He gazed down at her delicate beauty, his brows drawn together in a scowl.
Why was he hesitating?
All he had to do was toss her over his shoulders and head for the caves the Commission had taken over south of Chicago. It would take him less than a few hours to be done with the task.
Best of all, he could stop by Santiago’s club on his way back to his lair and relieve his stress with a willing imp. Or ten.
The more the merrier.
Besides, he’d learned a brutal lesson in protecting a dangerous, unstable female.
A lesson that had led to his entire clan being slaughtered like helpless cattle.
Walking among their mangled bodies, he had sworn he would never again put his emotions ahead of his duty.
His fingers tightened on her cheek, then he muttered a curse and straightened.
“Do you eat human food?” he demanded.
“Yes.”
“Remain here.”
Without allowing himself the opportunity to consider the depths of his stupidity, Tane flowed through the darkness of the tunnels, swiftly finding an opening that led to the countryside above.
A swift glance revealed the recently planted fields and farmhouses that slumbered beneath the silver moonlight. In the distance he could catch a glimpse of the Mississippi River and even farther the pinpricks of street lights that revealed a small town.
The typical, sleepy landscape of the Midwest.
Too sleepy for most vampires, but Tane preferred the peace. A bitter smile twisted his lips. And most vampires preferred him to remain in his self-imposed isolation.
Few were comfortable in the presence of a Charon.
Not that Tane allowed their prejudice to bother him. He’d become an executioner of rogue vampires for a reason. And that reason hadn’t changed.
Would never change.
Almost as if to mock his assurance he was alone in the darkness, Tane stiffened and tested the late spring air. What the hell? There were vamps in the area.
Not that he was afraid. He possessed a greater power than most clan chiefs, although he refused to endure the trials necessary to claim the title. And there were few of his brothers stupid enough to annoy their Anasso. Styx would be severely pissed off to discover one of his precious Charons had been killed.
But he’d left Laylah alone and helpless in the tunnels.
He’d be damned if any other vampire was going to get his fangs, or anything else, in her.
With a blinding speed he was entering the nearest farmhouse, a two-story white home with a wraparound porch and gingham curtains.
He paused long enough to determine there was nothing more terrifying than the humans sleeping upstairs and an aging hound who had knocked over the trash and was happily chewing on a bone, before entering the house and pillaging the refrigerator, tossing a number of leftovers into a bag he found underneath the sink. He added in milk and several bottles of water, before turning and leaving as silently as he had arrived.
Like the Grinch.
Only with fangs.
With equal speed he returned to the tunnels and to the cave where he had left Laylah. Empty. Of course.
Dropping his bag he followed her trail, easily finding her in the adjoining cave. For a minute he watched in disbelief as she crawled toward the entrance to the tunnels on her hands and knees, her entire body drenched in sweat.
“Dammit.” Striding forward, he leaned down and snatched her into his arms, cradling her against his chest as he retraced his steps. “What are you doing?”
She managed a glare, but she couldn’t disguise her growing weakness.
“Looking for a portal to Narnia.” She futilely attempted to wriggle from his arms. “Where are they when you need one?”
“Stop it,” he snapped, his eyes narrowing as they rested on the sluggishly healing cut on her forehead. She obviously had smacked it on the ground in her ridiculous bid for freedom. “You hurt yourself.”
“It’s your fault,” she muttered.
“Typical female logic.”
She narrowed her gaze as he gently lowered her back onto the ground and moved to retrieve the bag. Tane drew in the musty air of the cavern, hoping to dilute the potent scent of her fresh blood.
His entire body was clenched with a clawing hunger. As if it had been centuries and not mere days since he’d had sex.
What was it about this female?
Everything about her turned him on. From the ridiculous spiky hair to the tips of her dust-covered toes. And all those tasty spots in between.
“I suppose you think you know all about women?”
He returned to her, crouching at her side with a smile that revealed his extended fangs.
“Enough to make them scream for more.”
“Just kill me,” she muttered, but she could not disguise the rapid flutter of her pulse. He wasn’t alone in the powerful awareness. A damned good thing since he intended to have her naked and beneath him before everything was said and done. “A swift decapitation would be preferable to listening to your gloating.”
His lips twitched. Trapped and weary and obviously terrified she still was spitting like a cornered kitten.
Plucking one of the containers from the bag, he opened it to discover what smelled like chicken and rice and a handful of other human ingredients. “Eat,” he commanded.
She snatched the container from his grasp, using her fingers to scoop the casserole into her mouth. Tane remained silent as he emptied the bag conveniently near her, not wanting to distract her from regaining her strength.
Draining the milk and then the water, she cleaned out two more containers of food before she at last lifted her head to regard him with suspicion.
“Where did it come from?”
He swallowed a growl as she unconsciously licked her fingers clean. “Does it matter?”
Her breath hitched as she easily sensed his savage pang of need. “Stop looking at me like that.”
His fangs throbbed in tempo with the pounding of her heart. “Like what?”
“Like you’re wondering if I’m B positive or A negative.”
“I did go to considerable trouble to bring you dinner,” he husked, his gaze lingering on the vulnerable curve of her neck. “Fair is fair.”
With a sudden shove she was on her feet, danger sparkling in her magnificent eyes.
“If you want my blood you’ll have to fight me for it.”
Tane lifted a brow. She recovered quickly. Already he could detect a color returning to her cheeks and her trembling had ceased.
Still, he knew it would take little effort to knock her flat on her back. A position that he wanted her in with a desperation that was making him hard and aching, but not until she was fully recovered.