Argeneau Family - The Immortal Hunter Part 13

There was a pause and then the door opened. Decker entered, a stack of towels and various other things in hand. He eyed her warily, and then moved to the counter, explaining, "I guess Bastien didn't think to purchase things like this for the house, but Sam ran out to the twenty-four-hour drugstore last night and picked up a few sundries and then swung by her apartment for the towels. I didn't remember until you came in here or I would have mentioned it so that you could choose what you needed yourself." Decker set the items down and added, "If there's anything I didn't think of, let me know and I'll get it for you."

Dani's face softened at the thoughtful gesture, but she only murmured, "Thank you" as he turned to move back out of the room.

She stood there for a moment after he left, part of her wanting to go out and say something to end this awkwardness between them, but she had no idea what to say. He'd been wrong to keep her asleep, even if it had been with good intentions. Decker hadn't set out to hurt her, and it had been sweet in a way, but...

Dani shook her head and glanced to the tub to find that it was already half full. She moved to the counter to collect the bubble bath, one of the sundries he'd brought her. She poured a generous amount into the tub and began to strip.

The water was warm and inviting when Dani stepped into it. She eased slowly to sit, sighing as the water and bubbles enveloped her. She reclined back in the tub and closed her eyes, hoping the warm, bubble-filled water would soak away some of her tension and worries, but knowing it wouldn't.

The sound of rus.h.i.+ng water died and Decker stopped pacing the bedroom to peer toward the bathroom door, very aware that his Dani was on the other side of it. His life mate... who presently hated his guts, he thought grimly. It was a depressing thought!

Decker knew he hadn't done much right since meeting her. First there had been that stupid CSIS business, and then biting her, and now he felt as if he'd personally failed her by not saving Stephanie. Intellectually, Decker knew that there was nothing he could have done, but that didn't stop him from feeling responsible. And it wasn't even the reason she was angry with him at the moment. It was his having Justin control her to make her sleep. That had seriously p.i.s.sed her off.

I'm not some brainless twit who needs coddling. She's my sister, You should have woken me up. It's not your place to save me worry. Her words ran through his head, and Decker scowled at the bathroom door. Of course it was his place. She was his life mate.

Irritated now, he glanced around for somewhere to sit, but the only piece of furniture in the room was the bed. Decker moved to it and dropped to lie flat, his legs crossing at the ankles and hands resting on his stomach as he listened for sounds from the next room.

Was she in the tub yet or just now undressing? He wondered and wasn't terribly surprised when his thoughts immediately moved south, producing an image of her tugging her T-s.h.i.+rt off over her head and letting it drop to the floor as her hands moved around to her back and rose to undo the clasps of her bra.

Decker could still recall the silky feel of it as he'd tugged it away from her breast to touch her warm skin. He remembered the smell of her too and savored the memory as what she might be doing continued to play in his head, and she allowed the bra to glide down her arms and slip to rest on her T-s.h.i.+rt. In his imaginings, Dani then paused to twist her hair up on the back of her head so that only little wisps hung around her face. That done, she reached for the b.u.t.ton of her shorts. Those s.h.i.+mmied to the floor the moment they were undone, and she stepped out of them, then slipped her thumbs beneath the elastic on either side of her panties and drew them slowly, lovingly, down over her hips, thighs, and knees until she could step out of them one foot at a time. They fluttered to the bath mat as Dani stepped carefully and oh so slowly into a tub full of bubbles.

A little moan of disappointment slipped from Decker's lips as the water and bubbles embraced his dream Dani, hiding her from view. He grimaced at the ceiling, telling himself that she was his life mate and it would all work out. The day would come when he would simply walk in there while she reclined in the bath. She'd smile at him welcomingly and crook her finger to bring him to the side of the tub, then reach out to run her hand slowly up his leg before slipping it around to caress him through the cloth of his jeans and ask, "Care to join me? The tub's big enough for two."

"Oh yeah," Decker breathed aloud as his Dani sat up and reached for the b.u.t.ton of his jeans. She unsnapped it with a hand that had bubbles clinging to it, and then raised her eyes to watch his face as she drew the zipper down in a leisurely fas.h.i.+on. He pushed his jeans off his hips the moment she'd finished, letting them pool around his ankles, and she reached down to help him step out of them, then turned her attention to his boxers. Dani pulled those down much more slowly than he had his jeans. The elastic waistband got caught on his emerging erection so that she had to lift it over his shaft. A smile played about her lips, and she leaned forward to press a kiss to the tip before helping him to step out of those too.

Dani raised her head to peer up at him then, her eyes just skittering over what she'd revealed as she murmured, "Your s.h.i.+rt."

Decker reached to tug that up over his head. The moment his face was enshrouded in the soft cloth and he couldn't see what she was doing, Dani caught his erection in a suddenly soapy hand and squeezed gently as she ran her fingers along its length.

Shuddering at the explosion of desire that shot through him, Decker ripped the s.h.i.+rt off to toss it over his shoulder and then urged her hand away and stepped up to the top of the tub. Dani scooted forward, leaving room for him behind her as he stepped into the water. Decker sat down behind her, the warm water sliding over his skin like a caress as he settled, then Dani eased back to sit between his spread legs, and reclined to rest against his chest.

"I was waiting for you," she murmured, running her hands along his outer thighs under the water.

"Were you?" Decker asked. He'd been waiting for her for two hundred and fifty-nine years. His hands moved to her arms and smoothed down over the soft skin to her elbows, his fingers brus.h.i.+ng the inside crook of her arms in a feathery touch that made her s.h.i.+ver against him.

"Yes," she breathed, wiggling against him. "I was hoping you'd wash my back."

Decker smiled faintly as he grabbed for the bar of soap. He slid it briefly under the water, and then began to rub it between his hands to make lather. He urged her to sit up and began to run his hands over her back, running them in circles until every inch of skin there was covered in the soapy lather. He then reached for the soap again and worked it for another minute before returning to the ch.o.r.e, his circles becoming wider and wider until they included her sides.

"Oh." Dani sighed as Decker let his fingers roam to where they wanted. His hands closed warm and soapy over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, squeezing and kneading under the pretense of cleaning. When she leaned back against him, her foam-covered back sliding across his clean chest, Decker peered down her body, watching his hands cup and knead and then catch her nipples between thumb and finger and pinch lightly.

The action drew a long moan from Dani and had her tilting her head back and twisting toward him in silent invitation. Decker lowered his head at once, his lips covering hers and his tongue sliding eagerly out to fill her mouth. She tasted as sweet as he remembered, and his fingers tightened on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s briefly, then he let one drift away to find the washcloth, and dunk it in the water. He used it to rinse away the soap so that he could caress her without the slippery lather. The moment the last bit of soap was gone, Decker dropped the cloth and covered her b.r.e.a.s.t.s again, thrusting his tongue into her mouth as he tweaked her nipples lightly.

"Oh!" It was a half gasp, half groan as she covered his hands with hers, urging him on. When he then slipped one hand out from under hers, she moaned her disappointment. But that was followed by a startled hiss of sound when his hand dropped down over her stomach to slip between her thighs.

Dani stiffened against him briefly in surprise, and then spread her legs as wide as she could inside his to try to accommodate him. She then groaned into his mouth as he caressed her, her own tongue wrestling with his as she arched and twisted in his hands. Dani reached up and back then to slide the fingers of one hand into his hair and clutch his head to urge him on, but then slid the other behind her back between their bodies and into the water to find his erection once more. Decker froze, his hands stilling as he groaned into her mouth and bucked into the caress.

With the second stroke, he recalled himself and resumed kissing and caressing her. His kiss was more demanding now, though, and their caresses more urgent. When they were both panting and breathless with need, Decker broke their kiss and withdrew his hands again, this time to lift and turn her. The moment he had her settled sideways in his lap, he began to trail his mouth down her cheek and then along her neck and lower to find and clasp one damp nipple.

Dani breathed his name, a sound of need and pleading as her hand found him again under the water's surface and closed. It was no gentle caress, but one determined to bring him to the brink. Afraid he would explode there in the water, Decker reached down and forced her hand away. Dani allowed it, but also rose up in the water to s.h.i.+ft until she knelt with knees on either side of him. She then reached for him again as she settled herself on his lap, using that hold to direct him into her.

Decker's breath left him on a hiss as her warm, moist heat closed over him and he had to bite his tongue hard to keep from exploding right then. Dani appeared to know this and smiled wickedly as she released him to grab the sides of the tub and slowly eased herself down and then just as slowly raised herself back up. Decker ground his teeth helplessly for a minute, and then reached between them to find the nub between her legs. He caressed her, running his finger around and over it until the smile left her face to be replaced by an almost pained look as Dani began to move more swiftly into the stroke. Decker began to raise his hips, thrusting into her almost violently as she lowered herself, and she s.h.i.+fted one hand to his shoulder to steady herself as he drove them both over the edge.

The sound of slos.h.i.+ng water, joined with violent coughing, was enough to wake Decker from the slumber he'd dropped into.

Leaping off the bed, he rushed to the bathroom door and nearly thrust it open before he caught himself and knocked instead.

"Dani? Are you all right?" he called loudly, frowning at the deep violence of her cough. "Dani?"

"I'm fine," she got out between hacks. "Just swallowed some water. Go away."

Decker hesitated, but while she was still coughing, it didn't sound as violent as it had, and after a moment, he turned and walked back to the bed, wondering how she'd managed to swallow water.

He was about to lie back down on the bed, but paused as he became aware of a quickly cooling damp spot on the front of his jeans. He stared at the dark patch, grimacing as he recalled the dream he'd had. It had started out just plain imagination, but he must have drifted off to sleep because it had quickly felt, smelled, and seemed real. If he hadn't awoken on the bed, startled from sleep by Dani's coughing, he could almost believe it had been real. That he'd actually walked in that bathroom and- Decker paused and stood a little straighter, his head slowly turning toward the bathroom door as he recalled another symptom of finding a life mate-shared dreams. In his case, wet dreams.

Dani gave one last cough and then sagged in the tub. Despite having slept nine hours, she'd somehow managed to fall asleep in the tub and nearly drowned herself. She couldn't believe she'd done that. More than that, she couldn't believe the dream she'd had when she'd fallen asleep. It had featured her and Decker-Maybe-Argeneau-Maybe-Pimms indulging in some pretty hot s.e.x.

Good Lord, Dani thought with disgust, she was having erotic dreams about a man whose last name she didn't even know. She then recalled that she'd nearly had real s.e.x with the man whose last name she didn't even know in the SUV the night before.

She covered her face with the damp washcloth, wondering what was the matter with her.

Obviously she was losing it. Dani was no prude, but... Gad! She'd never been promiscuous either. She'd been too busy studying and trying to keep her grades up to bother much with dating at university and medical school. Then she'd had her interns.h.i.+p, which had been years of h.e.l.l where sleeping alone didn't happen much, let alone sleeping with someone else.

Not that she was a virgin. She'd had boyfriends and dates and such, but she'd certainly never before indulged in a hot humping session in the back of an SUV speeding up the highway.

What was the matter with her? This just so wasn't like her at all. She didn't l.u.s.t after men she'd just met. So to l.u.s.t after this one, who happened to be a vampire...

Dani closed her eyes as that word ran through her brain. Vampire. Life mate. Rogue. She was gaining a whole new vocabulary and wasn't at all sure it was one she wanted. Although she wouldn't mind a few more explanations. Especially about the life mate business. Lucian had said she was Decker's, and Decker had told her that a life mate was that rare person whom a vampire could relax with. Just how rare? And was she Decker's life mate? If so, what exactly did that mean?

Did she even have the right to wonder about this stuff when Stephanie was kidnapped and in peril? Dani didn't feel like she did and felt selfish and uncaring for doing so.

Sighing, she pushed the b.u.t.ton to allow the tub to start to drain and stood up to reach for a towel, making a silent vow as she did. From now on, she would concentrate on the most important matter at hand. Finding Stephanie.

Chapter Nine.

Decker paced to the windows, peered out over the fields behind the house, and then paced back to the bed, only to repeat the circuit. He'd made a quick run to his room to change into clean jeans and arrived back in the room to hear splas.h.i.+ng from the bathroom. It hadn't been the violent sounds that had accompanied her coughing earlier, however, so he'd begun to pace as he waited for her to finish.

The sound of the bathroom door opening brought Decker's pacing, and thoughts, to an abrupt halt. He turned as Dani stepped into the room. She was rosy-cheeked, her damp hair brushed back and flat to her head. The sight was endearing, he decided, and then noted that she had been forced to redon the clothes she'd worn earlier. They would have to look into getting her some more clothes.

"You look adorable." The words tumbled from his mouth unbidden. They brought a suspicious glint to Dani's face, as if she thought he was being sarcastic.

"Thank you," she muttered finally and added, "You look like h.e.l.l."

It surprised a laugh from Decker, and he smiled wryly and said, "Thank you."

"I mean you look tired," she added quickly, flus.h.i.+ng.

Decker grimaced, but nodded and admitted, "I am."

"Well, for heaven's sake, go to sleep then," Dani said, sounding exasperated.

Decker sincerely wished he could. He was exhausted, but shook his head. "I can't."

"Oh right. You have to keep an eye on me," she said with irritation, and then exploded with annoyance. "This is stupid. I'm not going anywhere, I have to wait for my phone. And if you don't sleep now, you'll be useless when Nicholas calls and we have to move."

Decker cleared his throat and said, "Speaking of Nicholas-"

"I don't want to hear it," Dani cut him off sharply, and immediately hurried to the bed to drag the soft wool blanket off it. She then rushed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Decker asked in a hissed whisper as he hurried after her into the hall.

"To sunbathe," Dani hissed back, apparently no more eager than he was to wake Lucian and the others again.

He opened his mouth to argue with her, but then snapped it closed and rushed down the stairs after her. Decker waited until they'd moved into the kitchen before opening his mouth again, but she beat him to it.

"I'm only going to be on the lawn. You can keep an eye on me from the house... or am I not allowed to go outside at all?" Dani added, and paused at the door next to the breakfast nook to turn a glare on him.

Decker hesitated. He didn't want her to feel like a prisoner, and he could keep an eye on her from the house, but he really wanted to talk to her about Nicholas. He knew Dani didn't think she wanted to hear it, but she had to. Lucian was right, it was better if she understood the true situation.

At least, Decker hoped his uncle was right, because he sure as h.e.l.l didn't know what was best anymore. The problem was he was torn by several different motivations. Part of him wanted to protect Dani from the knowledge he had to impart, and keep her hopes alive by allowing her to count on a man who just might not be that dependable. Another part was irritated as h.e.l.l that she appeared to trust Nicholas more than she did him. And yet still another part thought it might be best to tell her because, while it would shatter her illusions, it would also prepare her for the worst if it turned out Nicholas wasn't on their side.

Decker was torn from his internal struggle by the sound of the door closing. Glancing up, he saw Dani through the door window, stomping off across the deck toward the gra.s.s, dragging the blanket with her. It appeared she'd grown tired of waiting for him to make up his mind and made it for him.

Cursing, he moved to the door, peered out as the sun peeked out from behind a cloud, and then ground his teeth together and pushed the door open to follow her.

"What are you doing out here? You guys are supposed to avoid the sun," was Dani's irritated greeting when he caught up to her halfway down the yard. It was obvious she'd hoped to escape him by coming out here. For some reason that just made him more determined to stick with her.

"We do, but not all the time," Decker said. "Besides, there's plenty of bagged blood in the house."

Dani glared at him, obviously annoyed and then snapped, "Fine," and turned to continue walking.

"Where are we going?" he asked, smiling despite himself. She really was quite adorable when all huffy like this.

"I"-she emphasized the word-"am trying to find a dry spot to lay out the blanket." Decker's gaze slid over the dew-kissed lawn. While it was hot and muggy out, it was still early and the sun wasn't making a very good showing. Decker smiled as he eyed the clouds overhead. If he wasn't mistaken, they were storm clouds. Mother Nature was on his side, it seemed.

His gaze slid back to Dani. He'd allowed her to rush ahead a couple of feet and now found himself staring at her behind and the backs of her thighs and even her shapely calves as she hurried along. Distracted as he was by the view, Decker was completely unprepared when she stopped abruptly and turned around. He nearly crashed into her before he could stop himself, but managed and-ignoring the scowl she was giving him-lightly asked, "Giving up?"

"Not in this lifetime," Dani a.s.sured him, grim-faced as she headed back toward the house. "Just giving the gra.s.s more time to dry so I don't ruin the blanket."

Decker nodded, trying not to show his relief. Despite what he'd said, he didn't like being out in the sun. The damage would be minimal for her and simply add to the aging process over time, which wasn't the case for him. His skin was a little more sensitive due to lack of exposure, and would take on more damage because of that. Decker was old enough to have been trained from birth to avoid such an occurrence. More sun meant more blood needed, which meant more risk of discovery.

Despite the fact that they now used bagged blood from blood banks, they still tried not to use any more blood than necessary.

The mortal blood banks were often notoriously short on supplies, and the blood banks the immortals ran were really no different. Wasting blood made him feel guilty and uncomfortable, Decker acknowledged to himself as he followed Dani back to the house.

He'd thought she intended to return inside, but learned his mistake when she laid the blanket over the railing surrounding the deck and then turned to the left and began to walk away.

Grimacing, Decker quickly followed. "Where are we going now?"

"To explore," she muttered, and then asked, "Where are we anyway?"

Dani glanced over her shoulder as she asked the question, catching, him eyeing her behind and legs again. Decker raised his eyes, but shrugged unrepentantly. He was a man, and if the woman was going to charge ahead of him, he was going to be looking at her b.u.t.t. There wasn't much else to look at out here.

"Just outside Toronto," he said, answering her question.

"Hmmph," she grunted, though whether it was at his ogling her or his answer, Decker couldn't tell.

"What are we going to explore?"

"The barn," Dani muttered. "You can't see it from my room. I didn't realize it was here."

Decker glanced to the barn ahead, not that there was much to see. It was a barn; old, red, rectangular, and huge, with large sliding doors on both the front and back and a small swinging door in the middle of the side facing them. Dani headed for the smaller door.

Decker automatically moved ahead as they neared, to open it for her, his gaze moving curiously over the interior as she walked past him. It appeared to be filled with empty stalls that lined the opposite wall for two thirds of the way before stopping to leave an open area. This side was the same except that the middle stall was missing to make way for the doorway they were entering through.

"They're going to tear it down and build a garage here for the SUVs," Decker announced as he followed her inside.

Dani's response was another grunt as the door swung closed behind him, leaving them in darkness."Hang on," Decker said. While he could still see well enough to move around, he knew she was probably now left as blind as the proverbial bat. He moved back to the door and swung it open again, but all the way this time, until it banged against the outer wall. When it stayed open, he nodded his satisfaction and stepped back inside, but Dani was no longer where he'd left her. His head turned, eyes searching the shadows anxiously until the squeal of metal on metal drew his gaze to the huge double, sliding doors at the front end of the building. She had braved the darkness to approach and slide one open. It moved along the rusty track for perhaps four feet before coming to a grinding halt. Dani gave it another shove, putting her whole body behind it, but the door wasn't going any farther.

"Here, let me try " he offered.

"That's all right. It's fine," Dani decided as she turned to see the effect.

Decker followed her gaze. It was much lighter in the barn now. There were still dark corners, and it was a bit dim overall in comparison to outside, but good enough, he supposed, and moved away from the door to follow as she set out to explore.

"There's still hay in here," Dani commented with surprise as she peered at the half a dozen fresh bales stacked against the wall.

At least two more lay broken open on the ground in front of them. He couldn't tell if they'd been deliberately put there, or had simply been knocked off the others and broken open themselves, but they had made a small mound of fresh-smelling hay.

"It's a barn," he said with a shrug. "Barns have hay."

"Yes, but why didn't the previous owners take it with them?" Dani asked curiously as she glanced around and added with surprise, "And the saddles."

Decker turned his head until his eyes settled on two saddles that had been left hanging on the wall. He moved closer to examine them, noting the poor shape they were in. "They're pretty old. They probably aren't much good anymore."

"The hay looked pretty fresh though," Dani commerited, and he glanced around to see that she'd started moving along the stalls.

Peering curiously into each one as she went, she added, "I would have expected they'd take that with them."

"Maybe they were getting out of farming and had no use for it," he suggested, trailing after her.