Page 11 of Bound By Blood

Zack looked at her, a smug, masculine grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Kaitlyn blew out a breath. “I think I need a drink.”

He nodded, reluctant to let her go when he wanted nothing more than to swing her into his arms and carry her to bed, to touch and taste her all night long. But maybe it was better to take it slow.

“As it happens,” he said, tamping down both his desire and his hunger, “I know a place that serves a great strawberry daiquiri.”

“As tempting as that sounds, I think I’d better go home.”

“Are you sure?”

Kaitlyn nodded. Going home was the last thing she wanted to do, but right now, it was the safest thing. For both of them.

She was vaguely disappointed when Zack didn’t argue. Instead, he took her hand and drew her to her feet.

She tried to think of something to say while they walked up the path, but words failed her. She couldn’t tell him the truth—couldn’t tell him she was fighting an almost desperate yearning, not only for the taste of his blood, but a hunger for his body, as well.

Better to let him think that she was a prude, or that things were moving too fast, rather than let him know the truth.

Chapter Five

After bidding Kaitlyn a reluctant good night, Zack willed himself to the city, which was roughly twenty miles from the casino. It might have been smarter to build his place closer to the general population, but he liked the club’s solitary location, liked having some distance between himself and the tourists after the casino closed for the night.

It wasn’t easy, being constantly surrounded by the lure of beating hearts and the coppery scent of blood. It was easier to ignore temptation when it was far away. But tonight, his hunger wouldn’t be denied.

He knew it was only his imagination, but it seemed that even here, miles away from her cabin, he could still hear the beating of Kaitlyn’s heart, smell the sweetness of her blood.

Hunger drew him to an all-night café. Pausing inside the door, he opened his preternatural senses and quickly scanned the room. The man at the far table was drunk. The couple in the booth was too old. The woman sitting near the window was an actress down on her luck, but she was young and smelled clean.

With an effort of will, he called to her, then stepped out onto the sidewalk to wait.

A moment later, she was there, her eyes void of expression as she waited to do his bidding. Taking her by the hand, he led her down the street and into an alley between two commercial buildings.

A search of her mind revealed her name. “Alice.”

She looked up at him, her expression blank.

“Relax, Alice,” he murmured, taking her into his arms. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She gazed up at him, her lips slightly parted, her heart pounding with fear.

Zack brushed her hair over her shoulder, his fingertips trailing down the length of her neck while his mind invaded hers. She was a lovely girl who had left her home in Montana, certain that having a pretty face was all she needed to make it in Hollywood. Having failed that, she was ashamed to go back home and admit defeat.

It was an all-too-familiar story. Bending his head to her neck, he took what he needed, wishing, all the time, that it was Kaitlyn in his arms, her blood chasing away the coldness within him.

When he had taken his fill, he captured the girl’s gaze with his. “You will remember none of this,” he said quietly. “Do you understand?”

She nodded, her eyes still blank.

“Where are you staying tonight?”

“At the hotel down the street.”

“All right. I want you to go there now and go to bed.” Reaching into his pocket, Zack pulled out a handful of bills and pressed them into her hand. “Tomorrow, you’re going to buy a plane ticket and go home.” He stroked her cheek. “You will not remember me, or this conversation.”

She nodded again.

“Tell me again what you’re you going to do tomorrow.”

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