“No shit.” She glanced toward a moose that was eyeballing her with what felt like accusation. “They’re freaking me out.”
Roke moved to stand directly in front of her, gently adjusting the neckline of her sweatshirt before smoothing her hair behind her ear, as if he desperately needed the small, unnecessary touches.
“There are bedrooms upstairs,” he said, his expression carefully guarded even as his fingers traced the shell of her ear. “I know you’re probably not tired right now, but Alexei promised the rooms were fully equipped with TVs and attached bathrooms. There’s also a kitchen that’s kept stocked with human food.”
Sally shivered, nearly overwhelmed by the urge to press herself against his hard body.
Dammit.
She’d done so well keeping her intense need for him locked behind a frosty wall of offended anger. She’d allowed him into her bed once and what had it gotten her?
A door slammed in her face, that’s what.
But trying to nurse that sense of injustice was suddenly an impossible task.
Not only because he’d given her a glimpse of the lonely man who’d tortured himself for years, perhaps centuries, over the death of his sire. But because she wanted him.
That simple.
She wanted to shove her fingers into the satin darkness of his hair. She wanted to strip off his clothes and kiss a path over his hard, perfectly chiseled body. She wanted to wrap her lips around his hard cock before he was shoving her flat on her back and plunging so deep into her that she cried out his name.
Abruptly realizing he was studying her with eyes that had gone smoky with an answering need, Sally took a step back and tried to pretend that she wasn’t aching to feel those extended fangs plunged into her neck.
“What about you?”
His hungry gaze skimmed over her face before lowering to the exposed column of her neck.
“The sunproof rooms are in the basement.”
“No, I meant—” Heat filled her cheeks.
“What?”
She licked her lips. “Dinner.”
Her hair was tugged by a burst of chilled air as Roke struggled to contain his fierce need to pounce.
“There will be blood kept in the lower rooms.”
Her gaze dropped beneath the scorching need that smoldered in his gaze.
This was insanity.
Just because Roke had allowed her to see past his grim exterior didn’t change anything.
How could it?
They were still bound together by magic she didn’t understand.
They were still on the run from a crazy-ass demon and fairies who may or may not want her dead.
And he was still a chief who had pledged his loyalty to a clan who would never, ever accept her as his mate.
“Of course,” she muttered.
His finger slid beneath her chin to tilt her face up to meet his suddenly worried gaze.
“Sally, what’s wrong?”
Wrong? She bit back a hysterical laugh.
What was wrong was that she was being burned alive by a craving that threatened to overwhelm her.
“Nothing.” She wiped her damp palms on her jeans, well aware her arousal was scenting the air. “I think I’ll check out the kitchen.”
His gaze settled on the unsteady curve of her lips. “Hungry already?”
“No, but I want to see if there are enough ingredients to brew a few protective spells.”
He frowned. “The spells—”
“Nothing dangerous,” she said. “I swear.”
He paused, searching her wary expression as if hoping to find . . .
She wasn’t entirely certain what he was looking for, but he obviously failed to find it as he dropped his hand and stepped back.
“Don’t try to leave the house.” He nodded toward the monitors displaying images of the thick trees that circled the house. “The security alarms are set.”
Stupidly she found herself disappointed at his easy retreat.
What did she want?
For him to ignore her don’t-touch-me vibes? To force her to overcome her logic and ease her gnawing frustration?
Christ. She was a mess.
It was a wonder the poor man hadn’t dumped her along the side of the road for his own sanity.
She hunched a shoulder. “I’m not going to take off.”
“Good. For better or worse, we’re in this together.”
“For now.”
His lips twisted into a humorless smile. “I’ll be downstairs.” He reached beneath his jacket to pull out the music box. “Do you want me to lock this in a safe?”
She reached to take it, feeling the magic wrap around her with a sense of pleasure.
Perhaps she should be worried by her growing delight in the surge of rich, potent power that raced through her as she traced one of the mysterious hieroglyphs, but it felt so utterly natural it was difficult to imagine it was dangerous.
“No, I’ll keep it with me.”
Roke hesitated, as if he wanted to say something. Or maybe he wanted her to say something.
Maybe to ask him to stay?
When she kept her eyes averted, he muttered something in a low voice and turned to make his way toward the staircase that led to the lower floors.
As she felt the chill of his presence disappear, Sally heaved a deep sigh and headed toward the kitchen.
She’d hoped Roke’s departure would ease the restless frustration that was plaguing her. Instead, it only intensified it.
Unless she intended to follow him to his private rooms and fulfill her vivid fantasies, she needed to keep her hands busy and her mind occupied.
Roke went through the motions.
He fed from the bags of blood kept in a refrigerated safe hidden in the wall. He showered and changed into a black satin robe that had been left in the closet. Then he forced himself to lie on the king-size bed that dominated the wood paneled room.
He was too old a vampire to need sleep, but he did need to rest to replenish his powers.
So while he tended to his physical needs, his mind remained consumed with the female who he could feel moving through the house above him.
Her first destination was the kitchen where the smell of herbs mixed with her intoxicating peach scent that seemed to grow more vibrant and complex with every beat of her heart.
Hours passed before he at last heard her heading up the stairs and stepping into the shower. He growled low in his throat at the thought of her standing naked beneath the cascade of hot water.
He’d been in a constant state of arousal since he’d caught the subtle shift in Sally’s awareness of him.
Sitting across the table in that café, he’d been painfully aware the second her pulse had picked up and her eyes had dilated.