Venom & Vampires: A Limited Edition Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy Collection

by Casey Lane

  "It was one of the security points that we insisted on. She can get up here with her key, but no one else can, unless they know about the button, or unless they call ahead and Megan unlocks it."

  "You protect her as if she's precious." Raven’s gaze on her heated her flesh. Made her want what she had no business wanting.

  "She is. My father knew her father. They've both been gone for a long time."

  Megan took a shallow breath. "Gregor," she said quietly. That was not a pain she needed others to know.

  Raven straightened. “I guess I was meant to see the elevator button. Therefore, I was meant to come to you.” He frowned. "I'm just not sure about getting a dose of wolfsbane as an incentive.

  “I’ll check the security system, Megan. But my guess is the wolf is right, and he was meant to come here. Meant to…well.” Gregor flashed her a knowing smile.

  She hoped, with an irrational hope, that the not-so-subtle innuendo Gregor floated was right, that Raven was meant to come to her. Sleeping next to him had been the most erotic experience she’d had in decades.

  Danny got to his feet. “I need to get back to my pack. We are posting more guards than usual. Please, keep us updated?” He looked to Raven and Gregor, equally.

  “Of course.”

  “I'll check the data from the security cameras.” Gregor rose. He hugged Megan. “We’ll see you this Sunday, as usual?”

  “With a guest, if that’s okay.” She indicated Raven, and Gregor smiled.

  “Of course.” He turned to Danny. “You and Chandra are welcome, as well.”

  Danny Roush grimaced. “Our pups are at the two-year-old stage. Not exactly able to be left with a sitter yet, but thank you.”

  “Some other time, then, Danny. I'll keep you apprised of any pertinent information.”

  Megan walked them to the elevator. “Thank you again for coming. I appreciate it.”

  Gregor grinned. “If I find anything, I'll call. In the meantime, enjoy your weekend off. See you tomorrow.” The elevator door closed behind them, leaving her alone with the wolf.

  A shiver of awareness lit her up, and she prayed he could feel it too.

  She turned around, aiming for casual small talk. “Don’t mind Gregor’s talk about us being meant. He’s just all starry-eyed because he found his true mate last year.”

  “I don’t mind. But now we come to a point.” Raven tilted his head at Megan. “I don’t have a place to stay. My bag is in my car, which has probably been towed by now. What do you suggest?”

  “I, um. I’ll put the…do you want coffee?” They were alone and awake. Possibilities pulsed between them, a palpable, rich, sexual tension in the air caressing her skin.

  “No. I don’t want coffee. I want you, Megan. I’ve wanted you from the first minute you slid into my bed, unconscious though I was. My body knew. Do you want this? Do you want me?”

  "I do want you." She shook her head. "But you need to know I'm not like most Fae. I don’t sleep with everyone and anyone." She took a breath, faced him, and tried again.

  "I do want you, Raven. I've been seeing you in my dreams for a long time now. I just, I don't want to disappoint you."

  “Never."

  “More than that, I don’t want you to see me as an enemy.”

  “I know you aren’t my enemy.” He shrugged. “Maybe at the beginning. But you saved my life. You did what no one else possibly could have. You couldn’t be the person who orchestrated…no. Not you.”

  She watched as he approached, step by controlled step, her senses leaping. When he was a breath away, he stopped, reached out, and tilted her chin to meet his gaze.

  “Do you want this?”

  Megan’s insides quivered, but her voice was firm. “Yes.”

  He yanked her into his arms. She exulted when his mouth took hers with heat that sizzled between them, causing her to press closer. She sighed a long, luxurious sigh, her fingers sliding into his hair.

  At last.

  She rejoiced when he teased her lips apart with his tongue and plundered. He tasted of spice and honey, need and desire, and when he gathered her closer, it was as if she had been built for him and only him. Her breasts grew hot and achy. She pressed tighter against him and he moaned, nibbled down the side of her neck. He cupped her hips and pressed her against the bulge in his pants. She panted lightly, buried her face in his chest.

  “You…” she whispered against his cheek. There was no doubt in her mind about Raven. She gave her mouth willingly to him again. Her hands roamed down his back to his ass and she pulled him closer, rubbed against him, and was rewarded by his low growl.

  “I want you hard and fast. This first time, I need you hard and fast." He moved so he could look her in the eyes. His shimmered with heat for her.

  For her.

  Megan took a half step back, heart hammering hard, and took his hand. “Come to my bed then, wolf. Though I warn you, I am not your ordinary Fae.”

  “I would never call you ordinary.”

  They passed into her bedroom. Her favorite exotic scent lingered in the jewel-toned room, the deep sapphire of the sumptuous bedding all Megan could see until he spun her around and took her into his arms once more.

  “Stop thinking. This isn’t a test, Megan.”

  Chapter Three

  The Fae stared up at him with stormy gray eyes, need and wariness mingled equally.

  Impulse led him to cup her face in his hands. Kiss her gently, but the heat between them still sizzled. “Do you want this? I have asked twice and this makes the third time. If you answer yes once more, then there is no going back. You will be mine.”

  Certainty flared in her eyes. “Yes. I’ve already said yes, damn it.” She set her hands to her t-shirt, but he was there before her, pulling it up and off her body before unzipping her jeans. He dropped to his knees to pull them down off her, helped her step out of them before dragging her close.

  Raven pressed his face to the soft roundness of her belly. Inhaled her sweet scent of arousal, and wrapped his arms around her curvy hips. Her hands tugged at his shoulders. He rose to his feet to find she'd disposed of her bra, leaving her breasts bare to his gaze.

  "You are breathtaking."

  She tugged at his shirt. "Off. Now."

  He grinned and gently released her long hair from its ponytail, fanning it out across her bare back. He picked her up and set her in the middle of the bed before stripping off his clothes. His cock, grateful to be freed from the constriction of his jeans, bobbed out, hard and proud.

  Megan laid back, her body gleaming pale against the sapphire of the bedding. Her eyes shone silver, and her tongue licked her bottom lip.

  It was the hesitation in her eyes that caught him. That made him think perhaps hard and fast this first time wasn't the way to go.

  He crawled up onto the bed. She grabbed his cock, and all his doubts about how to proceed went out the window. She rose to meet his mouth and their tongues tangled for supremacy even as her hand stroked his hardness, making him ache.

  She squeezed and he chuckled a bit. "Turnabout is fair play, baby." He smoothed his hand down her chest, over her soft belly, before he dipped between her legs and found her beautifully wet.

  “Oh…”

  He stroked her, loving the breathy little moans and gasps she made as he explored her. “So beautiful,” he murmured.

  “Raven. Please.” Her hands fluttered. He caught one, kissed her fingers, and put her hand on her pussy, wet with need.

  “Oh!”

  “Play with yourself, Megan.” He scooted up the bed to lie next to her, propped up on one elbow, as he stroked her breasts and her belly.

  Her nipples tightened into stiff peaks and her hips lifted to the stroking of her fingers.

  Raven pulled her hand away gently. “Open your eyes.” When her gaze met his, he licked her fingers clean. “So sweet. So pure. So damn perfect.”

  She opened her legs. “Please.”

  “I love the need I see in
your eyes.” Raven knelt between her legs, lifted them up, tilting her pelvis before plunging into her in one sure stroke.

  “Ahh! I need you more than I’ve ever needed anyone. How can this be? How…” He silenced her with a kiss that left her moaning and him panting. She crossed her ankles around his back, her thighs gripping his torso.

  Her heat scalded, embraced him, clung to him. “So tight, babe. Gods.” He wrapped an arm around her, wanting her as close to him as possible as he moved in and out of her slick heat.

  Every breath he took filled him with her scent. Her body undulated beneath him like silk in a breeze, light, cool, yet the heat of her clasped him tight with his every thrust.

  “My wolf…my wolf…mine.” She rubbed her cheek against his chest, exposing the left side of her neck, and he caught his breath.

  He could see the blood pumping there, the vein showing slightly purple beneath her translucent skin. Instinct took over, and he nuzzled her neck briefly before claiming her with his bite.

  Megan screamed his name against his chest and came, shuddering against him, her eyes wide open but blind with sensation.

  The taste of her in his mouth, the scent of her, the feel of her body milking his pushed him over the edge. He released her neck, licked where he’d bit, and pumped into her once, twice more, before his orgasm jetted out of him, sparked pleasure deep inside his belly, in his chest.

  He held her against him, their hearts thundering in rhythm. “Next time I swear I’ll go slow.”

  Megan let out a strangled laugh. “Next time? I’m…oh wow. I’m boneless. Even if I had to, I couldn’t walk.” She sighed. “I feel fantastic.”

  He loved the feel of her hands stroking his back. “Am I too heavy?”

  “No. Don’t leave, not yet.”

  “I’m not leaving, I’m adjusting.” He lifted off her and cuddled her up against him. His body still sparked with his orgasm. “Tell me something.”

  “Anything.”

  Raven laughed. “Nothing dire, I swear. Why did you say you weren’t ordinary?”

  She sighed and plucked at the hairs on his arm. He didn’t say anything, just let her process.

  “None of the Fae on my home world stayed with me for more than once. No one wanted me, other than as an oddity.”

  He didn’t say anything, just stroked her hair and listened. Megan shifted in his arms to glance up at him. He nodded. “Go on.”

  “The Fae are notoriously promiscuous. And that’s not even the right word. They have sex, all the time, with just about anyone. It’s not until, and unless, they decide to have children that they search for a mate. Once that happens, the bond is firm. Final.”

  “Is that what your mom and dad had? That kind of bond?”

  Megan shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t remember my mother well. She died when I was young, and it was just Dad and me. We did well enough, but then he decided to come here, to help the paranormal element that exists on this Plane.” She frowned. “He decided to come here after I had my first complete sexual season.”

  “There’s not a correlation between the two.”

  “Maybe not.” She sighed. “I suppose I’ll never know.”

  Raven pulled the hair back from her neck; saw the imprint of his teeth there. He traced it. It had been too soon. She hadn’t been ready. “I’m sorry about this.”

  Surprise showed in her eyes. “Why? I’m not.” Her hand came up to touch the spot, and the mark glowed. “It was one of the most erotic things I’ve ever experienced.” She took her hand away and the glow faded. “You claimed me with that bite.”

  Hope quickened in his chest. “That doesn’t bother you?”

  Megan sat up, her hair cascading down around her torso. Her hand lingered again on her neck, but her gaze was direct.

  “No. It doesn’t bother me. I never thought anyone ever would claim me. Besides, I called you ‘mine’ first, you know.” She reached out to him with the same hand, and her fingers trailed sparks across his chest. “Wait. What? Wow…”

  She went to repeat the move, but he grabbed her hand and sat up, his breath coming hard. The notion that crossed his mind was outlandish, but he couldn’t quite shake free of it. That maybe Megan was half-wolf, half-Fae.

  But to spring that on her, now? No. He couldn’t do it. “Sorry,” he said, his voice gruff. “I need a minute.” He slid out of bed and padded to the bathroom, shut the door behind him.

  Stared at himself in the mirror. If she’s part werewolf, and part Fae…no, she can’t be. But she touched the claiming, and it glowed. After touching it, she touched me, and we both felt the sparks.

  His heart pounded. He’d known it was right; he’d known the minute he kissed her that he needed to claim her. What he hadn’t known was how she was going to change absolutely everything.

  Megan frowned. Raven seemed to flee to the bathroom, as if he couldn’t stand her. What had she done wrong? Tears rose and she sat up, brushed them away. He wouldn’t be the first to reject her, just the latest, after all.

  She dressed hastily, not wanting to be naked in front of him, not anymore. Leaving her bedroom, she went around a half-wall with Ficus trees and other greenery masking it, to where her office was set up on the far side of the open living area. She opened her laptop, checked her messages, and pulled out a notepad. There were things they needed to do, and first up was find Raven’s car. They’d have to go together to where he’d left it, which meant she would end up spending most of the day with him. Well, she had practice at pretending she didn’t care.

  They’d get his car and his clothes. If she asked, she knew Gregor would find room for him at the Caine homestead. Pain shot through her, but she straightened her back. She would not see pity in his eyes, for that would shatter her. Best that he be out of her way.

  But someone tried to kill him, in her hospital. She owed him. The wayward thought made her snort. She’d paid that debt in full, having both saved him and had sex with him.

  Pain again, and she sighed. “Better not to even try to have relationships,” she muttered, and stared down at the list she’d made.

  “Car, clothes, Sol…” she frowned. “Why would I put Sol on this list?”

  “Who’s Sol? And why are you dressed?”

  Raven’s voice rumbled through her. With a slight gasp, Megan bent her head to her list. “We have work to do. Find your car, to start with.”

  “Megan? What’s wrong?”

  The concern in his voice had her weakening. She swiveled in her chair to face him, and her breath caught.

  He wore only his jeans, unbuttoned at the top. His hair fell in a bit of a tangle to below his shoulders, and his eyes held a caring tenderness in them.

  She smiled brightly. “Nothing’s wrong. We just have a lot to do. Another cup of coffee before we go find your car?” Internally, she prayed he wouldn’t push her.

  He scrubbed his face with one hand. “Before we go, would it bother you if I changed into my wolf? Had a good sniff around this place? I hadn’t realized how big it is.”

  “Only a third of this floor is built out, but yeah, it’s big.” Relief at his request made her giddy. “Sure. Sniff and pad away, just, you know. Don’t mark your territory like cats do.”

  He sent her a lazy grin. “I’ve already marked my territory.”

  Cursing the flush that heated her cheeks, she smiled weakly and turned back to her list. “Go ahead, then. Don’t mind me.”

  The next moment, he was simply there, turning her chair around and pulling her up into his arms.

  Her hands rested against his bare chest, and she resisted the urge to curl them into him, resisted the urge to hang on. She lifted her gaze, and the warmth in the depths of his eyes made her smile.

  His kiss sent her back to the bliss of the two of them, and she felt the wall inside her melt into nothing.

  “You’re mine.”

  She shivered as he growled the words softly in her ear. Shivered again when he nipped, then licked, the p
lace where he’d marked her.

  “Say it.”

  Megan pressed against his chest, and he loosened his arms around her. She looked into his eyes, so open to her. What did she have to lose?

  “I’m yours, Raven.” She let him pull her close again, and this time wrapped her arms around his waist. Cuddled in. Maybe this is real.

  “We will get back to that amazing bed, and each other, before midnight strikes. I swear it.”

  A smile started in her heart and lit up her entire body before reaching her lips. “I’ll hold you to that.” She pressed a swift kiss on his chest, then stepped back. Reveled in the reluctant way he released her.

  “Now go, get your wolf on so that we can rescue your car.”

  Laughter lingered in his eyes. “So we can get back here and get into bed, you mean.”

  She chuckled. “Go on.”

  He disappeared, and she delved into her personal email. Nothing from home, as usual, but then why would there be? Junk mail and more junk mail. Her inbox clean, she flipped to social media and posted her usual sunny Saturday post.

  The total quiet of her home finally intruded in on her thoughts. Megan stood and went looking for Raven.

  The place was empty. Living area, kitchen, both bedrooms, guest bath, exercise room; all were empty.

  Which only left…she ran into the master bath. Raven was there, sprawled out on the ground.

  “Holy fuck.” She knelt beside him, felt for his carotid. His pulse was there, rapid-fire. His breath came shallow as if he were panting, but she couldn’t find anything physically wrong with him.

  “Raven?” She patted his cheeks. “Raven, come back to me.”

  When he didn’t respond, Megan slipped into his mind.

  Raven. My wolf. Where did you go? She found him staring at a lake, surrounded by mountains. She slid her hand into his. What is it? What is wrong?

  At her words, he took a deep breath. I got lost. Take me home, Megan.

  She kept hold of his hand and did as she had when she had battled the poison in his system.

  Come with me. Come home. Come home, Raven. Walk with me.