Her wide, terrified eyes reflected the shock and horror she had just witnessed.
“It’s okay,” I soothed, holding up my hands. “You’re not afraid. Nothing will hurt you now.”
Her mouth opened to scream again as I flashed quickly to her side, standing directly in front as I pressed my lips against hers. The fusion of our heated breath created chaos in my head as euphoria erupted, traveling through every organ and cell in my body. The moment was so right, so perfect even in the aftermath of carnage that I was dazed. Breathing hard although I wasn’t the least bit winded, I had to focus my thoughts before I did something foolish like take her into that apartment and find out if she was as aroused as I was. Pulling away from the human female, I focused on her glassy eyes.
“You will remember nothing of this. It was all a nightmare. You know that you’re safe. In the morning, you won’t be afraid.”
She blinked.
“You’ll wake up ready to meet the day, perhaps a little sleepy. As soon as you are home, go to bed and rest.”
Piper nodded her head then tilted it to the side as if contemplating my words and their meaning. “Okay.” She frowned and I was shocked at the strength of her mind. She knew this was wrong. Her perception was astoundingly accurate.
My hunger chose that moment to surface with a vengeance. I couldn’t resist the throbbing pulse along her delicate neck, beckoning for just one tiny taste . . .
My fangs sank into her skin, piercing her carotid artery, and my body jolted as I held her still, my hands gripping her upper arms, gulping greedily before remembering that I could harm her. The crimson fluid flowed over my tongue and held a spicy, rich flavor that was so damn intoxicating that my knees nearly bent with the weight of my sudden lust and overwhelming desire to sink another hard part of my anatomy inside her warm and inviting flesh.
Fuck.
Pulling away was the hardest thing I’d ever done.
“You will have no recollection of this embrace, the wound on your neck, or my kiss.”
She mumbled incoherently, her lashes fluttering as I fought hard to remove my hands from the heat of her skin. I wanted to be doused in her warmth, plunged into the brightness of her aura. Piper was like the sun. I hadn’t felt its true heat in so long I’d nearly forgotten . . . until she brought that radiating and penetrating warmth back, dangling it in front of my starved and deprived form like forbidden fruit. Sure, I could walk in the sun with my vampire DNA and thickened skin, but I didn’t feel the sun’s rays the same way as a full human. Not since I was a child and my continued accelerated growth rapidly increased my vampire traits and physical changes.
Once I was assured that she didn’t remember, I closed the wound on Piper’s neck with a swipe of my tongue and wiped her creamy flesh clean, my heart racing with the potency of her blood as it coursed through my veins. I bit back a snarl, consumed with this female and every inch of her beauty.
Just like I’d done the last two times Lycan had found my human.
Shit. Not my human.
This was getting old . . . just like the pain of denial.
***
Piper was walking home alone again tonight but I had the good sense to follow her this time. She kept stopping and glancing behind her which increased my bad temper. We’d paused as she tied a shoelace, picked up a book that she dropped, and sent several texts. Wasn’t she aware of the danger? Didn’t humans have any self-preservation at all?
Irritated, I made the mistake of shuffling my feet and she heard, twisting her body around at the sudden noise. It wasn’t terribly late, but the sun had set over an hour ago, long enough for the black shroud of night to enclose everything in its perilous path. Not five steps from her front door, I felt a familiar and annoying sensation.
Tingling erupted along my spine and I snarled.
Lycan.
Here we go again.
A mild groan rumbled in my throat as my eyes fluttered. The oddest sensation of flying through the air while wisps of wind danced along the surface of my skin filled my confused and scattered thoughts. Odd as it was, I felt the warmth of a smooth finger stroking my cheek with a confusing amount of tenderness. My body was weak and chilled as I began to tremble and couldn’t stop.
“Shhh,” a deep male voice whispered, “I have you, Piper.”
I mumbled a reply but wasn’t sure what words left my lips.
A low laugh tumbled from the masculine body pressed to my own, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his skin. “I would never allow you to die.”
My eyes closed as I lost consciousness, comforted by the familiar tone, one that was oddly close to the voice from my dreams . . .
I woke up writhing as my body felt like it was on fire. Poisonous venom trickled through my veins as I screamed over and over again in agony. Something ripped and pulled at my skin as if it was sliced open in ribbons and then was slowly being sewn back together with a sharp needle and thread. Thrashing my head from side to side, I fought against the weight that was holding me down, pushing against my chest while I fought hard to leap off the hard surface beneath. I could hardly breathe through the agonizing pain and torment.
“Help,” I moaned.
“I’m here. You’re not alone.” The man’s voice whispered that I would be better soon. He was wrong. I was going to die . . .
I wasn’t sure how long I floated in and out of consciousness.
My skin tingled as something coarse and wet slid along the surface of my arms and legs, multiple points of contact that produced goosebumps up and down my body. The fine hairs on my skin tingled and the sensation of pleasure moved throughout my body as I moaned, partially from the euphoric feeling and partly because of the terror it evoked deep inside. I thought I heard a groan as pressure increased around my wrists and ankles, almost as if my body was being held in place.
Were those hands? Or something else? It wasn’t skin I felt but something almost leathery in texture. Cognizance slowly sank in as my eyes opened and I blinked, clearing the haze from my vision. Multiple shadowy figures were huddled around my prone form as candles flickered eerily across the room.
The fog lifted as clarity returned and sudden awareness came crashing back to my senses. Blinking, I hoped the creatures that I saw were nothing more than a dream. A terrible nightmare that I would wake up from at any moment. As strength returned to my limbs, I pulled them inward and broke the hold over my wrists and ankles. Crimson glowed in sets of two as at least a dozen formed a semicircle around me. Shit. Where was I?
Mild snarls and hissing could be heard from the red-eyed demons stood much too close for comfort. I scrambled away from their frightening faces covered in black leathery skin as they appeared to move and reshape before my eyes. Their bodies blurred as they backed farther away, but the undeniable ache of hunger remained in their scarlet irises.
The door opened across the room and a man entered. His tall frame was silhouetted against the candlelight. I couldn’t see his face as it was hidden in the shadows. Dark shadows seemed to hover over his broad frame, clinging to his shoulders with a menacing pulse of sinister intent. Something about him tugged on my memory. His eyes were an amber color, warm and rich like honey colored velvet. There was something too familiar in his discerning gaze.
“You see me for what I truly am.” His voice held no surprise.