Page 34 of Because the Night

Soon I’m standing in the living room of the underground lair, and Lucas is right behind me. Dammit. The living room is spacious, but still. Whichever way I turn, he’s already there,blocking me. And judging by the fang-filled smile on his face, he is enjoying this a lot. But hell, so am I.

He corners me against a wall, arms on either side of me, caging me in. “Skye, you’re not even trying.”

“I am, too.”

“You’re just going to give up and not even fight when I catch you?” he asks. “That’s making it a little too easy for me. We’re vampires, being hunted is par for the course. You need this practice. Try harder. Come on.”

I duck beneath his arm and run. And he lets me go. Of course, he does. There’s no way I could escape him otherwise, even with my amped-up abilities.

Lucas is old and strong and wily as heck. The next time he catches me, it’s with my chest pressed against one of the locked doors in the hallway. Because where the hell else was I supposed to run? As much as I might have liked, the door hasn’t mysteriously been unlocked, providing me with a handy escape. Nope.

“Let’s chat,” he says, pushing me against the door by pressing himself hard against my back. More than enough to remind me I am going nowhere without his permission. Also more than enough to remind me that he does, indeed, have a dick. “What I was wondering is, do you still hate me? Because I don’t think you do.”

“Still after the pity sex, huh?”

“You can talk.” His low laughter does things to me. Things that shouldn’t be allowed. “Skye, the scent of your sweet cunt…if I didn’t know better, I’d think your fingers aren’t quite up to the task of keeping you satiated after all. Now answer the question.”

“Keep your mind out of my pants.”

“Answer the question,” he growls.

“Do I hate you? I don’t know. You did kill me.”

“Well, yes, but I brought you back to life. That’s got to count for something.”

“Wait. What are you doing? Are you sniffing me?”

First his nose and lips press lightly against the back of my neck. The way I’m breathing so fast when I don’t need to be breathing at all is kind of awkward. Then the tip of a sharp fang is dragged over my bare skin, making me shiver.

“Lucas,” I gasp. “That tickles.”

“It tickles?” he says, sounding mildly outraged. But he steps back and slaps me hard on the ass with a grin on his face. “That’s it. Next time I catch you, I’m biting you. Go.”

“No. No biting.”

“I’m a fucking vampire. Biting is what I do. Now run.”

The hallway goes back into the hill, but all of the damn doors are locked. One of these nights I’m going to find out what he’s hiding.

His fingertips slide over my arm as I slip past him and head back toward the living room. How he toys with me. In the living room, I upset an expensive-looking vase, but he’s there, righting it before it can topple. Thank goodness. Through the basement and toward the stairs I go. Before I can escape up into the rest of the house, however, he’s there blocking the way. My hair flies in my face with the sudden stop, and I teeter on my toes.

“I said to stay underground,” he says in a stern voice. “Turn your ass around.”

I do as told and race past the furniture and wooden chests and wine racks. Not breaking a thing. Yay me. His teeth snap a warning near my ear as I circle the living room. Then his arms are grabbing me around the middle, and the jerk tackles me onto a Persian rug. But it’s a catch-and-release type situation, apparently. Because when I push up, he lets me keep going. Down the hallway and into his bedroom, where I try to shovethe door shut in his face. Only he has a good grip and is pushing back, making my booted feet slide across the floor.

“You are not biting me!”

“So make me a counteroffer,” he says. “What do you think you have that I want?”

“Nothing.”

He laughs and the door flies open with a final push of his strength. I give up and head farther into the room. And putting the bed between us seems like a sensible idea.

He has, however, apparently decided we’re done playing. Moving faster than I can track, he grabs me and throws me onto the mattress so hard, I bounce. But he’s there to keep me put a moment later.

“Like I was saying.” He grabs my wrists to anchor me. The way he makes himself at home in the cradle of my thighs feels far too good. Then he repeats, “What do you think you have that I want?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

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