Hunted, The Complete Edition: A Full-length Steamy Vampire Romance (New England Nightwalkers) (6 page)

Was it hot in here?

Gabriel’s low voice sounded in her ear. “You all right?”

She jerked her head toward him and met his intense gaze. “Yeah, I’m, um, I’m fine,” she lied.

Because she wasn’t fine.

She was hands-shaking, belly-clenching, panty-searing horny for a near-stranger who, up until five minutes ago, she’d suspected was a vampire. And even worse?

She was pretty sure he knew it.

H
e had only
himself to blame. Some preternatural survival instinct had blared out the warning the moment he’d seen her photo, but he’d ignored it. The second he laid eyes on her in the flesh, he should’ve called it quits. But now he was screwed.

Because she liked it.

Watching that redhead suck her Master off had affected Zara. Even now, the image of her licking her own plump lips ran through his mind, and he swallowed a groan.

She was intrigued. Was sucking cock with other people watching the little librarian’s secret fantasy, or was it more than that?

Did she want a Master of her own?

He shut down that thought immediately and steeled himself against the urges that threatened to consume him.

Don’t think about your hands in that blonde hair, working her over your cock.

Don’t think about that sweet, round ass, pink from your hand and wriggling for more.

Don’t think about taking her neck between your fangs…letting them slide through that supple flesh until the hot rush of blood fills your mouth.

It was time to go. He’d done enough to throw her off the scent and now he had to get her the hell out of here before he broke his vow.

He reached for her hand and all but dragged her into the next room. He closed the door of the dimly lit office, and willed himself to step back from her until he could get his shit together for a second. Too bad Zara wasn’t having it. She’d finally stopped clutching that stupid vial around her neck and was staring at him, her gaze still glassy and hot.

“Do you like me, Gabriel?”

“I like you fine,” he said gruffly.

“Then why are you trying to scare me off?” She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind one ear and cocked her head, her blue eyes searching his for answers. “You walked out of my house and never came back. You barely even look at me when you talk to me. Now you bring me here, tell me you’re bad, show me that place…Did I do something to offend you?”

Her words made his stomach clench with guilt. It wasn’t Zara’s fault that he couldn’t control his thoughts around her. And if she was what she seemed—just a librarian with a vivid imagination grasping at straws--she didn’t deserve what he was inadvertently putting her through.

But that didn’t change the facts. And the facts were, he wanted her.

Bad.

And if he spent any more time in her company, he was likely to do something they would both most certainly regret.

He flexed his jaw and focused on a spot over her shoulder. “In another lifetime, nothing could’ve stopped me from getting to know you better.”

“But not now,” she murmured softly.

Was she trying to torture him or was she really so unaware of the effect she had on him?

“No,” he said, shaking his head slowly. “Not now.”

Because right now, he just needed her to leave this place, and fast.

“Why?”

He sucked in a steadying breath and nearly growled out loud when a head full of her scent came along with it.

He lowered his gaze to her face, unable to stop himself. Bad idea. Her lips were parted, her pupils so large, they threatened to swallow that sea of blue.

His throat felt like he’d been sucking on gravel and he fisted his hands at his side to keep from reaching out and testing her bottom lip with his thumb.

God, the taste of her…

“Because I can’t trust myself,” he admitted softly.

“Why?” she asked again.

Something broke inside him at the question and he reached for her, using her hair as an anchor.

“That look,” he bit out through gritted teeth. “The way your cheeks get all flushed, like you’ve just been fucked.” The words he’d contained for so long poured out now, as if she was willing them from his lips, and there was nothing he could do to stop the flow. “The way you run the tip of your tongue over your mouth, that makes me want to wrap my hands in your hair and bury your face in my lap until you do the same to my aching cock. And that’s not even the half of it. If I loosen this leash, I won’t stop until I own you. Body and soul. Do you get that, Zara? Body and soul.”

Yep. That should do it. That should have her running in the other direction, never to return.

But she just stood there, rapt. Eyes wide and hot. His mouth was close enough that he could feel the warm wash of her quickening breath and it made him ache for a taste of her.

His voice dropped to a pained whisper as he took another step closer, crowding her against the wall.

“Stop looking at me like that, or I can’t be held accountable for what happens next.”

He waited, hands still bracketing the wall behind her head, not touching her, the breath sawing in and out of his lungs as he willed her to go.

Only she didn’t.

She laid a hand on his chest and stretched up onto her toes.

Her lips were so close now. Only inches from his own and already pink and full—

He grabbed her wrist and yanked it above her head so fast that her eyes widened in momentary surprise.

"There'd be no touching. At least, no touching
me
unless you have my permission. Your every move would be mine to control. You would belong to me. And if you disobeyed me—"

He swallowed past the dryness in his throat. This was not going as he'd intended.

He was supposed to be warning her off. Instead, he was just turning himself on. His cock was straining against his pants, begging for release. And with every word, her breath came faster, her breasts heaved, her nipples branding his chest through the thin cotton of his shirt.

"If I disobeyed, you’d what?" she whispered, her eyes glassy with need.

"I’d punish you and make you beg for my forgiveness." He'd meant the warning to sound rough and harsh, but instead it came out like a growl of need. An admission of truth.

He stared into her eyes for one long moment, only flicking his gaze to her mouth for an instant as the tip of her pretty pink tongue rolled over her full upper lip. God, if he could be that tongue. Or if he could taste that lip. Pull it between his teeth and suck until she moaned, desperate to feel his mouth somewhere else.

Everywhere else.

"I'm okay with begging."

He grabbed the other arm too, and held it over her head to join the first, locking her wrists together with one hand. Then, he closed his free hand over her throat. Her pulse leapt beneath his touch, and as his fingers tightened, it sped to a fever pitch.

“Close your eyes.”

The rose of her cheeks became a full-blown scarlet. She nodded, her lashes fluttering closed.

“No nodding. It would be ‘Yes, Sir’.”

Her throat worked beneath his fingertips. This was it. The point where it would dawn on her exactly how serious he was. He was torn between regret and relief at the thought of her walking out.

“Y-yes, Sir,” she murmured softly.

Shit.

The blood pulsed to his cock and suddenly all the reasons he’d had for wanting to stay as far away from her as possible seemed small compared to the weight of his need.

One taste. Just one more taste.

He swooped in and pressed his mouth to hers, groaning as her soft lips touched his. It was a mistake. The second their tongues touched, the last of his control was incinerated. He dove his hands in her hair and took her mouth, nipping and sucking. She didn’t miss a beat, matching him stroke for stroke, taking everything he had to give, leaning in to mash her ripe body against his.

His already throbbing cock bucked as he ground his hips into hers. Between her scent and the softness of her skin and the little catchy sounds in the back of her throat, she was slowly driving him mad.

He’d slid one hand back over her throat and lower…over the very top of her breasts, the swell there like a promise of dangerous curves ahead, when a familiar click sounded behind them.

Warning bells jangled in his head and he dragged his mouth from hers.

“Someone is here,” he muttered softly, taking a moment to run a gentle hand through her mussed hair to straighten it. She blinked up at him through still disoriented eyes and he moved to stand directly in front of her to buy her another moment.

When Irena walked in, she jerked back in surprise.

“So sorry to interrupt. I didn’t realize there was anyone in here and the security panel was showing the door ajar.” But as she took in the scene before her, Gabriel could see the satisfaction lighting her eyes and it sent a wave of disgust rolling through him. “I was going to come find you anyway. Michael is here now, so I was going to let you cut out early tonight.”

She thought he was doing it. She thought he’d used his powers to enthrall Zara and was seducing her to get information.

He tamped down his irritation and offered his boss a clipped nod.

“Thanks. Will do.”

Until he figured out exactly how this was all going to go down, it was better to play along.

Irena shot Zara a telling glance, backed out of the room quickly and closed the door behind her. When he turned back to face Zara, she was shaking from head to toe and staring at him through confused eyes.

“I’m sorry about that…about all of this. I’ll walk you out,” he murmured softly.

It was for the best, after all. He’d nearly taken her against the wall of his sex club like some sort of rutting beast. The animal in him that he was always trying to fight had been in control and he hated it.

Zara deserved better.

And the only way she would ever get it was if he stayed the hell away from her.

Z
ara’s legs
were still like jelly when she pulled the rental car into her driveway twenty minutes later.

What the hell had just happened?

She covered her mouth with one hand and barely suppressed a shiver. Never in her life had she been so overcome with lust, and they hadn’t even taken their clothes off.

But there was this aura about him, a barely contained power that radiated from him like a beacon. And damned if she wasn’t drawn to it like the world’s horniest moth to a flame.

She tugged down the visor to peer into the mirror, groaning at her reflection. She looked exactly like she felt. Undone. Hot and achy. She could still feel every inch of his big, hard body. Remember the way he smelled, like a crisp fall day, and a warm, crackling fire. Or the way his eyes went almost black when he saw her looking at him.

Her stomach bottomed out and she let out a soft groan.

Now that she knew the truth, it only made it worse. She never imagined that she would be so turned on by allowing a man to dominate her sexually, but what Gabriel had made her feel, just in those few stolen moments?

It was everything.

In her mind, she’d been calling her feelings for him a crush, but a crush had never felt like this. Like an itch so deep, only he could scratch it. She wanted something from that man. Something she couldn’t name, and had never had before. Something more than sex. She wanted to see what was on the other side of that dark promise in his eyes. The thing that made her whole body shiver when he was near.

And something told her that, if she wanted it bad enough, he would give it to her, warnings be damned.

There was only one thing that had stopped her from pressing him back at the club, and that was the bone-deep knowledge that she would be like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. He would open up a whole new world to her, and once she saw it, she could never unsee it.

Life would never be the same, and it had terrified her.

Strange how the very thought that had sent her running then was exactly the same one that had her popping the car into reverse and backing out of her driveway now.

It was crazy. Insane, really.

But she didn’t want life to be the same. If losing her parents at such a young age had taught her anything, it was that it was all so fragile. What if tonight was her last night on earth?

Missing out on a chance to be with Gabriel would be her greatest regret.

She’d found his address when she’d been researching him the day before, and she didn’t question the fact that she already knew it by heart.

She made the ride over in less than ten minutes, but circled the craggy, coastal neighborhood for another ten while she worked up the courage to pull into the driveway next to his truck.

His massive house was right on the water, the size alone making it stand out in a town full of saltboxes and cottages. A meticulous recreation of a Victorian home, slate gray with crisp white trim, it was a real showstopper.

But she hadn’t come to peep at his house.

She took a second to ditch the wooden stake still hidden in her boot, cheeks burning with embarrassment at the thought of him finding it, and then stepped out of the car.

The howling winds battered her, sucking the breath from her lungs as she made her way down the short path to his front door. The porch light was on, but the interior of the house appeared to be dark and silent.

Had he fallen asleep already?

The thought gave her a moment of paralyzing apprehension. She had never felt more awake. If sleep had come so easily after what had happened between them, then maybe he hadn’t felt what she did…

But before she could decide whether to run away again or raise her knuckles to rap on the heavy oak door, it was swinging open and the decision was made.

There he stood in the doorway, chest bare, dressed in only a pair of black gym pants that clung to his lean hips.

It took everything she had to tear her eyes from the sculpture that was his body.

“What are you doing here, Zara?” His gaze was shuttered, his jaw tense, as if he was on high alert.

What could she say? That she couldn’t get him out of her head? That she wanted him so badly, her body ached with it?

She wasn’t that bold.

Instead, she shrugged. “I came for you,” she said simply.

Could he hear her heart pounding? It felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest.

Say something,
she wanted to shout. But he was silent, his fathomless gaze searching her face, looking for what, she couldn’t say.

Just when she’d almost given up hope, he stepped back and opened the door wider.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

* * *

H
e’d meant
to send her away again.

Instead, as he stared into her eyes, he felt something shift inside him and he couldn’t contain it. Not while he was looking down into that face. It was like all the reasons he’d denied himself the pleasure of a woman that had seemed so clear and rational for all these years seemed to skip away from him, just out of reach.

Using powers to enthrall another was a form of rape, even if the victim didn’t know it at the time. He’d witnessed the aftermath of that in full color when his mother had slashed her own wrists with a kitchen knife from the shame of it. Thinking she had betrayed his father. Thinking she had taken a man into her bed of her own free will with her child just a few feet away.

That night had shaped his entire life.

He’d been so afraid of using his influence in error, it had felt safer to avoid the possibility altogether.

But maybe he’d punished himself for someone else’s sins long enough. Maybe it was time to let the light in again and live instead of just existing.

Zara was that light.

He could explore this with her. Respect…control…the dominant role that had been given freely instead of taken.

He was a man possessed. Possessed with the need to touch and taste, like every moment of desire and need he’d repressed for so long came rushing back in on him at once, and wouldn’t be denied.

So he would leave it up to fate.

“I’m done fighting it. I’m not going to lie, part of me wishes I could walk away and pretend I never saw you,” he admitted softly, steeling himself against her wounded eyes as he continued, “But that’s only because I’m screwed up inside.”

Her body shuddered against his, making his cock twitch in response. She opened her mouth to speak but he held a finger to her lips and continued.

“And you need to understand, if I have you, then you are mine.”

She nodded slowly, and his blood pumped hard and drained south as he looked into her eyes.

He knew exactly how he would begin. He’d played the scene out so many times in his head over the past few nights, it had begun to seem real. Like a memory instead of a fantasy.

When he bent low and scooped her into his arms, she let out a gasp.

“I can walk, Gabriel, you don’t have to--”

“No talking, Zara. That’s your only warning.”

She snapped her mouth shut and stopped wriggling, settling her arms around his neck. Her obedience sent a jolt of male satisfaction through that him rocked him to his core.

He carried her into his bedroom, kicking the door open with his bare foot. He wasted no time, setting her on the bed and then crossing the room to his closet. Her silence spoke volumes and he could feel the tension rolling off her in waves. She clearly wanted to ask what he was doing, but was biting her lip to hold back at his request.

It was a good start.

“Take off your clothes,” he murmured.

There was only a slight hesitation before the sounds of shifting cloth reached his ears. It took all his strength not to turn and watch as she stripped, but he knew the anticipation would make it hotter for them both.

Even now, her breath quickened as the sound of her zipper rang through the room like a gunshot.

He rolled his shoulders, willing himself not to blow it. Not to cut across the room and take her now, the way his body demanded. Instead, he took his time as he rifled through the closet, gathering the items he needed.

When he finally turned, though, he nearly cracked. There was Zara, completely naked, presenting herself to him on all fours like a pro.

“Is this good?”