Free NIGHT PLEASURES by Sherrilyn Keynon

woman—or the Lamborghini—and you're a dead man."
    Desiderius came out of the shadows to stand beneath a circle of white moonlight. The contrasting buttery lamplight fell behind him at an odd angle, giving him a sinister appearance despite his angelic beauty.
    "Nice car you have there, Dark-Hunter," Desiderius said. "It makes trailing it to you so much easier. As for your threat, I'm already a dead man." His perfect lips twitched into a mocking smile. "And so are you."
    Dressed in a fashionable blue pin-striped suit, Desiderius looked like a highly paid male model. His skin was golden and unblemished, his blond hair a shade lighter than the Dark-Hunter's. His beauty was so flawless, it was almost surreal.
    He didn't appear any older than his mid-twenties. A man at the height of his sexual appeal and strength.
    Amanda swallowed as a shiver of fear went up her spine.
    There was something insidious about a man so evil looking so sublime. The only giveaway to his real nature was the long canine teeth he didn't bother to conceal when he spoke.
    "I almost hate to kill you, Dark-Hunter. Unlike the others I've bested, you have such an amusing sense of humor."
    "Well, I try." Hunter placed himself between them. "Now, why don't you make this a bit more interesting and let the woman go?"
    "No."
    Out of nowhere, they were attacked.
    Amanda heard a sharp click.
    Grabbing her hand that was bound to his so that he wouldn't hurt her during the fight, Hunter caught the first golden vampire with the toe of his boot. As the vampire vaporized into a cloud of dust, she realized the click had been the blade in his boot being released.
    The blade instantly retracted.
    With a move straight out of
Hollywood, Hunter clipped another vampire with his elbow, then sent him flipping head over heels onto the ground. In one lightning-fast action, he knelt, twirled open a butterfly knife, embedded it into the Daimon's chest, then twirled it closed as the vampire evaporated.
    Hunter rose to his feet.
    A third one came from the shadows.
    Acting on instinct, Amanda whirled and kicked him back with her leg. She caught him in the groin and sent him to the ground, whimpering.
    Hunter arched a brow at her.
    "Black belt in aikido," she said.
    "Any other time, I'd kiss you for that." He smiled, then looked past her shoulder. "Duck."
    She did and he tossed a knife straight into the chest of another vampire. The vampire vanished into black vapor.
    Hunter pulled the gun out of its holster. "Get in the car," he ordered, pushing her toward the driver's seat.
    Her entire body quaking from adrenaline, Amanda got in as fast as the handcuffs and his hold on her hand would allow.
    She climbed over the gearshift, into the passenger seat, while Hunter fired at the vampires.
    He got in behind her, closed the door, and started the car.
    Good Lord, Hunter was amazing, and perfectly calm. She'd never seen anything like it in her life. He was totally unruffled.
    Another beautiful, blond vampire jumped on the hood as Hunter put the car in reverse and hit the gas. His fangs bared, the vampire tried to punch through the windshield.
    "Didn't I tell you
not
to touch the Lamborghini?" Hunter groused an instant before he cut the wheel and sent the vampire flying through the air.
    "And they told me you guys couldn't fly," Hunter said, straightening out the car and heading for the street. "I guess Acheron needs to update the handbook."
    Amanda realized there were two cars after them.
    "Oh, my God," she breathed, placing her hand on his thick, masculine wrist to allow him as much mobility as she could while he shifted gears. This was getting ugly and the last thing she wanted was to interfere with whatever he had to do to get her safely out of this.
    "Hold tight," Hunter said as he turned the radio on, and accelerated.
    Lynyrd Skynyrd's "That Smell" blared as they whipped out of the parking lot, into traffic.
    Her entire body rigid, Amanda started praying the Rosary even though she wasn't