Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(57)

Nice. I was tied up in the middle of the forest and crazy bitch was giving a lecture on scene control. “He isn’t my husband. He’s my bodyguard.”

She looked me over, ropes and all. “He’s not doing a good job.”

“Well, I can be rough on a guard,” I admitted. “He was just doing his job so I need him back. As for this one, go crazy. The dinner bell’s a ringing.”

The Hunter was at her back. He was still swaying but now he ran his hands down her arms and he let his face rub into her hair. She moved with him, keeping him in a state of wanting though her real attention was focused on me. “I think you’re not in a position to demand anything. Why should I give up my lovely treats to a girl who was silly enough to get herself tied to a tree?”

“Girl power?” I offered. “Come on, don’t we chicks have to stick together?”

“Why do you refer to me as a baby bird? I’m not soft and sweet.” She turned toward the Hunter now, who let his hands find her breasts. “I will show you.”

Baobhan sith don’t have fangs. She held her hand up and showed me what she did have. Her index finger sported a long, sharp talon. She drew it brutally across the Hunter’s neck and I got sprayed with a fountain of blood. The dogs growled now but even as she pulled him close and fastened her mouth against his neck, the Hunter’s hands came out to quiet his pets. They whined and moved close to me as though the tied up pregnant human would protect them.

The vampire feasted. She sucked and made noises I was sure Danny didn’t make when he ate. Even from the outside looking in, watching Daniel feed was a sexy thing. This was kind of stomach turning. For the most part, feeding a vampire is a fairly neat experience. Even the two times that bastard Louis Marini has caught me for a snack, he didn’t ruin my clothes. This girl vamp didn’t seem to care that she was letting a lot of her meal go to waste. Girl needed some table manners. She seemed to have skipped vampire finishing school. The Hunter was bleeding and it was going everywhere. It was on him. It was on her. It was on me.

Even as I thought it, I could see the flow slowing. The vampire pulled back, startled, and checked her prey’s neck. It was closed now and though the Hunter seemed the tiniest bit woozy, he was still on his feet.

“What magnificent prey I have found this evening!” she exclaimed with a happy sigh. “He’s like the other. Their powers of healing are amazing. I’m full yet they live to feed me again on the morrow.”

“I’m happy for the two of you. Now, how about we celebrate your newfound interdependence and untie me?”

Her mouth was covered in blood and it dripped down her white dress but she was surprising unselfconscious. “I think not. I think you would attempt to save the shapeshifter. I think you would fight me.”

“Absolutely not,” I promised, lying through my teeth. “Take ‘em both. You were right. He was a crappy guard or I wouldn’t have ended up here.”

She moved in close, and I could smell the stench of decay on her. I tried to move away from it, but there was no place to go. “Be careful, little girl. We do not take kindly to liars.”

I took a deep breath and prayed she didn’t use that nasty, needed-a-manicure, finger on me. “All right, I’ll tell you the truth, then. If you give me my wolf and let me go free, then I’ll leave your forest and I won’t return.” I left out the part about sending Danny back to deal with her, but I doubted seriously she could handle Daniel.

The vampire looked at me. “And what do I get in return for giving you my prize?”

I looked into her dead eyes and I was extremely serious about my offer. “If you give me my wolf and untie me, in exchange, I promise not to hunt you down and kill you.”

Her laughter rang through the air, breaking the quiet of the forest. “You’re most amusing, human. I would enjoy watching the large ogre chew on your bones, but I’ll allow you a private death. I need to take my new love to my home and settle in for a nice long evening. Good luck to you.”

She turned and when she walked back the way she’d come, the Hunter followed her without a single glance back at the woman he’d intended not to hurt. I was left alone in the middle of the forest, staked out and bloodied. I was the perfect feast for a hungry ogre.

Barghest whined beside me. He obviously wondered if he should follow his master, but I assumed that last hand gesture had been a stay command and though there wasn’t much the dogs could do to help, I was glad I wasn’t alone.

Shuck lay down on top of my feet and closed his eyes. At least someone was getting something out of this.

The Hunter and his new lady friend disappeared into the wilderness. I made note of the direction they were going because I had every intention of making good on my promise. I was going to hunt down that vampire and I was going to get Lee back.

There was a rumble in the distance and it sounded like something big was walking my way. I started pulling at my bindings in earnest now because the ogre was coming and I was almost out of time.





Chapter Fourteen





I looked at Barghest, the dog not asleep at my feet. “Hey, buddy,” I said in my brightest voice. “You want to pull that knife out of the sheath and cut through these ties? I’ll give you a treat.”

Big black eyes looked up at me with zero intelligence in them. He did that doggie smile thing and popped up to lick my face. It was sweet and not helpful in our current situation. At my feet, Shuck began to snore, his enormous body rising and falling with his deep breaths. I was in a place filled with unique and magical creatures and I got stuck with two dumb dogs.