Page 60 of Into The Light

“Don’t be a hero, pretty boy,” the short red-haired man said, stepping up beside the man holding the gun who continued his approach. “If you put up a fight, this won’t end well for you. Or her.”

Peeking around Aiden’s shoulder I saw him give my legs a leering glance. I could feel Aiden’s muscles twitch as raw power radiated off him. I pressed myself into his back.

His voice deepened. “I said leave. Now.”

The bald leader shook his head and pulled back the hammer of his gun. “Listen up, pretty boy. Perhaps this is your first mugging. If so, welcome to the club. But the way this works is we point a gun at you. You hand us your things. Everyone lives. We leave happy. The other option is we point a gun at you. You resist. We shoot you and have our way with her before killing her. We live, you two die. We leave happy. It’s your choice which way this will go. Either way, we’re leaving here happy and with all your money.”

“There’s a third option,” Aiden said.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

I didn’t even see him move. I just felt my body slam against the wall that was ten feet away not a split second ago. The power of the blow forced the air out of my lungs and left me gasping while I watched Aiden dart between the three men in a blur of motion. Two fell to the ground in a heap, their necks bent at unnatural angles. In a matter of seconds the blur of movement reformed into Aiden. He stood holding the gun to the head of the bald man who he had forced on his knees. The man stared up into the barrel of his own gun with raised hands and bulging eyes while Aiden stared him down.

“That was the third option,” Aiden growled.

“Please don’t kill me,” the man begged. “Please. I didn’t mean it. We weren’t really going to hurt you.”

“Is that so?” Aiden quirked a brow and pressed the gun into his forehead. “Then why did your pulse tell me you were lying just now?”

“What? How? What are you?” he stammered.

“I’m the man who would never let you, or anyone, lay a finger on her,” he snarled.

Panic inched the criminal’s voice up several octaves. “Are you going to kill me?”

I watched frozen from my place against the wall. These were bad men who probably deserved to die, but I didn’t know if I could stomach watching Aiden kill a man begging for his life. I held my breath awaiting Aiden’s answer.

“No.” Aiden lowered the gun and leaned in closer to look the man in the eyes. “You will walk down this alley, go find the nearest police officers and tell them you had a fight with your friends, and you broke their necks. You will then confess to every crime you have ever committed and spend the rest of your miserable life in prison. You will also forget that you ever saw us. Now go.”

The man stood up in a trance and started walking out of the alley. For the first time since Aiden spoke, I blew out a breath. With a whoosh Aiden stood in front of me and I sucked that breath back into my lungs.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, the concern heavy in his voice. His hands moved over my shoulders and his gaze scanned my body for injury before settling back onto mine.

I could only shake my head.

“I will never let anyone hurt you. Ever,” he said with such an intensity I felt it in the depths of my soul. His hand moved to my face, his thumb brushing against my cheek. Our eyes locked and then mine dropped to the lips that sat parted just inches from mine. The need for his kiss overwhelmed me and I gave in to the carnal urge demanding I submit to it. I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his, closing my eyes when they touched, savoring the softness of his kiss. His tongue slid past my lips, first soft and gentle, but then it grew hungrier as he deepened the kiss. I moaned with the force of his response and savored the sweet taste of him while he invaded my mouth.

My body slammed into the wall behind me when he pushed me back and captured my gasp in his mouth. I left my hands free to explore him, and they traveled to his back, sliding over the shoulders bulging beneath his shirt. Clawing and desperate I pulled him into me, needing him closer, needing to feel his body pressed into mine. He offered no resistance and instead pushed into me, our breaths mingling while I moaned into his mouth. His tongue delved deeper while his hand grasped the back of my head and pulled me in tighter, crushing my lips with the weight of his desire.

His other hand drifted down my shoulder and then slid the length of my side and settled on my hip. A strong pull eliminated any space left between us and I no longer knew where my body stopped and his began. His touch set me on fire and left me burning and writhing, engulfed in the heat of his passion and overwhelmed by the intensity of my own. My hands moved to his chest, and I slid them over the muscles that twitched at my touch.

He softened his kiss, and I whimpered when his lips pulled back from mine. Panting, I opened my eyes to see his own boring into me, heavy with desire. A gentle tug of my hair pulled my head back and my skin ignited when his lips touched my neck. No fangs punctured me, and instead delicate kisses pecked along my skin, leaving a burning trail in their wake.

Savoring every touch, he coaxed moan after moan from me while his lips traveled down my neck. Grabbing a handful of his shirt I pulled him against me. His touch brought me to life and my need to feel it everywhere deepened with each flick of his tongue on my skin. I wanted him inside of me, in every way imaginable.

“Drink from me, Aiden,” I whispered, my need for the euphoria his bite brought intensifying with every touch. It wasn’t just his fangs I wanted inside of me, and the sound of them popping free fanned the fire that also scorched between my thighs. I could feel his cock press against me, and I pushed my hips into him. Feeling him pressing into my dress and up against the place that needed him most sent a shudder through my body. I waited for the heat that came when his fangs slid inside of me and held my breath while I prepared for the sharp tips to begin their descent into my skin.

“Down here,” a voice echoed down the alley.

Aiden straightened with a start and I whimpered when I felt his lips disappear from my skin.

“I killed two men right down here.” Fuck! The mugger Aiden had hypnotized.

“We need to get out of here. Now,” Aiden said, turning back to me. Before I could respond or recover from the touch that still had me sweltering inside, his arm snaked around my waist and I felt my body slam into his. He shot us forward with the power of an explosion and I tried not to choke on the air that filled my lungs from the speed we hit. Everything looked like a streak of colors and lights; we moved too fast for anything to process or take form. Despite only seconds of movement, when we stopped the momentum nearly sent me tumbling to the ground. He caught me by the waist and steadied me while I waited for the world to stop moving.

“Holy shit,” I managed to say while it felt like my head swirled and I waited for it to slow down. It reminded me of the feeling I got when I used to spin around as fast as I could as a child, and then try to stand straight. I teetered in his arms trying to make the world stop moving.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his face finally coming into focus as I wobbled in his arms. “I’m so sorry I didn’t warn you. I didn’t want to risk us getting seen, and I needed to get us out of there. Are you hurt?”