Eternal Hunter

Chapter 4

At least the police had come quietly. No screaming sirens. No flashing lights. Just two silent black vans. One patrol car. And Antonio, in a red sports car.

Flashy.

Figured.

Erin paced the length of her porch as she watched the crime scene team file into her house. The night was hot, humid as all hell, but goosebumps covered her arms.

Missed you.

Dammit. She’d flushed her old life down the toilet for some freedom, but he’d found her.

Now he was back to playing his sickass games with her.

“What the hell were you thinking?” A hard bark of fury.

She raised a brow and turned to find Antonio glaring at her, the lights of the porch shining behind him. His hands were crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowed. He shook his head. “You called in a civilian before you called the cops—”

“He’s the same civilian you called earlier, too,” she reminded him. There hadn’t been a lot of options for her. With the creep on her tail, there never were. Back when she’d lived in Lillian, there sure as hell hadn’t been a choice. As far as she’d known, the police hadn’t known about the Other.

So they certainly wouldn’t have been able to handle a supernatural who’d slipped over the line and gone straight psychotic.

“This is different! This is—”

“My life,” she fired back at him. “I know this isn’t protocol, okay, but this isn’t your average situation.” Her voice lowered to a hard whisper, “Not average at all.”

A grunt. “Trust me, blood on the walls is never average.”

True. Erin sucked in a breath and tried to push her fear and anger aside. Antonio was catching the brunt of her fury, but the guy had already done her a favor by pulling in his team so softly.

The porch boards groaned as he stepped forward. “How long has this guy been after you?”

She swallowed. “A year.” Maybe longer. Hard to say. She’d gotten her first “gift” almost twelve months before. But she’d read up on stalkers and their behavior. She knew they often watched their prey for months or even years before making a real move.

“Did you think running was going to stop him?”

Jude had briefed him on her situation. Well, Jude had told the cop as much as she’d told the shifter. Erin hadn’t revealed everything. Not yet.

She couldn’t.

“I’d hoped it would,” she said.

He took another step toward her. The scent of his cologne filled her nostrils. The guy always wore his cologne. Not too heavy but—

Another scent. Richer. Filling the air, surrounding her.

Shifter’s scent.

Erin looked to the right, just over Antonio’s shoulder, and she found Jude watching her, his big frame filling her doorway.

There was something in his eyes. A heat. Anger?

Desire.

“Your crew’s working hard,” Jude said as he stalked toward them.

Antonio stiffened just a bit, then eased away from her. “They’re the best I’ve got, and they all know when we need…delicacy.”

So they knew about the Other? Or were they Other?

Jude came to stand beside her, his arm brushing hers and sending some of the chill dissipating from her body. Handy talent, that.

“It’s human blood.” Flat.

The cop nodded. “You’d know.”

Yeah, he would.

“This guy has a real hard-on for our ADA.”

Antonio wasn’t exactly high on the tact scale. Erin lifted a brow and managed not to grind her back teeth.

“He’s chased you across the state,” Antonio continued. “The guy isn’t backing off.”

“We’re gonna make him back off.” The words were little more than a growl from Jude.

Antonio’s dark eyes locked on the shifter. “This gettin’ personal for you, man?”

Jude didn’t bother answering. “Send patrols out, have them keep an extra watch on the neighborhood.”

Erin gave a laugh at that, and she knew the sound held a desperate edge. “A patrol car isn’t going to stop this guy. He’s Other, and he’s damn strong.” Sometimes she worried that nothing could stop him.

She hadn’t been able to. Not that night, that cold night when he’d caught her in her bedroom and dug his claws into her arms as he pinned her to the bed—

No.

Not going back there. Never again.

“Tell us everything you know about him,” Jude said. The crime scene unit was still inside. Gathering their evidence. Walking through her life. They couldn’t hear this. Only Jude and the cop he seemed to trust.

If only she were the trusting kind. But, other than her father, she’d never really trusted anyone fully before.

When you had a lot to lose, trusting was a foolish mistake. Way too easy to get burned.

“Not much to say.” A shrug. He found me. I tried to be so careful and he found me. “He’s a shifter.”

I don’t want to run again.

“You’ve seen him?” From Antonio.

Careful. “I–I caught his scent once.”

Antonio just looked blank.

Jude’s fingers snaked down her arm and the heat burned through her shirt. “Shifters carry a distinct scent. It marks us.”

The cop sniffed. “I don’t smell a damn thing, well…those azaleas but—”

“It’s the way shifters recognize each other,” Jude told him. “Like to like.”

“Oh, shit.” Antonio’s eyes widened as he stared at Erin, his jaw dropping. “You’re a shifter?”

Way to go, hunter. “No, I most certainly am not.” Her nostrils flared. “I just have very…acute senses.” That part was absolutely true. It felt good to be honest right then.

His gaze raked her. “You holding out on me again, ADA Jerome?”

Yes. “What I am or what I am not really isn’t the issue here.” No, the issue was the psychopath who’d painted blood on her wall. “We could have a victim out there, someone who needs help.”

“That’s why my crime scene gang is here. They’re the best.” Simple. “If the bastard left behind any clues, they’ll find ’em.”

“Good.” Erin realized she was leaning toward Jude. What? She snapped straight back up.

She was tired, that was it. Hell of a day. Even worse of a night. So she’d gotten tired and she’d sagged a bit. That was okay.

But the tight feeling in her gut, the fierce urge to turn and push against him, that was not okay.

She needed to get in bed. Needed to forget the blood and the fear.

But the idea of walking into that house again…“I loved this house,” she muttered, shoving back the hair that had fallen over the side of her face. There had been no ghosts in this house.

Until now.

Antonio frowned at her and after a moment of silence, he said, “So you’ve never seen the guy.” Ah, trying delicacy now.

“I can’t give you a description. Sorry. I wish that I could.” Her shoulders lifted then fell. “Male, big, strong.” She’d caught that much in the darkness. “But I can’t tell you a single thing about his face.” Not much help at all.

“You got all that from a scent?” Antonio scratched his chin. “One fine nose you got there, lady.”

He didn’t understand. Maybe the guy didn’t know as much about the Other world as she’d thought.

One of the crime scene techs walked out. She had four evidence bags in her hands. Antonio waited for her to pass them, then he leaned forward and said, “You’re gonna need protection.”

She was stronger than any human he’d send to protect her.

A human wouldn’t be strong enough to help her this time. She needed—

“She’s got protection.”

Jude’s words had her head jerking toward him. She stared into his eyes. So deep and wild. “She’s got protection,” he repeated, the words fierce.

Protection…but at what price?

She could sure use his power and strength, but—

But Jude was a danger to her, too. Every moment she spent with him, Erin could feel the thing inside her tensing.

Hungering.

Like to like.

Wasn’t that always the damn way?

“Maybe you should think about moving to a hotel room for the night. The team’s gonna be here for a long while longer,” Antonio said.

“I–I will.” Great idea. The sooner she got out of there, the better.

Missed you.

Dammit. No.

She couldn’t let him do this to her. Not again.

The hotel room was small. The air conditioner buzzed with a steady whir of sound, and the bed, a queen that looked like a double, waited with perfectly smooth covers.

Jude scanned the room, hands on his hips. “You don’t have to stay here. You can come to my place and—”

“I’ll be fine here,” Erin said, her voice smooth as silk. No more fear. No worry. No anger.

Nothing.

The lady had frozen on him. Jude didn’t like that. Not one bit.

She tossed a small overnight bag onto the foot of the bed. “Thanks for bringing me over, but it really wasn’t necessary. I could have driven myself.”

“I wanted to bring you.” He’d wanted to make certain she was safe.

Blood on her walls. What kind of sick freak was after her?

And why was she so calm now? His fingers clenched. “Tony will send a unit around here, just in case.”

“Nothing else is going to happen tonight.” She kicked off her heels. Suddenly became two inches shorter.

The lady had nice feet. Red toenails. Kinda pretty.

“That’s not the way this guy works.”

She would know.

Erin lifted her hands above her head as she stretched and he really tried—for about three seconds anyway—not to look at her chest. But her breasts stretched the front of the blouse and those buttons looked like they might pop at any moment.

Get a grip. The lust was gonna have to take a backseat for the time being.

Romeo from hell was stalking her. She didn’t need him jumping her then, too.

Her hair brushed over her shoulders. Such a dark, thick curtain.

Focus. “I can…stay here.” Hell, yeah. “Um, to keep an eye out in case—”

Her arms dropped and the stretching show ended. “Not necessary.” Clipped. She marched toward him, eyes glinting. “Look, hunter, I appreciate all of your help.” Her steps halted, a foot away from him. Her head tilted up, just a bit. “I–I know I shouldn’t have called you. I don’t know why I did.”

He knew. Jude caught her hands, closing that space between them. “Don’t you?” Oh, yeah, she felt the connection, exactly like he did. The hard hunger. The need.

Her lips parted.

Jude wanted those lips. Wanted the soft body that pressed against him. The bed was so close. He could ruin those perfect covers real fast.

He took a breath, tasted her, and said, bluntly, “You need me, sweetheart.”

Jude watched the flare of her golden eyes. Flecks of emerald circled her pupils. So beautiful. He knew the protest was coming even before she sputtered, “Look, you — You might think you’re God’s gift to the ladies, but I don’t need—”

“Not talking about sex right now.” That would come, later. “You’ve got a shifter on your tail, and as good as Tony and his team members are, I’m better.”

Her mouth snapped closed. No argument, because she knew he was telling the truth.

“That’s why you called me.” Her breasts pushed against his chest, the nipples pebbled. He’d always been a breast man, and the lady had some fine breasts.

But business came first.

“I’m the best hunter in the area. You called me, before you called the cops, because you wanted my help.”

Still no denial.

“You want this guy stopped? Let me handle him.”

Secrets were in her eyes. Fair enough, he had his own hard stories to keep, too.

“You really think you can catch him?” Erin asked quietly.

A shrug. “I’m your best bet.” He believed that, one hundred percent.

“What will I…” Her gaze dropped even as her hands rose to push against his chest. Small hands with red nails to match her toes. “What will I have to pay for your services?”

He didn’t answer, not until that stare of hers rose slowly once more. And he didn’t back away from her either. “One hell of a lot,” Jude told her and enjoyed the widening of her eyes. “I don’t come cheap.”

Then he kissed her because he had to taste her. Her lips were parted and he drove his tongue deep.

Damn but she was sweet. He’d been a sucker for sweets as long as he could remember.

She didn’t fight him. Didn’t dig her nails into his chest or twist her head away. No, her tongue swiped against his and she gave a little rumble in her throat, a cross between a growl and a moan — and then he just stopped thinking.

And started feeling.

Lush female curves. Soft skin. Lips. Tongue.

His hands snaked down her spine, caught her hips — squeezed.

Nice ass.

His cock rose toward her, swelling and hungering.

Her scent teased him. Those roses…and woman. The rich scent of her need, a fragrance that only made his arousal stronger.

And…something more. Earthier. Subtle, simmering just below the surface, but something familiar in the air.

Her hands shoved against his chest and Jude stumbled back.

Forgot the punch the lady packed.

Her lips, red and wet, tightened. “Is sex with me part of the deal?”

“No,” he told her truthfully. “It’s a bonus.”

Jude knew he’d said the wrong thing even as Erin sucked in a sharp breath. “Listen, shifter—”

He held up his hands and tried to ignore the hard-on that stretched the front of his jeans. “Easy. What I meant”—okay, so he’d never been real good with women and words—“was that the case and us — they’re separate.”

But he did plan on moving into her house, if not her bed, right away.

She’d be the most vulnerable at night. During the day, she’d be surrounded by lawyers and cops. Sharks and the police — they had to keep her pretty safe. But at night, when she went back to that big old house all by herself, she’d be a target.

Jude would make sure she wasn’t alone. Not until the freak was caught.

“You’re so cocky.” She shook her head. “You really think you can get any woman you want?”

He lifted a shoulder. “I don’t want any woman.” Just you. The need had been like a fist in the gut and a stroke to the groin from that first moment.

Like to like.

Maybe.

He’d heard about some shifter couples who were combustible in the sack. With sex and shifters, the human rules were ripped away and only the basic needs of the animals remained.

And the animals sure had a lot of needs.

But Erin claimed she wasn’t like him.

A good liar, his Erin. Just not good enough.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I can’t deal with this now, Jude.”

Hmmm. He liked the way she said his name. Soft. Husky.

“I’m dead on my feet and I just — I can’t deal with this,” she said again.

Can’t deal with you.

Fair enough. The lady had been through one wild night. She needed to rest, and he wasn’t a jerk enough to deny her.

Tomorrow would be soon enough to get their partnership started.

“Lock the door behind me,” he told her.

Her eyes lifted toward the ceiling. “Yeah, because I was just gonna leave it open so every creep in the city could sneak in.”

Smart-ass. He liked that. Even rundown, she still had spirit.

A tough lady.

She’d have to be, in order to face what was coming.

He’d seen his share of psychopaths while working with Night Watch. The agency had earned its reputation for going after the scum of the earth for a reason.

They hunted those criminals that others wouldn’t, or couldn’t.

So he’d seen freaks, come upon scenes that had caused bile to rise in his throat and sweat to bead his upper lip.

The beast within had roared at the carnage, but the man had leashed him and gotten the job done.

Shadows lingered under her eyes. The woman was all but swaying on her feet. “Get in bed.” Next time, with me. “I’ll see you first thing tomorrow.”

He brushed by her, locking his eyes on the door. Don’t look back. The woman will make you weak.

With the freak shifter on the loose, he couldn’t afford to be weak.

“Thank you.” The whisper froze him at the door. Then, dammit, he looked back.

“I owe you, Donovan.” Back to Donovan, huh? “I won’t forget that you came for me.” She rocked on her heels. “I can’t remember anyone ever coming to my side so quickly.”

Leave or toss her on the bed. Jude sucked in a desperate gulp of air. The lady had no idea what she was doing to him. That husky voice. Those deep eyes.

That scent.

Had the other men in her life been worthless idiots?

Nothing could have stopped him from getting to her side.

His head jerked in what he hoped was a nod. He yanked the door open. “See you…in the morning.”

The door slammed closed behind him. He waited a minute, two, then heard the snick of the deadbolt being thrown.

Good.

Jude took the steps three at a time and was down in the lobby, leaning over the registration desk, in less than a minute’s time. He slapped his hand on the counter, letting the twenties peak through his fingertips.

“Give me the room that connects to the lady’s.” No way was he leaving her alone. Jude planned to be close enough to hear even the whisper of fear from her.

The clerk, a teen with a bad case of acne on the left side of his face, eyed the money with a narrowed gaze. “You’re not some kind of perv…are ya?”

Jude growled.

The kid hopped back.

“I’m her boyfriend. We’re having a fight.” He smiled, showing teeth he knew to be a bit too sharp. “It’ll be over long before dawn, so just give me the damn key.”

His fingers shaking, the kid tossed him the key.

“Good.” Jude caught the key card in his left fist. His right hand lifted, revealing the money. “The extra forty is for you. If anyone comes around sniffing after my lady, you let me know ASAP, got it?”

The money disappeared in a blink. “Uh, got…it.”

“Good.”

The room card bit into his palm, and Jude forced himself to ease the grip.

Just to make sure the place was clear, he scanned the lobby. Then, satisfied, he headed back upstairs.

The hunt would start tomorrow.

The beast inside jerked against his leash.

Tomorrow.

Jude woke, his heart racing and his eyelids flying open.

He strained, struggling to hear. What had woken him?

A whimper. Muffled.

He jumped out of bed and lunged across the room. One yank and the lock on the connecting door broke. “Erin!”

She screamed and sat up, her eyes wide open.

Alone. His heart was about to burst from his chest. “Sweetheart, you scared the hell out of—”

She flew at him, snarling, hands out, claws extended.

Swearing, he stumbled back, but not before those claws raked a trail of fire across his chest.

Not a shifter, my ass. “Erin!” He grabbed her. No choice. Self-preservation instincts were strong in him. His fingers locked tight around her wrists and he jerked her arms down. “Calm—”

She broke his hold. In about half a second.

She. Broke. His. Hold.

And came at him again with those razor sharp claws shooting from her fingertips.

He snarled and she froze.

Then she blinked and shook her head. “Jude?” Her claws retracted. “What are you—”

He saw the flare of her nostrils. She’d left a lamp on near the bathroom, and the light spilled in a soft circle, giving him a perfect view of her. Even without that light, he would have been able to see.

“Your chest!” Horror broke across her face. Her gaze dropped to her hands. She turned them over, staring at her palms, her fingertips. Looking like she’d never seen the things before.

“I heard you cry out,” he said, pushing his right hand against the throbbing wound. He’d had a hell of a lot worse before. No big deal, but—

But he hadn’t expected such a fierce attack from her. “Thought you might need me.”

Her shoulders dropped. “I–I don’t remember. I guess I was…dreaming.”

“Had to be one hell of a dream.” The scent of his blood seemed too thick in the air.

“I…guess so.” She reached for him and Jude held his ground. Erin bit her lip. “I should wash this, bandage you.” She caught his arm and led him to the bathroom.

He could have stopped her. Told her it was just a flesh wound and that even without shifting, it would be gone by dawn.

But he liked the way her hands felt against him.

He’d ditched his shirt before he’d crashed in the bed. Kept his jeans on, just in case.

Good thing he’d had the denim on. He’d have to make sure he kept her claws away from that part of his anatomy.

The bathroom was the size of a closet, a miniscule one. After flipping on the lights, Erin turned from him and wrenched on the water. She snagged a cloth, held it under the flow of water, soaped it up, and then eased it across his bare chest.

The lady didn’t meet his gaze. Just kept one small hand over his heart while the other swiped the cloth over the five long claw marks.

No denying what they were.

She turned from him, her hip and shoulder brushing against him as she rinsed the blood from the cloth.

“Want to talk about it?” He inched closer, the better to trap her against the sink.

Erin’s face was pale. “I have occasional night terrors, okay? Had ’em for years, even before the creep got attached to me.” Her lips pressed together. “I don’t remember the dreams.”

“Don’t you?”

She flinched.

His hands rose slowly and curled over her shoulders. “If you don’t want to talk about the dream, then how about you try telling me one more time that you aren’t like me. Because I know a shifter’s claws when I see them.” And feel them.

Her gaze held his in the mirror. Her hair was a dark curtain around her face, and despite her height, she still looked fragile, delicate, against him.

Looks could be so deceiving.

“Having claws…doesn’t make me a shifter.” Her chin lifted and color finally began to drift back into her cheeks. “Any number of Other have claws.”

True enough. His head lowered over her shoulder. She’d finally ditched her business clothes and slipped on a loose pair of pajama pants and a white top. The neckline was low and scooped, showing off that perfect cleavage.

Jude bent over her. Really, he was in the best position. That sweet ass before him. Her neck, all but bared so close to his mouth.

A faint tremble shook her.

He lowered his head, setting his mouth right over her throat. Just an inch separated him from that sweet flesh.

Vamps weren’t the only ones who liked to bite.

“Jude…”

His lips closed over her skin. Kissed. Sucked. Her head fell back, exposing even more of that tempting flesh.

His mouth eased over her. Found that sweet spot where neck and shoulder met. A favorite for his kind.

His fangs burned.

He bit her.

Not too hard. Not a marking.

Just a taste.

That firm ass rocked back against him as she moaned.

His heart thudded, the drumming filling his ears. The dream — night terror, whatever the hell it had been — was gone.

Now it was just the two of them. He was ready, more than ready, his cock hard and thick with lust, and she wanted him, he knew that.

Erin lunged forward, her palms slapping against the counter. “No.”

His teeth snapped together as he fought to rein in his hunger.

Her hair fell over her face, shielding her from his view. Erin’s shoulders heaved as she pulled in several deep breaths.

Jude glanced toward the shower and thought about hopping in, then cranking on the ice cold water.

“I’m not what you think,” she whispered, still with her head down.

Not gonna have that. “Look at me.” Guttural. The need was too stark for anything else.

Her head lifted and the coal black strands slid back. Her eyes held his in the mirror.

She said, “I–I’ve got shifter blood.”

No doubt.

Her head moved to the left, then right. “But I can’t shift. I can’t.” Anger, no, fury in her voice.

Well, hell.

He’d heard of a few others like her. Hybrids. From the matings of shifters and humans. Or shifters and charmers or even demons. Some hybrids came out even stronger than the purebloods. The strength of both parents, the weaknesses of neither.

But then there were tales of other hybrids…

Those who got the weaknesses, but not the strengths.

No, I’ve felt her strength. Erin sure as shit isn’t weak.

“I’m…flawed, okay? The beast in me — hell, she may as well be dead.”

He leaned over her, grabbed her hands and trapped them against the countertop. “She’s not dead.” Erin felt so good against him.

Right.

“Look,” he ordered. Across the top of the counter, etched in deep, were claw marks. Just like the ones on his chest.

“You’ve got a beast all right, sweetheart. And whether you can shift to let her play or not, doesn’t make a bit of difference.” He turned his head, rubbed his nose against her throat.

Some cats really were all alike.

“I want you, and I don’t fucking care what you are — or what you aren’t.”

Then, before the last of his control splintered, he shoved away from her.

Erin twisted, staring up at him with those eyes that he knew could easily see right through him. In too deep.

“And you’re fucking not flawed.”

He stormed for the connecting door. So the lock was broken. He needed space right then. Or else he was gonna pounce on her.

“You don’t know, hunter.” She’d followed him from the bathroom. Her voice sounded hollow and when he looked back, her face could have been a blank mask. “You don’t know me.” Her chin lifted. “And trust me, you’re better off that way.”

Jude had left her. Good. She didn’t need things to get sexual between them. It would just make the situation worse.

Like it could really get much worse.

He didn’t understand. When she’d told the guy she was flawed, she hadn’t been talking about her inability to shift. No, she’d always thought not shifting was a blessing.

“You don’t understand.” A whisper directed at the closed white door.

No one did.

Well, just one person…the bastard who’d left her the bloody love letter. He knew too well what she was like on the inside. That knowledge was why he was after her.

Damn him.

Flawed.

Broken.