Yet more than her fear, she needed.
Yearned. For him.
Shifter.
“Go back to your room,” he ordered, and she saw his fingers dig into the cushions of the couch. “It’s not time to play with the animals.”
Okay, now he was pissing her off. She reached out, touched that golden skin, and trailed her fingers down his chest. “I don’t see an animal. Just a man.” The sexiest man she’d ever come across. A man who had her aching inside.
“I’m both, Miranda. Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking I’m not.”
A warning, clear and simple. One that she was going to ignore.
She lowered her body over his, placing her thighs on either side of his legs so that she could straddle him. The position put her face close to his and had her sex brushing against the hard cradle of his erection.
She curled both of her hands over his shoulders. Jeez, the man was warm. “I’ve been in my room, thinking about you.” But he knew that. He knew she wanted him. Miranda brushed her lips over his. “Have you been thinking about me?”
He moved in a blur. Cain lifted her, spun around, and before Miranda could even gasp out a breath, she found herself flat on the cushions of the couch. Cain leaned over her, his face hard and lust shining in his eyes. “Don’t fucking tease me. If you yank a cat’s tail, you will get bitten.” His teeth came together with a snap.
“I’ve already been bitten once,” she said, rising up on her elbows. “Wasn’t to my liking.”
“You weren’t bitten by me.” Then his mouth was on hers. Tongue thrusting. Lips pressing. Taking. Devouring.
And the lust she’d felt all night went from a flame to a blaze.
She met the kiss full force, loving the slightly wild taste of the man. Her mouth was frantic on his, demanding—a perfect match for his kiss.
When his head lifted, when his eyes gazed down at her with that soft shine, she knew what was coming even before he spoke.
“Your choice.”
She’d made her choice.
“You can run back to your room, lock the door again, and forget about tangling with someone like me.” His head lowered toward the crook of her neck and he inhaled deeply, drawing in a long gulp of air as he caught her scent. “Or you can stay, and I’ll take you, and show you just how powerful sex with a shifter can be.”
Like she was going to be able to walk away from that offer.
Grandma Belle hadn’t raised a fool.
Her fingers trailed over his chest. Paused over his heart, feeling the hard and fast rhythm beneath her hand. “I’m not running anywhere, not tonight.” She was exactly where she wanted to be.
Tonight she was with the right man. Her body knew it. It was responding completely to him. Softening, moistening. Her breasts aching. Hips arching. Readying.
For him.
Only him.
The smile that twisted his lips could only be called feral. “You were warned, baby.” Then he lifted his hand, eased it between their bodies, and with one swipe of his fingertip—no, his claw—he cut the T-shirt she’d been wearing in half. The edges slid open, and her breasts tightened at the sudden rush of air.
“So damn pretty. Pink and round, just waiting for my mouth.” His breath feathered over her sensitive flesh seconds before his lips closed over her right nipple. His mouth was warm, wet, and he knew just how to stroke her with his lips and his tongue. Soft caresses. Hard licks. A suckle that had her back arching and her breath hissing out.
“Taste so sweet. Just like you smell. Honeysuckle.” His mouth locked on her other breast. Showed it the same sensual care. Licks. Kisses. The faintest sting of a bite.
You weren’t bitten by me.
Now she had been. Oh, God, she had been.
He eased down her body, making a trail with his mouth and tongue. His sensual caresses made her ache with need. Her sex was wet, and Miranda was so eager that her body trembled.
Her drawstring shorts were shoved out of the way. By her, by him, she couldn’t really tell for certain. Then he was touching the crotch of her panties. Feeling the warm cream that coated the fabric.
Then he ripped the panties away.
His fingers closed over her thighs, a move reminiscent of the night before. She parted her legs quickly for him, wanting to feel that hard ridge of flesh against her sex again. But he needed to ditch his boxers. She wanted to feel him, skin to skin and—
He touched the hungry flesh between her legs. Not with his cock, but with his fingers. He parted her folds. Strummed his fingers over her clit. “Miranda…” His voice was a velvet growl in the darkness. “Your scent is driving me crazy.”
Then he was on the floor. Crouching on his knees. One hand wrapped tight around her thigh. The other explored the secrets of her sex. His head hovered over her stomach. The dark locks of his hair were close enough to touch and—
His mouth brushed against her sex. His tongue laved her, licking away the cream that coated her flesh, then driving deep inside her in one hard plunge.
Her fingers sank into his hair and her hips slammed up to meet his hot kiss. Moans rose in her throat, because what he was doing, it felt so good. His tongue retreated. Teased. Drove inside.
Her sex tightened. Her orgasm threatened. So close. The promise of pleasure was just a few seconds away.
Damn but the man was one good lover. Certainly the best at—
Another lick from that skilled tongue. A caress of his hands, fingers harder now, more demanding as her body struggled for her peak.
It had been so long for her. Over six months since she’d kicked Peter out—
Cain’s tongue drove deep and Miranda shattered, seemed to literally fall apart, as a blast of pleasure rocked through her.
The tremors still shook her sex when he rose above her. Cain was on his knees and he jerked her body to the end of the couch. He fumbled, reaching for the jeans that were on the floor. A sharp rip of sound filled the air. Then he was moving again, and pressing the tip of that thick cock between her legs.
“Hold on,” he ordered, voice barely recognizable as a man’s.
The beast had to be close.
No fear. Not now.
Only hot pleasure.
Her legs wrapped around his hips.
His cock slammed deep, a driving thrust that intensified the soft aftershocks of release vibrating through her. His fingers clenched around her hips and he lifted her up, plunging deep again and again in a rhythm that became increasingly wild.
And she loved it. Every frantic second. His jaw was clenched. Those eyes of his shining bright with that powerful inner light. She caught a glimpse of his fangs, but instead of frightening her, the sight caused a lick of heat to burst inside of her.
More than a man. So much more.
Cain angled her body so that with every thrust of his cock, he brushed over the tight nub of her desire. The pleasure built again. The need grew just as desperate as before and suddenly she was the one clawing at his arms. Moaning. Thrashing beneath him.
He made a low sound in his throat, one that she couldn’t quite discern. His head dropped to her chest and he licked her breasts. Rough flicks of his tongue that made her nipples tingle with arousal.
His tongue. Wet. Strong.
Damn good.
His mouth trailed up to her shoulder.
And Cain pressed his teeth against her flesh. Not too hard, oh, God, no, not like the vampire, but just right.
Her body buckled as she came beneath him.
The light in his eyes burned brighter. His cheeks hollowed and she felt the faint scrape of his claws against her hips.
His hips jerked as her sex milked his thick flesh with the contractions of her climax. Then he was coming, holding her with a grip of steel and driving straight to her womb. Cain shuddered against her, threw back his head, and managed to grit out her name.
The release held them in a tight grip. Time passed. She didn’t know how long she lay half on that couch, body
replete, mouth dry, legs limp.
Cain looked down at her and she could see the glow of his beast begin to slowly fade. He smiled at her, then lowered his head toward her. His mouth hesitated over hers, and he licked her lips, a heated caress that took her by surprise. Then he dropped his head toward the side of her neck, and he nuzzled her lightly.
Her arms, which had fallen from his body, now rose again and she looped them around his back, liking this moment. The warmth. The touches.
His breath feathered over her skin. “Tell me…” A soft press of his lips against her neck, almost as if he were kissing her tender wounds. “Why in the hell is a woman like you looking for men on the Internet?”
The question, coming right after the truly fabulous sex, threw her off.
He pushed up, bracing on his palms. “Are the men in this city just shit crazy? You’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Her lips parted in surprise. Okay. The man was going to get serious points for post-sex flattery. “Meeting men isn’t, ah, really the problem.” Cherryville wasn’t exactly overflowing with studs, but she could find dates. The problem was…“I was hoping to meet someone, um, different.”
That black brow of his rose. “Baby, you did that.” His hips pressed down against her in a soft thrust. “And if you wanted different, well, I was right next door.”
But she’d already agreed to the date with Paul before she’d met Cain. She’d thought about canceling with him once she started fantasizing about her neighbor, and now she sure wished she’d gone with that impulse.
His lips brushed over hers, then he eased away from her, pulling his still-firm flesh from her body.
Dammit.
“I’ll be right back.” He tossed her a hard look over his shoulder. “And then you’ll finish telling me why you were surfing the Web and wound up with the vamp.” He headed toward the guest bath, and Miranda took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of sex in the air.
Damn, but that had been good. Better than good. Her body ached, but it was a fine, satisfied feeling like—
“So finish talking, Miranda.”
She jerked at his voice. Too close. Jeez, the man moved fast. Her eyes narrowed as she stared up at him. The guy was sure soft on those big feet of his. “I—ah—” She caught sight of his perfect abs and, momentarily lost her train of thought.
“Miranda?”
“Tired of jerks,” she muttered, dragging her gaze away from the tempting abs. “My fiancés were—”
He froze in front of her.
“Uh, Cain?”
Slowly, he held up a hand and wound up looking like some kind of sexy naked statue. “Hold that. Did you just say ‘fiancés’?”
“Um.” But Ryan and Peter really weren’t important. No, the important thing was to get Cain closer so that they could go a second round.
The statue came back to full life as he snagged her hand and crowded her back against the couch. “Just how many fiancés have you had?” There were sparks in his eyes.
“Two.” The sparks burned a little brighter. Miranda shook her head. “Look, Ryan and I got together right after college. Honestly, I think I liked the guy’s bike more than I liked him.” He’d driven one prime Harley. “The engagement ended almost as soon as it started.”
“And the other guy?” His voice was expressionless, but that fire still simmered in his gaze.
“Peter.” She said his name on a sigh. “Big mistake.” She’d let him move in with her. “Peter didn’t want a fiancée so much as he wanted a free ride through life, and let’s just say that I got tired of paying.” Two losers, but there had been more.
“Do you still love him?”
“Oh, God, no!” The words burst from her. Miranda shook her head. “I don’t even try to think about the guy if I can help it.” A close escape, that’s what she’d had. “I was online because I wanted to find someone different. And it’s not like I’m the only one out there looking for—for—” Miranda cleared her throat. “Well, you know.” Actually, her partner teacher, Sally Jennings, had been the one to encourage her to create a profile.
Sally had met her husband, Ted, online just over a year ago. Not a vampire. Ted was a perfectly normal, handsome accountant.
Some women just had good luck.
And some women just got dates with devils.
“You’re not going to be looking for ‘you know’ anymore.” Cain’s voice was firm. The drawl she liked so much trickled through his words.
A smile curved her lips. Okay. Maybe she wasn’t quite as unlucky as she’d thought before. “No, I’m not.” Miranda pressed her finger lightly against the middle of Cain’s chest. “I’ve got what I need.”
His jaw tightened. “I mean it, Miranda. I’m not the sharing type.”
“Neither am I.” Best to get things clear from the start. “When I’m with a man, I don’t cheat, and I expect the same promise from my lover.” Not that she’d had a ton of lovers, but she wasn’t exactly Snow White, either.
“I don’t want anyone else.” Stark. “Just you.” Said with more than a hint of possession.
Miranda swallowed and held his bright stare. No one had ever looked at her quite that way before. With such demanding need. A stark hunger.
Her heart did a fast kick and started drumming in a double-time rhythm. “And I want you.” Her finger trailed down his chest, headed for those absolutely perfect abs—
A gunshot rang out, the loud blast piercing the quiet of the moment and sending a spike of adrenaline through her blood.
In the next second, Miranda was on the floor, and Cain’s naked body was covering hers. He waited a beat, two, then slowly lifted his head. All signs of the replete lover had vanished. Now, a hunter looked out from those golden eyes.
“Cain…” Her thoughts were flying. The FBI agent. He must have fired. Oh, God, was he okay?
“Stay inside and away from the windows.” A growl. An order.
She’d never really been the order-taking type, but when gunshots were involved, that changed things for her.
Cain headed for the door.
Her jaw dropped. What the hell? He was running outside without even taking a weapon? The guy was ex-Bureau; he should know well enough to take a weapon with him into a gunfight! And the man was naked!
Miranda slithered across the room, making damn sure she didn’t present a target. She jerked on her shorts. Realized her shirt was damaged beyond repair. “Shit.” She crawled five feet, snagged her jacket from the back of a chair, managed to zip it up, fast. “Dammit, give me a minute—”
Too late.
Cain jerked open the door and disappeared into the night.
The coppery scent of blood filled his nostrils. It was a smell he’d become intimately familiar with over the years, and one that had the beast inside yanking against his leash.
Cain launched off the porch steps, feeling the beast rage inside his body. That blood wasn’t a human’s. It had a slightly stale scent. Cloying.
Vampire.
He knew who his enemy was, and he knew he couldn’t go against the bastard in human form.
Running low to the ground, he headed for the cover of the nearby woods. Then he let the beast free.
The power of the change swept through him, the burn sending him falling onto all fours.
Bones snapped. Twisted. Fur burst through his skin. His vision sharpened. His mouth burned as his teeth lengthened. Hands became paws. Fingernails razor-sharp claws.
The man disappeared in a frenzy of teeth and growls, and the black beast took his place, tail snapping in the air, paws digging into the dirt.
Cain had a moment to hope that Miranda heeded his order and stayed inside the house. He didn’t want her out in the open, not with the vampire around. And he didn’t want her to see him in his animal form. Not yet.
He’d reached paradise with her moments before, and he wasn’t ready to give that up because she had to face the reality of his existence.
; His hind legs pushed back against the ground, and he sprang forward, following that heavy scent deeper into the woods. He bounded easily over the earth, strength pulsing through him. Every smell was ten times stronger and every sound from the woods was heightened. He could hear the croak of the frogs. The whistle of leaves. The soft crunch of the earth beneath Agent Santiago’s feet.
Cain jumped, caught the lower limbs of a tree, and climbed up easily, his thick claws digging into the wood. He could see the agent from his perch. His gun was up, aimed at the darkness beyond.
The agent’s heart was racing too fast, the telling thud reached his ears, and Cain could smell Santiago’s sweat.
The agent was hunting. Just as he was.
He eased farther along the limb. Jumped agilely to the next tree. His tail thumped against the branch.
A swift pounding had his head jerking to the left. Footsteps. Fleeing. His nostrils widened, drawing in all the scents of the woods. The blood path was that way.
The vampire was on the run.
Santiago had succeeded in wounding him, but at the rate he was going, he’d never be able to bring the guy down.
Even a wounded vampire was a damn fast vampire.
And a very, very dangerous prey to stalk.
Time to take over.
He leapt from the tree, landing lightly on his feet. He’d worked with Santiago more than a few times in the past, and the other man knew his secret. A select few in the Bureau did, and those men had sworn to carry the truth of his nature to the grave.
They’d used him on cases. Ruthlessly. Sometimes it took the devil to bring down the killers. Especially when those killers couldn’t be stopped by normal means.
But they’d given their word to keep the truth of his nature quiet, and they all knew if they betrayed him, well, they’d have to face the beast.
He advanced quickly on Santiago, covering the ground easily. The guy had never been too fast on the trigger in the past, but Cain didn’t want to take any chances. He growled low, then let out the series of grunts he knew the human would recognize.
Santiago had whirled at the first growl, but Cain saw his shoulders relax the faintest bit. Then the agent nodded and lowered his weapon.
When He Was Bad Page 19
