Forget About Midnight (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #9)(38)

I needed to wrap myself in that sensation. Like a starved animal, I craved it as if it were my reason for existence. Jenner wasn’t Arys, not by a long shot. But he would do. For now. Just a little scratch for the itch I could never fully satisfy.

“Alexa, don’t,” he said, but there was no force to his tone. When I turned my thrall on him, he fought to stay in control, appeasing my need for a victim willing to put up a fight.

“You guys should go,” I said to our human companions though I never took my eyes off Jenner. “Now.”

Liz sprang off the bed and made a beeline for the door. She didn’t look back. Hayden lingered as the high kept him foggy. Slowly he staggered after her, one hand pressed to his bleeding neck. It was minor. He’d be fine.

The door slammed closed behind him though I wasn’t sure if I had done it or Jenner. With a hand on his shoulder, I pressed close, forcing him up against the wall.

“Look, Alexa, I get that you’re feeling pretty messed up right now and you’re sowing some wild oats. But I can’t be one of them. Arys would f*cking kill me. When I’m good and ready to die, I will happily f*ck you senseless. But until then, no deal.”

A peal of laughter slipped from me. I ran a finger over Jenner’s arm, tracing the lines of his tattoo. “Is that what you think? That I want to f*ck you? Oh my, you sad, egotistical jackass. You’ve got it all wrong. I just want to make you want it so I can splash about in all that power you’ve got.”

Jenner grinned, surprising me by pushing back against my energy with his, creating a strange resistance, the way one magnet repels another. “So it’s different with Kale then, is it? He’s more to you than a fling.”

“Do you really care?” I asked, pushing back harder against Jenner. The wall he’d built was sturdy, but I would break it down.

“Not really. But this might be the part where I tell you that if you break my brother’s heart, I will make you pay.” Even as he uttered the threat, Jenner’s resistance was crumbling. His steely gaze fell to my neck, betraying him.

The threat was impressive, not because I thought he could do it, but because I knew he meant it. There was reassurance in that. I wanted Arys to be on good terms with Jenner. I knew it meant something to him to repair and maintain their rocky relationship.

“Good. I’m going to hold you to that.” Gliding my finger over the swirls of ink in his flesh, I leaned in close and tilted my head in a wicked invitation. “Do you still crave my blood, Jenner? Or has that changed?”

His arm was taut beneath my hand and thrumming with tension. “I still very much dislike you. I mean, you’ve got good qualities, but you’re ultimately nothing but a power-hungry tease.”

Feeling mischievous, I pressed closer, wedging my thigh between his legs. “You know, Jenner, I like you more every time I see you. Never change. It’s people like you that keep me laughing. Now, answer my question.”

It was his turn to laugh though it was a bit of a strained, desperate sound. His hands were in fists at his sides as he fought the urge to touch me. “Oh, it’s changed. I still crave you. But it’s stronger now. You’re stronger now. Damn rights I want a taste of you.”

“Make me a promise.” My demand was a sensual murmur. My lips brushed against his ear. “Promise me that Kale will be safe in that city, that no harm will come to him from a Harley Kayson vampire. Swear it, and I’ll let you have a little taste.”

Jenner had good control. I’d seen it. The years had been good to him. He’d mastered the worst parts of our bloodline and, in fact, learned how to make it work for him. But everything about his energy screamed with painstaking yearning.

“You’re evil,” he said, but the erection pressed against my thigh confirmed my pending success.

His resistance dropped, and our powers crashed together. I basked in the head-spinning force, drawing on it so that it was inside me and all around me. Every part of my being soared as I hit my own high. Jenner grasped the back of my neck, and he jerked me so close our lips almost touched.

“You win,” he snarled. Jenner wasn’t so good at losing, even when he enjoyed it. “I promise. No harm comes to your precious Kale.”

In a sudden and swift motion, Jenner grabbed my waist and turned me so that my back was now against the wall. Shoving a hand into my hair, he jerked my head to bare my neck. I trembled in expectation.

He hesitated long enough to prove that he was still very much in control. Then he bit me. His sharp fangs plunged into my vein, spilling my hybrid blood. I gasped and stiffened, overcome by the eroticism of the moment. Waves of desire emanated from Jenner, and I drank it in.

The warmth of his tongue against the punctures stoked the fires of my own lust. Heat flooded my groin, and I clutched at him with clawed fingertips. My mind raced down a forbidden path, teasing me with fantasies that could never be fulfilled. Not with Jenner.

As he fed on my blood and power, the atmosphere began to pulse. The lights flickered. White noise roared through my ears. It was f*cking magic.

My head lolled against the wall, and my eyes closed in utter bliss. Jenner’s hand was warm on my waist. Then my thigh. When he went for the soft place between my legs, I stopped him with a hand tight on his wrist.

“Not a chance,” I whispered. Oh, I wanted it. But that was the illusion of our power. The desire was a manipulation. It was real because we made it real. That was why it was so dangerous.