Darkness Everlasting (Guardians of Eternity #3)(23)

"Hardly a skill to take great pride in."

"It is only one of many, I assure you," he drawled, his gaze deliberately roaming over her near-naked body.

Well, freaking bully for him.

"What do you want?"

His eyes narrowed. No doubt he was shocked that she hadn't melted at his feet. Granted, he was melt-worthy. He was the sort of gorgeous, sexy, dangerous man whom most women found irresistible.

Unfortunately for him, Darcy already had her hands filled with another gorgeous, sexy, dangerous man.

One per century was her limit.

Salvatore studied her for a long moment, as if reevaluating just how to deal with her. A fairly common occurrence.

"I know you were taken against your will by the vampire," he said. "I intend to rescue you."

She regarded him warily. She didn't believe for a minute that his idea of a rescue would match her own.

"Now?"

"Is that a problem?"

"Actually, yeah. It's a problem."

"Why?"

"Because I don't trust you."

His features hardened. There was a restless energy that hummed about him and filled the air with heat.

"And you trust the vampire?"

She smiled wryly. "I think it's more a matter of the 'devil you know.' So far he hasn't harmed me."

"So far? Are you willing to risk your life on a vampire's whim?"

Darcy shrugged. It sounded incredibly stupid when he said it like that. Then again, would it be any less stupid to allow herself to be rescued by a werewolf who had started all her troubles in the first place?

"Why would you want to rescue me?" she abruptly demanded.

There was a tight silence, as if he was debating whether or not to simply toss her over his shoulder and be done with it.

Darcy tensed, quite prepared to scream, but he gave a shake of his head.

"Would you believe that I'm just a good guy?"

"Not for a minute."

He gave a soft, husky laugh. "I will not deny that I have need of you."

"What would a werewolf need with me?"

He straightened as his heat spread through the room and washed over her bare skin.

"You know?"

Darcy swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. Maybe she shouldn't have mentioned the whole werewolf thing. That might be the sort of information he didn't want bandied about.

Still, it was too late to pretend ignorance now.

"Yes."

Salvatore leaned forward and sniffed the air about her. "You don't seem particularly frightened."

She took a step back. She had encountered any number of oddballs over the years. Hell, most people considered her an oddball. But she wasn't quite comfortable with being sniffed.

"If you wanted to hurt me you could have done so already."

"You're right." The tension in the air eased and the enticing smile returned. "I have no desire to hurt you. In fact, I will kill anything and anyone who attempts to harm you."

"Yes, well . . . that's psychotically reassuring, but you still haven't told me why you have been following me."

"I will tell you once I have you free of the vampire. If he were to know your worth he would most certainly kill you."

Great. Just great.

That was all she needed. A reason for a dangerous vampire to kill her.

"I don't know what you mean by worth. I'm just an uneducated bartender with less than fifty dollars in the bank."

The dark eyes held a heat that was more than a little disturbing. "Oh no, cara, you are most certainly priceless."

"Why? Why me? Does it have something to do with my blood?"

"It has everything to do with your blood."

Darcy caught her breath, her simmering unease abruptly forgotten. "Do you know something of my parents?"

Without warning he had moved forward and was holding her face in his hands.

"I will reveal all once you are in my care, cara," he promised.

His touch was surprisingly gentle, but Darcy batted his hands away with impatience.

"Stop that."

He merely smiled as he backed toward the door. "If you want the truth of your past, you must come to me, Darcy. I will send word to you in a few days with a plan to help you escape. Until then." He gave a small bow as he stepped through the doorway. "Oh, cara."

"What?"

"You will need to return to the shower. Vampires possess an uncanny ability to smell werewolves."

He disappeared from view and Darcy heaved a heavy sigh.

"Gripes."

Salvatore slipped through the shadows with a shimmering frustration.

Nothing was going as it should.

He had devoted thirty years to searching for Darcy. Thirty goddamn years. Then, when he finally managed to track her down she was snatched from beneath his nose by filthy vampires.

It was enough to make any werewolf snap and snarl.

And now, when he had risked everything to slip her away, he was being forced to leave the remote estate alone.

What the hell was wrong with the woman?

She was supposed to be terrified at being held prisoner by a vampire. She was supposed to be hiding in a corner just waiting to be rescued.

Rescued by him.