The Warrior Vampire (43 page)

“Drinking blood is sexual for you. She was aroused. She didn't even try to hide it.”

True, Siobhan had taken his vein with all the subtlety of a feline in heat. “She didn't,” Ronan agreed. “But it meant nothing to me. Taking her vein was a means to an end.”

“I've never felt like that before, Ronan. I've never been jealous in my entire life. But tonight, watching her, I thought it would eat me alive. I'm still not even close to being level.”

“Now you know how I felt the night Joaquin claimed you as his,” Ronan replied with a smirk. “I wanted to rip his throat out for even thinking that you belonged to him. The tether is absolute, Naya. There is no halfway. I will want you, and only you, until the day I die. And that want is all-consuming.”

“I know,” Naya said on a breath. “The way I want you, it burns through me, Ronan. And the only thing that can quench that fire is you. I want all of you, Ronan. Your body. Your blood. Your heart and soul. And I won't
ever
want anyone else.”

His foot eased off the gas and Ronan gripped the steering wheel in his fists. That all-consuming want prompted him to turn the hell around and race back to his apartment. Mikhail could wait until tomorrow night, couldn't he? Ronan sighed as he pressed down on the accelerator. He might have broken one troth tonight, but the one that he would never ignore was the one made to his king. There was a lot that Mikhail needed to be made aware of, and Ronan had a feeling he needed to be brought up to speed on a thing or two as well. Namely, Jenner.

“Just promise me that you won't ever let her put her mouth on you again and I can get past the urge to stab her with something sharp.”

Ronan laughed. How he loved his fiery mate. “My sacred vow is yours, love. Never again. But what I got in exchange for a few moments with Siobhan tonight was well worth the sacrifice for me.”

“What did you get?” Naya asked coyly.

Ronan pulled into Mikhail's driveway and cut the engine of his Vanquish. “I got you.” He leaned in to kiss her. Slowly. “From this night forward, I'm free to love my mate however and whenever I wish.”

Naya kissed him back and Ronan reveled in the petal softness of her lips. “I'm not kidding, Ronan. If she touches you again, I'm going to run my dagger through her chest,” Naya said much too sweetly for her threatening words.

Ronan groaned into her mouth. They needed to wrap up this night so he could get her back home and into bed. “Gods, how I love a woman with a violent streak.”

“Is that so?” Naya asked with the same innocent charm.

“I love you, Naya.” He could no longer feel playful. His want for her—his love—was too damned intense for levity. “Gods, how I love you.”

Her dark eyes shimmered with emotion. “I love you, too. Forever.”

A presence drew Ronan's attention and he looked over to see Mikhail standing in the open doorway of his house, watching them.

“You know, the faster we get done here, the faster we can go home,” Naya said. She nibbled at his bottom lip and Ronan's cock jumped to attention, pressing against his fly.

“One last conversation for the night and I'm yours.”

Naya pulled away and opened her door. “
Mine.
I like the sound of that. Now, let's get a move on. We haven't properly christened the bed yet.”

Seven pieces of furniture down, five or so more to go.…

 

 

Read on for an excerpt from
Kate Baxter
's next book

T
HE
D
ARK
V
AMPIRE

Coming soon from St. Martin's Paperbacks

 

 

 

From the corner of his eye, Jenner caught sight of Marissa, still watching them. Her longing gaze had obviously not gone unnoticed by Bria. The possessive edge to his mate's words caused Jenner's heart to beat wildly in his chest. The scent of her blood swirled in his head, as heady and intoxicating as the liquor in his glass. Her power astounded him. Her beauty stalled his breath. And her fire brought him to his damned knees. His secondary fangs throbbed in his gums, and he resisted the urge to seize her in his arms and nuzzle his face against her fragrant throat.

Jenner squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to get a grip on his control. Beside him, Bria shifted. His eyes flew open as he turned toward her. Bria had hopped up on the bar, putting her height level with his. She reached out to rake her nails through his hair, and chills broke out over his skin. Silver rimmed the amethyst depths of her irises. She leaned in close, and Jenner inhaled her delicious scent.

“What are you doing, Bria?” his voice rasped, and he swallowed against the fiery thirst burning in his throat.

Her response was a sensual caress in his ear as she lowered her mouth to his neck. “Taking my reward.”

Jenner groaned as Bria's fangs broke the skin. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, sucking greedily as her hand dove back into his hair. He'd refused her his throat and for good reason. Mindless lust overtook him, a haze of need that clouded his mind and crippled any chances of coherent thought. He cast a sideways glance across the club, to where Marissa watched with narrowed eyes, her lips thinned. Bria sought to lay claim to what was hers and that knowledge only served to excite Jenner further.

Desperate need burned through him. He twisted in Bria's embrace to face her fully, urging her legs to part as he settled himself between them. With a guttural groan, Jenner wound his fist into the ponytail cascading from the top of her head and pressed her tighter against him. He wanted to experience the sting of her bite deep in his flesh, needed to feel her thirst and desperation in every deep pull of her mouth. For the second time tonight, he considered throwing caution to the wind and giving in to his desires.

Fuck
. His cock ached in his jeans, pulsing in time with every wild beat of his heart. Bria was much too innocent for what he wanted to do to her. Too gentle for his pent-up and insatiable passions.

Jenner released his hold on her hair and slammed his palms against the wall behind her. Her nails bit into his scalp and he reveled in the pain. She fed from him with abandon, not as though she were ashamed. Bria was more in tune with her true nature than she thought. He wanted nothing more than to coax that wildness from her.

Her mouth at his vein had no equal. He'd fed others from his throat, his wrist. Mouths and lips had sealed over his flesh, he'd felt the sting of a dhampir's bite. Those experiences were gray in his memory compared to the vivid sensation that started as a tingle at the top of his scalp and trickled down his body to bathe him in warmth.

As she continued to feed from him, Jenner fought the urge to tear at her clothes, to slide his hand inside her pants and seek out the heat of Bria's pussy. Euphoric bliss fogged his brain and clouded his thoughts. Any common sense he might have possessed—any shred of control—evaporated under the gentle suction of Bria's mouth against his throat. How would she react if he popped the buttons of her blouse, jerked the cup of her bra aside and suckled her nipple to a stiff point? Would she push him away or would she cradle his head against her?

Viaton
.

The reminder of her innocence should have cooled Jenner's jets, but all it did was heat him to the point of combustion. When he was through with her, she'd be anything but the wide-eyed
viaton
.

Bria's fangs disengaged from Jenner's throat and all he wanted to do was guide her back, to urge her to bite him again. Harder. Her tongue lapped at the punctures she'd made and Jenner shuddered. Another act of defiance after he'd continuously denied her the pleasure of it when she'd fed from his wrist. So full of fight, this female. His thirst for her mounted until Jenner feared if he didn't take her vein now, he'd surely tear her flesh in his haste to taste her.

His control hung by a single frayed thread. Jenner kept one palm firmly planted on the wall, and he gripped the back of her head with the other. In a forceful jerk, he pulled her head to the side and buried his fangs into her throat.

Her blood was ambrosia. The sweetest thing he'd ever tasted. Bria went liquid in his embrace, molding her chest to his. A low moan of pleasure vibrated against Jenner's ear, and he bit down harder, opening the wound to allow her blood to flow faster. His thirst for her raged. His desire pulled his muscles taut and hardened his cock to stone. He couldn't get enough.

He was lost to her.

*   *   *

Bria reveled in smug satisfaction. The dhampir who'd so obviously sought Jenner's attention glared her hatred as she watched him feed from her vein. He was lost to the thirst as he suckled her, his grunts and moans of pleasure vibrating through Bria's bones and settling as a deep thrum in her sex.

Taking his vein—and offering hers—in such a public display was a scandalous act. One that would have brought a heavy punishment from her uncle had she still been a member of the coven. Taboo. Forbidden. And feeling the eyes of onlookers on them only heightened Bria's pleasure. It was a slap in the face to every rule she'd ever been forced to follow.

Jenner bit down harder and Bria gasped. Did he realize the effect he had on her? That his aggressiveness sent a rush of want through her that slicked her thighs and stirred her desire?
I've never wanted anything as badly as I do this male
. A result of their tether? Or something else entirely?

Did it matter?

Jenner's tongue flicked out to seal the bites and Bria shivered. She wasn't ready for this moment to end. She needed to keep him on the edge, reckless. Before the bliss of feeding wore off and he regained the good sense to put her at arms' length yet again.

Bria wanted to teach Jenner a lesson tonight as well: She was more than the virginal image that had been painted of her.
So much more
.

He disengaged from her throat and Bria stilled. He rested his forehead against her shoulder, his breath coming in heavy gasps as though he fought off some deep, internal pain. Worry replaced any schemes she might have been devising, and she traced the tips of her fingers down his temple and across the rough stubble of his jaw. “Jenner?”

He pulled away with a tortured groan. A deep furrow marred his brow and his eyes were alight with brilliant silver. His full lips pulled away from his fangs with a snarl, and he wrapped his arms tightly around her as his mouth descended on hers in a violent and urgent kiss.

Oh … gods
.

Bria let herself be swept away in the moment. She didn't give a second thought to the dhampir and her covetous gaze, to the other supernatural creatures that surrounded them, or the sizzle of magic in the air that sent a zing of anxiety through her bloodstream.

Jenner's lips were firm, yet demanding. His grip on her, possessive and commanding. The wet heat of his mouth seared her as his tongue lashed out at the seam of her lips, urging her to open up to him. The taste of his blood lingered and mingled with her own that still clung to his tongue. Exquisite. Heady, like an aged brandy that caused her thoughts to haze and her head to spin.
More
. She wanted more.

His mouth slanted across hers as his tongue thrust into her mouth. She released a pleasured moan at the silky glide and wound her fists into the fabric of his shirt, pulling him closer. Jenner gripped her hip in one strong hand and jerked her against him. The hard length of his erection brushed against her sex and Bria sighed into Jenner's mouth as delicious pressure built inside of her.

Jenner had brought her here tonight to teach her focus. To show her that danger was ever-present no matter her strength. To make sure that she knew the scope of what she was capable of as well as her limitations. None of that mattered when his mouth claimed hers. In his arms, the world melted away. Sensations and sounds, scents dissolved until there was only him. His taste on her lips. The rich musky scent of his arousal. The grip of his large hand on her hip and his fist in her hair. He drew her focus like no other thing in this world could. As for the danger … Bria realized as she further lost herself to his kisses, that the most dangerous thing in this world was the male in her arms and the way he made her feel.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kate Baxter
is a die-hard romantic with a thing for Shakespeare. She lives in the great northwest where she hides away to write about all things fanged, furry, and undead.

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