Bonded by Blood

chapter FIFTEEN

“STAY HERE.” A door slammed shut. Mackenzie turned her head slowly, as if she were in a dream, and blinked a few times, but all she saw was the empty driver’s seat.

Where was she? Who was that? Her eyes couldn’t seem to focus as she looked out the window, the muscles in her neck ached, and her arm throbbed. A narrow steel tunnel? She heard the deep low blast of a marine horn and felt a shuddering movement beneath her. She was on a ferry. As the sound faded in her ears, its familiarity contrasted with something she’d heard not long ago. What was it? An unearthly sound. Laughing—oh God, awful, hideous laughing. And the horror of the night imploded on her.

With every last ounce of energy she possessed, she wrenched open the car door and clambered onto the deck. An icy blast of wind whipped her hair around, roaring in her ears, and her knees collapsed to the pavement.

Run, her mind told her. Run.

Before she could move, strong arms lifted her from the ground and pinned her tightly to a warm chest. The scent of sandalwood filled her nostrils and a tidal wave of relief washed over her, dissolving her fear.

“They’re gone. You’re safe with me. I promise.” The reassuring rumble of Dom’s voice vibrated against her cheek.

Wait. His teeth, his eyes, the strange fog. She should push away from him, but as he stroked her hair, every muscle in her body relaxed. She didn’t want to move away from him.

“I wish you hadn’t seen what happened back there.”

Was this really happening? It didn’t make sense. Not the comfort she felt with his arms around her, the way her body automatically melted into his, or the soothing effect his voice had on her heart. Images of the night flashed in her head, but she blinked them away. Why wasn’t she scared out of her mind given what she’d seen? Why did his embrace feel perfect, so right? She had a million questions for him, but for now, at this exact moment, all she wanted was for him to hold her.

His arms loosened their grip and for a moment she thought he was going to release her, but he didn’t. The harsh overhead lights of the car deck cast angular shadows on his face, but they couldn’t mask the concern and worry in his expression. She smiled up at him as if it were the most natural reaction to want to ease the tension she felt in him.

Her good arm slipped inside his hip-length wool peacoat and wrapped around his waist before she knew what she was doing. Like her body was on autopilot or something. He opened his lapels farther and pulled her inside against him. The smell of him calmed her senses as her cheek pressed against the muscular planes of his chest beneath his tight T-shirt. A tiny moan escaped her lips. Oh God, he felt good and she knew she was safe.

The loud drone of the engines made talking impossible. But that was okay. She didn’t want to think right now, anyway. He held her for what seemed like hours. Then in one movement, he swept her feet from the ground and set her back inside the Porsche.

“Your arm. Let me take a look at it.” His nostrils flared slightly and his mouth pressed into a hard line of concentration. She examined the chiseled lines of the face she hadn’t seen in a week—his strong jaw with its slight stubble, the chaotic state of his hair as it hung in pieces over the forehead currently creased in a troubled frown. It was a week that had felt like a lifetime.

“What happened back there, Dom?”

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When he opened them, his expression was hard, like he had a job to do. “Your injury. Let me attend to it first.”

She slipped her arm from the sleeve as carefully as she could, but she clenched her teeth together when sharp, searing pain shot from the wound. He scowled but his hands were gentle.

“Is it bad?”

“I’ve seen worse.” Curiously, his pupils expanded, leaving only a ring of the blue iris.

“Why do they do that? Your eyes?”

His jaw muscle tensed, but he didn’t answer.

The pulse on the sensitive skin of her arm beat against his caressing fingers and when she saw a similar spot flicker on his neck, for some reason she wondered if they matched. He didn’t seem startled when she rubbed her thumb over his pulse; in fact, he leaned almost imperceptibly into her hand. He licked the pad of his thumb then, ran it over her wound. Instantly an effervescent sensation, like the crackling of tiny pop rocks, tickled her skin.

“There. Good as new.” Before she could say anything more, he stood and shut the door.

She could hear him talking on the phone as he walked to the driver’s side. What the hell had just happened? She looked at her upper arm. Rather than a gaping gash, only a thin pink line remained. And even that seemed to be fading. Just like when she’d cut her finger at his loft.

The car shifted slightly when he climbed in.

“What’s going on, Dom? What is all this?”

“It’s complicated.”

“I’m listening.”

He stared straight ahead.

“What if they come back? They probably have my wallet and ID. Don’t I need to know if I’m in danger or not? And my arm…” She rubbed it but felt no pain. “How is any of this possible?”

“My associates are taking your motorcycle home and will make sure your belongings are secure. As for the others, I’m taking you to a safe place then I’m going back to hunt them down myself.”

“Yourself?” Her stomach tightened with panic. “What about the police? Shouldn’t we call them or did you do that already?”

“The police can’t handle them.”

“And what are you going to do? Maybe you got lucky back there. Please, Dom, don’t. I don’t want you to go—to get hurt.” Her voice caught in her throat. Although she couldn’t deny what she saw, Dom was different—much different.

“I’ll take care of him like I took care of his partner.” His tone was calm, as if he’d done this sort of thing many times before.

The ferry engines quieted for a moment, then groaned loudly in reverse as the vessel glided toward the dock. Ignitions fired up as people prepared to drive off and soon the line of cars next to them began to move.

What if she jumped out of the car? Walked away and went back to her ordinary life, pretended the events of the night were all part of a strange dream? Would tomorrow be normal? Would her students ask her the normal questions in class?

“Don’t even think about it, Mackenzie,” he growled as he turned the key and the engine roared to life with a little more gas than she thought was necessary.

“How do you know what I’m—” She gave a sound of exasperation. “Listen. You didn’t need to say that. I’m not going anywhere. I was just reviewing my options. But you’d better be ready to start explaining or I will leave. So you think about that.”

HE MANEUVERED THE Porsche slowly onto the ramp so it wouldn’t bottom out.

As they drove off the ferry, he waved a quick thanks to the dock worker, a nun dressed in a knee-high black skirt, white athletic socks, tennis shoes and an orange reflective vest. She smiled and waved back. The Sisters managed the ferry docks on this side and seeing them here always reminded him that good existed in this world in some very unexpected places.

“You won’t like what you hear. You’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

“I’ve lived under a cloud of uncertainty long enough and I’m tired of it. I know that—” she pointed a thumb over her shoulder in the direction they came from “—is the answer.”

He ran a hand over his face. Of course, she was right. He was just delaying the inevitable. She deserved to know, even if he had to wipe it from her memory later. “All right. I can’t shield you from the truth, Mackenzie, no matter how much I’d like to. You have seen too much.” Taking a deep breath, he jumped in.

“There are things in this world that have only been rumored, whispered about late at night, stories meant to scare the young and titillate the old. Most of those old stories are made up and passed down through generations. Werewolves, alien abductions, the Loch Ness monster, unicorns. But some of them have a basis in reality. They weren’t just invented from nothing. They started somewhere. And that somewhere is the reality I’m talking about.”

She looked calm enough and he didn’t sense any spike of distress. Her eyes met his and she gave him a pursed-lipped smile, not quite bold, but definitely not weak or scared.

“You saw the fangs, the bloodlust, the resistance to bullets, and you saw what I did to that guy. And I can’t forget that you saw me vapor into the car.” Yeah, that surprised the hell out of him, too. All right. It’s now or never.

“Mackenzie, we are vampires. Different maybe from what you think one is, but that’s essentially what we are.” He kept his eyes on the road ahead and waited for her reaction. She stayed silent and clutched her arms tighter.

“Are…are you okay?”

Without lifting her head, she nodded, so he continued.

“Many of the myths surrounding us are not true. We’re not immortal. We do die, but our lifespan is much longer than a human’s. Garlic, crosses, holy water—all myths, although our bodies are highly allergic to silver and we are sensitive to ultraviolet light. We still occasionally drink human blood, but we don’t kill. At least most of us don’t. I oversee a small team of Guardians here in Seattle. Enforcement agents within the Agency, the legal arm of our Governing Council.”

He explained about the Darkbloods and Sangre Dulce. He wanted her to know everything, but why? Why not just give her the bare facts with no details when he was going to wipe her memory anyway? He thought he knew the answer, but didn’t dare think further about it.

He wanted to dip into her thoughts, to know how she was processing it all, but he gave her the privacy she deserved. She needed to come to her own conclusions without his interference. The headlights formed a tunnel through the dark trees flanking the road and they drove in silence for a while.

“Is this blood condition, this Sangre Dulce, hereditary?” Her voice was barely audible above the road noise.

“We’re not sure, but we suspect it is.”

He sensed the tears well up in her eyes before they spilled down her cheeks. And when she turned away from him, a part of him withered. He desperately wanted to comfort her, to pull the car off the road and drag her in his arms, to tell her how much he cared about her and that he would never hurt her. But he and other vampires were the cause of all her grief. The only comfort he could offer her, until he did a memory wipe, was verbal and he didn’t know where to begin.

“Mackenzie, I’m so sorry.”

“My father,” she choked. “My uncle, my great-grandmother, my cousin—countless relatives tracing back centuries. All of them gone without a trace. And you…your people were responsible.”

Her shoulders rounded with sobs and with each gasp a piece of his heart chipped off. Mile markers on the side of the road ticked by as her face stayed pressed against her knees, long hair cascading everywhere. Nothing he could say or do could remove the agony he felt rolling off her body. Several times, he reached over to touch her, to offer some sort of comfort, but each time he caught himself and pulled his hand back. His touch would be the last thing she’d want.

Then, almost imperceptibly, she began rocking. He could feel her agony as if it were his own. Without really meaning to do so, he laid his hand on her back and began rubbing gentle circles with the palm of his hand, wishing he could absorb her sadness and take it on himself.

Abruptly she sat up and her tear-soaked gaze raked over his face. Was she examining him as a monster? When she reached over, he half-expected her to lash out at him, to take out a lifetime of suffering, but instead she rested her hand lightly on the forearm of his coat.

“It’s all so unbelievable, and yet…”

She slid her palm over the top of his hand, intertwined her fingers with his, and his heart jumped into his throat. Could she possibly be accepting the reality of all this? The tiny ray of hope he’d felt earlier sprang back to life again.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. Thank you for saving me from them and for telling me the truth.”

She was thanking him?

“Can you tell me about your group? The Agency? Is this the secret government agency you talked about? The one you’d have to kill me over if you told me about it?” Her eyes were red and swollen, but she smiled at him through her tears. She had never looked more beautiful.

“I joined the ranks of the Agency as a Guardian over a century ago and now oversee our team here in Seattle. My father, as an Elder on our high Council, spearheaded the efforts to fight the Darkblood Alliance by allocating funds for the Agency’s creation. Back then it was called the Society of Guardians, but today we simply refer to it as the Agency. Guess it sounds more modern. We’ve got a presence in many parts of the world and we work to keep humans safe…when we can.”

She chewed on a nail for a moment. “And these Darkbloods want to live like your ancestors did?”

“Yes. There have always been fundamentalist vampires, those who shunned the new ways. In the middle of the last millennium, when my ancestors consumed only human blood, much of Europe’s population was stricken by the Great Plague, or Blood Fever, as we refer to it. Not only did it kill millions of people and eradicate our food source, but vampires who fed from a human with Blood Fever died, as well. Although some humans recover after contracting the Fever, vampires never do.

“After generations of seeing our population dwindle even more rapidly than the human population, our ancestors discovered we didn’t need to rely solely on human blood for sustenance, that we could simply absorb much of our energy needs through skin-to-skin contact rather than blood consumption. Just like the human diet has changed dramatically over the centuries—vegetables used to be thought of as food primarily for animals and the poor—so has our diet. However, some vampires believe it’s our true nature to feed from humans and they shouldn’t be denied this right. Unfortunately, there will always be those of my kind who feel this way.”

They drove in silence for a few miles as he let her process everything.

“My missing day. We didn’t just happen to meet at the auction, did we?”

“No.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I was injured by a silver bullet in a shootout with Darkbloods. I managed to float downstream to the cemetery before I was able to pull myself ashore. You found me at my weakest point and because you are Sangre Dulce, I took too much of your blood and almost killed you.”

“You bit me,” she said softly, almost to herself, and lifted her hand to rub her neck. Although the interior of the car was warm, his fingers felt suddenly cold. Then she lowered her hand back to his and he was warm again.

“And I absorbed your energies.”

She looked confused.

“Here.” He turned his hand over. “Slip your palm onto mine.”

When she did, his body tingled with her energy and he quickly released her. “Did you feel that?”

“Oh my God, yes.”

“Hand-to-hand or hand-to-face is how we absorb most of the energies from…a…you. We’re sensitive to the sun’s rays, unable to process ultraviolet light into energy. We must obtain it by absorbing it from humans. But too much can make some of us more aggressive. In parts of the world with higher amounts of UV full spectrum light, there are higher concentrations of this energy within the human population. The more aggressive members of our race tend to live in those regions.”

“But how can you absorb it without us knowing? I mean, it’s like a jolt of electricity when you touch me. And I find it very…nice.” She closed her eyes as if she were savoring the feeling.

“Most people are tired when the energy leaves their bodies,” he said. “A little rundown, like you’d feel if you didn’t get enough sleep. But it appears you feel what I do. I think you must be taking some of my energies.”

“And that’s not normal?”

He shook his head.

“And when you took my blood, why didn’t I turn into a…and I didn’t die.”

“Just a bite won’t turn a human into a vampire. It takes an almost complete blood draining followed by a blood transfer from several vampires. In fact, it’s forbidden unless…well, it’s not allowed.”

“And why don’t I remember any of it?”

“We are able to manipulate a person’s recollection of events, suggest a different memory of what happened.”

“So that explains my missing day.” When she paused, the atmosphere inside the car grew thick with all the questions he knew she had for him. It was just like her to look at things from all angles, as the artist she was, to better understand what stood before her.. “If you’re like them, like the ones who have been preying on the Sangre Dulce members of my family, how are you able to control yourself around me? Why didn’t I die that day if I’m…if my blood is so…sweet to you?”

“I don’t know really. I surprised myself. To stop was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I almost killed you and for that I’ll always be horrified.”

“You nursed me back to health then, didn’t you? I’ve had such odd recollections of that time that I’ve not been able to make sense of. Cool damp cloths on my wrists. You brushed my hair over and over, didn’t you?”

He nodded.

“And the auction?”

“I followed you there to get the phone back.”

“Oh God, that phone.” She laughed, but quickly sobered again. “What about the mind-reading? Back at the warehouse.” She shivered. “And on the ferry. Is that common? Can you all read minds?”

“No. I’ve never heard of it happening before.” Her shoulders dropped a fraction and he sensed her tension dissipating. Her questions. All her wonderful questions. She wasn’t shutting herself from him. The beginnings of a smile wanted to seep onto his face, but he made himself concentrate on the road ahead.

“So if you took my blood and can now hear my thoughts, why can I hear your words in my head?”

“I had to give you a little of my blood. I thought you were dying. I was sick with guilt for what I had done, so I was forced to share a small amount of my blood with you and now it seems…we are blood bonded. Enlazado por la Sangre.”

“Bonded by blood. Is that why it’s forbidden?”

“No. The blood bond is a completely separate issue. It’s always forbidden to share blood with a human. Vampires share blood with each other when we—” He caught himself. She didn’t need to know that vampires shared blood during sex. “Blood sharing is common, but blood bonding is not. Before you and me, I thought it was just a myth.”

“So, you broke your laws when you gave me your blood? To save my life?”

“Yes.”

“That’s twice now, you know…that you saved me.” Her words trickled off until they were mostly air.

Saved her? Good Lord. “You also almost died because of me.”

“How are you able to control yourself around me now? Especially with my arm like this? Is that why your eyes go black?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

Tiny lines stacked between her brows and around her eyes, punctuating her apparent confusion. “So your eyes darken because you want me. My blood?” Her voice was low and unmistakably husky. Why wasn’t she frightened? “I saw it happen the first time at the auction. Is the urge hard to control?”

He kept his eyes on the road as the Porsche’s headlights tunneled through the night. “Yes, incredibly hard. You had no idea that night what your innocent and unexpected touch did to me. Your hand upon my face. But it’s the hardest to control when I make love to you.” The sound of her elevated heart rate reverberated in his head and stoked the embers of his memory. “It’s during lovemaking that couples regularly share blood. The urge to take yours is almost beyond my comprehension.”

His cock hardened at the thought and he hoped she didn’t see the bulge in his pants. He shifted slightly in his seat. There would be none of that, he thought, as his fingers rubbed anxiously over his naked wrist and what was noticeably missing.

“What would happen if you took my blood again?”

“I would not be able to stop. I would kill you.”

A COUPLE WITH salt and pepper hair—his short, hers pulled to the top of her head in a Gibson-girl style—stood on the well-lit veranda of a huge house. Dom maneuvered the car around the circular driveway and came to a stop under a porte cochere and a wagon wheel chandelier dangling from the center support. With all the river rock and the massive wood support beams, Mackenzie knew this place couldn’t be just a house. It had to be a small hotel or resort.

After climbing out of the car, he said something to the couple as he jogged around the front of the hood to help her out. When their gaze met through the windshield, an odd expression passed across his face before he scowled and turned away.

Mackenzie opened the door.

“Stay right there. Don’t get out.” What? Why? His bossy tone prickled irritatingly under her skin, so she ignored him. Her cramped legs needed stretching.

The woman clambered down the steps with an ambling but efficient gait, bypassing Dom, and stretched out her arms when she reached Mackenzie.

“Mackenzie, this is Shirley Cartwright and that’s her husband, Chuck.”

“Please call me Shirl.” The full-bodied woman gave Mackenzie a tight hug, crushing her against an ample bosom. Mackenzie winced, preparing to feel the stinging pain of her wound, but then she remembered. Dom had healed it.

“Don’t mind Chuck.” Shirl inclined her head toward the house. “He’d hug you, too, if he could, but Dom didn’t want him to get too close. At least, not yet.”

Mackenzie looked over and Chuck lifted a stoic hand to her as Dom took the porch steps two at a time.

“Dom didn’t give me much notice, so I hope I’ve got everything you need down there.” Shirl looked Mackenzie up and down and clucked. “He described you perfectly. Let’s hope the things I picked out from the gift shop will fit. If not, you come up tomorrow and we’ll get you situated.”

“Uh, thank you, but I’d imagine we’ll be leaving by tomorrow.”

Shirl patted Mackenzie’s hand and the lines around the woman’s eyes deepened as she smiled knowingly. “You’ve got that deer-in-the-headlights look. I think I might be able to give you some insight into all this craziness.” Mackenzie raised her eyebrows. Was it that obvious? “We’ll talk tomorrow. Go. Get some rest. You must be exhausted after what you’ve been through. Dom’s a good man, dear. But then you knew that, didn’t you?”

Dom returned and with his hand at the small of her back, he guided her across what appeared to be an expansive lawn, though she couldn’t be sure in the dark. Strings of draped twinkly lights illuminated the oyster-shell pathway and, as their feet crunched on the packed surface, the sound of the nearby surf intensified.

Before she could protest, Dom stooped in front of her and hoisted her up, piggyback style. A surprised squeak escaped her lips and with one little hop, her arms and legs wrapped comfortably around him as though she belonged exactly here.

When they reached the edge of the bluff, waves hit the beach in the darkness and she saw just the hint of white crests before they faded to black. If she focused on a point slightly away from the waves, didn’t look at them directly, she could see them better.

After passing three other cabins, Dom bounded up the steps of the last one. The interior was airy and clean with a wall of windows marking the view, framed by an automatic blind system similar to the one in his loft. The living room functioned as a great room, with the kitchen in the back and a small dining table off to the side. A short hallway ran next to the kitchen and two doors led to what were probably the bathroom and a bedroom.

“Why don’t you freshen up? It’ll do you good to wash away the night. I’ll see what there is for you to eat before I leave.”

“You’re leaving?” An invisible hand wrung out her insides.

And then he was there, wrapping his arms around her. His fingers slipped up into her hair, running across her scalp before he grabbed a handful and pulled her head back. Her parted lips tingled in anticipation of his kiss.

He abruptly dropped his hands and stepped away. “We’ll talk about this after you eat. Now go.”

Disappointed, she shuffled toward the bathroom. A shower did sound fabulous, but once inside, when she saw the large soaking tub, she opted for a bath instead. She turned on the hot water and peeled off her clothes. After dumping a few capfuls of bath salts, she climbed in and moaned with contentment. The heat melted away any remaining tension as the scent of lavender wafted up and she slid down deep.

Her mind was a jumble as she tried to sort through everything that happened to turn her world upside down in a matter of hours. Vampires? How completely crazy was that? She’d never have believed it if she hadn’t seen it herself. She had so many questions. But what she kept coming back to was that Dom had saved her life and had given her answers.

Leaning back, she closed her eyes. Only just for a minute. God, the water felt good. When had she ever felt this calm? So completely at peace? Hearing the clink of silverware from the kitchen, she knew it was because she was here with him.

She awoke with a start to hear a light tapping on the door. The water was tepid.

“You all right in there?”

“Yeah,” she called. “I must’ve dozed off. I’ll be right out.”

After drying off and finger-combing her hair, she realized she didn’t have a change of clothes to put on, so she donned one of the robes hanging from a peg behind the door and walked out.

The smell of tomatoes and spices made her mouth water. She didn’t realize how hungry she was. “Smells wonderful. Spaghetti?” she asked as she padded barefoot into the kitchen.

He glanced at her over his shoulder and paused. His eyes went dark for a moment and a little thrill tickled at her insides. She loved that his desire for her was so obvious and knew it was more than just her blood. “It’s nothing fancy. Jars and bags. Hungry?”

“Famished.”

Seeing a bag of prepared lettuce sitting next to a bowl, she tore it open along with the dressing pouch and tossed it all together with the tongs.

“So…a… You eat food, obviously, but do you still… I mean, how often…”

“What exactly are our dietary requirements?”

She nodded, making sure every piece of lettuce was evenly coated.

“Most of us feed from a live source once every few weeks. It may be a donor—yes, there are a few humans who know about us—or we may take it from someone whom we’ve put into a light hypnotic trance so as not to frighten or scare them. We don’t need much and we leave no trace. But we do require human energy on a fairly regular basis.”

Human donors? She rubbed her neck. What would that be like? she wondered. After finding the silverware drawer and grabbing two forks, she carried the salad to the small dining table, lit with several votive candles, and sat down.

He thinks of everything.

Her head hummed and she looked up to see him smiling as he set the pasta on the table and pulled out a chair.

“You’re listening to me, aren’t you?”

“I try not to, but sometimes I can’t help myself.”

His dark hair fell forward as he took his seat. Would it brush her cheeks if she kissed him?

“I’d say you had an unfair advantage since I just found out about this tonight. You’ve been able to read my mind all this time.” Her face heated as she thought of the times they’d been together. When he—and she—

He nodded and dished out their meals. “It is rather an invasion of your privacy so I try not to do it too much, although sometimes I find I can’t help myself.” She saw a hint of a smile.

“You can’t help yourself?” As if he’s so innocent. “I’ll bet you knew I wasn’t wearing panties at the auction. Is that why you took advantage of me on the roof deck?”

“I seem to recall that you jumped me first. I would’ve let you walk away.”

“Walk away? You are such a—” She threw a crouton at him, but he dipped his head and caught it in his mouth.

“I trust you, you know,” Mackenzie said. “I know you won’t hurt me. It’s not in your nature.”

Even through the pungent smoke of the bonfire, he smelled the sweet scent of her desire rolling off her skin and his cock grew stiffer. How had he let her talk him into this? She should be in bed and he should be on his way back to Seattle to fry that bastard, but here he was on the beach in the middle of the night with the most beautiful woman in the world. Well, maybe it wasn’t so hard to imagine after all.

“That’s a pretty bold statement. Rather naпve actually, considering everything you’ve seen. I wouldn’t dare try—ever—because I wouldn’t know if I’d be able to stop.”

“This thing isn’t one-sided, Dom. I can feel you in my blood, too. It all makes sense now. You’re not capable of hurting me. All you’ve done is healed me.”

He rubbed his bare wrists and wished he were that confident. Not expecting ever to see her again, he had packed away the cilice. God, he wished he had it with him now. She snuggled into the crook of his arm and he pulled the blanket up higher on her shoulders.

“How did you find me tonight?” The glow from the fire flickered over her slightly upturned nose and the small mole above her lip that moved as she spoke.

“Because I’ve had so much of your blood, I can not only hear you, but I learned if I really concentrate, I can see your surroundings with my mind’s eye. I am highly aware of your energy trail—the energy of your life force. When it’s disrupted or disturbed, it ripples inside me and that’s how I knew something was wrong. I tuned into you immediately when I felt your worry. I recognized the part of town you were in and raced to find you. My God, I can’t believe how close—”

“Shhhh. My energy trail? My life force?” She snuggled in closer. “It sounds so science fictionish. But I like it. I want our life forces to get together again. The feeling is out of this world.”

He threw his head back and laughed. Her spunk, her sassiness and her comfort with him lifted the heaviness anchoring him down.

“If I had more of your blood, would I be able to hear and feel you better?”

“I’d imagine you would.”

“I’d like that.”

Was she crazy? She turned her face up to his. Her eyes burned with an intensity hotter than the embers at the base of their driftwood fire. Being with her felt so natural, so easy. He had a plan for his life and love had never been a part of it before. As he leaned in to kiss her, the flickering light glinted on her earrings and he pulled away.

“What?”

“Your earrings. They’re silver.”

With a few flicks of her fingers, they were gone. “Better?”

“For me, but maybe not for you. You probably should have kept them on.”

“Stop worrying. Does your head vibrate a little when you hear my thoughts?” she whispered as his lips hungrily sought out hers.

“Yes, and when you’re nearby.” Her kiss was warm and spicy, tasting faintly of oregano.

“Mmm. Me, too. And do you hear two heartbeats until we’re closer?” she asked.

He slipped the robe off one shoulder. When he ran his fingertips under her breast and caressed a thumb over her stiffened nipple, a moan of pleasure escaped her lips. “They mesh into one sound when our air mingles. And your heart becomes mine when I’m in you.” She sighed heavily and he breathed her air into his lungs.

Without a word, she slid a hand to his face and stroked her thumb over his temple. The vibration in his head as their energies mingled swept him into another dimension. Over the sound of the waves lapping and retreating on the rocky beach, nothing existed any longer except the two of them. I want you like I’ve never wanted anything else before. Her words. Blood pounded between his legs when he heard them in his mind and he took her mouth with a fervor that surprised him.

Pushing her down on the blanket-covered sand, he peeled off his jeans and his erection sprang free.

She held her arms out to him and opened her legs. My proud, beautiful savior. He groaned when he heard her words and enveloped her body with his.

MACKENZIE LET DOM spread her knees apart with his thick thighs as he settled his body over her. His erection probed her hip and inner leg searching out her entrance. She arched herself to help him. Waiting for his thrust, she was surprised when he pushed up on his forearms and looked into her face. His hair hung over his forehead and his eyes were dark in the flickering glow from the fire.

“What?” she whispered. “Don’t stop. Not now. I need you now, Dom.” With secrets gone and questions answered, she wanted to feel the truth of him.

“I love how my name sounds on your lips,” he said as he kissed her. His erection stood poised, ready to enter her.

Did his teeth just graze her neck? She wanted him so badly that a little part of her died each moment he wasn’t inside her. She wrapped her legs around his hips, forcing his tip inside. But still he didn’t rock forward. She impatiently slid her hands to his buttocks, digging her nails in deep, but he didn’t go in.

“Please. I’m dying here.”

His laughter vibrated against her chest. “Are you always so impatient? Maybe I want to just lie here and look at you for a moment. To sear your face into my memory and compare it to how it looks after I leave a bit of myself inside of you.” His large palm slid down to massage her hip, as if he were getting ready to take hold, and her breath stopped halfway in her throat.

“Stop testing your willpower. It’s much stronger than mine.” She needed him. She needed this. She was suffocating without him.

In the firelight his pupils expanded, leaving a ring of crystal blue and the muscles in his face relaxed. She kept her eyes pinned to his as he thrust his hips forward, sheathing himself inside.

“Dom.” She breathed out his name as the sound of his heart filled her body. His eyes danced with excitement as he flexed his buttocks and drove deeper. She was so ready that she came hard and fast around him almost instantly.

“Oh, darling,” he murmured into her hair. “You are so sweet to my body. Amada mia.”

He pulled out of her then and she let out a little cry of protest. “Shhh. I can go deeper this way.” His sex glistened in the glow of the bonfire as he urged her to roll over. The breath caught in her throat. He was utterly magnificent. Powerful, commanding. She needed that strength filling her from the inside. On her hands and knees, his body warmed her back as he searched her out again. She rocked back and took him inside.

Grabbing her hipbones, he pulled her toward him as he thrust hard. The sound of the sea muffled her moan. He pushed even deeper until finally she felt him graze that swollen bud at the end of her channel. Coaxing and prodding, he moved inside her until she began to climax again. His sex quivered and her body fully welcomed him inside with a glorious hitch.

As the world faded away, revolving only on the axis of their joining, a strong urge clamored in her head. She wanted to give all of herself to him, to please him in every way she could. She needed to be his everything.

He wanted to drink from her, she could sense it. Flipping her hair away from her shoulder, she exposed her neck to him and reached back to pull his head down.

She felt his warm lips against her skin just as she reached the crushing peak of her orgasm.

AS HIS FANGS elongated from his gums, he stared at the graceful arch of her neck. He lifted her off her hands. Back to front, he fit the contours of her body to his. With his fingers, he sought out the precise location of her artery. It fluttered as if it was calling to him and his mouth watered. Perfect. So beautiful. He wanted to feel her nectar slip down his throat as his seed spilled into her. As she climaxed around him, he reared back to bite.

He brushed her mind, but sensed no thoughts about pain or danger, just her eagerness to give herself to him. Oh God, she trusted him in a way he didn’t deserve.

Bastard. What the hell was he thinking? He’d drain her dry without the distraction of the cilice. Of course he would. He wouldn’t be able to stop and she’d die.

His whole body stiffened then, his arms going rigid. Cursing, he tried to pull out of her, but her internal muscles held him tight. Her body refused to release him until he climaxed. He cried out in agony. This couldn’t be happening.

Pushing her down on all fours again, he arched his head to the darkened sky, trying to put what little distance he could between them, but he salivated with anticipation.

Take her. Do it now. Look how beautiful she is, and she is yours. Remember the rush of her sweet taste in your mouth. The invincibility it gives you. For God’s sake, you can even vapor. Drink from her and use that strength to finally kill Pavlos and avenge your parents’ deaths. That’s what you want, isn’t it? You’ve waited a lifetime for this opportunity. Don’t waste it. Take her now.

“No. No,” he cried as he released into her and plunged his teeth into the skin of his forearm. Her body loosened its hold when it received what it needed from him and he pulled himself out.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Get away. Get the hell away.” He scrambled to the far side of the dwindling bonfire. It’s not too late. Look at her. She wants to give herself to you. She wants you to take her blood again. To sacrifice herself for your cause. She was made for you, don’t you agree? And you were meant to defeat Pavlos. So take what you deserve in order to kill him. Do it now.

“Oh God, I’m sorry. Are you okay? What happened? Dom, please.”

She was concerned for him when she was the one in danger. That floored him. What had he been thinking, bringing her here like this, cooking for her like they were mated, pretending he could make a normal life with her? What an idiot.

He crouched in the sand like an animal, ready to attack. Through the hanks of hair covering his face, he watched as she stood and wrapped herself with her robe.

“I know you won’t hurt me, that you won’t go too far. I feel it, Dom. You’ll stop when you need to. You’re not a monster. You’re a good man and…and I love you.”

Dios mio. She loved him? Like this? Anguish tore his heart open and he became suddenly light-headed, as if the oxygen molecules in the air around him had been sucked away.

Was she insane? Did she not know what he was capable of? What he truly wanted? What had he done to deserve an angel like her? With her hair tousled and her skin flushed from their lovemaking, she was way too perfect for him. She reached out to take his hand and he felt his foot dig into the sand, compressing it like a starting block, his body ready to spring.

When she didn’t move right away, he bared his teeth to her. Her eyes widened and she took a step back. With the firelight playing off his fully extended fangs, which dripped with coppery blood from where he’d bitten himself, he knew she saw the nightmare he truly was. “You think you want this? Run to the cabin and lock yourself in the bathroom. Pray I don’t break down the door or vapor through the cracks. Go. Go now.”