“My pleasure.” His eyes dropped down to the medallion safely hidden under her sweater. The metal flushed with icy heat now.
He’s looking at my chest like he sees dinner there. Heat sizzled along Selene’s nerves. “Oh, stop that.” She stepped through the door, sliding past him, suddenly grateful for someone else’s presence. Her heart hammered thinly, the taste of burning in her mouth. Danny. Just remember to breathe, kiddo. Little sister’s almost there to take care of you. “I suppose you want to come up.”
“Of course.” His voice stroked her cheek, slid down her neck. He leaned back against the open door, his dark eyes now fixed on her face. Selene gulped down another breath, her heartbeat evening out. The familiar bank of mailbox doors was on her right, and the peeling linoleum floor glared back at the dirty ceiling. “It is pleasant to see you, Selene.”
Nikolai cat-stepped into the foyer, gracefully avoiding the closing door. Little droplets of rain glittered in his hair, sparked by the fluorescent lights. Under his coat, he wore a dark-blue silk t-shirt and a pair of designer jeans. The shirt moved slightly as muscle flickered in his chest.
Selene dropped her eyes, turned away from him. Oddly enough, he wore a high-end pair of black Nikes. Vampire fashion just ain’t what it used to be. Selene had to stifle another mad giggle. Where’s the fangs and the black cape, not to mention the evening wear? Her heart sped up, thundered in her ears. God love me, I’m going to have a fucking cardiac arrest right here in the foyer.
“Well, come on, then.” She started up the orange-carpeted stairs, sidling away from him. Nikolai followed closely behind, but not too close, letting Selene take the lead. For once.
Given how he’s always going on about how I need “protecting,” it’s a wonder he’s letting me in the building at all. But dammit, if he showed up at the door he’d just scare Danny more. He’s being tactful for once. Lucky me.
Her legs trembled and she rubbed at her eyes as she trooped up the stairs. Nikolai made no sound. “Would you make a little noise?” She immediately regretted asking. The silence behind her intensified. “Danny sometimes has panic attacks so he calls me. I just hope he’s okay. He hasn’t left the apartment for years.” Shut up, Selene, Nikolai knows. Danny’ll be okay, it’s probably nothing. He just stayed out of his body for too long and had trouble when he came back, another panic attack and the numbness. He’s okay. Be okay, Danny, please?
Nikolai’s footsteps echoed hers as he climbed behind her. That was a relief, but Selene still felt the weight of his black eyes as they reached the fourth floor. Her thighs and ass burned. Climbing stairs after almost-running ten blocks without rest was a workout she could do without.
Nikolai’s arm came over her shoulder again and held the heavy fire door open. The hall was dingy, most of the light fixtures missing bulbs, and a drift of fast food wrappers curled up from the far end. Selene’s nose dripped from the chill. She rubbed at it with the back of her hand, tried not to sniff too loudly. Threadbare orange carpet whispered under her boots. The entire hall was so familiar she barely paid any attention. Down the hall a wedge of light speared through the gloom.
Danny’s door was open.
CHAPTER 2
LONG JAGGED SPLINTERS POPPED OUT FROM THE frame, the door loosely hanging from its hinges. Lighter, unpainted wood peered through ragged vertical cracks. Oh, Jesus. Oh no.
“Danny!” Selene leapt forward just as Nikolai’s hand closed around her arm and pulled her back, jerking her arm almost out of its socket. “Let go of me!”
“No,” he said, quietly. “Let me.”
“He’s my brother.” She struggled frantically, achieved exactly nothing.
Nikolai’s fingers tightened, digging into her softer, human flesh. He pushed her back against the wall. “Stay here.” He looked down at her, his lips a thin line and his dark eyes fathomless. No cat-shine in them now, either. He must be worried.
Selene’s lungs labored to catch even a small breath. Her back and arms prickled. “Nikolai—” she began, but he laid a finger on her lips. The contact was electric. Her entire body went liquid, a moan starting in her chest. Selene strangled it before it reached her lips, making a thin dry sound instead. Stop it, stop it, no time for this, stop it, God, what kind of a talent did you give me if it makes me feel like this? Goddammit, please, help me.
Nikolai’s skin was fever-warm. He must have fed, he was metabolizing whatever he’d taken that night—blood, or death, or pain, or sex. Was it wrong to be grateful it hadn’t been her? Though God knew she’d done her share of feeding him. Being fed by him.
Danny. Selene tried to slip along the wall away from Nikolai, but he pinned her in place without even trying. He was being gentle, he could have broken her arm or put her through the wall if he’d wanted to. With hardly any effort.
He wasn’t human, after all.
“Move again and I will force your compliance.” Nikolai leaned closer, his lips a breath away from Selene’s, inhaling. Tasting her breath. Well, the dead do breathe, when they want to, she thought in a lunatic singsong. Just like the first night I met him. She hastily shoved the thought away, freezing in place. It was a mark of possession, smelling her breath like that; a Nichtvren didn’t get that close unless he or she intended to feed or mark you. If she struggled, his predatory instinct might come into play and he might well decide to sink his fangs in her throat right here.
So instead of looking at him, she stared over his shoulder. There was a spot of discolored, peeling paint on the opposite wall. Selene looked intently at it, her eyes hot and dry. She felt his eyes on her, waiting for her to speak, argue, something, Selene bit the inside of her cheek. I’m not going to give you the fucking satisfaction. Something hacked his door down, oh God, oh God. Oh, Danny.
The weight of Nikolai’s gaze slowly lessened when she didn’t struggle. It took everything Selene had not to move, to stay still and passive. I will not give you the excuse. Danny, please be okay. Come on, Nikolai, you’re so blasted interested in both of us, help him! “Danny.” The whisper escaped despite her. Nikolai took another long breath, leaning close, inhaling her scent deeply. Her knees went weak.
“Stay here.” He disappeared. Selene felt the shimmer of Power in the close still air of the hallway. To a human it would feel like a chill walking up the spine, a tightness under the lungs, if they were sensitive. Someone without psychic sensitivity might feel a momentary breeze, a cold draft, a sudden flash of fear that would quickly be disregarded.
The shimmer slipped through the space between the door and the shattered frame. God, please, she prayed. Please, God. Please.
Always begging. They called witches like her—tantraiiken—the “beggars.” Always moaning and pleasing. It was hard not to, when you had a talent that made your body betray you over and over again.
Stop it. Think about something useful. Why was Nikolai here? Or Bruce? Bruce’s hunting ground wasn’t around Selene’s apartment building, at least, it hadn’t been three weeks ago, when he’d turned up…well, Turned.