Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,32

wrapped in a thorny vine that jabbed her hand. Smilax bona-nox. Saw greenbrier. She recognized it from her book. Unfortunately, when she started to draw back, she realized she’d stepped into the patch of it growing up from the base of the sapling, such that it dug its barbs into her pants leg and tangled over her foot. A whole thicket of it came up with her when she tried to pull away, which also incited a small army of bugs to swarm around her. The branch had swayed under her shift of weight, and now the vine there had trapped her hand.

She started to yank free, but Niall caught her arm. “Be still, muirnín. The barbs’ll tear your skin.” The moonlight flashed over the switchblade he pulled out to free her legs with several efficient cuts. Then he straightened and did the same for her arm. As he did so, he slid his fingers along her forearm. “Ye could do some intriguing things with this, keeping a lass still while pleasuring her, hmm? Or watch her get so wild under tongue and hands that she doesnae mind the bite of thorns so much.”

Her reaction to that was involuntary and immediate, her breath shortening and skin tingling beneath his hold. Currently held by his command to be still, and by the light prick of the thorns, she was aware of how close he stood to her, the lazy survey of those tawny eyes, acknowledging her helplessness and her reaction to being at his mercy. And not him alone.

Evan had retraced his steps, and now pressed up behind her, his fingers replacing Niall’s around her forearm to hold it steady as Niall finished cutting her loose. “An intriguing thought. Fortunately, plenty of this grows close to the cabin as well.” The vampire surveyed her arm, which had two jagged scratches.

“I apologize, sir,” she said. “I’m not familiar with hiking. No need for me to slow you down. I’ll catch up.”

“If I wanted to use my vampire speed, I’d be there about an hour before both of you, wouldn’t I?” Giving her an inscrutable look, he bent to put his mouth on her arm, sucking on the two gashes, his tongue swirling over her flesh. She wanted to lean back into him, but that was seeking intimacy, closeness, and Stephen had never welcomed that, pushing her away and teaching her to remain still. The way Evan touched her made her wonder if he felt differently about it. Figuring the blocker and Stephen’s torment had distorted her perspective, she played it safe, remaining upright. However, the longer Evan’s mouth rested on her skin, the more she wanted to be closer, follow his movement with a complementary response.

Evan lifted his head, sparing her the embarrassment of such impropriety. “Even on a schedule,” he said, “it’s never just about getting where we’re going. What’s along the way may end up being more important.” He fingered the thorny vine. “The birds love the berries on these. Look through there. Can you see the tree, its leaves?”

He leaned past the greenbrier, his elegant hand passing unscathed through the vines, like a forest spirit in truth. When he caught a slim branch of the tree he’d indicated, he pulled it down with a gentle grip, showing her the unusual leaf shape. Niall provided a small flashlight, augmenting her vision. “The leaves look like teapots, don’t they? In the spring, they have clusters of berries that look like tiny pumpkins, no bigger than a child’s marble.”

When he nodded that it was okay, she touched the leaves, feeling the smooth shapes. “If you’re studying the plant life here, you should take leaf samples, make yourself a journal to document them, figure out the ones you’re not sure about.”

Preparing such a journal would be useful . . . and it interested her. She thought of supplementing the samples with some sketches of the trees, and then regretted she hadn’t brought one of her composition books with her, because she’d bought a couple at the store to take notes about her duties.

“I’m sorry, sir. I should have brought—”

“If I want an apology from you, Alanna, I’ll tell you.”

“Yes, sir.” She bit back the additional apology, but the direct order infused her with a sudden, welcome calm, despite bugs, thorny vines and aching feet, back and legs.

He nodded. “Not to contradict myself, but we are trying to reach our destination ahead of the moon’s current track. We’re going to pick up the pace.