Kane wanted to pull her in closer, bury his face in her neck, and breathe that scent in forever. He wanted to bring her home with him, worship her body, make her his queen…
His phone vibrated inside the breast pocket of his leather jacket and Kane shook away the surprisingly odd thought. What was the matter with him? Releasing the woman with a sheepish smile, he turned away to take the call and to get a handle on the crazy that had suddenly infected him.
His clerk, Edward was calling, but Kane couldn’t hear him with the noise from the bar. Promising to call the male back in a few minutes, Kane tucked his phone away again only to have that scent hit his nose like some mystery breeze had carried it straight to his nostrils.
She was still there, waiting for him to give her his attention once more, and he dimly thought that he should move away. He wasn’t here to socialize, he had something to do that was important, but for the life of him, he could no longer remember what that was.
The woman said something, frowned slightly when she realized he hadn’t heard her and her bronze-glossed lips pinched with frustration before the music dimmed. Kane wasn’t the only one who looked around with confusion, but he didn’t notice the others as that scent continued to wrap around him, loosening tense muscles as visions of her naked beneath him, writhing, calling his name, drilled into his brain.
“I’m Angie,” she purred, her hand returning to his chest, the heat of her palm making him close his eyes in a moment of pure pleasure.
Angie. His queen. Odd that while the thought seemed as if it was his own, it felt so alien in his head. Squeezing his eyes shut, he attempted to focus, but everything seemed hazy, a sudden dreamlike quality taking hold of him.
His phone vibrated again and he went to reach for it only for her to pluck it out of his hand and shut it off. He had the vague notion that he should be irritated, that she had no right, but that scent continued to seduce him and within a heartbeat, he no longer remembered why he should care.She was his queen, she could do anything she wanted…
“Do you want to get out of here?” she asked, leaning in closer until she, and that scent she wore, was his entire universe.
With a vacant nod, Kane took her hand.
∞∞∞
Evangeline had made a tactical error, though she’d never admit that out loud. She should have waited for blood to use in the spell, but she hadn’t realized at the time how strong Kane’s mind was. The lack of potency by using hair as a replacement meant she had to remain close to him at all times. Actually, close, as it turned out, was an understatement. Apparently, they needed to be practically attached at the hip.
They’d arrived at his apartment and he’d left her presence to take a shower. He had emerged with nothing but a towel wrapped around his hips, and in that moment of distraction, while Evangeline had been admiring his fine body from across the room, mentally wishing he was anything other than a vampire, his eyes had cleared of their drugged haze, had narrowed with suspicion, and he’d used his preternatural speed to flash himself over to her and grip her around her throat. “Who are you?”
For a heartbeat, she wondered if she had accidentally dropped the glamour that disguised her true self, but no, it was a simple matter of in the few minutes he’d been away from her, the spell had worn off, and along with it, all the subliminal suggestions she had planted. It had taken everything she had to wrap the scent around him once more and cage his mind to her will.
This would never do. Even if she stayed glued to Kane’s side – something she had no desire to do – sooner or later, someone would come looking for him, even if just to remind him of duties he’d been neglecting. She could move him to the warehouse, she supposed, but the smell of the place alone might interfere with his senses enough to wake him up.
She could try to collect his blood for a new, stronger spell, but pain could also shake him free from the trance. No. Should she continue, she would have to do the best with what she had, and while seducing a vampire was repulsive, no matter how gorgeous of form Kane was, she’d already resigned herself to the idea, deciding previously that it was the best course of action. Thankfully, she’d planted the thought in his head that he didn’t wish to feed from her, would die before he marred such perfect skin with his bite, so she’d at least spared herself that horror.
A witch feeding a vampire could be dangerous. In some cases, especially if blood was taken from a particularly potent witch or if the feeding was exclusive between the two, a witch could inadvertently transfer her power, and the last thing she needed was to strengthen Kane even further. This was all about control. He was the puppet, she was the master, she couldn’t allow him an advantage that might turn the tables. Not to mention, some vampires could read thoughts or memories during the blood exchange and she couldn’t risk Kane having that particular ability and becoming privy to her plans.
As she watched his eyes cloud over once more, Evangeline grimaced. Stay, seduce the vampire under this current spell and risk being killed by him should he slip the leash if she weakened for a moment, or cut her losses and try again another time. There really was no choice, was there?
She needed to reassess, reevaluate because if a five-minute shower snapped him out of her control, she’d never be able to maintain this long-term. She wouldn’t be able to let her guard down for even a second, not even to sleep. No. This was no good. She’d be trapped here, wouldn’t she? Unable to leave his side, and Evangeline would never willingly cage herself again. A better plan would be to put Kane to sleep, she decided. Yes, a quick sleeping spell, and once he was under, she’d remove herself from his memories, obtain the blood she needed for a more potent spell, and return once she was guaranteed the upper hand. And she would return. Kane Fletcher was key to her plans.
Chapter Two
Sophia St. John surveyed the area of the crash with a wince. The area where she and her brother had impacted the ground after a freefall from the sky was a massive gouge in the earth, bare of trees or greenery. From there, their bodies had slid, taking out more trees that the pack had since cleared away, using the lumber to repair cabins that had sustained damage during her awakening and to build a new cabin for her use though she had yet to move in. She preferred, for now, sticking close to her brother Travis for a sense of connection, even if his new mate, Morgan, set her teeth on edge.
She didn’t remember her awakening, her dragon completely in control as she’d emerged from her stone casing. Nor did she remember the crash, only hearing about it after the fact. Her first conscious memory had been coming to, wrapped within the protective confines of her brother’s dragon form. He’d curled that massive scaled body around her to save her from the worst of the impact.
Turning a slow circle, Sophia grimaced. Judging by the damage still evident even after a month, it had been quite an impact. No wonder her brother’s back had taken so long to heal. God, she was a mess and a menace. She was surprised the pack hadn’t descended on her with torches and pitchforks declaring, ‘Kill the dragon!’. Ever since she had woken up, her beast had been far too close to the surface, a writhing presence of seething hostility just under the skin. She hadn’t had this much problem controlling the beast since she was a child.
Unlike the common shifters such as wolves, bears, and big cats who were unable to shift until puberty, dragon shifters went through their first transition around three years of age. Perhaps because their inner beast was so ferocious, they needed the extra span of years to learn control, or perhaps it was because their numbers were so small that evolution had chosen to give them a fighting chance with an extra level of protection early on.
Her brother cleared his throat as he approached, so as not to startle her. That was another thing she’d discovered. She was as jumpy as a cat, which had only increased her level of destruction. Every little noise had her dragon surging to the forefront. She was lucky she hadn’t killed someone. She had, however, set fire to Travis’s living room, destroyed an outbuilding, and collapsed a pier, as well as scared off a group of curious teens that would most likely never approach her again after she belched fire at them. Marguerite, the pack healer said it was most likely post-traumatic stress but whether it had a name or not, it was disconcerting. At the rate she was going, sooner or later shewouldhurt someone if she didn’t manage to find some control.
“I thought we might go into the city tonight, have a bite to eat. What do you think?”
Oh, yes, let’s bring the dangerous beast out into public and watch her torch a restaurant should a waiter drop something.Turning to face her brother, Sophia knew her attempt at a smile was weak, but at the moment, it was the best she could do. He had changed in the five years she’d been sleeping. His golden-brown hair a bit lighter now thanks to time spent under a Louisiana sun, his skin a deeper tan, but the biggest tells were the new fine lines around his eyes, and the deeper grooves bracketing his mouth from stress because of her. Why hadn’t she listened to him when he’d warned her about coming to New Orleans for Mardi Gras?
“Soph?”
Shaking herself, she tried for a brighter smile. “You and Morgan should go, have a night to yourselves.”Without having to worry about your out of control sister blowing shit up, she mentally added.
Morgan Rhys, her brother’s mate, was another subject Sophia couldn’t seem to wrap her head around. The woman wasn’t just a vampire, she was one of the Born, natural enemies to dragons and somehow, her brother had managed to fall in love with her. It defied the laws of nature.
