he supposed.
It was similar with the human hunters. It hadnât taken him long to sniff out the essence that marked her kind. It was nice to discover that sheâd hooked up with a competent Clan Prime.
The one with the human hunter smelled like a Wolf, mostly. There was a hint of something else clinging to the Prime. But heâd been in a fight with the Tribe boys, so it was possible that he had some Tribe scent on him left over from the scuffle.
All Joe knew for certain was that the vampire was not Sid Wolf. But that was all right. Heâd been concerned Sid would get involved in something that wasnât company business when they were so shorthanded. Heâd wanted to make sure that wasnât the case, so he could talk Sid out of it if he had to.
Joe figured that Sid had called in a cousin to work on this assignment. Joe didnât want his partner to have anything to do with this drug case, even if Sid was all into this Clan honor stuff.
He was satisfied that the situation was covered. Sid would show up at the office of BleythinInvestigations on Monday morning, and they could get back to working missing-persons cases.
Joe yawned and trotted back toward where heâd parked his car. Being in wolf form took a lot of energy, and it had been a long night for him, too. It was time for him to go home and get some sleep.
Chapter Four
âC
ome here, little girl.â
She threw a lamp at him, plunging the room into darkness
.
âYou forget that I can see in the dark?â
âDonât come near me!â
She was pressed up against a wall of the windowless room. There was a bed between them, but the door was to his back. There was no way she was getting out. The only place she was going was on her back, with him on top of her. In her. That was going to be sweet. But he was going to play for a while first. It had been a long time since heâd been completely in control. He wanted her body and her blood, but breaking her spirit was going to come first
.
âBlood slave,â he said. âYou know the term. Iâm going to make you mine.â He held up a hand
.
âPlease
donât
tell me youâd rather die first.â
âI donât do clichés,â she answered, as she looked around for anything to use as a weapon
.
âYouâre a killer,â he reminded her. âYouâre going to pay for that.â
He was on her in the next heartbeat. He felt her heart beneath his hand, felt its hard, frantic flutter under soft skin and fragile bone. Blood drove through it in a panicked rush. Her fear was a sweet tangy scent, better than perfume, better than anythingâbut blood. And sex
.
âEden,â he said, and stroked her short hair before running his claws ever so gently down her throat and over her breasts. He ripped her shirt to shreds but left no mark on her. But the fear of what he could do marked her soul, and it was delicious
.
He licked his lips, then her throat. He tasted the salt of sweat and savored the heat of her skin and her pulse under his tongue. He let his fangs grow hard, slowly pierced fear-heated flesh, licked the wound, then suckled. Her body arched against his, helpless against the pleasure. She moaned, low and frantic. He laughed, forcing the sound into her mind, knowing that she hated what he made her feel
.
âItâs only going to get worse,â he told her, and laid her on the bed
.
He didnât taste her again. In fact, he let theblood desire die down before he touched her again. When he slid his hands over her, it was as a man touching a woman. He luxuriated in the feel of warm, smooth skin, of curves and shadows, the play of muscle. He took in scent and texture. Everything he did was to please himself. She belonged to him, and it pleased him to learn every inch of what was his. If he used his skill to arouseâwell, that was her problem to deal with. It didnât matter to him if her body wanted what