Burning Both Ends (Guardian Witch #3)

Andreas shook the attacker repeatedly before tossing it into the nearby bushes. He grabbed Ari’s arm, yanked her to her feet, and they turned together to face the remainder of the circling pack.

Breathing hard, Ari lifted her fingers again, hitting the closest wolf with a stun-level blue flame. The creature whined and stumbled. She gave it a second blast for good measure—and because she was really pissed.

Andreas took care of the other two. The loud crack of a broken neck sealed the fate of the dark gray wolf that had bitten her. The last wolf turned tail and ran. Shaken and bleeding, Ari was content to let it go, but Andreas had other ideas. He reached the creature in four long leaps and dispatched it with a twist of its head. The only wolf alive was unconscious from the witch fire stuns.

Andreas gave the fallen wolf a brief look and turned to Ari. “How badly are you injured?” He eyed a scratch on her cheek, her torn blouse, then dropped his gaze to her hand.

“The damn thing bit me.” She peered at the bite wound. The blood ran across her palm and dropped onto the ground; she held her hand away from her. “Other than this, just scratches. I’ll heal.”

“Is the bite a concern?” he asked, taking her hand to examine it.

Ari knew what he was asking. In a small percentage of cases, the bite of a werewolf infected a human with lycanthropy. If that happened, she would find herself howling and running through the woods on the next full moon. But Ari was only part human. Except for her great-grandfather, her witch bloodlines were pure.

She shook her head. “No. My witch blood is dominant. It protects me.”

“Good to know. Nevertheless, we need to stop the bleeding. The bite is deep.” Still holding her hand, his voice held a question. “My saliva will stop the bleeding by coagulating the blood.”

“You want to lick it?” Ari made an effort to keep her voice neutral, as if this was a perfectly normal development. But, ew! Wake up call. Boyfriend was a vampire.

Her efforts at nonchalance didn’t fool him. His face clouded in impatience.

“OK, the hand only.” Ari felt the blood from the leg injuries oozing down her calves. “But you’re not licking my legs.” Entirely too creepy.

“But that would have been the fun part,” Andreas said, a smile tugging at his mouth. He’d clearly decided to be amused by her discomfort.

In spite of Ari’s doubts, his temporary first aid to her hand wasn’t at all nasty. Andreas touched his lips to the injured area, and his tongue slowly traced the wound. She thought he prolonged the process longer than necessary, but the sensation was kind of sexy, sending shivers down her spine. Disturbed by her reaction, Ari jerked her hand away, and he let go. What was she thinking? She’d insisted on a strict agreement between them about no bloodletting. And now a vampire had his teeth next to her skin, tasting her blood, and she thought it was sexy? No way. Not going there.

“Now what is wrong?” Andreas asked, frowning again. “Do not try to tell me that hurt.”

“No, not at all. But does the blood… I mean, does it tempt you?”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you asking if I am going to drain your blood in my uncontrollable bloodlust?”

“Well, no, I didn’t mean exactly that.” Tongue-tied, Ari bit her lip. Despite all the Guardianship training and their current dating status, she didn’t know much about what vampires felt or thought, except what she’d been told or read in textbooks. None of those accounts had been from a vampire’s point of view. She was still stumbling along in the dark about rather ordinary things. It was disconcerting, embarrassing at times like this. “Does it make you uncomfortable?” She finally added bluntly, “Is it hard not to bite me?”

Andreas sighed. “I apologize for my annoyance, little witch.” He reached out, briefly touching her cheek, as he tucked a stray lock of her hair behind one ear. “Too often, I forget how young you are. No, you are quite safe. I have lived a long time as a vampire. The smell of your blood is pleasant, but it does not tempt me to feed from you. Of course,” he added, with a devilish gleam, “there are certain times when even an experienced vampire is tempted to bite. It is very pleasurable for my kind. Enhances other enjoyments. The state of your unbroken skin should be testimony enough of my control.”

“You could have stopped with ‘it does not tempt me,’” Ari said. “The rest isn’t very reassuring.” He was still holding her injured hand, and she pulled it away. “I better get home and clean up.”

“Not tonight, cara mia. It should be obvious even to you that your apartment is not safe. If this is the same wolf pack we’ve dealt with before, they already know where you live.” When she started to shake her head, he interrupted. “Why do you always have to argue?”

The bloody scene of her mentor’s death outside her apartment building flashed through Ari’s head, cutting off further protest. She raised her chin. “If I can’t go home, then what do you suggest?”

“The Chantilly Suite is always available.”

She should have known he’d say that. Hadn’t she tried hard to avoid that trap? The beautiful guest suite in his Victorian home was both tempting and forbidden. Blue and white. And frilly. It was decorated with genuine Queen Anne antiques and equipped with every modern convenience. Kind of like the ultimate spa. But agreeing to sleep in his home—not just falling asleep on the couch—seemed like a bigger commitment than she was ready to make. It was an argument they’d had before. At least twice.

Before she could defend her position one more time, Lilith and Russell, husband and wife werelions employed as security at Andreas’s supper club, burst onto the scene in a full run.

“What the hell happened?” Lilith’s voice was brusque as she caught her breath.

“How did you know to come here?” Ari looked at them bewildered.

“I phoned for reinforcements,” Andreas explained. “Your magic warned me. I was already on the way when I heard your scream.”

She shot him a troubled look. Not again. “You heard me? Saw the fight?” Her magic seemed to have a mind of its own when one of them was in trouble by sharing mental images of the danger involved.

He nodded. “Yes. Almost as if I was here.”

Ari turned her face away, her mouth suddenly dry. This telepathic thing had worked to their advantage twice before, once by design. Always when one of them was at risk. So far, Andreas had been the receiver of the magical warnings. But she couldn’t shake her fear of having the magic go the other direction, of having a vampire capable of mental manipulation inside her head. Über creepy.

“Are you all right?” Russell demanded, looking at his boss.

Andreas shifted his attention, and Ari was glad for the diversion. “Yes, I am fine, but Arianna’s hand needs attention.” He glanced at the motionless wolf on the ground. “I will take care of her injury, if you and Lilith will transport the wolf back to the house.” He glanced at Russell’s angry face. “Keep him alive, Russell. I have a few questions I want answered as soon as he wakes. Once you have him secured, send Lilith to assist Arianna in the Chantilly Suite.”

“Sure. No problem.” Grinning, Lilith stepped forward, her golden-brown eyes flashing. “I’d love to babysit.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Ari snapped. Inwardly she groaned in frustration, fuming at Andreas’s easy assumption she would give in and stay in his house. She bit her tongue and swallowed her protest. It would only give Lilith and Russell entertainment at her expense. Lilith had unabashedly promoted a permanent “togetherness” with Andreas for more than a year, claiming they were dynamite together. Ari took that to mean the lioness enjoyed the fireworks that often flared between two such dominant personalities. Lilith was very aware Ari had doubts about the match and took delight in Ari’s every defeat. Until she could get Andreas alone, Ari satisfied herself with a fierce glare at Lilith. Predictably, the lioness laughed.

Ari wheeled and stalked up the street. The claw marks on her calves had tightened the muscles so much she limped, making her departure less than impressive. Andreas caught up and offered to help, but she curtly declined. At the moment, she didn’t want him to touch her, didn’t want to be babied. Enough was enough.

Andreas put up with the slow, limping pace for about a block, then he simply scooped her into his arms.

“Hey, put me down, dammit! I’m not helpless.” She pounded on his chest, but he acted like he didn’t feel the impact.

“I know you are not, but we do not have time for this,” he said. “If the wolves have friends, I do not want them to find us out in the open.”

After those sobering words, Ari stopped struggling but continued to sulk over the undignified treatment. He ignored her irritation and talked with Russell until they arrived at the house. To Ari’s increasing embarrassment, two members of his home security force met them at the door. About to reissue her demands to be put down, she was distracted when Andreas ordered them to take the wolf to the secure room in the basement. Secure room? She hadn’t known he had such a place. Exactly what he was hiding down there? A full-fledged dungeon? A medieval torture chamber?

When they arrived at the Chantilly Suite, Andreas finally dumped her on her feet. She backed away and glared at him. “About time.”

“You’re covered with blood,” he observed matter-of-factly. “Into the shower. Unless you want me to do that too?”

“Don’t you wish,” she retorted. “Out.”

“Your hand and legs need treatment as soon as you have showered.”

“Fine. Send someone back in fifteen minutes.”

“I will be here in ten,” was his parting shot as he pulled the bedroom door closed behind him. “I still have other work to do.”

“So who’s keeping you?”

“Nine,” she heard from the hallway.

Ari scurried into the shower and turned the water to hot. It stung her hand and legs, but otherwise felt like heaven. When finished, she wrapped a hand towel around the bite wound, and slipped on a fluffy white bathrobe hanging on the back of the door. She was thankful to see the hem was high enough to avoid the bloody lacerations on her legs. It would be a shame to stain the fancy cover-up. Taking two more towels to wipe the oozing blood and to stand on, she opened the bathroom door. Andreas sat on the edge of the bed with gauze and tape and ointments spread out around him.