Part 3 (1/2)

”Drinking blood. I'm out of my f.u.c.king mind.”

Declan sighed. With quick, economical motions, he shed his clothes and waited until she caught a glimpse.

And then a longer look, until finally she turned and stared at him, her eyes wide, shocked, and heated. Her pink tongue darted out to lick her lips before she asked roughly, ”What are you doing?”

He didn't answer as he fell to his knees and cried out as the heat raced along his skin, followed by a flow of fur.

It hurt. It always hurt at first. But it was a delicious pain, much like her fangs sinking into his flesh. First, his face lengthened, a muzzle grew and his longish blond hair thickened and became denser. The flow of fur raced down over his body like a waterfall as his muscles enlarged and his body changed and s.h.i.+fted.

The rippling fur obscured much of the change from sight as his arms stretched and lengthened. His chest widened and deepened as a fine pelt of fur covered it, thinning down to a silky pelt over his belly and groin where his c.o.c.k thrust out-hard and thick and full- perfectly formed.

His hips were still lean and muscled, covered with that same silky fur that started to thicken as it flowed down his thighs, thighs that were heavy with muscle. Two sickening thuds filled the room as the bones in his legs reformed beneath the fur as it raced on down to his feet, covering them-larger, longer and broader, made better to run and jump and lunge.

It only took seconds, under a minute, and he was free.

The animal inside him rejoiced while the human continued to watch his companion warily. If it had been another vamp, even one of the few he called friends, he never would have s.h.i.+fted in front of them. It left him helpless for a few brief seconds, and he couldn't ever let down his guard.

But this was Tori.

Well, there was one other...

When he finally rose, his bulky body was just a few inches taller than it had been, but larger, more powerful, more muscled. His gait was slightly awkward. Standing on his hind legs in this form tested his balance a bit. But he could walk upright.

Or drop to all fours and run faster than any timber wolf could hope to. He c.o.c.ked his head, staring at Tori.

”Holy s.h.i.+t. You meant a f.u.c.king werewolf.”

”Not were,” he growled, forcing the words over his tongue. It felt so f.u.c.king awkward to talk in this form.

”Wolf. Moon means nothing.”

Her eyes trailed lower and lower, pausing on his hard c.o.c.k. Declan growled deep in his chest. He couldn't help it. Just her scent made him hard, and the change always had a vaguely s.e.xual feel to it.

But when she took a step in his direction, her pink tongue darting out to wet her lips again, he moved back. ”Don't,” he grunted, shaking his maned head.

”Why not?”

He closed his eyes, banished the creeping power.

Changing back could be exhausting, but it was painless. Within a few heartbeats of time, he was sitting crossed legged on the floor, naked. And when he looked back at her, it was from human eyes. From human flesh. ”It's not you who wants this,” he said, staring at her while she stared at his straining p.e.n.i.s. He closed one fist over his c.o.c.k, dragging it up the thick, ruddy length slowly, his lids drooping as the rounded head was swallowed by the grip of his hand. A long, raspy sigh escaped him as he pumped his c.o.c.k, staring at her for a long moment before his hand fell away. Declan rose slowly, shaking his head. ”It's what the vampirism has put inside you that wants this.”

Dragging her eyes from his erection, she stared at him, her own eyes glowing softly, renewed vitality and life and health glowing in her face. And l.u.s.t. ”You are wrong,” she said softly.

”No. You don't want this, not with me.”

Reaching out, she closed one slim, cool hand over his c.o.c.k and squeezed. He hissed, his head falling back. He was trying to be a gentleman here. She was confused, had been hurt and had had her life ripped away from her. He was too decent a guy to take advantage of her, even if he fantasized about it for a few brief seconds.

But she was making it hard.

In several ways.

”You're wrong. I've always wanted you,” she whispered heatedly, dropping to her knees in front of him. Her tongue darted out and she licked him daintily before lifting her shadowed eyes to stare at him. ”I always wanted you. And I wanted to live a long, healthy normal life, with a family, and a man to love me.”

”That was taken away, it seems. But I can have you.

Can't I?”

A rumbling growl erupted from his throat when her wet, pink lips closed over his c.o.c.k, and took his length down her throat. One hand came up and fisted in her damp curls, holding her back when she would have swallowed him down a second time.

He felt her fangs nick him as he pulled away, jerked her to her feet and whirled, pinning her against the wall.

He stared at her, gasping for breath while she smiled lazily at him.

”Always?” he repeated. ”If you've wanted me, then why haven't you been with me? I've made myself clear on the matter, haven't I? I knew ya were attracted, but ya stayed so d.a.m.n far away.”

She shrugged lazily. ”I had a rule about not getting involved with cops,” she said, the shadows drifting back into her lovely blue eyes while she trailed her hands up and down his side. ”I had a lot of rules, and look where they led me.”

”So, what? You want to f.u.c.k me because life f.u.c.ked you over?”

”No. Because life has f.u.c.ked me over, I think maybe I'll actually start living the way I've always wanted, instead of the way I always thought I should,” she replied. Leaning forward, she nipped at his lower lip before staring up at him. ”And I have wanted you since the day we met.”

”Oh, well, then,” Declan said weakly as her hands closed over his a.s.s and pulled him against her pelvis.

Son of a b.i.t.c.h, he was no b.l.o.o.d.y saint.

Declan's head lowered and he nuzzled at her neck, cuddled her close to him. Bending over, he tossed her weight over his shoulder and carried her upstairs.

Depositing her on the toilet, he turned away and set the hot water to running in the shower.

He could feel her eyes on him as he knelt in front of her, stripping her torn, filthy clothes from her body-could hear the slightly elevated heartbeat that l.u.s.t was causing-could smell the old sweat, the filth and blood on her, and the musk of the vampire that had changed her, the decaying scent of his blood.

And under it all he could smell Tori-the scent of peaches and s.e.x, the scent that had driven him out of his mind for months.

”You have his blood on you,” he said quietly, lifting her in his arms like a child and taking her into the shower.

Lowering her to her feet, he reached for shampoo and lathered her hair while the water poured over her body, draining away in a swirl of muddy brown and rust red as the dirt and blood started to slough away. ”His smell.”

Her head fell back and she sighed in pleasure as his hands ma.s.saged her scalp, her neck, and her back before he rinsed the suds away. Declan smiled slightly when she jumped under his hands as he soaped her up-thrust b.r.e.a.s.t.s and gently curved belly.

She gasped and flinched, when he carefully cleaned the wound on her neck. He had saved it for last, soaping and rinsing it carefully before lowering his head to kiss the angry red flesh and fading bruises. ”It still hurts,” she whispered roughly. ”But when he did it, I thought the pain alone was going to kill me.”

”He was angry. They usually save the pain for s.e.x, not feeding. Most vamps, even the feral ones, will make the feeding pleasant,” he said flatly, battling the rage down when her voice broke just a little. ”You bled him, didn't you?”

Her lashes lowered and she nodded. ”Not that it did me any good.” Reaching up, she touched one sharp, pearly fang. ”I couldn't stop him.”

”Shh,” Declan murmured, lowering his head and kissing her mouth. His tongue slid past her lips and caressed the fangs before going deeper to taste her. As the hot water continued to pulse down around him, he turned and backed her up against the wall, returning to kiss and nuzzle the scarred flesh at her neck before he dropped to his knees in front of her, his mouth seeking out one ruby red nipple and tugging at it with his teeth.

His other hand caressed and stroked her side, her hips and her a.s.s. His palm glided down the length of her thigh, ma.s.saging and stroking his way down to her ankle as he started to kiss his way down her torso-to her navel and the tight curls between her thighs. He slid his tongue between her folds, and lapped at her c.l.i.toris as he lifted her ankle and draped her leg over his shoulder, opening her.

Above him, he could hear her heavy pants, the steady pace of her heart, smell the heavy scent of peaches that seemed to pour from her aroused body. Her nails dug into his flesh when he entered her v.a.g.i.n.a with his tongue. She came in a flood the second he stroked his fingers between the cheeks of her a.s.s.