“Fane,” Jacquelyn growled at him.
He couldn’t help but grin. “What, Luna?” he murmured, his lips mere centimeters from hers.
“Quit making me wait.”
“Patience, my love. Good things come to those who wait.”
When she opened her mouth to give him a good tongue lashing, Fane dipped down and bit her bottom lip, tugging on it gently. Jacquelyn groaned as she pressed closer to him. Fane released her lip and pressed his to hers. He didn’t wait any longer but instead opened his own mouth, inviting her in. She never disappointed, his passionate mate, meeting his own desire with hers.
Jacquelyn lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck.
Fane dropped his hands and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her impossibly tighter against him. “I love the way you taste,”he whispered into her mind as he increased the pressure of his lips against hers, letting his tongue leisurely explore her mouth, though he knew it as well as he knew his own face.
“Why is it I never get tired of this?”she asked, the breathiness in her voice coming through, even in his mind. “Why do I want you even more with each kiss?”
“Because I’m so good at it,”he teased but then said seriously, “My desire and need for you grows daily, Jacquelyn. Don’t think for a minute you are the only one affected.”
Without breaking the kiss, Fane changed the position of his arms and leaned down, picking her up and cradling her body against his chest. He walked them unerringly to their room. He finally separated their mouths as he laid her down on the bed. Her skin was a beautiful shade of pink that started on her face and moved down her neck. He knew from experience that the blush didn’t end there.
“If there is anything lovelier than you, I’ve never seen it,” Fane said, meaning ever word. There was nothing more pleasant to look upon than his mate, and when she was looking up at him like she wanted to devour him, there was nothing more desirable than her either.
“Mate,” she said, still breathless from their kiss.
Fane nearly growled as he saw her eyes begin to glow. Apparently, it wasn’t only the human side of her that wanted him. That was a game changer. Jacquelyn had been an arduous lover from the start, but when her wolf’s emotions joined her own, things got even more intense. And no, he wasn’t complaining. “Yes, Luna?”
“Now.” Her voice had grown guttural, and her eyes were a bright, shining green.
He grinned, feeling his teeth lengthen. “Soon.”
Chapter Six
“If you don’t learn to defeat the monsters that haunt you, they will simply lie in wait, hidden in the dark recesses of your mind. They will remain so quiet that you are drawn into a false sense of security. Then, out of nowhere, they will attack and bring your world crashing down around you.” ~Zara
Two days had passedsince Vasile and Rachel used their combined powers to temporarily restrain Zara’s wolf, preventing it from overpowering her human side and forcing the girl to phase uncontrollably. Now,Zara sat in the archives clutching her chest as her heart beat painfully hard. It was pounding out a rhythm brought on by a sudden bout of fear. It was late and the mansion was still. Zara, unable to sleep, had been reading. The fear had given her no warning of its arrival. One second, she was thumbing through the book, the next, her heart was racing. Soon, her breathing followed suit, and it became erratic as well. Try as she might, she could slow neither heart nor lungs. She couldn’t understand the sudden feeling of vulnerability. Zara had been with the werewolves for weeks now and felt safer than she had in nearly a decade. But, in this moment, she felt anything but safe.
The girl fought the darkness she could feel coming on, but Zara was no match for her memories. The archival room disappeared, and Zara was suddenly chained to a concrete wall. The only light came from a candelabra set in the wall. She looked down at herself. Her nightgown had been replaced with her old familiar rags, soiled and dirty. Ander kept her practically naked. That, along with the loss of blood, caused her to shiver as if she were in a snowstorm. She knew it was just a memory, but it felt so real, too real. Her breathing increased as she realized thathemight show up in this memory. She might not simply be in his room, chained to a wall. Zara began praying to any god that would listen. “Please don’t let him come. Don’t let him come.” She didn’t think her mind could handle him touching her … biting her, again and again. Especially now that she’d found Wadim. She already felt dirty and unworthy of him. Now that she knew Wadim’s gentle and adoring touch, the thought of enduring Ander’s touch nauseated her even more than it had been when she’d really been stuck in that hell. Her head jerked up when she heard the all-too-familiar sounds of footsteps. She knew what was coming. Ander was obsessed with her. He just couldn’t leave her to suffer in peace.
Zara couldn’t stop her stomach from retching though nothing came up. She gagged over and over until her body was just too weak to continue. Then she heard his voice and screamed.
“Hello little lamb.” Ander’s voice was sickeningly sweet. Zara flailed her body violently in an attempt to get free of the shackles. “You thought you could get away from me. Silly girl, you are mine. You will always be mine. Or did you forget that I wasn’t the only one who drank blood during our time in my bed?”
Zara’s eyes shot open as she lifted her head to look at the monster who had taken everything from her. Shehadforgotten that he’d forced his blood in her. She’d forgotten how he’d held her mouth closed so she couldn’t spit it out and how he kissed her afterward, whispering wicked words in her ear, telling her how he was now a part of her. This was the worst thing that happened to her during her captivity, and her mind must have blocked the memory because she was so terrified of the repercussions. Would she never be free of Ander?She was scared to know the truth. He was dead.Wasn’t he?Could you really kill a vampire for good? She had no idea. Couldn’t his spirit reach her even after death because of the blood they’d shared? No, not shared, that implied a mutual exchange. Her blood had been ripped from her body, and his had been forced into hers. It wasn’t the only thing he’d forced on her.
Now, the vampire started walking toward her, the evil smile, the one she knew as well as the back of her hand, stretched across his face.NO.She growled at herself. This was just a memory, and she wasn’t going to endure this, not again.Wake up!She chanted it over and over, screaming at her unconscious mind to escape from the horrid place.Wake. Up.She kept telling herself, but Zara knew she wasn’t asleep. She was stuck in her own mind, and she didn’t know how to get out. As Ander drew closer, she redoubled her efforts to get free. She wished he would just kill her and be done with it. So many times when they’d been together, she’d thought that very thing, over and over. She just wanted it to be over, and if death was the only way, then she would welcome it with open arms.
“Zara!”
She heard her name, but the voice did not belong to her captor.
“Zara, come back to me, baby.”
She knew that voice.“Wadim?”
“Open your eyes for me, beautiful. I’m right here. You’re not with him anymore.”
Hearing Wadim in her mind gave Zara something to grab onto, an anchor in the storm of memories that were trying to drown her. She felt his love through the bond, felt his concern and his need to protect her. Zara felt Wadim’s arms around her and his lips on hers, his breath filling her starving lungs. Finally, her eyes opened, and the memories were shoved down deep inside of her.
When Zara’s eyes met his, they were glowing bright with the presence of his wolf, and everything in his stiff posture screamed that he was on the verge of losing control.
