Deathtrap (Crossbreed #3)(95)
Seeing her fight those rogues had impressed him tremendously. The memory of her fangs gleaming white against her bloodstained lips stirred something deep within him. Raven looked like a comic book heroine—a svelte yet feminine body with midnight hair that came alive when she moved. She showed courage and tenacity when faced with an ambush, and that was something you were either born with or learned through years of experience. She wasn’t polished or of noble blood. She didn’t wear perfume, and half the time she brushed her hair with her fingers. There was a wildness in her that couldn’t be tamed—a woman who wasn’t sitting around waiting for anyone’s help. She was raw and uncut, and that called to his Vampire heart.
Christian leaned on the railing. Raven had lowered the vanity mirror and was wiping her smeared eyeliner with a tissue. He gripped the wooden handrail, keenly aware that her heart rate had slowed. The flush of scarlet on her cheeks was a teasing sight to a Vampire. While he didn’t know exactly how she felt about him, he sensed subtle changes in her body whenever he entered the room. Her pupils would dilate before she averted her gaze and pretended not to notice him. In a millisecond, he could block out all noise in a room except for the sound of her heart skipping a beat. He never should have encouraged those feelings. After all, what did he care? Christian was a man who fucked women with wild abandon, never bothering to ask for names afterward.
He despised himself for allowing the attraction to flourish. And on top of everything, she was the little girl from the fire.
Jaysus. In the past century, Christian had experienced a few moments of weakness in his Vampire life, and not one of them had ever yielded anything but regret. He brushed his hand over the sleeve of his coat, still remembering the searing pain from the burns.
“Get your ass in here,” Crush said from inside. “I know how you Vamps like the cold.”
Christian straightened his back like an arrow.
“I know you heard me,” Crush said quietly.
Dumbfounded, Christian swung open the door and entered the trailer. “And what exactly do you know about Vampires?”
Crush laughed and tied back his long hair. “Enough to know you don’t like being called Vamps. Why don’t you shut the door, and we’ll talk.” He stood up and headed to the fridge. “Want a drink?”
Christian took a seat and rested his left arm on the table, drumming his fingers and watching with interest. “I’ll have a scotch.”
Crush returned and put an orange soda in front of him. When he sat down, he popped the lid off his own bottle and took a long drink. Christian could hear the fizz bubbling in Crush’s throat with every gulp, so he focused on tuning out all the little sounds that were becoming an unwanted distraction.
“Raven doesn’t know I know,” Crush began, setting the bottle on the table.
“If you knew about Vampires all along, why didn’t you tell her?”
“She looked torn, and I didn’t want anything holding her back from moving on if that’s what she needs. There would have been more explaining to do, and one quick visit isn’t enough to fill in all the gaps.”
“The gaps being that she finds out you’re a liar.”
“I’m her old man, and a father will do anything to keep his kid from hurting. But you wouldn’t know anything about that.”
“You’re right.” Christian flicked his thumb, and the lid popped off his soda and flew across the room. “How much do you know?”
Crush scratched his jaw. “Enough to know that her eyes should be coal black. Enough to know that her skin doesn’t look like a Vampire’s even though she has fangs.”
Christian took a swig and grimaced at the sharp bite of the carbonated drink. He might as well learn what he could about Crush since he was going to scrub it all away anyhow. “Raven’s… special.”
“Of course she’s special. She’s got her mama’s blood running in her veins.”
“What I mean is, she’s not entirely Vampire.”
Crush rested his right arm on the table and leaned forward. “Now you’ve got my attention.”
“She’s half Mage.”
“You’re shittin’ me.”
Christian stared directly at Crush, who was avoiding eye contact.
How intriguing.
He could easily imagine this guy wearing one of those black skullcaps that tie in the back, sitting on his Harley and spitting against the wind. The last guy he would have expected to know about the Breed world. His goatee and hair was mostly salt with a little pepper, and though his blue eyes weren’t as light as Raven’s, there was something familiar about them he couldn’t put his finger on that reminded him of Raven. She hadn’t inherited his big nose or rough skin, but she’d certainly acquired his straightforward personality and tough demeanor.
“How exactly did my daughter wind up a mutant?”
“I believe crossbreed is the word you’re looking for.” Christian waved his hand when Crush rinsed him with a cold stare. “I wasn’t there. What happened to her is like hitting the genetic jackpot.”
“And you’re protecting her?”
Christian gave a throaty chuckle. “She does a fine job protecting herself.”
“As a… bounty hunter,” Crush said, making an educated guess.