Trina M. Lee

by Alexa O'Brien Huntress Series Book 1-4 Box Set (Retail)

  I gasped when he stepped in close and laid a finger over my lips to silence me. I battled against the urge to jerk away.

  “Be careful what you say, my love. Words can so easily be taken out of context.” He smiled down at me, revealing fangs.

  My stomach tightened as he pulled at my energy. I pushed back against him, a warning. “So can actions. Don’t do something we’ll both regret, Kale.”

  His laughter stoked the fire that always burned between us. “Not to worry. I don’t plan to regret anything.”

  So being rational wasn’t going to work. Good to know. What did I have left? Brute force? He’d like that. He wanted it.

  “I’m not going to face off with you. Not like this.” I steeled myself against the call of his power to mine. He was encouraging it, and though I resisted, my will was weak. It was Kale. I’d always wanted him.

  “Then why did you come?” He challenged, his smile vanishing. “You want it as bad as I do. The rush of the power, the struggle of your prey as you give in to the thrill of the bloodlust that you try so hard to deny. Did you come to stop me, pretty wolf? Or, was it to join me?”

  “Back off, Kale!” The force that accompanied my shout shoved him back a few feet. I didn’t want this to be a clash of metaphysical ability but instinct was guiding my action.

  “Too close to the truth for comfort. I understand.” His head came up suddenly, and he listened keenly to the night. I listened, too, straining to pick out sounds beyond the rain and thunder.

  The faint sound of high heels clicking quickly on the concrete was distant. It grew increasingly louder as the woman drew closer. We were just fifty feet or so from the club’s rear entry. I crossed my fingers, hoping that whoever she was, she would go in through the front. Kale braced himself in anticipation, and I held my breath.

  She rounded the corner of the building, heading right for us. Clutching a thin jacket and a purse, she hurried to escape the rain. With her head down and her attention on her destination, she didn’t even look our way.

  “Kale, don’t.”

  We both sprang into motion, but he was faster. She let out a surprised scream when he grabbed her. With a hand over her mouth, Kale leaned in close and breathed deeply of her scent. Her eyes were wide, and she struggled in his grasp. He smiled.

  “This is what you came for, Alexa.” He met my gaze with delight dancing in his eyes.

  I shivered as the rain soaked through my jeans and thin t-shirt. At least I told myself it was from the chill of the rain and not the spark of excitement in my belly. I watched Kale bare her neck and run his tongue over her flesh. She fought to get away, but he easily overpowered her.

  “Don’t do this,” I pleaded. “Let her go. This is between you and me.”

  “She smells good. Like apples.” Kale bit deep into her without warning. I gave a small cry and begged him to stop. There was nothing I could do.

  The scent of fresh blood struck me. Kale held my gaze as he drank from her, watching the effect it was having on me. I didn’t have the strength to fight the bloodlust. Despite the way I pleaded with him, I enjoyed what I saw. I responded to the scene before me with hunger and intrigue. I wanted to taste her.

  I backed away from Kale, forcing my feet to do the opposite of what the bloodlust demanded. I was at a loss, unsure of what to do. A battle waged inside me, one I had to win.

  His victim’s struggles ceased as she slipped into unconsciousness. Kale raised his head so I could see the blood spilling from the wound. In a dramatic gesture, he swept his tongue over the punctures in a languorous motion that almost brought me to my knees.

  His tone was deadly wicked when he murmured, “Tell me you don’t want just a taste.”

  “I want you to stop this fucking nonsense before you drive us both crazy. You’re being an idiot.” I spat the words through a mouthful of fangs. My fury was growing, and the urge to tear a strip out of Kale was strong.

  Letting the woman fall to the ground without a second thought, Kale advanced on me. Panicking, I lashed out with a warning shot, just enough to let him know I was ready to defend myself. He continued forward, unfazed. This was going to get physical.

  “And, you’re being the challenge that I’d hoped you’d be.” Moving inhumanly fast, Kale grabbed me in a vice-like grip and kissed me before I could form a protest.

  The passion in his kiss momentarily left me stunned. The blood in his mouth was delicious and tempting. My resistance quickly came undone as the bloodlust found victory. Kale’s tongue was persistent against mine, and I caught myself kissing him back before common sense took hold.

  Pulling away, I hauled off and punched him right in the face. It knocked him back a foot or two but otherwise resulted in nothing but a smirk and a cut lip. Spilling Kale’s blood could never be a good thing, not when I wanted him the way I did. Still, I found some gratification in hitting him with my fist instead of my power. It gave me so much more satisfaction.

  My wolf was ready to kick his ass, and I followed up with a kick intended to take his legs out from under him. However, his undead reflexes were stellar, and he caught my leg and gave it a twist. I yelped in pain, fearing the worst. He didn’t really hurt me though, not like he could have. Instead he gave me a shove that sat me down hard on my ass.

  I glared up at him, a growl rumbling in my throat. He stood over me, waiting for me to get up. “Come on, Alexa. You need the violence to justify your feelings. So if it makes you feel better to throw punches, I’m happy to take them. You can beat me black and blue, but it won’t change the way you feel.”

  I came up off the ground snarling and swinging. It wasn’t the knowing look in his eyes that unleashed my fury but the truth in his words. Kale was more than happy to give as much as he was taking. I ate more than a few hits that would have knocked any human out. It would hurt later, but I was running on adrenaline and lupine wrath.

  In a move that both surprised and satisfied me, I flipped him over my body so he landed hard on the ground next to me. Maybe you couldn’t wind a vampire, but that had to hurt. If only it had knocked some sense into him. All it seemed to do was encourage him. Holding tight to my forearm, he followed through with my momentum, using it to pull me off balance while getting to his feet. Since I was the one with functioning lungs, I had the breath crushed from me.

  Kale pulled me to my feet. His touch stirred my power, encouraging it to devour him. “Have you had enough yet, my love? I can do this dance with you all night.”

  Despite gasping for air, I bared my fangs at him. “You’re sick, Kale.”

  Stroking a hand down the side of my battered face, he smiled, almost sadly. “And, you are my disease.”

  “What do you want from me? Really.” I drew a shaky breath and slapped his hand away.

  Looking into Kale’s drowning orbs was like falling into an abyss, so deep and so endless. He leaned in too close for my comfort, inhaling my scent.

  “Are you sure you want the answer to that question?” His lips lightly brushed my ear, and I trembled. “I want to explore what it is that draws me to you. I want to discover why it binds me, why everything in me longs to be yours. I want to be able to look at Arys and not die inside with envy. I want to bring you to your knees and make you scream. And, sometimes, I just want to be free of you altogether.”

  So much for a simple answer. A storm of thoughts and emotions pummeled me. I was at a loss for words. A wall deep inside me began to crumble and with it, my own resolve.

  He jerked away from me so fast I jumped, startled by the sudden motion. Kale paced a few feet away before whirling to fix me with a deadly stare.

  “Perhaps the real question isn’t what I want from you, Alexa, but what do you want from me? You’re pretty back and forth on that. You beg me to bleed you one day but tell me to back off the next. I’m starting to think you’re trying to drive me mad.”

  My heart raced. Kale’s energy was erratic, pained and tempting. It called to me, and I felt the wild vampire pow
er rise up inside me with intrigue.

  “I don’t know what I want from you! Is that what you want to hear? I don’t fucking know.” That was as close to the truth as I had for him. “Sometimes, I want to devour you, just take all you have to give until there’s nothing left. And sometimes, I want to fuck you senseless while doing it. Then there are the times I want to wrap myself in the comfort I find in you and just … be.”

  My words hung between us, heavy and honest. It felt good to get it out, but I still didn’t know what it all meant. I’d never felt as confused over anyone as I did with Kale. Was it wrong? Or, was it just circumstance?

  The silence was thick with tension. The power crackled around us, creating sparks in the rain. Rain had soaked my hair, and I pushed it out of my face. I waited for Kale’s response. The hard glint in his gaze was unnerving. I was afraid of him right then. I couldn’t judge his state of mind.

  I sensed his inner turmoil, his struggle. He quickly closed the distance he had put between us, and I braced myself for anything. Sliding a hand into my wet hair, he vibrated with pent-up energy. His hand was even warm, despite the cold rain that poured down, and I caught myself leaning into his touch.

  “I can’t go on like this much longer. One of us is going to end up killing the other. I fear that might be the only way you can set me free.”

  “Shut up, Kale. Don’t talk like that.”

  His hand tightened in my hair, just enough to become painful. “God, I want to hurt you right now. Anything to make you stop saying my name like that.”

  The shock of fear that slammed through me was paired with excitement. Part of me was eager to see what he would do. It was ludicrous. We were both so far gone.

  “Can you do it? Make me a victim? Kale?” I taunted as his sweet energy rolled over me. It would be so easy to give in, and I was so tired of resisting.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” With a sudden pressure, he pushed power into me. It burned just enough to blur the line between pain and pleasure.

  The pain increased as Kale forced me back against the building. The stone was cold and wet against my back. I gazed up at him, and he reached to stroke a finger beneath my chin as he contemplated me. I wanted him to do it, to give in to whatever he was feeling. Something inside me was waiting for that second when he went too far.

  I gasped, a smile tugging at my lips. Grasping his power, I drew it in to me, making it mine. Five centuries of undead energy was a heady intoxicant. The rush that spilled over me was enough to make me dizzy. Kale was like a fine wine, stronger and better with age.

  “I’d like to see you try.” I was like a kid playing with matches. The very real possibility of how badly I could get burned didn’t seem like a good enough reason to play safe.

  “I know what you’re doing. Taunting me isn’t the way to make me back off. You are just pouring gasoline on the flames. I can’t resist you, and I’m done trying.”

  He claimed my lips in a kiss that was wild with untamed need. At the same time, he released his hold on the energy within him so that it sought to get to me. It crashed over me like a wave, and I was left struggling to stay afloat in a sea of power and desire.

  I delighted in the taste of blood on his tongue as he delved into my mouth. I breathed him in like his kiss was air. The boundary line was suddenly so far away it couldn’t be seen for dust. I fell into Kale, and I fell hard. Kissing him back with total abandon was so liberating that it was dizzying.

  When Kale realized I wasn’t fighting him off, a sense of urgency overcame him. He kissed me hungrily, as if he feared that at any moment I would come to my senses and throw him another punch. I was too far gone to climb up out of the abyss I’d fallen into. The scent of rain mixed with Kale’s leather kept me buried under a veil of desire that would no longer be denied.

  I tasted blood as his fangs scraped my lower lip, just another sensation to add to the rest. The fading warmth of his body against mine contrasted with the cold rain pelting us, and I pressed closer to him. Slipping my arms around his neck, I clung to him with a desperation I hadn’t known that I possessed for him. It could shock me later. Right then, it was freedom.

  Kale’s hands were on my waist, sliding up under my shirt to caress my bare flesh. I ached for more. It wasn’t enough. When his mouth came warm against my neck, I sighed. The scrape of his fangs on my skin held the promise of danger and bliss. I needed it.

  When he peeled my wet t-shirt off, I didn’t stop him. He paused just long enough to gaze into my eyes. I saw myself reflected in the drowning black of his pupils. And more than that, I saw his agonizing need.

  Pulling me close, Kale pressed his lips to the swell of my cleavage, and I melted against him. I grasped his wet hair in my fingers, amazed at how soft it was. His tongue was warm and moist on my chilled flesh. We’d come this far before. That’s where it had ended. Not this time. Lord, not this time.

  Perhaps the back alley behind The Wicked Kiss wasn’t the most ideal setting for such an encounter. The lightning flashed overhead, followed by thunder, and I found it perfect. Impatience drove me to know more of him, all of him. I sensed magic in Kale’s touch. I guided him back up to my lips so I could taste him again.

  He touched my breasts through the restrictive, damp bra, but I didn’t want that. It wasn’t enough. The insistence in my kiss drove him, and he ran his hands low down my body to relieve me of the clingy, wet jeans. Anticipation had me growling. I was eager and ravenous for Kale.

  I barely noticed when he stripped me of my skimpy underwear. Cloaking my body with his, Kale sheltered my nakedness with his long duster, providing me with warmth and cover. I reached blindly for him, seeking his skin on mine. He was already moving to free himself from the restraints of his pants. I gasped when he lifted me in his arms so that my weight was divided between the wall at my back and his embrace.

  The warmth of his hard shaft against my entrance was sudden and startling. I peered into his eyes, finding him watching me intently. He gave me one last split second to stop him. I never did.

  Kale slipped inside me with a slow, steady motion that knocked the breath from me. Our gazes were locked, and I felt vulnerable as every wall I’d built between us crumbled into dust. Buried deep within me, Kale gave a sigh that echoed what I felt. I watched as some semblance of sanity crept back into his mismatched eyes, but we weren’t turning back now.

  “Alexa.” My name was a whisper as he kissed and bit at my neck.

  With firm but unhurried strokes, he filled me again and again. A swell of emotion rose up to shatter what remained of my denial about my feelings for Kale. I wasn’t going to attempt to define them, but I could no longer refute their existence. He shared with me weaknesses and vulnerabilities that nobody else did, like the constant battle with the bloodlust and the reasons not to give in. I felt safe with him. Kindred.

  The crackle of energy sounded loud despite the storm. A silver and gold sphere of power encircled us. The colors of ours auras rolled together like the colors in a candy cane, never joining but twisting and turning together just the same. It was mesmerizing.

  We moved together, hidden in the shadows, two souls united in passion and longing. Kale’s every touch was intimate. His every movement burned with the flames of sensuality. I’d never dreamed he could make me feel this way. He forced throaty cries from me with each thrust. I was lost in the spellbinding sensations of having him inside me. It felt like a dream.

  Kale sucked at the vein in my throat, and I bared my neck to him in invitation. I wanted it as badly as he did. His fangs were sharp against my sensitive flesh. He bit deep, and I gasped. My heartbeat pounded loudly in my ears. Rather than withdraw his fangs right away, he left them buried. It burned until I wanted to scream, but the pain was bliss. I didn’t want it to stop. Kale was making me his in every way, and I wanted it.

  When at last he released his hold on me, my blood rushed over his tongue. I felt myself hurtling toward climax as he sucked at the wound. Kale’s
pace increased, and he groaned when I tensed. His body responded to mine, and I felt him fighting the release. Our release was stronger than we were, though, and it smashed into us with a head-spinning impact.

  He held me for what felt like a long time after. I clung to him, unwilling to let go yet. He pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, and a frown creased his brow. I realized then that hot tears rolled down my face. I shook my head, trying to calm his concern but unable to form words.

  Unwilling to break the spell by speaking, he settled for holding me close and pressing soft kisses to my face. It did little to quell the ridiculous flow of tears. I felt betrayed by them.

  We stayed there in the rain, each of us unwilling to break apart. Nothing would ever be the same between us again. I had felt the love that burned inside Kale for me, and I’d been forever changed because of it.

  I reached out to stroke a hand down his jaw. I had always adored Kale. Now, I knew just how deep it went. Maybe I’d always known.

  At long last, Kale pulled away, and I was left standing nearly naked in the rain. I felt no chill though. I was numb to everything except what I now felt inside. Kale slipped out of his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

  “I’m sorry.” He kissed me, gentle but deep. “Don’t hate me for this. I have to go. I can’t stay. Not right now.”

  He disappeared into the night before I could reply. I struggled into my soaking wet clothes, and then I stood there, clutching his jacket to me while the rain slapped my face. The remnants of our power hummed around me.

  I waited for the numbness to creep in, to wipe away the raw, agonized emotion that racked me now. It never came.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Leaving the dark confines of the alley meant returning to everything I thought I knew. I refused to think about what had just happened. I couldn’t for fear I might break. Turning the corner into the parking lot, I gasped as the part of me that was all Arys was awakened. He was here.

  Dread washed over me, and I felt faint. I headed for Kale’s car, easily manipulating the door lock with slight focus. I held my breath, hoping the alarm wouldn’t go off. I pulled the door open. Silence. I tossed Kale’s jacket into the backseat, relocked the door and slowly made my way to the front door of the club. I didn’t want to go in there.