Wicked Burn (Realm Enforcers #3)(118)

Slowly, so deliberately, he shook his head. “It will never happen again.”

She stopped moving, defiance rising fast and heated. “Oh, really?”

His expression turned dark and foreboding. “Yes. In battle situations, I expect to be obeyed without question. Not just by soldiers, not just by the boys . . . but by you.”

Lust and denial flamed through her at his natural show of dominance. Her spirit rejected the order, while every feminine nerve in her body thrummed to life. The man had been made for her, yet sometimes, he seemed to forget her strength. Knowing she was going too far, knowing she’d probably pay, she forced a mocking smile. “Not in a million years.”

She moved quick, jumping around the sofa, and he let her.

Oh, the vampire could be quicker than a jaguar striking prey, and he could’ve stopped her. Instead, he rolled into motion, his steps slow and sure, raw hunger glittering in his eyes. “You should never run from a vampire, baby,” he whispered.

Her sex clenched. “Why not?” she breathed.

“We can’t help but chase, and when we catch, we’re not gentle. You want gentle, right?” he crooned.

Hell to the no. She wanted Talen—all of him. “You’re assuming you can catch me,” she taunted, her back to the storm outside.

He was getting closer, too close to the sofa. She couldn’t tell which way he’d round it, so she remained still, her legs bunched to run. The second he moved, she’d go the other direction. If she made it to the door, it’d be a miracle, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t give it her best shot.

His concentration narrowed in focus just like a wild animal’s as he stalked her. Sexual awareness cascaded along her arms, wrapping her in a hunger with sharpened teeth.

“I’m going to catch you, mate, and I’m taking you down hard,” he whispered, coming closer. “You’re going to beg for more by the time I’m finished with you tonight. Then you’re going to promise to obey me next time . . . and you’ll mean every word.”

Her clit ached with enough need she wanted to jump him and tear off his clothes. But no. That wasn’t how the night was going to happen. “Meh,” she said. “We’ve already done the taking down hard. That all you have . . . mate?”

He growled, and her lungs seized. She f*cking loved that sexy sound.

She smiled.

He moved then, sailing over the sofa in a graceful leap. She gasped and hesitated one millisecond too late. His arm wrapped around her waist, and he took her down.





Chapter 10


Talen’s fangs dropped low as his woman bucked against him, fighting with every dirty move he’d taught her through the years as he dropped to his knees. Her elbow jammed him in the gut, stealing his breath, and he fought the urge to laugh out loud.

This was what he’d been missing all these years as she’d fought the illness.

She’d been correct that he was still treating her like fragile glass, but even now, the thought of any harm coming to her ripped his heart into shreds. Vampires loved once and once only, and she owned him, body and soul. Nothing could harm her. Period.

Even so, she didn’t need kid gloves from him. Especially if that gave her license to put her life in danger.

What she did need, she might not like so much. His body thrummed in time with hers. He could smell her desire, her lust, and the familiar scent threatened to snap the small amount of control he had left. She was wild and sweet, a promise of everything good and pure in his life.

She broke his hold, partially turning.

A fierce wave of excitement surged through his veins. Her hiss of triumph rocked through him, igniting lust. He grasped her arms and flipped her onto her knees, facing away from him.

She swept her leg out, faster than he would’ve imagined, and knocked his knees to the side. Scrambling quickly, she made it up and around the couch.

He laughed out loud, absurdly pleased with her. With a roar only a vampire could make, he turned and cleared the sofa in one smooth motion, launching himself at his mate.

She let out a startled eek and flew back into the door, her hands instinctively rising.

His hands slapped the wall on either side of her head, and he inhaled her spicy scent, his nostrils flaring.

Her eyes widened. “Um—”

“Oh, baby.” He leaned in, satisfied by her sharp intake of breath. “It’s too late for um.” He grasped her shirt at the neck and ripped it in two. The useless material fell away from her body.

Her eyes darkened to the color of a fathomless ocean.

“Bra,” he said, lowering his face to hers, giving her a chance to save the lacy lingerie.

The quirk of her lip, the hint of defiance, was all it took.

He shredded the bra, revealing her pretty pink nipples.

Her chest heaved. “Talen—”

A quick dip, and his mouth enclosed a nipple. She gasped and grabbed his shoulders. He slid one arm around her waist to keep her upright and flicked her, allowing the scrape of his fangs along the side of her breast.

She trembled against him, need pouring off her.

He licked up her chest and over his bite mark on her neck, the one that had never completely healed. She shuddered and let out a soft moan.

“Before tonight is over, I’m biting you again, Cara. All the way to bone.” He nipped at her earlobe and drew back.