She frowned at his nonchalance.
‘Did he break that resilient heart, Caitlin?’
She desperately wanted to stand, to get out of that enclosure that seemed to be contracting more by the minute. But she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of trying again. ‘Rob is nothing to do with you. Nothing to do with any of this. Leave him out of it.’
‘Wow, he sure meant something to you once.’ His gaze didn’t flinch. ‘Is he the reason you’ve been alone ever since? Or had you already seen what you wanted elsewhere? Someone you wanted more?’
She frowned at the taunt in his entrancing eyes. ‘And who would that be, Kane?’
He moved his hand to rest just behind the small of her back, her awareness of its presence making her spine ache. ‘Why the VCU, Caitlin? I mean, out of all the units you could have worked for, why vampires?’
‘I went where the opening was.’
‘Still, it’s a bit of a dark and risky place for a girl like you.’
She felt like rolling her eyes at the number of times she’d heard that line over the years. It still didn’t suppress her need to challenge it. She turned to face him a little. ‘A girl like me? And what am I like, Kane?’
‘One who has no place chasing vampires like me.’
She narrowed her eyes. ‘What was it you said to me – a little girl doing a man’s job? And yet here we are, wasting time in one of your dens as you helplessly wait for me to fall in love with you. Does that not strike you as a little tragic?’
There was a hint of amusement in his eyes. ‘For a girl who looks at me the way you do, you’re very confident in your ability to abstain, Caitlin.’
She exhaled a terse laugh as she turned away from him again, fearful of what he might see otherwise. ‘We’re not all victims to our libidos, Kane.’
‘Is that what you have against us, Caitlin? Do we not meet your moral standards?’
‘I don’t have anything against vampires. I’ve met plenty of decent ones. And I’m just as willing to protect those as humans or any other third species, which is why I do the job I do. I focus on the ones that don’t take their meds or advice, the ones who don’t follow the guidelines.’
‘Guidelines created by humans.’
‘We’re still the morally dominant species, like it or not. Souls will always outweigh shadows.’
‘According to your lores. Your religions.’
She looked back at him. ‘In any lore, the soul is the base for morality.’
‘And I thought it was the decisions someone made.’
‘Based on what you know to be right. And that’s what your soul dictates to you.’
‘So someone without a soul is incapable of making good decisions?’ he asked.
‘Self-sacrifice is the greatest sign of morality. Unfortunately, it’s something third species are incapable of. They can do the right thing, but it’s always about self-preservation in the end. Those shadows inside of you where your souls should be prove there is no hope for redemption.’
He smiled. ‘You really believe that, don’t you?’
‘Why did you hold back earlier on the bed? Is it because of conscience? A basic understanding of what is wrong? No, it’s because you want something out of this. You thought holding back would make you appear to be in control of your emotions so you could start to gain my trust. You held back because you want me to want you. You need me to want you, to give you my consent so your plan can work.’
‘I remember telling you I wouldn’t need to seduce your soul out of you.’
Unease squeezed her chest. ‘It’s the only way you can get to a shadow reader’s soul.’
‘Is it?’
She stared at him. ‘Are you saying it isn’t?’
He broke a hint of a smile. ‘You almost look disappointed.’
She exhaled curtly and looked ahead again. ‘You are so unbelievably arrogant, Kane.’
‘I’m not arrogant. I just say it as it is. And you most definitely have a little spark in there for me,’ he said, clipping the base of her spine with his thumb in a way she found provocatively and surprisingly playful.
She didn’t bother denying it. She wasn’t even sure she could sound convincing enough even to attempt it. Instead she clenched her hands around her knees and kept her attention ahead. The rain continued to patter, the tension in her chest tightening as the minutes passed in silence. She rubbed her hands down her shins for reassurance, a sheen of humidity from the bathwater steam lightly coating her skin.
She berated herself for flinching as he reached up and tucked her hair back over her shoulder, slid the back of his fingers over her artery. ‘Have you ever been bitten? For pleasure, I mean.’
Her heart lunged at the thought of his incisors sinking into her. She subtly shrugged him off and pulled her hair back over her shoulder. ‘I don’t agree with feeding. There are systems. Protocols.’
‘Is that the real reason? Most people are put off by the pain. But it doesn’t have to be painful. No more painful than sex anyway. Not if it’s done right. It can’t be or people wouldn’t give themselves over time and time again.’
‘And I’ve seen what that addiction does to people. Whatever neurotransmitter or enzyme or whatever else it is you use to drug them into thinking they need it.’
‘People keep coming back because it feels good. Some even prefer it to sex. It’s a whole different high, a different kind of intimacy.’ He traced the back of his hand up her upper arm, his cool fingers tantalizingly fresh against the heat of her skin. But she wouldn’t move. She wouldn’t give him the reaction he was seeking. Not this time. And something, something in the sensuality of those fingers, compelled her to wait to see what he’d do next. ‘Bites aren’t supposed to be aggressive. The very opposite, in fact. Bites used to be about protection as much as the feed itself. If someone was bitten, other vampires would leave them alone. The vampire would get a regular feeder and the feeder, in turn, would be safeguarded for their loyalty. It was a special bond. The original friends with benefits.’
‘And a great way to create your own harem. Sounds more like a protection racket to me.’
‘You have such a low opinion of me, Caitlin.’
‘I know too much about you.’
‘No, you think you know about me.’
‘You’ve done little to prove me wrong.’
‘I’ve done nothing to prove you right other than kidnap you. Other than that, I think I’ve been more than civilised.’
She looked back over her shoulder at him. ‘And if I hadn’t stopped you on the bed, just how far would you have gone?’
‘As far as you wanted me to go.’
Her stomach clenched at the subtle intimidation in his gaze. She looked back ahead. She couldn’t stay there. She couldn’t sit there like that. Not with that low rasp challenging the most intimate parts of her. But running would give him all he needed to know that she was faltering.
‘Don’t tell me you’ve never wondered what it would be like.’
‘You really do flatter yourself, Kane.’
‘What I’m flattered by is the way you look at me,’ he said, running the back of his hand up her spine. She held her breath at the slow caress to the nape of her neck. And as he traced the back of those fingers across her shoulder blade to the shoulder nearest him, every tiny hair on the back of her neck stood on end. A shiver ricocheted through her as he stroked down her upper arm to her inner elbow, but Caitlin kept perfectly still.
She could feel him watching her every reaction. But she wasn’t going to falter like he expected her to. Especially not when his touch was so shockingly compulsive as he worked up under her short, fluted sleeve, his hand enveloping her shoulder.
As he slid his hand across the upward curves of her breasts, she gripped the step either side of her. She shuddered at the intense surge in her abdomen, the intimacy almost unbearable.
She thought she’d break when his fingers adeptly unfastened the first three button
s on her dress, but she found herself unwilling to move. And as the loosened fabric allowed him to lower the sleeve of her dress, he slid down her bra strap so her shoulder was completely bare. She could only focus on steadying her breathing as she relished in the sensuality of his thumb massaging into the knots in her shoulder, her fingertips tingling with the need to touch him, but still she refused to give him the satisfaction of moving.
Kane slid his hand across her collarbone, but instead of retracting again, he reached all the way across to her upper arm. Water splashed around him as he eased onto his knees behind her. Shoulders inches from hers, the temporary heat from his wet chest radiated through the cotton of her dress. ‘That much tension is bad for you,’ he said.
‘So are your fangs being that close to my neck.’
‘They’re incisors. Fangs are so feral.’
‘And you’re not?’
‘I have my moments. But don’t worry, I’m not going to bite you,’ he said, his tone betraying his smile. ‘Not without your consent.’
‘How very chivalrous of you.’
He brushed her hair aside again, but this time to expose the right side of her neck. ‘Curb the sarcasm,’ he said, his thumb caressing the exposed pulse pumping beneath her skin. ‘Or I might be tempted to change my mind.’
His soft, sensuous kiss at the nape of her neck stunned her. She shuddered and gripped the carpeted step. But she still wasn’t going to move. This time she’d see just how far he was willing to go. Just what the infamous Kane Malloy would do next.
Still holding her upper arm, simultaneously trapping the other, he kept her against him, the dampness of his arm sinking through her dress. The move had been so carefully orchestrated that she could almost admire him for it. And as he slid his other hand up her throat, his fingers encompassing it with ease, she thought of how easily he could snap her neck. Instead he tilted her head to the side to expose her neck more.
Her heart thudded painfully, the rush of warmth between her legs disconcerting her. She knew she couldn’t move now even if she wanted to, even with his possible instability from being knelt in the bath still.
But she didn’t want to move. That was the simple fact. She didn’t want to go anywhere. The secure grip of his arm wrapped around her and the hardness of his chest against her back was shockingly reassuring, not terrifying as she would have expected.
‘Tell me,’ he said, leaning enticingly close to her ear. ‘What are you most scared of, Caitlin? What I can do to you or how I make you feel?’
Hell, she wished he’d stop using her name. Every time he said it, goosebumps swept over her skin, the word like a melody from his subtle rasp. She swallowed against her arid throat as he released her neck to slide his hand further down her body.
‘You don’t make me feel anything,’ she lied.
She felt his smile as he kissed her ear. ‘No?’ he asked, slowly bunching up her dress.
She breathed heavily as his cool hand touched the warm, now-exposed flesh of her inner thigh, steadily sliding up to find the intimate heat between her legs.
Caitlin flinched, her hands clenching. She slammed her thighs together, locking his hand in place.
‘Felt that, didn’t you?’ he said, kissing her gently on the neck, his teeth grazing her sensitive flesh through his smile. He tightened his arm around her, clenched his hand into a fist and twisted to encourage her thighs apart.
He slid his fingers gently down to the crotch of her knickers, the teasing pressure and insistence almost unbearable. He kissed behind her ear, distracting her enough to part her legs a little more, allowing him more freedom as he slid his fingers gently back and forth, his thumb working dangerously close to her clitoris. She tensed, stunned at what she was allowing him to do, her own dampness, her sex swelling and throbbing in response to his expert touch. And he clearly sensed it, his fingers adding more pressure. She suppressed her gasp and closed her eyes, relishing in the sensation as tendrils of arousal squeezed her body.
He teased the crotch of her knickers aside, his cool fingers meeting her most intimate flesh. A bolt of shock soared through her as his middle finger slid through the folds a little way into her sex, his thumb expertly finding and applying pressure against her clitoris. She finally gasped and wrenched her left hand free, slamming it down over his, her nails on her trapped hand digging into the step.
But as Kane persisted, Caitlin bit into her bottom lip to prevent herself from crying out. And as his middle finger delved deeper into her wetness, she could do nothing to curb the heaviness of her breaths, her grip tightening on his hand as he pushed deeper.
But as his thumb sent another bolt of electricity through her, it was all too much.
She forced his hand away, stumbled away from his loosened grip and marched out of the bathroom.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Caitlin paced the room, her legs shaking, hands to her mouth. She hated the way she trembled, her sex throbbing and aching for him, the bolt of arousal that had knocked her off guard still forefront in her mind.
His touch, though firm, had been gentle and controlled, and not urgent like she’d expected. The thought of his fingers running sensually over her skin and the expert ease with which he found her most sensitive core made her shudder. No fumbling. No misdirection. He knew exactly what he was doing and there was something dangerously appealing in that. Something that was equally as terrifying.
Her resistance wasn’t going to last three days. Not trapped in there with him. The whole plan had been crazy. She needed out. Just a few hours and she was already questioning her convictions.
It unnerved her how much she wanted him. And she knew it was wrong because it was nothing about feelings. It was sexual – pure and simple. The way she’d reacted to his touch in the corridor and in the interrogation room had only confirmed it - he had electrified her. And the fact he saw it, and felt it, and wasted no time in responding to it was too much of a turn-on to bear. She wanted him to be brutal, clumsy, crude even, because then she could resist him, but he was none of those. Instead, his self-control and self-assurance were dangerously thrilling.
This wasn’t going to work. The realisation hit her hard and fast. She was no competition for him. The tension wracked through her, and she berated herself again for running out on him like some nervous teenager, not a twenty-nine-year-old woman. But one touch of his fingers had told her she wouldn’t stand a chance if she gave in to him.
She reminded herself he was just a vampire, albeit a master, but still a vampire. It was her area of expertise. She’d seen inside enough of them, hunted enough of them over the years not to have the excuse of fear or apprehension. The only thing clouding her judgement was her insane attraction to him and she had to get a grip on it quick.
Hearing him step out of the water, she took a few steadying breaths. Just the thought of those insistent fingers made the blood rush back to her most intimate area. She backed away from the door and braced herself.
He stepped into the doorway looking like some honed centurion wrapped only in his dark-grey towel, his erection pressing against it. He leaned against the doorframe, his folded arms emphasising their strength – confirmation again that if he wanted to overpower her, even with her training, it would be effortless.
‘You’re trembling,’ he said, his eyes glinting with amusement.
‘I’m fine,’ she said, clenching and unclenching her hands before she realised she was doing it. She concealed them behind her back.
‘You didn’t have to run out on me. You just had to ask me to stop.’
‘And you would have?’
He advanced steadily towards her. ‘If I thought you meant it.’
She didn’t dare break from that gaze as she backed up in sync with each sure-footed casual step he made towards her. ‘And you’d know that would you? You’d be willing to take the risk?’ Her heel hit the skirting board, making her flinch.
His eyes twinkled with mischief as he drew level, his proximity igni
ting a spark in her again. ‘Is that a challenge?’
Her nails scraped against the wall at the small of her back. ‘No.’
He placed one hand beside her head, his other loose and low on his hip. ‘You’re not used to being hit on, are you?’
‘Is that what it was?’
He smiled fleetingly, offering her a flash of incisors. He leaned closer. ‘You might be able to play these kinds of games with the wholesome, naive boys you date in coffee shops, Caitlin, but I’m not like that. But then you wouldn’t be so turned on if I was, would you?’ His lips almost touched her ear. ‘I’m already inside your head. And your body’s most definitely next.’
Her stomach flipped. He was expecting her to crumble, but her defences kicked in. She wouldn’t be seen as the weak adversary. He needed to know that it was him who needed to tread carefully – not her. She was not going to be intimidated by his mind games. She was not going to back down. The defiant streak in her ratcheted her adrenaline up a few notches. His arrogance struck every nerve ending, but more than that, the dark and dangerous promise he had uttered compelled her to challenge him. That aura he held around himself was not beyond breaching.
‘You think you’ve got your fingers on all my buttons, don’t you, Kane? But you don’t know me. I’m not porcelain – I don’t crack easily. It’s taken me years to prove that to the VCU, so three days with you will be nothing. You might think you’re in control, but you’re not. The only control you have over me is hurting me or killing me, neither of which you can risk if you’re to get what you need. Because despite what you say, I know you need me to fall for you or you wouldn’t be taking your time. You need me, Kane. Maybe even more than I need you.’
His eyes narrowed slightly, but she couldn’t tell if it was amusement or annoyance. ‘Is that right?’
‘For all I know, you might have lied when you said you could kill whatever it is that’s coming for me. Maybe that’s why you need to get to me before it does. Maybe you’re not capable of protecting me, just like you weren’t capable of protecting Arana. Where were you when your little sister needed her powerful, master-vampire brother, huh? Where were you when she was being tortured and abused and slaughtered? That’s right – fulfilling your baser needs, like you always are.’
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