Part 6 (1/2)
When she got a good look at him and his wicked fangs, fear gripped her. Holy c.r.a.p! This dude's a vampire! Julie staggered back.
Hadn't he said his name was Luke? She'd thought his blond hair and red eyes looked familiar. Kinda like the last face she saw before she'd been turned to a- ”You!” As quickly as her shock faded, anger surged through her chest and she launched herself at him, doing what any self-righteous woman would do and dug her nails into that frightening face. ”You son of a b.i.t.c.h! You did this to me! You made me-”
Luke grabbed her hands and flung her away like a dirty towel. ”Stop, woman!”
Before Julie could spin around and attack again, Roger stepped in front of her and faced Luke. ”Leave her alone. Or I'll-”
”Or you'll what, human?” Luke lifted Roger by the collar of his s.h.i.+rt and hurled him to the side. ”She's mine.”
As Roger dropped to the ground, groaning, any fear Julie might have felt for her own safety disappeared. Her visions of a night of pa.s.sion were quickly fading into her dreams, soon to be lost if she didn't do something to stop Luke. ”Look, Bubba. You're not very bright are you? No one owns me. Got that?” She poked a finger at his chest like a child would poke at a hot iron. ”I don't belong to anyone and I didn't ask for you to do what you did. So get lost before I lose my temper.”
Tall-dangerous-and-dense s.n.a.t.c.hed at her wrist and yanked her into his arms. ”You belong to me.”
”Like h.e.l.l, I do!” Julie planted her hands against his chest and channeled all her anger and frustration into one mighty shove. After Roger's two attacks on the man, she didn't expect her little display of annoyance to have much impact.
But Luke flew backward and slammed against a car, his body hitting so hard, the metal crumpled behind him, leaving a b.u.t.t-sized dent six inches deep in the door panel.
Julie pressed her hand against her mouth. Holy c.r.a.p! Did I do that? She stared at her hands as if they belonged to someone else.
William had mentioned she'd have speed, but he didn't say anything about strength. Roger hadn't been able to move the mountain of a vampire and she'd thrown him with nothing more than a little display of feminine PMS.
Roger.
She ran back to the man she'd been l.u.s.ting after for days, sure he'd have a question or two after her little demonstration of testosterone-like strength. ”Are you all right?” She extended a hand to help him up.
”I'm fine.” He accepted her a.s.sistance, pulling himself to his feet. ”But this guy isn't through with us.” Roger straightened and reached for the pistol beneath his jacket, thankful he carried at all times. Luke was less than a yard from him when he unloaded five rounds directly into the man's heart.
”Bullets?” Luke laughed. ”You're kidding, right?”
”That was five rounds.” Roger glanced from his Glock to the man's chest where the bullets had entered. Other than the tears in his s.h.i.+rt, the blond-haired man didn't show any of the normal signs of mortal wounds like falling over and dying. ”What's it take to kill you?”
”A lot more than bullets,” Luke said. ”On the other hand, I could snap you in two. So why don't you get out of my way?”
”No.” Roger held his pistol out again. ”Julie's my girl and you can't have her.”
Almost melting at Roger's words, Julie had to pull herself together and think through the consequences of Roger's stand against a being at least twice as strong as him. ”Uh, Roger?” Julie tapped Roger's shoulder. If he didn't move out of the way really quick- like, her evening of romance and s.e.x was definitely going to be out of the question. Most likely, Roger would end up in the hospital with multiple fractures.
”Not now, Julie. I'm going to kick some major b.u.t.t.” He pushed his sleeves up his arms, a menacing scowl pus.h.i.+ng his brows toward his nose.
”You?” The big guy's eyes widened. ”You think you can take me?”
”Uh, Roger?” Julie tapped his shoulder again. ”Luke isn't human. He could kill you.” ”Not now, Jul-” He shot a glance her way. ”What do you mean, he's not human? And how do you know his name?”
”He just told me his name is Luke. And believe me when I tell you he's not human,” she repeated. ”If you'll allow me...I'll explain later.” She stepped around him and stood toe-to-toe with Luke. ”Get lost, Luke.”
The vampire bared all his teeth. ”I'm not leaving without you.”
”Then you'll be here a long time.” Julie narrowed her eyes and gave Luke a determined look, hoping ”that” look would make him back down and leave them alone. Otherwise, she'd be forced to kick his a.s.s. ”Get the truck, Roger.”
”Not without you,” he said, standing beside her.
”Think of your truck as a battering ram and just do it. I'll be okay, really.” She didn't look around to see if he complied. Certain her last attack had been dumb luck, Julie wasn't so sure she'd be able to hold Luke off for long. Surprise was her best weapon against an older vampire.
Here's to toppling the big guy. She ducked her shoulder and plowed into Luke's midsection, wondering if her best dress would be toast after she kicked the man's a.s.s for ruining her date. Right now, she didn't care.
Luke flew backward into another vehicle as Roger's truck revved in the background. While the vampire struggled to pull himself together, Julie raced for the truck, yanking the door open and hopping in. She didn't breathe a sigh of relief until they were out of the parking lot and two blocks away from the restaurant.
Roger dug his cell phone from the clip on his belt. ”I'm calling the department. That man needs to be apprehended before he hurts someone.”
Julie shot a look in Roger's direction. If he called the police, they'd have to make a report of the incident. ”I'm okay, you're okay.
Let's call it even and go to my place.”
”Are you crazy? The Houston P.D. needs to lock that guy up.”
And what would they do to her if they discovered she was a vampire too? ”Okay, but don't promise to go in until the morning.
Unless the words 'whipped cream' don't mean anything to you anymore.”
After a short call to the department, Roger pressed his foot to the accelerator. ”I hope they catch him. I should have gone after him.”
”How often do we have the same night off?” Julie slid across the bench seat and snuggled up to Roger. ”I'm not letting some jacka.s.s ruin my evening with you.”
His arm draped around her shoulders and he pulled her close. ”No way. Whipped cream sounds good. And maybe some of that chocolate pudding.”
Throw the dog a bone and he'll go after it. Julie smiled at her a.n.a.logy, imagining doing it with Roger ”doggie style”. h.e.l.l, she'd do it standing on her head if he wanted to.
Now that the bad guy was long behind them, Julie could concentrate on Roger and making him want her just as much as she wanted him. And right at that moment, that was a lot.
Her hand slid up the lean muscles of his thigh to the ridge beneath his zipper. ”Is it hot in here or is it just me?” Julie tugged at the low neckline of her dress and blew a stream of air down between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.
Roger's glance dropped to the V of her cleavage. ”It's definitely hot in here.” When he looked up, he swerved to avoid hitting a stop sign. ”Definitely hot in here,” he muttered. Julie sat up straight. ”I'm sorry. I shouldn't do that while you're driving.”
”No, you shouldn't if you want to get to your place in one piece.” He drew in a shaky breath and blew it out. ”And by the way.
Where did you learn that linebacker move? When I hit that guy he didn't even budge. But you...” With a shake of his head.
”What do they teach you in nursing school, anyway?”
”Oh, that?” Julie swallowed the wad of guilt lodged in her throat and forced a shrug. ”I took a course in Tae Kwon Do once.”
She didn't volunteer that she'd quit when it came to sparring because she didn't want to hurt anyone. Funny how a little change like being turned to a vampire, erased all her reservations about fighting. Or did she only want to fight the ugly nonhumans she didn't know existed before last night? Whatever. All she knew was that she could taste desire like a fine sip of wine swirling around on the back of her tongue and she had to clench her hands in her lap to keep them from straying back to Roger. If they didn't get to her apartment soon, she'd force Roger to stop on the side of the road for a little s.e.xual snack to tide her over.
An innate sense of honesty niggled at Julie's conscience and surfaced. ”Roger?”
”Um-hm?” Roger slowed to turn onto the street where she lived.