He kept one arm around her shoulders and guided her to the empty sofa and settled her next to him.
Evie swallowed hard and took a deep breath. “Tell me about the vampire hunters.”
Craig glanced at Damek who inclined his head. “They’re a secret society that’s been around almost as long as vampires,” Craig began. “They destroy vampires—all vampires, the good alongside the bad. They’ve murdered humans who they suspected were vampires as well as those who they believed associated with vampires.”
“That’s barbaric,” Evie exclaimed.
“It is.” Damek leaned back and spread his arms across the back of the sofa. “The last time vampire hunters came to town they killed my Sonia. She was human, a researcher, a professor at a university who studied myths and legends. Her only crime was finding me.”
The walls began to undulate and Damek’s eyes turned red. His fury was like a living entity. The vampire shook himself and stood. “All the paranormal creatures have trouble with bounty hunters.”
“What are we going to do?” Craig asked. That was the big question.
“If they do not leave the city willingly, they will have to be dealt with.”
Craig knew Damek would kill them in a heartbeat if they threatened him or Sonia, and he couldn’t blame him. If anyone threatened Evie he knew he could kill them to protect her.
“I will do some scouting tonight and see if I can locate either the hunters or the rogue vampire.”
Craig checked his laptop, bringing up the results of some of his searches.
“I’ve got some possibilities for property where Vladimir might be living. The name of the purchaser isn’t quite the same as either of his names, but they’re close. There are about thirty places.”
“I can probably get to about half tonight. I still have to spend time at the club and with my wife.” Damek gracefully rose from the sofa and straightened the cuffs of his shirt so the sleeve of his jacket was aligned perfectly.
Craig stood and went to his friend. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, for us. Thank you.” He reached out and hugged Damek. The older vampire stiffened slightly and then pulled Craig against him.
“I will protect you, my friend.”
“Take care of yourself and your wife first. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to either of you.” That was one of Craig’s biggest worries. He was prepared to fight and die if necessary, but he wanted his friends and family safe.
Damek pulled back and there was a predatory smile on his face. “Do not worry about me. I can take care of myself and my own.”
Craig believed him. Evie silently watched them and he wondered what she was thinking. He considered trying to read her thoughts but decided that would be not only rude but a violation of her trust.
“I’ll text you the list of properties,” Craig promised.
Damek nodded and headed out, leaving them alone in the apartment.
Evie breathed a sigh of relief as soon as Damek left. That was one intense dude. He wasn’t an overly large man, but he was well-built and there was no doubting the power that emanated from him.
She was still trying to digest everything they’d just told her. Vampire hunters. It was hard to believe. But then again, so was the idea of vampires. Yet here she was.
“Are you okay?”
Craig placed one finger under her chin and tilted it upward. His hair touched his broad shoulders and the gray sweater he was wearing brought out the color in his eyes, making them look even bluer. It had been difficult to leave him this evening. It would have been so easy to stay snuggled next to him. If she had they probably would have made love again.
She was getting too close to him and that couldn’t end well. Evie was a realist. No matter what Damek believed, she didn’t expect to live through the coming confrontation. Vladimir Drake might not be as old as Damek, but he was cunning and strong. Most of all, he was obsessed with her and undoubtedly angry at her escape. He would stop at nothing to find her, if only to kill her.
“Evie?” Craig brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes, hooking it gently behind one ear. A shiver of desire raced down her spine and her nipples stood at attention. Craig’s gaze narrowed and he licked his lips.
“No.” It wasn’t easy, but she pulled away from him. “We have work to do.”
“Is that the only reason why?”
Evie damned him for being so smart.
“Of course, what else could it be?”
“You tell me.” He tilted his head to one side and studied her.
She shrugged. “We’ve got a lot to deal with right now. It’s not smart for us to get involved.”
His expression turned gentle. “We’re already involved, Evie.”
She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling cold in spite of the fact she could usually control her body temperature. She concentrated on becoming warm, but it didn’t help. “We need some distance. Some perspective.”
“You mean you want to keep me at a distance.” He prowled closer, his movements more fluid than they’d previously been. He was changing by the hour, just as she was. It was strange to keep expecting her body to behave as it had when she was human. How she walked, her strength and all her senses were so different, foreign in many ways.
Craig dragged his thumb over her bottom lip and she almost whimpered.
Her pussy ached for him. He was a vampire. She knew he could smell her arousal, yet he didn’t refute her claim of wanting distance even though her body betrayed her word as a lie.
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t leave you.”
In those last four words, Craig laid her fears out bare for them both to see.
She’d been left her entire life, never important enough to anyone else for them to stay or to ask her to stay.
She started to turn away, but he wouldn’t let her. He didn’t try to kiss her and there was nothing sexual in the way he pulled her against his chest and simply held her.
“I’ve got you,” he promised.
Never in her life had someone put themselves between her and danger.
Never had anyone put her first. Not until Craig. And what had she done for him?
She’d turned his life upside down, changed him into a vampire and put his life in danger.
“I know what you’re thinking and you can stop it right now.”
Horrified, she stared up at him. “You can read my thoughts?” She desperately tried to build walls in her mind to keep him out.
“I don’t know if I can or not. I’m not trying. That would be rude.” He cupped her face and softly kissed her lips. “But, sweetheart, I don’t need to read your mind to know what you’re thinking. It’s written all over your expressive face.”
She frowned, not liking that idea at all.
She’d always been tough and independent, taking care of herself and depending on no one. She’d left home at eighteen with her meager savings in her pocket and set out to an unknown city with a dream. And she’d made it happen on her own.
But Craig had gotten under her skin, not by pushing. That she could have resisted. He had a way of simply putting her wants and needs ahead of his own. It still baffled her that he wanted to do things for her, take care of her. It was foreign and yet enticing at the same time.
She couldn’t afford to be weak. She needed to be strong in order to defeat Vladimir.
“If you know what I’m thinking then you know I’m right.” She eased away and wandered around the room, touching the books and knickknacks in the bookshelves. She was starting to go a little stir-crazy being shut up in the apartment. She was used to being out and about every single day, not having to curtail her activities because some crazy vampire was looking for her.