Killean smelled and heard the roaring river before spotting it through a break in the trees. Whitewater sprayed into the air when it crashed against the rocks jutting up from the fast-moving water. The rapid current would batter anyone caught in it against the rocks, smashing their bones before sweeping them away.
Killean didn’t hesitate before plunging into the frigid water.
Water sprayed up around him, speckling his face and sticking Simone’s dress to her back as he strode out to the center of the river. The river became a living entity, sucking at him and trying to pull him under, but though his legs ached, he resisted being pulled under by the powerful flow.
When he was away from the rocks and in the center of the river, he pressed his hand against Simone’s back before lifting his feet and allowing the current to take them away. Their pursuers were still too far away to see him, and once they reached the river, it would take them time to figure out if he’d crossed to the other side, remained on their side, or entered the current.
The water would mask their scent, and though he had no idea where the current was taking them, it would get them there fast. He used his feet to push them away from the rocks the best he could and his body to protect Simone from the ones he couldn’t avoid.
Spinning away from one of the rocks, he grunted when his back smashed up against another. Water flooded his mouth as the current pinned him to the rock digging into his spine. Simone seemed not to notice the river beating against her as she continued to feed while Killean used his elbow to maneuver them away from the rock in slow, jerking motions.
Finally away from the rock, they were thrown back out toward the center of the river. Killean threw out his foot to push away the next rock rushing at them. His foot collided with the boulder, his knee bent, and it took a herculean effort to thrust away again.
The water crashing over them washed away the blood and grime covering them. The raging river pounded in his ears and covered any sound of an approaching enemy, but it also hid any noises they might make and most of their bodies.
Killean was counting on most of the Savages remaining at the wedding to contain the hunters and clean up their mess, but enough would come after them that they would be a threat. And one of them would be Joseph, he was sure of it.
Simone whimpered when one of the rocks caught her arm, and her fingers dug deeper into his nape while she drank. His eyes drifted halfway closed as he briefly allowed himself to savor the feeling of having his mate feeding on him. She felt so amazing and right that he could almost forget the circumstances and her heritage.
He could feel her vitality returning and the strength of her hold on him increasing as his blood nourished her. The sounds she made ceased being the ones of an animal feeding and became those of one rutting as she ground against him.
He seized her hips to hold her still; Simone mewled in displeasure and bit harder. Out of her mind with bloodlust, she had no idea what she was doing, and he couldn’t let it continue. Not only would she not be acting like this if she were rational, but the more steps they completed in the mating bond, the more difficult it would be for them to separate. He couldn’t deny her his blood when she so obviously needed it, but he had to refuse her this.
For Simone, the mating instinct might be more difficult to deny after feeding on him. If she experienced the pull of the mating bond with him, her drinking from him would accelerate her necessity to complete it. However, there was a chance this little hunter wouldn’t recognize him as her mate like he did her.
He knew how things worked with vampires when they encountered their mate, but the joining of hunters and vampires was something new. Kadence and Nathan had experienced a draw to their mates before their turning, but hunters could be like humans and capable of walking away from the connection. Or some hunters might be able to resist the lure of the bond like they withstood a vampire’s power of persuasion.
He hoped hunters could resist; he didn’t want Simone as his mate, but he would make sure she survived. When he put his foot out to push them away from a jagged boulder, his muscles trembled and his ankle almost gave out; she was taking too much. Still, he couldn’t refuse her the blood she desperately required. He was strong enough to withstand this drain, and he would.
As the blood eased the discomfort in her veins, Simone slowly became aware of her surroundings. Water tore at her clothes and battered her body while it dripped from her lashes and clogged her nostrils. Goose bumps covered her flesh, and she couldn’t stop shivering.
She also became aware of the new sensations in her body as she hung onto the vampire who confused her more than all the mysteries of the universe. Her skin tingled with awareness while something built between her thighs and she thrust her hips against him.
What am I doing?
Simone recoiled when she realized she was rubbing against him like a cat in heat while drinking from him. However, she couldn’t go far as Killean kept a firm hold on her.
For the first time since this whole mess started, her fangs retracted when she willed them to, and she turned her head away from the lure of his blood. She started to inhale a shuddery breath, but all she got was a mouthful of water as it sprayed her face. Sputtering and choking, Simone spit out the icy water.
“Easy,” he murmured in a voice so low she barely heard him over the rush of the river. “They’re still hunting us; stay calm.”
Simone was anything but calm as her mind and body were a tumult with the confusing emotions battering it. What had she been doing to him? And why did she want to keep doing it?
Over the years, there had been times when she woke after a dream with a similar yearning between her thighs, but this wasfarmore intense. On those nights, she’d lain awake, uncertain of what to do and unable to move because the feel of her sheets and nightgown rubbing against her only made it worse.
She hadn’t known how to ease the needs of her body, and being the proper hunter she was raised to be, sheneverasked anyone about it. She knew how things worked between a man and woman, or how they were supposed to work, but her knowledge about sex was far from vast.
Instinctively, she knew Killean could answer her questions and satisfy her yearning. For some strange reason, she wanted this rude, confusing,Savagevampire to do it.
You’re an idiot. Yes, she was. She had no idea where they were and could only recall vague impressions of what occurred tonight, but they were far from danger. If they didn’t drown or freeze in the water, the Savages would still be after them, and if they caught them…
She hugged Killean closer when she realized they would take her back and finish what they started, but they woulddestroyhim. And it wouldn’t be a simple killing. No, they would make him pay for what he’d done, but exactly what had he done?
Her brain felt like it was trying to wade through mud as she pieced together bits and pieces of her imprisonment. Savages brought Killean in to where they were holding her captive and treated him as one of them. Was he one of them, or had it all been a ploy to save her and the other hunters?
Maybe it had been a ploy, but she didn’t think anyone in the Alliance would agree to a vampire murdering innocents no matter what the cause. And there was no denying Killean had killed, as beneath his strong resin scent and the fresh water cascading over them, she detected the rot of a Savage.
It wasn’t as strong as it was on the monsters who imprisoned her, and when she wasn’t searching for the rot, his natural scent overpowered it, but there was no denying what that odor meant.
