Page 12 of Burn for the Dragon
The first time, she’d thought she was just getting a headache. They’d been coming on more and more lately, starting out as nothing more than a nagging ache at the base of her skull and eventually spreading until her eyeballs throbbed with every heartbeat if she didn’t catch it in time. Once the thing had gotten that intense, there was no treating it. She just had to deal until the pain went away on its own.
But when it happened again the second night she was with him, she’d realized that this was different. This was a gentle probing in the frontal lobe of her brain, kind of like someone was gently poking it. Overwhelmed with how good he’d smelled and her body’s reaction to his nearness, she was unable to pinpoint what it was she’d felt until much later as she lay in bed, recalling everything that had happened. It was then she’d realized that what he’d really been trying to do was mess with her head.
And then there was the fact that he’d acted like he didn’t remember her when she came back the second night, confirming her theory.
Everly glanced at the clock beside her bed. The Caves had been open for almost two hours now and was probably standing room only. Other than the rumors she’d heard, this was one of the reasons she had picked it as a possible hub of supernatural activity—why was that place always so busy? The club was nothing fancy. As a matter of fact, from the outside, it reminded her of an old shack some gold miner would’ve lived in, albeit bigger. And the inside was nothing special either, just the usual dive bar with a dance floor and a small stage where local bands sometimes played.
But, what it did have was lots of dark corners with private tables tucked away, an androgynous bartender who attracted both sexes and was generous with the alcohol, and regular patrons who were way too pretty and charismatic to be normal people in the middle of Texas. The door was carefully guarded, entry was by invite only, and it was always—no matter what night of the week it was—packed full.
The exhaustion she’d felt upon arriving home washed away as Everly rose and went to her closet to change into some clothes suitable to dance in. She’d go into the office early in the morning and get the article written for the day’s feature.
Right now, she had to go try again to convince Hawke to join her cause.
Chapter 6
Hands linked behind his back, Hawke paced back and forth in the office of The Caves. The door was closed, protecting him from prying human eyes, but it didn’t keep out the screeching of the vocalist on stage. Right at that moment, he hit a high note that grazed up Hawke’s spine with razor-sharp fingers and ended on a shudder.
Scream metal was definitely not his type of music.
Normally, he would be far away from the club on a night like this, and he’d come aboveground with every intention of carrying out his duty to Kohl and the coven by hunting down the reporter and seeing what she was up to. Instead, he’d found himself pacing the office, listening for the sound of her footsteps, and scenting the odorous air of too many bodies pressed together in one place for the mere hint of the sweet smell of peaches warmed by the sun.
After a few hours of wearing a path in the old, wood floor and snapping at anyone who dared to interrupt his self-absorption, he realized he was waiting for Everly to come to him. Wanted to see if she would. And honestly, he was fucking disappointed that she seemed to have taken him at his word and given up on getting him to help her.
And, he had to admit, he was more than a little surprised. If anyone had asked him, he would’ve bet both arms that she was way more tenacious than that. But maybe not. Or perhaps she’d decided to stop wasting her time with him and go after Parasupe herself.
He was momentarily paralyzed at the thought.
Then he laughed at himself for overreacting. Everly was a smart woman. She wouldn’t be so stupid.
Stupid, no. But stubborn? Persistent? Resolute?
Hawke rushed toward the door. His hand gripped the knob before he realized he’d moved. He had to find the reporter. If she tried to break into Parasupe alone, she would be killed. And they’d get away with it. Because she would be an intruder. And in Texas, you can shoot an intruder once they’re on your property.
Actually, that law may have been changed sometime over the last century, but he doubted a company that broke the law on a regular basis would give a shit about whether they were within their rights or not.
He was so caught up in his thoughts, he actually jumped when a loud knock sounded on the door in front of him. By the heaviness of the impact of fist on wood, he’d guess it was Mark, the bouncer. And he wasn’t alone.
Everly was there, less than a foot away from him with nothing but the office door between them. He knew she was there before he heard her voice, before the beat of her heart and the sweet scent of peaches leaked through the pores of the wood. He knew because more than any of that, he could feel her. Because her blood called to him in a way no other’s ever had. It practically sang through her veins, begging him to taste, to drink, to possess.
With a sharp shake of his head, he fought down the urge to rip the door from its hinges and sink his aching fangs into her throat. Taking deep breaths through his open mouth, he compelled his body to calm down with a force of will he hadn’t had to use in a very long time, until he was relatively certain he’d be able to control the blood lust.
His raging erection, however, he could do nothing about.
As he swung the door wide, he lost his breath once more. Everly stood beside Mark, tiny beside the vampire’s overwhelming size, but not in the least bit intimidated. She grinned up at the bouncer as Hawke stepped aside to allow her to enter, and Mark gave her a saucy wink. With a nod and—was that a glint of a warning in his eyes, aimed at Hawke—he left her in Hawke’s care and headed back to his post at the entrance.
Everly’s scent made his mouth water. It burned down his throat to soak into his lungs before moving into his bloodstream until she filled his body and he knew nothing but her. Thirst nearly overwhelmed him again as the steady beat of her pulse filled his ears. He’d been stupid…stupid…to think he would be able to control himself around a creature like her.
However, her thoughts, as ever, were completely closed off as she brushed by him and bent over his desk to write something on the unused pad of paper lying on its surface. But Hawke wasn’t really interested in what she was thinking at this particular point in time, not when that particular position stretched her faded jeans tight across her ass and her legs looked a mile long in the platform heels she was wearing. Hawke had the sudden urge to rip the denim away and press her flat onto the hard surface as he thrust into her wet warmth from behind.
The vision was so real he barely caught himself before moaning aloud. Things got no better when she straightened and turned toward him, the white T-shirt she was wearing so sheer it clearly showed the blue bra she wore underneath.
Dragging his eyes up to her face, Hawke didn’t even bother trying to hide the physical evidence of what she did to him, and he was rewarded when her gaze dipped below his waistline and her lips parted on a sharp inhale. He would’ve laughed when her eyes flew back up to his face, gluing themselves there as if her life—or her virtue—depended on it, except he found nothing funny in the obsession he had for this woman. “What are you doing here, Everly?”
She stared at his mouth as he spoke, her pulse racing, heating her skin, the blood close to the surface now as it crept up her chest and into her cheeks, and he was never so glad she couldn’t hear the guttural sound of his voice. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out, so she closed it again. This happened twice more until, finally, she said in a tiny voice, “I wanted to talk to you.”
Hawke’s upper lip twitched, his fangs swiftly descending as what little self-control he’d managed to maintain up until now completely fell apart. He found himself swiftly closing the distance between them.
Everly blinked hard a few times when he suddenly appeared directly in front of her, her lips parting on another sharp intake of breath. But to her credit, she didn’t flinch or back away.
