Just One Bite Volume 2 (6 page)

“Don’t leave. Not yet. Tell me your name.”

I never said a word that night. It would be days later before I returned and found out who he was.

Jordan Smith. A plain name to go with the ordinary blood. Color me bored, right? Wrong. Even his features were nothing to write home about. I mean, make no mistake, he had a body to die for. His muscles rippled with strength and I wanted to nibble on him all night. But with his brown hair and brown eyes he should have been unremarkable.

“Annemarie, I know you’re out there. Stop sulking and come in out of the cold,” Jordan called from the house.

He never even turned from the fire. He did things like that all the time. Maybe that was why I was intrigued. Was he a witch? No, he couldn’t be. His blood would have tasted different. But he always knew when I was around.

I sighed and headed for the door. I did not stomp there like a reprimanded child. I was a grown woman doing this of my own volition, not because he told me to. Tonight, I would find out why his presence called to me. No fucking or sucking until I knew. I was putting my foot down this time.

“I don’t sulk or get cold,” I declared once I entered the house. I was proud of myself for not slamming the door.

“If you say so. You’ve been gone too long.” Jordan still didn’t turn from his place on the couch.

“I shouldn’t be here now,” I countered.

“Then why are you here? Got an itch you want me to scratch or are you hungry?”

His question irritated me. Who the hell did he think he was? I’m a powerful being who could kill him between heartbeats. He should fear me.

“Why can’t I erase me from your mind?”

“Ah, sweets. You haven’t figured it out yet? I’m not surprised. Your kind doesn’t like to acknowledge mine.”

“Your kind? My kind?” This was confusing. “You’re human.”

“I am more than human. I’m your mate. A being created to be yours for eternity.” He turned and smiled at me.

“Not. Possible. Vampires don’t have mates. And even if I did, it wouldn’t be
you
,” I said with as much disdain as I could.

“It is and I am. You know the lore. Created as halves of a whole, a shifter and a vampire will mate and become one. The vampire will only want the shifter’s blood, no longer needing to feed on humans. Most vamps run from it because they like variety,” he said.

“That’s just a stupid story passed on through the years. It isn’t true,” I insisted.

I didn’t like the desperation in my tone. This couldn’t be true. So focused on my thoughts and fears I didn’t hear him approach me. I could only stand there as he wrapped his arms around me. I struggled to get free, but he was stronger than I realized.

“Haven’t you felt the change? Your passion for the hunt has left you. That’s why you show up more and more as the months go on. You want only me,” Jordan whispered against my neck.

I shivered and closed my eyes. Canines scraped the juncture where shoulder met neck. It was both heaven and hell. The sensation curled my toes. I didn’t want to want this.

“I—I…” I couldn’t speak. Jordan traced the teeth marks with his tongue.

“Shh, don’t think. Feel, Annemarie. Let me love you,” he coaxed.

I pulled as far away as I could. Love? We didn’t have love. We had sex and feeding. That was it. It didn’t matter that any time I stared into his dark brown eyes I wanted nothing more than to fall into them. It didn’t matter that I reveled in the feel of his strong arms wrapped around me. It also didn’t matter that I craved his kisses. Love wasn’t my deal. In all my two-hundred and thirty-five years I had never felt love and I wasn’t about to start now. No matter how his smell made me want to lick him from head to toe. Lust. That is what I had. A good old case of lust.

I allowed him to draw me back into his arms. I relaxed into his touch and let him lov—sex me up. Yes. I wasn’t saying that word. Wasn’t even going to think it.

This was my show and it was time I got it on the road. I shoved until Jordan stumbled against the couch. He gave me a cocky grin, but I was about to wipe it off his handsome face. I’d feed and leave. No reason to stay around. I wasn’t about to start some weird paranormal family with shifter boy. Wait…shifter.

I pressed my body to his, holding him in place. Well, maybe he let me. I wasn’t going to worry about it right now.

“So what do you shift into?” Not what I really wanted to ask, but it would do.

Jordan bucked his hips and let me feel his erection through his slacks. Damn, but he was tempting. I wanted to rip his clothes off and fuck his brains out. Maybe
then
he’d forget about me and this stupid notion of mates.

“A frog.”

“
What?
”

He chuckled. “What do you think I change into? A wolf, my dear. I shift into a wolf.”

He was trying to distract me with humor and it was almost working. When he rose up enough to kiss me, I let him. When his hands grabbed my ass so he could grind against me, I was ready for action.

“Clothes off. Now, wolf boy.” I stood to take my dress off. The touch of skin to skin would soothe me like nothing else.

“We have time. Why must you always rush? I thought—”

“What? What did you think? That you would declare your love for me and tell me we were mates and I would fall at your feet and beg you to give me everything?” Now I was naked and pissed.

“Well—yeah. I did.”

“Your powers of persuasion aren’t that good. One, I don’t believe you and two—I don’t believe you.”

“I can prove it.” He winked at me.

No way was I going to admit we were mates, because it wasn’t true. I’d never met a vampire who had a mate.
Ever
.

I glared at him and put my hands on my hips. “Sure you can.” Disbelief laced my voice.

“Annemarie, have a little faith in me.” He held his hands up and moved closer. “Let me bite you and then you’ll see.”

“What the fuck? No. Not happening. In what universe would I let you bite me? I’m not baring my throat to you.”

“You did it earlier tonight.” He continued to creep closer.

“You’re not helping your case here, bud.” I backed away. For every step he took toward me, I took two in the other direction.

“Are you afraid?”

Fuck this. I wasn’t afraid of anything. Certainly not the mutt in front of me.

“Fine. Do it. But once this is over, I’m out of here for good.” I tilted my head, leaving my neck open to him. I stared into his eyes because no way did I want him to think this meant I was submitting to him.

“When you bite me, my cock gets hard and I want nothing more that to pound you into any surface available. I can feel you in ever pore of my being. We are so connected that I can’t tell where you end and I begin. It will feel the same for you. And you’ll want to bite me back. You have no idea how difficult it’s been to stop myself from taking a sip. I knew you weren’t ready then, but it’s time now. I need you, Annemarie.” He’d crept closer with each word.

He’d mesmerized me enough that I leaned forward, anticipating the feel of his teeth breaking my flesh. I licked my lips at the images he put in my head. When his canines pierced my neck, I moaned. He drew my essence from my body and I melted. My knees would have buckled, but he clutched me close. My fangs extended. I craved him but I wanted him deep inside me when I fed.

His tongue soothed the wound at my throat and I knew it was healing already.

“Anything different, love?”

Where did that come from?

“What?” I said out loud.

“Can you feel our connection? Close your eyes and listen.”

That was Jordan speaking in my head. I looked at his face for a second before closing my eyes. And there he was. I could feel him in every part of my body as if we were one. My heart settled and my breathing calmed. I felt…at peace.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt this loved. That he would sacrifice himself for me if the need arose came through our bond. How was this possible? We were…mates.

I opened my eyes to see his intense gaze on my face. I knew he must see awe on mine because I couldn’t school my features like usual. I was out of my depth. I needed some control. He had to have sensed it because he backed away and took off his clothes. I followed him into his bedroom.

I pushed him onto the bed, reasserting control. He must have loved it because he was as hard as a rock. I licked my lips. I wanted a taste. I used my tongue to make a path to the juncture of his thigh and let my fangs take control. I sank into his vein and his heavenly blood flowed through me. For the first time, I was fully aware of the thing that made his blood unique. The thing that brought me back time and time again. That sense of me in him. My other half. It was right there in his blood. It always had been. I had just been too blind to see it. But at this point, I didn’t really care. This moment was mine and I would take it and him.

Sealing the wound I’d created, I focused on his lovely cock. I sucked on the tip and used my hands to stroke his length.

Hands tugged at my hair. “Annemarie, please. I’m not going to last. Too excited. Please, baby.” He tugged again and I released him.

I moved up his body, kissing every inch of skin I could find. He was mine. I paused to leave a mark on his stomach. Mine.

I finally got to his lips and they tasted sweeter than I remembered. Hands grabbed my hips and lifted me so I hovered over his cock. I was so wet I wouldn’t have any problems gliding down. We both moaned when I settled fully on him. We continued to kiss, battling for control.

Never had I felt so wild. Usually I had total control. I see now that he let me think I was in charge. We were evenly matched and the struggled turned me on even more.

He sat up and I wrapped myself around him, moving my hips faster and faster. Jordan gripped my ass and squeezed. Our lovemaking turned feral, building inch by inch until we exploded. My orgasm raced through me. I growled when he bite my neck. Not to be out done I found the closest part of skin and bit him back. I couldn’t stop trembling. My climax wouldn’t let me go and I continued to milk his shaft inside me.

Finally, I collapsed on top of him. Jordan rolled so we were side by side and I snuggled in. Not something I was used to, but it felt right.

“This isn’t going to be easy,” I said after a few minutes.

“You think I don’t know that? It took me months to get you here.” Jordan chuckled.

“I feel—”

“Whole?” he asked.

I nuzzled his chest. This after part was kind of nice. Usually I ran off by this time. I’d missed a lot running from him. I didn’t know if I was ready for what was to come.

I shrugged. “I guess. Different for sure.”

I placed a hand on his chest and felt his heart beating. I couldn’t lay there for long. I placed a kiss on the spot over his heart and got out of bed. I paced as I warred with indecision.

“Don’t go,” he whispered.

He knew me so well. I almost didn’t hear him as I stalked the length of the room.

“I—I’ll stay. For now. But this is so much.” I could feel my anxiety rising but I turned to face Jordan. He held out his arms and I went to him.

“Don’t stress, Annemarie. I’m not asking you to move in tonight. I just want you to acknowledge us and know that I am here for you. When you’re ready we’ll talk.” He kissed my forehead.

I could feel his contentment. That’s what eased me. Something clicked into place. I bit my lip, nervous. Jordan soothed me with a hand stroking my back.

“I want to try.” I felt better as the words left my mouth.

“That’s all I ask. We’ll do this together. You’re my other half.” He took my lips in a fierce kiss and I welcomed it.

His other half. I could get used to that. Love practically glowed between us. I didn’t know if it was his or mine and I really didn’t care. My fear could bite me. The past months had gotten me to this place and I was happy.

“Mine,” I moaned against his lips.

“Yours,” he answered.

Something Wild

by Tracey H. Kitts

I opened my door and stepped out into the hot summer night. My car had always been reliable. I had no idea what was wrong. To say I was pissed was such an understatement that it made me laugh. The scenery was beautiful. There was nothing but trees and fields for miles, and not a house in sight.

I reached for my cell phone. “Searching for signal,” it said.

“Shit. Why does this have to happen tonight?”

I was meeting a friend at his summer cabin. We’d been close since high school and he had someone he wanted me to meet. At first I was offended when he made the offer.

“I don’t need you to fix me up.”

“Nicole, it’s been a year since the divorce, and you’re still single. Obviously, you do.”

He was right, and since his offer was made out of kindness, I accepted. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Now here I was in the middle of nowhere with no car, and no phone. To make matters worse, I was wearing heels.

I walked to the trunk, opened my overnight bag, and changed on the side of the road. Hell, no one was around to see. I exchanged my nice pants, blouse, and heels for some jeans, a t-shirt, and walking shoes.

According to the map I’d printed, I was five miles away from my friend’s cabin. I sighed. At least this wasn’t my first five-mile hike. I stuffed the map into my back pocket, locked any valuables in the trunk, and set off with only my keys and a flashlight for protection.

“This isn’t safe,” I told myself.

But, what choice did I have? In twenty minutes not a single car had passed. I could do the five miles in an hour, easy. Then Matt, my friend who was also good with cars, could drive back here with me and make this nightmare go away.

Despite the circumstances, the night was beautiful. Crickets chirped in what sounded like a chant, as if they were trying to communicate with the golden moon above.

The moon was so bright; I didn’t need the flashlight. Physical activity always helps me deal with stress. So the more I walked, the better I felt. Matt could fix my car, I was certain. I’d been too upset to even try to figure it out. Not that 
me
 looking under the hood would have done any good.