Darkness Unleashed (Guardians of Eternity #5)(78)

He smacked his hands against the wall behind him, barely noticing the large holes he punched into the paneling. Screw it. Tane could send him a bill.

“Regan, I want you too much and my control is too unpredictable,” he gritted, his body trembling. “If I start this, I won’t be able to stop.”

“Who said anything about stopping?”

He shook his head. This was a mistake. Even if he could be confident his control was trustworthy, Regan no longer needed a champion. Hell, she never truly had.

And no doubt, she was already making plans to move on.

Plans that didn’t include a damaged vampire.

So why not enjoy what was offered before he returned to his dark, lonely lair? The voice of temptation whispered in the back of his mind.

Because he was rapidly reaching the point where he would never be capable of letting her go. The voice of reason answered.

Which might explain why he was so anxious to grasp onto the fear that he couldn’t be trusted with her.

Already the thought of walking away made him want to howl in pain. How much worse would it be if they became even more intimate?

Barely aware of what he was doing, Jagr allowed his hands to caress the silky perfection of her shoulders, his thoughts occupied with a last, desperate means to cling to a thread of reason.

“Dammit, woman, you’ve been trying to get rid of me since I arrived in Hannibal,” he rasped. “Why would you suddenly want me to stay?”

She shrugged. “I’m a woman. I’m allowed to change my mind whenever I want, as many times as I want.”

“Convenient.”

“Sometimes.” With a smile, she popped the button of his jeans.

“Stop.” Jagr hissed as his hand reached to grasp her wrist. How the hell was he supposed to be reasonable when she refused to cooperate?

She didn’t struggle against his grip. Instead she leaned forward to lick a warm, wet path from his sternum to the base of his throat.

“You don’t want me?” she whispered against his skin.

Jagr swallowed his shout of pleasure, his fangs fully extended, and his last hope to cling to common sense shattered.

“I…yes.” His hands grasped her hips and pressed them against his aching erection. “I want you.”

Her lashes fluttered down until only a small, smoldering slit of emerald was visible.

“Then what’s the problem?”

There was a problem. He’d just been thinking about it. Unfortunately, it was as elusive as a mist fairy and, when she once again tugged at the button of his jeans, it disappeared altogether.

His head lowered so he could bury his face in the curve of her neck, the heated jasmine scent doing nothing to clear his desire-fogged brain.

“Damn you, Regan,” he husked, his fangs scraping against her soft skin. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She shivered at his soft warning, but not from fear. He could already smell the potent perfume of her arousal as she awkwardly tugged at his zipper.

Jagr was swift to help push down the unwelcome jeans, kicking them impatiently aside. Later he would no doubt regret this momentary weakness, but for now nothing mattered but the feel of her soft hands exploring the clenched muscles of his stomach.

“I’ve told you, chief, I don’t need you to protect me,” she husked, nipping at his chest. “Not even from you.”

Jagr shuddered, the pleasure of even such a light caress nearly sending him over the edge.

“Take care with those teeth, little one,” he muttered, his hands compulsively stroking over her back. “Vampires exchange blood for more than food.”

Tilting back her head, she regarded him with a hint of curiosity.

“What do you mean?”

“A vampire’s blood is the source of our power, as well as our means of claiming our true mate.” A rueful smile touched his lips. “Take my blood and I might very well be bound to you for all eternity.”

Her eyes widened, uncertainty flaring through them at his blunt confession.

“Jagr…”

“If you want to flee, now would be the time to do it.”

For a moment, he thought she would. His body tensed and his gut wrenched with a ruthless disappointment.

Why the hell hadn’t he kept his mouth shut?

A stark painful silence filled the room, and Jagr braced himself for rejection. Regan might possess more courage than any creature he’d ever known, but the one thing she truly feared was being imprisoned once again.

And in her mind, emotional attachments were just as terrifying as any chains made of silver.

Why else would she refuse to meet with Darcy?

Even as he tensed, however, Regan was giving a slight shake of her head and without warning, she bent forward to scatter kisses over his chest, pausing at each nipple to flick her tongue over the beaded tip. Jagr groaned, one hand burying in her satin hair in silent encouragement.

Later he would wonder why Regan had so abruptly gone from trying to deny the desire that constantly pulsed between them, but for now…

Gods, for now he could only enjoy.

Trailing a devastating path down the center of his stomach, she tongued his belly button, making his c**k twitch with a silent plea of mercy. Jagr squeezed his eyes shut, torn between the need to flip her onto the bed and take her with a swift, glorious explosion of pleasure, and allowing Regan to continue her seductive torment.