Hunger Awakened Read online

  “That’s a sin, you know.”

  “What is?”

  “To have all this beauty around you and not even realize it’s there. Life is so very short for most of us, so you’re supposed to take the time to appreciate what’s around you. And when you can afford to live in a place as palatial as this one, and then not even notice what others steal and lie for...” She paused, at a loss for words. Finally she said, “You shouldn’t be allowed to have it.”

  He shrugged, the crisp, white shirt like a second skin on him. “I could almost agree with you, except you’re comparing apples and oranges. I’m not a human. I was born vampire. My lifespan isn’t comparable to yours, and so the same rules don’t apply. Incidentally, I don’t find beauty in things.” His eyes flashed. “Only people.”

  Wait. Did that mean what she thought it did? Still, she disregarded what might have been a compliment. “I’m very sad for you then. You don’t get to appreciate just how precious life is. That’s a shame.”

  “Don’t feel sorry for me, Alice,” he said softly. “There are better people in the world to feel sorry for.”

  Her fingers tightened on the plush towel, hiding her body from view. For some reason, she felt as if Bast had the ability to see beneath the material and was studying her now. He somehow saw the imperfections of her body. There weren’t any scars or other obvious flaws to speak of, but standing next to him, she became so much more aware of how simple—how human—she really was.

  “I would like to offer you a job,” he continued. “You made a proposal earlier—”

  “A job job? That pays money?” Her eyebrows narrowed. “I don’t understand.” She clutched at the towel while watching him stride to the bureau. From its surface he plucked a slender black case and returned with it. “What’s that?”

  He unzipped the leather case and withdrew a slick, black laptop. Based on the way he handled it, the weight seemed almost nonexistent. As with everything he owned, it looked top of the line.

  “This here is especially equipped,” he said while it booted up. “I’d like to pay you by the hour to go through and correct the genealogy chart. Now that you know what I am, what’s listed on it might make a little more sense.”

  “You do? Really? Why?”

  “I need to know more about who I am. Who my family is. This laptop has access to every major university database, as well as some governmental access most people couldn’t pay to get into,” he said. “Do what you can and see if you can get further than I did. Even adding one or two names would satisfy me. Finding more mistakes would satisfy me more.”

  “How much you paying, if you don’t mind?”

  He named a figure that made her eyes widen with surprise.

  Alice sat down hard on the bed before her legs gave out. “Wow. Thank you. Any and everything I discover goes with me to the grave, right?”

  “Naturally.”

  She reached for his hand. A tentative brush of her fingers over his followed. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I know you don’t know me, but I won’t betray your trust.”

  “I think I know more about you than you think I do.”

  Unable to fight her curiosity, she began to see what the laptop could do. Her fingers moved over the keyboard, her eyes searching the screen. “Yeah? Like what?”

  “You have at least a high school education, although I would guess even more than that. Some college, certainly. You’ve spent a good deal of time in libraries while growing up. You respect authority figures and have had some experience caring for an ill person.”

  Alice slowly looked up to find he seemed to revel in the way blood drained from her face at his declarations.

  “And that’s just the tip of the iceberg about what I know. You intrigue me, Alice. I can’t wait to find out more.”

  “How could you know all that?”

  “It’s not difficult if one’s paying attention. Your ease with a computer before. Your need to call for help last night and to take me to the hospital. The way you managed to physically move my body when men twice your size would struggle.” Bast put his hand atop hers, giving it a little squeeze. “You’re almost an open book, except for the things you wish to hold close to your chest. Like your brother, for example, although even there I’m starting to understand him and your relationship to him a little better.”

  Waves of emotion rolled through her, and she didn’t know whether to be excited or apprehensive. If he could discern all that from their brief time together, what else had he figured out?

  Did he know about how sick she was? About the potential tumor slowly growing larger day by day—the one that could eventually end her life?

  It was supposed to be her secret because she didn’t want anyone’s pity. If her own brother couldn’t handle it, she would not accept it from someone who wasn’t blood.

  “I think I should get dressed now,” Alice said to change the topic. Her voice wavered as she made the suggestion and she hoped he didn’t notice any of it.

  “I wish I had clothing for you,” he said. “Would you prefer to wear more of what I have here, or should we shop for more appropriate attire?”

  “Shopping would be nice.” Clothes of her own. Clothes that fit. The very thought was enough to make her throat tighten. God, she was falling apart because someone chose to be a little nice to her, after all this time. “But wait. Where are we going?”

  “I need to check on some of my clients’ interests. I’d like you to come with me.”

  She frowned a bit. “Why?”

  “Are you my nurse or aren’t you?”

  She weighed the question, trying to determine the hidden agenda behind his meaning. The clock in the bathroom said a full day had passed. What made him shift positions about her all of a sudden? A job, money, clothing. She didn’t know what to think. These changes certainly hadn’t come from the goodness of his heart, assuming vampires even had hearts.

  Vampire. God, it was hard to believe she accepted their existence so easily. Then again, after everything she’d seen, there really wasn’t any reason not to.

  “Where are you going?” Alice asked, still suspicious.

  “The entire trip will only take about three or four hours.”

  She quirked an eyebrow. “That’s not what I asked you. Where are you going?”

  “Charleston.”

  Her expression reverted back to a frown. “Charleston...Charl—wait. As in the city? In South Carolina?”

  “The same.”

  “That isn’t a three-hour trip! That’s how long the drive’ll take, one way.”

  “After we stop to get some clothes for you, one hour there, two hours of business, one hour back. If things are looking good, I might be able to cut down the business stuff to just an hour.” He shrugged a single shoulder. “Like I said, three or four hours.” Bast crossed the room, opening and shutting drawers. Watching him move, and especially clothe himself, was a feast for the senses.

  “How is that even possible?”

  Bast straightened after brushing off the tip of one gleaming black boot. A slow smile spread across his features, and damn if her belly didn’t cartwheel at the sight. “Alice, how do you feel about flying?”

  * * *

  Okay, so when Bast asked her about flying, she’d flashed back to old Bela Lugosi movies, where Dracula poofed into a vampire bat. It seemed a reasonable enough conclusion to reach. Getting into the Benz an hour later baffled her as to the mechanics of it all, but she sat
back and enjoyed the ride.

  More of the rich classical music serenaded them, keeping a comfortable silence at the level of companionable. The city was beautiful this evening, the moon providing an ethereal patina to the cars and the dark buildings they passed. She almost wished it would rain, just to add sparkling, like diamonds, to everything. It was a city she didn’t recognize, not when she usually spent the time looking for hidey holes to sleep or looking over her shoulder to make sure Richard’s cronies weren’t looking for him. Or worse, her.

  She’d been living a rough life, and it would only get rougher. If she hadn’t learned the usefulness of a five-finger discount from Richard though, she couldn’t imagine how bad it could really get.

  “You’re awfully quiet over there,” Bast said. He handled the car like a dream, turning onto a road blazing with lights, despite the desolation of the area.

  “Just thinking about things that I can’t control.”

  “So then think about the things you can.”

  Alice liked that about him. So practical. “That’s a pretty short list.”

  “What would you add to it?” The hum of the window’s motor filled the air as the glass slowly descended. He waved a card beneath a scanner, a curious piece of electronics standing sentry before a tall chain-linked fence. Despite the brilliance of lights running parallel to the road, she couldn’t imagine what could be at the end of the gravel driveway they traveled.

  Bast pulled forward, and Alice kept watch of their surroundings. She’d begun to start to trust him, but as isolated as the area kept proving to be, he could do some serious harm and no one else would be the wiser. She’d kept the letter opener as her only weapon, but maybe she’d be able to wield it well enough to defend herself if it came to that. Her trust only went so far.

  “I don’t need what you have,” she said after a minute. “I’d just like to know where my next meal was coming from and have a safe place to sleep at night.”

  “Will you tell me about it? Your situation.”

  She sighed. “There’s not much to tell. Our parents are dead, and it’s just me and Richard. To make ends meet, he started dealing.” Her throat tightened as she remembered the early days, when she’d been waiting tables and he’d panhandle. They’d pool their meager earnings, prioritizing which bills would be paid and which would be studiously ignored. “But the number one rule of dealing is never become a user. My brother apparently didn’t know that. Things went down quickly from there.”

  It hurt to think about. The way their lives had down-spiraled into such destruction.

  “What about you, Bast? With all that you have, is there anything you’d add to your life?”

  He didn’t hesitate. “Respect.”

  An answer she didn’t anticipate. “Will you tell me about it?”

  “Another time, perhaps. Time to board.”

  The car pulled to a stop and as he turned off the engine, Alice’s mouth fell open. A plane. They were going to fly on one of those private jets, the kind that billionaires owned. He’d stopped right next to it, so there could be no doubt. “This is what you’d meant by flying?”

  “Of course.” He sounded genuinely baffled. “What did you think I meant?”

  “I—never mind. Wow.” Heat licked her cheeks as she once again thought of vampire bats before pushing the image aside.

  Bast crooked a finger at an elegantly dressed, but outrageously thin man standing near the open door of the plane. Dressed in a black suit, including a black worker cap and starched white shirt, she figured him for the pilot. Pale, with bright blue eyes, he slanted a quick smile in her direction before hustling to the rear of the car.

  As Alice exited, she realized he unloaded the bags of clothing Bast had been generous to purchase. Everything inside them was functional the way she needed, thank you Target. He’d wanted to go to some place with a name she couldn’t pronounce, much less find anything worth a damn. That just wasn’t the way she rolled, even with Sebastian.

  Sebastian. She loved that name. So made for someone with his wealth and stature. It was elegant and refined. Bast, on the other hand... Alice shuddered. The shortened version mocked that same elegance.

  She thought about the wistful way he’d said he wanted respect. And that conversation he’d had with the other vampire, Cicero. What was the story behind Sebastian?

  “Ready?” he asked.

  Startled by his nearness, lost in her own musing, she mentally sought out the comforting weight of the letter opener, tucked inside her sock. It was hidden by the brand-new jeans she wore. Not the most practical place for quick, effortless access, but it helped settle her nerves as she nodded and took his hand. Together, they walked toward the plane.

  Still, as she settled into one of the leather chairs, she couldn’t help but wonder, again, what she’d gotten herself into.

  Chapter Ten

  “Why are you so nervous? I assure you, the pilot has been flying longer than you’ve been alive.”

  The pink tee Alice wore softened her skin tone, making her eyes appear dark as she studied him. His gaze swept over her face, descending until he found the two little bruises on her neck. Perfectly positioned. The faint blue marks turned him on.

  He’d put the bite there. Her blood was his to claim. Even now, the sound of her coming as he offered the dark kiss echoed in his ears, a memory worth clinging to.

  “I’m just not sure why I’m here. You don’t seem sick tonight.”

  A fact that startled him. He’d been so focused on providing her some comfort, including more food after her unfortunate early evening, it had slipped his mind the reason he knew Alice in the first place.

  He said, “You must be good for me.”

  She turned her face away from him, her disbelief almost palpable.

  He smelled a fine layer of fear hovering over her, and it irritated him to know she still was uneasy about him. A smart woman would be cautious, but he wanted this woman to learn him. He wanted to take away her doubt.

  She kept her attention on the laptop, and he surmised he’d touched some sort of nerve. But he respected her quiet request for privacy and didn’t push. With the upcoming meeting happening in less than half an hour, he had more urgent matters to pursue.

  He’d needed Alice to come along in case he fell ill. This was supposed to be a trust-building mission, one for a politician who might be able to sway the lycans away from the vampire populace, but that they’d requested it so close to a full moon didn’t bode well. She wouldn’t be coming with him into the actual meeting, but he recognized needing her close by.

  On the other hand, she was a weakness. Between the lycans and his own men, if discovered, she could be used against him. Bad enough Cicero knew about her. No telling who he’d run his fucking mouth to. But if he had to choose between his men and the lycans discovering about her, certainly the warriors had earned that loyalty. Although a few of them questioned the Council’s decision to make him leader, all, in the end, had earned his respect and trust.

  Bast looked up as Pope left his seat to approach them. “Sir,” Pope said, “we’ll be landing soon. Is there anything additional you require?”

  Shaking his head, Bast replied, “No, but Alice?” He waited for her to acknowledge him. “I’m going to leave you with Pope here. If you get off for any reason, stay next to the plane where he can see you. I won’t be far, but don’t want any of what I’m doing to touch you.”

  “But—
”

  “Stay here. Work on the chart. It won’t take me long. I’ve already decided to cut my business down to just an hour.”

  She didn’t look pleased, but nodded.

  “Thank you. If something goes amiss, and I’m not expecting it to, listen to Pope. He’ll get you to safety. I’ll be back though.”

  Bast studied her face one last time, visually caressing the beauty mark on her cheek, the swell of her lip, the twin marks on her neck. The heat remained at bay, but the urge to kiss her one more time, to taste her mouth swelled inside him.

  “Come here,” he said, his voice husky.

  Something in those pretty blue eyes flashed at him, and the slow, sly grin she gave could have made the coldest heart go up in a ball of flame. “No,” she whispered.

  Bast stood, ignoring the downward tilt of the plane coming in for landing. Two steps took him to her side, and sensitive hearing picked up the rapid tattoo of her heart. “That’s not an option. Not right now.” A pause. “But if you won’t come to me, I’ll gladly come to you.”

  She lifted her face to his, and he drank in the sight of her. His teeth lengthened, a surge of need in him rising swiftly. It wasn’t the hunger of a vampire that reigned, however, but that of a man.

  His hands slipped so easily around her neck, and she entrusted her delicate body to his powerful strength. The skin there felt smooth. Thin. And he knew the extent of his ability to break this woman if he so chose.

  Instead, Bast lowered his mouth to hers, lured by the pink fullness. The parted-lip expectation. He caressed her lips, breathing her into his lungs before capturing her with the force of his desire. Alice made a low sound, one that came deep from her throat, and Bast growled his pleasure to hear it. Their tongues twined together, taking and retreating. Teeth nipping and teasing. Finally, he didn’t have to be careful she’d discover his vampire nature and let the elongated teeth scrape gently against her mouth, each sudden touch sending bolts of pleasure through him.