Part 30 (1/2)

”Rolando called to confirm the details, which I was able to do.” He continues to stare off above us, not meeting my eyes. ”They want your corroborating statement as well and request that you call them back before daybreak.”

”Fine,” I check my ever-present watch. ”We have plenty of time for that. Anything else?”

”Yes. The guests enjoyed themselves so much they've been asking if we would consider holding a real hunt here.”

”Real? As opposed to what?” I allow my irritation to come through. ”The fake one we had this week with a murdered body?”

Asa rushes to explain. ”No, no, not calling this week anything. But they're asking if they could somehow come back and do it again. Have you arrange it all.”

c.r.a.p! Now why in the h.e.l.l would I want to do that? Who would want their property destroyed and worry about getting their employees killed? I shake my head.

”Tell them I doubt it.”

”Wait,” Rafe says. ”You still have an enemy on the tribunal we need to ferret out.” He rises up out of the tub a bit, drawing my eyes to the water cascading off his chest. ”Perhaps they'd agree to send condemned rogue vampires up here for a fee. With expenses in Argentina so high, that group always has an open hand out.”

He smiles a rakish grin at me. He's aware that I'm not even looking at his face and really didn't pay much attention to what he said.

”You never know,” he continues. ”It might help flush out whomever has an axe to grind with you.”

”Hmm?” I look away from Rafe's perky nipples and to try to form a coherent thought.

It takes me a minute, but I'm able to piece together the meaning of his suggestion by playing it back in my head.

”Okay. The idea's sound. But let's talk about it later, when we have clothes on.” I address Asa again. ”Anything else?”

”Nope.”

”Would you mind leaving then?”

”Oh, uh... sure.” Asa high-tails it back into the building as though he's got an angry band of villagers at his back.

Rafe laughs gently and draws me back into his arms. ”Now, where were we?”

I'm happy to feel his arousal hasn't lessened, even with the interruption. I open myself up mentally, ready to allow his body to drive every care from my mind. One last thought occurs to me before he slides in.

Did I just say I'd seriously consider having a Formal Hunt, like from old times past, here at The V V Inn?

** Please turn the page for a sneak peek of The Hunt, set to release in June 2011.

The Hunt

Chapter One.

Vivian As I lie here, curled around my husband's firm body, I begin to wonder: Am I crazy? What in the h.e.l.l made me think organizing a hunt here at our hotel would be a good idea? Over a dozen supernatural predators are flying in from all over the world, ones who've paid an exorbitant price for the privilege of removing their everyday masks and killing one of their own kind. I must be crazy.

I have a feeling this week is going to turn out to be more than any of us bargained for. Self-doubt plagues me as I rise from the warmth of the bed and stroll naked to my closet. The artificial glow of the landscape lighting beams in through the windows, indicating with the changing gradient it's probably mid-day here above the Arctic Circle.

Part of my nervous edge could be a.s.sociated with learning to trust the new members of our seethe. The vampires appear upfront and honest, as much as a pack of bloodsuckers can be, but my old habits of non-trust have kept me around for a long time.

The two months since November's tracking and killing of Ivan have been a trial for me. This upcoming hunt week has been a long time in the planning, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Having anyone from the Tribunal of Ancients on our property sucks, especially when I have no idea who they're sending.

Grabbing the clothes I set out in the wee hours of the morning, I head to the shower in our private suite.

The hot water cascading over me fills my mind with horrible memories of my own first hunt. The group of vampires wore cloth-lined silver skull-caps to thwart my unique vampire-to-vampire mind-controlling abilities. They had orchestrated a hunt to rid themselves of their ”pet” manipulator. What started for the group as demented undead fun, ended with a young vampire who surprised them all with her ability to kill ruthlessly and without remorse.

The blood of my seethe-mates once covered my body, as the water does now. Later, I stacked their headless corpses in our old farmhouse before setting the structure on fire. Killing that sick group was the least I could do avenge the murders of my first and second husbands. After all I'd been through under their rule for twenty-six years, I let the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds off easy. Thankfully, even a vampire can only die once-if it's done right.

The sound of Rafe stirring in the next room pulls me out of my dark thoughts and informs me he's getting up as well.

”Good morning, sleepyhead,” I call out over the sound of the shower. ”Get enough rest?”

”You mean after you ravaged me for hours? Oh yeah, I slept pretty d.a.m.n sound.”

I turn the water off and wring out my long hair, before leaving the enclosure to reach for a towel. Rafe puts one in my hand before I have a chance to connect with the rack on the wall.

Smiling my thanks, I dry myself quickly. ”We're meeting with the whole seethe in about a half hour. Want me to call the kitchen to send you in something to eat?”

”Isn't Paul on cooking duty?” Rafe grimaces. ”No thanks. I've got leftovers in our fridge. I'm good.”

”His cooking will get better. Give him some time. It's been a hard adjustment since he's turned and can't sample his own cooking anymore.”

”Yeah, I know. But it's a painful process waiting for him to re-learn.”

”That's the easy part,” I snort. ”The real challenge since he became a vampire is in trying to get him not to drain his family whenever he sees them.”

Rafe strips for his own shower and pats me on the bottom as he heads inside the enclosure. ”With great power comes great responsibility.”

”Don't get all philosophical on me. I may not have wanted four new members in our seethe, but I'll manipulate and train the b.u.g.g.e.rs as best I can.”

The water hisses back on and steam fills the room once more. A muted electronic ringing comes from the bedroom and I head in to answer it.

”Yes?”

Asa's clipped tones greet me on the other end of the line, ”Hey, Vivian.” He addresses me, like most everyone at the inn, by my nickname. ”I heard water in the pipes. You almost ready for the meeting?”

The ex-military munitions-expert and fledgling vampire really enjoyed creating the Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility underground. Our new SCIF, or command center, is set up with video feeds and surveillance of the entire property, all fifteen square miles of it.

”I'll be ready in ten minutes. Have you checked on the others?” I'm not too thrilled the SCIF is in this wing of the T-shaped hotel and right below our apartment, but I wasn't willing to give up any guest rooms for it either.

”Drew is down here with me. Paul's finished his s.h.i.+ft in the kitchen and went to change clothes. Joanna's still in her suite, and Jonathan's already waiting for us in the conference room.”

Jonathan is our head groundskeeper and the only werewolf we have on the property as a permanent resident. The thought of his tasty, powerful blood sends a s.h.i.+ver of want through me.

”Have we heard from any of the pilots yet?”