“Hold it together,” she whispered.
Focusing on finding her center of gravity, Sadie kept her eyes shut and tried to fixate on the feel of the glass. If only she could get Killian’s warm, cozy, inviting scent out of her head! She couldn’t. No matter how much she fought it, his distinct male scent had slipped into her body and practically imprinted there.
Sadie froze when a deep, familiar voice interrupted her private moment.
“That’s funny; I was just telling myself the same thing.”
Sadie’s fangs erupted and her eyes snapped open as she shoved herself away from the glass. In a battle-ready stance, she found herself face-to-face with Killian Bane. Silently berating herself for being so sloppy and not picking up on his arrival, Sadie curled her lip back, flashing him her fangs. How the hell did he sneak up on her like that?
“The door was open,” he said quietly, pushing the door shut tightly behind him. His sturdy six-foot-tall frame loomed large in front of her, blocking her exit. His dark, wavy hair was swept off his face and the shadow of a beard, one that seemed ever present, covered his square jaw. The jeans, button-down white shirt, and coffee-colored blazer covered his body but did little to hide his well-built form. The one feature she was drawn to the most, though, was that set of intense, almost caramel-colored eyes. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“What are you doing down here?” Sadie retracted her fangs and snagged her jacket off the floor before pulling it back on. “This area is for employees only. It’s not for customers, and it certainly isn’t for my competitors. Besides, I’m sure your date is getting lonely.”
“She’s not my date.” The muscle in Killian’s jaw flickered and he took a step closer before stopping. Even though Sadie knew she should get the hell out of there, she didn’t. Holding her ground, she met his apologetic gaze. “Christina is—”
“Your partner.” Sadie folded her arms over her chest, feeling the need to steel her resolve any way possible. “And your future wife. Congratulations. She’s quite a bitch.”
“Sadie,” he said softly. “Christina’s father is an investor. If she chooses to call herself my business partner, fine. She is not, however, my future wife.” Killian continued to move a step nearer, and as he closed the distance between them, Sadie had the distinct impression of being stalked. “My father and mother can toss around that idea all they’d like, but Christina is not the woman I want for my mate.” His brow furrowed. “I’m now more certain of that than ever.”
“Obviously nobody gave her that memo.” Sadie dropped her arms to her sides as Killian’s towering frame invaded her personal space. Heat flowed off his body and washed over her in erotic pulses that matched the strumming beat of his heart. It was tempting and teasing her, practically screaming for her to touch him. Clearing her throat, she tilted her head back so she could continue looking him in the eye. Bumping into a stack of boxes, she took a second to realize that she’d backed up as he approached. “The way she drapes herself all over you, I get the impression she has every intention of being your partner in every sense of the word.”
The muffled music from the club pulsed from above but neither of them spoke. The only sound in the room was the constant, solid pounding of Killian’s heart. Sadie’s gaze flicked briefly to the bulging vein in Killian’s neck, and she suppressed a groan when a surge of desire whirled in her gut. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pressed her lips together in a tight line, willing her fangs to remain sheathed.
“I don’t want Christina,” Killian murmured. His warm breath puffed enticingly along her forehead and his scent drifted in the air, heightening her desire. “It’s not fair to her though, is it? After getting one taste of you last night, no one else stands a chance.”
“Really? Coming here with a date is a funny way of showing it.”
Sadie forced herself to look him in the face, and the instant she did, she knew it was a colossal mistake. His eyes looked like pools of liquid gold, and she could swear he saw straight through to her very soul. A growl rumbled in his chest and Sadie gasped. His eyes flickered and shifted into the glowing amber eyes of his wolf. The sudden and instinctive change was a glaring reminder of who he was…who they both were.
In a remarkably steady voice, Sadie whispered, “Last night should never have happened.”
“The only thing about last night that shouldn’t have happened was the way it ended,” Killian rasped.
Sadie stilled when his large hand cradled her cheek. Despite her best efforts to resist him, her body quivered uncontrollably as he surrounded her in every way a person could be surrounded. When the heat of his palm seared against her skin, a needy moan escaped her lips. She sagged against the stack of boxes. Desire curled inside her like smoke, and regardless of the litany of warnings that ran through her head, Sadie’s hands found their way to the front of Killian’s shirt. She grasped the fabric, still warm from the heat of his body, and pulled him closer. The evidence of his desire pressed against her hip, and images of him in all his naked glory came roaring back into her mind. Sweet Jesus, the man had a body that looked like it had been hand carved by the gods themselves.
“Is that so?” Sadie pulled his shirt loose from his jeans and slipped her fingers underneath before trailing them along the hard planes of his stomach. Arching one eyebrow, she held his heavy-lidded gaze and unsheathed her fangs. “How do you suppose it should have ended?”
“The same way it should end every night from now on,” he growled. Killian slid both hands into her long hair. Sadie shivered when his fingertips grazed her scalp. He pressed his hips against her before slipping his thigh between her legs. Sadie gasped with pleasure as he put pressure on just the right spot, and when a moan escaped her parted lips, a cocky grin emerged on his. Killian tightened his grip on her hair and leaned in so his mouth was just a breath away. “Every single night should end with me buried deep inside you.”
In a blur of motion, he captured her lips with his and dove deep. The man tasted like cinnamon and sex all rolled into one, and in that moment Sadie knew she could become addicted. The heat of his body seeped through the layers of their clothing and his scent surrounded her, consuming her with fire. Needing to get closer, Sadie slid her hands up his bare back beneath his shirt. She sighed into his mouth when the thick layer of muscle on his back moved beneath her fingers. Licking and suckling his lips, she clung to him and rocked her hips, seeking satisfaction. With every pass, wicked pleasure ricocheted through her body, making her sex pulse with unfulfilled need.
Killian grabbed a fistful of her hair and tilted her head back before breaking the kiss and trailing his tongue down her throat. With her arms wrapped around his waist, Sadie leaned back to give him better access to the hypersensitive skin along her neck. Her fangs bared, she murmured tiny sounds of pleasure as Killian reached down and grabbed her ass with both hands. He lifted his head and that burning gaze latched on to hers as he hoisted her up and carried her over to another stack of boxes before setting her down.
“We should go back upstairs.” She was unbuckling his belt even as the words escaped her lips, and he undid all of the buttons on her shirt and pushed it open. Sadie wrapped her legs around him and tugged him closer, just before sliding down the zipper of his fly.
“No fucking way.” The words still hanging in the air, his large hands cupped her breasts, the heat from his flesh seeping easily through the black lacy fabric of her bra. “I’m not going anywhere but here,” he growled.
Sadie cried out when the hot wet cavern of Killian’s mouth covered her nipple. Tiny shocks ripped through her as he suckled. With one hand cupping her breast and the other arm clamped around her waist, he had her anchored to him and his touch. She’d been in sexual situations with humans and vampires countless times before, and yet she’d never felt the kind of masculine, animal strength she experienced with Killian. It was exotic, intense, carnal, and almost feral to be wrapped
in his ironclad embrace.
Writhing against him, desperate to get closer, she shoved his jeans down his hips. Killian shuddered against her when her fingers curled around his steely length and she grinned. Killian’s grip on her tightened and he flicked her nipple with his tongue, continuing his merciless assault. His hips pumped in slow strokes as Sadie ran her hand up and down the rigid stalk of flesh, massaging him eagerly with every pass. His body temperature skyrocketed and sweat slicked his skin, the hammering sound of his pulse calling to her deepest, most primal instincts.
Just as the bloodlust seemed like it would overcome her, Killian reached down and covered her sex with his hand. Sadie cried out when his thumb found her clit. It didn’t matter that there were two layers of fabric between them; Killian pushed all the right buttons, working her into a frenzy with remarkable speed. Sadie tossed her head back and shouted his name as he rubbed her clit in sure, swift strokes. One of her hands pumping his cock, the other tangled in his wavy hair as Sadie held his head to her breast while he nipped, suckled, and massaged her to the brink of orgasm.
The climax coiled deep in her belly, and as Killian pumped into her hand, she knew he was close to the edge too. With the searing, enticing heat of his body pressed against her and with every nerve ending tingling to life, Sadie tightened her grip on him and tilted his head.
“Killian,” she said in a ragged whisper. “Let me taste you.”
With the peak of climax nearing, Killian lifted his head and captured her stare while rubbing her clit in tiny torturous circles. One word whispered into her mind.
Yes.
Had she heard it or was it wishful thinking? It didn’t matter, because any resolve Sadie might have had went right out the window. She wasn’t thinking about the ramifications of what it could mean. Hell, she wasn’t thinking at all. At that instant Sadie had been reduced to her basest animal instincts, and all she could do was feel.
Her bright, sweet orgasm erupted. At the same time, Killian pumped his hips and his massive body shuddered in her arms as he came. Breathing heavily and with a growl rumbling in his chest, Killian tilted his head to the side, his unshaven cheek scraping along the tender flesh of her breast. With a curse, Sadie dipped her head and sank her fangs into his neck, sending another orgasm firing through Killian’s body.
She expected her own pleasure to be heightened as well, but not like this. When the warm rich liquid touched her tongue, Sadie was a goner and her world exploded.
The second climax ripped through her with brutal force, and lights erupted behind her eyes. Sadie clung to him, her body humming with a bone-rattling surge of power from Killian’s potent, life-giving blood. Her fingers tangled in his hair and she cradled him against her, reveling in the feel of his bulging, muscular form pressed against hers. Vibrating with unbridled energy and with a flash of unusually potent warmth coursing through her veins, Sadie knew she should stop. But as the images from his blood memories filled her head, stopping was no longer an option.
The city lights glittering like diamonds beneath a moonlit sky.
The hateful gaze of his brother, Horace, as he charged Killian in a battle to the death.
Grief. Anger. Pain. Betrayal. Loneliness.
His heartbeat, strong and formidable, reverberated through both of them, far more than it ever had when she was feeding from a human. Sadie found herself completely immersed in Killian’s emotions.
If the watch Xavier gave her hadn’t started beeping like a damn fire alarm, Sadie might not have stopped.
Aware that her body temperature was rising with Killian still wrapped around her, she knew she had to stop. Sadie waited for two more beats of his heart, allowing herself to float in the comforting blanket of his embrace before finally lifting her head. She sealed the wound, leaving no trace of their encounter, but his heartbeat still thrummed strongly through her body.
Eyes closed, her bones liquid, she slumped back against some boxes. She barely registered movement as Killian swiftly put himself back in his clothes. His heartbeat still thundered around her and through her, and when she finally opened her eyes, Killian stood between her legs staring at her with an awed expression. Damn it all to hell. He probably regretted what had just happened and was probably going to hightail it out of there—and she wouldn’t blame him.
Killian didn’t leave. Instead, he grabbed a dish towel from a nearby shelf and tenderly wiped Sadie’s hands, removing all evidence of their passionate encounter. The sweet, thoughtful gesture was almost more than Sadie could take. If she looked him in the face, she might dissolve into tears like a stupid little girl.
Eyes closed, she stilled when Killian grasped her hips before running his thumb along the dip of her waist. An involuntary shiver shimmied up her spine from even that small brush of his flesh against hers. Finding her courage, Sadie finally flicked her eyes open and was met with Killian’s warm gaze. The reality of the situation settled over her with a sudden wave of embarrassment and shame as she stared into his ruggedly handsome face.
Holy crap. She could not believe what she just did—what they just did.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. Sadie closed her eyes and hurriedly put her bra back in place before buttoning her blouse. Killian’s heartbeat pounded like a fucking drum and still rattled through her. “Damn it all. I know better than to do something like this. I am too freaking old to be playing with fire like some kind of youngling vampire.”
“Don’t you feel that?” he asked softly.
“What? Mortified?” Sadie rolled her eyes and puffed a long strand of hair out of her face before pushing him aside and hopping off the crates. “I’d say I’m in touch with that emotion, and your damn heartbeat is still ricocheting around me like a pinball machine.” Sadie let out a sound of frustration and snagged her jacket off the floor. Tugging it on, she spun around to face him. “I know it’s been a couple of centuries, but I don’t remember werewolf blood making me feel like this.”
“Sadie.” Killian whispered her name almost reverently and cradled her hands in his before placing them over her own chest. “That’s not my heartbeat.”
“What are—” Sadie’s words stuck in her throat, and her wide eyes searched his as she felt the steady and unmistakable thump of a heartbeat. Slow and clear. The pulse she’d been hearing and feeling wasn’t Killian’s… It was hers. “What the fuck is going on?” Her voice shaking with fear and confusion, she tugged her hands from Killian’s and took a step away. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut in a feeble attempt to regain her focus. But he was right. Deep in her chest pounded the unmistakable beat of her long-dormant heart. Pointing at him accusingly, she flicked her eyes open and shouted, “Werewolf blood doesn’t do this.”
No. Killian’s mouth set in a tight line and he let out a slow breath. I don’t imagine any other wolf would have this effect on you. Killian reached out to Sadie with his right hand, and she immediately stepped back. A look of disappointment flickered across his face, but it was swiftly replaced by anger, and his hand dropped to his side. Then again, you can’t telepath with other wolves either, can you?
Holy shit. It had happened again. Hearing him in her mind wasn’t just wishful thinking or her subconscious. It was Killian, and he’d deliberately telepathed to her. If Sadie was still breathing, she would have hyperventilated.
“No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sadie shook her head furiously and pressed her hand over her chest again. She knew the denial sounded as hollow to him as it did to her. Her heartbeat was slowing, to her relief, but that did nothing to stop her from shaking like a leaf. The long-forgotten sensation had her spinning, and if she didn’t get out of there and away from him, she was going to pass out. “I have to go.”
“You can’t run away from me or from what’s happening between us.” Killian moved quickly and stood in front of the door, blocking her exit. “Ignoring it won’t make it go
away.”
“What it would you be talking about?” Sadie threw her arms in the air.
“I’m not sure, but I know enough to know that tonight isn’t the end.” His lips tilted. “Not by a long shot.”
“Well, I am sure about what happened and it is the end. We hooked up, Killian. We got each other off and I drank your blood. That’s it. End of story. A very fucked-up story but still—that’s all that happened.” Her voice was edged with a hint of hysteria, and there was a good chance one or more of the supernaturals in the club might hear, but she didn’t care. The entire time she ranted, Killian stared at her with an infuriatingly calm expression that made her want to smack the crap out of him.
“It was just sex, Killian. Hell, not even full-on sex. We fooled around and your blood made me a little nuts, that’s all. It’s probably because you’re a royal or something.” She buttoned her jacket and smoothed her hair off her face in an effort to regain some kind of composure. “Now, get out of my way so I can go back to work and you can go back to your date.”
Killian stepped away, and then just before Sadie tugged the door open, he pressed his palm against it and held it shut.
“You like fighting with me, don’t you?” Killian’s gravelly voice skittered over her and the sound tickled her from the inside out. Even though he wasn’t touching her, she could sense that every inch of his body was rigid, taut, and ready to pounce. “I have to admit, that turns me on. And I do love a challenge.”
Sadie was about to tell him to piss off when Trixie’s frantic voice and pounding on the door interrupted them.
“Sadie?” Trixie shouted from the hallway. “Are you in there? What the fuck is going on? I’ve been calling you for, like, ten minutes and Killian’s date is freaking out. She wants to know where he is.”
The cold finger of fear trickled up Sadie’s back when the weight of Trixie’s words settled over her. “Oh shit,” Sadie whispered.
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