They clamp an ice cold hand over my mouth and drag me away, their scent washing over me instantly.The vampire.The same one who attacked me earlier. My senses are on overdrive, and I drown in his unique aroma. Shadow and smoke with a hint of something alluring hidden beneath. Without thinking, I drink in more of him to try and distinguish that elusive note, my lungs burning as I inhale the toxic fumes surrounding us.
It’s just an illusion, butfuck, do my eyes water.
An amused laugh falls past his lips. “You’re a wild little thing, aren’t you?” Spinning me around, he pins me to a jagged rock and locks my wrists beneath his slender fingers. Despite the battle raging, there’s not a scratch on him. I drag my gaze over his perfect bone structure until I latch onto a dark vein along the side of his neck, the only visible blemish on his otherwise ivory skin. It disappears beneath his open collar, dipping so low that he tips my chin up when my gaze travels toward his navel—but not before I spot the dagger he stole from me strapped to his waist.
“Bold, too,” he muses, a sensual smirk on his lips. “Scenting meandundressing me with your eyes.” He clicks his tongue to scold me, but there’s no heat behind it. “How intimate.” Crimson eyes glitter like blood diamonds as the vampire’s gaze lingers. “What would your wolf say if he saw you like this? Would he be concerned for your well-being or . . .” He drags blissfully cold knuckles across inflamed skin on my stomach, making my muscles clench. “As intrigued in your body as I am?”
“Fuck off,” I hiss, lifting my knee to his crotch.
He catches my leg easily and sweeps his palm up the back of my thigh, then holds it steady. “You’re very responsive.”
“Haven’t known many shifters, have you?” I flash my fangs at him. “We’re temperamental.”
“Body over mind, yes,” the vampire mutters, nodding subtly. “You use your bodies as weapons more than your wits.” He presses his thumb to the pulse point at my wrist, his eyes flaring as he feels my heartbeat flutter. “And how is that going for you, little wolf?”
Where does he get off on all this monologue?
I struggle against his hold before my adrenaline fades. “Fucking perfect. Let go of me, and I’ll show you.”
Ignoring my comment, he presses his lips to my ear. “Perfect, hm?” He presses the tips of his sharp fingernails into my skin. “So perfect that you don’t feelthis?” His hand suddenly slips from my leg swipes through the gash at my waist, coating his fingers in my blood and reigniting the pain I’ve fought to keep at bay.
I grit my teeth against the burning pain as my gut churns.
“Shifters have enhanced healing abilities,” the vampire muses, lifting his hand so that we can both admire the blood on his fingers. “But you seem to be the exception.” He stares into my eyes, and the chaos of the world around us fades. My thoughts quiet into a dull hum pressing against my skull. “Why?” he asks.
The truth flows freely. “I don’t know, I—I’m different.”
He holds my gaze a moment longer. “How interesting.” Releasing me, he takes an elegant step back and cradles his bloodied hand in the other. “You are an anomaly among your kind, yet you seek their approval.”
I inhale sharply. How the hell does he know that?
“But I can give you something better than flimsy promises and a family that doesn’t want you.”
Indignation rises within me. “Stay out of my head!”
His smile is as cold as his touch. “That’s what you desire, isn’t it? More than power—more than sex—you want to be cherished for who and what you are.” He runs his bloodied hand down his bare chest and shivers with apparent delight. “And what are vampires if not eternal devotees to their mates?”
You’ve gotta be kidding me.
“Are you pitching yourself to me right now?” I stare in disbelief as I peel myself off the rock face. This vampire gets one whiff of my blood and suddenly wants to mate with me? “We’re in the middle of combat!”
He tilts his head to the side. “We don’t have to be.” Holding out his hand, he gestures for me to come closer. “Come. We can leave the trial and become better acquainted under less barbaric circumstances.”
I clench my fists and realize that my claws have retracted. “Thesebarbariccircumstances matter more to me than some arrogant bloodsucker’s lackluster seduction attempt.”
The vampire’s eyes turn black before he calms himself. “Were I merely attempting to bed you,” he murmurs, “you’d already be on your knees.”
I snort. “With your cock in my mouth, right?” How fucking original.
The slow curve of his lips makes my heart stutter. “With your clit pulsing beneath my tongue as your body writhes over my face.” To emphasize his point, he licks his lips. “Your blood isn’t the only part of you I want to taste, Wildflower.”
Ignoring the heat blooming across my cheeks, I force myself to laugh. “The last man who tried to touch my pussy got a knife to the dick.” I leave out the part about cutting Revyn’s thigh instead of his cock. “So unless you want one less appendage to enrich that eternal life of yours, I’d keep your seduction plans to yourself.”
“Being someone’s mate is more than being lovers,” he continues, undeterred. “It’s inviting another soul to rest beside yours. Becoming more than one’s own flesh. Sharing the very magic that keeps you alive.” His scarlet eyes glitter in the fading light. “There is nothing more intimate, more sacred, than a bond between mates.” Nodding toward me, he takes a small, unnecessary breath. “If you want a mate who not only understands who you are but welcomes you into the very fabric of their soul…” He sweeps his arms out and bows gracefully. “Then look no further than the man standing before you.”
Invisible threads of magic weave a tapestry behind him, blocking out the illusion of rotting wilds and replacing it with a lavish bedchamber. Twisting vines made of silver-veined marble flow from floor to ceiling, cradling a lush round bed dripping in crimson fabrics that ripple like a pool of blood. The open balcony reveals a twinkling starscape while a roaring fire banishes the harsh winter chill. Books litter the floor in piles waist-high, with more than one cracked open to mark the chapter and page. A breeze rustles dark, heavy curtains and swirls white rose petals across polished floors.
It’s as pretty of a picture as the man himself, both emanating a level of confidence that I can only dream of possessing. But what he’s offering is the opposite of everything I’ve experienced andway too intensefor me to process so suddenly. “I don’t know you,” I say after a moment, “and you clearly don’t know me.”
