Heart of a Huntress: The Kavanaugh Foundation Read online

  “You have no idea how bitchy I can truly be.” Lana tightened her jaw and grabbed Espe by the wrist, yanking her away from her horde of half-drunk admirers.

  When they’d retreated about twenty feet away from the bar, Espe jerked free. “Why did you have to do that? I was just taking a little break and trying to have some fun.”

  “Fun?”

  “Yeah, like you were having last night with your guy.”

  Lana fought to keep her cheeks from turning red as her body remembered how well it fit against Byron’s. She crossed her arms, hoping her anger would keep her raging hormones in check. “That was a fluke.”

  “A fluke, huh? It looked pretty serious to me.” Espe mirrored her stance.

  “It was a one-time thing, and I shouldn’t have let it get that far.”

  “But you did, and I saw it.”

  “And I’m sorry you caught me in a moment of weakness.”

  “Come on, you can’t tell me you’ve been a hunter this long and not indulged in a few one-night stands along the way. I mean, you seem to be all dedicated to your work, but you’re also a woman.”

  Espe’s accusation hit her like a slap in the face. If she told the truth, she risked being seen as a withered old prune. If she played along, then she just encouraged her mentee’s flirtatious behavior. “You’re here to learn how to be a hunter, not interview me about my personal life.”

  “But being a hunter bleeds into your personal life. I know the Foundation forbids you from telling outsiders about your work and discourages personal relationships, but, I mean, we’re only human, and even a good double-D vibrator has its limitations.”

  Tell me about it. She would’ve given anything last night to feel Byron inside her, his hard cock stroking the sensitive spot inside her pussy and sending her over the edge. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and tried to regain her composure. “You have to ask yourself how dedicated you are to your work. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too. The hunter’s life is a lonely one because you can’t afford distractions. While you’re busy humping frat boys, innocent people could be getting killed.”

  God, it sounded like a lecture for her, as well. No more humping sexy rogue hunters in the hallway.

  Espe cocked a brow, obviously not buying Lana’s speech for one moment. Then she sighed and threw her hands up. “Fine. Let’s get back to work.”

  “Stay with me for the rest of the night. I don’t want you falling into a trap.”

  “No, you don’t want me having any fun.”

  “Whoever said work was fun?”

  ***

  Byron stood outside the Bellagio and stared at the taxi line. He checked his watch. Four a.m. and no sign of her all night. Maybe she’d stayed in her condo because of her ankle. Maybe he should’ve started there instead of hanging out here and at Caesars, waiting for Lana to show up. And while he was wasting time looking for her, he hadn’t come across a single vampire in the process. All and all, a total disappointment of an evening so far.

  When he reached for the taxi door, a familiar scent wafted on the breeze. He froze. It seemed weaker than before, but he knew it in an instant. Her. The wolf inside growled in anticipation. He turned upwind and followed it to the Paris.

  Eddie always warned him against thinking with his dick, but as soon as he caught her scent, something completely primitive seized control of him, and nothing else mattered. A vampire could’ve walked in front of him and he wouldn’t have noticed. He needed to touch her supple flesh, to taste the sweet salt of her skin, to bury himself in…

  Byron halted and leaned against the wall. His pulse pounded through his body and intensified the throbbing in his cock. He needed to have her soon or the beast inside would overwhelm him. It knew what it wanted and it grew more impatient with each passing second. Soon, it would take what it wanted, regardless of her reaction.

  God, please don’t let it get to that point.

  Repeating the mantra “I’m a man, not a monster” over and over again in his mind, he continued his search. By the time he found her, he’d almost reined in his baser instincts.

  Lana stood in the back corner of the casino with her roommate, pointing out something on the casino floor. She turned and from across the room their eyes locked. The beast inside howled in frustration at being restrained, but Byron crossed his arms and tried to look nonchalant as the two women approached him.

  She licked her lips and almost seemed flustered when she asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing. How’s the ankle?” He glanced at it and noticed no bruising, no Ace bandage, no signs of injury. She’d even had the audacity to wear three-inch platform sandals tonight. If he hadn’t seen the swelling last night, he would’ve assumed she’d faked it.

  She shifted on her feet. “Better, thanks.”

  Her roommate watched the interplay between them with a snarky grin. She stuck out her hand. “I’m Espe.”

  “Byron.”

  A strange expression crossed her face when he shook her hand, and her brows knitted together. Did she know what he was? He broke the contact as soon as he could without appearing to be freaked out by her reaction.

  “Nice to meet you.” She took a step back, still studying him. “Well, I’m about to call it a night. What do you say?”

  Lana looked around the room as if someone had just roused her from a dream. A cool expression settled over her features when she addressed her roommate. “I think we have time for one more casino before dawn.”

  “Why? It’s been a quiet night and I’m bored to exhaustion.” She yawned. “Why don’t you and Byron check out any other leads you have without me?”

  “You’re supposed to be learning.”

  “And it’s my first night. Cut me some slack, will ya?” Espe pulled her aside and whispered something in her ear, causing Lana’s cheeks to turn a delicious shade of pink. He could only imagine what she’d said, but he had a general idea based on the way they both looked at him.

  “See ya around, Byron,” Espe said with a wave, leaving a slightly embarrassed Lana behind.

  His fingers itched to touch her, but he shoved them into his pockets. “No ambushes tonight?”

  She shook her head and her shoulders relaxed. “No sign of trouble anywhere, and that has me nervous.”

  “For what it’s worth, I haven’t seen any of them at Caesars or Bellagio. Care to check out the Venetian with me?”

  “How does someone completely untrained know what to look for?”

  “Some things are instinctual.” He closed the space between them and bathed in her scent. Right now, his instincts told him to get her up to his suite at the Venetian and remove every article of clothing that clung in all the right places to her lean body.

  Her pupils enlarged, and her grip tightened over the straps of her purse until her knuckles turned white. Her breath quickened. “Instinctual?”

  A grin raised the corners of his mouth. She seemed just as aroused as he was, and they hadn’t even touched each other yet. So far, so good. “Yeah, sort of like that gut feeling you have when you cross someone who isn’t quite right. Or maybe when you bump into someone who seems a little too right.”

  There. He’d laid his cards on the table for her, letting her know he wanted her without sounding like some horny pervert. He realized he was holding his breath while he waited for her response.

  “I think I know what you’re talking about.” She lowered her eyes and took a step toward the main entrance. “I suppose checking out the Venetian before heading home wouldn’t hurt, so long as you stay out of my way if we find anything there.”

  “Trying to steal my thunder?”

  “Trying to keep you from getting killed.”

  He chuckled at her overprotectiveness. If she only knew that he was really a wolf in human clothing, not some helpless little lamb. “If I remember correctly, I saved your life last night.”

  She bristled at his comment. “No need to get c
ocky.”

  “I meant what I said about joining forces. I think we’d make a great team.” He trailed after her as she meandered through the crowd, his strides easily matching hers.

  “I’m not authorized to work with outsiders.”

  “Who says Big Brother needs to find out? I want to catch my uncle’s killer. You want to kill any bloodsucker that moves. It’s a win-win situation from where I’m standing.”

  She stopped and rubbed her forehead once they reached the sidewalk. “Is that the only reason you’re following me around, Byron? To get your revenge?”

  “No,” he blurted out.

  “Then why?”

  A lump expanded in his throat, cutting off the air and causing spit to pool under his tongue. He swallowed hard to push it down into his stomach, where it sat like a lead brick. How much should he tell her now? “The truth?”

  “It would be a good place to start.”

  He glanced around at the scant traffic on the sidewalk, but still felt uncomfortable telling her with an audience. He wouldn’t be surprised if Alan had spies positioned within earshot, and with a werewolf, that could mean a block away at this time of night. “Can we please go someplace where we can’t be overheard?”

  “Where do you suggest?”

  “I have a room at the Venetian.”

  Her head snapped up, and her lips parted. A new facet enhanced her scent. He’d smelled it last night in the hallway, but now he knew what it was. Her arousal. His cock strained against his zipper as he inhaled it. “No funny business?” she asked softly.

  “You call the shots, remember?”

  “Good.” She pulled herself together, appearing to be all professional for the moment. “Maybe I can talk some sense into you.”

  “I doubt it, but you can try.”

  Despite the raging hard-on, he brushed past her and led the way to the Venetian with a smile on his face. If he could get her into his bed, then maybe tonight wouldn’t be a total failure. The wolf inside wagged its tail in delight.

  Chapter Seven

  Lana fiddled with her purse as she followed Byron, unsure how much trouble she was about to invite into her life. She didn’t miss the distinct bulge in his jeans when he passed her, nor the heavy innuendo in his words. He had made it clear that he wanted her, but also that he was leaving it up to her to determine how far they took things. The way her body reacted whenever she came near him told her she should jump his bones now before one of them ended up dead. Her mind, on the other hand, cautioned her not to give in to him blindly. He was hiding something from her, but what?

  Espe’s whispered advice played again in her mind. Have a howling good time. What the hell did that mean? But as she caught a glimpse of the way his jeans clung to his tight ass, images of doing all kinds of naughty things came to mind. Her fingers itched to grab it, to pinch it, to feel the muscles slide under her palms as he pumped his cock deep inside her over and over again.

  The cool desert night air suddenly felt like the noon sun. Damn, why had her mind gone there? Why had another man’s touch made her skin crawl earlier tonight, whereas Byron’s made her want to remove every stitch of clothing? She admitted she needed a good ol’ fashioned fuck fest—a “Lana-palooza” where she came so many times, she would have trouble walking the next day. But it wouldn’t be open to the general public. Just the one man she’d hungered for since the first second she’d laid eyes on him.

  There, that settles it. Just sleep with him and get it out of your system.

  Her gut tightened. She hated it when her common sense agreed with her emotional side.

  But what if once isn’t enough?

  She shook her head. No, once would have to be enough. Anything more and she’d risk forming a relationship with him, however sick and twisted it might be.

  With her walls up and a game plan in place, she entered the Venetian with a fixed smiled on her face.

  Too bad the moment he took her hand, everything fell apart. The innocent gesture cracked her façade and set free a torrent of emotions inside her. They cascaded through her body from the point of contact with him, filling her with warm, panty-drenching lust. The lone song of a gondolier reverberated off the walls from the canal that wound its way through the casino. The pleading notes tugged at her heart, intensified her desire, and made her want to push him against the wall and finish what they’d started last night.

  Her breath came out in ragged pants. Screw looking for vampires—they had less than half an hour to get back to their black holes before the sun came up anyway. Where were the elevators up to his room?

  “Are you feeling okay, Lana?”

  His question pulled her from her downward spiral of self-destruction. Her whole body burned. She blinked a few times to bring her surroundings back into focus. How should she answer him? Take your clothes off and fuck me now? “Um, why don’t we just head upstairs?”

  “And finish our discussion in private?” The raw edge in his voice nearly sent her over the edge. Jesus Christ, he seemed just as turned on as she was. If they made it to his room fully clothed, she couldn’t decide if she’d be surprised or disappointed.

  She got her answer as soon as the elevator doors closed. He took a step toward her and hesitated, as if he was worrying about being too aggressive. She’d barely inclined her head forward before he wrapped her up in his arms.

  Their lips crushed together so fiercely, she could almost taste his desperation. Her mouth parted and his tongue swept in to ravage it. Each sensual flick heightened the throbbing tension between her legs. She pressed against the solid bulge in his jeans and frantically ground her hips, hoping to stimulate her already-sensitive clit.

  The elevator dinged and they jumped apart like two teenagers caught making out in a car on the side of the road by the local sheriff.

  His chest heaved up and down as if he’d just sprinted the hundred-meter dash at a world-record pace. “My room is just down the hall.”

  “Good,” she managed to say between her own pants. The sooner they got to bed, the better.

  He fumbled with the key card, his hand trembling as he inserted it into the slot. She inhaled through her teeth and tried not to tell him to hurry up. Dear God, what was wrong with her? She was acting crazier than that cougar from the other night.

  The green light flashed, and they practically fell into the room. He kicked the door closed while his hands slid under the slinky material of her top. The warm calluses on his palms felt rough against her skin, complementing the almost savage way he kissed her.

  Byron was a man’s man, not some sissy metrosexual. He knew what he wanted, worked hard to get it, and had no qualms about being forceful when he needed to be. And she loved every second of it.

  She slipped his blazer off, followed by his holster, and tugged at the buttons of his shirt. He needed to get naked now. He seemed to understand her urgency and broke lip contact long enough to pull her top over her head and then yanked at his shirt so hard, buttons flew across the room.

  The sparse tawny hair that covered his chest tickled her aroused nipples through the thin lace of her bra. But still her hands traveled lower, now working on the zipper of his jeans as she backpedaled through the suite to the king-sized bed.

  “Maybe we should slow things down before we get out of control,” he whispered in her ear before nibbling on the lobe.

  “We’ll have time to be slow afterwards.” She opened his jeans with the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning and shoved them and his boxers down to his ankles. His erect cock sprang free, a fresh pearl of dew gathering on its tip. She fell to her knees and licked it, savoring the salty taste of it on her tongue. But she wanted more and took all of his hard, thick length into her mouth.

  A shudder shook his body as he moaned. “Oh God, Lana, if you don’t stop, I’m gonna come right in your hot little mouth.”

  If he came now, how long would she have to wait before he was ready to come again? She gave the underside of his cock one final,
long lick as she pulled away. “What do you suggest I do then?”

  He took her hands and helped her back to her feet. “I want to savor you.” He cupped one of her breasts. His thumb flicked across her taut nipple through her bra, and she gasped at the intense thrill that such a simple action elicited. “Taste every inch of your skin.” His lips trailed down her throat in a combination of nips, nibbles and chaste kisses. She threw her head back, allowing him easy access to her throat. “Make you cry my name out as you come over and over again.”

  “Tall agenda for one man.” But she didn’t doubt he could fulfill each of his promises.

  “I aim to please.” He removed her fitted black pants, leaving the lace panties that matched her bra in place, and stared at her with wonder in his eyes. “Lana, you’re so beautiful.”

  The low hush of his words sent a shiver of delight down her spine. Not even Max had made her feel like the goddess Byron did. She forgot about her imperfections and reveled in his adoration.

  “Come to bed.”

  She took his hand, admiring the sculpted muscles of his ass and back as she followed him. Before she crawled on the mattress, she kicked off her shoes and released her hair from the tight ponytail she’d worn tonight. Under the low light, she watched him shed the last of his clothes and noticed the long, jagged scars across his chest and chiseled abs.

  She traced one of them with her finger when he came close enough to touch. “What happened?”

  A high-pitched hiss sounded between his teeth, and her heart stopped. Had she touched on a subject that left deeper scars than what she saw on the outside?

  He lay down next to her and covered one of her breasts with his hand. “I was attacked by a wolf when I was seven.” He watched her intently as if he were waiting for her to run screaming.

  Instead, compassion welled up in her heart almost to the point where it exploded. His imperfections made him all the more desirable. She leaned over and pressed her lips against the highest scar on his chest. “But you survived.”

  Some of the tension eased from his muscles while she covered the scars with her kisses. “Yes.”