Lover Unbound(86)

Jane covered her face with her hands, but unfortunately that only kept her from looking at him. It was no escape from what was going on in her head. She… wanted him.

"Goddamn it," she muttered.

"What's wrong."

"Nothing." God, she was such a liar.

"Liar."

Great, so he knew that, too. "I don't want to feel like I do right now, okay?"

There was a long pause. "And how do you feel, Jane?" When she said nothing, he murmured, "You don't like wanting me, do you. Is it because I'm a pervert?"

"Yes."

The word just shot out of her mouth, although it wasn't really the truth. If she was honest with herself, the problem was more than that… she'd always prided herself on her intelligence. Mind over emotion and logic-driven decision making had been the things that had never let her down. And yet here she was, coveting something that her instincts told her she'd be far, far better off without.#p#分页标题#e#

When there was a long silence, she dropped one of her hands and looked to the door. He wasn't standing between the jambs anymore, but she sensed he hadn't gone far. She leaned forward again and caught sight of him. He was up against the wall, staring across the gym's blue mats as if he were looking out over the sea.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, you did. But it's cool. I am what I am." His gloved hand flexed, and she had a feeling it was unconsciously.

"The truth is…" As she let the sentence go, one of his brows cocked, though he didn't look at her. She cleared her throat. "The truth is, serf-preservation is a good thing and it should dictate my reactions."

"And it doesn't?"

"Not… always. With you, not always."

His lips lifted a little. "Then for once in my life, I'm glad I'm different."

"I'm scared."

He grew instantly serious, his diamond-bright eyes meeting hers. "Don't be. I won't hurt you. And I won't let anything else either."

For a split second her defenses went down. "Promise?" she said hoarsely.

He put his gloved hand over the heart she'd fixed and spoke a beautiful rush of words she didn't understand. Then he translated: "On my honor and by the blood in my veins, I so avow myself."

Her eyes shifted away from him and unfortunately landed on a rack of nunchakus. The weapons hung on pegs, their black handles lying like arms off their chain shoulders, at the ready to do mortal damage.

"I've never been so scared in my life."

"Fuck… I'm sorry, Jane. Sorry about all this. And I will let you go. In fact, you're free to leave anytime you want now. You just say the word and I'll take you home."

She looked back at him and stared at his face. His beard had grown in around the goatee, shading his jaw and his cheekbones, making him look even more sinister. With those tattoos around his eye and his sheer size, if she'd run into him in an alley she would have fled in terror even without knowing he was a vampire.

And yet here she was, trusting him to keep her safe.

Were her feelings real? Or was she in fact knee-deep in Stockholm syndrome?

She traced his broad chest and his tight hips and his long legs. God, whichever one it was, she wanted him like nothing else.

He let out a soft growl. "Jane…"

"Shit."

He cursed too and then fired up his next cigarette. As he exhaled, he said, "There's another reason I can't be with you."

"Which is?"

"I bite, Jane. And I wouldn't be able to stop myself. Not with you."

She remembered from the dream the feel of his fangs going up her neck with a soft scratching. Her body flooded with heat even as she wondered how could she want such a thing.

V stepped back into the doorway, the cigarette in his gloved hand. Tendrils of smoke rose from the handrail's tip, thin and graceful as a woman's hair.

With their eyes locked, he took his free hand and ran it down his chest, down his belly, down to that heavy erection behind the thin flannel of the pajama bottoms. As he cupped himself, Jane swallowed hard, pure lust slamming into her linebacker style, hitting her so hard she nearly went off the bench.

"If you'll let me," he said quietly, "I'll find you again in your sleep. I'll find you and finish what I started. Would you like that, Jane? Would you like to come for me?"

From out of the PT room, a moan sounded.

Jane tripped as she got up from the bench and headed in to check on her newest patient. The escape was obvious, but whatever—she'd lost her mind so her pride was hardly a concern at this point.#p#分页标题#e#

On the gurney, Phury was twisting in pain, batting at the bandage on the side of his face.