Once Bitten (Shadow Guild: The Rebel #1)(54)

“Pretend to kiss me,” I said.

“Pretend?”

My gaze flicked up to meet his, and the heat in his eyes made my muscles go weak. His broad shoulders blocked the light at the end of the alley, and his head was bent low. He rested his hands on the brick wall on either side of my head, caging me in.

“Yeah.” My voice was rusty as I spoke. “Pretend.”

He dipped his head to my neck, his lips hovering over my skin. The faint brush of his breath made me tremble.

“Put your arms around me,” he murmured. “So the cop will think you want to be here.”

A shiver raced through me. Oh, I very much wanted to be there. My solo nights with an adult juice box and Cordelia were nothing compared to this. To say I’d been in a drought was an understatement.

I wrapped my arms around his back, making sure they were over his jacket so that the cop could see them if he looked in. We needed to hide our faces, but we didn’t want to get hauled in for public indecency.

“That’s it,” he murmured, his lips brushing against my skin.

I shivered again, heat racing through my veins. I wanted him to kiss me. To press his lips firmly against me, to feel his touch.

A shudder ran through him, and I gripped him more tightly.





17





The Devil



Holding Carrow in my arms was heaven, or as close as I’d ever get to paradise.

It was also hell.

The scent of her was a drug, making my head spin as I resisted sinking my fangs into her neck. It would be so sweet, so perfect.

A shudder ran over me.

Resist.

But I had to have something. She called to me like a siren.

Unable to help myself, I pressed my lips to the smooth, warm skin of her neck.

A soft rush of breath escaped her as she tilted her head to the right, giving me more access. A low groan was torn from my throat, and I pressed against her, nearly forgetting the cop that we were hiding from. My lips parted.

Just one taste.

When my tongue touched her skin, it was bliss.

A moan of pleasure escaped her.

“All right, all right,” the cop’s voice sounded from behind us. Protectiveness surged through me, but when I heard his voice again, it drifted from down the street, and I realized that he’d kept walking as he talked. “Break it up, lovebirds. Not too much in the daylight.”

In my arms, Carrow sagged. She dropped her head back against the brick wall and looked up to meet my gaze. “That was close.”

“It was.” My voice was oddly rough as I spoke.

I forced myself to pull back.

I’d kissed her skin. For fate’s sake, I’d licked her.

I hadn’t done that in centuries.

Shocked by my own actions, I turned and looked out of the alley. The cop was turning down another street. “He’s gone.”

“Good.” Carrow’s voice was nearly back to normal. “Let’s go get our guy.”

She strode out onto the street, and I joined her. I pulled the magical compass out of my pocket and held it in front of me. The arrow spun and stopped, pointing at the ramshackle pub at the end of the street. The little thing vibrated fiercely in my hands, indicating that we were nearly there.

“Is he really in a human pub?” she asked. “Just sitting and drinking? What about the abduction?”

“It does seem odd.” I inspected the dreary surroundings. “Some places in the human world are actually secret supernatural hot spots, like the Haunted Hound, but I don’t think this is one of them.”

“This is just too strange.” She leaned over and looked at the compass, which was still buzzing.

We stopped in front of the wooden door. It was impossible to see through the dirty glass, but I could feel our prey on the other side. It was a vampire instinct.

“He’s inside.” I raised my wrist to my mouth and spoke into the comms charm strapped there, calling for backup from my shifter bodyguards.

“What was that for?”

“Just in case. They’ll wait outside unless I call them in.”

“Right, then. Let’s figure out why the hell our target is in a pub.”





Carrow



We were about to catch this bastard.

My name would be cleared soon. Lives would be saved. Finally, I’d be in time to save someone. If we caught this guy, the deaths would stop.

Heart pounding, I moved to push the door open, but the Devil was faster. He stepped into the pub first, blocking me from any threat. I followed, my eyes quickly adjusting to the dim light. Every inch of me was on the alert—to flee, to attack, I wasn’t sure.

But the pub was…normal. Gloomy and dingy, there was almost no one inside. Still, my gaze went unerringly to the guy sitting at the bar alone. The bartender stood on the far side, giving the guy a wide berth.

The Devil nodded to the seated man. “It’s him.”

“Really? He seems so…normal.” Not like a necromancer at all.

“He’s human. No magic that I can feel. Not even well controlled magic.”

“But he still committed the murder?” I could hear the faint buzz from the magical compass that the Devil held.

“Yes. He may be a hired gun.”