Avenging Angel (The Fallen #4)(30)

It wouldn’t work. If there was one being who could track a scent better than any other, it was a shifter.

He caught her hand, lifted it up. Her palm was soft, small, and her eyes seemed to reflect the moonlight. “You been holding out on me?” he asked as his fingers rubbed lightly over her palm.

She swallowed and seemed to shiver. The night wasn’t cold. “N-no. It just happened. Wh-when I saw them go after you . . .” Her breath whispered out. “I wasn’t going to let them hurt you.”

He could take down six vamps, any day of the week. Sure, they’d gotten their claws into him, but he’d been well on his way to kicking ass by the time her flames erupted.

Still, she’d saved him. Other than his brother, Cody, he’d never had someone try to look out for him before.

Back when he’d been a kid, he’d had to learn early how to take care of himself. In those days, everyone had tried to pound the shit out of him.

So he’d started beating back.

He bought her hand to his lips. Pressed a kiss to her palm. “Thank you.” Because he couldn’t help it, he tasted her skin with a slow lick of his tongue.

Marna sucked in a sharp breath. “You . . . you said . . .”

Take.

The panther clawed inside of him. Tanner growled out, “I said I wouldn’t f*ck you.” No, he hadn’t said that. He’d said if he did, there’d be no escape for her.

Already, he needed her too much. He could smell her scent, sweet, but rich . . . with arousal.

She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. That didn’t make things easier. It made him just want to f*ck her all the more.

Tanner grabbed the reins of his control and pulled back. Turned away. “We need to get the hell out of here.” Before some dumbass came driving up, offering to help because he thought they were broken down or— Marna grabbed his shoulder and spun him back around with surprising strength.

“Marna, look—”

She rose onto her toes and yanked his head down toward her. Her lips pressed against his, and the lady sure didn’t kiss like an angel.

More like a woman too used to sin. The sensual press of her lips and the silken glide of her tongue had his whole body burning with lust.

Her taste . . .

He pulled her closer. Two steps, and he had her pinned against the vehicle. She’d been warned. She knew the risk.

He kissed her harder. Deeper. Took in her sweet taste. And realized he was starving for more.

Her breasts—nipples tight—pressed into his chest. He wanted them in his mouth again. More, he wanted his mouth on the heat between her legs. Nothing had ever tasted so good to him.

Marna.

He began to kiss his way down her neck. Her head tipped back, and he scored the flesh with his teeth in a light bite. Mine.

“You’re . . .” Her voice was husky, heavy with desire that made his cock swell bigger. “You’re better . . . than the fire.”

He wasn’t sure what that meant, but Tanner wasn’t gonna argue. His hands went to the snap of her jeans. The zipper eased down with a hiss. Then he slid his hand inside, pushing his fingers under her panties.

“Tanner!”

The snarl of an approaching engine grated in his ears.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

He stared down at Marna. The smooth curve of her stomach. The silken edge of her panties.

The snarling engine grew louder.

His hands were shaking when he snapped her jeans. As he hurriedly pulled her clothing back into place, they didn’t speak. Right then, he wasn’t sure he could speak. The panther roared too loudly inside of him.

Marna’s cheeks were flushed, but her head had jerked toward the approaching car so she knew what was happening.

Wrong place.

He opened the passenger side door. Pushed her inside. He’d just slammed the door when the car slowed beside them.

Not just some friendly dumbass looking to help them out.

A patrol car.

This was so not his night. Hadn’t the vamps been bad enough?

The patrol car, of course, pulled to a full stop and its blue lights flashed on. The cop climbed out, shining his flashlight. “There a problem here?”

“No problem.” Tanner exhaled, cleared his throat and tried to sound less like a snarling animal. “I’m a cop.”

“Are you now.” Not a question, just a statement of doubt. The cop tried to shine his lights toward the passenger seat.

Tanner moved his body and blocked that light before it could fall on Marna. “My badge is in the vehicle, but you can go ahead and call my ID number in on your radio. 5-2-7. Detective Tanner Chance.”

The cop, a fresh-faced newbie if Tanner had ever seen one, immediately pulled out his radio and called in the badge number. Tanner began to head toward the driver’s side.

“Hold on there!” The flashlight hit him right in the face when he glanced back. “You move nice and slow, got me?”

Smothering a sigh, Tanner tried to play it cool. The last thing he wanted was for this kid to get a look at Marna. If he’d heard the talk at the station . . .

But Marna hunched into the shadows when Tanner opened the door. He grabbed his badge from the glove box and held it up for the kid. “Are we good now?”

The guy swiped the badge. Brought his light up real close to it as he peered down at the badge. Hell. This uniform was so green. If he’d wanted, Tanner could have jumped the kid five times by now.