made sense or not, needed to be said. “Yes.” She felt it. In fact, she knew it. Her shoulders went back. “But I am not jumping into forever. There will be dating. Or rather, considering your age, there will be courting.”

“Did I ask you to jump into forever?”

A lump dropped into her stomach. Her chin lifted. “No.” She twisted her fingers in the bedspread.

He reached forward and unclenched her fingers, flattening her hand between his. “I’m fine with dating. With courting. What I’m not fine with, what you’ll never do again, is put yourself in the path of a bullet. Ever.” His gaze locked hard with hers. “I’m an easygoing guy, sweetheart. But I have a line, and you found it. Don’t cross it again.”

As warnings went, he gave a damn good one. Too bad she couldn’t heed him. “Is that what you do? I mean, shield everybody?”

“Yes. Especially you.” His hands relaxed a fraction.

“No.”

His hold on her hand tightened. “You don’t want to go there, Milaya.”

“I’m already there, Max. I understand your job, your compulsion to protect and defend. I respect it. But I’m your mate, and even though you have yet to acknowledge that fact, if I am, then I protect you, too.”

“You’re my mate.” The words sounded more like a threat than a statement. “As such, in this regard, you’ll do as I say.” He was so determined, so male.

Yet somehow, so sweet. “Sorry, vamp. Not going to happen.”

He moved too fast to track. Strong hands manacled her arms, jerking her from the bed. He took a step, and she found her butt against the cold wall and her thighs spread by his muscled hips.

Her wide eyes looked into his. “Max.”

Determination showed in his hard jaw. “We seem to be having a communication problem here, Sarah.”

Desire slid through her, softening her thighs. She pressed against the obvious bulge in his jeans. Tingles of pleasure wound through her sex, shooting nerves to life. “Maybe we should stop talking.” Self-control—she needed some to keep from rubbing against him like a cat in heat.

“Being awfully brave here, baby girl.” Warning filled his words, while desire filled his eyes.

She smiled, dropping all pretenses along with her guard. Letting her feelings show.

He blinked once, then again. Disarmed. “Sarah.”

“I love you, Max.” Forget rationality. Forget time. The world made sense when he held her. The man belonged to her. “I’m keeping you.”

Pleasure burst across his face. Arrogance lifted his strong jaw. “You don’t seem like you believe in love at first sight.”

“I don’t.” She settled her palms on his broad shoulders, spreading her fingers. Muscles bunched beneath her skin. “But I believe in you.” In this, for the future, she’d trust her instincts along with her feelings. As an intelligent woman, no way in hell would she let him go.

“Love at first sight exists.” Slowly, deliberately, he reached down and lifted the shirt over her head. Cool air whispered across her skin, sharpening her nipples. The shirt floated to the floor. “The first time I saw your picture, I took a sledgehammer to the chest.” His gaze dropped. “Since then, I’ve alternated between wanting to kiss you and spank you into submission.” His eyes flared as that dangerous gaze lifted. “I imagine we’ll have time for both during this courting you’ve mentioned.”

Part of her goal for the courting period would be to drag the vampire into the current century. She ignored the tickle of doubt at her nape. How hard could it be? “You really must stop threatening me.” Her voice came out way too breathy. Not nearly with enough strength.

“Darlin’, I never threaten.” He speared his fingers through her hair, holding her in place.

She tried to pull back, not surprised when her head didn’t move. Fire licked along her scalp at his show of dominance. Well then, if that’s how he wanted to play. Slowly, deliberately, her tongue flicked out to wet her lips. “So, court me, Max.”

His expression smoothed out. Those massive shoulders relaxed. Control settled on his hard face. “No problem.”

The determination in the words had her stiffening. “Wait, I meant—”

Firm and warm, his mouth silenced her. He dove deep, tangling his tongue with hers, thrusting in an imitation of sex. One hand settled beneath her butt, pressing her into the hard line of his shaft. The other hand tugged her head back farther.

He broke the kiss and she let out a soft whimper.

“You’ll be making that sound a lot tonight, darlin.” Air lifted her hair as he pivoted and laid her on the bed, smoothly tugging off her black lace thong, her legs hanging over the edge. “Starting now.”