“Is your foot broken?”
“My ankle is,” he said dryly.
Blue sequins dotted the area around her. “I don’t believe this.” Her dress was falling apart. “Jasper, why are you here?” Why couldn’t her brain kick into gear? None of this made sense. “Wait a minute. Now, I remember. I’m the bait.”
Jasper chuckled. “Yes, baby. You were bait.”
She glared at him. “Then why are you here?” The guy should be smart enough to avoid being kidnapped.
“To get to you, Mate,” he said quietly.
She jerked against the restraints. “Where are we?”
“A couple of blocks down from the convention center.”
Her memory finally returned. “Wallace is in charge of the Kurjans here. He wants to kill you.”
“I’m sure.”
Fire blasted through her. Being this close to him, even chained up and freezing, awakened the nerves in her body. Especially—and unfortunately—the ones located in every erogenous zone. “Then why did you just walk into an obvious trap?” If she could smack him, she would.
“To. Find. You.” His eyes blazed an unholy green shot through with silver, possessiveness clearly stamped on his hard face.
“Oh.” She swallowed. “All right.” She studied him, trying to remain critical and ignore the fact that she wanted to lick up his neck until she reached his lips. Her mouth watered. This was exactly why she’d kept her distance. Losing control over her body was too much of a risk to take in life. “You look like a disaster. Did you fight all three of the Kurjans guarding this place?”
“Yes, and I assume they’re now waiting for Wallace.” He lifted one powerful shoulder. “While they heal multiple wounds, of course.” He rested his head back against the stone. “Apparently, Wallace and I have been hunting each other.”
Leah’s body felt too tight being this close to Jasper. What had she been thinking, having sex with him again? She knew better. While she didn’t want to be safely squired away, she’d enjoyed their long-distance relationship. She felt comfort at the fact that Jasper was out there if she needed him. Her body was beginning to do more than just need—the desire sparked by his hard-ass body was swiftly turning into an intense craving.
A dangerous one. “I’m sorry about this situation, Jasper,” she said quietly.
“We’ll deal with that later. Right now, we have to get out of here.” He pulled on the chains again. They rattled but didn’t give. “I was in a fight earlier before running into the three guarding us. I’m not at a hundred percent.” He glanced at her bare legs. “However, blood would help.”
She pulled her legs in, bending her knees. “My blood?”
“Of course, your blood. Who else’s? How limber are you?”
The last time he’d taken her blood, she’d had multiple orgasms. She shook her head to force herself back to the current moment. This might be their only way out. While her arms couldn’t reach him, if she shifted toward him, maybe her feet could come close. She scooted her butt to the side and swung her legs toward him, extending her body as far as she could. It might actually work.
He lowered his head and leaned away from the wall. “All right. Kick me in the mouth.”
“Gladly.” She lifted her leg, extended it outward, and then kicked toward his face. His fangs latched on, and she cried out, but he had her. He sank them deep into her ankle. Pain ricocheted up her leg, and blood burbled from her vein.
Then desire rippled through her so quickly she failed to mask the moan that escaped her.
* * * *
At the first taste of her sweet blood, Jasper’s head swam, and his cock flared awake so quickly that his zipper cut into his flesh. He didn’t care. She tasted like the freshest lavender and vanilla concoction imaginable. Only Leah. Taking her blood when she sent packets to him didn’t come close to the warm and fresh heaven filling his mouth and body.
There was absolutely no chance of going back now.
He wanted to go forward.
His craving for her had only increased through the years, and now, as he drank from just above her ankle, something loosened inside him. With one last swipe of his tongue to close the wounds, he released her.
Her ankle dropped, and she retracted her leg, her eyes a deeper hue than he remembered. Desire wafted from her, awakening the beast at his core. It rumbled and roared, fighting its bindings, wanting to claim her again so she knew exactly what she was in this world.
His mate.
