“What’s wrong?”
She looked up from her food, the fork paused in midair. “Nothing.”
He arched an eyebrow, staring at her. It was clear he didn’t buy it.
“Nothing I’d like to share,” she corrected.
“Bat.”
“Kraven.” She stabbed her fork into a chunk of sesame chicken. “I was just thinking about something. That’s all. My thoughts are private.”
“What are you plotting now?”
“Who says I am?”
“It’s what you do. Tell me what put that expression on your face.”
“I was worried about Dusti, of course.”
“Don’t lie to me. Something else is wrong. I told you she was fine.”
He seemed to be getting to know her a little too well. She refused to admit it depressed her, thinking about when he finally went home. They could never make a relationship work between them. He didn’t seem comfortable in her world and she never wanted to step foot in Alaska again.
She studied him across the table. Kraven was a very attractive man. There was no denying that. His eyes were unusual with their light blue intensity, and fascinating. She could stare into them all day. He had handsome features but no one would ever compare him to a pretty boy. The hair looked a thousand times better without the spikes. His broad shoulders and muscles couldn’t be ignored either. He dwarfed her dining room table and looked out of place in her condo.
It was best if they just ended it for good.
A memory flashed of the day before on the plane, when she’d told him they wouldn’t have sex again. That had lasted about five minutes or less. He’d kissed her on his lap and she’d ended up joining the mile-high club. It was impossible to think when he touched her. The sexual attraction was too strong.
She was screwed. Literally and figuratively, she admitted.
She’d invited him to share her bed. That had been a mistake, but one she didn’t regret. The time they had would be over once her grandfather gave up whatever the hell he’d hoped to do. She wasn’t going to agree to live with some guy who did a statue impression in his spare time.
“Bat,” he urged. “I’m waiting.”
“Fine.” She looked up, holding his gaze. “It’s been a rough few days. My life has changed and I’m evaluating what that means.” That was close to the truth.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Who’s going to protect me from a broken heart? She shoved a bite of chicken into her mouth. It tasted sweet for such a bitter moment. She’s sworn she’d never fall in love with another man. The first time had been too painful. But she feared Kraven would make the past look tame in comparison.
“I’d do anything to protect you.”
She swallowed. “Stop.”
“What?”
“Don’t say things like that.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Well, it shouldn’t be.” She stabbed another piece of chicken with her fork. “Just like you urging me to trust you. Enough already.”
“What’s wrong?”
She lost her appetite. “I’m tired. That’s all. I’m going to bed.”
“You barely touched your food.”
She set the fork down and pushed away from the table, standing. “I’m getting a headache. It’s probably because we’re finally out of that damn car. Like reverse motion sickness.” She just needed to put some space between them to think. He was too damn appealing. “Make yourself at home and climb into my bed if you really think some rock guy is going to burst through the windows at some point.”
Kraven frowned.
“Good night.”
He rose fast and came around the table to block her from escaping. It wasn’t a surprise. He wasn’t the type to just let a woman walk away. She stared up at him.
“Hellion,” he rasped. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“You like giving me hell. It fits.”
She’d give him that. “I just need some space, okay?”
“Why?” He reached out, seeming intent on stroking her arm.
“We just spent a really long time sharing a front seat. Isn’t that enough?”
He tried to touch her again.
She backed away and bumped her ass on the edge of the table. “Don’t.”
“This again?”
“What?”
“Are you going to keep fighting what’s between us?”
She held his gaze. “No. I learned that lesson yesterday. You can seduce me easily. I have the carpet burn on my ass to prove it.”
That earned her a scowl. “You’re hurt? Let me see.”
“Forget it. It’s not bad. I’m just a bit tender in that region. The skin isn’t broken or anything, just a little red. I wasn’t even aware of it until I used body soap. It burned a bit. Sitting in a car through three states probably didn’t help either.”
“I can heal it.”
“No thanks.”
“I want to take care of you.”
She decided to just be honest. “That’s the problem. I don’t want to trust you. And I don’t want you to make offers like that.”
“Your life has changed, Bat, and there’s no going back to the way it was.”
“Bullshit.” Her temper flared. “My grandfather will get a damn life or drop dead, whatever works, and you’ll go back to Alaska. I belong here. You don’t. This can’t go anywhere. I don’t want to depend on you for anything, Kraven.” She glanced down his body, then back up. “So keep your hands to yourself and let’s make it easier on both of us when the time comes to say goodbye.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Yes, it will. You’re Alaska and I’m Southern California. See the problem?”
His frown deepened.
“I’m a lawyer. You’re an enforcer. I don’t really even know exactly what your job entails but I have a good idea. You kick ass with your body for a living and terrify people. I use my mouth to defend the type of people you probably beat up. You can control minds and literally go all beast. I can’t do that. Sex isn’t everything—and that’s really the only thing we have in common. It’s not enough. It’s all good at first but we have to get out of bed at some point. You know what I mean. Then what do we have? Nada. Nothing.”
He inhaled and blew it out. “You’re my mate, Bat.”
“No.” She shook her head. “Hell no.”
He actually smiled. “I thought that myself when I realized what you were to me. I understand we’re vastly different.” His expression sobered. “It doesn’t change the truth. We are mates. You’re mine and I’m yours.”
“I’m not an animal. I can’t have a mate.” She slid along the table to avoid touching him. “I refuse.”
He sidestepped and pinned her with his big body. “It doesn’t work that way.”
“This is your problem, not mine. No.”
“We’ve already begun the bonding.”
She sagged against the table, happy it was behind her as she used it to support her weight. “What in the hell does that mean?”
“I’ve taken your blood, and you’ve had mine.” His tone softened. “Remember when you had that headache after crossing the river? I fed you my blood to heal you. And I took a lot of yours when my back was torn up. I’m certain we’re mates. You might not have the instincts I do, but trust me, it’s a fact. We’re going to be together.”
She just gawked at him, speechless. It couldn’t be. She wasn’t an animal. Animals mated. People dated, made commitments, and married. Then divorced, more often than not.
“Easy, baby.” He reached out and gently grasped her upper arms. “Breathe. You’re hyperventilating.”
She was. She forced her eyes closed and focused on her body. Her heart pounded and she was having a hard time catching her breath. She also felt faint. It made her panic. Passing out was for wimps, something she wasn’t.
“Fuck.” Kraven just scooped her i
nto his arms.
She opened her eyes as he carried her through the living room, down the hallway, and into her bedroom. He took a seat on her bed, keeping her on his lap. He rested his chin on the top of her head, holding her close.
“It’s going to be okay.”
“No!” She shook her head and tried to wiggle off his lap.
He let her go. She got up and paced the carpet between the bed and dresser, shooting him a dirty look. “I’m not living in Alaska. My life is here. I busted my ass to make partner and guess what? I’m finally there. They’re going to give it to me. I went through hell to earn it.” She knew she was ranting but she couldn’t stop. “Do you know how many times I had to kiss ass and overlook shit, when I really wanted to deck a few of those assholes I work for? One of them pats my ass when we share an elevator. All I want to do is break his damn fingers—but I don’t. I smile like that prick is being cute. Then avoid being alone with him. I earn my way on my feet, not on my back!”
“Calm down, Bat.”
She stopped. “Fuck you!”
He stood. “I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I wanted a mate who would actually be happy when we found each other. You weren’t my ideal person either.”
That hurt but it seemed justified. She bit her lip and turned away, staring at the wall.
“We’ll make this work.” He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. “I want it to work.”
She closed her eyes. He smelled so good, and it felt right having him hold her.
“I know you’re scared.” He leaned down so his soft words fanned his breath against the shell of her ear. “I am too. We’re vastly different but life will never be boring, will it?”
She gripped his arms but just held on to him. “What are we going to do?”
“Fighting it won’t work. I could return to Alaska and you could stay here once you’re safe from Decker, but we’ll both be miserable. You’ll be thinking about me and I’ll be thinking about you.” His arms tightened and his voice took on a raspy tone. “I’ll hunt down and kill any man who touches you, including that prick who palms your ass. I’m hoping you have enough Lycan blood to detest any man’s touch that isn’t mine, now that you know you have a mate. It should make you want to rip off his face and watch him choke to death on his own blood, instead of just breaking a few bones. That happens with mates. We only want each other, and there’s never any cheating.
“I’ll be the horniest, loneliest VampLycan in Alaska without you.” He rested his head against hers. “I’ll eventually snap and come after you. Not to hurt you,” he quickly amended. “I could never do that, but I can’t promise rug burn won’t occur again. Mates are meant to be together. You could send me away afterward but I’ll always come back. I can’t live without you for long.”
She wanted to cry. Tears filled her eyes and she rapidly blinked to prevent them from spilling. He painted a sad picture for both of their futures.
“We could stay here, if it means so much to you.”
That gave her hope. “Really?”
“I’d do anything for you.”
She pulled her head away from his and peered up at him. “You won’t miss your woods? Your family?”
“I will, but you come first.”
It made her feel selfish.
“We can try it. It beats the alternative. You’re mine, my little hellion.”
“That’s not the most endearing thing to call me.”
He smiled. “It fits.”
“You said that.”
“I mean it. You like to give me hell. I don’t mind.”
“I don’t want to get hurt,” she confessed. “I’ve been there and done that.”
“Hurting you would mean hurting myself. I’m not a masochist.”
“Good to know.”
“I don’t know how strong our bond will become, with you being so human, but I’m hoping we can share emotions. What you feel, I’ll feel. And vice versa. It tends to make mates really pay close attention to each other’s needs and desires.”
“That’s weird.”
“It’s just the way it is.” He shrugged. “How do you fear being hurt? I’d never hit you. You should know that by now, since you’ve pissed me off more times than I can count.”
“No. You just have an abnormal obsession with my ass.”
“I’ll take any opportunity I find to touch it.”
She laughed, some of the stress fading. She slowly turned in his arms. “I don’t know how to handle this.”
“We take it one day at a time and talk things out. Don’t hide things from me.”
“You seem pretty good at reading my emotions. That scares me. I worked hard to build walls to keep people distanced.”
He eased one arm from around her and reached up, brushing her hair back from her face and stroking her cheek with his thumb. “You like to feel in control of everything. I can respect that, and understand it was something you needed to do to survive. Things have changed. I’m here now. I’m the one person you can always count on. There’s no pain here, Bat. I’m safe.”
“I want to believe you.”
“Time will prove it. I’m not going anywhere.”
She slid her arms around him and buried her face against his chest. “I’m going to freak out sometimes. I’m just being honest. I want to run.”
“I’m a damn good tracker. I’ll find you if you do. Just try to avoid it until I’m the only one who might come after you.” He kissed the top of her head. “Let me protect you first from the real danger.”
“Okay.”
“Promise me.”
“I do.”
He pulled her against him tighter. “Will you eat now? I can hear your stomach rumbling still.”
“Yeah. I could eat. I just…”
“What?”
She sighed.
“Open your mouth and spit it out. It’s not so hard, Bat. You’re great at expressing your thoughts when you’re angry. We just need to work on you doing that when you’re not.”
“I know. I was thinking earlier about how difficult it’s going to be when you return to Alaska, and how much it mattered to me. I just wanted to get away from you at that moment, put some space between us. You kind of messed that up when you got in my way.”
“Give me the name of the man who hurt you and I’ll kill him.”
She jerked her head up, startled.
“You don’t trust easy and you bolt when you start to feel too much for me. It doesn’t take a genius to add it up.” His lips tightened into a grimace. “Did he strike you? I’ve got no qualms about burying his ass. Just give me a name and I’ll take care of it as soon as I can leave your side for a day or two. He won’t ever get near you again.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“How was it?”
It hurt her pride to even think about it but she found herself talking. “He was a conman. A good one, too. I never saw it coming. I should have. He was too charming, too smooth. You know? The perfect boyfriend. I actually felt lucky. Most of my friends bitched about the men they were with but I was with someone who always gave me thoughtful gifts and paid attention to me. All the while he was stealing my identity.”
Kraven frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“He opened credit cards in my name and had the statements sent to another address. He paid them at first, got them to up the limits, and opened more credit lines in my name. I wasn’t aware of any of it. One day he called me to say his sister had been in a bad car accident and he was on his way to Italy. That’s where he claimed his family was from. He had a lovely accent. I never heard from him again. I tried to track him down, worried that something had happened. We were in love.” She knew the bitterness sounded in her voice. “At least he had me convinced we were. I couldn’t find anyone who’d ever heard of him, his family, or his sister. Everything he’d told me was bogu
s. He probably learned Italian taking night classes or something.”
Kraven growled.
“Yeah. Everything about him was a lie. I was so involved in my busy life that I didn’t exactly check into his too much. He’d supposedly moved here from Italy less than a year before we started dating, had told me his entire family and all his friends were over there. All I got to meet were the work friends he’d made since he’d started his job. They were as shocked as I was that he wasn’t who he’d claimed. The police got involved because of the fraud. He’d racked up about forty grand in my name. I pressed charges. My credit was ruined for a while but I battled that until it was cleared.
“It turned out he’d done this to other women. It was his scheme. Wine and dine a woman, spend half a year building credit lines, all the while working on his next target. I got to see some of the charges on those credit cards. He’d bought jewelry and flowers that weren’t for me. There were hotel charges. We didn’t live together and I worked a lot. It was easy for him to date other women without me being aware. He was already working on his next marks.”
“Is he in prison?”
“He was sentenced to sixty days in jail. His rich new wife paid restitution to some of his victims and hired him some great lawyers.” It still made Bat angry. “He was good-looking and a damn good conman. I can attest to that. He latched on to some sixty-two-year-old woman with a lot of money. I felt bad for her. He dumped her as soon as her usefulness was up and took her for a shitload of money in the divorce settlement. She got screwed over way worse than I did.”
“No wonder you have trust issues.”
“He talked about our future all the time. I bought into it, Kraven. He said everything I wanted to hear.”
“I’m nothing like him.”
She nodded. “I know that.” A grin broke. “You’re not charming or smooth. You’re more like a sledgehammer.”
He chuckled. “Come eat. We’ll stay here tonight.” He glanced at the windows. “I just wish you had curtains.”
“I can buy some but no one can see in.” She swallowed. “Unless they can fly. Do you really think we’ll be attacked by Gargoyles?”
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