Free Amaury's Hellion by Tina Folsom Page A

liked me, considering that kiss …”
    He had the gall to throw that issue back into her face.
    Jerk!

Seven

    Amaury suppressed his urge to smile. Nina was quite a fighter and sparring with him at every turn. He’d been out wandering the streets in search of a meal after his burns from the day before had healed when an intoxicating scent had drifted his way. Instantly, he’d recognized it as the scent of the woman who’d kissed him the night before.
    As he’d followed her trail, he’d suddenly heard a scream. Instinctively, he’d known it was her even though he’d never heard her voice before. Once he saw what dilemma she was in, there had been no hesitation on his part. He had to protect her no matter what.
    He didn’t know either of the two vampires she was fighting and was pretty damn sure they were new in town. Nina had proven to be quite good with the stake, and luckily she hadn’t used it on him. However, when she’d suddenly straddled him after she’d dusted that bastard, his heart rate had doubled. Amaury wasn’t sure whether the reason was the stake in her hand or the position she had taken above him.
    Despite her protests now, he sat down on the couch, nudging her aside with his thigh against her hip. And he had his answer: his heart was pounding again. It was the contact with her body which made his heart rate spike, just like it had when she’d straddled him and during that first kiss.
    First?
    Yes, because there would be a second and a third and a …
    Amaury cleared his throat. “Nina, let’s get that shirt off you.” He liked using her name. It suited her right down to the short, honey curls and those plump lips that were made for kissing. He promised himself right there and then that she wouldn’t leave his place until he’d tasted those lips again.
    “No! I’m not wearing anything underneath.”
    His heart stopped for an instant as a vision of her naked skin appeared in his mind.
    Even better!
    “Well, that saves me from having to liberate you from your bra.” Could she hear the desire in his voice, feel the heat in his body as anticipation of seeing her naked raised his temperature?
    “Jerk!”
    She could shout at him all she wanted. He knew she had no other weapons on her, well, at least none which could hurt him. The knife she carried on her hip was of metal – thankfully not silver – and would do no damage to him, which meant at least tonight she wouldn’t try to kill him. It was a definite improvement over the previous night.
    “How do you expect me to take care of your wounds if you don’t want to take off your shirt?”
    “I can do it myself.”
    “Are you always this stubborn?”
    No answer.
    “Will it kill you to let somebody help you?”
    Nina pressed her lips together into a thin line, then gingerly pushed one side of her tattered garment off her shoulder, revealing a large gash. Her skin was pink. The scent of blood wrapped around him, engulfing him in her essence. How could he possibly not be affected by this tempting creature? Resistance was futile, surrender inevitable. The jury was still out on who would surrender to whom.
    “Looks bad.” He made a corner of the towel wet and gently patted the wound with it, soaking up the blood which kept seeping from it. She winced despite the fact he barely used any pressure on the wound.
    “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to clean it out, so it won’t get infected. Luckily the knife only grazed you.”
    When he’d seen the vampire readying himself to throw the knife, he’d reacted out of pure instinct. Because she’d straddled him—a position he had enjoyed for far too brief a time—he hadn’t been able to move fast enough to prevent her from being hurt.
    Amaury lowered his head, pretending to inspect the wound. In truth, he enjoyed her closeness. “It’s not too deep.”
    “Don’t you have any rubbing alcohol or something?” she asked.
    “I’m afraid not. I don’t exactly keep a first-aid kit around, since I