Page 28 of The Temptation of Roan Island

I huff a sound that’s almost a mocking laugh. I’ve never felt so far from alright, so out of control. Halfway to the bed, her lemony scent hits me, and my fangs descend. I freeze.

“Why are you here?” she asks.

Her heartbeat thrums under the skin at her neck. She’s gained back some of the color she lost earlier, but there are dark circles under her eyes. Concern thrashes around inside me, and I fist my hands, wanting to fight anything that harms her. But how do you fight a villain you can’t see or touch? Some primal noise rips from my chest as my fists tighten enough for my claws to draw blood from my palms.

I need her. No, I need to flee. Instead, I draw in a heavy breath. This time, her scent has me stalking forward. I can’t fight her demons. I can’t fight my own either. Despite my earlier feast, I’m famished. I lick my fang.

“Shemaiah?” Pippa’s voice shakes.

Like the animal I am, I haven’t spoken. Why am I here? My eyes drift, taking in the weave of her braid, the various colors of gold in her hair. Her lips are a perfect, kissable pink. Her throat, so long and delicate, begs for my teeth. It would be so easy to⁠—

“News!” I blurt out, my mind muddled. Yes, that’s why I’m here. A perfectly acceptable reason. News of her son.

“Tobias?” She sits forward, and the sheet drops, revealing an expanse of lightly freckled skin I haven’t seen before. Her night shift dips to the tops of her slightly curved breasts, both of which are small but lush. They would fit so well in my hand. Her nipples poke at the thin fabric covering them.

My skin heats, pulse heavy in my ears. I step backward as venom fills my mouth. I swallow it. Focus. “He’s not in New Essik.”

“What?” She deflates, the smile drifting from her face like shifting sand in a strong wind, changing the landscape. “What do you mean?”

My feet move forward before my mind can catch up. I need to see her smile again, to see her face transform from worry to pleasure. I could make her forget it all for just a moment, chase away the demons I can’t kill, make her feel so good.

My hands come down on the bed, one knee lifting onto the mattress by her feet. Her eyes widen. I fight to hold onto the conversation. “The orphanage said to check New Caldon.”

She stiffens.

I pause just before crawling all the way onto the bed. What the hell am I doing? I jump back. She doesn’t want me like this. And I won’t play with her emotions by offering her one night of pleasure when I can’t offer anything more. No matter how attracted I am to her, I don’t love her, and I’m not going to. This is all just the effects of the new moon.

I step toward the door, shaking my head to clear it, wrestling the desire to pounce on her into submission. “Forgive me, Miss Willoughby. I should not have come here on a new moon.” I tug on my hair.

“It’s alright. Just tell me about Toby.” She crawls forward on the bed, closer to me, her gown gaping open at the top.

Fuck me! What blood I had left for thought rushes south. I’ve never been so fucking hard. I need to get out of here.

“I sent Mrs. Darning to fetch him,” I stammer. “I have to go.”

“Oh.” She pauses, sits back on her heels, and clutches her hands in her lap. Her breath comes out shaky. “Thank you, Shemaiah.”

I offer an awkward bow, then run from the room as if it’s on fire, forcing myself back down the stairs and straight outside into the cold night. Snow falls in fast flakes around me, the last remnants of winter fighting to claim the island from the coming spring.

I take a deep breath, the air devoid of the scent of blood. Fresh, sharp, evergreen flavors, so different from what my full stomach covets. I look up at the dark windows of the second story. Pippa’s dark window. A window that will soon be dark for good.

Whatever just happened was unacceptable. I need to keep my distance. For both our sakes. There’s nothing helpful that can come from our friendship, especially when it sets my Mavarri instincts so close to the surface that I nearly lose control for the first time in my life. I have no delusions about what I wanted from her tonight—what I could have so easily taken. I overstepped. And I can’t let it happen again.

Leaving the house, the party, and my cravings behind, I go to the one place that will remind me why I should stay away from Pippa Willoughby. The grave will tell me the truth when my hunger tells me lies.

13

PIPPA

I’m in a long corridor, searching for my boy. Running. Running. Running.

“Tobias!” My heart crashes against the inside of my chest threatening to crack itself apart. “Tobias!”

I gasp, blink at the ceiling, then close my eyes once more.

The wide, dark hallway rushes past me, opposite the direction I’m running. Heavy footsteps pound behind me. A latch clicks. Wood scrapes against wood. My nostrils flare as a familiar ether-like scent floods my nose.

Lids heavy, I open my eyes to the flash of the dark, coffered ceiling of my room at the Roan estate.