Her pupils dilated. Her nostril flared.
Easy now. This is a taste, not a conversion. Hell, he didn’t even know if she could be converted. His brothers had converted their wives out of necessity, life-or-death situations when the decisions were made. This was a choice, not an emergency. Tightening his hold on Jane’s mind, Slade slid beneath her fear and untangled the threads of tension, replacing them with calm. His fangs ached and stretched. His mouth watered. Maybe his vampire wasn’t as far away from his human side as he’d thought, because nothing inside him was horrified by this. Vampire and human alike wanted to posses her completely, wholly. He placed his fangs at the pulse point of her wrist. Echoes of her heartbeat vibrated along his nerve endings, strumming against the rhythm of his, accelerating it until it matched hers.
“Are you sure?” he asked her, one last time. “Nothing will be the same for you after this.”
“Will I be vampire?”
Not if he held on to his control, kept a barrier between their thoughts. “No.”
The pink of her tongue slid over the richer pink of her lips. “Then we’ll deal with the fallout later.”
Moisture glistened on the plump surface of her lips. Damn, was she trying to kill him? “Take a breath and relax for me, then.”
If he was truly kind he would tell her to close her eyes, but he didn’t want her to close her eyes. He wanted her to see him taking her this way, the same way he was going to want her to see him claiming her the first time they became lovers. He wanted her to know who gave her the pleasure so she’d know to whom she belonged. No doubt she’d call him a chauvinist for the impulse. No doubt she’d be right. He stroked his tongue over her skin. He wasn’t born in her time, raised with her values. When he peeled off everything he’d learned over the centuries, he was still who he was. A nineteenth-century man who believed his woman was to be cherished, protected. Owned. He bit down. Hot, sweet spice poured into his mouth. Elation leapt to euphoria. He was helpless to contain it. Inside, his vampire cried more. And more came at him—her senses, her emotions, her thoughts. She wanted to be horrified, but a part of her sensed the rightness of this sharing between them. And that did horrify her. Slade could have told her nothing was ever easy, especially this. That it was inevitable and beautiful in its own way. If one had centuries to adjust to the idea.
Three swallows, he told himself. He’d allow himself just three. As he took the first, the scent of her arousal rose up to embrace him. Heady. Powerful. And sweet. Everything about her was sweet. On the second swallow, passion weakened her knees. Catching her with a hand behind her back, he coaxed her into his embrace.
Come here, sweetness. Come here.
The compulsion for more was stronger now, too potent to resist. He was surrounded by her scent, imbued with her pleasure until nothing existed but his desire for her, hers for him. It was all around them. The promise of what would be. What should be.
Jane.
Slade.
The whisper of his name slipped into his mind. As sweet as her desire, as potent as her touch. Tendrils of her need wrapped around his, drawing him closer. Elemental. A longing for the physical as well as the emotional. Alone, she’d been alone for so long. She didn’t want to be alone anymore. His thoughts twined around hers, holding her tightly, banishing that loneliness. She was ready. He could take her now and all she’d feel was pleasure. And she’d never be alone again. He’d always be with her. He could give her that.
If he took her humanity.
Slade closed his eyes. The third swallow never came. Releasing her wrist, Slade skimmed his fangs across her skin, the sense of loss pushing him harder than logic. A lap of his tongue sealed the wound on her wrist, but nothing could suppress the howl of loss from his vampire. A cry for a mate that would echo in his head far into eternity. Placing his lips on the inside of Jane’s arm, holding her close as she shivered in reaction to the caress, Slade whispered the one promise he could make. “You’ll never be alone again.”
11
SHE couldn’t be alone.
Slade laid Jane on the bed in their cabin. Her pulse was too fast, her nerves were on fire. Her thoughts were hazed by discomfort and something he couldn’t identify. And he didn’t have a clue as to what was going on. He’d been very careful to take only a little blood. Nowhere near enough to risk conversion. But from all the signs, Jane was in rejection. Shifting and moaning, she twisted on the sheets, pushing the pillow aside, shoving her hair out of her face with short, jerky, frustrated movements. He pulled the sheet over her shoulder.
“Jane.”
“No.”
She shoved the sheet down. Slade caught her hands before she could claw at her skin.
“Don’t, Jane.”
“Itches,” she groaned in that same half-conscious tone she’d used since he’d taken her blood.
He pulled the sheet down. A rash was spreading across her body, starting at her wrist and going up her arm, flaring downward from her neck.
Son of a bitch. She was having a reaction to his bite. He shoved her hand down the back waistband of his jeans, trying to keep it out of his way while he checked her back, then grabbed the other one and did the same.
As he lifted her, Jane’s breath hissed out between her teeth. He froze. “What?”
“Better.”
Better? What the hell could be better about this?
“What’s better, sweetness?”
Her palms were inching back and forth on the small of his back.
“My hands. So much better.”
Her hands were better. He thought a moment. He was sweating. Could perspiration from his body be soothing whatever was causing the reaction? He’d heard some pretty bizarre conversion stories—good and bad.
Except he hadn’t converted Jane.
Caleb’s conversion of Allie had been nothing like Jace’s of Miri. Of course, Miri had been werewolf and Allie human, but both women had gained strength with the conversion. Raisa had been converted centuries earlier, but had been so sick her whole vampire life that she’d always been on the verge of death, until Jared. His blood had given her strength. Jane might have been right. Maybe there was something about the Johnson blood that made conversions a whole different prospect. And maybe it was that “something” to which Jane was reacting. Shit.
Jane twisted on the sheets, her body writhing in a parody of lust. She needed help. All he had to go on was that moment when she’d said “better.” Slipping his hand behind her back, he felt the raised bumps of the rash, felt her muscles immediately react as his hands opened—in anticipation of what? More of his touch? Hell, if that’s all it took to give her ease, he’d give it. Ignoring her mewl of protest, he eased Jane back before kicking off his right boot. “Hold on a minute, sweetness.”
Jane moaned and reached out. It was a beautifully erotic gesture, sensual and vulnerable, but it was the vulnerability that drew him. It was her deep, dark secret, and she’d want to kick his ass for finding it appealing. Shucking his other boot, he shoved down his underpants and jeans in one push. Getting into bed with her, he wrapped them together, skin to skin. She continued to moan, but not as hard. Her hands stroked up and down his arms, her feet up and down his calves, her shoulders rubbed against his chest, her breasts against his forearms. It was heaven and hell.
Slade?
The whisper in his mind was from Caleb. It was immediately followed by softer ones from Jared and Jace. Distance made the latter queries weaker, but no less concerned.
What’s wrong?
There was no way to shield his distress from his brothers. The connection that had always been between them had amplified with conversion. They couldn’t always communicate mentally, but they could usually sense each other’s moods, and distress was one that telegraphed well.
I’m all right.
He didn’t know if his brothers got the communication in word or sensation, but he knew they got it. Now to only hope they respected it. They could be a bit overprotective
, and they didn’t trust the way he was behaving lately. Truth was, neither did he. He wasn’t used to anything breaking his concentration, but lately he couldn’t find the single-minded focus that was his norm. Work was piling up, his nerves were fraying, and new demands were coming in daily. But he would hold this illusion to preserve Jane’s pride. Keeping a restful image in his mind, Slade turned on his side and pulled her tighter against him. She moaned and drew her thigh up his. His cock jerked as his senses opened to her scent, the delicacy of her skin, the proximity of her throat. His fangs stretched and ached. He was only one bite away from the joining he should never have left half done. One bite away from the satisfaction he craved. One bite away from being the monster that would disregard her wishes. Would risk her life for his chance at forever.
Shit! She was only just recovering from the shock of his first bite. Jerking away, Slade thrust his mind into Jane’s, giving her one order only. Sleep.
Jane went under, and he was out of the bed from one breath to the next. Running his hand through his hair, Slade took a deep breath, quelling the hunger that pushed at his honor. When he thought he had his vampire under control, he bent and kissed her cheek. Immediately his lips burned with want and his senses flared, encompassing all that she was, craving to bind it to him. On a harsh curse, he stepped away, his gaze following the hug of the sheet as it hugged her curves, caressing the tip of her breasts, snuggling into the juncture of her thighs. So womanly. So beautiful. She sighed and turned, as if even in her sleep, she had to diminish her presence. He shook his head. Jane was so much more than she thought. All scientist, but all woman, too. No matter how much she tried to make herself out as cold or lacking in that department. Trailing his finger down a wrinkle in the sheet as it curved over her hip, Slade shook his head. Jane was not a cold woman.
“I hope to hell you appreciate the sacrifice, sweetness.”
Not even by a sigh did she acknowledge the comment. She just lay there, trapped in his enthrallment. It would be so easy to catch the edge of the sheet on his finger. So easy to draw it down. So easy to release the desire in her mind. So easy to slip between her thighs. So incredibly easy to take advantage of her.
Another step back. Son of a bitch, since when did a Johnson even toy with the idea of taking advantage of a woman?
Slade?
A need to see him was embedded in Caleb’s query.
I’m coming.
As much as he hated to leave Jane, he couldn’t be trusted around her. At least he could maintain their mental connection and take the worst of her distress onto himself.
To Caleb he ordered, Have Derek send someone to watch Jane.
Done.
Someone good.
Caleb didn’t even mentally blink at the insecurity sparking the demand.
Of course.
SLADE had to take the tunnel to the main house. He wished it was night so he could burn off the energy thrumming along his veins. A run through the night air relieved a lot of stress. Opening the door to the kitchen with its blocked off windows, he saw Allie sitting there with little Joseph on her lap. Caleb sat beside her. Across the table sat Tobias, a D’Nally enforcer. All had coffee cups before them. All were watching him with wary, assessing gazes.
Shit again.
The Enforcer’s eyes narrowed as soon as he entered the room. The hairs on the back of Slade’s neck rose. A fight was good for relieving stress, too.
He nodded to them. “Allie, Caleb.” He narrowed his eyes. “Enforcer. What are you doing here?”
“I’m on guard duty.”
There was only one reason Tobias would be on guard. “Jace and Miri are here?”
He nodded. “They’re upstairs with Faith.”
“Guard duty is a little low for you.”
“The D’Nallys take the protection of our Alpha and our children seriously.”
Slade didn’t doubt that, but he was learning there were many levels to everything the Enforcer did. And there was no just being on guard duty for the Enforcer. Enforcers were the special ops of the werewolf world. An Enforcer of Tobias’s level had abilities that no one understood. Those abilities came into play only when there was a lot at risk.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
Tobias took a sip of his coffee. “Just that you’d better get those guns fixed.”
“Trouble coming?” he asked.
“Yes.” The wolf’s eyes narrowed as he tilted his head back slightly. “You’ve been with the woman.”
It sounded like an accusation.
“I know he has the reputation of being a recluse,” Caleb drawled, “but it’s not that rare that Slade’s with a woman.”
“He’s been with the scientist. This can’t be.”
“Why ever not?” Allie snapped.
Tobias’s expression didn’t change. “She’s a distraction.”
“No more than I am,” Slade replied.
Tobias shook his head. “A lot more, for reasons you don’t wish to acknowledge.”
Caleb stepped protectively toward Slade. Allie followed suit, countering her husband’s warning glare with a “What? He’s my brother, too.”
Slade didn’t want either of them in danger because of him. Caleb had waited a long time for love and peace. Allie gave him both. Tobias’s lip quirked in an amused smile that galled.
Slade shifted to the right, drawing the Enforcer’s attention. “You don’t think we’re a match for you?”
The smile didn’t fade from the were’s mouth, but his eyes took on a cold, white glow. Tendrils of power pulsed just beyond Slade’s mental touch. “If I wanted you dead, there’d be nothing you could do.”
Not for the first time, Slade wondered at the true depths of the Enforcer’s power. And the direction of his loyalty. Balancing his weight on the balls of his feet, he nodded. “I’ll take my chances.”
“So will I.” Caleb growled, taking a similar position.
Allie placed Joseph in the baby seat on the table and stepped forward. Before Allie could open her mouth to chime in, Caleb put his palm over it and shook his head. “You never will.”
Allie glared and stomped on his foot. It was such a ludicrous attempt to dent his brother’s defenses, done with such expectation of success, that Slade couldn’t help but smile. Neither could Tobias. Or Caleb. Which just made Allie madder.
As soon as Caleb removed his hand, she was spitting fire. “You’re not relegating me to the sidelines, Caleb Johnson. We’re married. That means we’re in things together.”
“Not battle,” Caleb countered.
“Not when it comes to fighting,” Slade reiterated.
“You have other concerns,” Tobias lectured, nodding to Joseph, who was watching everything.
“You don’t have to find the one thing we agree on,” Allie huffed.
“It’s convenient.”
Scooping up Joseph, she muttered, “Oh my God, you’re worse than mother hens.”
“You should work harder to curb her impulsivity,” Tobias told Caleb.
“There are times when I find it charming.”
Allie rolled her eyes. “This is the twenty-first century, you know.”
“But still dangerous,” Slade felt compelled to add. And all the more dangerous now that he’d brought Jane here. Not that he’d had a choice.
“And you’re married to the head of an important family,” Tobias said, reining in his energy until it was once again an intangible shimmer. “That makes you a target.”
“We’re all targets, but we still have to live, love ...” Allie glanced pointedly at Slade. “Marry.”
Leave it to Allie to point out the elephant in the room.
“The scientist is not for Slade,” Tobias said flatly.
Allie’s brows shot up. “Who are you to determine that?”
“Yes, Enforcer”—Slade gave Tobias back his own cold smile—“who are you?”
Tobias bared his canines. “The one with the bad feeling.”
Tobias’s bad feelings were nothing to sneeze at. The hairs on the back of Slade’s neck rose. Caleb stepped forward, all signs of challenge gone. “About Jane?”
“Yes.”
Slade knew what the were was going to say.
“Shut up, Tobias.”
“For heaven’s sake, we can never get the man to speak and then when he actually has something to contribute, you tell him to shut up?” Allie grabbed Tobias’s arm and tugged him toward the table. “Come have a bear claw.”
To Slade’s surprise, Tobias went. “You’re getting downright domesticated, Enforcer.”
“Uh-huh.” He took the heavily iced pastry and bit off a chunk.
“What he’s getting is my last bear claw!” Caleb growled.
Allie folded her arms across her chest. “You’d just throw it up.”
“But I’d enjoy it coming and going.”
“Now that’s just gross.”
Caleb glared at Tobias. Allie glared at Caleb. Slade wanted to silence them all before the truth could come out. Before it became something that had to be dealt with.
“Jane is my business.”
“Not in this.”
Caleb shook his head. “She’s his mate, Tobias.”
“She cannot take his blood. There can be no bond.”
That snapped Caleb’s head around. “What the hell are you talking about?”
The cold clenched in Slade’s gut. Reaching out mentally, he blended his energy to Jane’s. She slept because he’d forced her to, but beneath the coercion, there was burning pain. Shit. He hadn’t accidentally converted her. He’d poisoned her.
“Slade?”
The touch on his arm drew him back. Allie was looking up at him, pity in her eyes. They were all looking at him. He felt the brush of Caleb’s mind. The calculation in Tobias’s.
“What do you know, Enforcer?”
The chair creaked as Tobias sat back. “Sanctuary is coming.”
“Now tell us something we don’t know.”
He wiped his mouth. “For her.”
Caleb snapped. “Why?”
“Ask Slade.”
Slade Page 16
