Bite, My Love (2 page)

“
Umhm. He’s my Daddy. He’s a good one too. Kind, open-minded,
got a mean bite though.” I rub my side where the scar from my last
punishment is. That was because of these annoying Vampires
too.

“
Would he do
me
a kindness and end my suffering if you asked it of
him?”

My eyes widen. “Oh. Oh I’m
no
t his favourite.” I grin and wink
at him. “I’m the troublemaker, the black sheep of the family. In
fact, I’ve no doubt somehow you crawling onto our territory is
going to be made out to be all my fault.” This diverts my train of
thought. “Why
are
you on our territory if you don’t mind me asking?” He does
not speak, and I hesitate before asking. “Were you in the fight
yesterday night with that rogue your kind has? Is that really
happening? I was told one of you has risen against the others, or
is that story bullshit I’ve been fed?” I search my memory for the
name Lee gave. “Daniel. The rogue’s name is Daniel.” Still, he says
nothing, but my mouth is on a roll, and I take his silence as an
invitation to keep talking. “It’s clear your own kind did this to
you. So you must have had something to do the crazy new Queen and
her suicidal mate. Do you know them? I do. Her name’s Lee. She’s
beautiful, and nice. Out of her fucking mind, but nice. You must
know her. She’s a tiny thing, green eyes, dark hair. Did you fight
for her? Is that why you’re hiding here? Did she lose? To be honest
I hope not, she owes me big time, and she has all the Packs in a
state of uproar after the death of my baby cousin.” I tuck my hair
behind my ears then lower my voice. “Shall I tell you a secret? The
Alphas are terrified she’s going to come after them, but I keep
saying to Daddy that won’t happen. Lee’s in charge now, a real
woman, and women have more sense than men.”

He slams a fist to the ground. It squelches into the mud, but
I catch the gist of the effect he was after. “
Woman
,
do
you ever stop talking.
”

My mouth
swings open before snapping shut. I tip my chin back perilously
high. “Bite me.”

“
Very well. If you wouldn’t mind coming closer to offer your
neck.”

I giggle
before slapping a hand over my mouth. Disgusting as the imagery
was, I’d walked right into that one. His eyes sparkle briefly
before they fill with quiet desperation again.

He
intrigues me, this Vampire. If I leave him here, he’ll die. No
Humans come into these woods, and Vampires need to feed nightly.
He’s already lost a lot of blood, and even his regenerative sleep
hasn’t helped. Now that I’ve spoken to him, it seems cruel to leave
him here in the damp to slowly bleed out.

I tap a
finger to my lips, my decision final. “I’m taking you home with
me.”

He sighs,
yet again. I sigh back dramatically and bend over, lifting him up
into my arms like I would a child.

He makes
a noise of alarm. “Put me down.”

I almost
drop him he hissed the command so forcefully. “Um, why?”

“
I’ll crawl.”

I blink, nearly losing my hold on him again. “Crawl,” I
repeat slowly. “You can barely lift your head, and you think you
will
crawl
all
the way back to my house?”

He grits
his teeth, shifts in my now loose embrace. “Yes.”

My eyelid
twitches. “Is it such a big deal for one of my kind to help you?”
Silence. “I’m waiting.”

His jaw
works and with what seems like an effort in patience he says, “It
is not that you are Lycan. You are a woman.”

I’m
speechless. Dumbfounded. I drop him on his ass and stride away. I
turn on my heel and stomp back to him to give my own glare. “If I
was a male you wouldn’t care?”

Groaning,
rocking on the spot, he nods.

“
Fine. Crawl then.” I point northeast. “That way.”

Crossing
my arms over my chest, I wait for him to start moving.

Setting
his jaw, he shakes as he drags himself a metre in the direction I’d
pointed.

I snort.
“I have a wedding to get back to. This will take all night and
Daddy will get pissy.”

“
You don’t … think bringing a stray … enemy … home will upset
your … father.” He pants the sentence and pauses, arms
wobbling.

This
really cannot continue. If he won’t let me carry him and he can’t
drag himself there….

“
Can you drink from me?” I jump in shock the same time he
does, and look over my shoulder as if looking to spy who just said
that.

He twists
around to seat himself on his butt and eyes me incredulously.
“Apologies, could you repeat what you just said?”

I flush
and roll my eyes as if it isn’t a big deal.

He cocks his head to the side, noting the change in my heart
rate. His nostrils flare. “You like the idea of me biting you?” At
first he sounded sceptical, but his voice lowers an octave, and he
growls. “You
want
me to bite you.”

What.
The. Hell. Is. Wrong. With. Me?

“
Forget it.” I move past him, embarrassed as hell.

His hand
shoots out to grip my ankle.

I stop,
boot heel lifted off the ground. His hand is freezing, but instead
of revulsion a thrill travels up from where his fingers press into
my skin. I exhale in a rush, and focus on not collapsing into a
heap.

This is wrong, unnatural, just wrong, wrong,
and wrong
for me to feel
this way about my enemy.

I try to
gather my wits. He’s just touching my ankle. No big deal, no big
deal, no big deal.

I’m over
it.

The hand
moves up, leisurely fluttering over my calf to circle the back of
my knee. His hand continues to travel up under the skirt until it
reaches the swell of my buttock, encased in white lace that matches
my dress. His fingers trace the patterned edge then slide down
following the curve until his whole hand slips in-between my legs,
finding the damp heat there.

He purrs.
“The she-wolf is wet for the Vampire.”

In delayed reaction, I gasp, and stagger away. Yes,
I stagger
from him and
his blasted hand. I clutch at fistfuls of skirts, blushing
furiously.

He
chuckles, eyes fixed on my heaving chest. Pulling back my foot, I
slam it into his side. He doubles over, coughing up blood and
groaning.

“
Don’t
ever
touch me like that
ever
again.” I growl darkly to emphasize my warning
then grab one of his limp arms, dragging his heavy ass behind me. I
ignore the urge to investigate the solid muscle of his bicep.
“Yeah, laugh it up. You just wait and see what happens when I get
you home.”

He laughs
harder. “Now you tease me.”

CHAPTER TWO

“
Wolf.” I’m ignoring him. His tone is imperious and expectant,
and I’m taking much pleasure in challenging him. “Wolf.” Yeah,
still ignoring him. “Bitch.” The flat of his heavy palm slaps my
ass hard.

The hot
sting sends a shiver down my entire leg and straight to my–
“Motherfuckingdamnit.”

Is there
anything more humiliating than a male slapping a female’s ass to
get attention? Yeah. Silently acknowledging that you like
it.

The
Vampire snorts. “Your language is vile.”

Aroused
by the spank, my feet stumble as I covertly handle my reaction.
When did I give the signal that kind of behaviour is welcome? Was
it the snarling or the kick to the ribs?

I’m seconds from jumping this gorgeous piece off ass and
ravishing him. No.
Gnawing
him. I meant I’m seconds away from
gnawing
on him. Biting
that strong throat and nibbling my way down his wide
chest….

Dropping
his arm, I hesitate to turn.

I’m
breathing hard and unable to move because he’d catch my scent
before it’s diluted by the wind. Standing here dwelling on it is
making it worse.

Lord,
what is wrong with me? The word ‘bitch’ should have set me raging,
but it’s made me hot for him. It was the way he said it, silky and
smooth. He almost complimented me with it as he expressed derision
for my species.

Keep cool
and show no fear. Dominance. I’ll have to strike back and do it
with enough mean to regain the upper hand.

I spin,
snarl, and take a menacing step forward. Well, as menacing as one
can look in virginal lace. “What do you think you’re
doing?”

“
I’ve changed my mind. Hide me.”

“
Are you high?”

He
blinks. The upward curve of his lips transforms his demon’s face
into something seraphic. “Are you?”

“
Daddy will
kill
me. ”

Huffing
and puffing, the Vampire lifts himself onto his elbows. “I’ll
protect you.” This unreliable vow is said with a superior grin, as
if it’s a deed of goodwill. “My corporeal prowess, intellect and
savoir-faire will see you safe.”

Deep blue
eyes wander over my body. Large pupils dilate then snap back. The
predator tags his prey.

Prickles
of heat flare on the back of my neck as his gaze lingers on the
curve of my shoulder. “You seem to possess gumption and insight.
Perhaps I’ve been fooled. It wouldn’t be the first time a woman
negates my skill of deduction.”

He
swallows convulsively, riveted to the flesh at the base of my
throat.

Notice
how his breathing has deepened? How his gaze keeps returning to my
mouth.

Tongue
wetting my bottom lip in response to the attention, I resist the
urge to hide behind a tree and balk.

I’m not
intimidating him at all. Am I? Not if he’s watching my pulse and
reacting in typical Vampire fashion. Am I trying to intimidate? My
chin is making a goodly attempt to burrow into my chest, and my
body language is entirely submissive.

“
Ah, I … uh….”

Is he
turning the Vampire whammy on me? When did I become the lamb to his
wolf?

I’m
the wolf.

Honestly,
Harmony. He may be older, smarter, and use words like
‘savoir-faire’ and ‘gumption’, but you’re blessed with an ancient
being of power that can be as impressive. Dredge a modicum of
defiance, if you please.

I push my shoulders back. “I doubt.…” I shuffle my feet and
grapple for words. “I doubt you could wipe your ass let alone
protect me you, um,
ass
.” My pride shrivels in embarrassment.

Lips
pressing together, the Vampire turns his face. Collecting himself?
His eyes water as he fights and stave of laughter. Lord, his
shoulders shake from the effort.

“
Don’t laugh.” My shoulder’s curl. “It’s
rude
that’s what it is.”

He
attempts to look at me, but swings his face away when it creases
with amusement.

Sweat
gathers at the small of my back during this extended silence. I
wriggle and roll my eyes skyward. It’s hot regardless of the dark
clouds, shadowy tree canopy, and damp undergrowth. That northerly
breeze blowing the trees and tossing leaves into lawless twirls is
positively balmy. More sweat gatherers between my shoulder blades.
Uncomfortable. Fuck it. The conversation wiggled from my grasp the
moment I opened my mouth.

There’s
no point trying to impress him. Why did I want to in the first
place?

“
You think you’re so smart and funny. You’re nothing but a
prick that’s all talk and no action.” My sneer ends a shamefaced
mutter. Again my brain has relied on pithy insults to get my point
across.

Black.
Hole. Swallow. Me.

The
Vampire’s dark gold head slowly turns and slowly cocks. His
features pull into an expression unreservedly
incredulous.

At least
that got a response other than laughter.

He smirks
and wags eyebrows. “Do you possess a mouth to brain filter? Or is
the inability to act with refinement a trait inherited from the
animal squatting inside you?”

Struck dumb and my jaw’s slack. Squatting? He called my
ancient and wise wolf sprit a squatter. A wondrous power that
transforms me into the most majestic creature on earth and he calls
it a
squatter.

“
Did you just … well why don’t you….” Lips flapping, my head
is stuffed with hot space where his words bounce in booming echoes.
Cold air blows across my scalp, but does nothing to dampen the
burning outrage. “Why you obnoxious piece of–”

“
My, my.
Obnoxious
.” He preens; smiling charmingly and again transforms that
pale cameo of perfection into a living angel’s visage. He has
dimples. “That’s three whole syllables. See what can be achieved
when you push yourself.”

Our gazes
clash for a terrifying heartbeat.