by Melody Raven
She hated this. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this powerless. Growing up, she’d always been too smart for her own good. It had made her stubborn and reckless and not always much fun to be around. To be fair, not much had changed. Still reckless. Still stubborn. And she really wasn’t used to not getting her way.
There were just so many forces working against her. Vampires. Government. But as small as she felt in the wake of all of this chaos, Cora was smaller.
She turned over and looked where Dante was sleeping. She didn’t want him to have any nefarious reason for bringing her here, but she was almost offended that he was so unthreatened that he’d fallen into unconsciousness so quickly.
Then again, he had gotten shot. A lot. Alyssa leaned on an elbow and propped her head up on her hand. “Are you awake?”
“Maybe,” he said, not opening his eyes.
“I don’t want to rest. I want to do something.”
He popped an eye open. “And you think I don’t? I’m trapped here like a rat in a cage, and Cora could be on a plane by now, flying right out of my reach. But I won’t be any good to her if I run outside and burn to death.” He opened both eyes and glanced at her. “How is your neck?”
She fought the urge to reach up and touch it. “It’s fine. It didn’t hurt as much as I expected.” Not that she’d ever tell him just how good it had felt....
“You liked it.”
Well, there went that secret. “What?”
“I could tell. I could taste it. Feel it. You were scared, sure, but you wanted more.”
She pushed away from him and fell back against the bed. Maybe if she stared straight up at the ceiling, he wouldn’t see her turning beet red.
But running wouldn’t be that easy. He rolled on his side to look down at her. “You don’t need to hide from me. I liked it too.”
“Of course you liked it! You were having your favorite fast food. I am not supposed to like any of this.” She realized she’d admitted to liking it and quickly clarified, “But I don’t want you to do it again.”
She was still staring so intently at the white popcorn ceiling, so she didn’t see him reach out for her. It was only when his fingertips touched the soft skin of her inner arm that she realized a line had been crossed. Just tell him no. Just say you don’t want this.
But as he ran his fingers up and down, a shiver of pleasure snaked through her. Damn it, he was barely touching her. What was happening to her? “Why are you doing this?”
“Because I want to,” he said quickly. No hesitation. A simple fact.
“Why do you want to?”
“There’s so much I need to tell you, my Alyssa. So much for you to learn. I know if I tell you, you’ll run. And I know if you run, I’ll have to chase you. And you won’t like what happens when I catch you.” He continued running those fingers up and down, taking extra time to linger in the crease of her elbow.
She had no idea her arm could be so sensitive, but now every time he hit the center of her arm, she had to suck in a breath. If he kept going like this, she could guarantee she would want him to catch her. “This is a bad idea,” she managed to get out. That definitely wasn’t a “no,” but it had to count for something, right?
“You look like a wonderful idea to me.”
Damn it, she wasn’t normally this susceptible to flattery. It was all an act. He was a Vopura. He came from a land of hardly any women. Now they were stuck together and bored. Sex was just on his mind. Nothing weird about it. The only weird thing was how she was reacting.
“Hey, I’m a modern woman. The pink hair isn’t just for show. In any other circumstance, if you wandered up to me at a bar, things might be different. You’re super handsome and smart and I think I’d even get past that whole unemployed thing and spend a night”—or two or three—“with you. But we’re up against some very unique circumstances and we need to keep our heads clear.”
“My head isn’t clear. All I can think about is you. All I can focus on is you.”
She let out a laugh, but she knew her breath, which was now coming deeper and heavier, was giving her away. “Obviously. We’re alone together. Who else would you be thinking of?”
“We could be in a room surrounded by the prettiest humans, vampires, and Vopura, and you’d still be the only woman I saw.”
Well, now he was just being crazy. “You barely know me. I mean, I know we haven’t really been fighting this whole time, but you can’t expect me to take you seriously when you say things like that.”
In the blink of an eye, Dante had moved from lying beside her to hovering over her. His arms caged her in, and his legs straddled hers. And to make it worse, his very evident erection pressed against her core, where she knew with a hundred percent positivity that she was wet and ready for him.
No. This is the time to say no. If there was any time to put a stop to this, it was now.
“I know you can’t understand. I don’t expect you to understand. But I need you to know. This is real. And soon you’re going to have to accept me.”
If only he knew just how much she wanted to accept him. “How can I do that? I don’t even know you.”
He leaned down, getting ever closer. She sucked in a breath to tell him to stop, but her nostrils were filled with the scent of him. Strong. Masculine. Alien and familiar at the same time.
And then he was at her neck. Was he going to bite her again? He probably shouldn’t. She had lost a lot of blood. But damn if a part of her wasn’t waiting in eager anticipation for him to stick those fangs in again.
But he didn’t bite her. Instead, he ran the tip of his nose along the sensitive skin and pressed a soft kiss to her flesh.
Was this a vampire thing? Was she being madly seduced for real or did he have some supernatural power over her? She was convinced now more than ever. This was obviously some sort of magic that he was using against her. There was absolutely no reason for her to be this far under his spell right now.
The soft, warm caress of his tongue traveled along her neck, and the shiver that went through her was so intense she was pretty sure that if he did it again, she might orgasm right then and there.
Holy fuck. This wasn’t her. She’d never exactly had a problem getting to the finish line, but this was a whole new level of arousal. “Why are you doing this to me?”
“I don’t have a choice. You’ve been marked. We’re bound together now, forever and always. You’re going to have to get used to me because I’m never going to let you go.”
She frowned. Well, whoa. Forever and always? She was maybe thinking about considering a one-night stand with him. Definitely not a forever-and-always stand with him. He had to be kidding. Or exaggerating. Maybe he thought this was the best way to get into her pants? As if he didn’t already know how well he was doing? “I don’t think—”
His mouth closed over hers and she really couldn’t think anymore. When he kissed her, everything seemed to float away. The whole situation—the bed, the blankets. It was as if she were in an endless dark void and the only thing she had to hold onto was his body. His warm, hard body. And she did. Her arms wrapped around him, and her fingers bit into his back as she kissed him back fiercely and intensely. He was everything she shouldn’t want. Everything she should be running away from right now. But somehow he’d sunk his claws, metaphorically speaking, into her, and she was totally hooked. She would pay for this later. She would regret this later. But later didn’t seem to exist. It was just now. Just him.
If all Vopura were like this, she didn’t even know why Seattle would resist. Hell, surrender right away.
The kiss quickly took on a life of its own. She gripped his back tightly, not wanting to let go for any reason while his own hands started exploring.
One hand wrapped around her neck—noticeably avoiding the sore spot from his bite earlier—as he continued to devour her mouth. The other hand traveled lower, snaking down her neck, over her shoulder and gently caressing the curve of her breasts. But it didn�
�t stop there. Instead, it went lower, following the dip of her waist and then reaching between her thighs. Sliding past the waistband of her pants, he pressed against the center of her, and she let out a small moan. She wanted his touch so badly. She’d never been so desperate to have her clothes off before in her life.
She arched her back and thrust her hips closer to him. “Please,” she begged, on one hand knowing exactly what she was asking for and on the other still being so confused why her body was reacting this way.
“Please what,” he demanded, even as he pressed his palm more firmly against her.
“I need to come.” She moaned as she arched up again, this time rubbing herself against his hand. If he would just stay there, she could—
He removed his hand from her, denying her even the chance to get herself off. Instead, he slid down her body, and, hooking his thumbs in the waistband of her pants and panties, he pulled them off in one swift motion. All she could do was look wordlessly down at him as he spread her knees wide to bare her fully to him. Her eyes met the black depths of his for half a second before he finally brought his mouth to her.
Immediately Alyssa’s head fell back and she gripped her hands in the sheets to keep herself from flying off the bed. Her body had been so on edge and so primed that the second he touched her, she felt as if she just burst into flames. She was still in that void with him. The only thing that existed were the sensations he was giving her body. The orgasm hit her so fast and hard that she couldn’t have stopped it if she tried. All she could do was close her eyes and let the sensations take over. Her scream was probably loud enough to break the windows. Her shaking was probably intense enough to move the bed. But there was no other way to describe what went through her. When she finally opened her eyes, Dante was on top of her.
He was resting right between her thighs, staring deep into her eyes. “Alyssa.”
Why was he talking? “Please,” she begged.
“I need you to promise me something.”
Promise? He could have anything. “What do you want? The car? The house? I’ll give you anything. Please, I need you inside me.”
He smiled down at her, not bothering to hide his pride at her reactions. “Not that. I just need you. And I need you to promise. The next time I come to you, you’ll let me in. Do you promise?”
She blinked rapidly and tried to clear her head, but it was so hard to come back to earth. “What? Yes. Sure. I promise. Now please. I need you so bad.”
He smiled in victory, his fangs glinting above her. It should’ve been threatening, but somehow it just turned her on more.
“Good.” And the second he slid inside her was when she woke up.
Alyssa sat up straight in bed and looked around her frantically.
Where had Dante gone? What had just happened?
She ran her hands over her neck and sides, verifying that her clothes were all still there, including the pants and shorts. And to top it all off, Dante lay next to her, rolled on his side, facing away from her. As if nothing had happened.
Well, nothing had happened. It was a dream. It must have been a dream.
It sure as hell hadn’t felt like a dream. Her heart still thumped in her chest. Her breaths still came hard and fast. And, God help her, she was horny as hell.
She brought a shaky hand to her mouth as she tried to snap out of whatever spell she was under. “Are you sleeping?” Her voice managed to sound normal despite the maelstrom of confusion in her mind.
“Of course I’m not,” he said without facing her.
So he’d been awake. But that didn’t mean he’d done anything to her. She would’ve known if she’d had sex. Especially if she’d had sex as good as the dream sex had been. And if they’d actually done anything, she was sure she wouldn’t still be wanting his touch.
No matter what had happened, she didn’t have to stay in this room with him any longer than necessary. Kicking her legs off the bed, she left the bedroom on shaky legs. As soon as she was in the hallway, she took one deep breath after another. Dream. It was just a dream.
The sun was setting quickly over the ocean, but Alyssa didn’t take any time to appreciate it. She stumbled into the bathroom and shut the door behind her before leaning against it. She stared at herself in the mirror as she tried to get her bearings. She could do this. She could make it through.
How was she supposed to face Dante now? How was she supposed to look at him without blushing like crazy? Without thinking of what he’d look like between her thighs?
She rubbed her hand over her face. She could get past this. It might be awkward at first, but it wasn’t as if she and Dante were going to be alone together much longer. Once the sun set, he’d regroup with other vampires and they’d go on the hunt for Cora. Hardly a sexy environment.
This was fine. No big deal. She’d been through a lot of stress in the past few days, and it was understandable that her mind might come up with some odd coping mechanisms.
She finally felt as though she had her emotions under control enough to stop hiding in the bathroom, but when she opened the door, she jumped back when she saw Dante right there. “Holy shit,” she muttered under her breath.
“Are you okay?” he asked, not moving away from the door. “You seemed upset when you left.”
Upset wasn’t the right word. Confused. Stupidly horny. But not upset. Not that she was going to tell him that. “I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Just getting ready for today. Speaking of, do you have any sort of plan?”
“Talon is going to—”
“Anybody home?” called someone from the living room.
She expected Dante to whoosh away at vampire speed, but instead he reached out, grabbing her wrist to pull her behind him. And he kept his hand on her the whole time as he inched closer to whoever was now in the house. When they got closer to the living room, she couldn’t see anything over Dante’s big body. He must’ve determined that whoever was there wasn’t a threat because he seemed to relax and released her wrist.
“What have you heard?”
Alyssa stood on her tiptoes to see the newcomer. It was a big man in jeans and a leather jacket. So probably not military. Which meant probably not human. He had long brown hair that was pulled tightly back and gold eyes that seemed to shine through the dark room.
Yep. Definitely supernatural.
“I have someone outside who is going to give you an update. But I need you to promise not to kill him.”
“Why would I do that?”
Alyssa scoffed. “Why would you kill him or why would you promise not to?”
The new man’s attention fell on her. “This is the woman who helped Cora, right? Alyssa Sullivan?”
She really missed the days when she spent her time behind a computer and people only knew whatever screen name she provided. “Yes.”
“Good. We hoped you would still be here.”
“Who is we? And who are you exactly?” She tried to stand next to Dante so she wouldn’t have to keep looking over his shoulder, but he wouldn’t budge.
“Talon. I operate under the Night Watch team set up by Aleksander.”
“Who?”
His mouth hooked up in a crooked smile. “Vampire stuff. Don’t worry about it.” Then he turned his attention to Dante. “You know, you don’t have to hoard the human to yourself. I won’t bite. Hard.”
Dante let out a growl, and the smile abruptly left Talon’s face.
“All right.” Talon took a step back, physically backing off. “I’m going to grab our guest. But remember, be nice. He has information we need.”
Talon walked out and Alyssa took the moment of solitude to shove at Dante. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Dante stepped aside, and she knew it wasn’t because she was strong enough to move him. “I didn’t think you’d want to be exposed to some strange vampire,” he grumbled.
“I’m already exposed to some strange vampire,” she pointed out.
“I’m no stranger.
Or vampire. You know that.”
Before she could even think about what she was going to reply, the door opened and Talon entered again. “Alyssa,” he said as he walked in. “There’s someone here you might know.” And then Joshua walked in after Talon.
“Holy shit.” Alyssa started to run to him. But before she could get there to give him a big hug, Dante grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away. “Oh my God,” she muttered as she pulled herself out of his grasp. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I don’t know who this is,” snapped Dante as he studied Joshua harshly. “Until I get Cora back, I’m not going to trust anyone.”
He seemed to trust her well enough, but she supposed she was the only one he could trust to have Cora’s best interest at heart.
“Well, hold back your crazy, okay? Joshua is a friend of mine.” She turned her attention to Joshua. “At least, he was a friend of mine. What did you have to do with all of this?” She wasn’t stupid. She knew she’d talked to him on the phone and the next morning Cora was gone.
Joshua didn’t look that out of place surrounded by vampires. He was a bit leaner, but he was a lifelong soldier. His mother was a second-generation Filipino-American and his dad was a California surfer. Yet somehow Joshua and all of his brothers had passed over their hippie surfer heritage to join the army.
In fact, the most out-of-place person in the room right now was her.
Joshua gave her a quick nod. “I’m glad to see you’re doing okay, Lys.”
Dante let out another growl, and she knew for certain she wasn’t imagining it. He was being weird. Really, it was more as if he were being jealous. What if the dream wasn’t just a dream?
“I’m glad to see you too,” she said honestly. She’d had too many vampires and Vopura around her lately. And the few humans she’d seen had tried to kill her. “But we don’t have time to sit around and catch up. Tell us where Cora is.”
Joshua clenched his jaw and glanced at Dante before looking back to her. “Here’s the deal. We don’t know where she is.”
Alyssa reached out to stop Dante from lunging at Joshua. With her hand on his warm, firm chest, she said, “How is that possible?”
