A Midsummer Night's Demon(4)

He grasped her hand tenderly in his much larger one, stilling her trembling fingers as he leaned over her. “Shhh. He’s gone. I’m here to help you.”

She struggled to extract her hand. If she’d been at her full strength, she would not have been able to pull her hand from his unless he allowed it.

And he was surprised to discover he wasn’t about to let go. He wanted the connection. The moment he touched her something stirred within his heart, something drew him to her.

“It’s okay. You’re safe. You can trust me.” He put a subtle compulsion behind his voice, letting it flow over her mind to ease her worry, leaving no doubt that he intended to assist her.

The ragged wound gaped open and her blood flowed in a steady stream down her chest. If he did not staunch the bleeding soon she could die from exsanguination. He couldn’t risk taking her to a hospital—the doctors would ask too many questions. A wound like that couldn’t be from anything other than a bite, and it wasn’t as if a lot of wild animals roamed the city. He realized it would be up to him to take care of her.

Ky gathered her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her shock-chilled body. His saliva contained coagulation properties which would aid to stop the bleeding, though would not heal so savage a wound.

He leaned down to lick her ruined neck. His tongue flicked over the wound, careful not to do anymore damage. The first lick spun his world. Her blood, unlike any other, tasted like sunshine. It warmed him to the core, made his body come alive in a way no blood had done before. His vision swam, tilting the parking garage. His body reacted, every cell screaming…

MINE!

His body responded to hers like a schoolboy holding his first crush. His muscles tightened, his hold became possessive as he lapped at the wound.

Most among his kind believed that each of them had one true mate—a heartmate. A person who completed them, the other half of their heart and soul. They recognized that person by the taste of their blood.

Ky now believed in heartmates. He would never get enough of her addictive flavor to sate his hunger.

Blood now gone, his tongue continued over the flesh of her neck to find the delicate spot where her shoulder met her neck on the opposite side of the wound. His tongue flicked across the vein. It beat in time with her heart, enticing him to sample just a bit more.

Desire flowed through his body at the thought. His inner beast rose to the surface, demanded another taste of its mate. Carnal need flowed through his veins unabated, sending a surge of wanton lust to heat his body. Saliva filled his mouth at the thought of more.

She was his. His to savor and to have. His to protect.

Like a slap to the face, the need to protect his heartmate sobered him from his baser needs, giving him the strength to rein in his inner beast, take back control. She needed him, his help, and he could do no other than see to her needs. He forced his fangs to recede, then gave her sweet neck a tender kiss before he forced himself away.

Surprised to find her looking at him through leaden, half-opened eyes, he pushed into her mind to glean her thoughts. Despite her pain, she found comfort in his arms. She thought of him as an angel come to save her and take away her pain.

If she only knew.

He was more killer than savior. More devil than angel. He lived a dark life, but finding his heartmate made him want to become better.

Ky adjusted her on his lap, and looked deeply into her mahogany eyes, holding her gaze to his. “Tell me your name, honey.”

Her beautiful eyes drifted shut as she whispered, “Lyn.”

He lifted the unconscious woman into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest. Her head lulled against his shoulder, her lips resting over the pulse in his neck. The heady sensation compelled him to get his mate to safety before the vampire could return.

He carried her to his car, secured her in the passenger seat, and drove them as fast as he dared to the dock where his boat waited. The ride across the river to his private island was rough due to an impending storm, but they arrived safe if not a bit shaken. Ky gathered Lyn in his arms and made his way toward his home with quick strides. He reached the porch just as the heavy clouds let go. The downpour beat a pounding rhythm on the palm fronds as he carried her into his house.





Chapter Two

Ky pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and took a deep breath of warm April air. He surveyed the island he’d bought years ago. At a half mile wide and just under a mile long, the land sat in the middle of a river. Ky had built his home in the center, leaving the natural pines, scrub palmetto, and palms as a barrier to the outside world. Tonight he found himself more thankful than ever for that cover, for inside lay his heartmate.