by Katie Reus
Almost as if he read his mind, Angus appeared on the long driveway, his strides steady and sure as he stalked toward them, power pulsing off him.
Next to him, the vampires looked at one another nervously, but remained in place. After a sharp nod at Ian and Erin, Angus clasped Noah’s shoulder in a tight grip, taking him by surprise. He squeezed as he faced the vamps. “My son is right. The majority of my pack is over a century old and we’ve all seen enough war and death to last a lifetime. Vampires killed my own daughter, but I don’t hold a grudge against your entire kind. That kind of thinking is ignorant.” Noah went still at his father’s words, but remained silent as Angus continued. “You need to think before you act and if any of you set foot on my property again or attack any shifters in this city—lupine or feline—I’ll gut you and remove all your organs before I kill you.”
Noah might have issues with his father, but he understood and respected the threat. If he appeared weak in front of anyone, including his own pack, it could have long-lasting effects on the stability of the entire city.
Ian spoke next, drawing Angus’s attention away from the young vampires, though Noah knew the Alpha was aware of everything. “If you’re done with them, I need to take them with me.”
Angus nodded, and then Ian motioned to his own people to round up the vampires. Noah couldn’t be sure but he had a feeling Ian was going to use these vamps to help him track down the ferals and their maker.
Before they left, however, Ian turned back to them, his gaze roaming appreciatively over Erin’s tight body before meeting her eyes.
“Look at her like that again and lose your fucking head. I don’t care who you work for,” Noah snarled before he could stop himself. His inner wolf was clawing at him, needing to assert dominance over everyone, but especially the prick who was checking out his female.
Ian looked at him, surprise on his face. “I meant no disrespect. She’s beautiful and strong.”
“I know. And she’s mine.” Erin let out a huff of annoyance, but Noah didn’t glance at her, not wanting to see denial on her face.
The vamp nodded once, his expression turning blank as he focused on Erin again. “I’m hoping these young ones can help us track down the ferals but I’ll be in touch about the bloodborns. I’ll e-mail you a list of names and addresses. Don’t go see any of them without a vampire escort though. These vamps are ancient and arrogant and wouldn’t care that killing an enforcer would incite a war in their region.”
Erin snorted, but nodded. Once they were gone and out of earshot, Angus spoke, his words surprising Noah. “If you need the addresses of bloodborns, I know every one that lives in the surrounding area.”
“Why . . .” Erin trailed off as understanding hit Noah at the same time.
Of course his father knew them. Probably had detailed dossiers on them since they lived in his region. If Noah had been thinking clearly he’d have likely thought of that.
Before either of them could ask, Angus spoke again. “You can have everything you want on the bloodborns. Why do you want to know about them, though?”
Noah glanced at Erin who slightly shook her head. Yeah, she was thinking the same thing he was. “Not here.” There were too many shifters nearby with exceptional hearing. If they got even a whiff that bloodborns were involved with the kidnappings, some of them—like Evan—might do something stupid. If he got himself killed . . . Noah didn’t even want to imagine how Meli would cope. She’d already been kidnapped and lost her unborn cub. Losing a mate would destroy her. Not to mention the fallout would be a fucking war between the supernaturals in this area and it would inevitably spill into the human realm, then into other parts of the country. He could actually imagine how horrific the spillover effect would be. There’d be no damn winner in a war like that. Just death and pain.
Angus flicked a glance around him, then nodded in understanding. “Everything you need is in my office.”
Noah risked a look at Erin as they strode up the driveway. The energy rolling off her was wild and unsteady and he understood exactly why. Getting this information could change everything they knew about this case.
Unfortunately, he also knew Erin well enough to realize there was no way in hell she’d wait for a vampire escort to visit any of the locations they received. Which meant they’d be walking right into a viper’s nest.
Chapter 10
Noah’s eyes were gritty and tired after the last couple of hours of going through the laptop Angelo and Brianna had retrieved for them from the dead human’s house. And the body of the female was indeed Kelly Bridges. They still weren’t sure about the vampire’s identity but luckily Angelo had taken pictures. Noah had e-mailed them to his father in the hopes that the Alpha recognized him. He’d thought about calling but his father had enough to deal with and it was two in the morning. He and Erin had enough paperwork and information to sift through as it was. Getting the guy’s name could wait until they’d gotten some sleep. Brianna had also sent a picture to her mystery contact to see if he knew the guy.
Closing the laptop, he slid it away from him on the desk in Erin’s room. She looked up from her own laptop where she was going through the information she’d downloaded onto a flash drive. Her gray eyes were red-rimmed and she looked ready to pass out.
They’d been in multiple fights since before dawn, changed bloody clothes more than a few times, and right now he realized they’d be more apt to miss something important if they didn’t get some sleep. There was no way in hell they could even contemplate going to any of the bloodborns’ homes this late. Or early, as it was. All vampires were more powerful at night and he and Erin were operating on fumes right now.
“You done for the night?” she asked, her voice husky.
Stripping off his sweater, Noah nodded and stood. “And so are you.”
Erin’s eyes widened as she raked her hot gaze over his body. Her look alone had his lower abdomen tightening with need. Unfortunately he wouldn’t be getting any release tonight—well, this morning—but he planned to make sure she did.
“Is that right?” she asked dryly.
She didn’t make a move to close her computer so he covered the distance between them in a flash and snapped it shut. Those gray eyes blinked once in surprise before she made a grab for it. Though she was fast, her movements were slower than usual. Which just proved his point that they both needed to recharge. “What the hell are you doing? Give that back.”
He held it out of her reach, then set it on the desk with the other laptop. When she didn’t struggle or try to get it back he knew he’d already won any forthcoming argument. “We’re both tired and need a few hours of sleep before dawn if you want to hit up those bloodborns’ houses.” Most of them would be sleeping then and weakest. She planned to disturb their rest and hopefully take them off guard. He wasn’t a huge fan of the plan, but they had to do something. And it was better than going in at night.
She opened her mouth as if to argue, but then nodded and fell back against her pillow. “I don’t know how Jayce does all these investigations alone. Having you with me is . . . well, I appreciate it more than you know. I was excited when he told me it was time for my first case, but when I realized what was going on here, I was glad you were coming with me.”
Her candidness surprised him. It must have shown on his face because she half smiled and propped herself up on her elbows as she watched him. “Yes, that’s me saying thank you for being you in case you missed it. Just don’t get smug about it.”
He half smiled in return but didn’t respond as his gaze drifted down her stretched-out form. She wore black yoga-style shorts and a loose T-shirt with a fleurde-lis and the word SAINTS on it she’d stolen from his suitcase. Seeing her in his clothes did something primal to him. It always had. Practically from the moment she’d joined Connor’s pack, long before they’d joined with the Cordona females, Erin and Noah had been close. He’d looked out for her and she’d kept his inner wolf calm without even trying. She’d al
ways taken his shirts to sleep in at night, clearly having no idea what it did to him to scent himself on her. Now, however . . . “Did you wear that shirt to drive me crazy?” he murmured, stalking closer to the bed.
Her mouth pulled into a thin line as she looked down at herself. She snorted. “You’re telling me this is sexy?”
He nodded, continuing until he reached the foot of the bed. “I want to bury my face between your legs and taste you.”
Erin’s cheeks flamed, but that magnolia scent of hers intensified a hundredfold. Yeah, she was turned on. “You can’t just say stuff like that.”
“Why not? I want to and I’m not playing games.”
“You said you wouldn’t have sex with me until I give you everything you want and there’s no way that’s happening. I care about you—”
He couldn’t listen to her say she fucking cared about him, like she was trying to let him down. Fuck that. “Who said anything about sex? I just want to taste you and I want you naked right now.” Okay, that was a half-truth. He did want to taste her but he also wanted to fuck her desperately. It would be more than fucking though. He understood that on every level but he wouldn’t allow himself to think of those words yet. Not until she agreed to surrender to him in every way.
Her gray eyes narrowed dangerously, flashing to almost black, then back again. “So if I was naked right now you wouldn’t want to have sex?”
Of course he’d want to have sex. He wanted it now and she was clothed. Hell, he always wanted it. Shrugging, he crossed his arms over his chest. “You think I have so little restraint?”
Surprising him, she grasped the edge of her T-shirt and tore it off. Her bra followed quickly after. Then went those damn shorts and a black thong that shouldn’t even be considered underwear. That’s what she’d had on underneath her clothes? His cock jumped.
“Fuck.” His entire body tensed, primed as she laid back completely naked against the pillows.
She was nervous, he could see it in every taut line of her toned body, but she was still laying herself out like an offering for him. And she was definitely turned on. That scent filled the room and wrapped around him.
He had restraint. Maybe. Her skin was ivory and a smattering of freckles covered her in the cutest places. He’d seen her naked before, after their pack had fought with their former neighboring pack and she’d shifted back to human form, before runs through the woods, and of course the night he’d found her. But he wouldn’t let himself think about that. Not now.
So he knew her nipples were a pale pink, but it didn’t stop his hunger as he devoured her with his gaze. Seeing them hardening right before his eyes sent a jolt of electricity through him. What he wouldn’t give to run his tongue over the hard peaks.
Restraint. He repeated it again.
“Are you going to stare all night?” The way her voice shook with arousal was so un-Erin-like he would have smiled if he could have made those muscles work.
But right now it was taking everything he had not to throw his plan out the window. “Spread your legs,” he demanded softly as he kneeled on the bed.
She paused for a moment, but let her thighs fall apart slowly. Seeing that soft patch of dark auburn hair covering her mound and scenting her sweet need made his wolf claw even harder. But he had more control than his animal and he’d be damned if he screwed things up with Erin. He planned to do things right between them, and until she was ready for a relationship with him, no sex.
That didn’t mean he couldn’t taste her though.
Reaching out, he cursed his shaking hand. He’d already stroked her to orgasm, but seeing her so open to him like this was messing with his head.
Slowly, he stroked a finger down her slit, testing her slickness. God, she was already wet. He’d scented her need, but actually feeling it . . . he shuddered. Pushing a finger inside her, he kept his gaze on her face as he slid deeper.
Her eyes grew heavy lidded and her breathing increased as her inner walls tightened around him. Keeping his finger buried in her, he didn’t move. He wanted to make her shout his name, but he also wanted to tease her.
Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to her inner knee. Definitely not an erogenous zone, but she clenched around his finger when his lips brushed against her skin.
He lightly raked his teeth over her, then followed up with a soft kiss. A tremor rolled through her and she started to clench her legs together, but he lifted his head. “No.”
She froze at that one word, then practically scowled. “You’re getting off on teasing me.”
Hell yeah he was. Even if he was simultaneously torturing himself. Continuing the path where he alternated between using his teeth, then following up with kisses, he finally settled where his finger was still inside her.
Her breathing had grown even more unsteady the closer he got to that soft thatch of hair covering everything he wanted to taste. Her clit peeked out from her lips, swollen and begging for his touch. Instead of continuing to tease her, he zeroed in on it and sucked on the swollen nub.
She jerked under him, rolling her hips up but he grasped her hip with his free hand and held tight. He didn’t want her to be able to move as he pleasured her—he wanted to intensify it as much as possible and force her to let go of her control. She could be wound as tight as she needed any other time, but not now. Not when it was just the two of them completely laid bare to each other.
He inserted another finger as he licked and teased her. She tasted sweeter than he’d imagined. Hell, nothing he’d fantasized came close to the reality. Keeping his pressure steady as he stroked between her folds, he savored the sounds of her moans and sighs of pleasure. She fisted the cover beneath her and a soft tearing sound filled the air as she shredded the bedclothes. It didn’t stop her from writhing against the bed.
“Noah,” she breathed out, the word a pant. Hearing her cry out beneath him was almost too much. He wanted to be inside her when she came again, but he would wait as long as it took to break down that wall she’d built around herself. He loved sex as much as any male and having a near-permanent hard-on was damn painful, but making Erin his mate was all that mattered.
When her breathing became more erratic and her inner walls tensed harder around his fingers he knew she was close. Arching her back, she let go and for the second time in so many hours he felt that hot release around his fingers again. The way she tightened around him was like nothing else. His cock strained painfully, jealous of his fingers. It wouldn’t take much to release himself and push deep in her tight body.
As her climax began to ebb, he withdrew his fingers and licked the length of her slit. He wanted to taste her release more than he wanted his next breath. She jerked against him, but he refused to let her go.
“Too sensitive,” she panted.
Noah flexed his hand on her hip, keeping her in place as he continued stroking the length of her before settling on her clit again. He had no doubt it was sensitive and he planned to wring one more orgasm from her. Erin needed sleep and she needed a few moments of fucking peace.
This, he could give to her.
“Oh . . . Noah.” She threw one of her legs over his shoulder and dug her foot into his back. When she shouted out a surprisingly dirty curse, telling him what she wanted him to do to her in explicit detail and came again, he let her hip go.
Now she arched fully off the bed, but didn’t move away from his face. Just ground against him until she fell back limp and out of breath.
Though he didn’t want to, he lifted his head, then shimmied up her body, crawling until he caged her in his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she pulled him flush against her body. As she slid her hands down his chest, he savored the feel of her touching him so intimately. How many times had he thought about this very moment, with no barriers between them? When she stopped at the top of his pants though, he stilled her hands.
“No.”
Her half-lidded eyes flew fully open then, her gray gaze clear but confused. “What?
”
“I wasn’t kidding about no sex.” Though he was starting to question his own sanity.
She swallowed hard and he fought against the hurt he saw in her eyes. “So you won’t even let me pleasure you? It doesn’t have to be—”
He shook his head. If his pants came off, he knew himself well enough that his control would shred and he’d be buried deep inside her in moments.
“You fight dirty,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
At least she wasn’t pulling away from him, which was what he’d feared. “According to that mouth of yours, you like it a little dirty.”
Her face flamed crimson, but she smiled wickedly. Almost instantly, however, that smile faded. He could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “Noah—”
“You need sleep and I’m not in the mood to hear how this will never work out.” Because he refused to believe it. He slid off her body, but instead of leaving he pulled the covers down, then up around both of them. Holding her back tight against his chest, he closed his eyes, hoping his erection would go down soon and that Erin would get some much-needed sleep.
They had a lot do to in a few hours and something told him that today would be even worse than yesterday.
After ten minutes ticked by he was surprised when Erin spoke. Her voice was soft and lilting. “You know that my parents and sister died when I was ten.”
He nodded against her, his chin rubbing against the top of her head. They’d been killed by vampires, just like his younger sister had been.
