The Wicked Kiss (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #2)(92)

I pulled a throw blanket off the nearby sofa, and we got comfortable in front of the blazing flames. I couldn't help but flash back to a time when I'd lain naked in this very spot with Raoul. I couldn't deny how much I missed him, even as I shoved the memory from my mind.

Shaz fed me dessert from a platter of strawberries and chocolate sauce while I played with his near white locks. The night couldn't have been going any better. So of course, it had to get worse. When Arys projected his thoughts to me, it was loud and clear, setting off a domino effect reaction in me.

Wherever he was, he was hunting. His victim's screams drove him over the edge, and the walls between us came down as he tore into her with a savagery that had me shaking.

If I closed my eyes, I could almost see through his as images swarmed me.

She was bleached blonde, middle aged and heavily made up. I had no way of knowing why he'd chosen her. She fought hard, and the thrill that raced through Arys in response was easily transferred to me. Like a rabid dog, he tore into her without holding back. She didn't make noise for long.

I could hear Shaz asking if I was alright as I sat frozen stiff in his arms. Arys' strong emotions were flooding me with more than I could take. His excitement as the blood spilled was what pushed me over the edge. Snapping into action, I scrambled away from Shaz and focused on forcing Arys out of my mind. It was easier than I expected, but the damage was done.

I forced myself to concentrate on the sound of the fire crackling and the smell of logs burning. Anything to combat the bloodlust that rocked me. I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't look at my wolf mate and see food. He wasn't prey to me, but he was still a blood source. It hurt in places that never should feel that kind of agony.

Shaz was no fool, but he approached me anyway, hands held up cautiously.

“Whatever that was,” he said softly. “You can't run from it, Lex. We can deal with it.”

I whimpered softly and hid my face behind a curtain of my hair. The closer he drew, the stronger the beat of his heart sounded in my sensitive ears. I didn't realize I'd started growling at him until he told me to stop. Shaz wasn't afraid of me though, not in the least.

Not a trace of fear emanated from him.

When I bared my fangs at him though, his demeanor changed. The look in his eyes was fierce when, with a solid motion, he grabbed me and flipped me so that I landed hard on the floor beneath him. He used his body to pin me, and it came as a shock to find him dominating me like the Alpha male that he now was.

I grunted when I hit the floor. My wolf was instantly subdued as Shaz commanded respect from me with the action. Though the wolf in me was calmed, there was a part of me that was enraged and then ashamed. I was roiling with emotions, each of them leaving confusion in its wake. I choked back a sob and bared my throat to Shaz, submitting to him completely.

He didn't hesitate to bite me, and it was nothing short of astounding. I hadn't expected him to go Alpha on me. His teeth didn't break my skin, but the act spoke volumes rather than the injury. I was awed and also madly turned on.

“I'm sorry, Lex, but I'm not going to let you worry about making me a victim. I'm your mate. You should never be running from me because you think you're going to hurt me.” With a strong hand wrapped around my arm, he jerked me to my feet. “Call it tough love, baby, but I have to stop this now, before it spirals out of control.” I stared at him with wide-eyed astonishment. I thought I was hearing things when he said, “You're just going to have to take my blood. It's the only way for you to realize you can handle this.”

I swallowed hard and tried to say no. My lips formed the word, but nothing came out. He smiled down at me, clearly enjoying his moment of power. When at last I could speak, I squeaked out, “Why?”

Shaz' hands were rough where he gripped my arms. “You know why. I'm not letting you do this by yourself. You're only weak if you don't let me help you.”

Awe filled me, as well as complete adoration. He was everything I needed in a man and more. But, when he held his wrist out to me as an offering, I paled and shrunk back, shaking my head. “No, Shaz I can't.”

“You will.” His tone held no room for argument, and I did a double take. If Arys had said that to me, I would have told him to shove it up his ass. This was Shaz, though, and all I could do was stare stupidly. When he saw my face fall, dismayed, his expression softened, and he added, “Trust me.”

Was he serious? Trust him? I trusted him more than I trusted any creature on the planet. It was me that I had little faith in.

“I don't want to hurt you.” I peered at him through strands of blonde and red hair as a lock fell in my eyes. He reached out to brush it away, the gesture filled with tenderness.

“It hurts me more to watch you suffer like this. For months now, I have kept quiet about this side of you, but things have changed. Let me be part of this. I'm your mate, Lex.”

There was no changing his mind. I knew that look in his jade eyes. He had made up his mind, and he was taking a stand. I should have been overwhelmed with emotion at his words, but instead I was stricken with terror.

With the bloodlust eating away at me, I was unable to cling to that terror. It fell away from me like abandoned clothing. The pulse beating in his offered wrist drew my eye, and I licked my lips hungrily. We faced each other in all of our naked glory, completely at ease with the naturalness of it.