Dark Promises(92)

“If that is the case, we will go to the Carpathian Mountains, although I must warn you, kislány, I am beyond ancient. Darkness dwells in me, and I will never be fully rid of it. I have demons that I cannot always overcome. I am from very ancient times. That means, no man touches my woman. He does not put his hands or his mouth on her. He does not hug or kiss her in greeting. Your body is for me alone. All of you. I do not know how long I will be able to tolerate others in close proximity, but for you, I will try. I have seen the long hours, days you put in and, more recently, the nights you have been putting in working. When I tell you enough, there will be no arguing. You will come with me. To me. Do you understand this?”

She was a modern woman and why that would thrill her, she didn’t know, but not only did it thrill her, she was damp immediately. She nodded. “Sometimes, when I’m working, I forget the time. You’ll have to . . .”

He leaned over and bit her at the junction between her neck and shoulder. Hard. Sinking his teeth in just a little bit. “No. You will comply. I will give you time for your work, but your first duty is always to me. You will come to me when I call to you.” His mouth moved against her skin, his tongue lapping at her, taking the sting away. “When I want your body, wherever you are, you will give yourself to me.”

She loved that, too. “If I want your body?” she challenged.

“Do I belong to you?”

She didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

“My body belongs to you. That is not to say, if you need punishing, I will not prolong your wait.”

He sounded far more sensual than threatening, and she shivered. “If that’s the case, Aleksei, I want your body right now. I want your mouth back on my breast.”

“My lifemate. She needs her man’s cock often.”

“She needs her man all the time. But yes. I’m very, very fond of your cock.”





14


Trixie was absolutely furious. She was too old for this crap. Having men dictate what she could or couldn’t do. Silencing her with a wave of their hands. A wave. What was up with that? She wasn’t living with that kind of power in a man. No way. Not happening. She went with Fane because she had no choice, but the moment they were back in his ugly shell of a house and he released her, she broke away from him and stomped across the dirt floor to her backpack.

“I’m leaving. I’m going home,” she announced, without looking at him. She couldn’t look at him. Or be close enough to feel his body heat or inhale his scent. There was something about him that worked on her like a magnet and she wasn’t taking any chances. “I will not be treated that way. That man is abusive to that girl and he was to me. You continued . . .” Her gaze fell on her pack, suddenly right there in front of her.

“Trixie.”

Fane simply said her name. Gently. Softly. His voice so low she barely caught the thread of sound, yet it vibrated right through her body along with his song. She could hear that, too. She could even see the musical notes floating around the room. His. Hers. Her notes filled in the symphony and it was beautiful. Still, she wouldn’t look. Wouldn’t acknowledge it. She needed to go home. More, she was going home and no one was going to stop her. Not even the hottest man on earth who gave her mind-shattering orgasms for the first time in her life.

She grabbed the worthless vampire-hunting kit and started discarding the things that didn’t do her a bit of good. She wasn’t about to carry anything she couldn’t use. She was keeping the gun and extra stakes because it was the only weapon available to her. While she stuffed the vials and stakes into her pack, she found a magazine and pulled that out. It looked harmless enough, but she’d learned one could use that innocent-looking item as a very good defense.

She knew she was panicking. She’d only panicked twice in her life. The first time had been when her parents threw her out onto the street because she was pregnant. It had taken three solid days of sobbing in the corner of an alley before she stood up, determined to make a life for herself and her child. The second time was when she stood over her daughter’s body watching the life drain out of her while the doctors frantically tried to save her. Both times, she couldn’t breathe.

Even as she stuffed her belongings back into her pack and tried to roll up the sleeping bag, she found she couldn’t get enough air. She was a fool. Such a fool. How could she have been so stupid? She wasn’t fifteen anymore. She knew one didn’t risk their entire family, their life for a brief fling. And that’s all this would ever be. A fling. Because for one moment, this man—a total stranger—had made her feel beautiful and sexy. He’d made her feel like a woman, not an empty shell.