“Yeah, for my five minutes of fame. Then what?”
“We’ll handle it, Belle. The Woolven gift to you.”
She shook her head, more to quell the surge of hope in her chest than anything. “You’re making some mighty big promises, Parker. Promises your family might think are too much to honor.”
“I’ve got dark secrets of my own, Belle.” He took her hand. “And if my family won’t honor my promises, I will. I swear I won’t let anything happen to you.”
That’s when Belle was sure she was fucked, when she looked up into his earnest hazel eyes and saw how much he believed everything he told her. The passion behind it. She let herself believe that safety and freedom could be had together, and that his promises were more than fool’s gold.
“Okay, Parker. We’ll try this sham. I’ll be your temporary wife.”
Because for a vampire, everything was temporary in the unending time that yearned before them. Even matrimony with a werewolf.
Chapter 3
He wanted to eat her.
Parker salivated just thinking about it. Goddess, she was beautiful. And delicious. So delicious. He totally understood his brothers and wanting to devour their mates.
Not that she was his mate.
She wasn’t. He wouldn’t let himself even think about that.
But she did want to be eaten just as badly as he wanted to eat her. Her pheromones were spraying all over the place.
Parker supposed in the car on the way to the airport probably wasn’t the best place. It wasn’t a Woolven-proofed vehicle and driver. Just some poor bastard trying to making a living, but damn, was it ever tempting.
She looked over at him and arched a brow. “Stop it.”
“I’m not doing anything.” He was usually good at playing innocent. Being the youngest in a family of troublemakers, he had to do everything bigger, badder, and with much more efficiency.
“You know exactly what you’re doing.”
He couldn’t help the smirk, not that he really wanted to. “So do you.”
“Me? I’m just sitting here.”
“Being all hot and delicious.”
“Referring to me as food really isn’t as sexy as you think it is.” She licked her lips.
“Really?” He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “I was thinking about eating you like a peach. What’s not sexy about that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. The whole mortal danger thing?”
“Excuse me, but I do believe that’s part of the thrill.”
“Not so much. I don’t really fancy being strung up and slaughtered like a pig. Not on my list of things to do.”
He narrowed his eyes. Did she know what he was? On the one hand, that would make life a lot easier. On the other, how did she know? What was she? She had vampires on her ass, that was all he knew.
That, and she was suddenly defensive. He could smell it. Parker was less direct than his brothers. He had a more sly approach. So he was content to unravel her slowly. Of course, he wanted to do it with his teeth and his tongue, but he could be patient.
“It wouldn’t be a slaughter. It’d be a feast, though.” He licked his lips.
“You’ve got a one track mind.”
“You’re right about that.” He winked at her.
“If this were any real kind of marriage, you wouldn’t let your wife leave the bedroom—” she pretended to count on her fingers “—ever.”
“Still might not.” He grinned. “With your permission, of course.”
She opened the mini bar and pulled out a bottle of champagne. “Why not, right? To celebrate our nuptials?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “Why not?”
She swigged directly from the bottle.
She was obviously afraid.
He didn’t like that at all. “Hey, you’re safe with me. You know that, right?”
She handed him the bottle. “As safe as I can be.”
“Even if they know where you’re going, even if they find you, where I’m taking you—” he shook his head “—it won’t end well for the uninvited.”
“Why? Do you have some magick power I don’t know about?”
He decided to test her reaction. “Actually, yes. We have a witch.”
At that, he smelled something like fear, and it hadn’t come from Belle. The driver was terrified. He’d forgotten they didn’t have a Woolven employee.
Sloppy, Parker. Sloppy.
Except there was no reason for him to be terrified.
“Pull over,” he drawled.
“Sir?” the driver asked.
Parker schooled his body’s reactions carefully. He didn’t change his expression. Didn’t stiffen his spine. He kept his usual playboy carriage, sprawled out as if he didn’t have a care in the world.