she said with a lift of that stubborn chin.
He might as wel put his cards on the table. In this devil’s bargain, they only had each other. If he couldn’t trust her… then maybe I will be the one to kill her one day.
“A few years back, I was your guard dog.” He used the derogatory term deliberately. A faint furrow appeared between her brows.
“For seven months, I watched you. Day and night.” He’d even seen her drink her first batch of blood—and watched her vomit it out moments later.
She hadn’t wanted to be a monster, but fate had different plans for her. And him.
Morgan’s bedroom eyes widened. “When?”
“Right before your change.” His gaze swept over her. “Right before—”
“Right before you took over the pack,” she finished and her hand dropped. Now he was the one surprised. “Did your research on me, did you?”
“Yes.” Flat. “I know al about you. The lives you’ve taken—the vampires you’ve beheaded.”
Because once, that had been his job. Watch. Hunt. Kill.
Until a vampiress had shed tears of blood at sunset.
Not that he’d exactly become Mr. Nice Guy since that night. He just hadn’t kil ed her.
“You know, and stil you’re ready to f**k me.”
She kept her chin up even as her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “We don’t have to—to f**k for the bonding to take place. You drank from me, now I just need to drink from you.”Jace slowly shook his head as he stalked toward her. “You think you can drink me, and not want sex?” He understood vampires so wel . The reason most of them had stopped taking from live sources was because once they tasted blood
—ah, fresh from the vein—the bloodlust tended to overwhelm them.
Her gaze held his. “I can control myself.”
Interesting. His nostrils flared. She had control, but she was also aroused. From the idea of drinking his blood? Or just, from him?
He’d worried that a vampire female would be repulsed by him. Normal y, they went for class.
Not for a beast that howled at the moon. But this princess, his princess, was something different. He’d known that for years. He’d just had to bide his time and wait for her.
“You might have control,” he al owed, “but we wolves aren’t exactly known for that.”
“No.” Again, not pul ing her punches.
So he wouldn’t either. “And I’ve wanted to f**k you for ten years.”
Her lips parted, and she gave him a glimpse of those little fangs. “You—what?”
Why did he find her fangs sexy? “I don’t care if drinking me spikes your bloodlust. I don’t care how rough you get.” He wasn’t worried about some bruises and scratches when pleasure waited. “I can handle anything you’ve got,” he told her as his hand stroked down her arm. Such smooth, soft skin.
“Don’t be so sure, wolf.”
But he was. “So why are you doing this?” His hand deliberately brushed the side of her breast. Want a taste. “Why throw yourself to the wolves?”
“I’l be saving my people.” Her lips firmed. “Isn’t that enough?”
No.
Her lashes swept down but she didn’t back away as she said, “I mean, that’s why you’re doing it, right? You’re sacrificing yourself—mating to a bloodsucker—in order to save your pack.”
He didn’t speak, but Jace did begin undressing her.
“Wh-what are you—”
Her fast stutter almost made him smile. Would have, if he hadn’t been so hard and hungry for her. He couldn’t even draw in a breath without tasting her.
“It’s time to finish this.” They’d done the public ritual, and now they would bond. He could feel a new power fil ing his body. He’d drank from her only once, and already the change was happening. Soon he’d be infinitely stronger, faster. To stop the demons, he’d have to become more. So would she.
But first, they’d have to f**k.
Her hands caught his, stil ing him.
He stared down at their bodies. She looked so breakable, but wasn’t. Not even close. So why the hel did he feel the need to be gentle with her?
“Don’t worry,” he told her. “I won’t hurt you.”
Her long lashes swept up, and she gazed at him. The gold in her eyes seemed even brighter. “Oh, wolf…” She sighed and then her lips curled in a smile that punched right into his gut. “You’re the one who needs to worry about getting hurt.”
Then her hands were on him, pushing back, and he realized Morgan was very strong. The wolf inside growled.
Her fangs were out, and Jace knew what his lady was going to say even as her lips parted
—
“It’s my turn to bite.”
Chapter Three
They made it to the bedroom. Morgan had a fast impression of heavy furniture, thick curtains, and then—
Silk sheets. Black silk sheets.
The wolf had surprised her again.
She stared at him as the haze of need built within her. She wanted his blood. She needed it. And she wanted him. The lust for him wasn’t unexpected. The guy was freaking sexy. Jace was already naked. His chest flexed and rippled with muscles. His body was perfect. So strong. So dark. So…
Very aroused.
His c**k stretched toward her, heavy and thick, and there was no doubt that he wanted her.
Not just a bloodsucker to him.
She ran her tongue over the edge of her fangs. “I need to confess—”
His gaze darkened.
“I, um, don’t have a lot of experience at this.” Most vampires she knew actual y didn’t. He didn’t move. But he did cal , “Bul shit.”
It must have been her boots. She’d thought they looked rather f**k-me. “Bloodlust and physical lust…they can combine too much. We don’t, ah, drink from sources.”
They weren’t supposed to, but the rules were changing.
“I know.”
She felt hunted. The back of her knees hit the bed. “So I don’t drink and—and—”
Fuck.
“With me, you wil .”
His hands sank into her hair and tipped her head back. Then his lips took hers in a kiss that stole her breath even as it heated her blood. The wolf knew how to kiss. Oh, damn, did he. His tongue thrust inside her mouth, and Morgan found her arms rising and wrapping around his line-backer shoulders.
A kiss shouldn’t sweep fire through her whole body, but his did. Her shirt and bra were long gone. His hands slipped down and pushed away her skirt. It slipped over her boots and hit the floor. Then his fingers caught her panties and the rip of fabric fil ed her ears.