Night Hunt Ch. 14

Her blood heated at his words. Had she entered an alternate universe? They hated each other. Damn her hormones, she wasn't thinking straight. Nearly dying kind of had that effect on a girl. Werewolf, he's a werewolf. They probably all think with their smaller heads.

She sucked in a breath, steadying her heartbeat. "I have a boyfriend, remember?"

He scowled at that. "Yeah? Try hanging on to that. It's not going to last for much longer."

"You're starting to sound like a broken record," she said exasperatedly. "What's the deal? You think you're offering something better?"

They were glaring at each other again.

"What I'm offering, princess, is some fun. The wild, raunchy, and very temporary kind. Which is what your boyfriend is after too, just that he's pretending to call it a relationship. At least I'm upfront about it," Connor said gruffly.

"You're wrong. Also, what makes you think I want a wild, raunchy time with you?" She asked, stabbing a finger to his chest, poking a couple of extra times for good measure.

He grabbed her wrist to stop her. The sudden contact sent an electric shock through her. He locked eyes with her, holding her gaze so she couldn't look away.

"That right there," he said, gripping her wrist tighter. His voice dropped an octave. "Try telling me you don't feel it too. I can smell it all over you. Come on princess, I've been thinking about it all day. Just one night. We'll fuck, get it out of our systems, and go back to the way things used to be."

Her mind went blank. The werewolf must have gone mad.

"Wha-," she stuttered. Then she came back to her senses.

"No. No way. I don't know what you're talking about," She snapped, prying herself loose from his grip.

"What, princess, too good for a one night stand?"

She eyed him warily, licking her lips. His eyes tracked the movement.

"Oh, I've nothing against one night stands Connor," she said slowly. "I just have a problem with a one night stand with you. Notwithstanding the fact that any sort of one night stand at all is out of the question because I. Have. A. Boyfriend."

He growled. "It's a one-time only offer, princess. I'm never going to bring this up again."

"And you're never going to need to," she replied firmly.

"Fine," he said.

"Fine," she echoed.

They turned together, and walked to Tyrus' room in stony silence. When they got to his room, Tyrus took one look at them and wisely chose not to say anything.

They trooped out together, crossing over to Lara's room. Anya knocked on the door. A minute later, it opened. The woman who stood in its place was drop dead gorgeous in a sexy, don't-mess-with-me kind of way. Sam took in her sleek high ponytail, porcelain skin, and fitted black attire that did nothing to hide her toned body and womanly curves. Her tight leather pants and killer heeled black leather boots made her look badass. Damn, I'm totally digging her style.

"Lara, join us for dinner? This is Sam, and this is Connor. They're with me," Tyrus introduced, whilst gesturing to them in turn.

Lara took a moment to assess them. When she got to Connor, she swept an appreciative look up and down his body. Her lips quirked upward.

"Sure." The interest in her tone was unmistakeable.

Connor grinned, pulling himself up to his full height.

Sam felt a small tug of annoyance. She quickly dismissed it. Why should she care if Lara was eyeballing Connor like he was dessert on a stick? Or that he was looking at her in the same way? She did not want him.

Obviously, he hadn't been that interested and had moved on. And she was glad for it. It showed that he was just the kind of male she knew he was. She plastered a smile on her face. "Great, we're all acquainted. Let's go. After the day we've had, I'm starving."

It was true too. Her body needed the calories to replace the energy it had just spent healing itself. She made a beeline for the restaurant, not bothering to turn around to see if the rest followed.

*****

A tray of six full shot glasses hit the counter with a thud. Three hands reached out to grab a glass each.

"Alright, they're too busy trash talking each other to hear us. Spill. What's Tyrus like in bed? Rumour has it, your man's got some serious skills," Lara probed, knocking back her shot of tequila.

Anya choked on the shot that she'd just tilted down her throat. After dinner, they'd found their way to the local bar. Tyrus and Connor had just taken over the newly vacated pool table, whilst the girls had headed to the bar for some girl talk. Of course, Lara had ordered them two rounds of tequila to get them started. Then two more.

It was a relatively quiet night, but there were enough people around that they didn't draw too much attention. She'd seen a few curious looks when they had entered, as the locals checked out the newcomers. This looked like the sort of town where everyone knew each other's names.

Sam turned her empty shot glass face down on the counter with a gasp. She grabbed a lime to suck on, whilst simultaneously rubbing Anya's back as Anya coughed to clear the burning sensation from her airway.

"Yeah Anya, spill. The man's been all over you tonight. I was surprised he even let us come to the bar without tagging along. Something went very right this afternoon," Sam said wiggling her eyebrows.

Anya looked at the two women and shrugged. They seemed to have warmed up to each other a lot more than when they'd first met. The usually friendly Sam had been a little snappy at Lara earlier, but had gradually opened up to Lara's easy charm. Before long, the two were sharing jokes and now, teaming up to extricate details of Anya's afternoon with Tyrus.

"Come on, you can't keep all the good stuff to yourself. Give us details! I've been starved of action lately. My lady parts are about to dry up," Lara grumbled.

Anya smiled, but kept her mouth shut. Knowing Lara, that probably only meant a couple weeks without getting laid. In old times, they used to sit together just like this, breaking down Lara's exploits, and her much tamer, much less frequent experiences. But she couldn't very well talk about Tyrus with him standing right across the room.

"Who initiated it? Did you?" Lara asked with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

Anya ducked her head, avoiding Lara's eyes.

"Oh you so did!" Lara crowed, causing Anya's cheeks to heat.

"It just... happened," Anya mumbled, knowing there was no point denying it. Lara could always sniff it out of her.

"They were still at it when Connor and I came back. From the sounds of it, Tyrus was at least as good as the rumours," Sam chimed in. The women high-fived.

"Hey," Lara cajoled, "I'm your best friend. At least tell us what it's like to get beneath that tough, bad boy exterior."

Anya groaned and wrapped her face in her hands. "It's crazy. We've only known each other for a couple of weeks. Is that too fast? It is isn't it? It's happening way too fast."

Lara leaned forward and gently pried Anya's hands away from her face. "Anya darling, with a man like Tyrus, it'll always happen fast. Just hang on as fucking tight as you can and enjoy the ride."

"And if he's stupid enough to hurt you, we'll kill him," Sam added.

"Didn't you come along on this trip to keep him from getting killed?" Anya pointed out.

"Yeah well, us girls have to stick together," Sam replied, twisting her fingers together and waving them in the air to emphasise her point.

They laughed. Anya couldn't help glancing over at the pool table. Tyrus was ahead, and he was grinning cockily at Connor. As if he could feel her eyes on him, he lifted his gaze till it locked onto hers. His eyes warmed and his grin widened. Anya's heart did a little stutter. She was glad that she was sitting, because her knees had suddenly gone weak. He really did have a heart-stopping smile.

The girls followed her gaze. They watched as Tyrus proceeded to sink another two balls, but then he missed his next shot. He swore. Connor slapped his hand on edge of the table in glee before leaning over to decide his next move.

Anya realised they weren't the only ones watching. Practically every woman in the room, and possibly a couple of men, had their eyes glued to the sight. There was something strangely mesmerising about watching two alpha males engaging in competition with each other.

"So, what's the story with you and the wolf?" Lara asked Sam, not taking her eyes off Connor. Anya sighed inwardly with relief as she felt the shift in Lara's attention.

Sam shook her head vehemently. "Me and that asshole? You're totally mistaken. We hate each other."

Lara only clucked her tongue as she reached for her next shot glass. "I saw how you were shooting daggers at me when I was checking him out. That was a less-than-subtle hint babe. You know what's commonly mistaken for hate?"

Lara paused dramatically, downing her shot in one go then taking her time to suck on her lime.

"Sexual tension," she finished with a satisfied smile.

Sam snorted. "That's total bullshit. Besides, I'm seeing someone back home. It's getting serious."

At that, Lara grew quiet, contemplating. She turned to look at Connor, who was currently bent over the pool table, about to make his shot. His shirt stretched tightly over his back, muscles visibly rippling beneath the thin material. The move also perfectly showed off his well-defined rear to the rest of the bar. Although her awareness was now relentlessly tuned into Tyrus, Anya still couldn't help admiring the view.

"Look, I know we just met, but I like you Sam," Lara said, turning back to the girls. "And I'm not about to get myself caught in the middle of something, but it'd be a shame to let all that hotness go to waste. Just say the word and I'll back off."

"Thanks, but really, I'm not interested in Connor," Sam said, eyes still fixed on the werewolf as he sunk a ball and pumped his fist in the air.

"Last chance..." Lara warned.

"He's all yours babe," Sam said brightly.

"Okay, suit yourself. I've done my due diligence." Lara hopped gracefully off her barstool, then stalked purposefully over to the pool table. Anya noticed that whilst all the half of the room's attention was on Tyrus and Connor, the other half was currently locked onto Lara and the seductive sway of her hips.

She was confident, predatory, and she moved with feline grace. A lethal combination. Even her hair seemed to flick in just the right way with each step, like a real-life shampoo commercial.

When she reached Connor, she whispered something in his ear, letting her shoulder casually brush against his bicep. Whatever she said had him snapping his head back to stare at her. He grinned. Anya had seen Lara in action before. The poor guy didn't stand a chance.

She turned to talk to Sam, but the elf had her eyes fixed on Connor and Lara. Anya paused. Before she could read into it, Sam spun around to face the bar, shaking her head. She opened her mouth to speak, then changed her mind and closed it again. Anya saw the moment when she decided to change the subject from what she wanted to say.

"So, you and Tyrus. I like it," Sam remarked. "Whatever is going on between you two, it's good for him."

"You really think so?" Anya asked.

Sam nodded.

"I've never seen him looking so... content. And smitten. If anyone deserves it, it's Tyrus. It's only been two hundred years." She said with a smile.

Anya felt a twinge in her chest. "You really don't think it's too fast to... to... you know, whatever it is we're doing."

"Fall in love?" Sam finished gently.

"That's not- You're mistaken," Anya said, wishing she'd never said anything.

"Look, there's no need to define things right now. Why not take it one day at a time and see what happens?" Sam suggested.

Anya nodded. There really wasn't anything else she could do. The option of walking away from Tyrus was long gone. Not after what had happened between them this afternoon. She had opened herself to him, let him in, and now that she had a taste of it, she couldn't go back to being alone.

Every time she looked at him, she was taken aback that he had chosen her. She was a nobody, with commitment issues. He was... he was a man who had gone through a traumatic past, yet come out stronger and better. Remarkably so. He obviously cared deeply for he people close to him, and in turn, they were so loyal to him, they would fight for him, even to the death.

She knew in her heart that he was a good person, even if he had taken on the role of a cold blooded assassin. That was who he was on the outside, but underneath it all, he still had a moral code that he followed.

And when he looked at her, he made her feel like she was special, and capable of more than she thought of herself. She loved that instead of only trying to protect her, he wanted to train her and make her stronger too. None of her exes had every made her feel the way that Tyrus did.

"Oh my god," Anya whispered as the knowledge rocked through her. "I'm falling for him."

Sam only looked at her, affirming what she had said with her own silence.

"Hey," she said, laying a hand timidly on the elf's arm. "You won't tell him will you?"

Sam placed her hand over Anya's and gave a reassuring squeeze. "You'll tell him in your own time, when you're ready."

Anya bit her lip, suddenly nervous. What if she put everything out there... and he didn't feel the same way she did?

Sam seemed to read what she was thinking. "I said in your own time, Anya. There's no pressure to do it so soon, okay? Judging from the way he keeps looking at you, he's not going anywhere."

Anya nodded, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach. Although she'd had two boyfriends in the past, she'd never said the three words to them. At first, they'd been patient, understanding that she came from a difficult past. But the longer they waited, the more they needed to hear it. Eventually she'd become more and more distant, and they'd ended things with her. If that's where she and Tyrus were headed... she'd never bear the heartbreak.

"Hello? Anya? You still there?" Anya registered Sam waving her hand in front of her eyes.

"I'm not equipped for relationships," Anya said bewilderedly, more to herself than to Sam.

"Anya, you guys are just starting out. Don't overthink it. Just enjoy what you've got going now, okay? Here, we'll drink to that," Sam said, handing Anya her last shot of tequila. They clinked glasses. Anya downed her shot obediently.

"You don't choose love anyway. At least, not the real stuff. It chooses you, and there's nothing you can do about it," Sam said, making a face as she swallowed. "Okay enough with the serious. How about we put a hold on our girl talk and go see how that pool game is going? I think they're on the last shot. Aaaand... Connor's winning. And so help us, if he does, his head's going to get so big that he won't make it out the door."

They walked up to the pool table, just as Connor called his final shot and lined it up. He eyes flicked over to them briefly as they approached, seeming to linger just a second longer on Sam. He slid his attention back to the cue ball, hitting it squarely with his cue. The 8 ball rolled... and missed the pocket by a fraction of an inch.

The werewolf let out a string of curses.

Tyrus had a grin that stretched from ear to ear. He grabbed his cue and efficiently finished up the game. Instead of gloating, he calmly walked round to Anya and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into him. She melted into his body as he leaned forward and gave her a not-so-chaste kiss on the lips. For a moment, she forgot that she had any bones in her body.

"Let's get out of here," Tyrus murmured in her ear, voice low and rough. His hands slid down to her hips, pulling her tighter against him. She felt his erection through his jeans, pressed against her. Immediately, lust pooled through her, taking away every coherent thought in her head except for one driving need.

Lara let out a low whistle. She threw a sideways glance at Connor. "Hey Connor, if we get out of here, I'll help you lick your wounds."

"Yeah," Connor said after a pause, "let's go babe."

He turned to leave, but when Lara's back turned, he stopped to glare at Sam for a brief second. She caught his glare and returned it with her own scathing look. They looked away from each other as if nothing had happened. If Anya had blinked, she would have missed the whole exchange.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden loud crash. The bar doors had flown open, and standing at the entrance were four figures, eyes glowing in the dark, snarls emitting from their throats. From what she could make out, they were streaked with dirt, and what looked like dried blood. One of the patrons in the bar let out a scream.

Before she could see anything else, Tyrus growled and shifted in front of Anya.

Connor sniffed the air.

"Shit, vamps. Baby vamps. They smell like they just came out of the earth," he said. "I guess we found out what those rebels were up to."

"This is bad, really bad," Sam murmured. "They look hungry, and I've never met a vampire who was sane enough to listen to reason before their first feed."

From the tension visible in the others, they all agreed.

****

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