“Well, mine are bigger.” He gave another snap of that whip.

He spoke only the truth. His muscles were bigger, which meant, so was his sex appeal. And not just to Ava, strength aficionado. One glance from those wicked violet eyes, and a woman knew what she would be getting from him: pleasure in its purest form.

Hands, kneading. Legs, twining. Shaft, pumping. Nothing taboo. No inhibitions.

Raw need curled through her.

Why hadn’t he kissed her yet? He’d promised to do so, right?

“I can’t talk about this anymore,” he said, tossing the whip aside and rubbing at his eyes. “I’m too close to storming out of here and decapitating both brothers.”

Her desire faded. “So you think less of me?” Like, say, trash. “For sleeping with someone before you?”

“Of course not.” The sudden sincerity in his tone relaxed her. “You’re a woman with needs, and believe me, I’m grateful for those needs. I simply cannot tolerate the thought of another man touching …” His jaw clenched. In and out he breathed, the air rasping, harsh. “We have to change the subject. Now.”

She understood. He didn’t begrudge her past, just as she didn’t begrudge his. But the thought of him with someone else, even before he’d met her, was far from pleasant.

Which was odd, now that she thought about it. They hadn’t slept together, and she’d told herself—several times—that she wouldn’t venture down that path with him. Yet she couldn’t deny that every bone in her body screamed mine.

He was right. They needed to change the subject.

“What do you want to talk about?” she asked.

A moment passed. He shrugged, the action like a neon sign pointing to the wide width of his shoulders. “I think I ran into the Schön queen.”

So casually offered, with just a hint of expectation. She could only stare at him and try to process. “Okay. Wait, wait, wait. What did you just say?”

“She had dark hair, but this woman was definitely diseased.” He waited now, as if he expected something from her.

Yet again, his tone was so casual he could have been discussing the weather, rather than the case that could change the fate of the world. “Tell me everything.”

He did, from the way the brunette had appeared out of nowhere, to her proposition to Johnny, to the exquisite mask she’d worn, to the guards standing silently behind her the entire time.

“Why didn’t you apprehend her?”

“And risk carrying the disease to your door? No.”

Argh! Ava dug out her cell phone and dialed Mia. The conversation was short but not very sweet, McKell leaning forward, watching her expression the entire time. His expectation had swelled. Maybe because Mia quickly informed her that McKell had already called and that she was taking care of things.

“You should have incapacitated her in some way,” Ava growled as she dropped her phone on the table beside her. He was strong enough, wily enough. And damn it, his concern for Ava was panty-melting. “AIR would have forgiven you for everything and stopped harassing you.”

“They aren’t harassing me now.”

“Fine. I would have stopped harassing you.”

His eyelids dipped to half-mast, and what remained of his emotions drained: anger, expectation, everything. Except desire. Desire that heated the entire room, crackling and charging. “I don’t want you to stop.”

The hello and good-bye kisses she’d so badly wanted, well, she was finally in danger of receiving them. She gulped, swallowing the lump trying to block her airway. “Then I would have harassed you nonstop,” she whispered.

His gaze moved to her lips. “Would you have allowed me to feed from you? Whenever I wished?”

No. “Yes.” Maybe.

In a blink, he was on his feet. The desire drained, as well, and determination took its place. “I’ll hunt her down and apprehend her now.”

Ava’s desire vanished just as swiftly. So. He hadn’t craved her. He’d craved a never-ending happy meal. She should have known. Suspected, at the very least. “You’re staying here,” she said, standing, swaying. “Mia told me her orders. We’re not to interfere.”

“Mia isn’t my boss.” He moved toward the door.

Scowling, Ava jumped in his path. “She’s mine.”

He halted just before contact and glared down at her. “Out of my way, Ava.”

As if he couldn’t move her. “You had your chance. You blew it. So, like I said, you’re staying here.” Do not tremble. Do not show a single weakness.

Down, down he leaned, until his nose was level with hers. Still he didn’t touch her. “Just how are you going to stop me?”

God, he smelled good. Her living, breathing butterscotch buffet. Focus. “We’re partners, right?”

He offered a reluctant nod, one that finally brushed skin against skin. There was no preventing her shiver then. The heat, the sizzle … consuming.

“Well, partners have to trust each other, and right now, neither of us trusts the other. Right?”

Another nod, another brushing of their noses.

Another shiver from her. “Rather than getting me in trouble, we’re going to spend the next few hours learning to trust.”

“How?” One word, but like his whip nonetheless. Where was that thing, anyway? She could tie him down with it.

“Well, there’s an exercise I’ve seen people do.” Good thinking. “You stand behind me, and I fall back. You catch me, and boom, I learn to rely on you and trust you to always protect me.”

He arched a brow, clearly doubtful. “Learning to trust is that easy?”

“Yes.” A lie. She wouldn’t trust him, not fully, no matter what—he saw her as food, damn it!—but the exercise seemed like a really good idea just then. Not just because they would be wasting time, distracting him, but because he would have to put his hands on her to catch her. And she really wanted his hands on her. Not for pleasure, but for inoculation.

She had to overcome this craving for him.

“And while we’re doing this,” she said, squaring her shoulders, “you can tell me all about vampires. Everything I need to know to capture one.” Tomorrow, she would fulfill her end of their bargain.

Several minutes ticked by in silence. He watched her every torturous second of those minutes, gaze hooded, yet still managing to wreck havoc on her nerve endings. They felt razored, sensitized.

“All right,” he finally said, voice as devoid of emotion as his eyes. Eyes that fell to the hammering pulse at the base of her neck.

Thinking of drinking from her, even now? she wondered as she gave him her back. Dangerous on her part, perhaps, but she wasn’t too worried about him swooping in for a taste of her. At the moment, he was too interested in gaining rights to her blood, and if he took a sip without permission, he’d never gain those rights.

“Are you just going to stand there?” he asked, whisper-soft.

That whisper traveled the length of her spine, and she had to steel herself against another decadent shiver. “Tell me something about vampires first.” While she prepared herself for what was to come.

Another pause. Then, “Each vampires has a different ability.”

Do it. Just do it. She allowed herself to fall backward. “Yours is manipulating time.”

“Yes.” He caught her just before she hit and held her there, suspended in the air.

She gazed up at him, his face upside down yet still beautiful, and licked her lips. His hands were as warm and strong as she’d imagined. “What are some other abilities?”

“Teleporting.” His voice was strained as he eased her to her feet. “Mind control. Camouflage. Vampires like Bride can do everything, though.”

She prayed the strain wasn’t from her weight. “Bride.” The name echoed through her mind, and then she remembered. Bride, his former fiancée. A spark of jealousy ignited. Did he still yearn for the lovely, dark-haired vampire? “She can do everything?”

“Yes. Everything,” he replied, unaware of her sudden shift from nervous anticipation to fury. “Well, except manipulate time. Now, is it your turn to catch me?”

“No. Still mine. I’m stuck on the word everything.” Ice crystallized the words, making them as hard as diamonds. Again she fell back.

Again he caught her—still warm, still strong, but even more so—and held her suspended. The violet of his eyes snared her. “Anything you can think of, she can do.” The strain in his voice was even worse. “What’s hard to understand?”

I am. I’m heavy. Unlike lithe little Bride, who couldn’t weigh more than a hundred and ten soaking wet and weighed down with rocks. “Just shut up.”

And wow. Bride was not only beautiful and sensually lean, she was beyond powerful. No wonder McKell had waited so long to marry her and no other.

Hello again, inferiority complex, Ava thought hotly.

McKell set her back on her feet. His fingers remained splayed over her ribs, hard but not bruising. “My turn now?”

“No. I’ll tell you when. Until then, keep catching me.” Each word ripped from her throat, leaving a raw, venom-burned wound. Why was he so eager for his turn, anyway? She was going to drop his ass flat. Like he deserved. “Were you upset when Bride married Devyn?”

“Yes.”

Bastard! “Why didn’t you kill him?”

“Because killing him would have made her hate me.”

And he wanted—still wanted?—Bride to love him? Depression replaced her anger. “I don’t like this game,” she said. Really, she didn’t like Bride. All-powerful Bride, she inwardly mocked. Possessive McKell had let someone he considered his go, rather than fight and cause hatred.

He flattened his hands on her shoulders and forced her to turn. Then he pressed, forcing her to stay. She peered up at him. Despite everything, she liked the sear of his palms, the tickle of his fingertips, and wanted them to dip, to explore.

“Any more questions? Or may I have my turn now? A turn you will give me.”

She definitely had another question. “Vampires feed on humans, right? And yet, once they’re married, they can only feed on their spouse. So what happens when two vampires marry?”

There was a sharp intake of his breath, a narrowing of his eyes. “So you know about vampire mating habits, do you?”

Oops. She hadn’t meant to alert him to that fact.

His gaze explored her face, searching for the answer she refused to give. He must have seen the truth, because he flicked his tongue over one of his fangs. “Vampire spouses only feed on each other.”

Now that he knew that she knew, there was no reason to hold back. “Then why don’t all vampires feed on other vampires and leave humans alone?” Uh-oh. Was her resentment showing?

His grip tightened. “Because feeding on each other will wed them, and most vampires do not wish to be wed. Ever.”

“Why?”

“Because eternity is a long time to be together.”

Eternity. A blessing and a curse, she supposed. A forever of pleasure, as well as pain. “You guys don’t die?”

“By natural causes? Rarely.”

“Then isn’t your underground word getting crowded?”

“No. It’s difficult for vampires to procreate. More than that, I was a good exterminator.”

Ava imagined a vampire kid running around her place and wasn’t completely repulsed. Interesting. Usually she hated kids. They were too … needy. And messy. And clingy. No way did she want to be responsible for the way someone else turned out, blamed for their failures and mistakes. But a little McKell with black hair and violet eyes … was a shockingly sweet image.

“You’ve had my blood,” she said, head tilting to the side as she tried to work a few things out. “And if I was to have yours, we’d be married?”

He gave a stiff nod. “If you’re thinking about drinking from me without permission, be warned that I will remove your teeth with pliers and seal your mouth shut, so that you never have the opportunity to—”

“Let me stop you there.” Ava reached up and closed his mouth for him. “I won’t be drinking from you. Ever.”

At first, he gave no reaction. Then he wrapped his finger around her wrist and squeezed, a fire suddenly smoldering in his eyes. “My blood tastes delicious.”

“Don’t care. Your blood could be liquid gold, and I wouldn’t want it. I’m not getting married. Not to you, not to anyone.” Drunk or sober, she was confident in that.

“But I’m a prize.”

“So am I.”

“Yes, but I’m a vampire.”

“Like that helps your case,” she said dryly. “Vampires suck.”

“I know.” He released her and stepped back, increasing the distance between them, the fire sparking white-hot. “Would you want to wed a human?”

“By definition, not marrying anyone means I wouldn’t marry anyone, no matter their origins.”

“So you wish to remain alone?”

Hadn’t she just said that? “Yes.”

Now the fire spread to his cheeks, painting twin pink circles there. “We’ll see about that. And now, little human, it’s my turn to fall. You had better catch me, or I will punish you.” He spun, giving her his back.

“McKell, I can’t—”

Down … down … he tumbled, ignoring her protest. She reached out, to catch him or slap him, she wasn’t sure. But she never made contact. One second she was standing up, floundering, the next she was flat on her back and McKell was looming over her, pinning her and grinning wickedly.