Page 18 of Prey

We were one. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

My lids opened and I lifted from nuzzling Tessa’s neck, a smile coming to my face. I knew I’d have her, but it was how much she wanted the sex that left me happy. Maybe I hadn’t expected so much passion. From the glimpses of her past, she hadn’t enjoyed fucking very much. Hell, she’d only been with two people and the first was just once. The second...well, he didn’t last long in or out of the bedroom.

I pushed up completely, taking in the dark hair covering her face. The word MINE was written across her chest in blood. The claim made my smile grow bigger. Tessa still laid there, breathing heavily. She had to have been exhausted with as much blood as I drained from her. Hell, I’d needed it. Taking Boyd out for trying to attack her left me lightheaded. I couldn’t ever remember being so weak. And it showed. Not only in my appearance, but in everything I did. Even talking had become a chore.

Tightness pulled at my back and I paused midway in removing the long curls covering her face to look over my shoulder. Damn, she’d gotten me good. My eyes narrowed only to flare open at the bite mark on my shoulder. The memory of me pulling her in slammed into me like a freight train. I fingered the bloody indents, watching the dark substance slide over my finger at the swipe.

My head spun back to face her and I swept her hair back, immediately turning her face to look at me. Dark pupils were dilated, nearly taking up the entire green area. My head shook with what I already knew.

“Hey.” I tapped against her cheek and her lips separated. The deep breaths went from her nose to her mouth as she gasped. My brain reeled as I tried to figure out if this was common with a second exchange. “Tessa.” I tapped harder and she blinked. A small strangled sound, almost like a whisper, sent a small dose of panic rushing through me. I wanted her dead, but not like this. Maybe not even for another few weeks. Shit!

I reached down, picking up my pants and sliding them on. I didn’t think as I grabbed one of my shirts and pulled it over her head. Her body wasn’t necessarily limp, but it wasn’t reacting either.

“Tessa. God dammit. Tessa,” I growled louder.

“You…” Again, she blinked. Calmness over her potential death faded, replaced by the anger again. Two fucking blood exchanges. I didn’t want this. The obsession I felt for her went past the point of controllable. I hadn’t lied to her about not sleeping. I couldn’t knowing she was there with Hunter. And it wasn’t just him. It could have been any man and I would have felt as strongly. I stalked her house until the last minutes before sunrise. Nothing mattered but her and I hated it. Who was this person that had taken me over? I didn’t know him. Didn’t want to! She was ruining me. She was…winning. But what was I supposed to do? Kill her to stop the process? Bond her and make her my concubine? I nearly laughed. That sure as hell wasn’t happening. Blood slave? Eh. Keep her here so I could at least sleep? That was tempting.

“You…” Tessa took a deep breath and tried to sit, but fell back to the mattress. My arm latched onto her bicep, pulling her up. Her cheeks flushed even as her skin glowed vibrantly. “You’re…staying away from me…after this,” she said, slurring. “And you’re not keeping me…here. God, I have the worst headache.”

“Wait.” I slapped her hand away before it reached her head, forcing her to look at me. “You were reading my mind?”

I knew she had. There’d been no reason for me to close myself off before. Now, I’d have to remember to. There were too many secrets she couldn’t know.

You’re staying away from me after this. The words came barreling back. “You are not one to tell me what to do. Whatever I decide will be done and that’s the end of it.”

I barely caught her fist as it flew toward my face. The power was amazing. I noticed she was bouncing back. And fast.

“Stay the fuck away…from me.” Motionless, she stared, and I couldn’t ignore the tears pooling in her eyes. They tugged at my heart and I could have cursed the new sensations brought on by our growing bond. I’d hurt her feelings from my cruelty. Could read her thoughts as she internally broke down, regretting what we’d just shared. Regretting opening herself to me.

“I told you that you were going to fall in love with me, mon chaton. The process has started. There’s no stopping it. Especially now.”

“Wrong,” she said in French, pulling at her hand. “I’ve walked away from people I held more love for than the speck of emotion I feel for you. That was real love. You poisoning your way into my heart will not make it flourish. More like wilt until it feels nothing but death and hate. Congratulations,” she spat, “you’re getting part of your wish.”

I let go of her, not believing what I was hearing. She’d slipped into my language. Spoke it as if she’d been born and raised in my country. And I knew she didn’t even realize it.

I pushed from the bed, not able to stop staring at her.

“By the way,” she continued, climbing off the other side and grabbing her slacks, “the bite was better than you were. So much better. Maybe we should just stick to that from now on.”

The lies I so clearly registered had me flying over the mattress to tower above her. “If that’s the case, maybe I should fuck you again. It might possibly change your mind. Or maybe I’ll give you to the vampire who followed you back here for his gang to work over. I bet they’ll do a better job fucking you.”

My hands locked into her hair on both sides of her head as I lowered to eye level and projected visions into her mind of some of their work. The multiple bite marks and tears into flesh made some of the women unidentifiable. That was of course after a few of them raped their victims. Not Boyd, but the others.

Tessa’s hands flew up, slamming into my forearms as she cried out. “I want to go home,” she said, trembling violently. “I want to leave.”

Even pissed, my obsessive side refused the idea. But it had to be done. I had to figure out a way to deal with her absence better than the last time. I had to break away and hunt, whether I wanted anyone else’s blood or not.

I let go of her and stepped back. “You know your way out. Go.”

Tessa’s lips separated and she looked down toward the door. I felt her fear as if it were my own, and I didn’t like it. The emotion left a sour taste in my mouth and I swallowed, trying to wash it away.

“Go,” I urged. “No one is stopping you. Yet.”

Tessa jerked off my shirt, changing it for her own. Even as she did, I felt my body stir. Fuck, I wanted her again. And more powerfully than before. As she came around to my side, her steps were slow. I watched her pick up the contents of her purse and toss them inside. Even with my blood, she was still sore from how hard I’d fucked her. My mouth tightened at the softening in my chest and I leaned down, picking up her wallet and handing it to her. She wouldn’t meet my eyes and I nearly made her. If it weren’t for the pain she felt—I felt—I would have. It was all too real. Too new.

I threw up my wall, closing off that side of the exchange as much as I could. The dull emotions were a mild annoyance, but still effective. Dammit. Feeling wasn’t something I wanted. This wasn’t what I wanted.

Knocking had us both looking over. I tuned into the presence, immediately standing. Tessa joined me, throwing me a confused look as she did so.

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