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Wickedly gorgeous beyond words, Blair was the type of wild beauty that every man yearned for. Every inch of her was lithe and lean, and when he pulled her close to savor the embrace, he had to fight his inner beast to let her go. He doubted she would ever let him see the truth behind those sapphire eyes … not when she so vehemently protected her independence.
Exhaling into the void between them, he covered her with the plaid blanket and exited the cabin soundlessly. A sharp morning breeze slapped at his face as he walked toward the small pile of logs, his mind murky with thoughts of sleep. He hadn’t finished chopping firewood in light of his injury, but there was more than enough for the time being.
As Kaien gathered several under his arm, they clanked together, echoing into the surrounding wilderness. But the shadowed woods around him had grown ominously silent, the forest suddenly still.
Every supernatural instinct roared to life as he froze midstride. The hair on the back on his neck prickled when a muted growl sounded from behind him. Making no quick move, he turned to face the wolf that now stood between him and the doorway to safety.
Grey with a splash of white running along her belly, the wolf bared her teeth before loosening yet another low growl.
Without his abilities, Kaien was no better off than a human. While he retained some of this strength, he was weaponless, the axe lying uselessly by the chopping block several yards away. He’d never make it inside the cabin without the wolf going for his throat.
This was bad.
The tense standoff ended as the wolf lunged at him. Dropping all but one piece of firewood, Kaien wielded the remaining piece like a baseball bat, striking out at the wolf’s skull in a last-ditch effort to protect his own throat.
It connected savagely, the sudden yelp of the wolf cutting off as its body hurtled across the clearing. But Kaien wasn’t out of the woods yet—literally or figuratively. A second animal charged toward him in a flash of fur, fangs bared. Kaien adjusted his grip on the firewood, shards of the timber splintering into his hands.
This time, the wood connected with the predator’s shoulder, jolting the animal off to the side but not deterring his progress. With a second lunge, the wolf’s muscular body slammed into Kaien, taking him to the ground and forcing the air from his lungs.
Razor-sharp teeth snapped at him inches above his face, Kaien calling on every ounce of strength he could muster to keep them at bay. Adrenaline burned through his veins.
A bellow rasped from his throat with the effort he was expending, heaving the wolf off him little by little. But then, the wolf was suddenly gone, the space above him clear.
And a far more ferocious hiss silenced the forest.
Struggling to climb to his feet as he gulped air into his lungs, Kaien found himself staring at his protector. Before him, Blair’s elongated fangs bared in response to the other predator in the clearing who was swiftly retreating, tail tucked in submission.
Awestruck by the feral magnificence of the vampire before him, he didn’t immediately notice the dead wolf at her feet nor the spot of blood that swelled on her shirt. When she staggered slightly, he lunged for her and enveloped her in his arms. Her eyelids drooped for half a moment before she pressed her nose into his neck and inhaled.
“You smell lovely.”
He choked on a laugh, wrapping himself around her protectively. “Okay, femme fatale, let’s get you back inside before they bring back their friends.”
Coiling an arm around her back, he carefully swung her into his arms and hastened back to the cabin. Eyeing the woods around them, his attention was drawn back to the siren in his arms when she nuzzled suggestively into his neck, her lengthened incisors delicately brushed against the sensitive skin.
Once they’d made it inside, he booted the door closed securely behind him, entirely opposed to round two. Setting her on the couch with a grunt, Blair’s eyelids lowered minutely, her gaze wavering. But her tongue, surprisingly, was loose.
“Kaien, do you even like me?”
His hands, swiftly at work removing the tattered shirt that hung off her petite frame, stilled for a half a second before he regained his composure. He caught her gaze and struck up a sincere smile, his eyes glinting with humor at her looniness.
“Of course I like you, Blair.”
Ruby red lips twisted as though she had a secret. “Do you love me?”
He chuckled and tastefully avoided the question by retreating into his craft. His hands tenderly caressed the wounded area that’d reopened on his behalf.
“I can’t heal you, Blair, not during my recoil. The only thing I can do is offer you blood.”
As soon as he offered his wrist, she irreverently slapped it away.
Blair’s gaze became riveted on his neck. Before he had a chance to respond, she’d launched herself at the beating pulse. The force of her actions plastered him against the back of the couch, her supernatural strength pinning him between her body and the cushions.
Biting back a satisfied groan as her fangs penetrated his neck, he inhaled the delicious scent of her hair as it tickled his chin. The vampire drank deeply from his vein.
Above him, the seductive lines of her body pressed into his unforgivingly. Heat blistered through his flesh, the undeniable urge to clutch her against him a savage need. Giving in, Kaien’s arms cinched around Blair’s body, a feeling of rightness cascading through him with sudden clarity.
The bond wasn’t a mistake. Everything about it felt right, whole. Perfect.
