Scorched Ice (Fire and Ice #3)(2)

The red faded from Cassie’s eyes when she rested her hand on Devon’s shoulder and moved closer to him. “And we know what it’s like to be forcefully separated,” Cassie continued. “No one else should have to go through that, especially not Julian.”

“Thanks, Solar,” Julian said.

She scowled at him, and Quinn’s mouth quirked in a small smile when she realized Cassie didn’t appreciate the nickname. She had to admit, she liked that he called her Dewdrop now, but when he’d first given her the nickname, she’d wanted to choke him, or slide into his arms. But then, he had that way of being able to drive her crazy while making her yearn to kiss him.

“You might make me change my mind,” Cassie grumbled. Julian grinned at her. Ignoring him, Cassie focused on her again. “But I can’t let a fellow Hunter go through it.”

“Thank you,” Quinn replied. The words were completely inadequate, but it was all she had to give.

“No need to thank us,” Devon said.

Quinn lowered her head to Julian’s shoulder as the car raced over the asphalt. The lulling sound of the tires on the road lured her battered body toward sleep, but there was still far too much for them to deal with before that could happen. The glow of the headlights from the RV following them drew her attention to the passenger side mirror when they bounced in the glass surface.

Behind the RV, the growing flames from the hotel Cassie set on fire rolled higher into the night sky. She felt no sympathy for the vampires who had died in that fire tonight. They may not have known what Earl fully meant to do with her, but when he’d announced his plans none of them had tried to stop him either.

Julian’s hand enfolded hers. “It’s okay.”

It was then that she realized she’d become angry enough to have golden sparks playing over her fingers. Her hand clenched around his. He calmed her and helped to keep her power grounded. The amount of destruction she’d unleashed in there tonight, the brutality of what she’d done with her power still rattled her. Being born a Hunter and a half-vampire had always made her stronger than humans. She’d also been more powerful than her Hunter aunt and uncle and her two cousins.

Six years ago, when Earl first attacked her, she’d still been mortal. Earl had been sure he’d left her for dead, but she’d had enough vampire blood in her from her Hunter heritage and her half-vampire birth to turn her into a vampire.

Even with always being more powerful, she’d never known she could do what she’d done in that hotel to Earl and Helena. As a Soul Master, her ability to draw life from things had saved Julian’s life, and sometimes caused his heart to beat again. It was a power that could do a lot of good, but she’d also used her ability to kill another Hunter in order to save Julian. Tonight, she’d sucked the life from Helena as if she were no more than a newly turned vamp instead of the powerful, almost Elder vampire she’d been.

Tilting her head back, Quinn gazed up at Julian’s much-loved face. She’d been livid when he’d first walked into her life and thrown it into a tailspin. Now, he’d become her rock. He understood her in a way no other ever could. As long as he was here to help keep her grounded, she knew she could control the increasing strength of her sometimes frightening ability.

The white bands with their turquoise flecks that circled Julian’s pupils darkened when he lowered his head to gaze at her. His ice-blue eyes warmed to an almost sky blue. He lifted her hand and pressed his full lips against the back of it. While Earl had been holding her captive, some incident in the sun had left his platinum hair nothing more than stubble, and in some places, he still had charred black patches on his scalp. She’d eventually get out of him what had happened to cause it, but for now, she was content to let it be.

Lifting her fingers, she ran them over his broad cheekbones, tracing the curve of his beloved face. Her hands trailed over his square jaw and then his lips. He was the most striking man she’d ever encountered, and he was hers. His eyes softened further as his fingers threaded through her hair.

Resting her head on his chest, she slid her fingers over his carved abdomen before running them up his arm. On his right bicep, she followed the lines of the weeping angel tattooed there. The tattoo was appropriate for him. He was stunning enough and vicious enough to make the angels cry.

She’d spent eighteen years of her life hating vampires and training to learn how to kill them, and then she’d become one. She’d never believed she could fall in love with one, never thought she’d ever trust one enough to even like them, but she trusted and loved him more than she’d ever considered possible. At one time in his life, Julian had been a brutal murderer, the epitome of everything she hated about vampires. She knew he still had it in him to be ruthless, but then, so did she.





CHAPTER 2


“What do you intend to do with him?” Devon inquired as he gazed at where Earl sat on the floor before Julian.

Julian glanced at Devon when his friend stepped off the stairs and into Clint’s hidden room beneath his garage. Julian had never liked Clint, the man who owned the bar where Quinn worked, mainly because the guy knew how to irritate the hell out of him. However, he had to admit he did respect the man who was born a Guardian but had been hidden away in this town by his parents to keep him safe from The Commission.

Clint knew there were vampires who killed humans and those who didn’t, in this world. Because of that, Clint had watched out for Quinn and cared for her when she’d first come to town, even though he’d eventually come to realize she was a vampire. Julian may be tempted to break Clint’s neck half the time, but his loyalty to Quinn had secured his life.