"And if he doesn't?" Hannah prompted.
"He'll come for us," Jack said it as casually as if he'd just stated the sky was blue. Inside, her stomach felt like a seething mass of worms squirming around her belly. The thought of anything bad happening to him made her skin crawl and her hand tightened around his. "Are there any vampires in this town that would be more on your side and able to travel with William?"
"I'm not going anywhere," William proclaimed instantly.
"You know the last time, and in what town, we ran into some of Braith's troops. I need you to locate them and bring some of them here."
"We can send someone else..."
"They're not going to listen to a stranger; they'll listen to you though."
William's jaw clenched as he glowered at Jack. "Ass," he muttered.
Hannah glanced between the two of them, she knew they were friends but it was still shocking to hear someone call a prince an ass, and a human no less. Jack only grinned at him as he clasped hold of his shoulder. "So I've been told." William still didn't look at all happy but he didn't protest any further. "So do you know of anyone?" he asked again.
"Marvin, he doesn't have fangs but he's strong and fast and he hates Calvin," Lucas finally answered. "I'm sure I could get him to go."
"You can take the horses to find the troops," Jack said.
Hannah chanced a glance up at the man at her side. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure him out. Why was he trying to help them? Why was he putting his own life at risk when he didn't even know them? She'd never met anyone like him and as he stopped to speak with Lucas and William she found herself entranced and baffled by him in equal measure.
"Go and see if this Marvin can go tonight," he said to Lucas.
"You expect us to leave tonight?" William demanded.
"The sooner the better."
William folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. "Leaving you here alone is not a good idea."
"If you get moving tonight you could be back by tomorrow night or the next day. Go Lucas."
Lucas nodded and scurried into the night. "Why are you doing this?" Hannah couldn't stop herself from asking. "You don't know any of us, there's no reason why you should be putting both of your lives at risk like this."
There was something wild and dangerous about this man, she realized as he looked at her again and a flash of red ran around the outer edges of his eyes. "My father and brother Caleb were like Calvin, no one deserves to live under men like that."
A shiver ran through her at the same time her heart went out to him. He'd spoken briefly about what he had gone through with his father, but she was beginning to realize that what he'd shared had only been the tip of the iceberg. She couldn't imagine all that he had gone through, whatever it was had been bad enough to drive him away from a life of opulence and luxury and into a life in a forest, and finally here.
Without thinking, she rested her other hand on his arm. It had been such a natural, instinctive reaction that felt incredibly right as her fingers closed around his flesh. He stared at her for a minute before wrapping his hand over hers and interlocking their fingers. "Besides, no one likes a bully."
She released a small laugh, but she was mostly focused upon the warmth blazing up her arm and creeping through her body from the feel of him rather than paying much attention to his words. He was so much tanner than she was, golden and powerful. His fingers were marked with scars acquired from his time spent fighting but most of them would eventually disappear.
She loved his hands. Ugh, she did a mental groan at that thought and shook her head. A broken heart was the last thing she needed right now and acting like a besotted teen was going to get her exactly that when it came to him. Coming back to her senses, she squeezed his hand and gently pulled hers away.
"I'm sure I'm needed inside," she said crisply. "Plus, I should let Uncle Abe and Ellen know about what just happened."
Jack nodded and followed her up the stairs with William close on his heels. Hannah opened the door and stepped into the crowded tavern. Laughter and the clink of glasses settling on the table greeted her but she didn't think the laughter would continue for much longer. Jack didn't believe Calvin would come after them tonight, but she wasn't so certain.
"Well I'll be," Jack said and nodded toward a table in the far back. The largest man Hannah had ever seen was at a table drinking a beer as he watched Ellen play her flute. "Look who's here William."
William smirked as he caught sight of who Jack had spotted. "That's a face I never thought I'd see again."
"Who is that?" Hannah asked, not at all certain the man would be able to stand up straight inside the tavern when he was on his feet.
"Timber, he's an old friend of ours. We haven't seen him in a few years though," Jack answered.
"He likes to wander," William responded with a shrug.
"Well it seems his wandering has finally brought him across our path again." Jack broke away from her and weaved his way through the crowd with William close behind him.
The giant must have sensed their approach as he turned to look at them. A smile split his broad face and he rose to his feet. His head just barely missed hitting the beams running across the ceiling. Jack was stretching his hand out to greet him when Timber, a name she found incredibly fitting, pulled his arm back and drove his fist straight into Jack's face.
It took everything she had not to fly across the room and attack the monster of a man as rage burst to blazing life within her. The tavern went deathly still as they waited to see what would happen.
CHAPTER 14
"That's for lying to me, vamp," Timber said with a grin.
Jack wasn't nearly as amused as he rubbed at his offended jaw and tried not to reveal how much the human's punch had actually stung. William began to chuckle as he stepped forward and thrust his hand out to Timber. "Nice one," he congratulated as his hand was swallowed within Timber's.
Timber turned to Jack and thrust out his hand. "No hard feelings."
Jack gave his jaw one last rub, his pride felt almost as bruised as his chin but he supposed he'd deserved it. He had lied to the man after all. Jack took hold of Timber's extended hand and shook it. The occupants of the tavern, realizing that there wasn't going to be another brawl, went back to what they had been doing. "No hard feelings."
"Good, let me buy you a drink while we catch up."
There wasn't much time to catch up but it would be good to have Timber on their side if he chose to stick around this town. Jack turned to find Hannah standing a few feet behind him glowering at Timber. He had to bite back a smile at her fierce expression as her eyes slid to him. "Are you ok?" she demanded.
"Perfectly fine," he assured her. She didn't seem at all appeased though as she continued to stare at Timber like he was something she was contemplating eating. "Would you care to join us for a drink?"
"Are you kidding me?" she retorted.
He couldn't help but grin at her. "No."
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I will never understand men."
"Believe me miss, we don't get you womenfolk either," Timber informed her as he rubbed at the scruffy beard covering his jaw. His nose had been broken again since Jack had last seen him and the bridge of it had a bump in it. His brown hair was longer as it tumbled around his broad shoulders, but he looked much like Jack remembered from a few years ago. Timber had vanished a year before the war had started, having moved onto some new town and some new adventure. He'd always gone out and disappeared for a few months at a time, but he'd turn back up again eventually. When he hadn't popped up again Jack had assumed the man was dead.
"Are you going to join us?" Jack asked her again.
"No, I'm going to help in the kitchen," she answered.
Before he could say any more, she hurried past him and into the kitchen. Jack pulled out a chair and slid into it, he had to fight the urge to rub his still throbbing jaw as Timber grinned at him in a highly annoying way. "Where have yo
u been?" William asked as he dropped into the chair beside Jack and gestured for the young waitress.
"Around," Timber replied. "I had planned on returning to you guys after a few months but unfortunately some of my not so legal activities landed me in a cell in a town about a hundred miles from where I last saw you. The only reason I was set free was because of the war and the overturn of the vampires that had been holding me. Imagine my disbelief when I reemerged to a whole new world, and was informed about a certain vampire prince that I'd once shared many drinks with."
Jack was well aware of Timber's deft stealing abilities. For a man his size, he had amazingly fast fingers and a love of picking pockets and purses. He also had a love of fighting. Either one of those loves would have landed him in someone's dungeon.
"You weren't the only one that was surprised," William assured him as he took a sip of his drink.
"I'm sorry about your father by the way. He was a good man," Timber said to William.
Some of the color faded from William's face but he lifted his glass and tapped it against Timber's. Jack was reminded of the fact that the one year anniversary of David's death was tomorrow, something neither he nor William had acknowledged yet. "He was," William agreed
"Good job by the way," Timber said to Jack. "Glad that old prick was finally taken care of, even if he was your father."
Jack pushed the glass in front of him aside. "I was glad too. We may actually need your help here, if you'd be willing to give us a hand."
"Do I get to fight?"
"More than likely," Jack assured him.
Timber released a hearty laugh as he cracked his knuckles. "Then count me in."
***
Jack closed the door as William, Timber, and Marvin disappeared into the woods behind the tavern. They had decided it would be best to leave town as undetected as possible. Jack didn't know what Calvin might do if he thought they were plotting against him. He threw the lock on the kitchen door and stood there for a minute with his hand resting on the doorknob.
William would be ok, Marvin seemed like a decent vampire and Hannah and Lucas both vouched for him. Even still, he didn't like the idea of him out there without him. No one goes in alone, he thought. But William wasn't alone, not with Timber to watch his back, and once he made it to the town he would have Braith's men also.
"He'll be ok."
He'd been so focused on the door that he hadn't realized Hannah had come up behind him in the kitchen. Leaning against the door, he turned to study her as he folded his arms over his chest. "I'm sure he will be," he agreed. She glanced behind him and slid her hands into the folds of her dress. "How is your back feeling?'
"Oh, it's fine," she replied nonchalantly.
"Let me take a look."
The alarm that flickered through her eyes confused him. She looked like a rabbit preparing to bolt from a dog as she glanced frantically around the kitchen. Then, she focused on him again and her shoulders straightened as she walked over to him and turned around. "I'm not going to bite you," he told her with a laugh.
She shot him a look over her shoulder that probably would have made many a man cringe but it only made him smile sweetly at her. Tugging on the zipper of her dress, he pulled it down to the middle of her back. He peeled it open far enough to reveal the tender pink skin of her back. The sight of her bared flesh caused his chest to constrict as his fingers slid over the creamy skin of her shoulders.
"Does it still hurt?" he asked.
"Not too bad."
Though it looked better, he didn't dare touch it as he carefully pulled the zipper back up. She jumped a little when he rested his hand on her shoulder. "Would you like some more blood?" he inquired.
"No." She didn't meet his gaze as she turned toward him. "The sun will be up soon."
"You can sleep, I'll keep watch."
"If Calvin comes during the day..." her voice trailed off, her eyes remained locked on the window to the left of him.
"He won't come today. Was this your worst experience with the sun?"
"No, once when I was a child I decided that I was tired of being locked indoors and I was going to play with the other children. I was outside for two minutes before my father brought me back in. I was blistered from head to toe and my parents were terrified that I was going to die. I was pink for months afterward but I never tried to go into the sun again."
He couldn't resist taking a strand of her silken, chocolate colored hair between his thumb and forefinger and rubbing it. Her mouth parted as he slid his fingers from her hair to her cheek. He couldn't bring himself to stop touching her as his fingers twined back through her hair and he clasped the nape of her neck.
His eyes searched hers; he waited for her to tell him no as he bent closer to her. He shouldn't be getting mixed up with her, he knew that. He would be moving on when this mess was taken care of and she was young, but even still he couldn't stop himself from pressing his lips to her luscious, rosebud mouth.
He'd met and known many women over the years but none of them had affected him the way that she did. The instant that his lips touched hers, he felt an immediate connection to her the likes of which he'd never experienced before. He couldn't get enough of touching her, tasting her. There was no grief when he was with her, there was no past. There was only the here and now and the pleasure she gave so freely to him.
She leaned closer to him; her hands fell to his waist as her chest brushed against his. Ever so tenderly, he teased at her lips with his tongue until her mouth parted. The taste and smell of her engulfed him as she pressed closer. He savored her in deep pulling waves that left him shaking and lost to her. His arm snaked around her waist as her legs gave out. No, there had never been another woman that had affected him in this way he realized as he lifted her up.
A gasp escaped her as her hands grasped hold of his shoulders. He tried to remember the burns on her back, but he was drowning in her, lost in the sensation that only she had been able to arouse in him. He was spiraling out of control and he welcomed it completely as his lips moved from her mouth to her cheek and finally to the delicate hollow of her throat.
The low moan she released only drove his frenzy higher as her head tipped back. Bloodlust slammed into him and before he knew what was happening his fangs had elongated. The driving urge to taste her, to have her fill him consumed him. He'd never tasted another vampire before, never even been tempted to, but now...
Now it was the only thing he wanted to do as his fangs pressed against her tender flesh. Her delicious scent caused his mouth to water. Right there, her vein was right there. He could take her blood before she even knew what it was that he intended to do. Red filled his vision as his hands clenched on her and she pressed even closer to him.
She didn't know what he was thinking; if she did she would run screaming from here and never look back. Vampires didn't share their blood with each other, not unless they were linked like Braith and Aria, or Ashby and Melinda, and they were most certainly not linked. That was the last thing he needed in his messed up life. He wouldn't be staying in this town, she wouldn't be able to leave and he would only hurt her in the end. Women weren't something that he got attached to and he had no place in his life for one right now.
Before he did something that he couldn't take back, before he took from her something that she wasn't willing to give, he released her and took an abrupt step back. Her eyes were wide as she gazed up at him, her lips still wet. Her hand trembled as it fluttered to her mouth. "I'm sorry," he said briskly.
She gulped as she shook her head. "There's nothing to be sorry for."
"It won't happen again."
He didn't miss the disbelief and loss that flitted over her features before she thrust her shoulders back and rose to her full nearly five foot eight height. "Make sure it doesn't," she replied crisply before gliding past him and out of the kitchen.
He hated the disappointment and regret that filled him, but it was for the best. She was young and inexperienced and
she deserved better than him. No matter how badly he desired her, he simply couldn't do that to her. He wasn't the sticking around type, he never had been and he'd never planned to change that. The click of the lock settling into place on the shutters sounded as the sun began to rise over the horizon.
CHAPTER 15
Hannah was still seething and more than a little confused when William returned with Timber, Marvin, and a dozen large men and women she'd never seen before. They were all clothed in matching brown pants and forest green shirts with the emblem of a wolf on the sleeve. She had expected more fanfare, something to mark them as the king's soldiers, but there was nothing other than the patch, their sober expressions, and reserved demeanors.
They had brought coins with them though and they were looking to spend them, something she was eager to help them do as she served them drink after drink. She didn't know how they could consume so much alcohol and still stand and talk normally but apparently it was something that they were used to as they remained seemingly unaffected by the booze.
She didn't know what the king would think about them drinking so much, but Jack didn't seem to have a problem with it as they all drank and exchanged cheers with an enthusiasm that made it seem as if brewing beer was going to come to an end.
It took all she had not to accidentally spill one of the drinks in Jack's lap like she yearned to do. She was trying to ignore him but she was annoyingly mindful of the fact that he was there at all times. She was entirely aware of his smile and his laugh and her fingers twitched as they fought the urge to knock that smile off his face. She'd never had a temper, now she could feel it simmering beneath the surface like a teapot ready to boil over.
All she wanted was for him to get out of her town so things could go back to normal, so she could go back to normal, but the thought of him leaving made something inside of her shrivel and become as hard as a dry old prune.