Hunter and Bryce lavished attention on my breasts sending too many sensations washing over me. It was too much and not enough at the same time. Unable to hold it any longer, I threw back my head in a scream as a massive, otherworldly climax hit, not giving a shit who heard me.
I was floating.
Then I slowly came down, struggling to catch my breath. My head buzzed like I’d guzzled champagne. I propped myself up on my forearms, head still thrown back.
“Oh my God, that was—” A whisper at the edges of my mind made me look at Seb. His fangs had fully lengthened, peeking out through his slightly parted lips, glistening, ready to sink into unprotected flesh.
I reared back, instinct making me tuck my chin to protect my neck, jerk my legs from around him, scrambling away across the comforter.
Barbed terror ensnared my lungs, and tears burned behind my eyes and I couldn’t even scream as I fell off the bed.
Inside my mind, Seb’s thoughts were ravenous.
Fuck, she’s a feast. I need her now. Mine.
Serenity
Ipropped a fist on my hip in feigned irritation as Dagger stepped through my door. “You do realize I could’ve been standing here naked?”
“But sadly, you’re not,” Dagger sighed. As he eyed me up and down, he couldn’t quite hide the worry widening them. “Although I’ve never seen someone pull off pink pajamas as well as you do.”
I was exhausted and feeling blue but still managed to smile. “Come here. I need a hug.”
He crossed the room, cocooning me in strong muscle and his gunpowder and leather scent. I’d lived in a cage so long I’d never imagined the comfort that being locked in a truly loving embrace could provide.
I rested my head against his tight black T-shirt, sighing. His skin and clothes were still cool from the blustering storm outside. “Did anyone tell you what happened after you left?”
“Bryce. He said everyone had kissed and made up, and that you were all having a great time before something upset you.”He tipped my chin up with one finger. “He said you looked scared, that you asked to leave right away and come back here. So, I came to check on you, see if you wanted to talk about it.”
I stared at his mouth instead of his eyes, feeling kinda guilty about my freak out over Seb’s urges—what I assumed were natural feeding instincts—fretting how Dagger might react. Everyone had been very understanding up until now, but I hadn’t divulged much either. The ride home had been painfully quiet, and Seb, who was the only one with a glimpse into my mind, looked so downtrodden that I’d had to stare out the limo’s tinted windows instead.
What a fizzled finish to a rollercoaster evening.
Now Dagger was here, holding me, fresh from the precinct.
“I’m okay,” I finally answered. “I mean, I could’ve died tonight, so it could’ve been worse. But I managed to disappoint everyone just when the evening was on its way up again.”
He kissed my forehead, and the muscles in my shoulders relaxed, letting me nuzzle my cheek against his chest. “Why don’t we lie down, relax and talk? It looks like you need all three.”
I nodded, and he swept me up, an arm under my legs and one under my back. He laid us down together on Hunter’s king-size bed. He studied me closely as he brushed back my hair and caressed my jawline. Even his jaguar tattoo stared—glowing faintly, its fierce gaze intense. “I think your jaguar’s frustrated with me or something.”
He stroked my head, running his tatted fingers through my hair, making my eyelids flutter. When he massaged my earlobe, his touch callused and caring, I laid my head in his palm.
“You’d make a terrible detective, Cowgirl. He and I are both here to protect and listen to you, always. And that’s the truth.” He sidled closer, the bed springs creaking and straining under his bulk. “And if anyone should feel guilty about anything that went down tonight, it’s me.” When I lifted up on an elbow in surprise, ready to tell him that was crazy, he sighed hard and clasped my hand. “I dunno, maybe Hunt and Osric were right. Maybe Winterborn is toodangerous to live. I’ve got this horrible feeling others are gonna suffer cause I didn’t act when I should’ve. Maybe—”
I pressed a finger across his lips. “Shh, listen. You did the right thing. Your job is to uphold the law, and you did. I know you love your baddest cop on the planet image, and honestly, I kinda do too, but you’ve got a merciful heart, and he’d surrendered.” I drew his jaguar tat to my mouth, kissing the black cat right on its nose as I ran my fingers along its head. A soft, almost purring growl rumbled from deep within Dagger, making me smile. “There’s an animal inside you, not a demon.”
“Not sure it’s as noble as all that.” With an arm around my waist, he drew me closer and half-whispered, “I was hoping to interrogate that asshole to within an inch of his sanity, finally sort out this whole mess and make sure you were safe permanently. But I don’t think Hunter was thinking that far ahead. When he’s in protection mode, there’s no talking to him. He rages.”
“I know. I think that’s why he reads so much philosophy. To try and keep from overreacting.”
“So, what else is bothering you?” he asked, clasping my leg and sliding it between his. “There’s more on your mind, your eyes are shouting it.”
I chuckled weakly. “Trust me to fall in love with a human lie detector. How am I supposed to wrap you round my little finger?”
He returned the chuckle. “I’m as wrapped as any woman could ever make a jaguar. Come on, don’t dodge it, tell me.”
“Well, things got pretty hot and heavy in the hotel suite”—I paused, expecting a flash of jealousy but finding it only in a brighter flare of light in the jaguar tat, not his face—“and we… well we had a really good time.” I looked up at him. “Things got cut off pretty early, though, to be clear.”
