Vampire Hunter: Shadow Hunter. Anna Hackett

of her big toe, despite her high-heeled boots; even his legs were pure muscle.

      Without thinking, she lunged into his legs, wrapping her body around his knees. He started to fall, but he caught himself and landed prepared to kick out, except that…oh, snap…she was attached to his leg!

      She scrambled backward, but he was too fast. Within seconds he was on top of her, straddling her hips and holding her hands against the ground.

      He let out a long deep growl and leaned in near her face. “Next time, I won’t hold back from hurting you.”

      The ice-cold look in his eyes showed he meant it, and she vowed to herself that there would be no next time. The man was pure unadulterated muscle and no matter how good a fighter she was, she knew when to call it quits.

      As she stared up into his eyes, she wished she hadn’t charged him, because damn it, her head hurt and her brain was sending all sorts of crazy mixed signals into parts of her body that had never been lit up before. Though he was on top of her and she was clearly in a vulnerable position, he wasn’t threatening her, just pinning her down and, oh, man, what on earth was wrong with her, because she didn’t mind one bit.

      Her gaze traveled over his rock-hard body. His chest heaved in and out from the adrenaline. Through his shirt she could see a nicely defined pair of pecs, and she knew from the pain in her head that washboard abs hid beneath.

      Even his forearms, which she’d dug her fingernails into, were well defined. She could tell from the fluid way he moved that he wasn’t some steroidal bodybuilder. No, his muscles were honed from serious training. The thought of his nearly naked body covered in a sheen of sweat as he worked out flooded her mind.

      Whooaaaa, Nelly. Back up for two seconds. She never fantasized about men. Ever.

      A small pang hit her heart, equal parts pain and anger. Her thoughts traveled to B, the nameless hunter who’d stolen her heart, only to break it to pieces with his betrayal. She could admit a teenage girl had her needs, and she’d fantasized about meeting B in the flesh so many times that real men need not apply. She’d been solo since she was fifteen, when her brother had left home to hunt monsters, and without B in the picture, she intended to keep it that way. She didn’t need any distractions. Her one goal in life was to avenge her family, not snuggle up all lovey-dovey with some sweet guy, get married and have loads of chubby-faced cherubic babies. Not that Mr. Tall, Dark and Scary would ever fit that scenario, anyway. From the looks of things, he was a grade-A badass.

      What was wrong with her? She needed to get back to Caius. If she disappeared for long enough, someone would come searching for her. Wasting time ogling a hot man wasn’t in the cards for tonight—for any night. Not while Caius lived and breathed. Besides which, she chastised herself, she didn’t know anything about this man. He’d held a knife to her throat, for God’s sake.

      But when she met his cold ice-blue eyes she thought she could drown in their intensity. She wanted to run her hands over his black buzz-cut hair as he pushed inside her. The thought alone sent a wave of heat rushing between her legs and a jolt of electricity shooting down her spine.

      A long silence passed between them as he watched her, those haunting blue eyes boring into her.

      “I guess I’m not really in a position to bargain now, am I?” She tried to make it sound lighthearted in hopes that maybe he would release her.

      He glared at her. His stare alone was enough to make her want to talk.

      Clearly he wasn’t a vampire or he would have sunk his fangs into her throat by now. All her instincts said he didn’t intend to harm her, and no vampire would ever take a no-harm approach against someone who’d attacked him.

      She cleared her throat. “One of us has to go first, and from your stiff upper lip, I can tell it’s not going to be you.” She sighed. “If I start talking, will you at least let me go?”

      He didn’t reply. But the intensity of his gaze compelled her to confess.

      She sighed again. “My name is Tiffany Solow, and I’m a vampire hunter.”

      His brow furrowed, as if the words vampire hunter confused him. “A female hunter?”

      She frowned. Nothing annoyed her more than men who thought women were incapable. She was certainly capable of taking care of herself and of killing supernaturally strong vampires to boot.

      “Yeah, buddy. You have a problem with a little girl power?” She wasn’t weak. But this guy had the strength of a vampire and the training of an extremely professional hunter, not someone self-taught.

      Could he be from…?

      No. What were the chances of that?

      His eyes widened before they narrowed again. “You’re alone? No one trained you?”

      She nodded. “No one but my brother taught me, so, yeah, I’m solo. You know, Solow—like my last name.”

      Usually that got at least a little bit of a chuckle out of people, but Mr. Tall, Dark and Scary didn’t so much as crack a grin.

      He released her hands, still pinning her to the ground with the weight of his body. She tried not to think of the way his hips pushed against hers and the obvious thickness she felt beneath his belt buckle.

      He shook his head. “You’re no hunter.”

      She frowned. “Oh, yeah? And what qualifies you to make that judgment? I could say the same thing of you, after all.”

      He shot her a look that said Don’t make me laugh. “Why are you here? Are you a Host?” A look of disgust crossed his face.

      “Hell, no! I would never let those leeches feed off me. Don’t insult me.”

      The side of his mouth twitched slightly at that. The closest he’d come thus far to a smile. Apparently he appreciated a hate for the undead.

      “Caius wants me as a Host, but he’s not going to get me. Other than that, the reason I’m here is none of your damn business.”

      He didn’t respond, only scanned the length of her body. Watching his irises as he drank her in was like watching fire flicker and blaze beneath crystals of ice. Breathtaking.

      He wrenched his eyes away from her figure and met her gaze. “You’re right. It isn’t.”

      She sucked in a deep breath and balled up the courage in her chest. She needed to push him, to challenge him, even though he had the advantage. “Why are you hunting on my turf?”

      He ignored her question. His spine straightened, and she could practically see him training his senses on something like a lethal animal.

      “What is this room usually used for?” he asked.

      “What?”

      He lowered his voice. “What is this room used for?”

      She gaped. What the hell was he getting at? “Uh…I don’t know. I think people come in here to have sex and drink from their Hosts in private. But why—”

      “Shhh.”

      “Why are you hushing me? What the—”

      He shoved his hand over her mouth to silence her, but with her hands now free she quickly wrenched it off. “No way are you shutting me up, buddy. I’m—”

      Before she could comprehend what was going on, they were nose to nose. With gentle but strong movements, he cupped his hand behind her head and his soft lips met hers. All her thoughts came to a screeching halt as the force of his kiss overwhelmed her. His tongue moved against hers in a slow sensual rhythm as his warm body pressed against hers.

      The sweet scent of his skin filled her nose like expensive aftershave and amazing, mind-blowing sex. Another wave of heat rushed to her core, and she felt herself buck against him. She didn’t even know his name, but her body was screaming in need for him. She’d never wanted anything, anyone, so badly in