Venice Heat (8 page)

“You’ve got three seconds to get the fuck off me,” she growled.

“Come on, you didn’t tell that to the stupid Asian dude.”

“Why do you keep referring to him like that? He has a name.”

“You like him!”

“That’s none of your business, and as a matter of fact, I think we’re done.” She brought her knee up to plant in his balls, but he blocked the move and slammed her into the door. She cried out, splitting pain going through the back of her head. Now all kinds of alarm bells went off. She’d been able to take out any regular man for years, but no tricks of her trade dislodged Darryl. Shae stiffened and swallowed. She looked up into his face, struggling to see him clearly. Beyond his head, the moon shone brightly in the sky, but it probably only served to illuminate her face. In the darkness, he chuckled, and goose bumps broke out on her flesh. Her dad’s voice rang out in her head the times he’d led the instruction classes she and her sisters had attended.
“Don’t get so full of yourself and your ability that you can’t scream for help. Do it. It just might save your life.”

She took in a deep breath, but Darryl anticipated her plan. He wrapped a hand around her throat and squeezed just enough to cut off her breath. Panic blinded Shae, and she kicked him hard in the leg. He winced and stumbled. She thought she had a chance when his hold weakened, but the moment she made a move, she regretted it with another slam. He laughed.

“You ain’t figured it out, yet, have you, Shae?”

Ashamed, she found herself pleading. “Darryl, don’t do this. You can have any woman you want.”

“You got that right.” He leaned in and ran his nose along her throat. Revulsion turned her stomach, and tears filled her eyes.
Eiji, help me.
Darryl laughed again as if he could hear her silent plea, and she hated her weakness. Shifters had cornered her plenty of times in the past, but she’d held her own until her protector could arrive. This was a dumb-ass man with an ego too big to accept her rejection, and she’d been foolish to trust in her abilities so much. She’d thought he was no threat. At that point, all she could do was pray someone would happen along or he made a mistake that would give her an opening. All she needed was to get space between them.

Darryl rattled the keys she’d left in the lock and turned the doorknob, still holding her by the throat. He shoved the door wide and backed her into the house. With the lights off, Shae couldn’t see a thing, but she brought up a layout of the place in her mind, searching for a weapon, a lamp she could crack over his head.

He kicked the door closed, and the lock sliding into place sounded like a death toll. She struggled to swallow, and again she brought up her knee. This time she made connection. The second he doubled over, she brought her knee up into his chin and tried her best to knock his nose into his brain. Darryl turned his head, so the blow glanced off the side. Then he moved fast, before she could straighten to slam a fist into his knee, and sent her leg shooting down toward the floor. She twisted her ankle and snapped the heel off her shoe. Nausea forced her to swallow over and over, and when her stomach settled a bit, she gritted her teeth against the pain, refusing to give him the satisfaction.

Sakura, her oldest sister, would never find herself in this situation, and if Kasen found out, she would never hear the end of it. When she thought of the lack of actual sympathy she’d receive from her family, she had to admit they weren’t anywhere near natural. She’d always viewed them all as being close, but how could they be when she couldn’t imagine anyone feeling anything other than disgust. Tears of frustration ran down her cheeks.

“Aw, don’t cry, baby girl,” Darryl whispered. “You’re going to thank me for this later on. Well, after you pay for kneeing me in the nuts.”

If he called her by that pet name once more, she might lose it. “You’re sick if you think any woman would thank you for this. I’m going to get loose, and I’m going to kill you.”

In the dimly lit room, she saw him throw back his head and shout with laughter. “Oh man, you’re going to be fun with that attitude. I’m going to teach you how to show your man respect.”

She spat in his face, and the crack across her cheek brought the taste of blood to her tongue. She swallowed the pain and threw a punch to his solar plexus. Not even flinching, Darryl spun her around and grabbed her by the neck to force her to her knees. Her ankle throbbed anew, making her light-headed and bringing bile to her throat.

With her good leg, she kicked out and connected with his calf. His feet slipped out from beneath him, but it brought his huge bulk down on top of her, flattening them both on the floor. All air left Shae’s lungs, and she gasped to take a breath. Darryl pinned her hands together above her head, but he made no moves to touch her body. If only he would turn on a light. The closest switch lay near the table where she could grab the glass vase, but he didn’t make a move that way either. He seemed to enjoy the cover of darkness.

“What do you want from me?”

“To make you mine,” he answered without pause. “Haven’t I been telling you that from the start?”

An idea occurred to her. “You could have been more patient. You’re hot, baby. You know I would have let you in my bed soon enough.” She tried pushing her ass up toward him and not throwing up in disgust at the same time. His dick swelled behind her, and she coughed to cover the gag.

“Mmm,” Darryl moaned and kissed her neck. “Oh, we’re going to fuck, all right. As much as I want it. But first I have to make you ready to be mine.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

He leaned up, and before she could make a move, he flipped her to her back and lay flat on top of her again. The cry that escaped her couldn’t be held in. Darryl brought another to her lips when he ripped the top of her dress open. The swell of her breasts was in full view, the nipples just covered by the torn material. Now he was getting to what she’d known he wanted all along, yet she didn’t get the way he expressed himself.

He leaned down to kiss her, but she turned her head. He wrenched it back to face him, but he didn’t attempt to claim her lips again. “I’m going to devour you.” Moonlight glinted through a gap in the curtains, perfect timing to illuminate his sharpened teeth.

Slow, tormented understanding began to dawn. Her eyes widened until they hurt.

“You thought I didn’t know who you were, didn’t you? I knew you right away. I picked you out that first night at the club. What did you say your name was? Shae Jones. Naw, that’s not you. You’re Shae Keith. One of
the
Keiths—shifter hunters. Shifter
killers
!”

Devastation descended on Shae, making her lose all the strength in her body. She could no longer fool herself into thinking this was some kind of mistake or that she could get the better of Darryl the minute she got a toehold. He was not human, which was the very reason none of her blows did any damage. The reason she and her sisters were ever able to kick a shifter’s ass was because they knew what was coming. They knew their target, and they made damn sure they were never backed into a corner. Period. All this time, Shae had thought Darryl was human, so she’d taken him for granted. Now, she was in trouble, and she couldn’t expect help because she hadn’t had the chance to phone her protector to invite him to Venice.

“So you’re going to kill me,” she said, searching her mind for a way out despite the reality of her situation.

“Kill you?” He patted her head, and Shae struggled to knock his hand away. “No, I’m not going to kill you. I keep telling you what I’m going to do. You don’t listen. That’s why I need to teach you.” Darryl ran his hand down her side, for the first time caressing her body. He stopped at her thigh and gave it a squeeze before jerking her dress upward. She fought as hard as she could against his hold to no avail. By accident, she managed to bump a knee into his balls again, and he cracked her head against the floor. Spots danced in her vision.

He reached for the hem of her dress, but then he paused for the second time. She thought he tormented her on purpose, to drive her fear higher. If she didn’t get loose, he would rape her. That couldn’t happen.
Please…

“I’m not going to kill you.” Darryl’s voice had gone very deep and scratchy, and she knew from experience he’d begun to let the beast inside him take control. He dropped his voice even lower. She had to fight to understand everything he said. “Do you know most shifters in this world can’t make new ones like themselves? You’re either born with the gene or not, and even that doesn’t guarantee your other side will come out. But my kind…Can you guess what kind of shifter I am, Shae?”

She pressed her lips together refusing to answer. He took hold of one of her hands and forced it to his mouth. He dragged her fingertip over the long, sharp canines, and her mind raced. Any number of shifters formed sharp teeth like that. Even Shiya’s boyfriends’ canine teeth could grow out like Darryl’s. Was he a polar bear?

“Can’t guess?” Darryl taunted. “I’ll give you a hint.”

A growl started in his throat that brought her damn close to wetting herself. She shut her eyes, unable to prevent the quake that shook her from head to toe. Killing wolf shifters was hard because they were pack animals, and their abilities bordered on magic. During her training, she had learned about them but never personally come across one, and now she knew that the men she’d called Darryl’s boys were also werewolves. She and her family had never known the wolves existed so close to home, and here she lay unprotected. Panic rising until it cramped her stomach, she reviewed his words in her mind.
“Do you know that most shifters in this world can’t make new ones like themselves?”
No, he couldn’t mean to do what she thought.

“I can see you,” Darryl teased. “You figured it out.”

“You can’t—”

“I can do what I want!” His words sounded like those of a spoiled child, but his anger scared her more. He released one of her hands to grasp her throat and forced her head to turn, exposing her neck. Shae fought with new resolve, but he didn’t give an inch. All she did was wear herself out, and her throat dried at the realization that he intended to bite her.

“Darryl, you don’t want a Keith as a shifter, and it doesn’t matter anyway. My family will only kill me. We don’t take prisoners.”

He laughed. “You’re a dumb bitch.”

She frowned. “Fuck you!”

Instead of the blow she expected, he leaned down and licked her cheek. She gagged openly this time, and he growled. “First, I’m going to make you a wolf. That’s necessary. You know why? Because I can’t make you my true mate until you’re a wolf. Oh, I heard about your sister Shiya and how she took two bear shifters on. That’s what gave me the idea. They’re idiots, though, and I’m smarter. See, they might be mated to her and will follow her wherever she goes, but she’s a free agent. She can decide today or tomorrow to leave them.”

“But you want to control me.”

He tapped her jawline with a finger from the hand holding her around the throat. “Bingo. As alpha, I can control my pack, and once you’re a part of my pack, I can control you to a certain extent. You could still decide to betray me. But as my mate…”

His wicked grin stole her ability to breathe, and he shook her a little as if to remind her to take a breath. She pulled in a bit of air. Fresh tears burned her eyes, and a knot formed in her throat.

“As my mate, you will be devoted to me. In fact, you will live and breathe devotion to me. You will betray your own family for me. Got it, Shae? You, baby girl, are going to be all mine. First I change you, and then I mate you. Then together
we
rule the Keiths. It’s a perfect plan.”

Hot tears rolled down the side of her face, into her hair. “Darryl, think about—”

“No more talking.” His teeth sank into the base of her throat, and he covered her mouth with a heavy hand just as she screamed. Blackness danced around the edge of her vision as the pain blossomed beyond reason. He sank his bite deeper, ripping cruelly into her flesh. A moan escaped him, but she thought it had more to do with the triumph of beginning his plan than an enjoyment of the taste of her blood. He didn’t drink, but let the thick liquid roll down her neck, onto the carpet. Soft whimpers echoed in the room, and it took a while for her to realize she made the noise. After some time—she might have passed out—the pressure on top of her disappeared. She didn’t see him get up, but heard him moving about the house.

A light clicked on, and the toilet flushed. The sink water came on, and Darryl hummed. All throughout Shae’s body, her muscles spasmed, but she had no strength to rise from the floor or to call out. The spot where Darryl bit her burned, and the poison he had set loose in her blood seemed to spread fast, down her neck, across her chest, and farther.

The bastard returned and stooped over her. He pulled her eyelid back, alerting her to the fact that her eyes were shut. She’d had no idea. He continued to hum and moved his hand to her neck. A thumb brushed over the wound, forcing a squeak from her. She could muster no more than that.

“I guess I’ll give you a break and put you to bed.” He lifted her without effort and carried her to the bedroom. The light he turned on made her wince, and the throbbing headache she’d developed intensified. Standing over her, he played with the material of her torn dress. “This is all mine now, but don’t worry. I’m not ready to fuck you yet. See, the way I like it, a human woman couldn’t take it. I’d break you. When you’re fully wolf, then we’ll fuck like bunnies.”

He laughed at his own joke, and she turned her head. From the curse, she figured he didn’t like her attitude.

“You’ll think I’m funny soon enough.”

“Because you’ll force me to?”

His heavy steps led to the door and out to the kitchen. Soon she heard the front door open and close. Seconds after, an engine roared to life, and Darryl was gone. Shae lay where she was, uncovered, with the light beaming down on her. The fever and delirium started sometime later, and she didn’t know if it was day or night, if she would live or die.