Page 44 of Griffin Undone
Cale did, with me bringing up the rear. The strobes surrounding the dance floor flashed a series of still-shot images across my sensitive eyes as our small group trekked toward the front: a female curling her pierced tongue around her partner’s earlobe; the back of a bald head bisected by a green mohawk; a couple entwined from feet to groins to lips; a pair of glowing red eyes staring into mine across the darkness.
Abruptly everything around me faded, leaving only the awareness of those shifter eyes shining at me out of the dark. Anigma; I could scent it, and this one wasn’t alone.
“Sun?”
I turned to Cale, sending a quick picture of what I’d seen, what I smelled faintly on the air.“Anyone you recognize?”
Cale shook his head.
“Take her,” I told him. “Get her home safe. You know what arrangements to make.”
Cale’s agreement shone in his eyes before he turned back toward the door. He reached behind him to grip Risk’s hand, almost dragging her behind him. No male would confront an Anigma threat with a female in the danger zone.
Just before I turned my head to locate the enemy, Risk looked back. Her stare arrested me. I couldn’t decide what it was I witnessed in those eyes—something vulnerable, something…needy. For the first time that night, something genuine. It contradicted every bit of the front she’d presented since we met, and drew me to her in a way that was even deeper than the physical need that had racked me from the moment she’d appeared. That look was dangerous; it was soul-destroying, calling me to counter all the instincts I’d been born with, the honor I’d clung to even as a boy.
Desire and duty warred in my chest for a brief second before I turned away, refusing to look back. I had a job to do. The hunt was beginning, and I would lead it.
My phoenix let out his battle cry, urging me farther into the darkness at the back of the club and out of the rear exit. My animal peered from my eyes, searching. Scanning.
There. At the end of the alley, the heat-reflective images of five bulky males. I sucked in a single deep breath to still any lingering desire, and then I moved to follow the enemy, careful to stay out of their sight.
Aptly named, indeed.
ChapterNineteen
Arik
“Ihave to go out.”
Kat startled at my words, reaching for the button to pause the treadmill. “Out?”
The workout room mirrors reflected her frown as I jammed my shoulder into the doorframe. I tried a reassuring smile but had little doubt my body posture proclaimed it a lie. It was. Frustration—mental, but mostly sexual—was riding me hard. Being stuck in this place, without intel, withher… I was about to lose my fucking mind and every last ounce of control I possessed.
I couldn’t risk that. I’d worked hard to build trust with Kat. I wouldn’t risk it all going down in a big blaze of insanity-induced lust.
A couple hours of fresh air, that’s all I needed. Besides, there really were things I had to take care of. “I need to feed.”
The blush that stained Kat’s cheeks tempted me to find a blood source in this room instead of out on the street. But I couldn’t, not yet.Trust, remember? You’re establishing trust. Slowly…
And doing a damn good job of it. Sooner rather than later, Kat would be beneath me. I could see the act splayed across the backs of my eyelids every time I blinked: Kat naked, aroused, lifting quivering breasts and that creamy throat to me. My fangs lengthened at the sight, as did other parts of my body. I had to force my eyes to stay closed until I could cool the aroused glow I knew must be evident. But it was my resolve that suffered the most damage.
Yeah, like it or not, I had to leave.
When my eyes opened, I found Kat watching me, an uncertain frown tugging on her lips. Her conflict over what I needed was written in the tightness around her eyes and the white teeth slipping out to grip her bottom lip. I’d been sure she’d never find the idea of my bite arousing given what happened to her, but the wavering I saw in her expression said I might be wrong.
I allowed my gaze to go hot again as I focused on that lip. Let her wonder. Let her imagine what feeding would be like. Because eventually she would find out—I could only wait so long before I tasted her.
“Okay,” Kat said, voice husky, drawing me back to our conversation.
“I shouldn’t be more than a few hours. You get your workout done and start practice on the bo kata I taught you yesterday.”
Her frown had nothing to do with uncertainty this time. “I still don’t get why I have to use a treadmill. What happened to immortality?”
“Longevity,” I corrected, “and it gets eaten if it doesn’t learn to move its pretty little ass.”
Kat rolled her eyes. “All right, all right.” She continued to grumble as she started the treadmill moving again. “I’m going.”
The machine hit a steady jogging speed, making Kat’s full breasts bounce lightly under her T-shirt. I coughed away the needy sound that rose in my throat. “I’ll be back soon.”
