Page 36 of Dance for the Dragon
Kohl suddenly stiffened in Devon’s arms, and not in a good way. But he kept dancing, turning her a little to the right.
Pulse racing at the sudden shift in mood, she studied his expression in the dim light from her phone. But other than his eyes shifting from side to side, a common observer would have no idea that anything was wrong. She dropped her eyes to his mouth. His fangs were exposed, but that wasn’t unusual after what had just happened between them. There was no rippling of skin or other indications he was shifting. Seemed safe enough.
He suddenly looked down at her with such a desperate sense of wanting and loss, a wave of desire flooded her core, hitting her so hard it nearly buckled her knees. A split second later his expression hardened into a cold mask she’d only seen once before.
“What is it?” she whispered.
He didn’t look around or make any other unexpected movements, but she could feel the slight shift in his stance as he casually played with her hair with one hand. His eyes met hers as he shuffled his feet, turning her a little more toward the lake and removing his hands from beneath her sweater. She shivered in the sudden cold.
Heart pounding, she watched as his eyes gradually brightened until they were twin beams of light in the darkness—glowing tawny, then golden, then rose gold. The pupils changed—elongating and contracting until they were cut like slivers of diamonds. His upper lip lifted in a snarl, his fangs longer than she’d ever seen them, and beneath her hands, his skin felt loose, detached from the muscle.
Yet, somehow she knew this was not about her. Someone was here. His refuge was no longer safe. She tried talking to him, hoping she could still get through. “Kohl, you’re scaring me.”
“Keep dancing.” His voice was a low growl, his words barely articulate. “But be ready to run when I tell you. Go straight to your car, stay out of the trees.”
She noticed he’d positioned them as they danced so her back was toward the water and he was between her and whatever danger had found them.
“What’s wrong?”
“They’re here.”
She leaned to the left and peered around his arm, her eyes skittering from the trees to her car. She saw nothing and no one in the glare of the headlights. “Who?”
Kohl pulled her closer against him, drawing her head into his chest, covering the side of her face with his hand. “Vampires.” He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling beneath her head. “Four, smells like.” She felt his lips press against her hair. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have brought you here again.” But before she had a chance to ask him what he was talking about, he loosened his hold on her. “You ready?”
She smiled up into his eyes even as adrenaline flooded her system.
“On the count of three, I want you to run as fast as you can. Don’t look back. Don’t stop. No matter what you see or hear. Run straight to your car and get the hell out of here. But don’t go back to your apartment. Call your friend and have him meet you somewhere. I’ll find you.”
Her fingers dug into his biceps. Neither of them seemed to notice. “What about you?” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but she knew he’d hear her.
“I’ll hold them off until you get away.”
“I’m not leaving you, Kohl.”
He chuckled without humor, the sound rumbling through his chest beneath her ear. “Honey, I can take care of myself. You need to do as I say. Please.” The last word was strained.
Devon didn’t like this plan. Not one little bit. But he was right. What the hell was she going to do against a group of vampires? She nodded once against his chest.
Lowering his head, he whispered near her ear, “One, two…go!”
Kohl spun her around and gave her a push in the direction of her car. Pumping her arms, Devon stretched her legs as far as they would go and ran like she’d never run before. The cold air burned her lungs, but she didn’t stop. She didn’t look back. Not even when she heard grunts of pain and screams of rage from Kohl. Not even when she heard the grotesque wet, sucking noises of muscle tearing, followed by the snapping and popping of bones.
Good God, he was shifting. Devon had seen camera footage of a shifter once when she’d accidentally walked into her boss’s office during an investigation meeting. The girl on the screen was a werewolf, and the change from human to wolf had looked excruciatingly painful. The thought of Kohl going through something like that, only ten times worse because of what he was, brought tears to her eyes despite the danger she found herself in.
She didn’t look when she heard answering hisses and growls coming from the copse of trees to her left. And she didn’t stop when Kohl was suddenly quiet behind her. He’d told her he couldn’t control the “beast” inside of him. That it might not even recognize her. Now was not the time to test that theory.
She was almost there.
Something large and brutal tackled her from the side. She went down hard, her arms pinned to her sides, unable to break her fall, and hit the ground with a grunt of pain. Her phone flew out of her hand as her attacker landed on top of her, pushing the air from her lungs.
The first thing she noticed was the moisture seeping through her leggings and sweater. A strange thing to worry about at a time like this. Gasping for breath, she kicked her legs and clawed at the grass, fighting to get away, even though she had nowhere near the strength of her assailant. But she wasn’t about to go down without a fight. Her mother raised her to be a lady, not a damn victim.
She was flipped her onto her back, and Devon froze as she stared up into the dark voids of its eyes. The vampire hissed, baring one sharp fang, spittle running down its bottom lip. With an evil smile, it wrapped its hand around her throat and squeezed.
Devon clawed at its hands, trying to ease the pressure on her windpipe. She didn’t recognize this vampire. It wasn’t one of the coven she’d seen at the club that night. Not that it really mattered at the moment, but it was what her mind focused on, like the wet grass soaking through the back of her sweater.
A high-pitched screech hurt her ears and they both froze. Seconds later, the ground shook like the earth was about to split open beneath her. Her eyes watered. She couldn’t see what was happening. She couldn’t get enough oxygen. The world began to tilt and merge together. In a last bid attempt to get free, Devon renewed her struggles, knowing she was about to pass out.
