Page 13 of Taming His Vampire Mate
I bent down and shook him awake.
His eyes snapped open. He blinked twice, confusion twisting his face.
“Who are you and why am I naked?” he murmured sleepily. His voice was softer and warmer than I’d expected. He sat up and yawned. Then his gaze locked on me and he froze. He stared, wide-eyed, his lips parting and his eyebrows shooting up. “Well, now. This is a new and interesting way to wake up, isn’t it?”
Then he leapt to his feet in a movement so fast it looked—even to my senses—like magic. Faster than any wolf. Faster than any creature I had ever seen, even the worst horrors from the bleeds between this world and the next.
Unease swept through me. I should have left. He was a predator. A powerful one.
“My clothes,” he muttered, scanning the ground.
I pointed mutely ten feet away.
“Right,” he muttered, striding to snatch up his pants and shimmy into them. His movements were fluid, graceful. He zipped up and grabbed his shirt. “Right. Because we—”
Then he broke off, horrified. It seemed to sink in exactly what we had done.
I scowled at his expression.
“And it’s never happening again!” he snapped, yanking his shirt on. “Ever.”
I blinked at the accusation. I’d just been having my own doubts, but the way he said it pissed me off.
“Youkissedme,” I reminded him.
“An act of temporary insanity!” he hissed. “I was under a spell! And you were naked and rightthere! What’s your excuse?”
I frowned, confused. What did he mean—under a spell? What kind of spell would make him fuck a stranger in the woods?
He finished dressing, then glared. “Andwhyare you still naked?”
I arched a brow. “What’s wrong? Afraid you’ll tear your fancy clothes off again and let me—”
“If you finish that sentence, I’ll rip your throat out.”
Despite the danger, I grinned. He looked so pristine and delicate—even with pine needles in his hair and his clothes rumpled—that rough and tumble seemed laughable.
Well, almost laughable. He’d held his own just fine earlier. My cock stirred at the memory.
He saw it and swallowed hard, paling further.
“No. Absolutely not!” He tore his gaze away. He looked shaken. “This is a side effect of the spell. Nothing more.”
He sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
“You keep saying that.” I cocked my head. He didn’t look monstrous. He looked… beautiful. Ethereal but sharp-edged, like a poisonous flower. Deadly. “What sort of spell?”
“One I’m not getting into with you. Ever,” he snapped. “I’m leaving. If you follow, you’ll regret it.”
“Are threats of violence love language for all vampires or just you?”
A cold smile curved his lips, making him seem even more dangerous. “No,” he said softly, locking eyes with me. “I’m not just any vampire. I’m extra special.”
Then he turned and vanished into the woods.
Again, I was startled by his speed. Not even a blur—one moment there, the next gone. Faster than any vampire I’d ever seen.
Still, as I stared after him, I found myself smiling. Strange. I hadn’t smiled—really smiled—in years.
