A Hunter's Challenge [The Hunters 3] (Siren Publishing Allure) Read online

  By five, she had made something for them both to eat. She went outside. It was raining but it was relaxing sitting on the front porch again when Anthan wandered out. He kissed her head and sat alongside her.

  “Hi.”

  “Hi yourself. You hungry?”

  “Yeah, for you.”

  “Funny man. I’ve made us a curry. When are you and Martin leaving to search?”

  “About an hour. Once we eat.”

  Erica stood and wrapped her arms around Anthan. He wriggled her around until she was tucked underneath his arm, her back against him. They stood for a while watching the surf across the road.

  “I love watching the water!”

  “Me, too. Wait till you see it from my deck. It’s amazing when there’s a storm building. I’m going to paint it now I’m back.”

  She turned within his arms and grinned up at him.

  “I looked yesterday. I intend to take lots of photos from there. I left one of my cameras at your place.”

  Erica wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her. Their kisses became more and more intense. Somehow they ended up out from the cover of the verandah roof and in the rain but neither cared. Anthan wanted to taste her, taste every part of her. Erica pulled out of his arms and grinned ruefully. She looked at her wet clothes.

  Anthan stepped closer, took one hand, and pulled her inside the house then began to slowly remove her soaking clothes. His ran his hands up and down her exquisite body. He was so thankful she wasn’t a thin woman. She had such beautiful full curves in all the right places.

  She moved closer and Anthan bent his head to taste those wonderful lips again. She gave back every ounce of passion as he gave her. They were both panting. He knelt down, his head close to her belly. He could feel her hands on his shoulders as he began kissing her body. His hands running up and down her legs.

  The fingers of one hand brushed against her downy mound and he heard her groan. He looked up. Her mouth was open and she was panting, watching him. He let his fingers slid between her legs as he watched her face.

  Her eyes widened as one finger began to rub the length of her wet slit. He slowly pushed it into the cleft between the lips. Watching, he saw her close her eyes and drop her head back. He slid his head to rest it lower. He needed to taste her now.

  Carefully he lifted one of her legs and laid it on his shoulder. Her hands grabbed his shoulders to balance as he dipped his head and began to lick her. His tongue found her clit and he sucked it until it hardened under his tongue. His finger was still inside so he began to move it in and out in rhythm to her pants.

  The taste was more than he could ever imagine, sweet as honey. He lapped her juices as they almost poured onto his hand. Gently pulling her clit with his teeth, he felt her fingers grip into his skin. He pushed another finger into the hot channel and sucked harder.

  She shouted his name and he felt her muscles grab his fingers tight. He kept licking and sucking until he felt her legs shaking. Gently he moved her leg and stood, holding her tight until she stopped trembling.

  She clung to him.

  Huskily he spoke. “Iubită, I... you are the most wonderful woman I have ever met. I love you so much.”

  He felt her moved her head to look up at him. Her cheeks were flushed and she gave him a beatific grin. He kissed her cheek then went into the bathroom and grabbed a towel, wrapping her in its folds. Reverently he dried her body. Erica watched his every movement.

  When he finished, he shook himself dry and grinned at Erica’s expression. She reached up to touch his face and then to run her hand through his hair. He caught her long fingers, bringing them to his lips and kissing each one. He heard her sigh. Looking at her Anthan saw the serene smile on her face.

  “What are you thinking, my Erica.”

  She gave him a smile. “I’m thinking about you. How wonderful it was finding you, falling in love with you, Anthan. You are my life.”

  “Dragostea mea I have no words to tell you how much you mean to me. Where there was an empty bottomless pit in my heart there now beats a heart filled with passion, light, and love for you.

  “I love you, my beautiful Erica.”

  He hugged then pushed her toward the bedroom. Still wrapped in the towel, Erica quickly went in, dressed then walked back into the bathroom to tidy her hair. Anthan had dressed himself, then took her wet clothes from her hands to carry them out to the laundry and returned to her.

  They walked inside into the kitchen arm in arm. Erica dished out a bowl of vegetable curry for each of them and passed over a loaf of fresh bread. They sat at the kitchen counter and ate in comfortable silence. Time to ask about Silvius.

  “Anthan, who is Silvius Nicolescu?”

  “Silvius? How on earth do you know about him? Did Martin tell you about him?

  “He is my best friend, my oldest friend. He and I were friends before the gods converted us.”

  “So he is as old as you?”

  “I’m older by a couple of years.” He laughed. “I’m the oldest Hunter in the world. Anyway, who told you about Silvius? Was it Martin?”

  “No. This will sound weird but I spoke to him earlier today.”

  “Spoke to him. How? Did he telephone?”

  “No.” Erica tried to gather her thoughts. “I was sitting on the porch and I heard someone mention my name a few times, they were speaking to someone about me. I...I concentrated and well, I ‘spoke’ to him.”

  “You spoke to Silvius?”

  Anthan moved his chair so he could face her. He was shaking his head and looking shocked.

  “Yes. We spoke for about five minutes. He’s in Spain and he told me to say he’s happy we met and he thanked me.”

  “Oh my god, Erica! This is unbelievable!” Anthan looked at Erica stunned.

  “How could I talk to him?”

  She was bewildered. Anthan looked thoughtful. He shook his head and looked at Erica.

  “It must be from the blood exchanges. Silvius and I have exchanged blood several times when we’ve been hurt. The only thing I can think of is somehow you can now ‘hear and speak’ with those who I have exchange blood with. All the same, it is unheard of. Amazing!”

  Anthan looked just as confused as Erica.

  “I think I heard others as well, when I was dozing, before I spoke with Silvius.”

  “Later I’ll speak to Viorel. That’s Silvius son, he is the head of the Council. He’d been asleep at the moment, but later I’ll talk to him and see what he thinks.”

  “I feel kind of weird.”

  “Ha-ha, don’t be, you are far from weird. You are the most special and wonderful woman on the planet.”

  Erica burst out laughing at his remark. She leant over and kissed his cheek.

  “Erica, tomorrow would you like to go to my house? Will you stay there while I’m gone, Iubită?” Hesitantly, he asked, “Will you sleep there, stay there with me?”

  Reaching out she took his hand.

  “I’d love to.”

  “Good. I don’t want to go out tonight. I’d rather stay here and make love to you.”

  “Me, too, but you have to find that creature before it kills too many more people.”

  “You’re right. When I wake in the evening I’ll collect you and take you back to my home.”

  Anthan got to his feet. Pulling her into his arms, he kissed her soundly. She could feel her passion rise, just from the touch of his hands around her body. Reluctantly, he held her away from his body.

  “I’ll miss you but I’ll keep in touch while I search.”

  “Thank you, I worry.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  With another kiss, he turned, walked out onto the deck, and, transforming, flew off into the growing darkness.

  * * * *

  “Martin! Get here, how far away are you?”

  “What’s up?”

  “I’ve found a lair, I think it’s being used. It seems empty but I don’t want to enter it yet in
case the strigoi returns soon.”

  “Okay. I’m coming, I’m about forty minutes away.”

  “Be careful.”

  Anthan perched in a large eucalypt overlooking the lair. The stench was almost unbearable. There was a decomposing body lying just outside the entrance. Anthan felt such sadness when he’d found it. He was pleased that this lair looked as if it was recently used. Maybe now they could clear out this area of strigoi and get back to their mates.

  “What did you find?” Martin settled alongside him, folding his wings and looking down. “Man does that stink!”

  “I know. I think there may be more bodies inside. I make it about twenty minutes till sunrise.”

  “Me, too. We wait.”

  The two Hunters sat quietly disguised as owls, waiting for the strigoi’s return. The twenty minutes seemed to go so slowly. Then the first light of the sun touched the top of the tree they had roosted in.

  “Fuck!”

  Anthan flew to the ground and transformed. Martin landed alongside him transforming also.

  “This is fucking crazy, Anthan! The bloody thing seems to be one step ahead of us all the time.”

  Anthan picked up a large dusty rock and threw it hard against the rocky face of the lair in frustration. He shook his head then walked inside with Martin beside him.

  The stench inside was twice as bad. There were several decomposing bodies thrown about haphazardly.

  “We’ll need to take these somewhere so they can be found.”

  “Do you want to do that now or do we leave them and hope it returns?”

  “I say we take them. If it’s gone to another lair, I doubt it will be back to this one for a while. Tonight we can check those other two. Hopefully we find it in one of them.”

  “Shame they’re so far away, we could get there before sunset and kill the fucking thing before it wakes.”

  “Yeah I know. Still if we leave as early as possible tonight we might just make it.”

  Anthan walked over to one of the corpses and reverently carried outside to lie beside the other. Martin picked up a third and passed Anthan walking back in.

  “Think there’s one right at the back,” he told him.

  “Okay.”

  Anthan walked into the darkened back of the lair, his hand covering his nose. It looked as if this body had only recently died. It was a young man. Anthan bent down and picked him up sadly.

  “Shit!” Anthan was so shocked he almost dropped the man.

  “Martin!” he shouted. “This one’s alive, only just but I can hear a faint heartbeat.”

  He carried the man outside into the light and laid him on the ground.

  “How the fuck could he still be alive? Look at him, Anthan!”

  The man was a mess. So many broken bones. One arm looked like it had been shredded. His face had been punched so much Anthan was sure every bone was broken.

  “Damn. This is going to take some work. Listen. I’ll fly him back to my house. I’ll get Erica to meet us there. We can’t possibly finish the repairs this morning, there just won’t be enough time. We’ll get him stabilised and repair anything major. Even then I don’t know if he’ll survive.”

  “Okay. What about these bodies? Do you want me to take them somewhere so they can be found or do you want me to leave them inside till another night?”

  Anthan looked worried. He glanced around the lair.

  “Okay. We’ve left an imprint here so I think we both take one now. Then we come back, I take the guy and you take the other body. There’s a town about ten minutes flying so it won’t be out of your way. Just let me check on him to make sure he’ll survive a little longer.”

  Anthan quickly entered the man’s body. There was a tear to one lung that he quickly repaired. The man’s kidneys were badly bruised and torn. His liver was bleeding into his belly from another huge tear. Anthan quickly fixed the liver temporarily. There were other internal injuries but he thought the man would survive long enough for them to get him to Anthan’s home.

  “Okay let’s go.”

  They grabbed a body each and flew off. Martin found a small park and placed the body under a tree, Anthan deposited his body alongside. The police would be confused and wonder how the three bodies got there but at least their relative’s wait would be over. The two Hunters then flew back to the injured man.

  “There’s so much damaged. When I carry him I’m going to be doing more damage to the breaks but I don’t want to stay here to heal him, it’s going to take us a great many hours.”

  “I’ll be about fifteen minutes behind you, Anthan.”

  Anthan gently picked up the man. He would try to minimise any further injury but knew there would still be some. Carefully he flew back toward his house.

  Anthan quickly spoke to Erica.

  “Iubită. Are you awake?”

  “Anthan! What’s wrong? I can feel your sorrow.”

  “Iubită, we found a man, he’s still alive, barely and he’s so badly injured, I don’t know if he will survive. I’m taking him to my house. Can you meet us there? We are at least an hour away.”

  “Of course. Is there anything you need?”

  “We won’t be able to do all the repairs this morning. Maybe if you bring some first aid stuff, you could clean the wounds we don’t do this morning. Tonight when we wake we can finish the work.”

  “Okay, my love. Be careful.”

  “I will. I love you, Iubită. See you in about an hour, Martin will be about ten or fifteen minutes behind me. Can you let Amy know he will be with me?”

  * * * *

  Erica rose, dressed, then locked up and drove to the closest shopping mall. In the supermarket, she bought disinfectant, swabs, bandages, disposable gloves and anything else she thought they may need. She had rung Amy telling her what was happening, knowing she’d worry when Martin hadn’t turned up. She gave her Anthan’s address.

  Throwing the shopping in her car, Erica drove the rest of the way, letting herself back into Anthan’s house, glad she had kept his keys.

  It would make sense to get things organised in one of the spare rooms. She found one had been used recently and figured it was Martin’s so she went into another.

  The bed was unmade. Erica searched the hall cupboard and found sheets and blankets. In another she found a couple of pillows. After making the bed, she pulled the blankets back and put all the shopping items on a chest of drawers within reach. She would need hot water to bathe the wounds but that could wait until the men were finished. About ten minutes later there was a knock at the door, it was Amy. She was carrying two cups of coffee.

  “Went through a drive-through on the way.” She gestured with the cups and handed one to Erica.

  “Great! Thanks, I was in too much of a rush to grab one.”

  “How did you know what was happening sis?”

  “Anthan told me.”

  “But I thought you could only talk telepathically when you were nearby each other.”

  Erica blushed. “We’ve made exchanges, Amy. I can talk to him no matter where he is.”

  “Oh! Oh, I’ve been putting it off. I’m too scared.”

  Erica gave her a hug.

  “It’ll happen when you’re ready. I...well after I knew how much pain Anthan was in, I didn’t want to wait. I wanted to be with him all the time.” She grinned at Amy. “It’s wonderful. He talks me all the time. I feel like I am with him even while we are apart.”

  Amy looked at her sister in surprise.

  “Weren’t you a little scared?”

  “To be honest at the time I was...well I was too busy to think about it.”

  Amy’s eyes widened as she realised what her sister had left unspoken. “Oh.”

  “Come and sit down. They should be here soon. Martin is about ten or fifteen minutes behind Anthan.”

  Erica led the way to the deck and the two girls sat in the early morning sunshine to finish their coffee. Erica glanced at Amy.

  “Guess wha
t happened yesterday? I ‘spoke’ to a Hunter who was in Spain.”

  “But how?”

  “Beats me. Anthan is trying to find out how I can do it.”

  “I thought you had to be immortal to speak with other Hunters unless they were close.”

  “So did I. So did the other Hunter but somehow I did.”

  “Wow, it must be because of how psychic you are.”

  Erica shrugged her shoulders. “I’ve no idea.”

  About twenty minutes later Erica jumped to her feet.

  “Anthan’s here.”

  The women watched as Anthan landed on the deck as a huge eagle, the man clasped carefully in his sharp talons. He laid him gently on the deck and transformed. Erica and Amy both gasped when they saw the man. Quickly kissing Erica, Anthan bent down and gathered the stranger in his arms.

  “I’ve got things organised downstairs in one of the bedrooms.”

  She led the way, Anthan carrying the man then laying him on the bed.

  “Oh my god! How can he still be alive, Anthan? Look at him.”

  “I know. We both thought he was dead until I picked him up and heard his heart faintly beating.”

  Amy stood at the door, her hand over her mouth and tears in her eyes.

  “I’ll get these rags off then I’ll start work.”

  They watched as he stripped the man of the few tattered strips of fabric he still had on one leg. The wounds on his body looked so painful. Most were infected and oozing. There was a foul stench coming from some of them.

  “Make sure you burn these Iubită.” He pushed the rags into a plastic bag the shopping had come in. “When you clean the wounds, wear gloves,” he warned.

  Erica nodded. Anthan pulled up a chair and sat alongside the man, his hands on his chest. They watched as he drew a deep breath then all was silent.

  Five minutes later, Martin raced in. He hugged Amy when he saw her and nodded to Erica, before grabbing a chair and sitting on the other side of the bed, opposite Anthan.