Bound by Her Passion

by Mara Leigh

  She sits quietly for a moment, her eyes facing down so I can’t tell what she’s thinking. I wish I could figure out her mood, I wish I had more experience with women, like my partner Sanjay does, or some of the other guys at work. But then again, if I were more like them, I’d be bragging in the locker room about the filthy things I’d done to women’s bodies.

  “You said the police have killed hundreds in just the past few days,” she says, breaking the awkward silence.

  I nod.

  “And was that unusual?”

  “Yeah. A real high number for a couple of days, but like I said, I’d guess there’ve been a thousand, easily, in the past few years.”

  “And do you think you’re making a dent? Do you think you’re getting close to killing them all?”

  I shake my head. “That’s the thing, Selina. I know you’re questioning our methods, but the vampire problem is huge. These monsters walk the night amongst us. They could number in the hundreds of thousands!”

  “You call them monsters,” she says, “but how many vampire-related killings did you say there have been, ones not involving this one specific serial killer?”

  “Very few.” I chew my bottom lip, suddenly uncomfortable.

  “So, if vampires need blood to survive, and they always kill their victims, why don’t the police find bodies scattered all over the city every morning?”

  “They dispose of the bodies.”

  “Where? How? How do they get rid of all of these dead bodies without being noticed? Why is this serial killer the first vampire you guys have ever caught in the act?”

  “It’s not. I don’t think…” My head is starting to hurt. “Want some tea?” I stand. “A glass of water? A beer?”

  “Water is fine.” She leans forward, hands on her knees as I move to the kitchen area and fill two glasses with tap water.

  When I return, she’s shifted to sit sideways on the sofa, arm across the back and both legs tucked up underneath her.

  “Thanks,” she says, taking the glass.

  “Do you want me to show you the video?”

  She shakes her head. “That’s okay. I don’t need to see it. I think that might be enough vampire talk for me tonight.”

  I sit next to her bent knees and her arm extends along the sofa cushion behind my shoulders. There’s no contact, but the quarter inch gaps of air—between her arm and my back, between her knee and my thigh—feel on fire.

  She may be softhearted when it comes to vampires, but other than that, Selina is perfect. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted, ever needed, without even knowing what it was.

  Even her liberal stance toward vampires makes her endearing. She’ll make such a great mother—so compassionate, so loving. She’s beyond appealing. Even learning more about the negatives, my love for her has only grown.

  “What do you want to talk about instead?” I ask, my voice unexpectedly deep.

  “Why don’t we talk about you?” She smiles.

  “Me?”

  “Yeah. You told me about your sister. Shelly, right?”

  “You remembered.”

  “Of course I did.” Her fingers drop to my back and lightly stroke just below my neck.

  In response, my dick pounds, and I shift, hoping she doesn’t notice the rising bulge.

  “What about your parents? Are they still in Ajax?” she asks.

  “You remembered that, too.” A grin warms me from inside. “But no. My dad…” I look down and realize my fists are clenched. Unfurling one, I reach for her hand, and move it off her knee and into mine.

  “My dad was abusive. Just like your stepdad.”

  Her eyes open wide. “He touched your sister?”

  I shake my head. “No. I don’t think so. I hope not.” Bile rises in my throat. “But he beat my mom.”

  “Oh.” Her fingers stroke across my shoulders, lighting so many fires. “I’m so sorry.”

  “The first time he hit me, I was seven. The three of us, Mom, Shelly and I, we moved to a shelter the next day, and I never saw my father again.”

  “Your mom was brave to get away from him. To protect you.”

  “She was a saint.”

  “Was?” Concern fills Selina’s eyes.

  I blink back tears I haven’t allowed myself since my sister’s funeral. “Cancer. It’ll be ten years on August 18th.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.” She rises onto her knees and hugs me.

  After the initial moment of joyous amazement, I carefully put my arms around her small body and hold her. I’m overwhelmed by loss, the memories of those two women swirling inside me, along with my excitement over this woman that I’ve found. I’m overwhelmed by the possibilities, by thoughts of the future…

  Her body shifts under my arms and she straddles my lap, one knee on either side of me, pressing into my thighs and hips and…and…

  Oh! Her body brushes against my hardness. I can’t take it.

  I lift her away from me and place her lower on my thighs.

  Leaving her hands on my shoulders, she smiles, softly. “You okay?”

  “Yes. I’m so sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?”

  I glance down involuntarily, then snap my eyes back up, not sure whether or not I even want her to get my meaning. If she didn’t already notice, it’s better not to draw attention.

  “You’re so different,” she murmurs. “Different from any man I’ve ever met.”

  “I am?” I shake my head. “No one’s more ordinary than me. I’m the dictionary definition of boring.”

  “Hardly.” She licks her lower lip, and my dick tries to push through my jeans. “You’re not boring at all.”

  My hands at her waist, her hands on my shoulders and her legs over mine, I’m painfully aroused and finding it harder and harder to concentrate, to breathe.

  “You’re kind, plus you’re brave,” she says, one of her hands moving up from my shoulder to cup my face. “But under all that kindness, you’re willing to kill when you think it’s right.” Her eyes flutter shut for a moment. “You’re masculine and confident, and yet…”

  “And yet what?” My back stiffens.

  “And yet you haven’t made a move on me. Haven’t even tried to kiss me.”

  “Oh.” My palms tingle where they rest, my thumbs rising up over her ribs. One small movement and my thumbs could be stroking her breasts. Is that what she wants? How do I tell?

  She leans forward and kisses me right on the lips. Her kiss is soft, and my breath shudders as I exhale into her. Her hand slides around to the back of my head and she kisses me more deeply—as deeply as I’ve kissed any woman—but it’s nothing like any other kiss that’s gone before it.

  Selina’s kiss is sweet and dangerous, scalding and comforting, powerful and soft. Her kiss is her—it’s pure Selina—full of contradictions and intoxicatingly irresistible. I never want it to end.

  Her tongue slides between my lips and she invites me into her mouth. Our tongues slide and intertwine performing an exotic dance so intricate and perfect that I can’t imagine how or when my tongue learned the steps.

  Her hand accidentally lands over the bulge in my pants—it must be an accident.

  It doesn’t feel accidental.

  Gasping, I break the kiss. “What are you doing?”

  “What do you think I’m doing?” She rubs the length of me through the fabric and a moan rumbles up from deep in my chest.

  I move her hand off me so I can breathe. So I won’t embarrass us both.

  “Selina.”

  “Colton.” She says my name like it’s a delicious treat. I want her hand on me again, yet I know that I shouldn’t.

  “Before anything else happens,” I say, trying without success to catch my breath. “You should know something about me.”

  “What?” Her fingers massage the place where my hair meets my neck and even that touch threatens to cause an ejaculation. It’s like I’m twelve years old again, hiding in a boy’s room stall every t
ime Allie or Farzana, or any girl for that matter, looked my way.

  I put my hand over her other hand to stop its creeping back toward my hard package. “I don’t have much experience—with girls—with women.”

  “That’s okay.” Her hand is dangerously close to my bulge again.

  “I’ve never…” I clear my throat. “Selina, I’m a virgin.”

  Surprise flashes in her eyes, followed by what might be acceptance or understanding, but I no longer trust my ability to read this woman. Even to the extent I could read her, at this point all the blood in my body has migrated south, and I’m not capable of higher reasoning anywhere above the belt.

  She pulls her hand back from my stiffness, and I relax, trying to breathe more normally, and convince my erection to stand down. Or at least not erupt.

  “How come?” She slides off me to the side. “Religious reasons?”

  “Not really.”

  “You know, I was a virgin until recently too.”

  Relief floods through me. “So your stepfather never—”

  “Oh, he did.” Hate flashes in her eyes. “But I don’t count that.” Her eyelids close for a moment, her lashes kissing the tops of her cheeks.

  Selina smells so delicious, like vanilla and rainbows, and I want her back on my lap, I want to kiss her again, I want to touch her, everywhere, and I want her to touch me, too.

  “I guess everyone has their own definition of virginity,” she says softly.

  But do they? I nod, like I understand, though.

  “I don’t count the times men used me without my permission,” she says coldly.

  My heart cracks. “Men? There were…more than one?” How much has she suffered? My arms itch to gather her back into my arms, to never let her go, to make sure no one else ever touches her again. No one but me.

  Gaze to the side, she nods, then turns back toward me. “Does it bother you? That several men have—”

  I shake my head.

  “But as long as we’re putting our cards on the table,” she says. “You should know a few other things about me.”

  “Okay.” I smile. There’s nothing she could say that would change how I feel about her, how badly I want her, now and forever.

  “Gray was my first,” she says. “My first time having consensual sex.”

  My chest tightens, but I nod. “So it’s Gray that you love, not Rock.”

  She bites her lower lip. “That part is complicated.” Her fingers trace the sides of my face, as if she’s memorizing the angles and textures, then one of her hands slides into my hair, stroking my scalp, playing with the curls that sprouted since my last haircut.

  “My life is complicated,” she says. “I care for Rock and Gray. Both of them. A lot.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  “Is that okay with you?”

  “Yes,” I say without thinking. I need to explain my answer to her—and to myself. “I mean, it’s not ideal. Would I prefer it your life was—less complicated? If I didn’t have any competition? Yes…yes I would.”

  “Don’t think of them as competition.” She slides back onto my lap. “It isn’t like that. It’s just that—”

  “You’re not ready to commit.” I finish her thought. “That’s okay. I can wait.” I can wait as long as it takes for Selina to be mine—only mine. If I try to rush her, or force her to leave the others, I’ll push her away.

  “That’s not it.” Her hand slides down my neck and onto my chest and my erection pounds like a prisoner on meth trying to break his handcuffs. “I am ready to commit.”

  I play with her hair, so soft and shiny. “But you haven’t found the right man.” Not until now, I hope.

  She closes her eyes for a moment, as if considering her answer. Then her eyes open slowly, but she keeps her gaze pointed down. “That’s the thing, Colton. I think that I have.”

  A ferocious joy rushes through me, and I take her hand off my chest and kiss each finger in turn, then I move my lips to her wrist, pressing a wet kiss against her pounding pulse.

  She sighs. “Colton.”

  I look up into her eyes.

  “I think I should go. I told Rock I’d help close up the bar.”

  “Are you sure? I mean. If you like…” I close my eyes. “If you want to go further… I mean, I won’t stop things again.” My throat is tight.

  She rises up to her knees and kisses me softly, and I slide my hands onto her waist, hoping to coax her against me again.

  “I think we should wait,” she says softly. “Your first time should be special. When there are no obstacles between us.”

  “Obstacles?” I nod. “Yes. I get it.” She wants to break up with Rock and Gray first. She wants us to take our time and do this right.

  And that’s what I want too. I’ll do whatever it takes to win Selina’s heart.

  Chapter 30

  Selina

  Colton and I walk back toward the bar in silence. My mouth is dry and I don’t know what I’d say even if I thought my throat or tongue or lips were capable of forming those pesky word things at the moment.

  I can’t believe I just did that, that I kissed Colton—kissed a human. If he hadn’t stopped me, I would have had sex with a human. Not only a human, a cop.

  I wanted him—still want him so badly. But taking that step with Colton would be wrong—wrong for so many reasons. And the one I used as an excuse—his virginity—isn’t the main one.

  As much as my body was urging me to go forward, it wouldn’t be right to have sex with him before he knows the truth, but there’s the rub—if he figures out the truth he’ll try to kill me.

  And what scares me the most, is that if he tried to stake me, my instincts might take over, and with my superior speed and power I might accidentally kill him instead.

  We pass by a man leaning against a wall and smoking a joint. Colton’s hand lands protectively on my lower back, then he drops it off me once we’re past the man.

  The power of my desire tonight took me by surprise. There’s always been a spark between me and Colton. I find him enormously attractive and liked him from the start, but I’m shocked at how quickly my feelings grew into something more, especially given his intense bigotry against vampires.

  Colton’s bigotry isn’t his fault, and it doesn’t define his character. Given all the misinformation he’s been fed about vampires, combined with what happened to his sister, I get why it’s there, but once he learns the truth, I feel sure his hatred will vanish.

  His phone beeps. He pulls it out, then stops dead in his tracks to read a message.

  “What’s going on?”

  “I’m so sorry. I’ve got to go. Work.” In spite of his apology, obvious excitement invades his body. He can’t stand still. His hand moves to my back again and urges me forward. “I’ve got to get you back to the bar quickly. She’s been spotted again.”

  “Who? Z—” I stop myself. “The killer?”

  He nods. “Yes. We’ve been running face recognition software on feeds from surveillance cams all over town.”

  “Is that legal?”

  “It is when we’ve got a positive ID on a bloodsucker.”

  My heart pounds like it wants to escape my chest. “Where is she?”

  I don’t know why I’m asking. Do I want to warn her? Save her? Do I want to call Astrid so she can get there first and arrest her?

  If I believe that Colton could change his mind about vampires, isn’t it possible that Zora could change her mind about killing humans? Does she need to die?

  “Downtown,” he says. “Entertainment District.”

  I stop and touch his hand. “That’s the other direction. You should go. I’m fine from here. The bar is just around the corner.” In fact, I’m standing at the end of the alley where I first met Rock.

  “You sure?” Colton rubs his hair, a sure tell that he’s conflicted.

  “I’m positive.” I smile up at him. “Go. I’ll be fine.”

  He bends, kisses me softly,
and I clasp my hands behind my back to keep myself from turning the kiss into something more. Not only do I want Colton, sexually, I’m hungry for his blood, and as we kiss a thirst builds inside me that’s hard to contain.

  He backs away from me for several steps, and then turns and heads off at a run.

  “Hello, my pet.” A voice comes from behind me.

  I spin around.

  Zora is standing in the shadow of a tree across the street. In an instant she’s beside me.

  “Why are you here?” I ask her. If the police are all headed to the Entertainment District, they’re too late. I hope no innocents die because of it.

  “I am here for you, my pet,” she responds. “I followed you here the other night when that vampire interrupted us. I took the chance I’d find you here again.”

  My heart races as I fight the urge to dive into her arms, to dig my fangs into her vein.

  “Why didn’t you kill that human?” she asks. “He’s a cop, the worst kind.”

  “Because I’m not a murderer,” I tell her.

  “Well, you should have at least taken his blood. I can tell that you’re hungry.” She cups my cheek tenderly and looks into my eyes. Her fingers stroke over my throat, massaging my vein.

  “I’m fine,” I tell her.

  But I’m not fine. She’s right. I wanted Colton’s blood while we were kissing, and after, but didn’t realize the ferocity of my hunger until Zora mentioned it. And now I want her vein, although it would be an even bigger mistake than feeding from Colton. At least I could make Colton forget, and I certainly don’t need to increase the connection I feel to my Maker.

  Using every ounce of willpower inside me, I pull myself away from Zora and head into the alley. Ravenous and turned on after my time with Colton, her caress ignited so many confusing sensations inside me.

  “Humans hunt us like prey,” she calls after me as she follows. “They kill us without reason or mercy. It’s not murder when we kill them—it’s self-defense. Evolution. Survival of the fittest.”

  I turn back when I’m nearing the door. “You’re wrong.” Her reasoning is the mirror image of Colton’s, though.