Read Online The Slayer by Theresa Meyers - Free Book Online

of a vampire-phobic guest. But that didn’t mean she hadn’t thought about it. The image of her teeth scraping over his skin elicited a shiver that danced over her.
    The thick, hardy, thump bump of his pulse announced his presence before she saw him. He strolled into the observation deck, proud as could be, his battered black duster skimming his long legs as he wove between the groups of chairs and settees. She’d seen the type far too many times—Hunters, drunk with their own self-worth, obsessed with carrying out the order of the Legion no matter what the cost. Winchester Jackson might claim he had abandoned hunting, but the essence of a Hunter clung to him, acrid and permeating as smoke.
    He lightly brushed an errant palm frond from his path with the back of his hand. Alexa turned slowly, watching his panther-like approach. Oh, he was dangerous to a woman on so many levels it made her dizzy. After her unexpected reaction last night, she decided to peel apart her behavior and resolved to be more objective and scientific in assessing his strengths and weaknesses.
    In the morning light his freshly shaved jaw looked smooth, his nose slightly crooked, as if it had been broken a time or two, and his sculpted mouth was firm and unsmiling beneath the imposing mustache. He’d changed into the fresh white shirt, pinstriped black vest, and black pants Enric had instructed the porter to provide him. And while the more sophisticated clothing made him appear more civilized, good tailoring only emphasized his raw, latent power.
    He doffed the black Stetson and bowed slightly, amusement flashing in his gaze as if he could read her mind. Which, she reminded herself, he couldn’t. “Good morning, Lady Drossenburg.”
    She gave him a slight nod in acknowledgment. “Yes. Good morning. Again,” she murmured faintly, but turned away to gaze out the windows so he wouldn’t catch her assessing him too keenly.
    A strange sight caught her attention as the sky brightened, turning a turquoise blue at the lip of the horizon. Down below, on the edge of a ridge, sat the most peculiar building she’d ever seen. Strange appendages equipped with hooks, enormous metal pincers, and large lenses stuck out of the building, moving at odd intervals, rather like legs and antennae. The structure resembled an insect. “What is that strange building down there? Not a house, surely?”
    Mr. Jackson joined her at the window. Alexa felt the heat of his body so close to hers. Her senses filled with the sound of his blood pumping strongly through his veins, and the heady fragrance of his clean skin. She shifted slightly—not that it helped—and gazed down at the strange little house.
    â€œHouse, laboratory, workshop. Our first stop. Marley’s place.”
    â€œMarley?”
    â€œYep. Best inventor this side of the Atlantic.”
    Alexa turned with a raised brow. “Surely you don’t mean Sir Marley Turlock ?”
    His face broke into a cat-ate-the-cream grin. “The one and only. Only out here he don’t go by ‘sir’ much.”
    A bubble of excitement mixed with anticipation welled up inside of her. Alexa hurried out the side door of the observation lounge onto the open-aired deck encircling the gondola and leaned over the rail to get a better look at the inventor’s home. She heard the heavy falls of Mr. Jackson’s boots against the teak decking as he followed her.
    While such scientific occupations were not considered appropriate for nobility, let alone vampiric nobility, she was somewhat of an amateur inventor herself. Accounts of Sir Turlock’s work were legendary within scientific circles. Alexa glanced at Mr. Jackson. “I should very much like to meet him.”
    His dark brow arched, a glint of surprise flitting through his eyes. He smoothed his mustache with a finger. “I don’t know if that’d be the best idea. Marley’s a bit touchy