by Lia Slater
He hadn’t lied to her about letting her go if her pack came to her rescue. Truly, he hoped they would show up soon. The High Council wouldn’t punish him if he were bombarded and attacked by the enemy. He thought, anyway.
And with her gone, the attraction sizzling between them would stop. It had to stop. Before he did something he regretted.
His thoughts were lost as she writhed and panted underneath his hold. Her freed hands raked into his hair, holding him close. Her nipples beaded tight, pressed against his skin, made him want to suck them into his greedy mouth along with her blood.
Her blood. She’d lost too much. He forced his fangs to retract and then licked her tiny wounds, though every cell in his body argued for him to drink more.
“I’ve had enough,” he said, more to remind himself than to inform the enticing woman who was still squirming beneath him.
“Enough?” Her amber eyes were ablaze as he caught her gaze. Heated. Yearning. Wildly beautiful. “You’re done?” She shivered and ran her foot up his calf in a seductive move.
“I…” He tried to bring himself to lift off her body but the arousing feel of her hands in his hair caught him off guard. Her touch was tender and inviting. That along with the intoxicating scent of her arousal had him stuttering for words like an idiot. “You…I… Uh.” Snap out of it, Worth, you bloody fool.
He wouldn’t allow himself to take advantage of her under her weakened state. No matter how much he wanted her.
She lifted her hips and, again, he felt the moist heat of her pussy pressing against his stiffened cock. Another of her pleading whimpers broke loose. Oh hell. Losing restraint, he dropped his gaze to her plump bottom lip and imagined what it would be like to suck and nibble on her pouty mouth.
Would one kiss be going against his code of ethics and what he knew was right despite what the High Council preached to him?
He shook his head. “Blanca.” Her name felt oddly satisfying falling from his tongue. “Blanca, I won’t hurt you. You’re safe with me.”
“Shut up.” With her fingers still clawing his scalp, she lured him down. “Don’t you see how cruel you’re being by not taking me?” Her sweet breath swept along his lips. She was so close and he thought he’d never yearned for anything this badly. “You took my blood, Worth. What do you think that does to me?”
“I won’t take advantage of you.”
“You already have, you bastard. You took what doesn’t belong to you without my consent, making me want you. Now you want to torture me? Make me beg?” Tears puddled in her fiery eyes and Worth’s gut clinched tight.
“I’m sorry.”
Shit. Not tears. He could handle anything—death, destruction, nights in a dungeon, being jilted by his One, losing his stallion—but he couldn’t handle seeing a woman cry. Especially if he was the reason for the sadness. He’d do anything to make her feel better, to dry those sad eyes. Anything.
He lowered his lips and lightly kissed her trembling mouth. If this would make it all better, then…
Her lips were the softest he’d ever kissed. Soft and smooth. Moist and tempting, luring him in further. He licked her bottom lip, sliding his tongue along the suppleness. Her sweet breath gushed into his mouth as her lips parted for him. Another of her whimpers set his heart pounding.
This woman was dangerously seductive. Whether she knew it or not, he wasn’t sure. He only wondered how he could be held accountable for what he was about to do to her. His blood boiled and his cock swelled as their bodies aligned and melded together, his body finally slackening as he gave into the desire.
Just a kiss to take the edge off. He could stop himself if it went too far. Couldn’t he?
Teasingly, her tongue twirled around his and then flicked at one of his fangs, which he’d forgotten to retract. Hell, he’d forgotten his own mind. She licked the ridge of his other teeth as if innocently exploring a man’s mouth for the first time. Then she met his tongue again and all innocence disappeared. With fierceness, she battled his gentle caresses, trying to take control. Her passion fully intertwined with her rage.
Worth drew in his fangs, braced her jaw with his hands and held her still. If they were going to kiss, they’d do it his way. He slid his tongue into the hot cavern of her mouth, ignoring her pleading cries for more. Slowly he took control and dominated her mouth. His tongue moved persuasively around hers until she softened to him, all anger gone.
Her hands drifted down from his scalp, grazing his skin along the path to his back. The heat of her hands blazed through the cotton of his shirt as she felt around, gliding her fingers over his bunched muscles.
He gentled the kiss even more, savoring her charming taste. Sugar and cream. The contrast to what came out of her mouth almost made him laugh. Yes, she was a dangerous one. Sultry and passionate. Forbidden.
“Worth.” Her voice was a whisper, breaking his trance. “Stop.”
“Stop?” He opened his eyes to see her staring up at him, a look of sheer alarm on her pretty face. “What happened?” Her legs were wrapped tightly around his hips, her arousal was so apparent that he felt the moistness through his pants and she wanted him to stop?
“You.” The one word was all she had for an explanation, leaving him baffled.
“Did I hurt you?” He knew he hadn’t. Maybe she’d just changed her mind and gained control of her body. Although the way she still clung to him left him confused.
“This is too much. You have to get off me now.”
Worth blew out a breath. If she was saying no, he wouldn’t argue but his body was still burning with unspent lust. “Fine,” he ground out the word. “Release me then.”
Her forehead creased together. “What?”
“Your legs.” He tried his damndest to remain calm as frustration ate at him. Just a kiss? Was he that stupid to think he’d want to stop at a kiss? He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman this much.
“Oh. Right.” She let them fall to the side and brought her hands to his chest to give him a healthy shove. She’d gone from hot to ice cold in mere seconds.
Lesson learned, Worth thought to himself as he stood, willing the throbbing in his cock to desist and hoping the ache in his testicles would cease. This is what he got for not listening to his moral instincts and giving into weakness. He wouldn’t let this happen again.
“You need a bath anyway.” He bit out the words and regretted how harsh they’d sounded.
“You’re not so fresh yourself.” Her voice wobbled, letting Worth know she was most likely in just as much anguish.
“A bath’s in order then.” He took her hand, not in the mood to run after her again. He could already tell the wildflower was going to be more trouble than he’d bargained for and he wondered how long it would be before her pack came to her rescue.
Soon, he hoped.
With little effort, he helped her to her feet. Trying his best to ignore the strange expression on her face that looked a lot like fear, he murmured, “Let’s go home.”
* * * * *
Blanca smoothed the cool water over her arms and used the small bar of soap he’d given her to lather it along her skin. The woodsy scent stung her nose and her skin gleamed and wrinkled all at once. She’d cleansed her body from toe to head four times already but she couldn’t seem to stop scrubbing. The marks from the shackles had healed but nothing could wash away the humiliation of being captured by the Vamps again.
Or of the fact that she desperately wanted the Vamp in the next room over. Worth had filled the wooden bathtub with water from the well in only three fast trips. He hadn’t bothered speaking or looking in her general direction since they’d left the orange grove. He’d simply scowled and shut the bedroom door behind him as if he couldn’t get away from her fast enough.
Fine with her.
She rinsed the suds from her body, trying to ignore the gooseflesh that prickled along her skin. Trying to ignore the fact that she wished he’d joined her in the bathing. Her body craved him with an
aching need that clogged her throat and coiled her insides. The extreme desire couldn’t be pushed from her mind no matter how hard she willed it.
Flushed-faced, she ran her hand down her trembling thigh, slid her finger through her ripe folds and rubbed her swollen nub. Gently at first—her mind’s eye fantasizing it was his hand, his long finger—then harder when the image wasn’t enough, when the rubbing didn’t work. It was if she was numb to her own touch. The sensation that usually built when she touched herself had been robbed from her. By him. She knew it was true. He’d taken her blood and made it so only he could fulfill her sensual needs. Only Worth could bring her pleasure.
Damn him. She locked her trembling thighs together and cursed herself for being so weak. For wanting him. She hated him, hated all Vamps, to her very core yet if Worth walked into the bedroom, she wouldn’t stop him from taking her. From fucking her senseless. The wolf in her wanted him, would fight, scratch and claw to get him, if she let it.
But she wouldn’t. She had control of her inner wolf, at least, for now. And her strong desire for Worth would fade in a day or two, if he didn’t take any more blood. She hoped her pack would find her before then.
She splashed the cool water over her heated face and thought again of how she could escape. Her gaze shot to the window. An animal skin, probably a deer, hung over the window, acting as a drape. Rays of morning light seeped through the tattered makeshift curtain.
Conceding to the fact that she wouldn’t be able to escape during daylight hours and under his mental surveillance, she stood and wrung out her long wet hair.
“Is everything all right in there?” Worth’s low voice was muffled by the wooden door. The depth of his tone rumbled through her veins, heating her blood.
“Go away.” She refused to let him know the effect he had on her. The kiss he’d given her hours ago still smoldered her lips. His taste still lingered. She pressed her fingers to her mouth as she remembered exactly how the kiss had felt. His tongue had been persistent and demanding, his lips powerful, his taste…his taste had surprised her. Other than the slight tang of metallic from her blood, his flavor was both familiar and new, soothing and drugging. It had easily lulled her into a false sense of safety. Only briefly though. She’d come to her senses and pushed him away.
And he’d let her. He didn’t fight her, which was another surprise. He hadn’t forced himself on her. Unlike the Vampires in her past, he’d respected her wishes.
So what was the catch?
Blanca didn’t want to wait around to find out. She flung her damp hair over her shoulder, swiped the excess moisture from her body and headed into the next room, ready to find out as much as she could about her newest enemy.
The house wasn’t tiny, exactly, but it was cozy. And very manly with the animal skins hanging here and there, doing little to keep the sun’s rays out. Worth was indeed a peculiar Vamp. Not only did he sleep during the night, he didn’t seem to care as much about the sun hurting him.
She scanned the small room that posed as a kitchen and a living area. Books filled two dusty shelves and both end tables. A few dishes, pots and pans cluttered a large basin and a wood stove overflowing with ashes stood in the corner.
Finally her gaze settled on Worth. He sat at the bench-style kitchen table, fully dressed in a long-sleeve, white shirt and pants that clung to his muscled thighs and calves. Leather gloves covered his hands and a wide-rimmed black wool hat sat on his head, hiding his eyes as he ate some sort of mush from a tin bowl.
“Hope you’re ready to work hard today,” he murmured, then lifted his gaze. His eyes widened when he saw her. A flash of heat passed behind them as he slowly examined her from head to foot and back up again. “Do you ever wear clothes?” His voice turned rough, scratchy.
For the first time in Blanca’s life, she felt like covering her body parts with her hands. Her thin resolve weakened even more under his intense scrutiny and caused her cheeks to warm and her nipples to harden. Wet beads of moisture dripped off the ends of her hair and trailed down her backside. Each drip emphasized just how naked she felt in front of him.
She covered her arms over her breasts and glanced away from his lustful gaze. “I don’t have any with me, remember?” She bit the words out, anger boiling inside of her at his nerve to ask such a dumb question. If she could just stay angry with him rather than desire him, then her time here would be much easier.
“That’s why I laid some out on the bed,” he said. She heard him rise and listened to his boots scrape the wood floor as he walked across the room. Thankfully, not in her direction. “You’ll have to make due with my clothes until I can get a dress from my niece for you to wear. She’s about your size, but taller.”
“You have a niece?” She caught his gaze again and instantly wished she hadn’t. Warmth surged down her belly as she took in the sight of his towering presence.
He set his hands on his lean hips and cocked his head at her. His choppy dark locks were pushed behind his ears, showcasing his cut jawline and defined lips. His shirt was open at the collar, partially revealing his muscular chest. Broad shoulders took up an enormous amount of space in the room, making her feel smaller than normal.
A silent pause thickened the air before he answered, “I call her my niece but she’s my late brother’s great-great granddaughter.” He said the next words with caution, as if he didn’t really want to explain but had no other choice. “She’s human.”
Yet another surprise. “I thought most Vamps didn’t associate with their human relatives.”
His expression softened some. “True. Most lose touch with them or would rather not have anything to do with their human bloodline.”
“Why? Too good for them?”
He snorted and his lips curved into a small smile. “I guess.”
“Then why do you keep in touch?” Blanca asked, wanting to peel all his layers just so she could see what truly lay in the center. She figured with his short answers that might take a while.
He shrugged his shoulder. “Kerene needs my protection, so I give it to her.”
Blanca’s heart melted just a teeny bit but she quickly remembered Vamps were nothing but egocentric bastards. This one was no different. And most likely there was a selfish reason for keeping his human relative near. “Why does she need your protection?”
His mouth flattened out. “She’s human, why do you think?”
Bull. Her rage soared. “I think you’re full of shit, oh, and you’re also full of blood that doesn’t belong to you. Where is she? Probably close by under your mental control, I’m sure.”
His jaw tightened and Blanca thought he might pounce on her at any second but he didn’t budge. “I don’t take her blood,” he said through gritted teeth. “I don’t know how it is in your country, but a twenty-year-old human girl isn’t safe to live all by herself in Okantalor. She lives in the main house just a half mile down the road. I gave the house to her when her parents passed so she’d have somewhere to live. And that’s all you need to know about her.”
Again, a tiny part of her wanted to believe him, to believe that he was the one good guy in the land of bad. Don’t be naive, Blanca. Anger flooded through her mind as she recalled just how bad these Vamps could be.
Her knees wobbled so she gripped the top of the bookshelf to steady herself. She needed to eat. And she needed him to stop staring at her with those wicked eyes. The way they drifted up and down her body told her that he craved her as much as she longed for him. The way he’d kissed her earlier confirmed that as well. Yet he kept his distance and didn’t try to overpower her with his will. The man was a hard one to figure out. Blanca hated not being able to read a person. Survival—her sanity, really—had always depended on knowing what she could expect from the people who entered her life. She could either trust them or not trust them. There was never an in between. No gray areas when it came to surviving.
And there was no worse feeling than not knowing what her future held.
&nbs
p; Better to think the worst.
She met his eyes and glared. “I guess you don’t need your niece’s blood now that you have me.”
At least he had the courtesy to lower his gaze. “Believe whatever you want, Blanca,” he muttered so softly she could barely hear him. “I’ve got work to do. Eat something, get dressed and meet me in the barn.” He tilted his hat lower over his face and marched outside, leaving her more confused—and ravenous—than ever.
Chapter Four
Worth paced the inside of the barn. The horses, Zola and Lacey, stirred in their stalls at the far end, obviously sensing his tension. Or missing Tobias. Maybe both. It was painfully ironic, since the source of his tension had everything to do with the reason Tobias was gone.
The Were femme. The image of her wet naked body was ingrained in his brain and he couldn’t seem to shake it out. Or get rid of the hard-on in his pants. He’d been right about how beautiful she’d look once she cleaned up. A simple bath had transformed her from a dirty, foul-mouthed, untamable Were to a feminine, stunning woman. He’d wanted to reach out and rake his fingers through her damp hair. Cup her sweet breasts with his palms. Squeeze her ample backside. Bury himself inside her luscious body.
What really irked him was underneath all that spunk and sass, he’d seen her desire for him. The way she’d consumed him with those blazing amber eyes was enough to make any man weak-kneed. It was unfortunate that it had nothing to do with him and everything to do with the blood he’d taken from her.