A Hunter's Heart [The Hunters 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  “You are playing with fire, Iubită, do not start something you have no intention of finishing.” She glanced up to see the raised eyebrow and the glint in his eyes.

  With a look a pure innocence she replied, “What do you mean? I am just checking things out.”

  He pushed her to the side and leapt from the bed. Grabbing her arms, he stretched them apart and from the air produced two ribbons. He tied her wrists, one to each bedpost. Leaning over her to kiss her roughly he said, “I warned you about playing with fire, Iubită, now you must pay the consequences.”

  She struggled weakly but he held her legs apart and then once more produced ribbons and tied them, spread-eagled on the bed, with him looming dangerously over her.

  “Cara, listen to me”—he looked serious—“all you have to do is say no and I will stop. Promise me you will not let me do anything that you do not want.”

  “I promise.”

  “Good, if at any time you want me to stop shout red and I will stop, never be frightened, my Cara.”

  He looked into her mind to ensure she understood. Charlotte was nervous but very aroused. She knew she was safe with Matei but the fact she was helpless was nerve-racking. He walked out of the room and she could hear him rummaging in the fridge. He returned with a glass filled with ice cubes, standing at the side of the bed. She twisted against her bindings and he conjured a blindfold, which he placed across her eyes.

  He put one ice cube in his mouth, sucked it for a moment then leant forward and kissed her. He thrust his cold tongue into her mouth and pushed the ice cube in. Withdrawing, he climbed onto the bed between her spread legs. He leant forward and ran his fingers across the moist lips. Charlotte was breathing rapidly. Her sense of touch seemed heightened with the blindfold on.

  He took a cube from the glass and rubbed it against her clit, and she gasped. Slowly he sucked on the cold ice then began to lick her, sucking on her nub until it hardened. She shivered against his mouth. He continued alternately to suck on her clit and then the ice, while rubbing another cube across her breast, circling each nipple until it was a hard-pebbled point.

  She strained against the bindings, testing their strength, trying to free herself as the ice trickled across her. Matei continued his torment on her lush body. He dropped the ice cube between her breasts and watched as it slowly melted, the cold water running down her body to pool at her navel. Charlotte shivered, unsure whether it was with the shock of the cold or in anticipation of what was to come. She quivered as he inserted another cube into his mouth and licked her clit, stabbing her hot cleft with his tongue. He pushed a cube between her inner lips and licked it away.

  Matei could hear her thoughts. Charlotte wanted desperately to grab him, she wanted to run her hands over him, kiss him, but more importantly, she wanted to feel his cock deep inside her. She moaned with frustration, not being able to see what he was going to do was driving her crazy.

  He crawled up the length of her body until his cock stood proudly in front of her face. He grabbed her head and pushed his length into her mouth. She gagged slightly in surprise before adjusting to the thick length in her mouth. He began to slide his cock in and out of her mouth. She was helpless to do anything but comply, her own arousal torturing her.

  He continued to pump into her mouth until he felt himself ready to explode. Pulling out, he spilt his salty seed across her breast, using his hand to pump it across her body. He was still erect. He grinned to himself, her thoughts so telling—Charlotte did not know what he was going to do next but she hoped he would finally put her out of her misery.

  Grinning wickedly at her, he ran his fingers through the sticky remains and then stuck them into her mouth. She sucked greedily at them. He then began to wriggle back down the bed, her body between his legs. When he reached the apex of her legs without forethought, he thrust into her hard.

  “Scream for me! Scream for me while I fuck you hard.”

  He continued to pump into her as hard as he could, roughly and deeply. She tried to match by lifting her pelvis toward him. He reached over and untied both her ankles, and her immediate response was to wrap her legs around him. She would have loved to be able to hold him to run her hands over his muscles as they tightened with his thrusts, instead all she could do was scream his name.

  Tipping her head back, she felt her pelvic walls begin to tighten and then the first wave of her orgasm overtook her. The intensity of it made her shout helplessly. Matei continued to thrust until he felt her spasms subside and he slowly withdrew. Making his way back up the bed, he untied her hands, removed the blindfold and then gathered her to his chest once more. Together they lay listening to their hearts pound, their breaths still ragged.

  “At this rate I won’t make fifty-five.” She laughed weakly.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Charlotte lay dozing in his arms, her body satisfied. She could hear Matei’s relaxed heartbeat and she felt at peace but in the back of her mind she knew she would have to make a decision about whether to convert or not.

  “Iubită, there is no need to worry. To me I do not care as long as I am with you.”

  “I know that, Matei, but the truth is I do not want you to give up your life when I die. Can you promise me that you will not?”

  Matei sat up and took her hands in his. “Iubită, without you there is no life. Do not ask what I cannot give.” He hung his head, not able to look into her eyes.

  Slowly he raised his eyes. “Cara, please understand, I honestly don’t care if you don’t want to convert. Just the fact that I have found you, that you are in my life, that you are to be my wife. I don’t ask for more. Never feel guilt. I know what you must give up if you do.” Philosophically he shrugged and said, “If it happens then it happens.”

  She pulled his head to her breast, feeling his distress.

  “I understand, Matei, I really do. I just need time to think it through.”

  “We have the rest of your life, Iubită, there’s no need to let this worry you.”

  Charlotte decided to accept that for the moment but she would think about things fully while he slept.

  “I can hear your heart slowing, it must be later than I thought. You must sleep.”

  “It is after nine, Cara. I do not want to sleep. I want to be with you.” He sounded like a petulant child again.

  She laughed. “I have some work to do in the studio, I’ll come back in when you are due to wake. Now be a good boy and go to sleep.”

  She sat up but he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her to him, kissing her soundly. “Te ador iubită.”

  “I think I am going to have to learn Romanian, it sounds more romantic than ‘I love you.’”

  “Nothing could ever sound sweeter to my ears than to hear you tell me you love me, Iubită.”

  Charlotte got out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes. She knelt back on the bed beside him and leant forward to kiss him. “Sleep well, my love.” Then she walked into the bathroom.

  After her shower, she made a coffee and sat on the back veranda to drink it. She felt that it was very important to make a decision one way or another. Truth was, if not for her children, she would have said yes. However, the fact that she would have to fake her own death was upsetting, not to mention not being able to see them during the daylight hours until she did.

  Maybe Matei was right and she was worrying needlessly, things always had a way of working out. Still she wished she could talk to someone about it, it was so difficult to comprehend. Sighing, she got to her feet and went into the studio. A day’s painting would take her mind off things.

  Turning on her iPod, she collected clean water and settled down to paint. Very quickly, she was absorbed in the work.

  Around one, she was feeling hungry so stopped for a break to make a sandwich and a coffee. She took them into the studio to eat while she critically studied her work. When she finished eating, she caught up with her e-mails, checked Facebook in case something exciting was happening with any
of her online friends then went back to painting.

  Charlotte had a tendency to play her music loud and sing. Unfortunately, singing was not a skill she could say she excelled in. In fact, her son and daughter-in-law often told her that she sounded like she was undergoing torture when she sang. She enjoyed the fact that by living alone there was no one to complain about her voice. She cranked the speakers up loud, singing along with Queen, adding the odd dance move while she worked.

  Time passed as Charlotte entered her own little world filled with music and paint.

  * * * *

  Matei woke and was disappointed to find that instead of Charlotte, Harley was by his side. He reached out with his mind and found her. Her mind filled with so much colour, he was amazed at the thought processes that she was doing subconsciously, all to achieve the wonderful paintings she did.

  He waved his hand as he stood and dressed himself in a pair of black drawstring cotton pants, tidied his hair and wandered to find her, Harley at his side.

  He stood leaning quietly on the door frame of her studio watching her. She was oblivious to anything. Standing in front of an easel she would muttered under her breath, then sing a few lines along with her music, her brush creating magic along the way.

  Suddenly she started dancing. Caught up in the music, she spun around and stopped suddenly as she spied him watching her from the open doorway.

  “Oops. Sprung me.” She laughed shyly. “I forgot the time.”

  Matei stepped into the room. “I noticed.”

  Charlotte walked over and turned the music down. “Happens a lot, I start working and then the time just vanishes. I did intend to come in but…” she remarked ruefully.

  Matei just laughed, ruffling her hair.

  “Were you standing there very long?”

  “Long enough to hear a song or two before you broke into that interesting dance routine.” He lifted his eyebrow. “You must teach me the steps, very er…different.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Different? Mmm, I think you are trying to tactfully say that I can’t dance.”

  He walked to her and put his arms around her, “Cara, I had such joy watching you. You were so caught up in the moment.” He kissed her then laughingly said, “Still, I doubt you will set the dance floor on fire.”

  “Oh, you horrid man! You’re supposed to say how wonderful I looked. I suppose you’re going to complain about my singing next.”

  He cleared his throat. “I was hoping you wouldn’t mention singing.”

  He had the grace to look embarrassed and Charlotte felt sorry for him.

  “Don’t worry, my kids always told me my singing could wake the dead. Anyway, no one was supposed to be listening so it didn’t matter.”

  Matei sat on a chair and pulled her onto his lap.

  “Gee, I better get myself organised. We are supposed to be having dinner with the kids soon, I don’t want to be late.” But she settled into arms, resting her head on his shoulder.

  After a few minutes she got to her feet. He stood beside her, throwing his arm across her shoulders. “You are worried about tonight are you not?”

  “Yes,” she sighed. “I have no doubt they will like you but being with them reminds me of what I’d have to give up if I converted. How would I explain that I can’t be there through the day? I can sort of cope with the dying thing because eventually I really would die. It would be horrid and painful to leave them but knowing I could watch over them from a distance would compensate in a way.”

  “But how would I tell them I couldn’t babysit? I couldn’t come on a picnic. They just wouldn’t understand.” Charlotte felt the tears start to fall and lowered her face so Matei could not see them.

  “Iubită,” he whispered, lifting her face, “do not cry. All will sort out in the end. What if we told them what I am, explained what would happen. They would then know the truth. You can explain everything to them, let them know the choices you have and that you don’t have to convert. They would know that you would always be there to talk to in the future. They would understand when we faked your death.”

  “How can you tell them? They are like me—mortal.”

  “You forget we have many mortals who know about us. We are just very careful whom we tell. We also plant safeguards in their minds so they can never reveal what they know. When Mihăiță converted Louisa, her sister was told, the rest of her family had died and she was very close to her sister. Her sister’s descendants now work for one of the branches of our company, Louisa and Mihăiță’s daughter lives in Italy with another. It is not unusual, especially with our partner’s families, for us to tell people who are close to us.”

  Charlotte took it in but was still concerned. Yet if the kids knew, she would never have to hide things from them.

  “Not sure how I would explain it. I can imagine their faces. Oh, by the way kids, this is my partner, we are going to get married. He is over two thousand years old, hunts vampires, sucks blood and gets fatal case of sunburn if he goes outside during the day…Oh yes—one other little thing. He wants to turn me into a bloodsucker too.”

  Matei roared with laughter.

  “We’ll work it out but maybe we might have to phrase it a little better.”

  Charlotte could not stop herself from laughing too. “Dinner is certainly going to be interesting.”

  They headed for the bathroom but Charlotte stopped Matei from entering with her. “You stay out, I know full well if you come in we will end up doing a hell of a lot more than washing, then we’ll be late.”

  She leant forward and kissed him before closing the door.

  “You forget what I can do in your mind, Cara,” he replied wickedly.

  “Don’t even think about it, Hotshot!” she warned through the door.

  She felt happy as she finished her shower. Wrapping a towel around herself, she walked into the bedroom to find Matei and Harley wrestling on the floor.

  “What’s this, some kind of beta dog challenge?” Harley and Matei looked at her then each other then continued their game. “Great, now my dog has switched loyalties,” she muttered. Harley responded by jumping in front of her and rubbing his head against her hand.

  “Okay, okay, that’s enough, I get the hint. You’re a good dog.”

  Next thing she felt tug on her towel and turning, got the fright of her life when she saw a big black wolf with her towel in his mouth.

  “Matei!” she screamed, “that better be you.”

  The wolf jumped up on his hind legs and, putting his front paws on her shoulders, licked her face. Those green eyes were unmistakable.

  “Matei! I just washed my face! Enough or I will put you in a kennel.” But she couldn’t hide her laughter.

  She felt his body shake. Once more Matei was standing before her with his arms on her shoulder. He had a silly grin on his face and when she looked across Harley seemed to have the same stupid look.

  “You are both crazy.” She laughed. Matei stole a kiss then wandered into the bathroom. Half an hour later, they were both in the car on their way.

  “You do make a cute wolf, you know.” She smiled across at him.

  “My surname means wolf. All Hunters can change, most of us tend to prefer certain animals. I use the wolf and an owl although sometimes I use an eagle. You would love it, the freedom of running with a pack through the forest. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

  “There is so much I don’t know about you and about Hunters, I think we must spend a few hours talking it all through.”

  They drove on in comfortable silence, Matei’s hand resting on her shoulder, caressing her neck. Charlotte decided to avoid the supermarket. She could not face the memory of that awful day when the vampire had approached her even though that day she had met Matei. Instead, she knew of a little bread shop not far from her children’s house. She pulled into the little car park and raced inside while Matei waited in the car. She was so nervous, wondering how the kids would accept her romance, how Matei would
like her children.

  When she got back into the car, Matei leaned across and kissed her, “It will all be fine, dragostea mea, relax.”

  Five minutes later, they pulled up in front of the house. Turning off the car, she just sat frozen in her seat.

  “Are you getting out, Cara?” He laughed.

  He walked around to her door and opened it. Practically dragging her out, they walked to the door, his arm around her waist.

  “Matei.” She hissed. “Your age!”

  “Oops.”

  He shook his head and once more was the distinguished fifty something. Before she could run back into the car, he rang the doorbell and she could hear shouts of “Nanny, Nanny” as the grandchildren ran up the hall.

  Shaking nervously, she straightened her shoulders as her son opened the door and the children raced out to hug her legs.

  “Up,” demanded the baby and she bent down to lift him.

  Her son stepped aside to allow them in and she turned to introduce Matei, still standing at the front door.

  “Stuart, this is Matei.”

  Both reached out their hands to shake and Stuart said, “Come on in.”

  Again with formality Matei said, “May I enter your home? May you give me permission to enter?”

  “Er, yes. Come on in.”

  Stuart appeared slightly confused so Charlotte said, “Don’t worry, it’s a Romanian thing.”

  As Matei entered the house, the baby decided he was more interesting than she was and switched allegiance by throwing himself into his arms. Her granddaughter peeked out from behind the door then decided she wanted his attention too.

  “Lift me up too please?”

  Matei reached down and picked her up in the other arm, then settled them both comfortably, one on each hip.

  “Come on children, enough. Let Nan and Matei come inside.”