Free The Vampire And The Highland Empath by Clover Autrey Page B

When she’d stepped from the washroom, barefoot and tousled-hair, he could barely breathe. He wanted her so badly it was a physical ache. Treasure .
    Beneath them, the hull pushed through the water, another type of pulse, steady and as old as the earth that had seen battles and wars, yet still remained.
    Where the hell was Alex?
    It didn’t take this long to radio in to Greenock.
    Instantly alert, Roque cracked the door open and the salty air ruffled his hair. They were close to the shipyards. He could make out dark outlines of boats and buildings against the darkening sky, quiet and surreal, all lights extinguished for the evening’s blackout.
    The scent of troll grew heavier as he made his way up to the wheelhouse. Nasty smelly beasts, their scent covered everything and was almost too much for his senses. He supposed he should be grateful since a troll’s vision was keen enough to traverse the Firth after dark in a blackout. A human captain would never have risked crossing this late.
    Roque stood outside the wheelhouse, listening for irregularities. The captain was inside; his five-chambered heart beating heavily, almost too loud for a vampire’s sensitive hearing. Between the stink and the noise, a throbbing pressure was building behind Roque’s eyes. The sooner they got to Greenock, the better. Two more trolls were near the bottom aft, most likely searching the waters for shoals. The heartbeats of the three trolls nearly overpowered all the other heartbeats, a few humans, a few non-humans.
    Roque concentrated, searching for Alex’s rhythm beneath the noise.
    He found it, surprisingly faint, just inside the wheelhouse. Roque looked through the window, finding only the captain inside at the wheel, nothing out of the ordinary. Just the troll and Alex who he could not see. Something was off.
    Quietly, he lifted the latch, ready to burst inside when a soft snick penetrated the quiet.
    A tiny light fluttered in the breeze and went out.
    Roque froze.
    Slowly, he turned.
    Geschopf came around the back of the wheelhouse and leaned against the railing, gloved hands cupped around his mouth to shield a cigarette from the wind.
    Of course. A dragon’s heart ran quieter, smaller, easy to hide beneath the clamor and stench of trolls. Geschopf had been on the paddle steamer all along.
    “You should put that out.” Roque’s voice came out steadier than he’d thought. “Blackout and all.”
    Geschopf’s lips turned down like a shrug. He took a long drag and then flicked the cigarette over the side into the water.
    Roque watched it disappear, his heart racing with violence. Geschopf was so close, within reach. Edeen was just below, asleep and vulnerable in their deckhouse. And Alex…what had Geschopf done to Alex?
    “I want you back, Roquemore.”
    Roque flinched, not expecting that. Acid rose, coating his tongue. His neck and wrists itched, phantom remainders of restraints.
    “No.” His tone scraped raw.
    Geschopf tsked, the same way he had when Roque was a young man right before die Schwarze Klaue tested how many fingers he could break before Roque lost control of his fire. Small beads of perspiration dotted Roque’s forehead.
    “We were not finished, you and I.” Geschopf’s smile was patient.
    Roque squared his shoulders. “We finished long ago. I escaped.”
    Geschopf took a pack of cigarettes from his front pocket and tapped it in his palm. “Did you?” The Sturmhauptführer smiled, seeing that Roque understood. “A field study, shall we say. To see what could be achieved without force or restraint.”
    A tremor rolled through him. He was going to be sick. The life he’d built so carefully on his own, the good he thought he’d achieved with his unique skills, that he’d so desperately tried to take the ugliness Geschopf had put him through and make something good out of it. All of that had been carefully studied by the monster before him.
    Geschopf pulled out another cigarette. “I could have reeled you in