Sadly, it wasn’t cooperating today. A full hour had gone by and Bishop wasn’t here. We were stuck and nobody was going to rescue us.

“I don’t like the way you’re looking at me,” Jordan said uneasily. “I swear, if you come anywhere near me, I’m clobbering you.”

She scrambled to her feet as I moved closer to her. My wrist and shoulder were still in pain, but it was a distant echo now. My hunger had steadily moved to the forefront, impossible to ignore. Impossible to fight.

“I can take you,” she managed shakily. “You’ve never intimidated me before. I mean, look at you. You’re the size of a hobbit.”

Normally, I’d resent that. I wasn’t the size of a hobbit. Five-two wasn’t that short, but compared to statuesque aspiring models like Jordan...

Size didn’t matter. Not in a case like this.

I’d made it across the room, so close now that she gasped and raised the brick over her head, ready to smash it down at me like she had before.

But this time I stopped her, snatching the makeshift weapon away like taking candy from a very tall baby. It was time to end this. Stephen had won. And once this was over, when he came in here after watching me devour his girlfriend’s soul through that security camera and turning her into a gray, I was going to kill him.

My vision blurred at the edges as I reached for her.

And then the door burst inward.

“Get them apart,” Bishop instructed sharply. “Now.”

There was no argument. The next moment, I was wrenched away from Jordan. I fought hard against the very strong person who held me.

“Missed you,” Kraven growled into my ear. “Glad to see you’re still in one piece, gray-girl.”

My struggling only made my wrist and shoulder hurt worse, but I was still in a daze, unable to focus on anything except my hunger. “Let go of me!”

“As hot as it would be to see you kiss another girl, I’m going to have to decline your request.”

Only Bishop and Kraven had entered the room. Zach and Connor were nowhere to be seen. My breath came fast and shallow, my attention now focused on Bishop. He scanned Jordan, checking if she was okay while she cowered in the corner, staring at the rest of us in shock.

Then his gaze moved to mine. And locked.

He was so beautiful, it took my breath away. And even though I’d only been apart from him for a short time, every fiber of my being reached out to him.

“Samantha...” He began moving closer to me, as if hypnotized by whatever he saw in my eyes.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kraven growled.

I managed to slip out of the demon’s grip bonelessly, dodging him as he tried to grab me again. Bishop and I moved toward each other, meeting in the middle of the room. I didn’t hesitate for a second. I wrapped my arms around him as he pulled me against him and crushed his mouth against mine.

From the broken-down door to the kiss, it had all happened in a matter of seconds.

The taste of his lips only ignited the fire inside me more. I burned for him—I always had. And his mouth on mine...it was perfection.

But I didn’t have a chance to kiss him longer—or to start to feed. Kraven was there, grabbing me by the shirt to violently yank me back.

He looked disgusted. “You two are a couple of addicts, aren’t you? Pathetic. Get away from her. I mean it.”

Bishop made a strangled sound, as if he was fighting the urge to kiss me again with every ounce of strength he had. The way I was feeling right now—this utter abandon—I knew I’d take it all.

Bishop might be going steadily crazy, but he was still sane enough to listen to his brother.

He gave Kraven an agonized look. “Do it. Just do it and get it over with.”

I didn’t know what he meant. I still saw the world through that gray daze, those with souls in the room brighter and more beautiful than anything else.

So hungry, please...

But the one who didn’t have a bright and beautiful soul captured my face between his hands and forced me to look at him instead of the dark-haired, blue-eyed angel.

“Third time’s a charm,” Kraven mumbled. Then he kissed me bruisingly hard, forcing me to remain still with one hand now gripping my long hair, the other circling my throat.

No...I want Bishop...not Kraven,  not...not...

But I only fought it for a moment. Then my thoughts cut off and I was kissing him back every bit as hard as he kissed me. My hunger slowly,  very slowly this time, began to ease. My arms slid over the demon’s shoulders to cling to him, otherwise I knew I’d collapse to the floor in a heap.

I had to kiss him—there was no choice for me. It was the only way I could regain my control.

Bishop grabbed Kraven’s shoulder. “Enough.”

Finally, the demon broke off the kiss, leaning back a few inches to look into my eyes. “Are you back?”

I nodded, holding his gaze. I stared into the depths of those amber-colored eyes. Same shape as Bishop’s. Different face. Similar lips. Different kiss.

She’s okay. But barely this time.

Kraven’s thoughts. His walls were down, so I could piece through his mind. I didn’t know what I was looking for until I found it.

She doesn’t hate me. She can say she does,  but she doesn’t. No girl kisses like that if she doesn’t like it. He hates  it so much, hates that I have this power over her. He hates that I can taste  her when he can’t. She could fall for me. She’s halfway there already. And  when she does...such sweet revenge. I can watch him suffer before I finally  shove that dagger through his heart.