War of Hearts(70)

And when they left the room, he reached for her hand. He held it as they went downstairs and while they looked over the breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant, caressing her skin with a swipe of his thumb gently back and forth.

Every part of Thea was aware of every part of Conall.

Sitting at breakfast, they didn’t say a word at first as they ate, but now and then their eyes would meet, and she’d know he was remembering something particularly delicious from the night before because he’d flash her a wicked smile that made her laugh.

She looked down at his plate, piled high with enough eggs and bacon to feed three men. “Hungry this morning?”

“Aye. Someone kept me awake most of the night with her insatiable appetite.”

She snorted. “Insatiable, huh? Well, I’m sorry if I’ve got too much stamina for you.”

Conall narrowed his eyes but she could see the humor dancing in them. “Dinnae you worry about my stamina, lass. I’m quite happy to prove I can keep you satisfied for however long you wish it.”

Flushing at the thought of keeping Conall as her personal sex slave, Thea marveled at how she’d gone from being ambivalent about sex to feeling pretty goddamn turned on all the time.

She guessed that’s what happened when you were attracted to a guy who was part animal.

Speaking of, Thea had a thought, remembering how she’d gently or maybe not so gently, bit Conall’s shoulder last night as she came for the third time. He’d liked it. Very much. What he didn’t do at any point was drag his teeth over her skin. She’d remembered what he’d said about a werewolf’s bite either killing a human or changing them.

She lowered her voice. “How do you turn someone into a werewolf?”

Conall almost choked on a bite of scrambled egg. He coughed, took a swig of coffee, and stared incredulously at her. “Why do you ask?”

Thea shrugged. “Just curious. Why? Is it a secret?”

Shaking his head, he leaned across the table to tell her quietly, “Werewolves are hard to make. Most wolves are born, not made. It takes a rare, strong human to survive a werewolf’s bite.”

“And does it have to be intentional? Or can an accidental nip cause the change?”

He nodded. “We have to be very careful. If our saliva or blood gets into the wounds, which, let’s face it, our saliva most certainly will, the human becomes infected. It’s like passing a mutation onto them and their body must be strong to take on that mutation. Most people arenae strong enough. A human dies of a werewolf’s bite 98 percent of the time. In comparison, a human almost always survives the change to a vampire.”

Wow. That was a low change rate. “But the TV shows got the vamp thing right? Vampires in comparison are made, not born. And a vampire has to drink a person to the brink of death for a human to turn?”

Conall scowled. “Aye. Then they make the victim drink their blood to complete the transition. Dirty bastards.”

Thea burst out laughing. Sometimes he was hilarious without even trying. His scowl disappeared as he watched her laugh, his own eyes bright with mirth as Thea dabbed at the corner of her eyes.

“You’re funny,” she said, reaching for another slice of toast.

“So I see.” His eyes watched her every movement. “Why the questions?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was thinking about last night and how it was nice we got to be ourselves.” It was more than nice that she could let go with Conall without worrying she’d break him. “But I remembered what you said in Düsseldorf. And last night, you were careful with your teeth.”

“Habit.” He shrugged. “I doubt I can change you from whatever you are, but I’m used to being careful in bed with non-wolves.”

The reminder he’d done with other women what he’d done with Thea made her instantly and irrationally upset. Maybe if she had more experience, it wouldn’t bother her so much, but Thea somehow doubted it, and that worried her. She’d never imagined she’d feel so territorial or possessive of someone, and it did not sit well with her. Conall wasn’t hers. A person couldn’t belong to another person.

“Sorry.” His gruff apology brought her eyes up from her plate. “I shouldnae have mentioned … that.”

Thea gave him a half-hearted smile, wondering what the hell had possessed her to think she could handle this with Conall. But it was too late. The damage was done. No going back. “We should get going if we don’t want to miss the ferry.”

Once they’d cleared their table, he took her hand again, pulling her into his side, holding her close as he checked out of the hotel.

It was as if he knew she had the sudden urge to run as far and as fast from him as possible.

And he wasn’t letting her go.

Conall led her out to their car, opened the passenger-side door for her, and just as she moved to get in, he pulled her against him.

He kissed her as if he were trying to steal the very essence of her into himself.

Thea was panting by the time he let her go, her body humming with renewed desire. Her hazy gaze lifted to his, and he slowly released her with a very smug, self-satisfied smirk on his face.

The haze instantly lifted. “Neanderthal,” she said as she stepped into the vehicle.

Thea heard his chuckle as he rounded the SUV and she shook her head, bemoaning the fact she found everything he did this morning funny and charming. Not that she’d let him know that. Conall swung into the driver’s side and grinned at her scowl.