They reappeared in the middle of the grounds of the mansion, the manicured lawn stretching around them and glittering with dew. Elissa shivered, the cold air instantly chilling every inch of exposed skin. She should have put a jacket on before letting him teleport her. She tipped her head back and stared up at the crisp moonless sky above her. Bright stars twinkled and winked at her. She drew in a deep breath and sighed it out, the sight of the universe on display above her relaxing her.
Witches always felt an affinity to nature and whenever she was out in the open, surrounded by greenery, she felt as though she had come home.
Payne moved against her, his arms still around her waist, his cool breath caressing her face. She lowered her eyes and froze as they found his were on her throat. The light from the mansion behind her was weak but enough for her to see where he was looking and that he was thinking very naughty things. She could see his fangs between his sensual lips.
Elissa swallowed her nerves and the action caused him to frown and hold her closer. It seemed he could deny his incubus urges but his vampire ones were more difficult to control. It was definitely his stronger side and that was a problem. She needed his incubus side at the fore, and the only way she could think of bringing it out in him was pleasure. She needed him to give in to his desires. He stared at her throat and the longer he gazed upon it, the faster her breaths came, until she was panting with anticipation in his strong arms.
“Payne?” she whispered, breaking his reverie. His eyes slid to her and the look in them would have knocked her on her backside if he hadn’t been holding her so tightly.
A man had never looked at her with such intense desire and need before.
She risked it.
She wriggled her arm free from between them and raised it to his face. The moment she made contact, her palm cupping his left cheek, he sucked in a sharp breath, closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.
He growled. Not in warning this time. It carried unadulterated hunger.
He clutched her closer and her eyes widened, skin flushing with prickly heat. Oh, mother earth. His hardness pressed into her belly and all manner of wanton naughty thoughts cascaded through her mind.
Gods, kiss her.
She needed to be kissed.
He dipped his head, his mouth nearing hers. She couldn’t breathe. She slipped her hand around the nape of his neck and tried to make him move quicker.
Payne tore away from her and distanced himself, instantly placing over ten feet of grass between them. He stood with his back to her, shoulders heaving with his breaths. Elissa cursed herself. Too fast. She should have let him set the pace and maybe she might have had that taste of him she so desired.
Craved.
Now she wasn’t sure what to say. Things had turned strained between them again. She paced back and forth, her eyes on the stars, searching for inspiration. How could she get him to give up his restraint and unleash that passion on her? She knew it was the key to making him accept his incubus side. He only needed to feel at one with it for long enough to know where to teleport them.
Payne gruffly muttered something and started towards the woods. It seemed their walk was still on the agenda. She had promised to help him get the ring he needed after their walk. Clearly, he wanted to keep his end of the bargain. He was going to be disappointed when she insisted she came with him to the incubi hideout and refused to change her mind.
Elissa fell into line, keeping the ten-foot gap between them. He looked as though he needed the space and she intended to prod a little and try to find out more about him. She liked the thought of a ten-foot lead. If he attacked, she would have the split second she needed to mutter a spell and escape.
“Do you know much about your kind?” She eyed him. No reaction other than jamming hands into jeans pockets. He did that a lot. It reinforced her feeling that he liked to keep to himself and kept everyone at arm’s length, if not further, from him.
“Vampires?”
Elissa couldn’t find her voice to answer. She shook her head. His expression darkened, giving her the impression that he denied everything about his incubus side, right down to its existence. Why?
What had happened to the male beside her to make him turn on himself?
What had made him hate himself?
Elissa wouldn’t stop until she knew.
Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance by Jennifer Ashley, Alyssa Day, Felicity Heaton, Erin Kellison, Laurie London, Erin Quinn, Bonnie Vanak and Caris Roane
CHAPTER 4
Payne could feel the questions bubbling inside her and he knew that she wouldn’t be able to resist voicing them forever. He wanted her to. She was beautiful, bewitching, and he couldn’t deny that he was attracted to her, but whenever she mentioned his incubus side, he wanted to leave and forget helping Andreu and Chica.