“Why were you near that cemetery? Did you kill that poor bastard in there?”
“No.” The vampire gave one negative shake of his head.
Like I’m supposed to believe you? Vamps lie. “Then it sure is one hell of a coincidence that you were close when the guy was slaughtered.”
“I could say the same about you,” the vamp murmured. “One hell of a coincidence that you were so close when the man died.”
“I’ll just kill you now,” Aidan decided abruptly. “Make things easier—”
“I’m here for Jane.”
Aidan’s vision seemed to go red. “You have a death wish, huh? Thought as much.”
“I’m trying to do this right. I waited to talk with you first as a sign of respect. I know what you are to this city. And I don’t want a war with you.” The vamp’s words were said flatly, with no emotion.
“Smart decision.” Aidan could feel his beast, moving just beneath his skin. The wolf wanted out. The vampire had dared to tell him that he wanted Jane? Oh, the hell, no. No one else would ever have her.
Jane is mine. Just as I am hers. Always.
“My name is Vincent Connor. And despite what you think about vampires, we aren’t the enemy.”
Aidan gave a grating laugh. “Tell that to the last vamp bastard I ended. Tell that to the victims who were left dead and broken in his wake.”
Vincent looked away. “Are all werewolves good?” His voice had thickened. “Or are some of them murdering bastards that you have to end, too?”
Sonofabitch. All Aidan could do right then was growl. Because the vamp was right. Werewolves did go rogue, too, and when they did, Aidan was the one who had to stop their killing sprees.
“I am not the enemy,” the vamp said doggedly. “I am here to help Jane. I came to you because I am trying to do all of this right. I know what she is. Hell, you think you could keep her a secret? Word travels in paranormal circles, and it travels fast.”
Aidan lunged for Vincent.
But this time—the vamp fought back. In an instant, he yanked a gun from beneath his coat and pressed it to Aidan’s chest. “Silver bullets,” he said softly.
“Those supposed to scare me?” The gun was pointed right over his heart, but Aidan just laughed. “I’ve been shot plenty of times. If you fire, you’d better hope I don’t move too fast and mess up your shot…” Which he would. “You’d better hope you get enough silver in my heart to put me down because I will make you suffer so—”
“I don’t want to fire. I want you to listen.” The vamp looked down at the gun, then back up at Aidan. “I am not the enemy,” he said again.
Bullshit. “Every vamp is my enemy.”
Vincent sighed. “Will you still say that when Jane becomes a vamp?”
The wolf clawed at Aidan’s insides. “Are you threatening her?” The bastard dared? He dared?
“I want to help her. I want to help you both.” Smart vamp—he’d come packing more than just supernatural strength. “You and I both know this…situation with Jane can’t last forever.”
“Yes, it can.” And Aidan caught her scent in the air. Lavender and apples. Sweet, sensual woman. Jane. She was rushing toward him, and the last thing he wanted was for her to see the vampire.
The vampire’s head had jerked and his nostrils had flared. Vincent had obviously caught her scent, too. His face had gone slack with surprise and—
Yearning? Forget that shit. “She’s taken,” Aidan growled. “Now get the fuck…” Still, his words were barely more than a growl as he ordered, “Get the fuck out of my city…or die.” Even a silver bullet to the chest wouldn’t stop him if this guy thought he’d get his hands on Jane.
“Aidan?” Jane’s voice reached him. Worried. Desperate. “Aidan, what’s happening?”
Before he could speak, the vampire shoved him back—shoved him so hard that Aidan flew a good ten feet into the air. Someone is stronger than he let me believe. Aidan hit the side of a dumpster, and the metal groaned beneath him. He shot to his feet—
The vampire was racing toward Jane.
She’d pulled out her gun. She was aiming at Vincent. Silver bullets or wooden ones? What was she packing that night? If she fired with silver, it would barely slow down the vamp. “Jane!” Aidan roared. If that vamp tried to hurt her—
He pushed himself faster, harder, desperate to get to her. His claws reached out, ready to swipe at that vampire’s back.
Jane lifted her gun and fired.
And the vampire—
He just vanished. Fucking vanished. The bullet that Jane had shot went through the air and slammed into Aidan’s shoulder. He grunted at the impact, but kept rushing toward her. He yanked her into his arms and held her tight.
She was shaking. “He…disappeared.”
Shit, shit, shit.
“Aidan, what in the hell just happened?”
He just held her tighter as he glanced around the area. My worst fucking nightmare, that’s what. Because a normal vamp couldn’t vanish that way. Even a powerful, born vampire couldn’t do that crap.
His gaze scanned the darkness as he kept Jane locked within his arms. If that vamp came back…You’ll have to go through me before you can ever get to her.
And that was a promise he’d take to his grave.
Chapter Two
“I didn’t mean to shoot you.” Jane winced as she glanced at Aidan’s shoulder. They were at his bar, Hell’s Gate, and guilt had her stomach twisted in knots.
They’d come in the back door of the place, missing the crowds on Bourbon Street, and they’d hurriedly slipped upstairs to his office. The guy’s office was huge—and complete with its own bathroom.
They were currently standing in that bathroom and Aidan had yanked off his blood-stained shirt. Well, yanked, ripped it apart…same thing.
“I need to get the bullet out,” Jane said, biting her lip. “I wanted to get it out at the scene, but you were intent on us hauling ass away from there.”
“Because I wasn’t letting the vampire get near you.” His voice was gravel rough. Before she could say anything else, the guy shoved his claws into his shoulder and pulled out the bullet. Blood gushed.
“Jesus, Aidan! Stop! You know I hate it when you do that!”
But it was too late. With a tendril of smoke rising from the wound—and another tendril coming from his fingers—Aidan dropped the bloody silver bullet into his sink.
The legend about werewolves and silver was actually true. Silver hurt werewolves, it burned them, and the longer the silver stayed in their bodies, the weaker they became. Not that she’d ever seen Aidan in any particularly weak form but…
“At least let me wash the blood away.” She wanted to take care of him. Was that so wrong? They were in a relationship, after all. Twisted and strange, but they were together. And she’d shot him. That guilt was not going away anytime soon. She reached around him, turned on the faucet and had warm water spraying down in seconds. She grabbed a cloth, wet it, and began to wipe away the blood.
Aidan stood statue-still beneath her touch. Jane risked a quick glance up at him from beneath her lashes. His face was set in stone. Such a hard, dangerous face. Not handsome, but rougher. Sexier.
She generally found far too many things about Aidan Locke to be sexy. A smart woman would have run the instant she found out that the guy was an alpha werewolf. But instead of fleeing from him…
I always run to Aidan.
Her touch was light as she cleaned his wound, a wound that was already healing. His werewolf blood was pretty amazing. Only an alpha’s blood held that healing power.
She stepped away from him and put the cloth in the sink. Rinsed away the blood. Then watched the blood wash down the drain.
“The wound doesn’t matter.” His words were a rumble from behind her. His hand closed around her shoulder and she looked up, staring at their reflections in the mirror. He was so big, around six foot two, maybe six foot three, with wide, powerful shoulders. Hi
s hair was dark, thick, and his eyes were a bright blue. She always felt a little lost when she looked into his eyes.
She was so much smaller than him. Jane had always wished she were taller, but she knew that she looked like some kind of ballet dancer. Fragile, delicate—that was her build. She had to work twice as hard to be taken seriously at the police station, but she did it—she’d do anything for her job.
Keeping others safe had been her mission for years. Her goal, ever since she’d been eleven years old and her life had been ripped apart.
I won’t let the same thing happen to others.
But the deaths kept coming. And the monsters weren’t stopping.
Once more, her gaze fell to the sink. And the blood keeps flowing.
“He wanted you.”
She stiffened.
“The vamp in the alley was there because the asshole wanted you.” Aidan turned her to face him, caging Jane between him and the sink. “I’m not going to let him get his hands on you.”
Jane focused on keeping her breathing steady. Her heartbeat was racing in her chest and fear had tightened her muscles. “Another vamp after me, huh? Guess it must be a day that ends in Y.”
“Jane…” He growled her name. And normally, she found that growl of his crazy sexy.
“It won’t stop, we both know it.” Her voice was rough. Hard. Very close to her own growl. “The paranormals out there—they know what I am. You know. And as much as we both want to pretend things are fine, they aren’t.” They couldn’t be.
Because Jane wasn’t just a human, some mortal who’d fallen in love with a werewolf and was trying to make that weird relationship work.
According to Aidan, according to the nightmare that was her new life…she was something…more.
A vamp-in-waiting. A born vampire. If she died a violent death, then some sort of insane adrenaline burst was supposed to ignite in her blood during those last precious moments before her heart stopped beating. She would die, but only for a short time. She’d wake as a vampire—one of the strongest immortals ever.
Born vampires were exceedingly rare.
And…incredibly powerful.
Evil. Let’s not forget the evil part. She didn’t want to go from being a protector to being the monster in the dark who preyed on humans.
She didn’t want to become just like the monster that had killed her own family.
“Jane.”
Her chin lifted. “Do you think that vamp killed the man in the cemetery? Is there about to be another blood bath in the city?”
His jaw had locked. “I…don’t know. He said he didn’t.”
Her laughter was bitter. “And you believe a vampire?”
He didn’t answer. She supposed that was answer enough. Aidan generally hated all vamps. She knew he had some primal instinct to attack vamps—all werewolves did—but Aidan was able to hold himself in check better than the others. Alpha advantage in self-control and all that jazz. Curious, she asked, “How close were you to killing him?”
“Not close enough…”
Her breathing wasn’t slow. It was too fast. Fear blossomed in her chest. She hadn’t even realized a vamp had been close, not when she’d gone hunting for Aidan.
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t let him get to you.”
The vampire had vanished before their eyes. How did they know he wouldn’t reappear someplace and attack? But… “He isn’t what scares me most.”
Aidan’s hand curled under her chin. Again, he was so careful when he touched her. Like she was glass that could shatter.
Or…
A human in a werewolf’s hands.
“You scare me,” she confessed.
She saw the pain flare in his beautiful eyes, and Jane hated that she’d caused that hurt. But Jane didn’t want to lie to him. “If I change, will you be the one who comes for me?”
“You aren’t changing. You’d have to die first, and that shit will not happen.”
“But what if—”
He kissed her. Aidan’s mouth took hers in a kiss that was hot, deep, consuming. Just the way she liked. The way they both liked.
His tongue thrust into her mouth, and she gave a little moan. Her desire for him didn’t surprise her. That desire was always there, just beneath the surface. Bubbling, ready to spill out and break free.
His hands dropped to her waist, and he lifted her up so easily, sitting her on the edge of the sink. Her hands lifted to curl around his shoulders but she stopped—
His wound. Watch out for his wound.
His lips lifted from hers, just a bare inch. “Nothing you do can hurt me.” His eyes seemed to glow as he stared down at her. His beast was closer than she’d realized. “Know that. And know that you are not dying. That isn’t an option.”
Good to know. “Kiss me again.” Because when he kissed her, when the passion and pleasure swept between them, she could pretend that her life wasn’t about to fall apart. She could pretend that maybe she had a future with her werewolf.
That her life wasn’t going to crash and burn into flames.
He kissed her. Her mouth was open, ready for him, because she loved his taste. Rich and masculine. Sometimes, Jane thought she might get a little drunk off him. Her nipples were tight, eager, and they pressed to his chest. Her legs curled around his hips as she arched against him.
He was aroused. She could feel the thick length of his cock shoving against the front of his jeans. She’d rather prefer it if he was shoving into her. Thrusting them both into oblivion. That would be awesome.
Her hands slid between them. She caught the button of his jeans. Yanked it open and carefully pulled down the zipper.
He wasn’t wearing underwear. When you could shift into the form of a wolf, you had a tendency to wear fewer clothes, not more. The better to shift fast and not destroy needless shit that was in your way.
When the zipper slid down, his cock thrust toward her. Her fingers curled around him, stroking. He was hot and thick and hers.
For that moment, hers.
“Jane, don’t play,” Aidan rasped.
“Who said I was playing? But my clothes are in the way, don’t you think?”
And just like that, he’d yanked her shirt away. He tossed her bra, threw it behind them, and then he was kissing her breast. Taking her nipple into his mouth. Sucking her and making Jane gasp. He laved her nipple. Drove her wild. And she knew her panties were getting wet. “Aidan!”
He shifted her position, pushing her until her back touched the cold mirror. She kicked away her shoes and he yanked down her jeans and her panties. She was completely nude before him, and Jane didn’t even feel a moment’s hesitation. With Aidan, when they were like this, there was never any room for fear or doubt.
His hand went between her spread thighs. That dark tanned hand, so strong and powerful, touched her lightly. Sensually. She bit her lower lip. He had reinforced walls in his office—when werewolves and their enhanced hearing were close on a normal basis, it paid to invest in some serious sound-proofing—so she knew she could scream and no one else would hear.
Soon enough, Jane figured she would be screaming.
His fingers slid into her. Thrust and teased. His thumb pressed to her clit, stroking her just the way he knew she enjoyed being touched. Sometimes, she thought Aidan understood her body better than she did. Harder, a little rougher now, he stroked.
“Aidan!” She didn’t want to play. She needed him inside of her. “Now!”
But he shook his head. “Not yet.”
He dropped to his knees before her.
Strong Aidan, so powerful. So—
“I will not lose you.” His words sounded like a vow. Then his mouth was on her. Warm and wet, his tongue touched her clit and she just imploded.
The pleasure hit her with stunning force. Her head tipped back against the mirror and she gasped. Zero to implosion. She whispered his name, she rode that blast of pleasure and still…she wanted.
Him.
In her.
“Aidan!”
He rose up. His expression was harder. The angles of his face were sharper. His eyes, if possible, were even brighter. He positioned his cock at the entrance to her body. No condom. Werewolves didn’t carry diseases—they couldn’t—and she was on protection so pregnancy wasn’t an issue. They were flesh to flesh, just the way she wanted to be with him.
His hands clamped around the edge of the sink. He drove into her, hard and deep and the pleasure she’d felt just kept going. Her sex trembled with the contractions of her release, the pleasure was so fierce that her whole body shuddered.
He thrust in and out, driving deep, his rhythm fast and furious, his hands still gripping the sink so hard. She grabbed him. Her hands locked around his sides as she urged him to move even faster. To drive deeper. Each glide of his body into hers had Jane moaning. Had her—
Screaming.
The pleasure was too powerful to be contained. So she didn’t even try.
Then he was exploding within her. The hot surge of his release filled her. He drove deep once more, then stilled. His bright gaze locked on her, and Jane saw the pleasure in his stare.
Mine.
Sweat had slickened their bodies. Her breath still came in desperate heaves. She didn’t want to move but—
The sink gave a loud groan. Something shifted beneath her. She started to tumble, but Aidan jerked her up and into his arms. Jane looked back. He’d been gripping the sink so tightly…
He’d broken the granite. The sink was sliding from the wall and collapsing.
And she laughed. With a vampire, with murder…with the secrets she still had to keep, Jane found that she could laugh, with him.
Only him.
Aidan carried her out of the bathroom. They curled together on his couch. Exhaustion pulled at her, and Jane intended to close her eyes for just a moment. Just a little while. Then she’d clean up and get her ass over to the ME’s office. She’d see if Dr. Bob had examined the body. She’d see…
In a moment.
A moment…
Chapter Three
Jane was asleep in his arms. Aidan stared down at her, lost for a moment. Her thick lashes cast shadows over her cheeks. Beautiful Jane. Strong. Smart. Sexy as hell.