I held my breath as he inhaled my scent ever so slowly. Raindrops hit my face and soaked my clothes, but I didn’t care. The car keys spilled out of my top onto the hood. I grimaced inwardly and hoped they didn’t scratch the paint.
I forgot the paint when his sharp fangs grazed the soft spot inside my elbow. He licked the sensitive skin, and tingles raced up my arm. When he broke the skin, a rush roared through me that echoed in my ears.
“Oh, come on,” I pleaded, frustrated with the fire burning out of control inside me.
“There’s one thing, Alexa, this mortal love you have. You need it.” His tongue slid across my skin, hot and wet, and I wondered why his words so greatly contrasted his actions. “In so many ways, you’re mine, but I feel your need for that pup. I won’t selfishly take that from you.”
“Who are you trying to convince?” I asked. My throat was dry, and I licked my lips. The cold rain was doing nothing to cool the heat that continued to rise within me.
“Ok, fine,” he said, meeting my eyes. Drizzle plastered his hair to his forehead. I brushed it away from his eyes. “I know I’ll be the one you blame. The one you resent because you messed up too many times. I don’t want to see that happen.”
“So even pushing me away now is selfish and based on what suits you best. So typically the vampire.”
“That I am,” he growled even as he spread my legs and pressed his hard length against me. “Never forget it, or you’ll be mine forever.”
I considered debating that but thought better of it. He was firm against me, and I drew a shuddery breath, conflicted. The energy buzzed hot around us and contrasted strangely with the rain.
The comforting rhythm encouraged a partial shift. Fangs filled my mouth, and I clawed red lines in his arms with my nails. I was ready to beg or demand, when laughter rang out from eight floors above.
“Hey buddy,” a drunken voice called. “Do your girl already. It’s getting cold out here.”
Four guys stood on a balcony, gawking down at us. A streetlight gave them a perfect bird’s eye view. Arys grasped my hand and pulled me upright. He swiped the keys off the hood, pressed the unlock button, and shoved them into my hand.
“Let’s go downtown. I need an easy victim, and you need-,” he stopped suddenly. He pressed his lips to mine, and his tongue tasted of my blood. “Well, this isn’t the time or place to give you what you need.”
I gave the balcony gawkers a Hemi burnout as I cursed myself for messing around outside Lena’s. Thank God, she hadn’t caught us.
My first stop was the nearest Tim Horton’s for an extra large coffee. All nerves, I couldn’t stop running my hand through my hair. Though the coffee did nothing to calm me, it was soothing nonetheless.
After that, we hit a particularly seedy district of the downtown core, a prime locale for drugs and prostitutes. He promised to be quick. He’d dispatch one of the local vermin, and hopefully, ease my hunger. I didn’t think it would work, but I had my fingers crossed.
“So you want me to wait here?” I asked for the second time since we had parked behind the dingy bar.
“Yes, just wait here. I won’t be long. And, lock the doors.”
I thought he was full of shit but nodded anyway. “Will do, chief.”
Arys blended into the shadows so well that even I could barely spot him. The stereo played softly, which eased the heavy feeling that I was about to watch a murder.
I waited. The scent of coffee filled the inside of the car. My wet clothes left me chilled despite the heat at full blast. The headlights were off, but I wasn’t killing the engine in this part of town for anything. Soon enough, a shape emerged from between the bar and the vacant building next door.
As the shape approached the obscured vampire, it revealed two people. A woman that looked far too young to sell her body, and a man old enough to be her father. Arys grabbed the man by the shoulders and jerked him hard enough to lose his footing. The woman screamed and turned to run. I held my breath, afraid that Arys would stop her, but he let her go. Screams in this part of town rarely garnered response.
The noise from the radio seemed to fade away. I felt like I was watching the scene before me on an old movie reel. The rain and the vampire brought to mind a classic horror film.
I didn’t flinch. I didn’t even blink when Arys pulled the man into his embrace and sank his fangs deep into the human’s throat. Time seemed to stop, and I remembered Arys killing the nameless woman behind Lucy’s. I had liked it then, and God help me, I liked it now.
My predator grew hungry, and I should have been alarmed at my pleasure, but it just felt so right, so natural. My wolf thought nothing of my arousal at the kill. I, however, felt ashamed to be turned on as I watched the vampire take the man’s life. My self-control barely kept me from jumping Arys the moment that the passenger door opened.
“You reek of lust,” Arys commented. The fresh energy rolled off him and tantalized my senses. “What have you been doing in here without me?”