Right then, she just wanted to pretend that the rest of the world didn’t matter. Just a man and woman—that’s all they were.

No monsters.

No darkness.

Just a man.

She pressed a kiss to his chest.

And a woman.

Cade began to thrust again.

***

She was gone. Cade knew he was alone even before his eyes opened. The bed felt cold. Allison’s scent was weak, barely hanging in the air.

She was gone.

Growling, he jerked up in bed. The woman never should have been able to give him the slip. If he hadn’t spent half the day screwing her until he fell into an exhausted sleep, she damn well wouldn’t have gotten away.

He leapt from the bed. Didn’t she know how dangerous it was out there?

She needed him.

And he…fuck it, he wasn’t letting her get away from him. He grabbed his jeans, yanked them on, and followed the faint trail of her scent in the air. Roses.

He threw open the screen door, and it banged against the side of the cabin. She hadn’t taken the motorcycle. That was something. But then, he’d taken the liberty of hiding the keys.

His head turned slowly, and he stared at the thick line of trees. At the mountains that waited.

She’d gone off alone. Fuck.

Didn’t she realize? There was no place that she could go—no place that he wouldn’t follow.

He’d had one taste, and he wasn’t about to let his little pureblood go.

***

Elsa stood in the clearing, smiling. Her mirror had shown her just what she needed to see—Allison, running. Allison, scared and desperate.

The fool didn’t fully understand what was happening to her body. She didn’t know about vampire weaknesses.

She was about to find out. And a vampire running in the day…she might as well be human. Elsa could take out a human any day of the week. She’d been wrong to think that Allison was too powerful for her to handle alone. She could destroy the pureblood vamp. She would.

Elsa lifted her arms and called forth her magic. The spell of fire was always the first mastered by her kind. The first, and the most powerful.

The flames began to spread to the trees around her. The fire leapt from branch to branch, jumping through the forest. Soon, the fire would sweep out into a giant circle that would surround the fleeing vamp-to-be.

Surround Allison and trap her. The fire would close in. Slowly. Slowly.

The wolf had done his job after all. He’d lured Allison from the protection of the city. Got her into the wilderness where she was helpless. And soon…

Soon the fire would take her.

Elsa would make sure she stayed close enough to hear the bitch’s screams.

***

The scent of smoke reached her, thick, cloying, and Allison froze. Her heart thudded wildly in her chest, pounding hard enough to shake her.

She turned slowly. The smoke…it was coming from the right. Allison could see the dark streak of gray in the sky. A forest fire? Hell, that couldn’t be—

Flames crackled. But that crackling came from behind her, to the left.

Her gaze jerked toward the sound.

More smoke. More fire. And that blaze looked like it was racing right toward her.

No…no…

“Allison!” The roar was her name. A roar loud enough to push across the crackling fire. “Allison!”

Cade was coming for her.

She spun around, seeing only smoke and fire now. So much. Too thick. She began to cough. This…wasn’t right. The afternoon had been fine moments before. Clear. Calm. She’d been the one running wild and—

“Allison!”

She choked, but managed to cry out… “Cade!” And, oh, damn, was that fire racing toward her?

She jumped back, barely avoiding a wild surge of heat. The fire was so close now. It seemed to be heading right for her.

Because it was. Understanding was like ice in her veins.

Freaking witch.

There wasn’t anywhere to run. The flames were all around her. No, not just around her.

Allison screamed when fire licked its way up her arms. She dropped to the ground, rolling and slapping at the flames. But more flames just came, burning her, burning…

“I’ve got you.”

She was still screaming so she barely heard the words. He had to tell her three times, then Allison managed to glance up.

Cade was there, pulling her against his chest. And it hurt. She hurt. Deep blisters covered her skin, and the smell of burnt flesh—her flesh—had her stomach rolling.

“Hold on,” he told her as he rose, tucking her body close against his. The movement hurt, but she locked her teeth to hold back the cry.

A wall of fire blocked them. There was nowhere to go. No—

He bent his head over hers. Curved his body so that he was covering her, and he leapt right through the flames.

Allison heard the rush of the fire—a wild whoosh of sound—and the burning breath of the flames blew over her body.

Then they both hit the ground. They fell in a tangle of limbs, spinning, rolling, falling down a hill. Faster, faster.

She didn’t feel the bumps. Didn’t feel the bruises. But when they fell into the too-chilled water of a lake, oh, sweet hell, yes, she felt that.

And she just sank beneath that cold water. Her eyes wanted to sag closed. Why was that so wrong? She’d rest a few moments in the sweet cold, then everything would be fine.

Something grabbed her. Her eyes flew open. Through the murky water, she could just make out Cade’s form. He looked furious, his eyes glowing. His hands wrapped around her shoulders, and he pulled her toward him. A powerful kick from his legs sent them shooting toward the surface. Allison couldn’t get her own legs to move and was grateful for her wolf’s strength.

And it was only when they broke the surface and when his gasps for breath filled her ears that Allison realized…

I’m not breathing.

Chapter Six

Fuck, fuck, fuck no.

Allison’s eyes were wide open. Staring straight at him, but the woman wasn’t seeing him. She wasn’t breathing. Her body was ice cold.

A shudder shook his frame as Cade lowered her to the ground. “Come on, sweetheart,” he muttered as he pushed back her wet hair and ran his fingers over her face. “Breathe for me.”

Blisters and deep burns covered her forearms and hands. Her legs had fallen victim to the fire—he’d seen the wounds.

So much pain.

Too much.

She wasn’t breathing.

He wasn’t letting her go like this. Not like this.

He put his mouth to hers. Damn she was cold. Her lips were like ice against his.

Cade blew into her mouth. Take my breath, sweetheart. Take it.

Nothing.

He gave her his breath again. Come on, Allison. Don’t leave me.

He pushed air into her mouth once more.

And she jerked beneath him. His head lifted and he stared down at her, desperate, wild.

She’d coughed up water and seemed to be breathing now. Her eyes actually saw him. But she was still so icy. So pale.

And hurting so much.

His canines had stretched when he’d first caught the scent of smoke. The wolf within had known that danger stalked Allison. His claws had come out, his teeth had prepared to rip and tear—he’d been ready to do anything in order to protect her.

Anything.

He lifted his hand and slashed his wrist with his teeth.

“C-Cade?” Her voice was a broken whisper. “Why…don’t hurt…”

He put his wrist to her mouth. “Drink.” Because if she didn’t, he could still lose her.

Allison shook her head. “N-no.” Her body shook, trembling hard, and he knew shock when he saw it.

Fire was a particular bitch for vampires. They burned far faster than humans. Faster than any of the other paranormals.

But you knew that, didn’t you, Elsa? He had to deal with that witch. Payback.

After he made sure Allison wasn’t checking out on him. “Take it,” he ordered, staring into her eyes. The gold was almost gone now, never a good sign with a pureblood vamp. It meant her body was too depleted.

But she turned her head away. “I…can’t. I don’t want to be…”

A vampire.

Screw it. “No changing what we are.” He knew the scent of his blood had to be driving her crazy. He’d seen her nostrils flare. Oh, yeah, she liked that scent. “So either drink or die.”

Her head slowly turned back toward him. He could see the fear in her gaze. And the desperation.

He could also see that just beneath her too-pale lips, her fangs were growing.

With every second that passed, Allison lost her mortal self. Before his eyes, she was becoming more.

Vampires are the enemy. That had been his line for years. Parasites. Good only for killing.

Slowly, her mouth pressed against his wrist.

The only good vamp…

She didn’t look like a parasite.

Is a staked vampire.

Her tongue slipped out and licked the blood. Her eyes were open, on his. At the first taste of his blood, he heard the sharp inhale of her breath.

She likes it.

She licked up another drop of blood.

Her eyes were still on his.

But…

A tear streaked down her cheek. Not a blood tear, and usually those were the only tears a vampire could shed. Allison still shed human tears as she took his blood.

“More,” he whispered because she hadn’t taken enough blood to heal her wounds. Not even close.

Her mouth pressed harder against him and when he felt the scrape of her teeth, Cade expected the memories to slam into him. Another bite, another time.

Torture.

Screams.

Hell.

But…but he only saw her. Saw the gold come back into her eyes. Saw the wounds begin to fade from her body. He didn’t feel like prey.

Her mouth on him—damn, it felt good.

No pain. A pleasure he’d never expected to feel from a vampire’s bite.

Fuck. He was getting turned on while a vampire fed from him.

Her teeth sank into his wrist. She sucked harder and damn if his cock didn’t swell even more.

The rush of pleasure had his breath panting out. This wasn’t just about saving her any longer. Now he was the one who wanted more.

Cade hadn’t gotten enough of Allison when he’d had her in that bed beneath him. Maybe he’d never get enough.

His hand tunneled in her hair. Not to force her away from his wrist, but to hold her against him. To make her take more.

When she licked him again, it was like a shot of pleasure right to his cock.

Want.

But not there. He forced his head to lift, and he gazed at the smoke billowing above them. That witch was out there, she could come at them anytime, she could—

“Cade.” Allison’s voice wasn’t weak now. Her glanced back at her. She’d pushed against him, let go of his wrist, but she stared at him with hunger in her eyes.

Not hunger for blood.

Lust.

For vampires, those two needs could intertwine so easily. That was why some vamps and their fancy-ass vamp councils had started to spread the PR in the paranormal world about their kind not taking directly from living prey.

Like he bought that bullshit.

Her tongue swiped over her lips. Dark red lips. The burns were already gone from her body. The woman was gonna make one dangerously powerful vampire.

No, not make. She already was powerful.

Her hand rose. Touched his lips. “I want you.”

And he wanted to be buried in her as deep as his cock could go.

But first… “We need to get out of here.” Because he could hear sirens coming. Like anyone could ignore a blaze this size. The humans would rush in and fight the flames. Their trucks were already so close that his ears picked up the hard growl of the approaching engines.

If he let Allison stay there, the witch could try again with her fire and fury. The humans could get caught in the cross-fire.

He gazed down at Allison. Her dark hair was wet around her, and her clothes clung tightly to her body. A body he’d learned so well with his hands and mouth.

A body he’d know again.

“Come on…” He pulled Allison to her feet. Watched her carefully. After her first feeding, he wasn’t sure what to expect. Her standing there, looking increasingly lost…that wasn’t it.

He pulled her close. “I’ve got a back-up motorcycle stashed close by. Don’t worry.” His lips pressed a quick kiss to her temple.

And he froze.

Shit. Shit. What was happening to him? How could he care so much about what might happen to a vampire? About how she might be feeling for fuck’s sake?

His back teeth clenched.

Screw it. He kept a tight grip on her arm and raced for the hidden motorcycle. He jumped on the bike, and she climbed on behind him, sliding close and putting those never-ending legs of hers alongside his. When the engine roared to life, they leapt forward, driving fast and hard through the woods. With every minute that passed, Cade realized just how dangerous Allison truly was to him.

Dangerous…because she could make him care.

Sonofabitch.

***

Something was wrong with her. Very, very wrong.

It wasn’t just the drinking blood bit. Oh, hell, she’d actually done that. The blood should have revolted her.

Instead…

It had tasted better than any champagne she’d ever had.

Cade’s blood had been so good, and it had made her hungry.

For him.

She ached. Her nipples hurt, wanting his touch so badly, and with every vibration of that motorcycle…

Cade.

Allison wanted to scream with the frustrated need building so wildly inside of her. This wasn’t normal. This wasn’t right.

And her fangs hadn’t gone away.