PS03 - Tall, Dark & Heartless (37 page)

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"Is that all?" she repeated in disbelief. "Isn't that enough? I can't feed, Caine. I call that a pretty big goddamn problem,

wouldn't you?" she snapped, knowing she was acting like a bitch and not really being able to help it at the moment.

Right now she was scared out of her mind that she'd never learn to control this thing inside of her. If she couldn't feed

she'd go into bloodlust again and that was one thing she definitely never wanted to experience again.

She'd never experienced anything like it, not the pain, the hollow emptiness as her reality became a black smothering

void. It had been so confusing, so frightening to be aware of muffled sounds, scents and needs, but to have absolutely no ability

to form a conscious thought or to control her own actions. It was something that she never wanted to experience again. Coming

to and realizing that she'd killed someone was another thing she didn't want to experience and if she couldn't get this under

control, she was afraid of the monster inside of her taking over and doing just that.

"Shhh, Danni," Caine said as he pressed a kiss against her forehead. "You need to calm down."

"I am calm!" she snapped, feeling anxious, stressed and helpless. She hated feeling helpless.

He chuckled as he shook his head. "No, you're tense. If you want to master control over your eyes and teeth then you're

going to have to relax."

"I am relaxed," she bit out even as her muscles tightened even further.

Caine sighed heavily as he walked over to the large glass encased standalone shower and turned it on. He adjusted the

temperature before he reached behind him to grab his shirt and pulled it off, giving her a mouthwatering view.

She'd never seen a more perfect body than his, but then again the monster inside of him would have it no other way, she

realized with a start. Had her body changed at all? she wondered as she ignored Caine's questioning look and searched the

large bathroom for a mirror. When she spotted the floor length mirror on the wall she didn't hesitate in taking her clothes off

and flinging them to the side.

"What are you doing?" Caine asked, stepping up behind her.

"Nothing," she mumbled as she ran her eyes over her breasts, noting that they looked a little fuller and firmer. Her stomach

looked a little toner, but then again they had starved her for a few days, she reminded herself which could also explain her

breasts. Would this make her ass look bigger? she wondered, twisting to get a good look and sighed. It looked fine, tone, but

fine.

"Are you quite done?" Caine asked, sounding amused and for the first time she noticed that he also sounded relaxed. He

sounded almost like the Caine who used to make her feel loved, she realized. "Because if you are, I think we should focus on

teaching you how to stay in control," he said, placing a large warm hand on her bare hip.

"Oh? And how do we do that?" she asked, her voice breathless as she struggled not to get her hopes up.

She missed the old Caine. The one who used to smile easily with her, tease her and allowed her to be herself. A year or

two before he cut off their friendship it had matured to the point where he treated her like an adult with a valuable opinion and

a good friend. He'd stopped babying her and trying to fill in for her parents. She loved that time with him and apparently

missed it more than she realized. She'd give anything to have that Caine back and have what they used to have.

"Well, first we need your fangs to come down so that you can feed. You'll learn how to control this faster if you're fed and

at full strength," he explained as he held a bag in front of her.

"If it was that simple I wouldn't need your help getting my teeth down," she said as aggravation quickly replaced

nostalgia.

How exactly was she supposed to feed if she couldn't get her teeth down? She could cut the bag, she supposed as she took

it from him. Then all she'd have to do was chug it down until she couldn't drink anymore. That was her game plan, at least for

now. She was going to overfeed every chance that she got just to make sure that what happened in the woods never happened

again. Then she would-

She gasped as Caine's hand left her hip to slide up her stomach and palmed one of her breasts.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded even as her stomach tightened with need and her breasts swelled, hardening

the nipples as if preparing itself for Caine's touch.

"Getting your teeth to drop," he murmured as he bent his head to press a kiss against her neck.

"How exactly is feeling me up going to accomplish that?" she asked as she absently noted the tingle in her gums.

"Your teeth and eyes will change when you're close to bloodlust, angry or.....," he said, letting his words trail off as he

gave her breast a gentle squeeze and her neck a sexy little nip.

"Or?" she asked, breathlessly.

He licked the spot he just nipped. "Sex."

Chapter 30

"Sex?" she repeated in a daze.

"Mmmhmm," he said, pressing one last kiss against her neck before he stepped away from her. "Eat," he said, gesturing to

the bag of blood in her hands.

"What?" she asked, absently licking her lips as her eyes trailed over his chest, making him chuckle. She was so damn

responsive to the simplest touch. That knowledge had him biting back a groan. This was going to be one lesson he fully planned

on enjoying.

"Eat, Danni," he said, once again gesturing to the bag.

She shook her head as if to clear it. "But, my teeth-"

"Are down. Drink so that we can move on with this lesson," he said, reaching for the button of his jeans and noting the

way her eyes followed the movement.

"Drink, Danni," he said in a soft seductive whisper as he undid the button.

"Drink, right," she said with a small nod as she forced herself to focus on the task at hand.

He watched as she reached up and ran her finger over the tips of her fangs and sighed. "Sex," she mumbled to herself.

"Gonna have to remember that," she said as she brought the bag to her mouth.

"What are you going to have to remember?" he asked absently as he reached out and helped her by taking the bag from her

and giving it a light squeeze to force the blood to the top of the bag to make it easier for her to puncture it without making a

huge mess.

"To be careful when I'm going to have sex," she said, frowning down at the bag as if she still wasn't sure how she should

go about it.

He had to chuckle at that. "I'm not going to care if your fangs are down during sex." In fact, it would probably turn him on

even more, especially if bit him while she-

She snorted as she carefully took the bag away from him. "I'm not talking about you, Caine."

"Then who the hell are you talking about?" he demanded, doing his best to keep his temper at bay. He was mistaken. She

wasn't talking about having sex with another guy. He'd obviously misheard her.

"If I ended up seeing a man, a human," she clarified, further pissing him off, "then I don't want to scare him off and I really

don't want to lose control. So I'm going to have to learn how to control this
thing
," she said, absentmindedly gesturing to her

face as she continued to study the bag of blood, "so that I don't hurt him."

"I see," he said through clenched teeth as he watched her sink her teeth into the bag. He watched impassively as she took

her first swallow and gagged.

"Keep drinking," he said, reaching out and forcing the bag to remain where it was while she glared at him, but she didn't

drink, he noted.

Did she really think that he was going to stand by why she allowed other men to touch her? He'd kill any male that touched

her and really she should know that by now. Maybe this connection wasn't as strong on her end yet, something he hadn't

considered. Perhaps he should test it out.

"Then you have no problem if I have sex with other women," he mused as he noted as her eyes turned red, glowing with

intensity before the last word left his mouth. They narrowed on him as a cute little growl escaped her.

"Don't like that idea?" he asked, feeling somewhat comforted by her reaction, but he wouldn't be completely satisfied until

she realized that she was his mate, his to touch, to protect and to fuck. Once she realized that she wouldn't want another man,

never mind allow one to touch her.

She yanked the full bag off her teeth to answer him. "I don't care," she said, but he noted her hand tightening around the

bag, squeezing out some of the blood and knew that she was probably having a few murderous thoughts of her own about any

woman that touched him. Good, they were making progress.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his lips twitching with amusement as he watched her trying to control her rage.

"
Yes
," she practically hissed.

He shrugged like it was no big deal as he took the bag of blood away from her and carefully tossed it into the trash,

making sure that blood didn't splatter everywhere. "Then I guess we should get on with the lesson."

"Let's," she bit out tightly.

"Retract your fangs," he said as he reached for his zipper and slowly pulled it down, loving the way she struggled not to

watch.

When he had it down she admitted, "I can't."

"Then I'm going to have to show you, but first you're going to have to clean up." At her questioning look he explained,

"You still have traces of blood on you," he looked pointedly at the blood drying on her hands and arms. "You need to be able to

focus and if you can scent blood it's going to make it more difficult."

She looked down at her hands with a sigh. "Fine," she said, marching past him and stepping into the shower stall. He

wasn't too surprised when she adjusted the temperature and made it hotter. She did seem to enjoy hot water.

Maybe when everything was settled he'd take her to his villa in Italy. He hadn't been there in decades, but it used to be one

of his favorite places. It was large, beautiful and boasted several hot springs. He could just imagine Danni lounging in the one

overlooking the ocean. She-

Would never go there, he reminded himself as he made quick work of stripping out of his clothes. Once he showed her

how to control her teeth and eyes, which he planned on accomplishing tonight, he was going to take her to her new home. He'd

called in about a dozen favors from Jax and now had the perfect hideaway for Danni.

It was an old home the pack hadn't used in nearly a century and it was absolutely perfect for her. The house was deep in

the woods and the nearest neighbor was a hundred miles away. The property spanned several hundred acres of woods and it

was completely inaccessible except by foot. The property was also surrounded by government protected property so he didn't

have to worry about anyone finding her.

He'd have blood dropped by helicopter twice a week and whatever supplies she might need, but other than that she'd be

on her own for a while. He had a few things to take care of and once he was done he'd check up on her. He'd do his best to stay

with her for a week or two, but he knew even that might be a bit much. He wasn't at the point in his life where he needed a

solitary life yet and it wouldn't be fair to her to make her think that she could get him to stay. He also wasn't ready to settle

down with a mate. Danni would hate being alone, but that didn't matter.

With a resigned sigh, he joined her in the shower. He ignored her pointed look to leave and quickly washed up, admittedly

enjoying the show as she washed herself. They'd hit the airport tomorrow, fly to Washington and make the hike to her new

home. Once she was settled he'd leave. Getting her up there and settled would probably take a week and he damn well planned

on enjoying his mate while he did it, starting with tonight's lesson.

******

"What's the rush?" he asked with a chuckle as he tossed his towel aside and walked towards her with a predatory gait.

"No rush," she lied as she forced herself not to stumble back into the bed or the very least lick her lips as she ran her eyes

over his body. The man really was a work of art. Her tongue couldn't decide which playground to visit first. There were the tan

sculpted muscles, that delicious tattoo dying to be traced or should she start with the piercing held up proudly by his jutting

erection? This was about getting control, she reminded herself.

She needed to learn how to control herself at least well enough to get to Pennsylvania without being noticed and if she had

to have sex with this man to do it then that was just the sacrifice that she was going to have make, she thought holding back a

smile as he stepped past her and slowly walked around her. His gaze felt like a caress that sent shivers throughout her body and

damn if her fangs didn't slide down again.

"You're letting your emotions control you," he said in a chiding tone. He stepped in front of her and met her eyes dead on.

While she was turned on and unable to hide it, he didn't have that problem. He was obviously aroused. The thick cock pointing