The Way You Bite(29)

Vee wasn’t Mercutio. She wasn’t blood related, and so far she’d shown no hint of Mercutio’s twisted enjoyment of other’s distress. He’d only seen compassion and courage from her.

The memories drifted away as he registered the slow burn for sex cycling up. Her warm lips moved against his wrist, hot and sucking. He should pry her off. Fatal blood volume loss for a vampire’s victim took less than five minutes under the sucking of a hungry vamp. He’d seen it far too many times in Mercutio’s household. How long had it been?

But he paused. She needed this. It wasn’t hurting her. Something shifted in him. She was going to survive because of him, because of what he could give to her. The honor to provide that which his mate needed to survive was his.

Lexan felt something in his head pop as her scent reached him in a fresh wave, calling to him, priming him.

The view of her mouth latched onto his wrist…it was actually beautiful, not the disgusting act as he’d assumed. He wavered. Too much. Stop her.

He pried her off, applying so much pressure he worried he’d break her teeth. Damn, she was strong.

She let out a little compliant moan when he finally dislodged her mouth, but she fell back, immediately unconscious.

He gripped his wrist over the oozing punctures and backed away until he smacked against the wall. His knees buckled, and he slid to the floor.

Being only part vamp, he still worried his blood would be toxic to her in too high a dose.





Chapter Eleven


Awareness hit. Vee’s eyes popped open. She stared at an unfamiliar ceiling fan.

The lack of outdoor light indicated it was night. Was it the same night or the next?

She’d missed the flight and didn’t have her passport. More kinks in her freedom plan. Fate wasn’t just conspiring against her, she was flashing her the finger and dancing in circles.

How far beyond seven p.m. was it? It didn’t matter at this point. Dominic had probably passed beyond apoplectic over her no-show. His goons would be out hunting. She’d accounted for this problem in her planning, but not for missing the flight.

The bed smelled of Lexan. He’d either slept next to her or she was in his bed. That confirmed TC worked for Lexan. She pulled the comforter tight to her throat, closed her eyes, and inhaled. Jeez, he smelled good. So very good. Need for a male deep inside her rocked her core, but not any male. Him.

“Ah, you’re finally awake.”

Vee jerked upright to a sit. Her face scorched hot. She zeroed in on the source of the voice.

Lexan leaned against the doorframe as if he always had a vamp female in his bed. Maybe he did. Maybe he had a female of some species in his bed all the time. You’re jealous.

Yep.

She fought to stop her gaze’s downward drift but got hung up at the midpoint south of his belt. He wasn’t unaffected, even if he acted nonchalant. She jerked her gaze back to his, but he was still standing there…staring. She tried to calm the pounding of her heart, which hammered her ribs as if trying to get out of her chest.

She cleared the hoarseness from her throat. “Where am I?”

“My bedroom.”

“Your bedroom. How long have I been here?”

“Almost twenty hours.”

“A whole day?” She glanced around and distractedly muttered, “I didn’t mean to pass out. Didn’t expect him to bring me here.” How was she going to retrieve her passport now? Squad vamps or Ambrose’s people probably found it on her counter. Its presence would clue them in on what she planned. She should’ve had a backup passport plan.

“You needed to rest somewhere safe.”

“This place doesn’t really look like your style, or at least what I’d think would be your style.” The decor reminded her of a museum of early nineteenth century simple life, with its antiquated wood furniture.

“You don’t see me as a minimalist?” He grinned.

“The drawing is nice.” She pointed to a Whistler-esque framed sketch, not that she cared for it. She was rambling, and he knew it. His rare smile encouraged her to smile back.

Lexan pulled his unbound hair into a ponytail and secured it. He folded his arms across his pecs. She shifted as need rolled through her. This was arousal in its most fundamental form, real and so fricking painful.

Stop staring.

Good luck on that, especially when all she could focus on was her in bed. His bed. And, how perfectly his shirt sculpted his frame. She wasn’t a begging kind of girl, but the waves of heat rolling through her body might just push her to become one. Ugh.

“You should’ve woken me up. I had plans last night. If you could just point me toward the main door...” She hopped out of the bed, energized for about three seconds before weakness hit. She backed up and sat hard on the edge of the bed, cradling her swirling head.

Instantly, he was inches from her, on the bed. “Go slow. You haven’t recovered from the other night.” His hand touched her back.

She stilled. Her world narrowed onto the single point of contact. Help me, dear sweet Lord.

His long fingers flexed against her back. She shifted, the bed naturally dipping until she fell into his side. He caught her against him. Her reflexive gasp sucked his essence deep into her lungs. Do not look at him.

With her head just beneath his collarbone, she felt safe, protected. Jesus, he smelled even better this close. She glanced up at his neck, mesmerized by his pounding pulse. To bite and taste the port-smelling elixir pumping through his body…no…never. Toxic. She met his gaze and found him watching her, his eyes hot with undisguised want. She pulled away from him and shifted around to face him. His hand grazed her breast. He sucked in a breath at the same time his tongue ran over his lower lip. The clawing desire to touch him might drive her out of her mind.