He caught her arm. “Male wants to keep you close, to be sure you do not change mind about him. I am tempted too.”
“It’s getting pretty crazy for me here. I could use a break.”
His brows lifted, slightly mocking. Had she really found his arrogance sexy? What had she been thinking?
“The two of you are driving me crazy,” she said. “I might ask Kendra to go out on a girl day with me.”
Brows arched ever higher. “You go shopping?”
“I might. Is it all right if I put in for some time, Boss?”
“Anything that takes you from male. I give you charge card, Darling.”
She wanted to stick her tongue out at him. She did it anyway, aware of how childish it was. Lothar smiled like he found it absolutely adorable. What was wrong with the man, anyway?
“I don’t need your card,” she said. Actually, she did need his card. She’d avoided so much in life that she hadn’t even bothered to open a checking account. “Maybe I should get my own card.”
“You do not have to, but you can if like.”
“I need some money first.”
“I give you access to account that is yours.”
“My what?”
“I opened in your name.” He sighed as if explaining it to her was a strain on him. It probably was. “I could not give uncle claim because he could turn on me. I never put my name on account.”
“You gave it to me?”
“Who else?”
Drip, drip—that was the sound of her heart bleeding all over the ground.
“It has money from house sales and some investments.” He shrugged.
She had the distinct feeling he was downplaying this. “How many investments?”
“We buy island.” He grinned.
“Enough to buy an island with?”
“Taip.”
Lothar lifted her chin with a finger. “I should not do this,” he said. He tossed aside the shirt in his hand and closed his mouth fully over hers. Firm, but slow and gentle. His bare skin was hot and smooth. Her arms came instinctively around him. She was surrounded by his scent, and it was pulling her in on a string.
Drip, drip.
She could feel her blood pulsing through her veins. Her heightened senses had turned inward and all she knew was this moment and what he was doing to her. She held him tightly, wishing she could pull him inside of her. Pull her inside of him. Something. Someplace where the unrelenting tug and pull between them could finally end.
He lifted his mouth off hers and kissed her neck. She felt a tug on her sweater, then his lips, hot on her bare shoulder. His teeth slid over her skin, down one breast.
She gave in with a little squeak that seemed to encourage him all the more. This was a new development for Mr. Self-Control. Yes, very new. Was he finally going to do this with her? He seemed . . . off though . . . something wasn’t right. His scent was adrenal, which was expected, but it was the intensity that was wrong. This was the scent of a Hunter in battle. And it was beginning to scare her.
“Lothar?” She pushed on his unyielding shoulders as he worked free the button on her jeans. “Not like this. Lothar, stop.”
He wasn’t hearing her. He hooked his arm around her waist, pulling her to him hard. He arched her back. She had no choice, he was stronger than her. His teeth grazed her neck, nipped at her shoulder.
All the times she’d wanted him to have her, was she going to stop him now? This might be her only chance. He would see that it would be all right. He wouldn’t kill Nick over her. He could learn to control himself. If anyone could, it would be Lothar.
He lifted her feet off the ground, his grip pinching her ribcage. His teeth grazed the top of her breast, dug in, making her wince. Was this normal? Did it matter if it was normal? It really was scaring her. Tears burned her eyes.
She didn’t want to stop him.
She didn’t dare let this continue. He wasn’t himself. Did she want him like this?
Nothing could ever be easy for them. Not. Ever.
Danielle took a handful of hair, pulling until she’d lifted his head. He looked her in the eyes, and she knew he was finally seeing her.
“Are you okay?” she asked, looking in amazement at all the hair she’d pulled out. He was still holding her off the ground.
“Ne. I am not,” he gritted.
“I’m sorry . . . I didn’t really want to stop you. I think we could both use it. The sex, I mean.”
The slight upward tilt of his mouth relieved her. More tears came to her eyes. Grateful tears. God, she loved that smirk. He let her slide to her feet.
“I’m such a baby,” she whispered. “I got scared. This is you, and me, which is kind of amazing, like life changing amazing, and I think I just can’t have it like that.” Danielle cringed. Could she possibly be more embarrassed?
His gaze flicked down her neck, her shoulder, to the left breast completely exposed. Forget it. She’d spoken too soon. It was possible to be more embarrassed.
She made to fix her sweater but he stopped her, fingers closing over hers. He moved her hand to his waist, his gaze tender now through black eyes, fingers lingering longer than necessary on her skin. She was bleeding from where he’d bitten her. She supposed it was only fair. She’d bitten him. Three times.
Brow furrowed, Lothar bent, his mouth closing over it. She gasped as she felt his tongue against her skin. He lifted his head.
“Is that normal?” she asked. “Because, well, blood.”
“Arrested Development dampens instincts. I tried to warn you before.”
When he’d asked her to control herself. “Oh, so that’s what you were getting at.”
“You want me to draw diagram?” He looked intrigued by the idea.
“Not really, no.”
“It does not have to be like that. But if you cannot find control, than neither can I.”
“Is that how you like it?”
He blew out a breath. She hoped she wasn’t frustrating him too much. “I want you. What you need.”
“Yes, but . . .”
He shook his head. “There are things you do not understand.”
He bent, kissing her once. He had regained himself and was securely back in his cage. She wasn’t sure what to think about that.
“W-what don’t I understand?” she asked. “Maybe I do need a diagram.”
“For me, it is not how I have you, but that I have you.” He smiled wryly. “But I do have instincts of my own, and you bring them to . . .” His brow furrowed.
“The surface?” she supplied.
“Make them too strong to fight.”
“So I bring out the animal in you?”
He grinned.
“I’m so stupid,” she said.
“Of course not.” He took her back in his arms, this time to comfort her. The sun was rising. She watched it mutely over his shoulder, his bare skin warm under her fingertips. “You were right to stop me,” he said.
“And what about tomorrow? Or next month, or next year? How long are we supposed to do this?”
“I think on it.”
“Yeah. You think.” She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.
Then her phone rang.
Lothar set her free. They both knew it was Nick. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket, letting it ring in her hand.
“Go protect him,” Lothar said.
“I don’t need to protect . . .” His knowing look stopped her. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“It is what I think, but it is also expected.”
He looked like a man walking into the desert with one bottle of water and no hope of rescue. Like he already knew the end was near and that it couldn’t be avoided.
Her phone stopped ringing and she shoved it in her pocket. “This isn’t over,” she said.
“I know.”
Turning, Danielle left him. She went to the van, slamming the door shut. She looked in the rearview mirror at the cabin. Lothar wa
s on the porch now, watching her, probably fighting back the urge to drag her back home with him.
She gripped the wheel as she crunched down the gravel road, realizing she too was fighting the same urge. Was Territorial Aggression catchy? Wait, only males were susceptible.
This was exactly what she’d been afraid of. She couldn’t kill vampires, protect Nick, and be Lothar’s right hand all at the same time.
Danielle drove too fast, hitting the curb as she pulled up to the diner. She slammed the door again. The poor van was taking a punishment for her bad mood. She supposed she could always buy a new one. She was rich, and all this time he had never told her. Apparently, there were a lot of things he hadn’t told her. They needed to start having more serious conversations.
The sky was turning orange. It bathed the town in a muted glow. Unable to keep back her frustrated tears, Danielle made her way with blurred vision to the door. She found it locked. Kendra wasn’t there yet.
She pulled out her phone and called Kendra’s number, since Nick had her phone. There was no answer, but a light flicked on inside. Then he appeared in jeans and bare feet, no shirt, and slept on hair.
“Who you calling?” he asked.
“You.”
He smiled, irritatingly handsome in the glow of morning. “You’re late.”
She pushed past him, his scent bombarding her. With an exasperated sigh she headed directly for the kitchen.
“You been crying?” he called.
She groaned and went up the stairs and into his apartment. Danielle pulled off her boots and tossed them aside. Crawling into bed, she yanked the covers over her face. They were still warm. And they smelled like him.
Rather than making things worse, it made her anxiety fade. She felt safe.
Even though Nick left her be, his constant noise itself was an irritant. She heard his razor brush his skin, then the sound of him brushing his teeth. The shower kicked on. A few minutes later, he came out, and the fridge opened and closed.
She rolled onto her back. “How am I supposed to sleep?”
“Super-hearing getting to you?”
“You are getting to me.”
He grinned, then drank his orange juice. His broken arm was still in a splint. It was dry, thankfully.
“How’d it go last night?” he asked.
“It went nowhere.”
“Sorry.”
“Lothar thinks we should use you as bait.”
He came around and sat on a stool at the island counter. “It’s an idea.”
She growled.
“It is. It would draw them out.”
“Until they drink your blood, and then kill you for tasting like me.”
“Not if you get there first.” He lifted his brows, then his glass, and drank.
“No way.”
Nick shrugged.
Sitting up, she tossed the covers aside and walked over to him.
His eyes widened. “Still mad at me?”
She’d meant to face him with hands on hips and her best authoritative voice, but that didn’t happen. “I really need you to get control over yourself and stop pressuring me about this,” she said.
“It isn’t a control thing. This is who I am. That’s never going to change, Danielle.” He stopped. “Lothar kissed you. I can smell him all over you. And I mean all over.”
“Does he smell any different?”
He looked confused, then took a sniff and made a face. “Nope, still stinks.”
“I guess I should have changed my clothes. Maybe I should go.”
“No. Stay. It’s easier when he’s not here.”
“But the smell?”
“I’ll manage. I rather have you here.”
“I can get some fresh clothes, come back and shower.”
“I’m sure I have something you can wear. You don’t have to leave for that.”
Guilt flooded her. Lothar was back at the cabin trying to get the sleep he needed to do his job, pushing his control to the limit because she couldn’t keep her feelings for him to herself. Nick’s mortal life would never be the same now that she’d come into it. She’d even ruined Kendra’s life by failing to keep Jason alive.
“I better leave.” She grabbed her boots, clutching them against herself. “I’m sorry. Everything’s a mess.”
“Baby, you’ve got unfinished business.” He tapped the end of her nose. “I know what happened to Jason, and I know what I am, which is more than I’ve ever had before.”
He was doing better than she was. “I’m not even sure I understand what I am.”
“Maybe that’s what I’m for.”
“You’re being sexist again.” She tried not to smile, but found her mouth twitching anyway.
“Is that a smile?”
“No.”
He ducked his head. “I don’t believe you.”
She brushed his damp hair back. “It’s just a little one.”
“That’s what I thought.” Nick leaned in to kiss her, then he cringed and pulled back.
“You can taste him too?”
“I rather not test that theory. I’m really trying to do what’s best for you. But I still think you belong with me.”
“Not something to be taken lightly.”
“Yeah, I know.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. The sudden display of vulnerability made her think of Lothar standing alone on the porch.
She hugged her boots tightly.
Nick’s face darkened, and she glanced down to see her sweater dipped far enough to show the bite on her breast. “I’m going now,” she said, turning away.
He blocked her path. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing.”
“Danielle,” he warned.
“Less than I’ve done to him.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“Because he’s bigger than you.”
“I’m not mortal, Nick.”
“Yeah, you are. You bleed, just like me.”
“Not just like you. No.”
Danielle left, pulling on her boots. She made her way to the kitchen.
Kendra was just putting on her apron when Danielle walked in.
“I . . .” Her throat constricted. “Stupid, stupid tears.”
“Hey, are you okay?” Kendra asked. “What happened?”
“I’m so confused. I have this awful problem.”
“What?”
“I’ve got two really hot guys fighting over me.”
Kendra plucked a napkin out of a chrome holder. “Here.”
Danielle blew her nose.
“I wouldn’t say it’s an awful problem you have, but it is a problem. Lothar came clean then, huh?”
“How did you know?”
“It wasn’t rocket science.”
Was she as blind as she’d accused Lothar of being? “He never told me before, and now he wants me.” She sniffed into her napkin. “He’s building me a bathroom.”
“Wow, it must be love.”
“I’ve known him for a long time. I can’t let all of that go for a man I just met. And then Nick . . .” She blew her nose again. “It’s complicated.”
“I can see that.”
“I can’t get away from them. Everywhere I go, there they are.”
“Overwhelming you?”
She nodded. “I told Lothar I was going to ask you out on a girls’ day and he said, I give you charge card, Darling.”
“Then let’s take advantage of his foolishness and go shopping.” She untied her apron.
“You would leave work?”
“I work for a lot of reasons.” Kendra looked at her apron then set it aside. “Steph will be here soon. I’ll have her take over.”
“Thank you.” Danielle pulled out her phone and called Lothar.
It rang once and he answered. “What do you need?” he said thickly.
Her skin warmed. It took her a moment to find her voice. “I’m going with Kendra. And I need your credi
t card.”
He laughed. “Then come and get it. But sleep, please. Have her drive.”
“I will, if you promise to sleep too.”
“I sleep.”
Yes, now he would, knowing she was with Kendra instead of Nick. She tucked her phone away.
“We’ll make a list.” Kendra grabbed a notepad and a pencil.
“Of what to buy?”
“The pros and cons of each of your men.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Or we can make a shopping list. How much does an animal control officer make?”
“Lothar comes from old money.”
“Wow.”
A few minutes later they pulled up to the cabin in Kendra’s VW. Lothar came out on the porch wearing a cashmere sweater his sister had purchased for him in Prague. Unperturbed by cold water, he looked cleaner than she did.
Danielle rubbed her hands on her jeans. “Why am I so agitated all the time?”
“Because things are changing.”
“Might be too much too fast.”
“Hang in there.”
Danielle got out and started toward him. She couldn’t bring herself to look up until she had to, knowing her face might melt off. She stopped before him and lifted her head slowly, felt heat rushing to her cheeks.
Okay, so he was officially better acquainted with her left breast than anyone but herself. So what.
So what?
She was suddenly having trouble breathing.
Lothar pulled out his credit card, a single brow lifted in his usual shield. Even his arrogance was making her hot. Okay, so maybe it was sexy after all. Somehow, she was supposed to not sleep with this man, ever. Sooner or later they would cave. Probably sooner. He would kill Nick, or some poor fool who looked at her too long, and then be put to death, and she’d lose him forever.
She took the card with numb fingers. “I won’t spend too much,” she said stupidly.
“You worry about money?”
“I’m making conversation.”
He laughed. “With me? You like to make things difficult.”
“Funny.”
“Go,” he said, kissing her once. “Have good time.”
“All right,” she said, nudging closer, wanting more.
“Perhaps not before mortal,” he whispered, against her ear.
He was right. It would be too easy for them both to look subhuman in seconds. Danielle went down the steps and slid into Kendra’s car. She stared at the trivial piece of plastic in her hand, then shoved it in her pocket.
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