Read Vampire's Hunger for Free Online

her a frown. She sassed him at every turn. When they’d first met, it had irritated the hell out of him. Truth be told, it still did, but now he usually felt an undertone of humor bobbing below the irritation. But he wasn’t going to let her see that. She’d feel like she’d got one up on him. “I want you and Natalie to move in with me. You’ll be safer at my place than here in the middle of Zombie Central.”
    Kimber’s eyes went wide. “You think we’ll be safer surrounded by vampires?” She gave a decidedly unfeminine sounding snort. “It’s not like you live in a house in a gated community, Duncan. You live in Maddalene’s enclave on the edge of downtown. In a bunch of old reclaimed rubber factory buildings. With lots of other vampires.” She must have added that last part because she thought he was slow and hadn’t gotten her point the first time she’d made it.
    “I give you my word you wouldn’t be harmed.” He leaned forward, clasping his hands between his knees. “Just how much longer do you think you can survive here? Each time we go out in search of supplies we have to go farther and farther afield. One of these times we might not be able to make it back.”
    “Listen, I never asked you to be my protector. If you’re not happy with my living situation, there’s the door.” She stood and walked over to the wood burning stove. April in northeast Ohio meant it was still cold once night fell. Though he wasn’t sure she had moved to the stove in order to keep warm. Since she was clothed in sweatpants, hooded sweatshirt and thick socks, he had a feeling her real motivation was to put distance between them. With her back to him she said, “Make sure to leave your key.”
    Duncan sat back and forced himself to stay where he was even though he was tempted to go over and try to shake some sense into her. Or kiss her senseless. Or both. Their one and only kiss had happened six months ago. Sometimes he thought she wanted him; sometimes he was sure of it, but most of the time he kept his distance because she clearly wasn’t ready to pursue a relationship with him. He was patient. He could wait. He’d gotten a taste of her mouth and wanted more. Much more. She was the only one who made him feel like a human again. Not a monster…and he’d done some monstrous things in the last eighty years. Even before he’d become a vampire he hadn’t been a good man. But in Kimber he saw a chance for redemption. So he’d wait as long as he needed to. In a low voice he said, “If I hadn’t decided to protect you and gotten Aodhán to help, just how long do you think you and Natalie would have lasted?”
    She whirled to face him. The light of the lone candle on the coffee table threw her face into an interesting mix of lights and shadows, but with his excellent night vision he had no difficulty seeing the expression in her eyes. She was angry, frustrated, and scared. And she was taking it out on him. He was fine with that. He wanted to keep Kimber safe. Beyond that, he had a favor he wanted to ask of her, a big one. But he had to wait for the right time.
    “I’m no slouch when it comes to self-defense,” she muttered. She pointed a slender finger at him. “I carried a dagger for my job, remember?”
    “A dagger that you used to draw blood for your resurrection ritual, not for defense,” he pointed out. “Six months ago you wouldn’t have made it past the first horde.”
    Her lips tightened. She didn’t say anything for a few moments. “You might be right,” she responded quietly. She blinked. “I don’t think I’ve done anything except give you a hard time about it.” She sighed and dropped back into the recliner.
    He hated to see that some of the fight seemed to have left her. He’d much rather have her feisty than defeated.
    “I should have said this a long time ago—thank you.” She crossed her arms. “Having said that, I’m not leaving Zombie Central to move into Vampire City. At least