Bound in Darkness (Bound #2)(4)

Using those claws, Thain lifted the vampire up and tossed him back through the air. A good ten feet through the air.

Allison realized her jaw was hanging open.

The vampire thudded into the side of the alley. Blood gushed from his throat as he shoved his hands up to cover the wounds. He tried to speak, but only a gurgle slipped from his lips.

A gurgle, and more blood.

Thain lunged for him again, but vampires were fast—so fast.

The vampire leapt up and raced away.

For an instant, she thought that Thain would give chase. Instead, he turned to her, breath heaving, claws still out.

His green eyes were glowing.

“What are you?” Allison whispered.

He smiled. His canines had lengthened to razor sharp points.

“Scared?” he mocked. She couldn’t even hear the vampire’s footsteps anymore. He’d run too far, too quickly.

Allison shook her head and hurried to Thain’s side. She knew there was a whole lot more to this world than met the eye. Vamps were real, and she’d heard stories of other monsters lurking in the dark.

Right then, she didn’t really care what Cade was…all that mattered was that he’d just rescued her ass from the vamps. Laughing, she threw her arms around him. “Thank you!” He could do it. He could keep her safe. Elsa had been right. This man—he was the one she needed.

The one man who could help her.

Thain stiffened in her arms. His whole body felt rock-hard. She glanced up and stared into eyes that were too bright.

Slowly, his arms closed around her. His head lowered toward hers.

She actually thought her hero might kiss her. Even wilder, in that instant, she wanted him to put his mouth on hers.

Sensual and cruel…how would he kiss?

But Thain pulled back. He took her hand and led her through the alley and to a motorcycle that waited in the shadows. He climbed onto the back of the bike and glanced over at her. “If you come with me, there’ll be no going back.”

Allison slid on the bike behind him. Her thighs hugged his even as her arms curled around him. “I have nothing to go back to.”

Only death. But Thain…he offered her life.

The motorcycle’s engine snarled, and they raced forward into the darkness.

***

Elsa LaSpene crept slowly through the night. She didn’t head into the bar. No point. Her prey would be long gone by now.

She closed her eyes and inhaled. The sweet scent of blood had her smiling.

Fresh blood.

She slid deeper into the alley. There. Against the wall. The dark stain of blood could be seen in the moonlight. Her fingers lifted and touched that perfect wetness.

So fresh.

The little pureblood hadn’t lasted long. Not long at all. Not once the wolf had gotten his hands on her.

He’d taken Allison from the alley, just as he’d promised. Taken her, but blood had already been spilled.

The wolf had started his fun early.

“You’d better make it hurt,” Elsa whispered as she tilted her head back and gazed up at the moon. “Make it hurt.”





Chapter Two


Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Cade drove the motorcycle deep into the forest. Allison held on tight behind him. Her body was soft, warm.

Human.

That witch had lied to him. Set him up. Dammit. He hadn’t signed on for killing a human.

Not one that smelled like roses and looked like the sweetest sin he’d ever seen.

Not her.

The motorcycle roared as he pushed it faster. Faster.

Soon the trees thinned, and he saw the stark outline of his cabin. Small, but made with heavy wood that could stand against the rough winters, he’d thought the cabin would be the perfect place to hold the vampire.

To kill her?

His fingers clenched around the handlebars. Cade shut of the motorcycle and shoved down the kickstand. He didn’t speak at first because the rage choked back any words that he wanted to speak.

“Thanks for getting us out of there,” she said, and, hell, even her voice was sexy. Smooth and soft, with a slightly husky edge that made him think of tangled sheets and warm flesh. “Thain, I—”

He turned toward her. “Cade.”

She blinked her wide, f*ck-me bedroom eyes at him. “What?”

His enhanced vision let him see her perfectly in the dark. So he could easily read her confusion. “The name’s Cade. Cade Thain.”

And why was he even talking to her? She should have been dead by now.

But…

But he was rising off the bike, taking her arm and leading her toward the cabin like they were on some kind of damn date. And she came right with him. Her steps double-timed it to keep up with his, and her long, dark hair brushed his arm as they walked.

Lamb to the slaughter.

He shoved open the door. She slipped right over the threshold, never even hesitating. Just blindly walking in. Trusting him.

That trust pissed him off.

Slamming the door behind him, Cade pounced. In less than a second’s time, he had her body pinned to the nearest wall. He had his hands on her—damn, she’s soft—and his fangs were ready to rip and tear.

Only…he wasn’t ripping anything.

She gazed up at him. The light from the hallway spilled onto them, and he saw the faint ring of gold that circled her pupils. That gold around her eyes was one sign that marked her as a vampire pureblood.