Kraven Read online

“Why didn’t you go to your grandfather for help?”

  Heat warmed her cheeks. “I tried. He doesn’t like Dusti and she doesn’t like him. We only met him a couple times when we were kids but for whatever reason, they didn’t get along. He offered me a home, but not her. I told him to kiss my ass when he said he didn’t want me bring her.” She snorted. “As if I’d dump her into a foster home just so he’d put a roof over my head and pay for my schooling.” Her shoulders straightened. “I may regret some things, but never that. My sister is everything to me.”

  “Why go see him now if he was such an ass?”

  She hated to admit the truth, but at least it easier with Kraven being a stranger. “He’s rich and dying. I make good money but Los Angeles is expensive. My lifestyle isn’t cheap. I thought if I talked Dusti into coming with me that she could make peace with the tough old bastard and he’d leave us some money in his will. She won’t live with me, and I don’t push the issue because in my line of work, it’s really better if she doesn’t. I help when she allows it but she rarely takes a dime from me. You should see where she lives.” Bat grimaced. “It’s not the best neighborhood. I’m always terrified I’m going to get a call saying she was mugged, raped, or murdered. The money is for her.”

  His gaze drifted over her tailored suit dress. “Maybe if you didn’t waste money on your expensive clothes you could help your sister out more.”

  His sneer wasn’t missed and Bat found him totally offensive. “For your information, I have an image to uphold. My fashion expense is a necessary evil of my job. Besides, it’s the living expenses that kill me every month. I’ve made enemies in my line of work, and I have to live in a high-rise building that costs a small fortune. Security is tight there. Thankfully my law firm supplies bodyguards for me when I leave home.”

  That made Kraven’s jaw drop. “You really have bodyguards?”

  She sighed, resenting having to explain it to him. “People like someone to blame when a court case doesn’t go the way they wanted it to. Win or lose, someone isn’t happy. Either the family of someone a client allegedly harmed in some way, or even my clients themselves. Some families view me as helping to free someone they feel deserved to go to prison, and on the flip side, my clients aren’t thrilled if they get sentenced. See where I’m going with this? I have a target on my back either way.”

  “Why would you do that job?”

  She wondered that often too but refused to admit it. “I made a really good impression this year with the partners and I’ve made a name for myself.”

  “It sounds as if you’re an egotistical person looking to suck up as much fame and fortune as you can.” He pointedly glared at her fingers. “I’m surprised you’re not wearing some expensive rock, married to some rich asshole.”

  “I don’t like you,” she snapped. “I earn my own way in life. I don’t need someone to do that for me, and I’m not for sale.”

  “Sounds like you are…to anyone with enough cash to pay you to get them off.”

  “I’m not a prostitute.” She choked on rage. “Listen, you little prick. I’m an attorney. That’s totally different.”

  He lunged again. She tensed when his hands gripped her. He didn’t jerk her off her feet this time, but spun her around in his arms. His body bent forward, one arm locked around her waist, his weight forcing her to bend. His groin pressed hard against her ass.

  “Be prepared for me to prove you wrong if you call me a name like that one again.”

  She clawed at his hand, her nails digging into his skin, but he didn’t let her go. His hot breath fanned across her neck when he chuckled.

  “Let me go, you buffoon!”

  “You should know I’m not small, despite you crushing my dick in the crash while you were clinging to it. Need a reminder? I’m willing to prove I’m not a little prick.”

  “I’ll scream.”

  “Go ahead. Who’s going to save you?” His other hand released her arm to grip her jaw, forcing her to look at him. Their lips nearly touched. “This is the last warning you’re going to get, you little hellion. Keep insulting me and I’m going to get even.”

  Her heart raced. His voice did things to her when he spoke in that gruff, rough tone. His eyes were so blue and intense that she couldn’t look away from them. They had to be the most fascinating things she’d ever seen. They nearly glowed from the blueness of them.

  “I bet you earned a lot of spankings as a kid.” He licked his lips, his tongue slowly sliding across the full bottom one more so than the top. “Maybe you need another one. I’m not your father though. I won’t leave your clothes on and it won’t have the same effect if I put my hands on your ass.”

  For once, Bat was speechless.

  “Here’s what’s going to happen. You are going to stop insulting me. I’m getting fed up with it. It’s starting to piss me off, between you threatening to rip my nuts off and implying I’m dickless. You don’t want that. I’m not one of those pathetic men who will allow you to continue to lash out with that vicious little tongue of yours—unless you’re on your knees and my pants are open.”

  She couldn’t believe he’d said that to her. She found her voice. “I’d bite it off.”

  His expression tightened. “I believe you would. Now believe me when I tell you I’m going to whip your ass with my palm until you beg me to stop if you don’t learn some manners. Are we clear?”

  Bat heard the sincerity in his threat. She swallowed hard. The guy would really spank her. Literally spank her. It was a scary concept.

  His features softened. “Easy.” He inhaled and softly cursed. “I’m making you afraid of me.” He lifted up until they were both straightened but he kept his arm locked around her waist to hold her in place. “A little fear of me is good but I don’t want you terrified. I’d never really hurt you, but don’t think I won’t redden your ass. Do you want to know what I’d do then?”

  She shook her head. “No. Let me go.”

  “I’d kiss it and make it better.” The color of his eyes seemed to turn a little lighter and brighter, shimmery. “And I’d want to kiss other things once I started at your ass.” He released her chin, ran his palm down the front of her shirt, through the valley of her breasts, and hesitated just over her waist. His hand was heavy and hot against her thin skirt at her lower stomach. “Do you understand? Don’t bait me, because we’ll fight or fuck. That’s how I deal with aggression. Only one of those two you’d enjoy.” He suddenly released her. “Don’t push me.”

  Bat stumbled away, trembled from head to toe. She refused to look at him while she tried to regain control of emotions that ranged from fear to arousal. It was the guy’s sexy voice—and the fact that she now had a mental image of him kissing where he’d implied.

  She hadn’t gotten laid in over a year. The last one-night stand she’d had left her feeling cold and disgusted. She suspected that wouldn’t be a problem with Kraven.

  Kraven had to take deep breathes and put distance between him and Bat.

  He was attracted to her, and it pissed him off. She was mouthy, rude, disrespectful, and everything he usually didn’t find appealing in a woman. The worst thing of all though—she was Decker Filmore’s granddaughter.

  He reached down and adjusted his stiff dick. It seemed to have a mind of its own and became hard every time he got too close to her.

  She did smell good. It might have something to do with the fact that he’d had to carry her over his shoulder for miles. Their scents had mingled and he’d been breathing her in all day. It had also been a while since he’d touched a woman. Her name had been Violet…and that error in judgment had almost gotten him killed.

  The memory of what happened with Violet helped manage his libido. He’d learned his lesson. Women with any association to Decker Filmore couldn’t be trusted. The long-legged beauty from Decker’s clan had come on to him strongly when they’d met the summer before. He’d fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. He’d even broken his rule of never taking
a woman to his own bed, but he sure wasn’t going to go to her home, considering where she lived.

  Images flashed of Violet tearing at his clothes, eager to get him naked and flat on his back. He wasn’t normally into women being the sexual aggressors but she’d been incredibly sexy. He wasn’t a fool, though he hadn’t been willing to slow things down, either. She’d wanted him and he was going to let her have her way. His physical mating urge had been coming on and she’d seemed like a great choice to spend a few weeks with, sharing a bed. It was hell going into heat alone.

  It had all been good—until he’d seen the knife flash in Violet’s hand.

  The bitch had set him up and lowered his defenses to kill him. Instinct had saved him when he’d tensed and jerked to avoid the blade coming toward his heart. The agony of being stabbed hadn’t incapacitated him, luckily, and he’d managed to land a fist to the side of her head, throwing her off him. He’d pulled out the knife quickly, rolled in the opposite direction, and stumbled to his feet before she recovered enough to come after him a second time.

  He’d made it into the bathroom and locked the door, leaning heavily against it as she’d battered the wood. Her claws had scratched at it but he’d built his house strong. She’d eventually picked up something heavy to bash against the wood, splitting it in places. But by that time, he’d healed to the point he wasn’t losing blood anymore and yanked the door open, shocking her with his sudden attack. He’d landed a few punches that had knocked her out cold.

  It had been tempting to kill her but instead Kraven had restrained her, wrapped her in his bloodied bed sheet, and tossed her over his shoulder to carry outside.

  That day had changed a lot of things for him. He’d fought a woman, something he never thought he’d have to do. He’d been embarrassed to have to tote her through his village in front of the gawking eyes of everyone, and humiliated to have to tell his people how Violet had tried to assassinate him.

  His father and brother had returned her alive to Decker’s clan. Of course, Decker had denied sending her there to do his bidding. All his father could do was give Decker a warning that the next assassin would die.

  Kraven had returned to his house, dragged his bed outside, and burned the damn thing. He didn’t want a constant reminder of how close he’d come to death. The bathroom door had also needed to be replaced. His injury completely healed on the outside, but being fooled by a woman had left a lasting scar on the inside.

  Decker had sent for his granddaughter to start a civil war. Bat seemed as innocent as she claimed, but it could all still be a lie. He hesitated to trust her, not willing to give her a chance to kill him in the heat of passion when his guard was down. Been there and almost died doing that.

  He might want Bat, but that didn’t mean he would give in to the lust. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice and I’m a goddamn moron.

  Kraven glanced at Bat and regretted it in an instant. She had a fearful yet confused look on her face. He turned all the way around and sniffed the air. It was slight, but he still picked up her fear. It would make her one hell of an actress if she was deceiving him, to be able to pull off that smell.

  Drantos still believed the sisters were ignorant of their heritage. What if his brother was right? What if Antina Decker had never shared the truth of her bloodlines with her daughters?

  Goddamn. He needed to know for certain, one way or the other.

  He approached Bat and watched as her body stiffened. “We need to talk.”

  “Just tell me where my sister is.”

  He studied her eyes. The fear looked real, the worry and the uncertainty. “She’s with my brother. He’ll keep her safe. What do you know about your family?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “What did your mother tell you about her father?”

  “Not much. Her mom died, she ran away because I assume her father was overbearing or something, and she started her life fresh in California. She met my dad, they fell in love, and they had us.”

  “Did you ever see her do anything…odd?”

  Her emotions changed and anger narrowed her eyes. “Odd? She was my mom. She wasn’t some weirdo. Just because we lived in California doesn’t mean she was some hippy or something. Not everyone who lives there is odd.”

  “That’s not what I meant. She wasn’t like other people, was she?”

  She just stared at him.

  “Do you know the truth? Just admit if you do. I hate playing games. Your mother was different. So are you. I know that. You know that. No one is around, so you don’t have to keep secrets anymore. I’m more than aware of what you are.”

  Bat blinked a few times and frowned. She said nothing.

  “Stop playing with me, Bat. We need to be completely honest with each other. You don’t want to tick me off.” He closed the distance and gripped her arms so she couldn’t get away from him.

  Chapter Four

  “Okay.” Bat wasn’t sure what Kraven was talking about. He wasn’t making much sense. “I’m an attorney. That’s not a lie. I already mentioned that so what’s your problem?”

  His mouth pressed into a tight grimace.

  “Just spit out whatever point you’re trying to make!” She glanced around. “I want you to take me to my sister.” She met his gaze. “Talk, Kraven.” She’d listen to whatever he wanted to say as long as he did it quickly, so she could go after Dusti to make certain Biker Bear wasn’t a rapist.

  “Fine. I’ll start. I’m not completely human.”

  She blinked, trying to take his words in, and wanted to cringe. A conversation she’d shared with Dusti the evening before flashed. She’d forgotten about it until that moment. Her sister had accused Drantos of being exactly like her friend Greg—a mental case who believed in aliens.

  Kraven must be mentally unstable like his brother. It surprised her how depressed that made her feel.

  “What are you then? I’m waiting with bated breath to hear this.”

  “We’re VampLycans. We’re the descendants of Vampires who overfed on human blood, to the point that they were able to impregnate their female Lycan day guards.”

  Bat blinked again. Oh hell. Seriously? So much for believing in aliens. This guy sees paranormal shit that goes bump in the night? She backed her face away from his as much as she could with his hands still clinging to her arms.

  “You’re also a descendant. You’re not as human as you believe.”

  Why is it that the really good-looking ones are never for me? They’re always either gay or insane. Damn. There goes the idea of maybe having a one-night stand. No way am I touching a mental case.

  “Are you listening to me?” He arched one of his dark eyebrows.

  “Oh yes. I’m hearing you.”

  “Your mother ran away from your grandfather’s clan and bred with a human. Decker is a monster, Bat, who plans to use you to start a civil war with the other clans. He wants to give you to a GarLycan. That’s a Gargoyle and Lycan mix. They live in close proximity to our clans, and we’re at peace with them, but your grandfather plans to use you to force them to fight against us.”

  She glanced away to peer at the woods. She didn’t see an escape route but she sure didn’t want to stay with the nutjob either. She needed to find her sister and get them back to the crash site. She’d be happy to send guys with nets after the brothers. They’d get a nice long vacation in some facility until they learned to face reality or the medication they desperately needed kicked in.

  “Look at me,” he demanded in a gruff voice.

  She met his gaze again.

  “A GarLycan by the name of Aveoth had agreed to accept your grandmother’s sister as his lover. It would have formed a tighter alliance between the GarLycan and VampLycan clans. Her name was Margola. They fed him her blood in hopes he’d learn to care about her, but Margola died before reaching adulthood. Your grandfather wanted to give your mother to Aveoth when she matured, but she fled to avoid it. She knew Decker would use her t
o force Aveoth to do his bidding in exchange.

  “Aveoth leads the GarLycans now, and he’s still addicted to the blood that runs in your veins. Decker wants to hand you over to him. Aveoth isn’t mated yet, so you’d become his lover until he is.”

  “Uh-huh.” She bit her lip, chewed on it, and finally sighed. “I hope he’s hot at least. I guess he’s really old though, if he was set to hook up with my great aunt. Is he at least rich?” She hoped he’d pick up on the sarcasm.

  “This isn’t a joke.” His fingers dug into her arms but not enough to hurt. “I’m being sincere. Decker told you he’s dying just to lure you here. He didn’t want your sister because she’s defective, in his opinion. That’s why he showed no interest in her. He can’t use her.”

  “To give to some Gargoyle half-breed Werewolf.”

  “Yes. And we don’t use the term Werewolf. That’s human bullshit. They’re Lycans.”

  She’d dealt with crazy people before but was in no mood to humor him. “Her loss, right? I mean, according to you, he’s all mine. It must be my lucky day.”

  A soft growl emanated from deep within the man’s chest, the sound alarming. Bat’s heart began to pound.

  “I’m totally serious and it’s the truth. Decker is evil. Your mother knew it, and she knew he murdered your grandmother. Anyone vicious enough to kill his own mate isn’t fit for living. My brother and I are protecting you and your sister.”

  “Oh good.” She tried to pull out of his hold again but he refused to release her arms. “I’d hate to meet a GarLycan. They sound awful, if they drink blood from women and force them to be their lovers.”

  “Damn it, woman! You don’t believe me.” His blue eyes narrowed and his lips pressed into a grim line. “What would it take to convince you?”

  “You could let me go. I’d feel less threatened that way.”

  He released her and backed away. “I’ll spank your ass if you run.”

  She believed that part. “Your fascination with my ass isn’t healthy, you know. I’m apparently already taken. My lover-to-be might beat you with his walking stick or toss his dentures at you if you put your gorilla-sized hands on that region of my body.”