The door opened, and the man who entered let out an exaggerated sigh. “Zane, get off of her.”
“It’s okay,” Lexi insisted. “I like having him close to me.”
The cat’s purring increased as he settled his head on her breast and stared at her with those oddly familiar eyes. Then she remembered that the man who’d rescued her was also named Zane. That’s where she’d seen eyes that color before, and it was really strange that both the man and cat had the same eyes and name.
“We need to talk, and it would be easier to do without Zane rubbing all over you,” the vaguely familiar man explained.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“I’m Connor,” he introduced himself. “You probably don’t remember me, but we met when you were brought here two days ago. At the time, you were pretty confused.”
“Two days?” Lexi gasped. While she’d had some strange time lapses during her childhood, she’d been pretty good at keeping up with what day it was since then.
“Yes, the doctors kept you sedated while you were coming down from the drugs you were on,” Connor replied before looking at the cat. “Go change, Zane. Do it in another room so you don’t scare her. We don’t want to have to sedate her again.”
Zane rubbed his cheek against hers one last time before jumping off the bed and prowling out of the room.
“You’re going to let a giant cat wander around a hospital?” she asked. “That is where I am, right? While this looks mostly like a hospital, I’ve never seen a bed like this in a hospital.”
“We had a larger bed moved in here so Zane could lie next to you instead of on top of you. It was either a bigger bed or the doctors were going to end up kicking him out. Zane doesn’t understand personal space boundaries,” Connor explained, sounding somewhat frustrated. “You’re at the hospital in my territory. Zane brought you here after he rescued you.”
“Are you a gang leader?” she asked, because that was the only time she ever heard people refer to their territory. Connor didn’t look like any of the gang members she’d seen, but she didn’t exactly go checking them all out, and she’d probably seen plenty of gang members without knowing they were in gangs.
Connor looked confused by her question, so she was guessing he wasn’t in a gang. “Gang? What are you talking about?”
Before she answered, Zane—the man, not the cat—walked into the room wearing nothing but a loose pair of scrub bottoms. He didn’t even have shoes on. With his messy tawny hair, his boyish grin, and the mischievous twinkle in his amber eyes, he looked sexy as hell. She was a little embarrassed by her own reaction and thankful no one knew she was turned on just from seeing him.
Zane’s smile slipped, and his lips parted slightly as he inhaled deeply. A shudder ran through his beautiful body. “Fuck me,” he murmured.
Lexi’s body clenched tightly with lust, and she had to work hard to bite back the moan that wanted to slip past her lips. What Zane did next surprised her most. Gliding across the floor with a grace she’d never witnessed before him, he leaned over her and rubbed his cheek against hers, much like the cat had done.
“You smell so fucking incredible right now,” he breathed out, with his cheek pressed against hers and his lips close to her ear. “I want to strip us both naked and devour every inch of your body.”
Lexi shuddered again, unable to find words to respond to what Zane had just said. Men had come on to her using all sorts of lines over the years. For some reason she’d never really understood, they seemed drawn to her. Some of those lines had been sweet, some had been offensive, but none had ever been so panty-melting hot that she wanted to drag a near stranger into bed with her and beg him to do anything he wanted with her body. Some part of her brain told her she should be embarrassed by her reaction to Zane, a man she’d just met. This wasn’t like her. She wasn’t a woman who engaged in casual sex—or any sex most of the time. Those thoughts did nothing to dampen her desire as her body responded to him in a way that shocked her to her core.
Pulling back slightly, Zane grinned. “Like the sound of that, do you?”
She nodded and groaned, feeling like her lust might burn her alive. This was insane! She never acted like this with any man, and she had no idea why she suddenly felt drawn to Zane in such a strong way. It was almost like some instinct was possessing her, telling her she needed him.
“I think I’ll come back in thirty minutes,” Connor grumbled, sounding more than a little irritated. Not that she blamed him; he obviously wanted to talk to her about something, and here she was, unable to think about anything but Zane.
“Make it an hour,” Zane told Connor without turning to look at him.
Lexi heard Zane’s labored breathing by her ear, and then she heard Connor’s footsteps as he exited the room, followed by the door shutting.
Once they were alone, Zane wasted no time stripping out of his scrub bottoms. Lexi gasped at the size of his erection. Zane wasn’t tall, but he was very well-endowed, and she found herself licking her lips from nerves and excitement. Sure, she’d seen him naked before, but damn, she was still having trouble believing what she’d seen. Meeting Zane’s gaze, she found him watching her.
“You keep that up, and I’m going to lose what little control I have around you,” he warned with a playful grin.
She knew crazy better than most, and this was definitely crazy. Insanity had been her constant companion most of her life. Only her meds had kept it at bay, and now, she was apparently completely off of them. “This probably isn’t a good idea,” she said, forcing her gaze from his body.
That’s when the bed shifted under his weight as he settled at her side with one hand on her cheek. “It’s a terrible idea,” he murmured against her lips. “But it’s still going to happen, isn’t it?”
All she could do was nod because her brain seemed to shut off when she was looking at Zane. Reaching over, he carefully removed the IV from her arm, grabbed a gauze pad, and held it over the place where the needle had been.
“You’re awake, so you won’t need this anymore,” he explained with a tenderness at odds with the fierce need she saw in his eyes.
“So, you’re a doctor?” she asked nervously. “Is that how you know what I need?”
“It’s my responsibility to know what you need and to give it to you.” Zane rubbed his cheek against hers again.
“What do I need?” She was surprised by the needy sound of her voice.
“Me,” he replied, coaxing her onto her side to undo the ties at the back of her hospital gown. “You need me between your legs,” he murmured as he slipped the gown off her shoulders. “You need my tongue making you want me more than you’ve ever wanted any male in your entire life. Then, you need my cock filling you until your voice is hoarse from screaming.”
“Oh, God,” she moaned, knowing she should be embarrassed about being naked with a complete stranger, not that she was ashamed of her body. She should also be considering things like STDs, pregnancy, and worrying about him using a condom. Those things seemed completely unimportant. All that mattered was getting Zane inside of her, because he was right about how much she needed him. With all the insanity around her, Zane was the one thing that made sense, which probably proved how crazy she really was.
His mouth covered hers, gently coaxing her to respond, and she instinctively turned in his arms until she was pressed against his hard body. Since he wasn’t that much taller than her, she felt every inch of him against her. Her move must have encouraged him because his kiss became more intense, and his tongue slipped past her lips to boldly explore her mouth. There was nothing tentative about his kiss. Zane was claiming her, and she was more than welcoming his claim—she was practically begging him for it.
Rolling her onto her back, Zane slipped one hard thigh between her legs, and she found herself undulating against it. She was close to orgasm and desperate for her release, when Zane nipped her lip and pulled away so she could look into his eyes.
“Patie
nce, angel,” he commanded. “This is our first time, and I want to make it good for you.”
“Then let me come,” she pleaded, moving against his thigh again.
Zane slid down some, stealing her orgasm from her before he nipped her throat. When she yelped in surprise, he stroked the spot with his tongue, soothing the slight sting. “I’m going to let you come soon, but I get to taste the first orgasm you have with me.”
That was the hottest thing any guy had ever said to her, and Lexi couldn’t hold back her moan.
Zane said no more as he slid down her body, nipping several tender spots along the way, until she found herself craving his teeth. Each time she tensed, he would soothe the spot with his lips and tongue until she was writhing and moaning again. Only then would he move on to the next spot. It seemed to take forever for him to get to the spot she wanted him to touch most. There was no doubt in Lexi’s mind that Zane was trying to torture her when he took his time settling between her legs and inhaled deeply. The shudder than ran through his body proved he was also torturing himself.
When Zane’s tongue finally flicked across her clit, Lexi nearly screamed as she arched against his mouth. This was too much and not enough all at the same time.
“You like that,” Zane mused, looking up with a grin.
“Yes. Please, don’t leave me like this,” Lexi begged without an ounce of shame.
“I’ll always take care of your needs,” Zane assured her.
There was no time to explore his strange comment because his tongue was now between her legs again. No man had ever managed to hit every spot she wanted the way Zane was. His tongue moved across her clit in long strokes until she was panting and pleading for release. Then two fingers slid into her, working her body as he stretched her. When she was so far gone she would have promised him anything, he sucked her clit into his mouth and flicked his tongue against it as his fingers continued to work inside her. Finally, she climaxed and screamed, clawing at Zane’s shoulders and bucking against his mouth.
When the ripples of her orgasm stopped, Lexi looked down at Zane and sucked in a sharp breath at the raw need in his eyes. He moved back onto his knees, and she could swear she heard a low rumbling growl from the back of his throat.
“Get on your hands and knees,” Zane ordered, and Lexi instantly obeyed his command. He was right about her needing his cock. His mouth had been the best she’d ever had, and it still hadn’t been enough.
As soon as she was in position, Zane moved behind her and murmured something she must have misheard. At least, she assumed she’d heard him wrong, because there was no way he’d called her his mate. When he slid into her body, Lexi felt the intense pressure of him stretching her, and she moaned.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
How the hell was she supposed to answer at a time like this? Zane must have realized her dilemma because he let out a strained chuckle. “Don’t worry, angel. I’ll take care of your needs now.”
No more words were spoken as he started to move within her, and she found herself slamming back against him to make each thrust harder. The intensity of what she felt was more than just sexual pleasure. Deep inside of her, she felt like a part of her that had always been missing was here, and everything was as it should be. Of course, she also felt filled to a point that was near painful, yet she still wanted more.
Zane hit just the right spot inside her to have her panting and desperate for another orgasm. Her body was coiled so tightly that she thought she might explode at any moment. Sex had never been this wild and desperate. Every thrust had her pushing back against him, and nearly screaming with sheer ecstasy.
“I need you to be mine,” came Zane’s almost desperate plea.
“I am yours,” she said on a moan, knowing it was true no matter how crazy it sounded.
Zane groaned and thrust into her body harder, gripping her hips so tightly, she was sure there would be bruises, and she was glad. Some part of her mind was demanding he leave those marks on her as a claim of some sort.
As her second orgasm hit, Zane’s teeth sink into the back of her neck, and she screamed from pain and arousal. It hurt and felt good at the same time.
Zane had stilled inside of her, twitching with his own release. Still, his teeth remained in the back of her neck as a strange sense of finality washed over her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The door slammed open, and Jase stormed in. Blinking twice, Zane was suddenly more aware of his surroundings and what he was doing to Lexi. Until that moment, instinct had been driving him, making it hard to think at all—not that he regretted what had happened. But he certainly hadn’t been planning to mark her the second she woke up. Then another instinct kicked in, making him want to keep everyone away from his mate.
“Zane!” Jase shouted with authority. “Get off of her! What the hell was Connor thinking when he left you alone with her?” The last was muttered to no one in particular.
Jase was more dominant than him in their clan, so Zane should obey. Instead, Zane growled low in his throat without removing his teeth from Lexi’s neck because that same instinct that had driven him to bite her, told him to keep his teeth in her neck longer. The need to mark her, claim her, and bind her would not be ignored. Clearly, she felt it too, or she would have pulled away from him as soon as Jase walked into the room. Fuck Jase and his orders. No one was taking Lexi away from him.
The next voice he heard was Connor’s. “If you don’t get your teeth out of her now, I’m going to shoot you with a tranquilizer gun.”
Reluctantly removing his teeth from her neck, he ran his tongue over his mark and savored the way his mate shuddered. His teeth had pierced her neck high enough that she wouldn’t be able to cover it with clothing. He knew the bite would scar. She was his.
Lexi struggled to pull away from him and cover herself. Wrapping her in the bed sheet, Zane felt the tremor in her body, which he suspected was from nerves rather than arousal at this point. Lexi wasn’t a shifter, and he knew humans weren’t as comfortable with sexual displays or nudity, so he felt like an ass for putting her in this position. At the time, she’d definitely been acting like a female shifter. He’d heard and seen Simon and Danny—both vampires—act more like shifters when they found their shifter mates. Apparently, that didn’t just happen when vampires mated with shifters.
“Dammit!” Jase shouted. “Zane, you cannot mark her. You have no idea what she is.”
But he did know what she was. Her blood and her scent had already given him the answer to that question. “She’s Fae.”
“Fae?” Lexi asked, looking completely lost. “Most of what you are all saying makes no sense to me. Nothing since I fell in that creek makes sense.”
“Are you okay?” he asked Lexi when she started shaking harder.
“What’s happening to me?” She clutched the sheet to her chest.
Zane shifted on the bed so he was behind her, with her body resting against his chest.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Zane assured her. “I promised to take care of you, and I will, angel. Don’t be frightened.”
Lexi nodded, and the shaking eased some, much to Zane’s relief. Having his mate upset agitated him, and he needed to make this better for her. His need to protect her had been strong before, but now that he’d marked her and made her his, that need was much more intense.
“Can you tell me the last thing you remember before Zane pulled you out of the creek?” Connor asked in a calm voice. “The things you said when you got here made no sense to any of us. We’ve all been hoping you’d have more answers once the drugs were out of your system.”
“Someone had stolen my purse,” she began. “I’d gone to pick my car up from the shop, but I was late getting there and they were closed. I needed to pay my invoice before I picked it up, so it was locked up in the garage. When I was walking back to the BART station, some guy snatched my purse. That left me with no money, so I couldn’t get back on a train to h
ead home. Since my phone was in my purse, I wasn’t even able to call anyone. I am definitely going to take the time to remember people’s phone numbers after this experience.”
Zane didn’t really understand half of what she was saying, but Connor’s eyes had narrowed. “BART?” he asked, latching on to that one word, which obviously meant something to him.
She nodded. “I work in San Francisco, and I take BART to and from work because traffic is so bad on the Bay Bridge during commute time. It’s also cheaper than paying for parking.”
“So, the last day you remember really was in 2014?” Connor sounded thoughtful. “What’s the date, again?”
“I guess it’s March nineteenth if I’ve been asleep for two days,” she replied, before amending her answer. “Actually, I guess I lost some time between when I was mugged and when I fell in the creek, so it’s the twentieth, which means I missed three days of work without calling in. I am totally fired.”
No one spoke as they processed what she’d just said. The fact that she was Fae changed things. Zane had heard that some Fae were able to walk through the dimensions separating time. Based on her blood, Lexi was at least part human, and from what he’d heard, only a very powerful full-blooded Fae could walk through the dimensions. Also, she seemed genuinely shocked to hear she was Fae, so he doubted she was aware of any powers she might possess.
“So, the last day you remember just happens to be the day before the first Moon virus outbreak?” Connor sounded suspicious.
“What’s the Moon virus?” she asked. “Sounds like some crazy name they’d use in a werewolf book. Oh, wait! Is that what they’re calling the flu in China that has everyone freaking out?”
“What’s a werewolf?” Zane asked because he’d never heard that term before.
“A person who turns into a wolf,” Lexi explained. “I guess, sometimes, they turn into something that’s more of a combination between a person and a wolf. You must have seen movies with werewolves, even if you don’t read the books.”
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