Crawford laughed. "I said help, wolf, not screw. I"m really not that eager to feel your claws at my throat again."
Cade lowered his head close to Allison"s cheek. The scent of roses filled his nostrils and soothed the beast within.
Before her, he would never have stood there, talking to the male vampire. Slashing and fighting? h.e.l.l, yes.
But now...
Crawford backed away.
Perhaps there could be more between vampires and werewolves. Maybe it didn"t have to just be about centuries of fury and rage and pain.
Allison looked up at him.
Maybe, just maybe, it could be about something so much better.
Allison gazed into Cade"s eyes as he thrust deep into her. A moan slipped from her even as her hands flattened on his chest.
She was above him, both her knees digging into the mattress on either side of his body.
She"d healed. They"d survived.
No more running. No more fear.
Just...
His c.o.c.k slid along her sensitive flesh.
Pleasure.
His hands were on her hips. Holding her tight. Lifting her up, down, and she moved with him. Not too fast. Not too hard.
This wasn"t like the times before. The wild fury was gone.
Oh, the l.u.s.t was still there, burning as hot as before but...
Allison leaned forward and kissed him. Her lips, open, eager, feathered over his. Her tongue pushed into his mouth.
He growled, and she knew that he liked her taste, but he didn"t thrust harder. Just kept up that perfect driving pace. Smooth, slow, so deep.
When the climax hit her, the release sent a wave of pleasure rolling through her whole body. Cade came with her, surging deep into her core.
And he held her close.
Just as she held him.
Her head lowered to his chest. Her ear pressed against him, and his heart raced so quickly, almost shaking her with its strength.
"It"s over," she whispered.
His heartbeat jumped. Then he stiffened. "What?" His hands caught her shoulders, and he lifted her up. "You"re...going with the vampires? Allison, you don"t have to, I-"
She shook her head. The flash of pure panic in his eyes made her feel braver. "I meant that we didn"t have to worry about Elsa anymore." Though the witch"s final moments would haunt her dreams-nightmares-for months to come. Dammit, Elsa should never have looked into that mirror. There were some things that folks weren"t meant to know.
If Elsa had never glanced in that mirror, would the witch have ever come after her? Would their paths have ever even crossed?
Or, just by looking into that dark gla.s.s, had Elsa started the whole chain of events that had led to her own death?
Don"t think about her. Not now.
Allison"s fingers trailed over Cade"s muscled chest. He was still inside her, growing bigger and stronger by the moment, and this-he-was what she wanted.
"I know...things won"t be easy." She"d managed to take his blood without a problem, but the thought of drinking from anyone else had her shuddering. Adjusting to vamp life wouldn"t be a quick, over-night process.
No more real food? No chocolate? No drinks?
Only blood.
Her breath sighed out. "Maybe being with me, the way I am now," not human, not anymore, "that might not be what you want." No kids. No white picket fence.
"You"re exactly what I want."
Oh, that sounded so good. Her lips started to curl. "And you"re the only man I want." Through blood and death, darkness and fire-just him.
His hand lifted and threaded through her dark hair. "We"ll take it as slow as you want. We"ve got nothing but time."
Not death.
She nodded and for the first time in weeks, her heart felt lighter.
"I"ll keep you safe and give your nights filled with pleasure," he told her, his eyes beginning to show the light of the wolf. "And I"ll stay by your side as long as you want me."
Then he"d stay with her forever because she"d always want her wolf.
Want him. Need him. Love him?
Yes.
But could he love a vampire? She was afraid to ask. Allison didn"t want- "When I look at you," Cade told her, "I see every f.u.c.king dream I"ve ever had. You make me want to be better, for you."
She lost her breath.
"h.e.l.l, I"m far from perfect, we both know that. And you could d.a.m.n well do better-"
There was no one better. Stronger.
"But let me show you that I can love you."
Her heart broke a little then.
"I can be the man you need."
Allison shook her head. "You already are." Maybe he wasn"t perfect. She didn"t want perfect. She wasn"t perfect. Far from it.
Perfect was boring.
Instead of some pristine prince charming, she"d much rather have her big, bad wolf.
They"d make their own happy ending, one that would last forever.
Forever with blood, monsters, and more than a bit of hot s.e.x.
What vampire could ask for more?
Allison smiled and bent to kiss her wolf again.
Forever.
Bound in Sin.
Chapter One.
Some bodies just wouldn"t stay buriedno matter how much dirt you shoved on top of them. Those bodies...they just kept digging out of their graves.
And chasing a girl until she was so d.a.m.n tired of running. So tired that she"d consider trading her own soul, just for a few moments of safety.
Paige Sloan stared up at the high stone walls of the werewolf compound. It had been ten years since she"d last been inside of those thick walls. Only she hadn"t been looking for protection back then. She"d been looking for love.
Will he even remember me?
Paige stood there, trembling from the coldshe hated the bone-numbing cold of Alaskaand then she heard footsteps coming her way. Strong. Determined. She sucked in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. Showtime. She just had to play this bit right and get past the guards. Paige lifted her arms into the air. "I"m not carrying a weapon!" Better to just go ahead and get that part out early.
Werewolves could be too unpredictable. She didn"t want them attacking first, then trying to get answers from her cold, lifeless body later.
The gate opened with a screech. Two men came rushing out. They weren"t carrying weapons. Then again, they didn"t need to carry extra firepower. If they wanted, she knew those two men could shift into powerful wolves in an instant.
Most humans didn"t realize the truth about the world that surrounded them. Humans thought monsters were make-believe. Just stories to scare children in the darkness of the night.
If only.
Paige knew monsters were real. They were the nightmares that walked the earth.
"Vampire..." One of the men snarled the accusation at her, and just that quickly, his claws burst from his fingertips.
Under the moonlight, she saw his nostrils flare and knew the guy had caught the scent that revealed her for exactly what she was.
A monster. A vampire.
"You want to die, vamp?" The other guard demanded. He was the taller of the two, with close-cropped, dark hair, and huge, hulking shoulders. "Is that why you"re here?"
Well, they weren"t trying to rip her open yet, so that was a good sign. Paige cleared her throat and kept her hands up. "Technically, I"ve already died." That was how she"d become a vamp and The smaller werewolf lunged at her. Smaller, but still wicked strong. He wrapped his claws around her neck and snapped, "You"re about to die again." His dark eyes promised a world of pain.
She could do without that promise. Been there, done that. Not really interested in that scene again, thanks.
Paige didn"t fight his hold, not yet. If things got desperate, then she"d be the one delivering the pain. But first... "Drake..." She whispered the name that had haunted her memories and a small, icy cloud appeared before her mouth. She ignored the cold and focused on what mattered right then. She needed these wolves...and their new alpha. "Drake Wyler."
The werewolf holding her leaned in even closer. She could see that his blond hair was long, brushing his shoulders, and his face was all hard angles and lines. "What do you want with the alpha?"
This was the part that would be tricky. Slowly, because she didn"t want to set the guys off, Paige lifted the long necklace that had fallen to rest between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She saw the blond werewolf"s eyes widen as he stared at the necklace. Stared at itthen hurriedly jumped the h.e.l.l away from her.
That was right. No other werewolves were supposed to touch her, not when... "I belong to him," Paige said simply.
And in an instant, those werewolves started tripping over themselves as they hurried to open the gate for her. Sure, they might hate her kind, but as long as she had their alpha"s protection, they couldn"t touch her.
Well, not if they wanted to keep living.
Paige stared into that wolf compound. Dark. Dangerous. But, hopefully, not as deadly as what waited behind her.
And if she could just get the alpha to overlook that little matter of her vanishing for ten years...
Then maybe she"d have a chance of surviving the coming days and nights.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
The werewolves took her into the heart of the compound. Right inside the big, three story house with heavy stone walls that stood starkly against the night.
They walked into the foyer, and the tap of her boots seemed to echo on the marble floor. Marble. The wolves were kicking things up a notch. Normally, the vamps were the ones who liked to throw around their money.
She glanced down at her scuffed boots. Not that I ever had money to toss at anyone or anything.
But it looked like Drake had plenty of money now. And one big, fancy house. This place wasn"t where she belonged, and soon enough, she"d be leaving. After she took care of a little business.
"This way." The werewolf on her rightthe blond one who"d wrapped his claws around her neck moments beforewas pointing to the stairs.
She nodded quickly and followed him up those winding stairs. Then they hurried down a hallway. Turned around a corner. As they headed down that quiet hallway, Paige got a really, really bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Are you taking me to Drake"s office?"
The werewolf beside her, the dark-haired one, just grunted.