Embrace of the Damned (6 page)

She shook her head.

“Any pets at home?”

“No.” She looked up at him suspiciously, his questions reaching through her shock.

“Do you take any special medications you don’t have with you?”

Frowning, she shook her head. “No. Why?”

He sighed, touched her forehead, and let her collapse into his arms, unconscious. “That’s why,” he murmured, scooping her up and laying her in the backseat of the cab, moving his dagger out of the way first. Then he climbed into the front and pulled away from the curb.

She was going to have to stay with him for a while, like it or not.

Jessa woke slowly, as if waking from a deep, delicious sleep that had nourished every part of her body and mind. Stretching, she smiled, recalling the weird dream she’d had. Vampires that poofed into ice when stabbed with a special blade and hunky, mysterious men coming to her rescue. Shaking her head, she opened her eyes … and went very still.

She pushed up, seeing she still wore her clothes and she was not, as she’d presumed, in her own bed. The quilt covering her was fluffy and soft, in tones of brown and gold. The bed was an enormous four-poster—king-size. The room was huge, with a massive creek stone fireplace dominating the opposite wall. A comforting fire flickered there.

The place was sparse with furniture, despite its size. A large brown-and-gold-toned area rug covered the polished wood floor. A couch, table, and chair rested to her right, in front of a large bay window. To her left were two darkened doorways—a walk-in closet and a bathroom, she surmised by the look of it. Two chests of drawers stood on either side of the massive bed.

Where the hell was she?

Unfortunately, she suspected the answer once she’d examined her most recent memories. Broder had touched her head and she’d slipped straight into dreamland. Neat trick. The trick of someone not human.

This had to be his house.

Pushing the blankets away, she slipped out of the bed. Her bare feet touched the cold floor and she spotted her socks, shoes, and bag along one wall. Padding across the room in the opposite direction, she pushed aside the drapes and peered out the window at a large, manicured lawn with a heavy treeline shielding the house’s view of its neighbors.

She let the drape fall back and immediately crossed the room to the door and found it open. Broder had kidnapped her and brought her here for some reason—she still wasn’t sure she bought his “protecting her” shtick. After all, he didn’t know her; why would he risk his life for her? One thing was for certain: She needed answers.

He probably wasn’t human.
She understood that, but she wasn’t ready to deal with it yet.

She put on her socks and shoes, grabbed her tote bag, and slipped out into the hallway, her feet meeting a long runner rug of blues and silvers. Whatever Broder was, it appeared he had money. Tasteful artwork decorated the neutrally colored walls and accent tables set with fresh flowers sat periodically down the long corridor that was filled with doors.

Scratch that; maybe he’d brought her to some kind of hospital or halfway house. That would mean that either she—or he—was crazy. At this point she wasn’t ruling out any explanations for recent occurrences.

At the end of the corridor, she found a sweeping staircase and followed it down into a huge foyer with marble floors and a set of heavy double doors. From a room on her right, she could hear the sound of murmuring voices, all of them male. She stopped in the middle of the floor, shivering in the cold air of the house, and considered the front doors.
They might be unlocked, just like the door to the bedroom she’d been placed in.

She might be free to leave.

Yet she’d been attacked—twice now—by fanged monsters Broder claimed were demons. Who was to say she wouldn’t be attacked again, and without Broder and his magick dagger to fight the things off, what chance would she have?

The primal part of her brain that sought her survival told her that maybe leaving this house wasn’t the path to take, even though she felt scared here.

“Hello,” said a deep voice from her right.

She tore her gaze away from the doors to meet a pair of startling blue eyes that were attached to one of the most gorgeous men she’d ever seen. If she was hallucinating this, between this man, the mysterious Dmitri, and Broder, her insanity had
good
taste. Maybe she’d stay awhile.

She blinked and the apparition didn’t fade. “Uh. Hello.”

“You must be Jessamine.”

The man possessed the same accent that Broder had—clipped vowels and slightly strange pronunciation of some words. It was the kind of accent that occurred if one spoke another language before learning English, yet spoke English flawlessly. She couldn’t place the accent at all, but that was such a mildly odd thing in a sea of bizarre that it barely even registered at this point.

She stared at him, taking in the full impact of the gorgeousness. Thick, tousled tawny hair, piercing blue eyes, tanned skin, chiseled features—and the powerful body of a god. The same body Broder possessed.

This man was light to Broder’s dark, though there was something every bit as forbidding about him. Broder and the stranger both had an edge to them, something impossible to define, but that marked them both as dangerous to deal with. Despite this man’s attractiveness, she’d normally go out of her way to avoid him.

She shifted on her feet. “Yes. I assume Broder told you my name. Is he here?”

He shook his head. “He had to go out.”

“When is he expected back?”

“Soon.” The man looked at the front door. “Going somewhere?”

She glanced at the door and shouldered her bag a little more securely. “I don’t know. I guess I’m still deciding.”

“You can leave if you choose, but that wouldn’t be a good move. You’re being targeted by forces you can’t control.”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that out last night.”

“My name is Tyr.”

She made a face. “Tyr?” Then she realized that had been rude. “I’m sorry. It’s just an odd name.”

“It’s a very old name.”

Interesting. That had been almost the same explanation that Broder had given. There was something really peculiar about these men. Of course, it didn’t get any more peculiar than supernatural strength, healing through touch, and the ability to put someone to sleep with the brush of a hand.

He motioned to her. “Come with me.”

“Why?” she asked, suspicion clear in her voice.

Tyr smiled and spread his hands. “Because I want to keep you from leaving, if I can. It’s a dangerous world out there for a woman on the demon hit list.”

With that smile, even though it didn’t quite reach the man’s eyes, he really set himself apart from Broder. She couldn’t even imagine a smile on that man’s face. His skin would probably break apart if he tried.

He walked into the room from which she’d heard all the male voices, leaving her alone with the front door. Should she take door number one, which may lead to demons, or door number two, which led to … well, the verdict was still out.

She hesitated for a moment, then walked over to door number two and peered into the room. Within, ranged on various chairs and couches, was an endless array of men, all of them with their gazes focused on her. They’d gone silent in her presence.

Some of them were pretty, some weren’t pretty, but all
of them were compelling. All of them were muscular, either leanly or more of the beefcake variety. It was a festival for the eyes and female senses. All of them seemed intent on her, though it wasn’t in a physically appraising or sexual way. Their regard seemed dangerous on some level that spoke to her primal, lizard brain and told her to flee before she was crushed like a bug.

Jessa took a step backward. Door number one was looking better right now. “What is this place and who are all of you?”

Tyr leaned against the wall and slid a hand into his pocket. “Broder hasn’t told you?”

“No.”

“He will.”

She counted to five and did her best to control her temper. “Why don’t
you
tell me?”

“Not my place.”

“Whatever.” She took another step backward. This was just weird. What were all these men doing in this house? She glanced at the door. “I think it’s time I took my chances on my own.”

“Do that and you’ll probably die.”

Her lips curled back from her lips as she edged toward the door. “I have more resources than you might think.” She did. Strange, new ones that she shouldn’t have, yet which were there anyway. All she needed to do was remember to use them when they were called for. “See you around, Tyr.”

She opened the heavy front door and found Broder on the other side. He looked unsurprised to find her fleeing.

Glancing at her tote bag, he drawled, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m leaving. You have a whole house filled with beefcake and no explanation for it.”

He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head to the side a little. “So you’re fleeing because of beefcake?”

“No. I’m fleeing strange, inexplicable beefcake in a big fancy house because every last one of you gives off a don’t-fuck-with-me vibe. So here I am, obeying the vibe. As in,
leaving
. Right now.”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that.”

She glanced back into the foyer, where Tyr was still standing, arms crossed over his broad chest and his full lips twisted as though enjoying the show. “He said I could leave whenever I want.”

“He’s not your protector. I am.”

“Protector? What the hell is this, the Middle fucking Ages? What era are you from, anyway?”

Broder didn’t answer right away and suddenly she wondered if she’d hit upon something she might not want to know. “We’re from the era in which we guarded the lives of women with our own.” His lips peeled back to show sharp white teeth. “Was I the only one in the cab last night?”

“I know that I’m in trouble. It’s just that I’m not sure I’m in less trouble by staying here.”

He stared at her for a long moment, his jaw clenched. She
stared back, her will strong. “Go back inside,” he said finally. “You can get something to eat. I’ll introduce you to the … beefcake.” He paused. “More importantly, I’ll tell you exactly who is trying to kill you. Useful information, no?”

Her stomach growled at the thought of food, but it was the offer of knowledge that hooked her. “Fine.” She backed away, into the foyer.

Broder led her back into the room with all the men.

They were still ranged across the room in various displays of beefy goodness, all still focused on her with eerie intensity. Jessa folded her arms across her chest and scowled, determined not to be affected. The testosterone in here was a little too much to take.

“You’ve already met Tyr.” He motioned to the tawny-haired man on her right. She nodded at him, shifting uncomfortably on her feet.

Broder motioned toward a dark-haired man slouched in a chair who sported a vicious-looking scar down one side of a brutally good-looking face … good-looking if it hadn’t been for the glower. “That’s Grimm.”

She tried a smile. “Of course you are.”

“Over there is Stig.” Broder pointed at a leanly muscled man with sandy hair and green eyes who wore a duster a lot like Broder’s. Many of them, she now noticed, wore similar items of clothing. “And that’s Dag, Leif, and Keir.”

She glanced at all the men Broder indicated. “May I just say that you all have very unique names.”

“They’re Norwegian,” said Tyr.

One of the men, Leif, she thought his name was, shifted on his chair and she caught sight of a sheathed blade.

“Unique way of … dressing, too,” she added, clearing her throat. She’d make a bet all these men were armed. She’d make another bet there was a reason for the propensity toward longer coats in their fashion decisions.

Broder nodded at a godlike man who seemed to take up more space in the room than the others even though he really wasn’t any more muscular than the rest. She’d noticed him
before, but had purposefully skated her attention over him. Of all the men in the room, even Broder, this one seemed the most threatening. “And that’s Erik, the oldest of us and our leader.”

She examined the man in question. He didn’t look old at all. In fact, he looked about the same age as Broder. “He looks very young for the way you speak of him.”

“He was the first of us. Perhaps that’s a better way to put it.”

That just confused her more.

Erik stood from where he sat on the edge of a polished desk. He nodded at her. “We’re pleased to have you among us,” he said in that same odd accent. “You are safe here. Never doubt that.”

Oddly enough, when a dangerous-looking muscle-bound man told her she could trust him, it didn’t automatically put her at ease.