He snorted as he settled on the mattress next to her, his hand instinctively reaching to brush over her pale cheek.
“You sound like a spoiled human.”
“It doesn’t make it any less true.” Her voice was weak, but her magnificent eyes flashed with stubborn independence. “I don’t have to take orders from you.”
His frigid power blasted through the air as he recalled his alarm when he’d discovered she’d slipped away.
Victor had been forced to physically restrain him from charging through the dark in pursuit, and it was only because Juliet assured him she knew exactly where to find Laylah and the obnoxious gargoyle that he wasn’t currently ripping London apart brick by soggy brick.
“You’re not that naïve, Laylah.” He leaned down until they were nose to nose, absorbing her scent that was becoming fatally addictive. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you blindly charge into danger.”
Her hands lifted to press against his chest. He shuddered as the heat of her palms seared against his skin, melting his icy fury and replacing it with a far more pleasurable sensation.
“It’s none of your business.”
He stole a brief, starkly possessive kiss. “Have you forgotten that you’re my prisoner?”
She flexed her fingers, digging into his flesh with just enough pain to bring pleasure.
Tane groaned, lust slamming into him with an intensity that might have been shocking if he’d been in his right senses.
But he wasn’t.
And he hadn’t been since he’d gone on the chase of a mongrel Jinn.
“I think you have that backward. You’re my prisoner.” She sucked in a startled breath as he grabbed the hoodie and with one smooth motion had it yanked off her body and tossed on a dainty Louis XIV chair across the room. “What the hell are you doing?”
He curled back his lips to reveal his elongated fangs that throbbed with need.
Gods, he ached to taste her.
Never had his hunger been so acute.
Not even during those dark days when he’d retreated from the world, feeding only when his body compelled him to seek substance.
But he’d just watched her collapse in his arms after a brutal skirmish with a vicious vampire and a mage who had some mysterious connection to her past.
His primal need to protect her overcame the lust for her blood on his tongue.
Amazing.
Of course, there was more than one way of satisfying his hunger.
Lowering his head he used his fangs to slice through the thin top, liquid heat pouring through him as the yellow fabric fell to the side, revealing the bit of lace that did nothing to hide the swell of her br**sts.
“If we’re going to fight then we might as well do it in comfort.”
Her eyes widened, but it wasn’t fear that flared in the midnight depths. He smiled as her ready arousal filled the air with a heady perfume.
“No, Tane,” she breathed. “We can’t.”
“We’ve already proven we can,” he said, his voice deepening, thick with need. “With spectacular results.”
Around him he sensed Victor’s clan bustling through the manor house, no doubt discussing the best strategy of dealing with the traitorous Lady Havassy and her mage sidekick. Not to mention the threat of a looming apocalypse.
Discussions Tane should be a part of.
Instead he was wholly focused on the woman who challenged him on every level.
He needed … what?
To prove his dominance? To mark his territory? To reassure himself that she was unharmed and back in his arms where she belonged?
Something knotted in his chest.
Something that was too dangerous to contemplate.
As if battling her own inner demons, Laylah lifted her hands to knot her fingers in his hair, attempting to hide the raw need he could sense spreading through her body.
“I have …” She caught the betraying words. “Things I have to do.”
His lips twisted. Would she ever trust him with her secrets? “Collecting the child?”
Her breath caught at his blunt question. “How did you know?”
“Levet was urged to confess what happened after you snuck away.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Urged or forced?”
He shrugged, his fingers skimming along the lacy line of her bra before headed down the warm satin of her stomach. Pure male satisfaction raced through him as he felt her muscles contract in pleasure beneath his light caress, even as he growled in frustration at the amulet that hung around her neck.
He could savor her delectable heat and her rising passion, but the unique aroma of fresh spring rain was hidden by the witch’s spell.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, he wanted to be wrapped in her distinctive smell.
“I’ve made preparations for our return to the States,” he assured her, his fingers making short work of the button fly so he could tug off her jeans. With a toss they landed next to the sweatshirt.
Her eyes flashed with annoyance, but she made no effort to halt the soft brush of his hand over her bare thigh.
“I don’t need you making my travel plans. I’ll return the same way I came.”
“Brave talk, but you forget that we’re bound together.” He leaned down to nip at the lobe of her ear, not bothering to mention his awareness of her had nothing to do with her magical powers, and everything to do with a male fascinated with a particular woman. “I can feel your lingering weakness.”
She stiffened, as if troubled by the knowledge he could so easily detect her vulnerabilities.
“I’m not powerless.”
“No,” he was swift to agree, his lips tasting a path down the temptation of her throat. Laylah was fragile. Not only had she exhausted herself fighting off the bitch vampire and mage, but she was mentally traumatized by her introduction to her supposed family from hell. Tane, however, understood her need to appear strong. It was a part of who she was. And for all his sins, he would never crush her spirit. “Never powerless, but you’re drained and in need of rest.”
She stirred as his fingers found the edge of her panties, her hip pressing against the thickening length of his erection as her lips parted on a soft moan of anticipation.
Still, she struggled against her body’s need.
“I don’t have the luxury of resting. If those freaks get their hands on the baby …”
“Laylah, Victor has a fleet of private jets at his disposal,” he interrupted in rough tones, abruptly rolling to press her into the mattress. He didn’t want her able to think when he was seducing her. He wanted her consumed by her lust. Consumed by him. He buried his face in the tender curve where her neck met her shoulder. “One is currently being prepared for us.”