Forever Bound Series 1-4(84)

She’d stirred fire.

Vampires didn’t control fire. As a rule, they were just bloodsuckers. Sure, they could be super strong, they could live for freaking ever—provided they didn’t get staked or lose their heads to a werewolf’s claws—but they didn’t stir fire from nothing.

Only witches could do that.

The stories had been right about that point, too. Iona wasn’t just a Born Vampire. She was a very, very powerful witch.

No wonder she’d been locked up. Caged near the water so the energy from the ocean would work to reinforce the spell. She might just be the most dangerous woman he’d ever met.

That fact only made him want her more.

Perfect. In so many ways. And Jamie wasn’t about to let her go. Not when he’d risked so much to find her.

Not when he’d had to make his own deal with the devil to claim her.

So now…yeah, okay, probably not his finest moment, but he was following her through the dark. Keeping his gaze on her as she slipped through the shadows.

Of course, Jamie knew what she was doing. Hunting. Going for another taste of blood.

Not gonna work, baby. You’re stuck with me. Did he feel guilty about that? No. These days, he couldn’t afford to feel guilty about anything and—

And she was gone.

Jamie hurried forward as his heart raced in his chest. It had only been a moment and—

He was tossed against the side of a dumpster.

“Following me? Really? What must I do?” Iona demanded as she put her hands on her hips. “Rip off your head in order to make you stop?”

Taking his time, he stood back up. She’d tossed him about ten feet. Jamie made a show of brushing dirt off his jeans and shirt. Mostly to give himself time to think, then he replied, “You’re afraid to rip off my head. Part of you already knows that I’ve told you the truth.” He headed toward her, not trying to keep his footsteps quiet any longer as his feet crunched over the gravel. “And if you kill me, you know that you’ll be killing yourself.”

It sounded like she hissed at him. He almost smiled but then—then he blinked and Iona was in front of him. She’d closed the distance herself, effortlessly. A distance of ten feet, in less than a second’s time. “Let’s get one thing straight.” She pushed up on her toes. Stabbed a finger into his chest. “I’m not afraid of anything. Or anyone.”

Right. She probably wasn’t.

And, damn, she was sexy. His gaze dropped to her mouth. Her lips had been the softest that he’d ever felt. He could still taste her on his tongue. The sweetness had been a surprise. From her, he’d expected spice.

“Why…why are you looking at me like that?” Iona asked as her gaze searched his.

He could tell her the truth. “Because I want to kiss you.”

Her poking finger jerked back as if she’d been burned. “You mean that you want to take more of my blood. So you can get stronger and so you can—”

He caught her shoulders and pulled her close. Her body brushed against his. Soft. He loved the way she felt. “I mean I want your lips beneath mine. I want to taste you. I want to savor you.”

She swallowed. “Your brogue is…thicker.”

“Yeah, it gets that way when I’m turned on.”

Her lips parted.

“I want your mouth,” he said again, no longer willing to fight the desire he felt for her. Why bother? They were locked together, even if she didn’t realize it.

He was more than ready to start enjoying the perks of the deal.

For an instant, Jamie was sure he saw the flicker of an answering desire in her golden gaze. But then her chin rose as she said, “And I want blood.”

The implied not yours was clear as she pulled away from him. As he watched her, Iona turned on her heel and headed toward the faint sound of music that drifted in the air.

Yes, she was heading toward big, bad bar number two in the town of Shade. So predictable.

In fact, her move was so incredibly predictable that he’d already told Sean they’d be coming that way. When Jamie had gone hunting for Iona earlier that night, he and Sean had separated. One bar for each man.

Jamie had gotten lucky. He’d found Iona at the Shore Tavern.

But when he’d talked to Sean on the phone, he’d told the other wolf that he’d be coming to meet him. I knew she’d want to try tasting someone else.

He knew, but he didn’t like it. In fact, it made him feel…jealous?

Impossible.

It should have been impossible. Yet Jamie found himself hurrying to keep pace with her. And, moments later, when Iona pushed open the door to the bar, when the bouncer gave her a welcoming smile, and all eyes seemed to greedily stroke her body, Jamie’s beast gave a growl.

Back the hell off.

The music was pumping. Loud and—

“The music has changed.” Iona tilted her head as she listened to the pounding beat. “I think…I like it better now.”

He kept forgetting she’d missed so much in the last fifteen years.

Her hips began to sway. The men began to close in.

Hell. He put his arm around her shoulders.

Those men backed up. Damn straight. If they’d come closer, he might have even flashed fang.

“It will be harder to find good prey with you at my side.” Her voice was low and husky and her hips were still rocking.