Fire, hunger, lust all rushed through him so quickly he didn’t have time to grab control. Instead, he grabbed her. Fast and rough, he lifted her against the wall and moved in, taking her mouth in a way he’d dreamed about since the first day they’d met.
She did taste like peaches.
He dove deep, pressing her to the wall and plastering his hard body against her soft one. So much softness combined with sweetness.
She moaned, and her hands dug into his hair as she returned the kiss.
He wrapped an arm around her waist, dragging her harder against him while the other hand went through her silky hair to cup her head and hold her where he needed her. He kissed her, taking her taste and sweetness into him, letting her soft moans drown out the roaring in his head.
In his body.
The kiss consumed him in this small space where only they existed, but every predatory instinct he had spiraled out from the two of them, seeking for threats in a natural way most people used to breathe. The primal being at his core held her close, tasting her, finally appeased that she was right where she should be.
Where they both should be.
The marking on his palm cut deep with an insistent drum that he mark her—that he mate her. Only Mariana, no matter the cost.
At the thought—the only thought that would bring him back to reality—he lifted his head. Her eyes had darkened while a lovely peach flush covered her high cheekbones and matched her now slightly bruised mouth. A mouth he wanted to take again. Right now. “I want you,” he said.
Humor melded with the need in her eyes. “Yeah. I got that.” She didn’t attempt to draw away.
How could she make him want to smile and tear off her clothing at the same time? “I’m dying.” Shit. He hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that.
She blinked and then stiffened. “You’re what?”
He tried to release her head, but her hair had tangled around his fingers. “Hold on.” He gently wound the stands free and was careful to keep from hurting her. Then he stepped back, releasing her completely. She’d gone pale. “It’s not contagious,” he hastened to explain.
She barely shook her head. “Wait a minute. How are you dying?”
“Huh.” He shouldn’t blurt things out. “It’s a genetic disease with no cure.” That was partly true. It was definitely genetic, and the cure wasn’t one he’d pursue.
“What kind of genetic disease?” She was all business now.
He lifted one shoulder. “We call it the Maxwell Curse.” At least that was the truth. “It affects every Maxwell male.” Considering he had vampire blood in his veins, he could only have boys.
“It’s a family disease?” She tapped a finger on her bottom lip. “I have a friend from my golf league who’s a geneticist in Dallas. Have you gotten second opinions on this? There’s so much we can do with genetics these days.”
“You golf?”
“Yes. Well, I did in Dallas. I’ll probably join a league here when I finish getting settled.” She frowned. “You didn’t distract me from my question, by the way. Have you gotten a second opinion on your genetic disease?”
“Yeah. There’s nothing that can be done.” The last thing he could do was have his genes sampled and studied by a human. He and whatever scientist he hired would be dead before the needle was even drawn out of his arm and probably with a good deal of pain first. That much he knew for sure. “We have met with a doctor during the last couple of years, and she’s working on it, but we have no answers.” Dr. Faith Cooper was mated to an immortal while not being part of the Realm, which was a coalition of species. His family couldn’t go to the Realm with this information, but he trusted Faith Cooper—because Benny trusted her.
Mariana looked him up and down. “You seem strong with good color, and your eyes are clear. What exactly happens with this genetic mutation?”
“I die,” he said simply. “We live to a certain age and then our bodies break down. I haven’t studied it and just worked on living a full life to this point.”
She grabbed his harm and dug her nails in. “You haven’t studied it? Come on. That’s crazy. You’re what? I’d say you’re around thirty, but your eyes look older. Maybe thirty-five? How can you just start tearing down at this age? I’ve never heard of a disease or mutation like that.”
He liked her hand on him. A lot. “We don’t really go around advertising it. I just wanted you to know.”
She looked up at him, confusion and suspicion now replacing the need in her pretty eyes. “Why?”
“So when I asked if you wanted to have a brief affair, you’d know that I meant it.”
Chapter 6
Mariana would’ve stepped back, but her rear was already flush to the wall. “Get the hell out of my house.”
Raine didn’t so much as twitch. “What?”
She sidled by him and exited the room, heading straight for her kitchen and a glass of wine. “You’re dying? Seriously?” Anger flicked down her back and heated her skin on the way. Just how stupid did he think she was? Yeah, she’d pegged him for a player from day one, and she’d been right. “Get out of my house. Now.”
He followed her in that sexy lope he had. “I don’t understand.”
She flipped around to face him, and her body was still on fire, damn it. “You’re dying so we need to fuck a few nights and then you’re gone? You just wanted me to know all the details?” The sarcasm on her tongue almost burned. “That has got to be the worst line I’ve heard in my entire life, and I’ve heard a couple of doozies before.”
He scratched his whiskered chin and eyed her like she was unstable. “It’s the truth.”
“Right,” she drawled, turning back for the already open bottle of 2017 La Carrodilla Syrah on the counter. “If you don’t leave now, I’m calling the moron sheriff. At least he doesn’t act like I’m stupid.” The worst part was that they’d been headed to the bed if Raine hadn’t pulled this jackass move. She’d wanted him, and she probably would’ve said yes.
Raine’s phone rang in his back pocket, and he pulled it out to press to his ear. “Raine here.” He paused and listened. “Hi, Grams. Yes, I know.” Then he quieted as he listened for almost a minute. “Yes. I understand.” He sounded patient and stubborn at the same time. “But I—” He became quiet again and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes. Okay. Love you, too. Bye.” He put the phone back into place.
Mariana crossed her arms. “You’re telling me that was actually your grandmother.”
“Yes.” He rubbed his forehead as if a headache loomed. “She was just checking in.”
The guy made no sense. He propositioned her after giving the worst line ever, and then he talked to his grandmother like a nice person? “It sounded like she was giving you the business,” Mariana observed, pouring herself a glass of wine.
“You could say that.” Raine tucked his thumbs in his pockets.
“About what?” Mariana inhaled the fragrant wine and then took a testing sip.
He shook his head.