“McKell,” she gasped out.
His grip tightened, as if he knew where she was headed and hoped to misdirect her. The ache increased—and so did the pleasure. It had been a long time for her, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever wanted a man this desperately. As if she couldn’t survive another moment without his c**k inside her. Maybe because he tasted like butterscotch. Maybe because he felt like the final piece to the puzzle she’d been trying to finish for years.
All from a kiss.
That … scared her.
Think. She had to think about this, rather than plunge headfirst into an abyss of complications.
Again, she pulled from the kiss. “What do you hope to accomplish, kissing me?” she managed to say. Hopefully, he would stop before they reached the point of no return. Because she still couldn’t stop him. Physically she could have, maybe, but not mentally. Not emotionally. She had to have this.
He lifted his head, and she wanted to scream. His lips were swollen, pink, and wet. “I told you. Pleasure. For us both.”
“We can get that anywhere.” Liar! She wanted him, and only him. Loved what she’d done to his lips. Loved that he looked well-kissed, aroused beyond measure, his features tense, desperate.
Fury flashed through those violet eyes, angels and demons dancing in the midst of the flames. “You will not touch another man, Ava.”
Loved that he’d said that. “And if I do?”
“I’ll kill him.” Simply stated, proving the unbendable oath behind the words.
“Do you plan to touch another woman?” What was she doing? Why was she pushing him like this? And in this direction?
“No.”
That was why. She’d needed his assurance, and the relief that accompanied it. “Not even a precious vampire female?” Ah. The deeper reason. So clear now. The question of his superiority and her inferiority had never truly left the surface.
He ran his tongue over his too-sharp teeth. “Not even.”
He didn’t sound convinced or convincing, and that pissed her the hell off, wiping away her relief in one fatal sweep. So she was supposed to abstain, but he could do as he pleased? She raised her knee between their bodies and planted her foot on his stomach. One forceful kick, and he was flying backward.
He hit her couch with a grunt, but he didn’t freeze time or launch at her, merely settled comfortably against the furniture and glared over at her.
Panting, she sat up, shoving the hair from her face.
“What was that for?” he demanded.
“For your being an ass.”
“How so?”
Her lips pressed together in a mutinous line. As if she would say it aloud. Again. “You were telling me about vampires. Why don’t you finish telling me so we can get to work?”
McKell peered over at Ava, confused by her, yet still so highly aroused he could have torn her home apart. She’d tasted unbelievably sweet. Had been soft beneath his hands. Soft and curved and perfect. His hands itched to return to her. To learn more about her, to memorize her.
His back stung from where she’d dug in her nails, beseeching him for more. More—which was exactly what he wanted to give. He’d almost ripped her jeans from her body and licked into her feminine core, even though she hadn’t asked as he’d instructed.
Had he done so, he might have died from the pleasure. Pleasure he’d meant to give her, taking nothing in return, addicting her to his touch, his tongue, before convincing her to giving him total access to her vein.
Only, along the way, her blood had ceased to matter. Only her passion had concerned him. Then she’d pushed him away. Why?
What had they discussed before her passion had faded? Her being with another man, he quickly recalled. His teeth gnashed together. The thought of her with someone else nearly sent him into a killing rage. Whether he liked it or not—whether she liked it or not—she belonged to him just then.
She’d demanded assurance that he wouldn’t stray, and he hoped that meant she wanted him all to herself. So he’d given her that assurance—even though he knew he would one day purge her from his system. He would have to, if he hoped to wed someone of his own race, as was proper. Someone who wouldn’t wither and die, leaving him alone and suffering.
That assurance was more than he’d ever given another. And he’d meant it. While they were together, he wouldn’t be with any one else. Which wasn’t a requirement, damn it! He couldn’t drink from anyone else, but as he’d already considered, he could damn sure f**k a thousand others. But would he? The answer was still a solid no. Did she appreciate that, though? Again, one big, solid, f**king no.
“Ignoring me?” she said, her calmness scraping his already raw nerves.
“Nothing else to tell,” he replied darkly. “You’ll lure them to me, and I’ll take over from there.”
“And if they attack me?”
The thought of that angered him far more than the thought of her with another man. Something that made absolutely no sense. He would prefer her with someone else, rather than drained of blood? If so, that would mean … no, no, hell, no. He wasn’t going there.
“McKell,” she snapped. “An answer, please.”
“If they attack you, kill them or I’ll do it for you. It’s that simple.” His rage wouldn’t be, though. If anyone attacked her, even his own kind, he would lose control of his sanity and allow his rage to consume him. He knew it, felt it. The world would suffer.
“But if they’re dead, they can’t teach you how to live here.”
“If they try to hurt you, I won’t want to learn from them.” Would only want their blood to flow in a crimson river, soaking the concrete.
Some of the tension left her features. “What’s the best way to lure a vampire, then?”
All she would have to do was walk into a room, he thought. Any bloodsucker who could resist that sweet scent was stronger than him—and no one was stronger than him. “We’ll dress you in plain clothes, make you look weak and shy.”
“That’s attractive?”
No. “Yes.” He didn’t want her in the scanty clothing his kind preferred humans to wear, making them more easily accessible. “They’ll think you’re easy pickings.” Plus, as small and delicate as she appeared, no one would suspect her of lethal strength and violent urges.
His c**k ached. All that strength, all those urges … he’d had them underneath him.