Saved her? Good Lord. “You also almost died because of me.”
“How are you able to control yourself around me now? Especially with my arm like this? Is that why your eyes go black?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so.”
Tiny lines stacked between her brows and around her eyes, punctuating her apparent confusion. “So, your eyes darken because you want me. My blood?” Her voice was low and unmistakably husky. Why wasn’t she frightened? “I saw it happen the first time at the auction. Is the urge hard to control?”
He kept his eyes on the road as the Porsche’s headlights tunneled through the night. “Yes, incredibly hard. You had no idea that night what your innocent and unexpected touch did to me. Your hand upon my face. But it’s the hardest to control when I make love to you.” The sound of her elevated heart rate reverberated in his head and stoked the embers of his memory. “It’s during lovemaking that couples regularly share blood. The urge to take yours is almost beyond my comprehension.”
His cock hardened at the thought, and he hoped she didn’t see the bulge in his pants. He shifted slightly in his seat. There would be none of that, he thought, as his fingers rubbed anxiously over his naked wrist and what was noticeably missing there.
“What would happen if you took my blood again?”
“I would not be able to stop. I would kill you.”
A couple with salt and pepper hair—his short, hers piled atop her head in a loose bun—stood on the well-lit veranda of a huge house. Mackenzie sat up straighter in her seat as Dom maneuvered the car around the circular driveway and came to a stop under aporte-cochere.
A wagon wheel chandelier dangled from the center support. With all the river rock and the massive wood support beams, Mackenzie knew this place couldn’t be just a house. It had to be a small hotel or resort.
After climbing out of the car, he said something to the couple as he jogged around the front of the hood to help her out. When their gaze met through the windshield, an odd expression passed across his face before he scowled and turned away.
Mackenzie opened the door.
“Stay right there. Don’t get out.” What? Why? His tone prickled irritatingly under her skin, so she ignored him. Her cramped legs needed stretching.
The woman clambered down the steps with an ambling but efficient gait, bypassing Dom, and stretched out her arms when she reached Mackenzie.
“Mackenzie, this is Shirley Cartwright, and that’s her husband, Chuck.”
“Please call me Shirl.” The full-bodied woman gave Mackenzie a tight hug, crushing her against an ample bosom. Mackenzie winced, preparing to feel the stinging pain of her wound, but then she remembered. Dom had healed it.
“Don’t mind Chuck.” Shirl inclined her head toward the house. “He’d hug you, too, if he could, but Dom didn’t want him to get too close. At least, not yet.”
Mackenzie looked over and Chuck lifted a stoic hand to her as Dom took the porch steps two at a time.
“Dom didn’t give me much notice, so I hope I’ve got everything you need down there.” Shirl looked Mackenzie up and down and clucked. “He described you perfectly. Let’s hope the things I picked out from the gift shop will fit. If not, you come up tomorrow and we’ll get you situated.”
“Uh, thank you, but I’d imagine we’ll be leaving by tomorrow.”
Shirl patted Mackenzie’s hand and the lines around the woman’s eyes deepened as she smiled knowingly. “You’ve got that deer-in-the-headlights look. I think I might be able to give you some insight into all this craziness.” Mackenzie raised her eyebrows. Was it that obvious? “We’ll talk tomorrow. Go. Get some rest. You must be exhausted after what you’ve been through. Dom’s a good man, dear. But then you knew that, didn’t you?”
Dom returned and with his hand at the small of her back, he guided her across what appeared to be an expansive lawn, though she couldn’t be sure in the dark. Strings of draped twinkly lights illuminated the oyster-shell pathway and, as their feet crunched on the packed surface, the sound of the nearby surf intensified.
Before she could protest, Dom stooped in front of her and hoisted her up, piggyback style. A surprised squeak escaped her lips and with one little hop, her arms and legs wrapped comfortably around him as though she belonged exactly here.
When they reached the edge of the bluff, waves hit the beach in the darkness and she saw just the hint of white crests before they faded to black. If she focused on a point slightly away from the waves, didn’t look at them directly, she could see them better.
After passing three other cabins, Dom bounded up the steps of the last one. The interior was airy and clean with a wall of windows marking the view, framed by an automatic blind system similar to the one in his loft. The living room functioned as a great room, with the kitchen in the back and a small dining table off to the side. A short hallway ran next to the kitchen and two doors led to what were probably the bathroom and a bedroom.
“Why don’t you freshen up? It’ll do you good to wash away the night. I’ll see what there is for you to eat before I leave.”
“You’re leaving?” An invisible hand wrung out her insides.
And then he was there, wrapping his arms around her. His fingers slipped up into her hair, running across her scalp before he grabbed a handful and pulled her head back. Her parted lips tingled in anticipation of his kiss.
He abruptly dropped his hands and stepped away. “We’ll talk about this after you eat. Now go.”
Disappointed, she shuffled toward the bathroom. A shower did sound fabulous, but once inside, when she saw the large soaking tub, she opted for a bath instead. She turned on the hot water and peeled off her clothes. After dumping a few capfuls of bath salts under the faucet, she climbed in and moaned with contentment. The heat melted away any remaining tension as the scent of lavender wafted up and she slid down deep.
