text:
A stag and a vampire. Mortal peril. True love.

Deer shifter, Jason Fleetfoot, has turned his life around. After years of taking chances, he's working as a crime lab technician, and he's determined to forgo the risky behavior of his past. Then he meets Drew Danvers, the only undead detective in the city. Jason hates vampires, or does he? Drew defies all the stereotypes of his kind and something about him has taken hold of Jason and won't let go. So Jason might dare to take a chance on a man others would label a risk to his health if not his very life.

Sex on the Hoof by Silvia Violet

Copyright © 2015 by Silvia Violet

Cover art by AJ Corza

Edited by Erika Orrick

All Rights Reserved. No part of this eBook may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Smashwords Edition

Published in the United States of America.

_Sex on the Hoof_ is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are fictionalized. Any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

# CHAPTER ONE

Jason

I'm Jason Fleetfoot. I've made a lot of stupid mistakes in my life. The stupidest of all was taking a job with some assholes intent on manufacturing illegal chemical weapons.

My sister, Natalie, lost her job when her company folded, and I lost mine because my fucking boss was a bastard. I've got authority issues. And control issues. All right, I'm seriously fucked up, but I wasn't going to let my sister starve because I couldn't keep it together.

So I made a deal with the devil and damn near got myself and Natalie killed. She saved me. She and her cop boyfriend, Wolf. The name's not a joke. He's a werewolf. Did I mention we're shifters, Natalie and I? Deer shifters. If you think my human form is impressive, you should see me as a ten-point buck. So yeah, a werewolf and a deer shifter. Somehow they're making it work.

When I was a kid, we were all in hiding—wolves, deer, rabbits, foxes, and all the other shifters, vampires and demons too. Then the Big Collapse happened. Worst econ crash since the Great Depression. The world was in chaos, the US Government near collapse, the unemployed filling the streets. A bunch of supernaturals said, fuck it, the humans can barely keep themselves together, it's time we had our day. I thought there'd be a war, but none of us were organized enough to attack and the humans had their own problems so now we all live together.

Peacefully? Fuck no. Most humans tolerate us, just. Some love us only for the thrill we can give them. And others would like to kill us on sight, but at least we don't have to pretend anymore. I love what my body can do and I'm never going to apologize for it.

But that's enough history. Let's get back to the now and my life on the straight-and-narrow, working hard to earn an honest dollar. I fucking hate being beholden to Wolf, but I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for him. Once the Atlanta PD cleared me, Wolf helped me get a job in the crime lab where I can use my knowledge of chemistry and computers for the good guys.

As the newest hire, I work nights, babysitting the equipment and working on what comes in during the wee hours. For the most part, I like it. It's quiet and I get a chance to play around with new techniques and do a bit of programming. There's only one problem: Detective Drew Danvers.

He works nights too. Not because he's new, but because he's a goddamned vampire. They say he was Changed against his will. But what the hell was he doing picking up a vampire at a bar? I certainly have no intention of fucking a vampire. No matter how damn fuckable Drew is. Yeah, I like men, what of it? And Drew is a fine specimen of a man, like some Viking warrior. He's at least six three with sculpted arms and pecs that make him look like he could lift a truck one-handed. Considering he's a vamp, he probably can.

Getting involved with Drew would be stupid on too many levels to count. And I'm finished with making stupid decisions. So why does my body want so desperately to be impaled on him—his cock, his fangs, anything he'd like to stick in me. Natalie's right, my dick really doesn't communicate with my brain. I don't just want to fuck him, I want to be taken by him, and I never want that. Like I said, I have control issues. But with Drew... No, there's never going to be anything with Drew.

***

I hear the buzz that signals someone entering the lab. I glance around from behind the mass spec machine. _Shit!_ Speak of the devil, or in this case, his undead minion.

My pride will not let me hide even though I want to. I'm not afraid of him, even if I should be. I'm just afraid my unruly cock will give away my interest.

He slides his gaze up and down my body. He's looked at me like this before. But I have never been sure whether it's sexual interest or him salivating over me like I'm a piece of the lush chocolate cake my grandma used to make on Sundays. "You alone in here, Fleetfoot?"

Shit, maybe he does mean to make a meal out of me. No point in lying, though. He probably already knows the answer. Aren't vampires supposed to be damn near omnipotent? "Newton called in sick, and everyone else is out in the field."

"Good." Danvers smiles, still eyeing me like I'm prey. If I were in deer form, I'd bolt, white tail flagging danger. But I'm a man and his ice-blue gaze has me glued to the spot. God above, he's gorgeous when he smiles. My cock is starting to get uncomfortable in my jeans.

My heart pounds as I try to interpret his response. Does he mean "Good, I'm going to give you the best fuck of your life," or "Good I'm going to drain your blood and leave you for dead?"

"I need you to analyze these samples by the end of your shift, but I'd like you to keep it between the two of us."

I take the evidence bags and examine the contents: dirt, a few fibers, a nearly microscopic paint chip. "What am I looking for?"

"I took these from a car. I'm trying to tie the driver to a location outside the city. Send the results only to me and leave no record."

His assumption that I would do his bidding pissed me off. "Why?"

He smiles again. This time he lets his fangs show. "Because no one else needs to know about this particular investigation. I've decided to trust you. You want to be worthy of my trust."

Despite his being one of the undead, I'd heard he was a damn good detective. But what was he up to? Why the secrecy? "Are you threatening me?"

He smirks. "Would you like me to be?"

What the fuck kind of question is that? And why am I biting my lip to keep from saying yes? I glance down, gaze pulled by the beauty of his body, and notice his massive erection. Talk about a threat.

"I'd like you to carry on with whatever secret police business you're up to so I can run your test."

He studies me for a few seconds. "No, I don't think you would."

"Detective, I have work to do." I try to speak with the same cool disdain he does. I can tell it hasn't worked. That he's all but laughing at me. The bastard.

"Then go work." He waves toward the equipment.

"I don't let anyone watch."

"Oh, really?" He is not talking about lab work.

"How important is this to you?" I lift the bag to make sure he knows that my mind is on work. Which it is... not.

"Very." The growl in his voice has my cock perking up.

"Then stop distracting me."

He gives me a slow once-over. "I will. For now. Contact me immediately when you're done." He turns and walks—glides?—through the sliding doors of the lab without another word.

# CHAPTER TWO

Drew

I leave the crime lab and head upstairs to Lieutenant Morrison's office. I don't want to confess what I've been up to. I only plan to give the barest of details, but I'd rather he find out from me than someone else. I've put my trust in Jason. Wolf trusts him, and he hardly trusts anyone, me included. Something tells me Jason won't be spreading rumors about me neglecting my cases to run an investigation on the side. But sooner or later someone will find out, and since ninety-five percent of the cops in town hate me, whoever it is will be more than happy to rat me out.

I think about Jason trying to defy me, his already sin-dark eyes even blacker than usual, his hair, which mimics a deer's fur perfectly, tousled after he's run his hands through it, looking like it might after a round of rough sex. Damn, that stag is a hot piece of ass and I want him. He's trouble. Major trouble. And I've got no business stirring shit up at the precinct. Still, the thought of making him snort and cry while I pound his ass...

_Fuck!_ I've got to stop thinking that way. Morrison's going to be pissed enough when he realizes what I've been up to. I don't need to go into his office sporting wood.

Morrison is on his way out when I show up.

"I need a minute," I say.

"Does it have to be now?"

I nod.

"Fuck, you're about to make this never-ending day even worse, aren't you?"

"Those kids that disappeared from the river district. It's Trent. He's back."

Morrison narrows his eyes at me. "How exactly do you know this?"

"That's irrelevant. We need—"

"There's no _we_ here. You don't work cases involving vamps."

"You didn't even know this case involved a vamp until I told you it did."

"I think you want to rephrase that."

I do. Morrison has gone to bat for me numerous times, both when I was human and now that I'm a vampire. I owe him my respect. He's one of the most principled men I know. "No one is aware that there is a vampire connection."

"Really? Have you been in contact with the investigators?"

I shake my head. "No." It's a Missing Persons case, not Vice, so I don't know the detectives. "But they'd have talked to you if they were looking into a vampire angle."

Morrison was always contacted when a vampire was suspected so he could consult with me on vamp behavior, even though I'm forbidden to actually take vampire cases. I wasn't given a choice about signing that clause when Morrison pushed through an agreement that allowed me to return to the force despite my undead status. It's also the reason Morrison isn't going to sanction my search for Trent no matter how well I present the case. Not having his blessing won't stop me, but I sure wish I could use department resources and official time. Of course, I'm availing myself of a particularly resourceful stag whether or not I'm allowed.

Morrison sighs. "If you want me to take you seriously, you're going to have to tell me what makes you so certain Trent's involved."

"I... smelled him at the scene." I hate drawing attention to my abilities. Well, super strength is nice, but it's fucking weird to scent things like a bloodhound, makes me sound inhuman. And well, fuck it, I'm technically not human anymore, but I want to be.

"You went to the scene?"

I nod.

"Why?"

"I..." This is where things get hinky. Trying to explain how I know certain things to a human is impossible, especially to one like Morrison, who's not at all inclined to give credence to spiritual woo-woo. Sure he believes in shifters, vamps, and demons. He's seen us and what we can do, but with anything intangible, he'll dismiss it until he has no choice. "I know Trent's come back to town. Don't ask me how; I just do. He made me and I feel his presence. I'm not wrong."

"Fuck, as much as I want you to be, I'm going to have to assume you're not. Do you have any solid evidence, anything I can take to Carson in Missing Persons so I can get the case transferred here?"

"Maybe."

Morrison glared at me.

"I'm having it tested."

"How the fuck—" Morrison held up a hand. "No, don't tell me. I'm better off not knowing. But remember, I'm the only one here who isn't gunning for you."

That was true. And gunning wasn't necessarily figurative. Luckily I'm not easy to kill. "Trent has those missing kids. You've got to move on this."

"I can talk to Missing Persons, try to get the case transferred, but they're not likely to give in just because I demand it."

I run a hand over my hair and turn to look out the window. At least half the street lights in the area are out, and I swear the trash in the street has multiplied since I last looked. Wasn't our area due trash services days ago? "That's true, but if I do have proof Trent's back, they can't ignore it."

"If it was collected illegally, they'll have to, and so will I."

"I examined the crime scene like I would for any case. Nothing illegal about it." So I scared the piss out of a few street kids who were very obviously lying to me. I would have done that before the Change, just not with so much fang.

"And what if your evidence isn't conclusive? I'll have to imply that you've seen Trent in order to get this deemed a vampire case."

"He's in town."

"I need you to be absolutely certain."

"I am, but they won't take my word no matter what you say."

He types on the keyboard of his tablet for few seconds. "Carson's lead on the case. He owes me a favor. I hate to call it in, but if you're sure..."

"I am. And is there anyone who doesn't owe you?"

"A few." Morrison rubs his eyes. He looks exhausted. "Trent would pick now to show up again. Right when the mayor's been riding the chief's ass, saying if we don't start doing a better job, the whole city is going to be nothing but junkies and blood—" He stops abruptly and closes his tablet.

"If you start being a pussy about saying shit like that around me, it's going to piss me off."

Morrison nodded. "Apparently the fucking sensitivity training is starting to wear off on me." He shakes himself as if hoping to slough off any PC bullshit he's accidentally picked up.

The mayor's thinking is typical. He believes that the availability of blood whores fuels the creation of more vamps, but most vamps aren't interested in making protégés. Those that do create "children" typically use the newly turned to run their criminal activities, and they have their own cadre of willing—or not-so-willing—donors. And if the city's blood whores weren't selling blood, they'd sell sex. Most of them do anyway; feeding and fucking are very closely linked.

Atlanta has so many bigger problems than people selling their blood, but uptight moneyed citizens like to complain about blood whores so the mayor likes to bitch at the police about cracking down on them. All that frustration gets laid at Morrison's door when he's already working his ass off for the fucking citizenry. It makes me all that much sadder that I have to fuck his day up even more.

Morrison glances at the clock on his desk. "Fuck, I'm late for a meeting that will waste a few more hours of my night. God, I miss the days when all our meetings happened during the day."

Before the supernaturals came out, detectives used to go home at night, but now with vampires and plenty of shifters and demons living nocturnally, the "day" never really ends.

"Stay away from that crime scene and from Trent," Morrison admonished.

I nod.

"There will be hell to pay if you don't."

I nod again. "Lieutenant, I—"

"Have never been good at taking orders even before you were Changed."

"True." I can't deny it.

"I fought hard for you and I don't want to see you screw that up."

"Trust me on this." _Trust me to do the right thing for everybody, even if it's not what you'd prefer._

"If I didn't trust you, your ass would be out the door. But when it comes to Trent, what are the chances you'll deal with him as a cop, not as a man seeking revenge?"

"A _vampire_ seeking revenge."

"Yes, one who can cause a lot of damage," Morrison says.

"You know what he did, not just to me, but to—"

"I know, Drew, but we still have to uphold the law."

I see the tick in his jaw that says he's bristling under the weight of his responsibilities. He won't shed any tears if I kill Trent, but he does care about keeping the city from dissolving into lawlessness. He can't sanction a murder, even a vampire one no one else will care about. I should agree, but I'm a monster now. If that means it's my job to eliminate other monsters, so be it. That's why I'm here instead of out there seducing the innocent and draining anyone who gets in my way. Trent deserves to die, and I will see that he does no matter what I have to do.

***

I slip into a dark bar in a part of town no self-respecting human would frequent, a place that caters to supernatural creatures and their admirers. I smell the blood of patrons who've recently donated to others of my kind along with a host of shifter scents: wolves, cats, bears, and smaller mammals.

A few young shifters disappeared from here yesterday. No one has called the police; most cops don't give a damn what happens to shifters, and the last thing the shifter communities want is for the cops to look too closely into their lives. I was ignoring my own cases, but I'd been at work since dusk and dawn wasn't many hours away. Sometimes I missed the days of being a patrol officer when I got to quit at the end of an eight hour shift.

But according to my source, a vampire is the top suspect in the disappearances, one fitting the description of Trent's top lieutenant. Shifters couldn't be Changed, but their blood enhanced a vamp's strength. While I was his captive, I heard Trent talking about a superblood serum, blood from vamps who'd fed solely on shifters.

Asking questions here would do little good. As a rule, shifters distrust vamps and despise cops. As the only vampire cop in the city, I'm at the top of their shit list. But if Trent's men come looking for more victims, I intend to be here waiting.

I catch the bartender's eye. "A pint of stout." Yeah, vamps drink. We can't get drunk, though; more's the pity.

The bartender looks like he'd prefer to refuse me, but I know the place isn't licensed. If I chose, I could make that more widely known. He's pouring my beer when I notice Lucille, one of Trent's protégés, gliding across the room. She approaches the opposite end of the bar and insinuates herself between two young wolves. Both look uncomfortable, but her stunning looks and low neckline are enough to hold them in place despite their natural distrust of my kind.

An image pops into my mind of Lucille holding me down as Trent restrained me. Soon after I'd Changed, the bitch had bitten me and then hooked me to a pump that drained my blood.

Any hope of my keeping a level head evaporates. I'm beside her almost instantly. Surprise gives me an advantage. I grab her by the collar and yank her from the barstool. She bats my arm away easily. Has she been drinking shifter blood?

"You're still Trent's slave?" I taunt. "Surely you should have your own operation by now?"

She hisses.

The two men she's been sizing up recoil.

"Leave," I shout at them.

They do.

"Hey," the bartender yells. "Take it outside."

Lucille and I ignore him.

"Where is he?" I demand.

"He'll destroy you this time. He wants your head."

"I'll have his first." This is exactly what Morrison fears. I have no self-control when it comes to Trent.

She yanks free from my grasp and flees. I chase her, but she runs so fast even I can barely see her. Whatever she's been drinking, it's richer than shifter blood and that means Trent's even more dangerous than before. I will find him no matter how many rules I have to break.

# CHAPTER THREE

Jason

The results of the tests I've run for Danvers have me on edge. The stain on the fabric. Blood. The blood of a very new vampire, one who was likely still unconscious. The paint sample matches the make of a car listed as belonging to a missing teenager. Is he a new vamp? Seems likely. But no one in Missing Persons has brought me evidence from the case, and after some poking around in the precinct files—Danvers isn't the only one who can do things off the record—I can't find anything about a vampire suspect. If this is a forced Change rather than a disappearance or human kidnapping, the police should be all over it. Danvers should be sharing this information, but he's not.

Danvers expects me to contact him immediately, but I'm not sure what to do. He won't know I've finished. Even after making it a priority, I've stayed past the end of my shift to wait for results. I repackage the evidence. After checking to make sure none of the other techs are looking, I shove it into my backpack. I've already wiped all records of the test from the system. I'll talk to Danvers tonight after I've had time to think.

As I walk home, I call Natalie.

"Do you know what time it is?" she squawks.

"Eight AM, time for good little does to be out of bed."

"Fuck off, you know I sleep late on Saturdays."

"Is it Saturday?" With my odd schedule I wasn't good at keeping up.

"Yes, you asshole."

"Look, I need to talk to you. It's important. I've got a... moral dilemma."

"What's wrong now?"

I don't want to go into it over the phone. "Is Wolf there?"

"No, he just headed in for his shift."

"Good, I'll come by."

"I take it this is for my ears only." She sounds none too pleased, but I know she'll help me. She always does.

"Yeah, it's... sensitive."

She groans. "Fuck. Come on over, then."

"Thanks, sis."

***

When I arrive at Natalie's, she hands me coffee and I spill my tale, leaving out the identity of the detective who has me running secret tests and streamlining what I've discovered about the Missing Persons case.

"So do I turn the information over to the detective or turn him in to Morrison?" I ask when I finish explaining.

"What does your gut tell you? Is this guy trustworthy?"

I wanted to trust Danvers, or maybe I just wanted to get into his pants. Either way, I didn't think he'd have fought so hard to stay on the force and then fuck up his position. "I'm not sure how well I'm reading him, but he doesn't set off any danger signals."

"Then ask him again why it needs to be confidential? Refuse to give it to him unless he has a good reason. Are the missing kids shifters? You know how shifter families are about cops."

"Not unless they're keeping it hidden. They are registered with the government as humans." Natalie wouldn't be telling me to push for info if she knew the detective was Danvers. He could snap my neck with no effort at all. But I would ask him anyway.

***

That night, I wait until the other techs had been called out. Then I send Drew a message. _Come to the lab. ASAP._

Within a minute, the doors slide open and he enters. I hadn't heard him approach and I hear everything. I should be scared of confronting him. If he were up to no good, he would silence me, permanently.

"I asked you to send the results, not summon me."

"You came anyway." Why am I riling him up?

Because he's hot that way.

"Don't fuck with me, Fleetfoot." The look he gives me burns across my skin. My cock fucking loves it. _Traitor._

"Oh, I thought you liked that." I must have a subconscious death wish.

His eyes darken and his fangs descend.

_Oh shit._ "Why are you keeping this a secret?"

He takes a step back as if trying to keep himself from attacking me. That's a good sign, right? "You don't need details. Just tell me what you've found."

"I do need details. You're asking me to put my job on the line."

"I intend to take all the blame for what I'm doing. I'm not out to ruin your career. Despite the fact that very few people believe it, I'm one of the good guys."

"So why the secrecy?"

He steps toward me again. And fuck if I don't find his intimidation routine hot as hell.

"What did you find?" he asks.

"Brand-new vampire blood."

He nods.

"You suspected that."

"Yes."

"Is it the boys who are missing?"

"Fuck." He looks exasperated with me. "How did you know?"

"The paint chip. It's from a car like theirs." If he didn't think I was good at this, why did he come to me?

Drew's saved from the rest of my questions by an earsplitting alarm indicating that the building is going into lockdown. The lab doors slide closed, leaving us theoretically protected behind bulletproof glass.

A voice shouts over the intercom. "All personnel. We are in lockdown. A lust demon is loose on the premises. Use all necessary force to bring him down. You have no more than ten seconds before his power overtakes you."

Drew unholsters his weapon and gestures for me to move against the wall. "He's after me."

I frown. "How do you know?"

"He attacked me, and I brought him in."

I barely register the demon as it hits the doors at a run. Glass explodes, showering the entry to the lab. Drew gets off two shots as the demon charges him, but the monster doesn't even slow down.

The demon's power hits me. Lust demons incapacitate by making you so horny you can't think. That's what I've always been told, but it doesn't even do their power justice. I fall to my knees, not caring as glass shards rip through my jeans and stab into my flesh. I tear at the buttons of my lab coat, finally giving up and ripping it open. I fumble with the fastening of my jeans, groaning as I yank the zipper down. My hand goes straight to my cock. I don't give a damn who's watching or what's happening. I need to come right here, right now. I watch Drew fight the demon as I jack myself, but I might as well be watching a movie on a faraway screen half obscured by fog.

Drew snarls, baring his fangs and looking exactly like the predator he is. The sight should scare the hell out of me, but with the demon's lust riding me, I'm turned on as hell. I gasp and nearly kick over into orgasm. Drew charges the demon, pushing his back against the wall and sinking his fangs into the monster's neck, ripping away his flesh.

The demon screams. Drew grabs the demon's head as he writhes in pain. The crack of the demon's neck breaking should nauseate me, but I'm too busy watching the flex of Drew's ass. I work myself faster and faster. I'm almost there. I'm covered in sweat. My heart's pounding like it's going to burst. My dick is so hard it hurts.

The demon disintegrates, and Drew turns to face me just as my orgasm roars up through me. Drew's eyes glow like silver-blue fire. He makes a sound between a growl and a whine. His mouth hangs open. The look of pure lust on his face wrings spasm after spasm from my body, as though he can extend my orgasm with the power of his eyes.

"Don't move," he says.

His words freeze me in place—on the floor of my lab with my hand wrapped against my slowly softening cock.

# CHAPTER FOUR

Drew

I pull my phone from my pocket, hoping Jason doesn't see my hand shaking. For Christ's sake, vampires don't get the fucking shakes from watching shifters jack off. I just defeated a demon. That must explain my uneasiness.

Who the fuck am I kidding? I've wanted this particular shifter for months, and now I'm going to have him.

I call Morrison. He's still here despite the fact that it's after midnight and he probably came in to work midmorning. In fact, I've nearly convinced myself he lives here. "The demon's been eliminated. I'm in the lab. I'm going to make sure everything is okay here and then see what I can learn about who sent this fucker after me."

"Figure it out quickly. No telling how many work hours we're going to lose waiting for the effects to wear off."

I nod even though he can't see me. "You okay, sir?"

"The effects didn't spread this far. Why would someone send a lust demon after you when they don't affect vampires?"

"It's Trent. He's trying to put me in a situation where I'll attack a lust-crazed human. That way you'll have to put me down and he doesn't have to track me down to kill me."

"If you'd stayed the fuck away from the Trent case like you were told, he might not have bothered."

"Yes, sir." There's no point in arguing. At least not now when Jason is staring at me with wide eyes and his cock is getting hard again. "I'm going to keep the lab and all access points sealed off until I've made a thorough search of the crime scene."

"Fine. Then get back to work on your own cases."

I cut the connection and put the phone back in my pants. Jason hasn't moved. Interesting. I didn't expect him to obey me. I glance down. He's fully hard again, his hand moving slowly up and down as he strokes himself. He makes a low, whimpering sound that shoots straight to my cock.

"How long is this going to last?" His voice is throaty, barely audible.

"Another two or three climaxes should do the trick."

His eyes widen, and his gaze falls to my crotch. I'm as hard as he is, and my dick is chafing at the confines of my pants.

"I... I thought you weren't affected by the demon."

I give him a wide smile and run my tongue over my fangs. "I'm not."

"Shit!" He tries to flatten himself against the wall, but his hand works faster as I get closer. I slowly stroke myself through my pants. Jason's eyes stay glued to my fingers.

His breathing is ragged, desperate. His hips jerk against his hand. He's going to come again soon. "Stop."

He makes a strangled whimper. "Can't."

"Stand up and put your hands against the wall."

"Please." The word is a whine, and the predator in me loves it.

I need to get inside this man sooner rather than later. "Hands on the wall," I growl.

Visibly shaking, he does as I say.

My jacket slides from my shoulders and I let it drop to the floor as I walk toward him, stalking him, loving his deer-in-headlights stare. Fear rolls off him, hardening my cock even more. He rubs his ass up and down on the wall as his body writhes in agonized lust.

Precome glistens on the tip of his cock. I want to lick it off, but I bite my lip to keep my tongue in my mouth, letting my fangs cut me, hoping the pain will be enough of a distraction. If I taste his come, I'm not going to be able to stop there. I'll need his blood too, but I won't bite him until the demon's power has run its course. If I'm going to feed on him, I want him fully conscious and begging for it.

Faster than human sight can register, I'm on him, pressing him against the wall, capturing his hands and dragging them over his head. I crush his mouth, swallowing his whimpers. Our tongues tangle.

I fight with myself to keep my fangs retracted. I need to stab into him, taste him, drink him down, but I can wait. I fed well last night, not that the stinking blood whore I patronized was anything like the feast Jason would be.

He thrusts against me with wild desperation. I take his wrists in one hand and fumble with the fastening of my pants. If only vampires had the mental powers and natural finesse everyone assumes we do. Strength and speed are great, but they don't do a damn thing when your cock is stuck in your pants and you need it out right that damn second.

Finally, I free myself. My cock slides against Jason's and the skin to skin contact feels just as hot as I knew it would. I wrap my hand around both of us and stroke, slow at first and then faster, knowing we're both going to explode any second.

I've wanted him for so long that simply watching him has me ready to shoot off. Finally feeling him in my hand, knowing I'm going to fuck him and he isn't going to run—even if it is due to a goddamn demon—has me so hot I've got to take the edge off before we take things any further. I let my head drop back and slide my body along his, groaning.

"Fuck!" The cry explodes out of him with a harsh exhale.

"That's right. I'm going to fuck your ass. I'm going to fill you up and make you scream. But right now, I'm going to watch you come all over my hand."

My words bring on his climax. He cries out, jerking against my hand. The sight of his dick shooting streams of come sends me over too. A macabre vampiric hiss escapes me, even as I try desperately to cling to some semblance of humanity.

I want this man and once isn't going to be enough. I need him to trust me. But I'm not sure I can hold it together. Inhuman need is about to consume me. I let go of our cocks as Jason's softens. He slumps against the wall. My vampire stamina has my cock already recovering, ready to fuck him like I want to. But I want more. I want a feast. I bring my hand to my mouth and lick.

He gasps and makes that whimpering sound that has my predator scratching to get loose. I want his stag to run so I can chase him through the woods. I want him to know that no matter what form he's in, he has no chance of escaping me. I bathe my hand with my tongue, savoring the taste of us mingled together. _Blood slave_. The words echo in my mind even as the part of me that remembers being human recoils at the idea. But whatever else I let this become, right now his ass is mine.

"Face the wall," I growl in my horror-flick voice. Jason's eyes lock with mine. I smell a hint of fear, but what I see in his eyes is pure lust.

He tilts his head to one side, baring his neck. "Bite me."

I shake my head and step back, clenching my hands, willing myself not to do as he's asking.

"I want to know if it's as good as they say. I want to feel your fangs in me."

I take a shaky breath, squeezing my fists until my nails cut into my palms. My fangs shoot out despite my resolve. I step back again. "No." I sound scarier than any demon I've ever met.

Jason shudders, but his eyes never leave mine.

"When you finally feel my fangs cut into your flesh, it's going to be because _you_ are begging for it, not the power of some demon."

"Please. I can't stop thinking about it. I hate wanting it, but I do, so goddamn much. I—"

"Not tonight." Christ, I had read him right. All those looks he'd given me. He was fighting his attraction. He needs this as much as I do. And thank God, because I might be able to keep myself from drinking down his hot blood, but nothing is going to stop me from fucking him.

I want to kiss him again, but I see the pulse of a vein in his neck. I'll never keep my fangs off him if I get that close. He shivers and I glance down. His cock is rock hard again. Damn, the demon's power is potent. "Face the wall, and I'll give you what you need."

He turns and braces himself against the wall with one hand while working his cock with the other. I tug his jeans down, exposing his ass, and slide my saliva-slicked finger down his crack to find his hole. He arches his back, pressing against my hand.

"Please," Jason whispers, his voice hoarse with need.

I push past the tight ring of muscle and he groans, hand working his dick faster. He tries to force me deeper, but I hold his hip with my other hand. Shifters are strong, but not compared to the undead.

He struggles against my hold. "More. Please. I can't—"

I add a second finger, pushing in until I can stroke it across his prostate. He gives a choked gasp when I hit my mark, and I work my fingers across that sweet spot a few times before pulling out of him.

"Don't stop. God. Please."

"Lube?" I ask, looking around the lab for something I can use. I'm desperate to be inside him, but I don't want to hurt him.

"Lotion. Counter." He forces the words out between pants.

I grab the hand he's using to jack himself off and tug. He whimpers but lets go of his cock. I force his hand up and pin it to the wall.

"Don't move."

"Please." The word is a barely audible exhale.

I kiss his temple and trace his spine with my fingers. "I won't leave you hanging. I promise."

I grab the lotion and pump some onto my hand so I can coat my cock. Vampires are immune to disease. Thank fuck. So I don't need to worry if there are any condoms in the lab. When I'm greased up, I press my cockhead against his ass. He groans, and his body reaches for me. I grip his hips and pull him onto my shaft.

His breath catches with a whimper. "Fuck, you're big."

I laugh and press in farther. He cries out, struggling against my hold, but I have the strength to snap him in two. He's not going anywhere.

I hold still until he's thrusting back against me.

"Goddammit! Give me more!"

His plea ends my ability to go slow. I drive in the rest of the way, wrapping an arm around his waist and taking his cock in my other hand.

"Feels so fucking good!" he groans.

I can't help but agree. "Yeah, it does."

"Fuck me!"

If he thinks he's going to control this, he's got a lot to learn. I slide out and back in slowly, making him snarl and struggle.

"Harder!" Jason demands. "Stop holding back!"

His need sends a shudder through me. I want to pound him into the wall. Hell, I could literally go at him hard enough to shove him right through the plaster. But If I really let go, I might hurt him.

"I'm a shifter, damn you. I can take it. Fuck me like you mean it."

I growl and pull out nearly all the way, then plow back into him.

"Yes!" he screams.

"You like that?" I can't believe I've found someone I can fuck without restraint.

"God, yes!"

That's all I need to hear. I start fucking him like I want to, shoving his body against the wall, working his ass so hard it has to hurt despite his shifter resilience. But he arches his back so he can take me deeper. I work his cock as I fuck him. He's damn close and so am I. I pray I'm not going to permanently damage him.

"Please! Oh God, I'm almost there, I—" He cries out as his orgasm hits, his ass clenching me so tight I can't hold back. I drive deep and let myself go, pumping my come deep in his ass. My fangs ache to sink into his neck, but I turn my head away, letting the pleasure of being buried to the balls be enough for now.

# CHAPTER FIVE

Jason

When Drew pulls out of me and steps back, my knees give way, and I slide down the wall into a puddle on the floor. One slow breath and then another. I'm exhausted and sore as hell. I feel like I've been dragged behind a truck with a telephone pole up my ass.

At least the demon's power has finally left me. Thank God I have the excuse of it to explain the fact that I just begged Drew to bite me like a blood whore and then ordered him to fuck me half to death. I need to shift. As a stag, I'll have a better chance of getting my equilibrium back.

Drew lays a hand on my shoulder, and I flinch. "You okay?"

I nod, unable to look at him.

He squeezes my shoulder. "Let me take you home."

I shake my head. No fucking way. If he takes me home, we'll end up in bed and he'll know how much I want him—how much I've wanted him for months—because I'll beg for all the depraved things I want from him without the demon's power riding me. A despicable part of my mind wonders if he knows already, if he saw right through me. Could vampires read minds after all? "I just need to shift and then I'll be fine."

"You're exhausted. You need to go home."

"No, I'm not going to leave in the middle of a shift. I can't lose this job."

"No one's going to bust your ass for leaving early after being attacked by a lust demon."

I tuck my cock back in and zip my pants. "I could've taken care of the demon's effects on my own, by the way. What the fuck made you think I needed help?"

Drew snorts. "We've been dancing around this for weeks."

I shake my head, and he glares at me. I feel the weight of his power, his strength. He's a fucking force to be reckoned with and this isn't an argument I can win. "Fine, but what the hell kind of case are you on that involves a lust demon?"

Drew's eyes harden and I see the tension in his jaw. "One I should have stayed away from."

"Does this have something to do with the samples you brought me?" I'm sure it does, but I can't figure out the connection.

Drew looks away as if the microscopes have suddenly become very interesting. "Don't question me."

"Oh, I get it. I can be your fuck toy and your errand boy, but I'm not worthy of knowing any more about your secret tests."

Drew's eyes go cold and an eerie stillness settles over his body. "You're better off not knowing."

"I'm better off making you go through proper channels if you want more testing done. Why the fuck should I trust a word you say?"

He snarls and I realize I'm pushing too hard. Most vampires aren't to be trusted, but Drew has proven himself loyal to his fellow cops again and again.

Why was I challenging him? Did I actually mind being his fuck toy? If we could keep things to hot sex and nothing more, maybe I could relax my anti-vamp stance. As reluctant as I might be to admit it, being with a man who has the power to force me is a hell of a turn-on. And I'm rarely one to deny myself physical pleasure, be it hot sex or chocolate pie. Natalie says I'm a rather self-indulgent bastard and it's no wonder I've never had a real relationship.

Problem is, Drew does things to me that go beyond sex. Forget about super strength. All he needs to pin me to the wall is a look, the one that says I'm his next meal. My heart threatens to pound right through my chest every time he gets near me.

What am I thinking? This was a onetime deal. Fucking a vampire. What will I sink to next, a zombie? Shifters and humans. I'll stick with them. It's not like I have any shortage of men who'd be more than happy to bend over for me. Ones that will fuck me through the wall like Drew, on the other hand...

No! I need Drew out of my lab and I need to make sure I don't see him again for a long time. My dick sure as hell won't keep me out of trouble. For once, I'm going to have to act like an adult and let my big head run the show. "You should leave now so I can get this place cleaned up."

Drew snarls at me, fangs bared. "I should have bitten you when I had the chance. Why have a fuck toy when I can go all the way and make you my blood slave?"

I'm being as big of an ass as he is. So why do his words hurt so much? I want to run, but he's blocking the door and I'm not a fucking coward. Or am I? I do the next best thing. I shift, not even bothering to strip. I let my clothes rip the way I want to rip up Drew for making me feel more than I should.

Drew stares at me, eyes wide with shock. I bet that doesn't happen often with his vampire senses. I'm an impressive sight, larger than most people imagine a deer to be, and I can do some wicked damage with my hooves and antlers.

"Jason." His tone holds a warning. He's not used to being fucked with. He takes a step toward me. The fur on my back rises and I lower my antlers.

Drew keeps coming, fangs bared. I snort at him and paw the ground, torn between wanting to lunge at him and wanting him to take me again. He doesn't even flinch. He reaches out and grabs hold of my antlers, obviously not caring when the sharpened points prick his fingers.

I rear up, trying to free myself. But even in this form, I'm no match for Drew. He shoves me, and I stumble. I lower my head, recognizing his dominance like he was another buck.

When I look up, he scowls at me. "This isn't finished." He turns and walks away.

I watch him punch in the code to release the doors so he doesn't have to step through the jagged glass hull that remains. When he heads down the hall, I shift back to human form. As much as I hate it, I know he's right. Things between us aren't finished. One taste of him isn't going to be enough no matter how much I want it to be. Drew isn't the type of man I can simply fuck out of my system, and that scares me. Apparently, I'm screwed, literally and figuratively.

***

Drew laps at my neck, the sensation shooting straight to my cock. My breath catches. His fangs scrape across my skin, and I tense.

He holds still in a way only a supernatural creature can, not even breathing. I count the seconds. Ten. Eleven. Twelve.

" _Please!" I moan, not sure if I'm asking him to stop or to take me. He hisses and bites, fangs sinking deep. I scream, pain and pleasure mixing to send me right to the edge of orgasm_.

I sit up, gasping. I'm alone in my bed with sweat coating my body and my cock as hard as it was in my... dream? That moment when Drew's fangs pierced my neck. My God that was amazing and so very real. I flop back on the bed. "Fuck!"

And that was the problem, wasn't it? I need a fuck, desperately. I wrap my hand around my cock, letting my dreamworld fantasy play out. Drew's fangs are back in my neck, his tongue lapping up my blood. He spreads my legs with his and pushes into me, his huge cock making my ass burn.

I buck against my hand, balls tightening, spine bowing. Climax rages through me, nearly making me black out.

Fucking shit! I never used to come so hard from my own hand, not until all my fantasies started centering around a damn fucking vampire.

I glance at the clock. It's nine o'clock. I don't have to go into work tonight so I could stay in bed but I know I won't sleep anymore, even after coming I'm too hyped up.

What's wrong with me? Why can't I get him out of my head? Because he gave me the best sex I've ever had? Only forty-eight hours have passed since Drew fucked me against the crime lab wall and I'm already dying to feel his dick in me again. I can't look at the lotion sitting next to my latex gloves without heat rushing to my face.

Last night, for eight ungodly long hours of my shift, I went to great lengths to avoid him, terrified that if I saw him, I'd drop to my knees and beg to taste that monster cock of his. I've never needed anything like I need him. He hasn't even bitten me, but I'm as good as addicted to him.

A loud pop draws my attention. The image of Drew's lush mouth and seductive fangs fades from my mind. Was that a gunshot? It sounded like it came from the alley.

I hear another pop followed by a shout and then another. My heart pounds and I hear the blood rushing through my ears. The voice sounded like Drew. Am I so obsessed I'm hearing his voice now?

Thugs fighting in the alley is hardly a new phenomenon in this neighborhood. Even a fight that leaves behind a dead body barely raises eyebrows these days. Drew wouldn't be here; even if someone had called the cops, he wouldn't be first on the scene.

I slip out of bed and look out the window. I can't see a damn thing. The closest streetlight burned out months ago and never got replaced. Even if it were on, I wouldn't be able to see beyond the mouth of the alley. I run a hand through my hair and shake my head. My need for Drew is driving me insane.

Why not just fuck him again?

How I hate that seductive little voice in my head.

I'm not fucking him again because... I can admit it, can't I? I'm afraid of what he makes me feel.

I head to the bathroom to take a piss and get a glass of water. Someone knocks on the door as I'm heading back to bed. What the fuck? More drunk assholes looking for my neighbor? It's happened before, several times. But I thought I'd scared them enough last time to keep it from happening again.

I grab my gun from the drawer of my bedside table and walk slowly toward the door. The person on the other side knocks again, more insistently this time. I check the peephole. Christ, it's Drew. He looks half-dead or half-undead or whatever.

I open the door. "What the fuck?" He's been shot at least once and he's bleeding like crazy, dripping all over the worn carpet in the hall.

He sways and braces himself on the doorframe. "I know you... hate me, but..."

He's hoarse and gasping for breath. I shake my head vehemently. "No. I don't."

If only I could hate him. Things would be a whole lot easier. But I don't, far from it.

I take his arm and pull him inside. He stumbles, but I get him through the door before he sinks to one knee and bends over, bracing himself on the floor with one hand.

He keeps the other arm cradled against his side. I can see a jagged wound through the rip in his jacket. It's bleeding profusely.

I reach for his arm, wanting to survey the damage, but he pulls away. "I just... need a place to rest."

I scowl at him, ready to let loose a tirade I know won't help a thing. "You need a doctor."

"Fuckers wouldn't help me."

He's probably right. Plenty of doctors refuse to work on vampires. My gut twists with the thought that I used to agree with them.

"You've been shot." Wow, do I know how to state the obvious.

I try to get a better look at the wound in his chest, but he's too hunched over. All I know is that losing so much blood can't be good. They say vampires need to be beheaded before death is a certainty, but I can't be sure bleeding out won't do the trick.

Drew rests his head in his good hand, further hampering my efforts. "I'm fine. I'll heal."

"You are not fine. You need blood." I don't know a lot about vampires, but from what I understand, feeding will not only replenish his blood supply, it will speed healing as well.

He shakes his head.

I kneel beside him, shaking with a combination of fear and desire. I know what I have to do. "Feed from me."

He glances up, shock on his face. Need and pain fill his eyes, but he turns away. "No."

I cup his cheek and turn him back to face me. "I'm not under a demon's power, and I'm asking. You said you'd bite me if I asked—technically you said I should beg—but you didn't expect to be quite so needy yourself."

He sucks in a sharp breath, then coughs, wincing in pain. "You remember that?" He seems surprised.

"The demon's power affected my body, not my mind. I remember everything. Every touch. Every lick. The way you felt inside me."

He closes his eyes. His mouth opens and his fangs extend. I'm officially crazy. I'm putting my life on the line by asking an injured vampire to bite me. What is wrong with me? I don't really think his wounds will kill him, but he's sure as hell in pain from them and I can't leave him like this.

"Jason, you need to walk away." His voice is barely a whisper. "Having you so close, it's..."

"I can't." I'm not lying. It's a matter of can't, not won't. I feel like I'm glued to the floor. I have to heal him, and then I have to explore what's between us.

Drew looks at me again and slides his hand into my hair. I tilt my head to the side, offering my neck. He leans down and runs his tongue over the corded muscle of my neck just as he did in my dream. "Might... take... too much." His voice is still so soft I feel more than hear him.

"I won't let you." Even as I say the words, I know they're ridiculous. I won't be able to stop him.

He shudders as he pulls me closer. "Need you."

I arch, pressing my neck against his lips. I feel him draw in a breath, and then I cry out as his fangs pierce my skin. Pain races along my neck followed by searing pleasure. His lips pull at my flesh, and he might as well be sucking my cock. I'm trembling with need, my whole body lit up with tingling pleasure as if every inch of my skin is being kissed, caressed, teased. My God, I'm going to come if he doesn't stop soon.

He uses his other hand to free my cock from my boxers. I realize it's the hand he'd been cradling against his body. His arm that was mangled and dripping blood. I glance down. The deep cuts are completely gone. My blood is healing him that fast. He strokes my cock as his lips and tongue keep working my neck.

I thrust against his hand as he pulls at my neck in long, slow sucks perfectly timed with the strokes he gives my cock. I'm electrified as if the ecstasy of his bite is lightning shooting straight through me. Burning pleasure coils in my lower body. My balls draw up. I'm going to come. I'm going to die. I don't care. My whole world is agonizing need.

He runs his tongue across the wound in my neck and tightens his grip on my cock. A strangled cry escapes me. I let go, ejaculating so hard my come hits his blood-stained chest.

# CHAPTER SIX

Drew

I hold Jason as his orgasm shudders through him. I lave the wounds I've made on his neck, letting my saliva speed the healing process. When his body finally stills, his eyes flutter open and he looks at me.

"Made me dizzy." His voice is slurred. His head falls against my shoulder, and his eyes close.

I pull him into my arms. "It's okay, baby. I'll take care of you."

I took more blood than I should have, but his incredibly erotic reaction kept me focused on his pleasure and saved me from getting lost in the taste of his blood. Without that, I would likely have finished him off. His shifter blood has already given me nearly a full recovery. It will also make the blood loss easier for him to bear, but he still needs water and rest, which is a damn shame, because I want to fuck his brains out.

I told myself I wouldn't go after Jason. That I'd let him come to me if he wanted more of what we'd done in the crime lab. But he's haunted me every minute since our encounter. Vampires rarely dream, but during my last two daytime sleeps, I've tossed and turned in my bed—we don't really sleep in coffins—restless, barely sleeping and when I did, plagued by vivid, erotic dreams.

Tonight, after hours of pretending I didn't crave him as badly as the blood that sustains me, I left to find him. I was completely focused on my prey, distracted by the need coursing through me. That was careless, and it nearly got me killed.

My attacker was a human this time, but one with genetic enhancements that made him damn near as strong as me. He stabbed me several times and then shot me before I disarmed him. I put up a good fight, considering the mess I was in, but he still managed to get away. I couldn't chase him after losing as much blood as I had. Of course the fact that I hadn't fed the night before, too stubborn to take anything but what I really wanted—Jason—hadn't made defending myself any easier.

When Jason offered himself to me, I wondered if I was delusional from the loss of blood. He's a decent guy. I didn't think he'd leave me bleeding on his doorstep, but I hadn't expected him to give me blood or to care so much about what happened to me. I have hope now that once he's regained his strength, my vampiric powers of seduction will be enough to convince him that I need a regular diet of venison.

I scoop Jason up in my arms. He's not a small man, but his weight is nothing for me. I lay him on the bed and pull off his boxers, which are splattered with his come and my blood. He stirs and mumbles something. I tuck the covers around him and go to the kitchen for a glass of water.

When I return, I ignore the tender sensations his sleeping form inspires. I lift his head, encouraging him to drink. He tries to bat my hand away at first, but I manage to get enough water in him to satisfy me that he won't be seriously dehydrated.

After I'm content that he's comfortable, I shower. Clean and dry now, I examine my clothes, trying to convince myself I can salvage them, though truly I should throw them away, not that anyone would dare question a vampire's appearance. If I cloak myself, most humans won't even notice me. But I need an excuse to stay, because I want to curl up next to Jason and hold him. I drop my clothes back on the floor and slip under the covers next to him. I don't usually sleep at night, but like I said, I haven't been sleeping well since I fucked the little stag.

***

Jason shakes me awake from a deep sleep. No light is showing around the edges of the curtains so I don't have to worry that he'll fry me to a crisp if he decides saving me was a bad idea.

He shakes me again. "Get up and talk to me."

I growl. "Speaking to a vampire like that can get you killed."

He rolls his eyes. Clearly he finds me terrifying.

"I saved your life last night," he reminds me.

"I told you I'd be fine."

"You lied."

True, but I have no intention of admitting it. "Technically, I'm already dead."

"If you'd bled out—"

I yank the covers over my head. I feel disoriented from sleeping at night and I want him to leave me the fuck alone.

Suddenly, I'm uncovered, my naked body fully exposed, bright light assaulting me, fortunately only the artificial kind. Sadistic fuck had turned on the overhead.

"We'll talk now," Jason insists "What happened to you tonight?"

I exhale slowly. "I got caught off guard."

He arches a brow. I'm not going to get away with blowing off his question.

"I was attacked by a genetically enhanced human."

"First you pass me evidence you want to keep under the radar. Then a lust demon comes after you. Now a super soldier nearly kills you. What kind of case are you working on?"

I close my eyes, wishing I could escape this conversation.

"Danvers, tell me what's going on. Now."

I look up at him. I've never seen his expression so hard, not even when he was pissed at me in the lab. I'd trusted him to keep my secret even before the lust demon brought us together. I had to trust him now. "The case isn't mine, and Morrison warned me to back off. That's why I don't want you giving the lab results to anyone else."

"What were you doing in the alley?"

"Chasing a suspect."

"A suspect who just happened to be close to my apartment?"

"Yes."

"You're lying again." Jason looks me up and down. He might be pissed, but he wants me.

"Stop with the fucking interrogation. All I wanted was a place to crash."

Jason nods. "And I gave you one."

"By crash I meant sleep until my body healed." I tried to grab the covers from him, but he dodged me, further evidence that night sleep had fucked with me.

"You _are_ healed." He was right but I wasn't going to admit it. "And why should you sleep when I can't? A cop who has me secretly running tests in the lab was stabbed outside my window by something stronger than a vampire. I deserve an explanation."

Does he? Probably. I should have stayed away from him. I knew the first day I saw him that he was going to fuck me up. "I didn't follow the bastard here."

Jason smiles. The fucker. He must've already suspected why I was in the alley.

"Are you admitting it?" he asks.

I jerk the covers from his hands. "No."

"Fine. I'll say it for you. You were on your way to see me."

"I needed information."

"You needed another fuck."

I hiss at him and he flinches. A human wouldn't see it, but I did. He grins, though, despite his fear. How far does he think he can push me?

"What are you going to do? Tear me apart?" He shakes his head. "I don't think so. Hold me down and fuck me till I scream?" He pauses and I imagine doing just that. "What if that's exactly what I want? What if I was lying here, jerking off, thinking of you when I heard you shout from the alley?"

"Were you?" My tone is way too fucking eager. Way to play it cool.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But before I entertain any further thoughts of you in my bed—" He glances down realizing that's exactly where I am. "—or rather, thoughts of us together in my bed, naked, hungry..."

My cock starts to fill. I sit up and start to move farther from him, but I stop myself. No one makes me back down, not even the monster I'd tangled with outside.

"So we've established that you want me. Again." Jason looks down at my cock and licks his lips. "Now tell me what the fuck is going on."

"No."

He ignores me. "Who is making new vamps and why are they after you?"

"They're after me because I'm onto them."

"But you're not supposed to be?"

I nod. "Morrison isn't allowed to assign me to vamp cases."

He shakes his head like he thinks the rule is as stupid as I do. "You won't stay away from this one, though. Why? What makes it different?"

I won't say any more. "I've already endangered you enough." I stand and consider what to do about my clothes.

"Keeping me in the dark puts me in far more danger. I don't know what or who to look out for."

"You don't need to worry about it. I'm going to find the son of a bitch responsible and end him." I pull on my torn, bloodstained clothes.

"You're leaving?" Jason asks.

I nod.

"Looking like that?" He gestures at my clothes.

When I don't respond, he pulls some sweats from a drawer and holds them out. "At least borrow some clothes. Yours are ruined."

I shake my head. "I'll be fine. I can be home in almost no time."

He looks confused and I smile; apparently I still have some secrets. "I can run much faster than a shifter. Most humans will never see me. That part of the legend is true."

I finish dressing without saying anything else. Just before I leave, I grab him and give him a quick kiss. "I'll call you tonight."

Before he can respond, I run. From Jason's perspective, it will seem that I simply vanished.

# CHAPTER SEVEN

Jason

I tried to rest more after Drew left. Donating what felt like most of my blood to a vampire had done a number on me. But as tired as my body felt, I couldn't sleep. Fantasies of his fangs piercing my skin had me tossing and turning. And annoyance at Drew's arrogance kept me awake even when lust didn't. A five-mile run in the early morning finally relaxed me enough to earn me a few hours' sleep.

After waking again, I pace my apartment, replaying what I know about the case Drew is investigating. When that has me thoroughly frustrated, I take my laptop to bed and surf my favorite porn Tumblrs. Hot, but nothing compared to Drew, not even the vamp ones I check out. I head to the gym, push myself through a punishing workout and still, thoughts of Drew buzz in my head.

Deciding I need something to stimulate my mind rather than my body, I do a bit of hacking, hoping to learn more about the kids who'd disappeared. What I find gets me nowhere. I make myself something to eat and waste an embarrassing about of time wondering if Drew will really call or if he'll get himself permanently killed out there. The bastard. I wish I'd never met him.

Okay, that's not true. I wish he'd been an anonymous fuck.

I frown, disgusted with myself, because that's not true either.

Goddammit, I hate this. Why is he such a stubborn bastard?

I laugh at the irony. How many times has Natalie asked the same thing about me? But Drew is fucking impossible with his I-am-vampire-I-will-conquer-all routine.

I fill the rest of the daylight hours watching my favorite cop shows. Why I love them when I work at a police station is still a bit of a mystery. Sleeping at night has fucked with my body clock and by evening I realize I'll never manage to stay up all night to get myself back on schedule, so I lie down to take a nap.

***

My phone buzzes, startling me awake. I glance at the clock. Four o'clock. Fuck. I've slept most of the night. I'm now royally screwed for my next shift at work. The phone buzzes again so I grab it.

_You home?_ It's Drew.

Y

Stay there.

?

I wait, but no response comes. Bossy son of a bitch. I consider leaving just to show him he can't tell me what to do, but there's a small chance I'll actually learn something about the case he's not supposed to be on so I stay put like I'm an obedient dog rather than a stag.

About ten minutes later, someone pounds on the door. It must be Drew. Even his knock is bossy and insistent.

I check the peephole. He's there, looking fucking exhausted. Something softens inside me. I don't want to think about why.

I open the door and gesture for him to enter. He dumps a bag on the trunk that serves as my coffee table. "I need you to take a blood sample from me."

What is he up to? "Why?"

"I need you to analyze the markers in my blood. A vampire's blood chemistry can show who Changed them."

"I do understand basic vampire biology."

He grins.

The fucker is enjoying my annoyance. "I want you to compare my blood to the new vamp blood you detected in the evidence you analyzed. I need to know if any markers match."

I narrow my eyes at him. "You think they will?" Does that mean his maker is involved? If so, that is why he won't let go of this case. In fact, if I prove him right, Drew will go after him and damn the consequences. He may be irritating as fuck, but I want him alive and in good shape for fucking.

Drew hesitates, finally saying. "Maybe. I have some leads."

He's lying. He knows a hell of a lot more than he's telling me. "If Trent's involved, you need to be careful." Trent was one of the worst vamps the city had ever been plagued with.

Drew rolls his eyes. "Morrison would thank you for that."

"Look—"

"If I go in and take him out on my own without a warrant, I risk those who work for him getting away."

As much as Drew hates Trent, I'm not sure losing his underlings is enough of a deterrent.

"And as much as it pains me to admit, I can't bring down the operation alone," he added.

"Of course you can't. How many other vamps do you think are involved?"

Drew scowls. "At least three and based on what I've learned so far, they're absurdly strong. They must be drinking shifter blood or some cocktail that's even more potent."

"What would be more potent?"

Drew shakes his head. "I don't know, but that was Trent's goal when I made his acquaintance: superblood for super vamps."

I want to push for more, but I'm surprised I've gotten this much out of him.

"So are you gonna draw my blood or do I have to find someone else to do it?"

I'm in this whether I want to be or not. "I don't keep lab equipment at home."

"That's okay. I brought my own." He opens his bag and pulls out a syringe, tubing, and a collection vial.

_What the fuck?_ "Where did you get that?"

"A blood bank."

"You just walked in and asked for their equipment?"

"No, I went to this do-gooder place in the river district. They pay for blood and then offer some of it free to vamps. I asked to have a private room for my 'dinner' and then confiscated some equipment."

He stole from a charity. "Drew, that's—"

"I left a nice donation."

I shake my head.

"If Trent is in on this, he has to be stopped or the whole city is in a fuckload of trouble."

Drew is right. Vamps on superblood? Whether Trent is involved or not, someone is who doesn't mind turning minors against their will. I'd be willing to do more than steal to stop them.

"Sit down," I order Drew.

He glares but does as I say. Two can play the dominance game.

I swab his arm with alcohol and then realize how pointless it is. He's not going to catch an infection. "I guess you don't need that, do you?"

He smiles, a softer look than I've seen from him before. "No, but it's nice to be treated like a human sometimes."

So he's not always an asshole.

He sucks in his breath when I stick him.

I glance up. His eyes are squeezed shut. "Don't tell me you're squeamish."

"I don't like needles."

"But fangs are okay?"

"Only when I'm the one wielding them."

I'm hoping he'll wield them against me later. Fuck if I ever thought I'd say that.

When I've taken enough blood, I clean him up and press a cotton ball to the tiny wound, despite knowing it will clot nearly instantly. I want to make him happy, make him feel like less of a monster.

"I'll test this tonight." By now it's close to dawn. I want to get more information out of Drew before he falls asleep on me. Older vamps can stay awake in the day, but Drew's only been turned for a few years.

"Can you go into the lab now?" he asks. "Make up an excuse to run the test during the day shift? Then I can take any evidence to Morrison as soon as I wake up."

"If you tell me what you're keeping from me."

He hisses and suddenly his hand is around my throat. So much for playing human.

"You will go in now because it's the right thing to do. Don't fuck around with me. You will regret it."

"You going to drain me? Leave me for dead and find someone more biddable?" My voice is scratchy and weak, but I know he's heard me. Hell, he could hear me from a block away.

He drops his hand and steps back, eyes wide. Is that fear on his face?

"I'm sorry. Never mind. I'll... I'll go."

I glance toward the window. "It's almost dawn."

"I'm not going to disintegrate in the first light of day."

I wasn't about to let him chance it. "Stay."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

He sighs. "When Trent captured me, I was held in a chamber underneath a warehouse in the river district. There were several levels belowground there. I think they might be connected to other underground rooms by tunnels. A few nights ago, I chased a suspect and she vanished. I think she went underground, but I couldn't find the entrance."

This is too much for Drew to take on by himself. "You need to call Morrison. He'll be pissed off, but he'll believe you if you tell him what you've learned."

"Pissed off doesn't even begin to describe it, but yeah, he'll believe me. Problem is, no one else will. Morrison needs concrete evidence to move on this."

"And this could give him that?" I hold up the blood vial.

"Yeah."

"I'll head to the lab now. I'll make up something about needing to redo a test, whatever it takes. We need to move on this immediately."

"I can't stay awake much longer."

The sky has already grown brighter. "I know. I'll handle it."

Drew grabs my arm. "Don't you dare try to go after him. Run the test and report to me."

"There are kids involved and Trent may be holding them, like he did you. Draining them. This needs to stop."

"I'm glad you see that now."

I scowl. Did he really think I hadn't before?

"If he has them, they are already turned. We'll save them, but we need to be sure our strike is successful. And..."

"Yes?"

"I want you safe."

_Aww._ His words do things to me I don't want to think about. "Sleep." I gesture toward the bed. "I'm going in. I'll be back when I'm done."

He glares at me. "I'm serious. Do not try to look into this on your own."

"Yes, Mr. Play-by-the-Rules Detective."

Drew flips me off. "Fuck you."

"I wish, but I have work to do."

***

I return later, evidence in hand, a readout showing an analysis of Drew's blood and the blood of the newly turned vamp found at the scene. They have numerous markers in common, indicating a shared vampire lineage.

I try to wake Drew, but he shoves me away and turns over. The sheet slips as he does, revealing his naked body. My cock responds and I try again to wake him. No luck. What good is it to have a hot vamp in your bed if he's not awake to fuck you?

I give up and open my laptop. I'm too wired to sleep and Drew's too sleepy to entertain me so I'll amuse myself with a search for underground tunnels in the city. When I took a job with a group of weapons dealers before going straight—as in following the law, I'll always love cock—they worked out of an underground hideout that we accessed from a park. There had to be more underground rooms like that in the city. I'd seen tunnels leading off in multiple directions when I was in the dealers' lair.

Some focused digging leads me to a couple of early twentieth-century maps. A little poking into Drew's kidnapping allows me to connect the location Trent used several years ago with a network of tunnels. Drew is going to be thrilled. I'm betting he'll be able to pin down where the vamp he was chasing "disappeared" and then we'll have them.

The buzz of adrenaline I've been running on has tapped out. I drag myself to the bed and snuggle up to Drew as I give up the battle to keep my eyes open. He's naturally much colder than me—as all but the oldest, most powerful vamps are—but with my shifter body heat and the covers I pull over us, he'll be warm in no time. I fall asleep thinking of what I'll do to him when we wake in a few hours.

# CHAPTER EIGHT

Drew

I wake to the sensation of a hot mouth swallowing my cock. My eyes fly open. The sight of Jason's lips stretched around me makes me gasp. He glances up at me, smiles, and goes back to work, sucking, licking, making me crazy. He lifts my balls, gently squeezing, thumb slowly caressing me in time to the rhythm of his mouth. He slides his other hand over my abdomen and across my chest until he finds one of my nipples. I suck in my breath as he rolls it between his fingers.

I mean to let him choose the pace, play with me however he wants, but my hips have a mind of their own, bucking up against his mouth. He moans and pulls back to lick at my cockhead like it's his favorite flavor of lollipop.

"Don't hold back," he demands before swallowing me whole.

How can I deny him? I fist my hands in his hair, holding him in place as I thrust upward into his mouth. It takes him a moment to adjust to my rhythm but then he starts doing things with his tongue that defy description.

Jason glances up at me, eyes sparkling with obvious enjoyment. The sight of my cock disappearing into his mouth makes me crazy. I groan and thrust deeper when he slides a finger between my legs and circles my hole. I have to bite my lip to keep from whimpering, fucking whimpering. He's that good. He pushes deeper into me as he sucks me like a turbo vac.

I don't ever want this blowjob to end, but after a few more seconds, I can't hold back the hot rush of climax. With a shout, I let go and shoot my load down his throat. He takes every last drop, continuing to lick and suck after I collapse against the mattress.

"You're fucking amazing," I say as he gives me a final kiss and lays his head on my stomach. I feel him smile against me.

He draws circles on my thighs with his fingers as I bask in the afterglow. When I begin to knead his scalp, he looks up at me and licks his lips. "You taste so damn good." He closes his eyes, a dreamy look on his face. "Like the woods after a rain or early morning after the first snow. I could suck you all day."

My chest constricts, and it takes me several seconds to find my voice. "I won't stop you."

He laughs and tries to sit up, but I push him down, pinning him to the bed. I have no intention of leaving him unsatisfied. I wrap a hand around his erection and give him my best predator's smile. "You're not going anywhere until we do something about this."

He thrusts up into my hand, clearly having no objection. I need to taste him again—not blood, it's too soon considering how close I came to draining him—just Jason. I lean over him and press my lips to his. With a groan, he opens his mouth under mine. Our tongues tangle, warring with each other to take, to taste. I let go of his cock and settle onto him so our erections rub against one another. I thrust hard, grinding against him. How can he drag such need from me?

_He's not afraid of you. Angry maybe, but not afraid_.

I pull back from his mouth and slip two of my fingers between his lips. He sucks them, looking up at me, heat and longing in his eyes.

"You want me to fuck you?" I ask.

He nods as he sucks hard on my fingers, running his tongue up and down them like he did my dick.

"I won't be gentle." It isn't in my nature, at least not anymore.

Jason moans as I tug my fingers from his mouth. "I don't need gentle."

I slip my slick fingers between our bodies and push into him without warning. He whimpers, and I thrust deeper. I keep working him as he reaches for the nightstand and pulls out a bottle of lube and a box of condoms.

His eyes widen as he drops them on the bed. "You didn't use a condom in the lab."

"Vampires are immune to disease, remember? We don't give. We don't get. So I can ride my stag bareback."

Jason groans and pushes against my fingers. "Please."

I flip him over, letting him know how strong I really am. "Spread for me." I hiss, wanting to scare him a little. He trembles and opens his legs, coming up on his knees.

I push a knee between his legs as I squirt lube into my hand and grease my cock. I want to drive right in, but I don't. Instead, I trace his ass crack with the tip of my cock, teasing him.

Jason groans and reaches for me with his body. When I wrap my hands around his hips, pinning him in place, he struggles against my hold, the natural instinct of a prey animal to flee from its predator.

But he can't escape. Not from me. "Struggle all you want. I'm still going to fuck you until you scream."

"Drew." The sound of my name coming from him hardens my cock even more.

"Say it again."

"Drew." He squeezes the word out between panting breaths.

I thrust into him harder than I should. He buries his face against the pillow, muffling his shout.

"Don't hold back. Scream for me, Jason. Show me how much you want to be taken."

"No!"

"Yes!" I drive into him again and again, knowing I can be rough with him, that he can take it. His knees slip out from under him, and I flatten him to the mattress, stretching his arms over his head. My hold on his hips angles him just right. He squirms under me, surprising me with his strength as he tries to take me deeper.

"Don't stop. Oh God, don't stop."

"Never." The hiss is there in my voice again. "I'd keep going just to hear you beg."

"Fuck!" Jason shudders under me. He drives his hips up, nearly unseating me. "More, you bastard. You can't break me."

"I will give you more because you're mine. All mine."

"Drew!" he screams, long and loud, and his body jerks as he spills himself against the mattress. I'm right behind him, stiffening against his back and letting go with an inhuman roar.

Many minutes pass before we come back to reality. I slip from Jason's body and pull him close. The smell of his blood pulsing wildly under his skin threatens to overwhelm me. Reluctantly, I roll over to my back.

He props himself on his elbow and looks down at me. "Your blood and the new vamp's share lineage, close lineage. Trent or one of his direct progeny made him."

I close my eyes and nod, both thrilled and horrified at the confirmation that I'm right. Trent is back and taking more victims.

"So now you can tell Morrison and let him take over," Jason says, his tone hopeful.

I shake my head. "I can't walk away from this."

"You have to. You—"

"Trent ruined my life. No one except Morrison wanted me on the force after I was Changed. He fought for me and won me a trial period. When I didn't devour anyone after a few months, they let me stay.

"Slowly, the other cops started working with me again, but they'll never be my friends, not like they were. How can you be friends with someone when you're wondering if it's you they like or just the scent of your blood?

"As soon as someone realizes who I am, they're afraid of me. I see it in their eyes. Even the lovers I've had, the ones who wanted to experience the thrill of a vampire's bite, fear me. Everyone but you." The words slip out and I can't take them back.

Jason's expression softens. He runs a hand down my chest, caressing me lightly. No one has touched me like that in a long time. "The only thing I'm afraid of is how much I want you and how badly I want to keep you safe."

He cups my face, and I let him kiss me. He tongue-fucks my mouth, licks my lips, consumes me. I lie still and let him have his way until I can't stand it anymore.

Then I kiss him back; teeth, tongues, lips meeting in a battle for supremacy. He groans against me. My vampire instincts kick in and I roll him over, settle between his legs, and work my cock against his.

"Why?" I ask, breathing the word into his mouth. "Why aren't you afraid?"

"I don't know. All I know is I've wanted you from the first time I saw you."

My kiss cuts off anything else he might have said as we grind our bodies together until we're both crying our release into each other's mouths.

# CHAPTER NINE

Jason

After moments of merely thinking about moving—damn Drew can really wear me out—I turn over so I'm facing him. I caress his cheek with my thumb. Drew breathes in slowly and opens his eyes. I stare at him for several moments before I can form a sentence. "How did you know Trent had resurfaced?"

Drew's eyes narrow. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

I shake my head.

"How much do you know about Trent?"

"He's a vamp blood dealer or he was until he captured you and got busted. Most vamps won't sell blood, but he'll do anything for money."

Drew nods. "Most vamp blood is sold by humans or shifters who capture one or two vamps and drain them. Trent and the vamps he had working for him were holding at least twenty young vamps and another dozen of us that they were in the process of Changing. His operation is the largest one Atlanta PD has ever uncovered." Drew runs a hand through his hair and looks away. "I guess you know how I got captured."

"When I first saw you at a crime scene, I thought you were one of the hottest men and I'd ever seen and then you gave me that look, the one that said you wanted to know exactly how I tasted."

Drew gave me the look in question.

"I decided right then to find out all I could about you. I'd already heard that you were forced into the Change, but I wanted the whole story."

"Yeah, I kinda lost my mind after my boyfriend dumped me."

I smile. "Trolling for vampires is a bit self-destructive."

Drew shakes his head. "I just wanted to do something crazy, something I'd never done before. I guess I thought that if I could hurt myself in some other way, the pain of being left might go away."

I lean forward and give him a gentle kiss. I hate seeing the pain in his eyes. "So you met Trent, and he captured you."

Drew nods. "He dragged me into an alley. I thought we were going to have a quick fuck and feed. Instead, he drained me until I was nearly dead. I woke up chained to a bed in a warehouse. He told me he'd started the process to Change me. There were others there, all in the same state. And even more men and women in another room. He drained them nearly dry as often as he could without killing them and sold their blood."

"You think Trent sent the assassin after you?"

"And the lust demon the other day. He knows I'm onto him, but Morrison can't authorize anyone to go in without more evidence. I understand his position. He wants to know we can hold Trent if we bring him in, but I don't care about bringing him in. I intend to eliminate him before he hurts anyone else."

I nod. "That's understandable, but the man obviously wants you dead. You shouldn't be pursuing him on your own."

Drew slides out from under me and sits on the edge of the bed. His posture tells me the discussion is over, but I'm not done yet. "Are you planning to do something stupid?"

"Define stupid." He uses his cold, superior vampire voice, but even if I had been afraid of him before tonight, I'll never buy the scary vamp routine again after feeling the heat of his passion.

"Stupid would be going after Trent on your own."

He runs a hand through his hair. "Not yet."

"Drew." I grab his shoulder and try to pull him to face me. I might as well try to bend a marble statue.

He snarls. "I'm not going to let him get away this time."

I inhale slowly and caress his shoulder with the tips of my fingers, enjoying the smooth texture of his skin. I'm not sure I have the nerve to say what I'm feeling. I don't want to be feeling it, but after what's happened between us tonight, I doubt there's any point in denial. "I don't want to lose you."

He looks at me then, his eyes so full of emotion that I almost look away. "He wants me dead. I ruined his business and sent him underground. He hasn't been able to work in this city for years. He's not going to let that go. Killing him is the only way this can end."

"Drew—"

He cups my face, brushing his thumb across my cheekbone. His lips curve upward, but it's a sad smile. "I don't want to lose you either. If Trent figures out that I... care for you, he's going to come after you. This has to end quickly."

Drew kisses me. God, I love the feel of his mouth. His soft, lush lips, his heat, the fact that even though he runs colder than me, I can feel him warming with lust. By the time I have the presence of mind to pull away, I'm panting and my cock is painfully hard.

He reaches down and wraps his hand around me. "I'd sure like to take advantage of this, but I've got to get to work."

When he steps away and starts to dress I want to curse the fact that he has to go in earlier than me. It's going to be a long night as I sit in the lab and fantasize about him.

***

The next few days pass in a whirlwind. The lab is busier than it has been since I was hired. One would think the chilly fall we're having and the rain that's been pouring down on us would keep the criminals tucked into their hideaways. But no. It seems like every crazy in town is out doing his duty to spread mayhem and destruction. Drew's working hard to locate Trent, but even with the maps, he can't find any entrances to the underground hideout. He's begun to think Trent is using demon spellcraft to hide them.

I've agreed to have breakfast with Natalie at the end of my shift. She's annoyed that I've been ignoring her calls lately. All I want to do is collapse in my bed. As if work isn't enough to exhaust me, as soon as my shift ends each night, Drew and I can't get in bed fast enough. Sometimes we go to his place, sometimes to mine, but the sex is always hot, rough, and sweaty and never just once. If I don't slow down, I'm going to drop.

I pull open the door of the diner where I'm meeting Natalie and her boyfriend, Wolf. I haven't seen them since I hooked up with Drew. I almost told Natalie about him a few times, but I didn't feel like justifying my actions. Since Drew and I work at the same precinct, we have no intention of broadcasting our relationship, but we haven't worked hard to hide it either. I've half expected Wolf to come barging into the lab one day to lecture me, but he hasn't, so I assume he doesn't know either.

"Hi, Nat. Hi, Wolf." I slide into a booth across from my sister and her werewolf lover.

Natalie frowns. "You look like you haven't slept in days."

"Wow, you really know how to compliment a guy."

"Rough week?" she asks, ignoring me.

I hesitate. I planned to tell them about Drew, but now that I'm here, I really don't want to. "Not exactly."

I see the moment Natalie figures out the source of my hesitation. "You're seeing someone."

I nod.

She's all smiles. "Where'd you meet him?"

"Work."

"Shit, Jason," Wolf snarls.

"I'm being careful. You haven't heard about it, have you?"

Wolf shakes his head.

Natalie smiles and leans closer, playing with her straw. "Are you going to tell me his name or not?"

"Drew Danvers."

Her mouth drops open in shock. "The vampire?" Everyone at the precinct knows Drew for the same reason they know Wolf. Damn few werewolves are willing to work for the good guys, and there're even fewer vamps, if any other than Drew.

I nod.

"Fuck!" The silverware rattles as Wolf slams his fist on the table.

Natalie looks over at him. "What?"

"You don't see a problem here?"

She frowns. "Well, I—"

Wolf shakes his head. "Your brother's dating a fucking vampire?"

"Her brother is sitting right here," I remind him, but he ignores me.

Natalie reaches out and pats my arm, signaling me to stay calm. "Wolf, you said Drew was a good cop."

"He does his job and does it well, but he's still a blood sucker. You never know when he might turn on you."

"Well, Jason looks just fine to me." Natalie tilts her head to the side and studies me. "I don't even see any bite marks."

I've had enough. "He hasn't hurt me, and he's not going to. It wasn't like he asked to be a vampire."

"He was taken captive, wasn't he?" Natalie's eyes narrow like she's studying me.

What is she up to? I nod. "His lover dumped him. He went out and met a vamp in a bar. He wanted a wild ride and to find out if a vamp's bite is as delicious as everyone says." I can't suppress my smile. "It is, by the way."

Natalie grins. "Really, tell me more."

Wolf growls, but he's got nothing to worry about.

"No way," I say. "First, you're my sister. Second, Wolf will kick my ass if I get you interested in vamps."

Natalie pats Wolf's arm and bats her eyelashes. "You wouldn't hurt my brother, would you, Officer? I promise to come with you willingly."

I shake my head and Wolf snorts. "Enough of that," he says.

"Anyway, the vampire he met was a known crime lord, Charles Trent. He drained Drew until he was nearly dead then took him captive and forced the Change on him. Trent was holding young vamps and selling their blood. Drew escaped and took out a lot of Trent's henchmen, but Trent got away." I'd done a bit of Internet stalking to learn more after Drew told me part of his story.

"Fucking bastard," Wolf snarls. I'm not sure if he means Trent or Drew. Possibly both.

"Drew almost got kicked off the force, but his record was so damned exemplary that his lieutenant fought for him. So far he hasn't bitten anyone at the precinct, unless you count me. Of course, I asked for it."

Wolf squeezes his glass so hard I'm sure it's going to break. "Goddammit, Jason, do you have any idea how fucked you are?"

I laugh. "I do, indeed."

"Stop being an ass. Vampires are dangerous. I don't care how human they seem."

"I owe you a lot, and I understand why you don't trust my judgment. You know I'd go to hell and back to help you and Natalie, but I don't want to talk about this anymore. Who I sleep with is my business."

Natalie gives me a knowing smile. "How long has this been going on?"

"About a week."

"Is that a record for you?" Natalie asks.

"Very funny."

She smiles at me, looking very pleased with herself. "You seem to know an awful lot about Detective Danvers. Is it possible he means more to you than the little fuck toys you usually pick up?"

I do not want to hear words like that come from my sister's mouth. "Do you say things like that just to rile me up?"

"Or me?" Wolf adds.

Natalie gives us both a smile but refuses to say anything. I don't like how easily she's picked up on my feelings for Drew. "Of course Drew's not like the guys I usually pick up. So what?"

Wolf growls. "Fuck yeah he's different. He's a vampire."

I take a deep breath. Getting in a fight with Wolf would be beyond stupid. "Can we talk about something else?"

Natalie raises a brow. "You've always been happy to crow over your conquests before. What's changed?"

I run a hand through my hair. How do I explain it when I don't even know myself? What the hell is it about Drew that makes me want to keep coming back for more? "Maybe I'm just tired of being ragged on for fucking a vamp."

Natalie's smile widens. What is she thinking now? Her well-honed ability to read me is making me twitchy. I pat my pocket for the cigarettes that are no longer there. Damn her for making me quit.

"What?" I ask when she continues to watch me.

"You're in love with him."

I lose the ability to breathe for a few seconds. "In love? What the fuck? I'm not in love with Drew. He's good in bed and I'm taking advantage of it. That's it."

Natalie laughs. "You keep telling yourself that."

I glare at her, but my heart is racing. I'm sweating. I'm hot and cold at the same time. If I were in deer form, the fur on my back would be raised and I'd be stomping my hoof angrily, signaling danger. Because she's right. Natalie is completely right. I've refused to let myself think about it, but she called it. I'm in love with a vampire, one who may be about to make a fatal mistake.

I'm far from ready to admit how I feel to Drew, but I'm also not going to lose him. I've got to figure out what he's planning and put a stop to it.

# CHAPTER TEN

Drew

I've had a hell of a night. The shifter drug ring case I'm actually assigned to is going nowhere fast, and I'm taking all kinds of shit for it. What am I supposed to do? Manufacture evidence out of thin air? As if that's not bad enough, I got another warning to back off the kidnapping case even with the new evidence I showed Morrison. He's taking heat from the captain in Missing Persons, so he told me I've got to let the detectives assigned to the case do their jobs. They're good guys, but they're not vamps and they don't know Trent like I do.

I open my locker and pull out the clothes I've stashed there for a few days too long. Vampires still have to do the laundry. Doesn't that just suck? Pun intended. Since I'm not getting anywhere, I've decided to sneak away and take advantage of Jason's night off.

As I'm shoving everything into my duffel bag, my phone vibrates. I grab it to read the message, cursing myself for getting all excited that it might be from Jason. I'm a thirty-five-year-old vampire, not some teenager with a crush.

It's not from Jason. It's from Trent. _I miss you. Come find me before I find your sweet little deer shifter. You have half an hour_.

At top speed—and assuming I could find a way in—I might make it to the underground lair Trent's using in half an hour. Besides, my chances of walking away from Trent again are practically zero. Getting to Jason as fast as I can gives both of us the best chance of survival.

I call Jason. He doesn't answer. _Fuck!_ For a vampire my heart is racing, which means I can feel it thump against my chest. I tear out of the parking garage, blowing past the gate attendant, who flips me off as I pull into the street.

At least the streets are mostly deserted in the wee hours. I pull up in front of Jason's building, park illegally, and throw up my police hangtag.

Using full vampire speed, I'm knocking on his door in seconds. He doesn't answer. The smell of his blood knots my stomach. Unable to believe he could already be dead, I break down the door.

He's in deer form, antlers down, getting ready to charge, the same genetically enhanced bastard Trent sent after me squaring off against him.

Jason has a nasty gash in his flank. It would've crippled a human. Pain shows clearly in his big brown eyes. Seeing him injured makes me snap.

Since the first days after the Change when I'd nearly lost all my humanity, I've worked hard to hold myself together. I've held something of my new nature back in every fight I've been in since I Changed. Not this time. Seeing Jason's life in danger unleashes the full force of my predatory instincts.

I'm on Trent's soldier before he sees me. I shove him back, denting the wall. He struggles, almost breaking free, but I sink my fangs deep in his neck, ripping at the skin. I'm not after a feed. I want to rip out his throat.

He shoves me off. My fangs tear out chunks of skin. He spins away from me. I deliver a kick to his gut and hear ribs crack as he falls backward. I come down on top of him, taking his head in my hands and wrenching it around until his neck snaps.

The blood pouring down his throat calls to me. It's still warm. A voice in the back of my mind is trying to get my attention, trying to remind me why I don't want to devour this man. Then I realize that voice is Jason. He's human again and calling my name.

I fight my instincts and turn away from the corpse, dreading the fear I will surely see in Jason's eyes. How could he not be afraid of me after what he's just seen? I went completely berserk. For all he knows, I'm going to kill him next.

But when I look up, I see only concern on Jason's face.

"Drew, are you okay?"

I nod. "I think so." But I'm not. I've just let my hard-won control go. What if I can't get myself back together? What if I hurt Jason?

Jason takes a tentative step toward me. I register for the first time that he's naked. Of course his clothes would have torn as he shifted. I let my gaze travel up and down his body. The wound in his side is already partly healed from his shift. My cock hardens as all the anger and fear that sent me racing up here and made me lose it are quickly being channeled into desire.

I want Jason. I want him bad. But we have a dead body on the floor. I'm going to have to call this in.

***

A few hours later, the ME has finally taken the body away. We've both told our story to the detectives and we're alone in Jason's apartment.

He stands by the door long after he closes it behind the last of the investigation team. He's watching me and he's apprehensive, but I neither see nor smell fear. I want him more than ever for his willingness to stay with me after watching me rip a man's throat out.

I want to shove him up against the wall and sink my fangs into him. I want to touch and taste every inch of him. I want to hear him whimper and cry while I take him, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid I'll let go of my bloodlust again and hurt him.

Jason walks into the kitchen where I'm leaning against the counter. One whiff of his scent and my cock hardens.

He wraps his arms around me from behind. "I want you."

Christ! This would be easier if Jason were mad or scared, but this raw need is more than I can take. I don't know what I'll do if I unleash all the lust inside me. "I can't promise to hold it together if I fuck you. We both like it rough and if I get that aggressive—" I pause, not sure what to say. I feel sick and shaky and it's embarrassing as fuck. "I worked for years to gain the control I have over the beast you saw earlier. Now that I let go, I—" I can't bring myself to say more.

Jason nuzzles my neck and kisses me. "Then let me take you."

His words run straight to my cock. Even before I became a vampire, I rarely bottomed. But when I had the right partner, I enjoyed my brief surrender.

"Okay." The word is barely a whisper.

Jason lifts my T-shirt and I raise my arms so he can pull it over my head. He runs his tongue up my spine as he reaches around and unfastens my jeans. He nips the thick muscle behind my ear, and I gasp. I grip the counter so hard I'm afraid it will break.

He frees my cock and slides his hand up and down it as he grinds his hips against my ass. "I know I can't really overpower you, but let's pretend I can. I want to hold you down. I want to shove my dick deep inside you. I want you to know that I'm not afraid of you, that I want to own you."

"God, yes."

I let him spin me around. His mouth crushes mine as he fists my cock. I reach for him, and he snarls. "Keep your hands on the counter and don't move."

He runs his mouth along my jaw, down my neck. He licks his way across my chest and captures a nipple in his teeth. A hiss escapes, and I hear the counter crack as I squeeze it, fighting not to grab Jason's head and shove it down to my cock.

He releases me and steps back. I look into his deep brown eyes and see a level of heat and power that he's not shown me before. "On the bed, face down."

I suck in a breath and stare at him for a few seconds, too stunned to move.

He makes an angry snort, like a buck facing a challenger. "Now."

I kick off my shoes and shove my jeans the rest of the way down my legs.

Leaving them on the floor, I obey. I'm lost in an erotic dream. Part of me screams to fight, to take, to bite, but the rest of me wants to surrender to Jason and let him do what we both want.

I fall onto the bed, face into the pillow. Jason is behind me stripping off his clothes. I force myself to lie there, hoping I won't have torn the bed apart by the time he's done with me.

I hear him open the nightstand drawer. I know he's getting the lube. I tense.

Jason runs a slick finger down my back. "Relax and enjoy it." His finger slips between my cheeks and pushes in. I push back against the pressure, suddenly wanting him more than I would've thought possible. He adds another finger, stretching me, working me. I squirm against him. Damn, it's been a long time since I let myself feel like this.

He pushes deeper, curling his fingers as he slides them out. I gasp. "Right there! Oh God, do that again."

"Here?" He caresses just the right spot, and I jerk my hips. "Please!" God above, I never beg. Not as a human, not as a vampire, not ever. What is he doing to me?

Jason keeps sliding his fingers over my prostate. Shit, I'm going to come if he doesn't stop. His fingers are like magic. But he pulls them back just before I lose it.

I hear the sound of his slick hand greasing his cock, and then there he is, his thick head pressing for entry.

# CHAPTER ELEVEN

Jason

I'm not kidding myself. In a game of stag versus vampire, I'm going to come up the loser. But I love how hard Drew's trying to relax under me. My mattress may not survive his tight grip, but it'll be worth it if I get to fuck him and make my point that he's not going to go all scary-ass vampire on me.

I push into him. The heat of his body gripping my naked cock feels so good. I almost lose it right there. He feels even better wrapped around my bare cock than I'd imagined.

He groans, raising himself higher on his knees and arching his back, giving me better access. I drive in farther.

"Jason."

Hearing my name as a hoarse plea makes me shudder. And I know Natalie is right. I'm in love with Drew. How the fuck did it happen so fast? I don't know, but he's mine and I want him to know it. I thrust hard, giving him all of me. He growls, and I hear the sheets rip.

I pull out slowly, teasing him, wanting him to beg, wanting to push him the way he always does me.

"Fuck me, dammit!"

I can't help but laugh. "As it so happens, I'm fucking you right now."

"Fuck me like you mean it," he says, using my line.

"Like this?" I give him a rough stroke, pulling a choked "yes" from him. I wrap one hand around his cock, holding one of his hips with my other hand while I work him with the brutal rhythm we both crave.

He struggles against my hold and pushes back against me. He feels so damn good, hot, and tight. The slide of flesh on flesh is like heaven. "I've never fucked a man bareback before. Do you like that you're my first?"

"Fuck, yes!" he shouts.

I want this to last forever, but we're both way too worked up and it's already past dawn. Drew will have to sleep soon. I release his cock and shift my angle so I can slide my wrist across his lips.

"No." His voice is harsh, breathy.

"Yes." We both need to know he can feed without hurting me.

He licks my wrist, tongue flicking over the pulse point.

"Please," I groan. The word contrasts sharply with the punishing strokes I'm giving his ass. I need to take and be taken. I don't just want his ass. I want the whole package, and I need him to know that.

He makes a distressed noise like a whine and a growl combined. Then he sinks his fangs into my wrist. I cry out in response to the sharp pain. Pleasure floods my body seconds later. As he sucks my wrist, I rock into him, crying his name and spilling myself inside him.

He releases my arm, and I wrap my hand back around his cock. A few strokes is all it takes. His cream coats my hand and shoots onto the bed. When his body stills, he collapses, and I fall on top of him.

***

When I wake, it's already dark again. I roll over, but my arm doesn't come with me. I jerk fully awake with a start. I'm zip-cuffed to the headboard. What the fuck?

Drew is no longer in the bed.

I call for him.

No response.

My sensitive hearing detects nothing other than the buzz of appliances and my neighbor's television. My heart slams against my chest. Drew's gone after Trent. I know it. The fucking bastard has gone after Trent and left me cuffed to the fucking bed. I run my free hand through my hair, trying to calm down and think.

I try to shift, but sure enough Drew was smart enough to use neutralizer cuffs so I'm stuck in human form. I grab my phone from the nightstand. The first thing that pops up is a message from Drew.

_I won't let you be threatened again. Gone to end it. I love you_.

I stare at those three little words and they stare back, mocking me. The same words I'd bitten my lip to hold inside as I fucked him. I thought I was crazy to be in love with a vampire and to think that a week-long fuck fest could be more than just physical pleasure. Love couldn't come this fast, this sudden, this strong. Could it? Did Drew really want more?

My chest tightens painfully and my eyes burn. _Fuck!_ I'm not going to cry over him, am I? "I love you too, you bastard," I shout as if he can hear me. "And I don't want to tell it to your corpse."

I try to call him. The phone rings and rings. No answer. How could he do this?

I need help. Natalie. Will she and Wolf come to my rescue once again? I call her, praying they will. If not, I'm going after Drew on my own.

***

By the time Wolf and Natalie arrive, I've resorted to trying to rip apart my headboard. "Dammit, Jason, you're going to tear your hands up," Wolf snarls.

He pulls out a pair of safety snips and slices the cuff off. As soon as I'm free, Natalie pulls me into her arms. I can't hold it together anymore. I grip her so tight I'm nearly crushing her as I bury my face in her hair. "We've got to find him."

She strokes my back. "We will. Wolf's already working on it."

I let Natalie go and turn away, wiping my eyes, embarrassed as hell to show such emotion in front of Wolf. But when I look back, I see no condemnation on his face, only concern.

"Natalie says you think he's gone to the warehouse where Trent held him before. I've got some friends trying to trace his recent calls and computer activity, but our best chance of finding him before he gets to Trent is me tracking him."

I rip the sheet off the bed and hand it to Wolf. He frowns at it and arches a brow at me. Then he shrugs and pulls it to his nose, breathing deeply. His eyes go wolfish. "I'll send word as soon as I can."

I shake my head. "There's no way in hell you're leaving me here." Natalie nods in agreement.

"This is police business. Once I find him, I'll call in backup."

"Don't pull that crap with me," Natalie shouts.

Wolf moves forward until he's inches from Natalie. "I can run faster without the two of you. I've already called my partner. He's coming to keep an eye on you."

Natalie scowls. "I'm not a child."

I take Natalie by the shoulders. I don't want to see her get hurt either. "I'm going, but, Natalie, Wolf is right. You should stay here."

"You're both staying here," Wolf says.

I snarl at him, not caring that he's the one man I know, other than Drew, who can kick my ass. "Drew is mine, and I'm going after him with or without you."

Wolf looks me up and down and nods. "Fine, but Natalie stays."

Natalie shoves Wolf, and he takes a step back, obviously thrown off guard. "I will not stay here like some damsel in distress waiting for my champion to defend me."

I snarl at them both. "Drew is running out of time."

"Fuck both of you," Wolf says. "We're all going, but when we find him, you'll both let the police take care of it."

Natalie smiles but says nothing more as she and Wolf strip, lightning fast. Just before we shift, we each fold a garment—pants for me and Wolf, a dress for Natalie—that we can carry in our mouths so we won't be naked when we return to human form. Wolf puts his nose to the ground, and we race off into the night in animal form, the shocked gasps of my neighbors following us.

After long, agonizing minutes of following Wolf as he scouts out the trail, he motions toward the east with his muzzle and breaks into a run. Natalie and I follow, racing as fast as our deer legs can carry us. Not far outside the city, the thick underbrush and woods have crept right up to the road's edge, giving us plenty of cover.

Roadside maintenance is no longer a priority and some of the lesser-used routes are often obstacle courses covered by limbs and debris. After a few miles, Wolf veers off into the forest. Just as I'm about to drop from exhaustion, Wolf stops suddenly and shifts back to his human form. Natalie and I follow suit.

He pulls us into a thicket where we have good cover and points at a large building in the distance. Speaking in a whisper that even my sensitive ears can barely hear, he says, "That's the warehouse Trent used for his operation when he captured Drew. Drew's close by, but I can't see him so he's probably cloaking himself. I don't hear anything that would indicate he's confronted Trent yet, but I'm calling in the reinforcements."

And then Drew is behind me. He closes his hand over my mouth as he hauls me against the wall of his chest. Wolf takes a step toward us, weapon out. I hold up my hand to tell him to back off.

"Go home. Now." Drew's voice is so low against my ear that I wonder for a moment if he's sending the words straight into my mind.

I shake my head. He takes his hand from my mouth but still holds me tight. I turn to whisper to him and end up burying my nose in his hair. I breathe in his musky scent. Anyone who thinks vampires smell like something dead has never smelled Drew. He smells like hard-working man and rough sex, and just a breath of him can have me hard. I wish we were anywhere but here. "We've come to help. More reinforcements are on the way."

Drew growls. "This is my fight."

I grab the arm that is locked across my chest and try to wrench it free. "This is a suicide mission, and I'm not ready to let you go."

He turns his head so he can look at me. His pale blue eyes hold so much pain. I reach up and cup his face.

"Jason." He says my name like a plea. One I intend to answer with a kiss, but then all hell breaks loose.

Vampires appear as if out of thin air. Apparently even our whispers are loud enough for Trent's guards to detect. I count four, but I can't be sure there aren't more.

Wolf shoots one of them, but the bastard merely stumbles and keeps coming, hissing and baring his fangs. One of the vamps charges Drew. Another runs at me. Without even thinking, I shift and lower my head. The vamp screams as my antlers gore him.

I pull back. The vamp crumbles to the ground. "I've got him," Wolf yells. I move to the side and Wolf blows a hole through his chest. His body jerks, then lies still.

"Natalie!" Wolf screams. A vampire reaches for Natalie. I charge him, knocking him down. My antlers pierce his flesh. A shot explodes right next to me, making me jerk. Wolf has blown his head away. I work my antlers free and turn to see Natalie. She's pale but unharmed.

I scan the clearing. Where is Drew? My heart stutters when I see a blur racing toward the warehouse. Has he found a way into the underground rooms? I want to scream, but my deer body can only produce a high-pitched distress whine.

Drew is in trouble. I know it as surely as I know that I love him. With one last glance at Natalie, I take off after him. I hear Wolf yell a string of expletives as I cover the ground in soaring leaps.

# CHAPTER TWELVE

Drew

I race through the trees, no more than a blur to anyone who was looking. After nearly an hour of waiting, I've found an entrance to the underground chambers. Trent will be expecting his guards to take care of the intruders. Now is the best time for me to make a strike against him. I know my chances of surviving are slim, but I cannot let him continue to kill and torture innocent people. The vamps we killed in the forest had become mindless animals in his hands. He likely kept them chained and starved, then turned them out like dogs. If I wait for reinforcements to arrive, I'll have to play this by the rules. Trent doesn't need to be captured. He needs to die.

I reach the last tree before the ten yards of open ground between me and the warehouse door. I can smell Jason chasing me. He's getting closer. I've got to make my move now.

I ease around the tree, careful not to make a sound. The piercing scream of a deer in distress explodes in the silence. I pull back behind the tree. A rifle cracks. Jason keeps running. The shooter fires again and my stag drops to the ground.

I hear Wolf and Natalie and at least a dozen others, the backup Wolf called for, racing toward Jason.

My vision goes red. I unleash the full force of my rage, flying across the lawn so fast the shooter can't see me. I jump on the door hidden in the ground and it crumbles.

I vaguely know that a SWAT team is right behind me, but I am focused on Trent. I'm going to kill him. The room I enter is his version of a torture chamber. At least a dozen newly turned vamps are strapped to beds. Some are being drained, others are snarling and fighting their bonds. "Trent!" I roar.

He's not here. I've got to find him. I charge through the door toward the rooms set up as offices. I smell werewolf behind me, and I snarl.

Wolf tackles me, taking me down. I shove him off and start to stand. He grabs my arm and pulls me back down. He's nearly as strong as I am.

"Danvers, you don't want to do this."

I hiss at him. Jesus, I'm a fucking animal, but I don't care. "Trent has to die."

"If you kill him without provocation, you're done on the force."

His words barely penetrate my haze of rage. I jerk my arm loose. Wolf reaches for me again. I punch him. He staggers back and then charges me, growling. "Dammit, Danvers. Jason is going to be okay."

I stumble backward. "Jason's alive?

Wolf nods. "He's going to be fine. But if you kill Trent in this state, you'll be kicked off the force. Trent will win."

I snarl.

"Don't do this."

I squeeze my hands into fists and force myself to breathe. Wolf is right. I want to see Trent dead, but I don't want to destroy my career or my chance at a life with Jason. Just as I'm about to tell Wolf this, Trent appears behind him, eyes red with rage. He raises a gun, aiming at Wolf's head. Lightning fast, I grab Wolf's gun and blast a hole in Trent's chest. His eyes widen with shock, and he crumbles. The wound won't kill a vampire as old as he is, but he's not going anywhere soon.

I hand Wolf back his gun. "Cuff him."

Wolf seems to be trying to figure out what just happened. He turns and takes in Trent writhing on the ground.

I clap him on the shoulder. "Thank you. For stopping me."

Wolf frowns. "I did it for Nat and Jason. Nat says you make her brother happy. Don't let that change."

I nod. "Where is Jason?"

"Outside with the paramedics."

"Can you handle things here?"

Wolf glances at Trent with an evil smile. "I certainly can. Go get your buck."

***

Hours later, after arguing with Jason about whether he needed to go to the hospital, waiting ages in the ER when I won the argument, and answering endless questions from the detectives officially running the Trent case, Jason and I stagger through the door of my apartment. I pull down the light-blocking shades and slide the thick curtains closed, knowing sunrise is coming soon.

I turn to look at Jason and catch him swaying on his feet. I get to him just before he collapses, scooping him up in my arms despite his protests. Sometimes being a vampire is good. How else could I carry my lover to bed?

I lay him down, brush his hair off his face, and lightly kiss the wound in his shoulder. He smiles up at me. "I love you too." His voice is soft and fuzzy. I pray it's not just the pain medicine talking.

I caress his cheek. "You saved my life."

He smiles. "I told you not to go after him alone."

I nod. "Wolf pulled me out of blood rage because he knew you loved me."

Jason nodded. "He's a good man, even if he acts like an asshole most of the time."

I laugh. Jason's dark eyes are filled with love and reassurance. Despite how exhausted we both are, I can't help but kiss him.

Our lips press together in a kiss that's gentle at first. But before long, Jason is wrapping his arms around my neck, pulling me down to him. Our tongues tangle and the kiss becomes an explosion of passion.

I slide my body alongside his, never breaking the kiss. I roll him toward me, wanting to feel the whole length of his body, needing reassurance that he's alive and well and right there with me. His cock is as hard as mine and we slide against each other.

I need to feel his bare skin, so I pull away from him to undress. Jason is already naked, having gone to the hospital in nothing but a blanket since clothes don't survive shapeshifting.

"Are you up for this?" I ask. The doctors told me he was fine, but I'm not sure I trust them. I doubt they thought I'd be fucking him tonight.

"Sure as hell feels like it." Jason flashes me a wicked smile and fists his cock as I pull my shirt over my head.

I laugh as I push my pants down and step out of them and my shoes. I cover his hand with my own, pumping his cock with long strokes. He's watching me and I have to ask once more to be sure. "Are you really okay? You were shot tonight. I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm fine," he gasps as I tease his slit with my finger.

"If I find out you're lying—"

"I'm not." He closes his eyes and tips his head back.

"Are you comfortable now?"

He opens his eyes and gives me a passion-drugged look as he nods. "As comfortable as I can be with you driving me insane."

"Good. Put your hands by your sides and let me take care of you."

His eyes go wide, and his hand stills on his cock. The catch in his breath makes me crazy. I long to tie him up and see how he reacts, but I know I need to take it slow tonight.

"Drew?" His voice shakes, but I smell desire rather than fear.

"Hands by your sides. Now." I let a growl creep into my voice.

He obeys, fisting his hands in the sheets.

I lean over and kiss his shoulder where the angry wound still shows. "I thought I'd lost you." My voice is a whisper.

He nods, watching me. "I thought the same thing. That you'd run off and I would never see you again, never touch you again."

"We're both here and there's going to be lots of touching."

I find the lube, and within seconds I'm pushing a finger inside him. He pushes back against my hand, and I stroke his cock while I finger-fuck him, holding his gaze the whole time. "You're so damn beautiful."

"Drew!" he gasps.

"What do you need?"

"You. Just you."

I groan as I pull his legs up and hold them there while I push inside. He moans, and I go deeper.

"More," he pants, tearing at the sheets.

I shake my head. "We're going slow tonight."

"Can't. Please!" He tightens his ass around my cock in encouragement.

"You don't have a choice. You're injured. It's slow or nothing."

He scowls. "Bastard."

I slide out and drive back in faster than before, still not giving Jason what he really craves. I won't risk doing serious damage.

I match the strokes of my hand with the rhythm of my cock. Before long Jason is shuddering as he works himself against me. He cries out my name as his cock jerks and ropes of come shoot out, covering my hand and making his abdomen a sticky mess.

The ecstasy on his face is all I need to bring me over. I drive into him roughly and let go with a shout. Many long, pleasure-filled seconds pass before I'm able to pull myself from his ass and curl up by his side. "Did I hurt you?"

He doesn't answer. Worried, I stroke the side of his face. "Jason?"

He opens his eyes. They are filled with emotion and more uncertainty than I've seen from him. My stomach knots. "What is it?"

"Did you mean it?"

"Mean what?"

An adorable blush tints his cheeks. "That you love me."

My heart speeds up to nearly normal human rhythm. "Yes."

He looks shocked at my words. "Really?"

"Yes, dammit, Jason... But if you didn't... If you don't feel..."

He grabs my hand, pulling it back to his face and rubbing his cheek against it. "I meant everything I said. Why the hell do you think I came after you? I need _you_ , not just your cock."

"Well, that's a damn good thing, because I need all of you too."

Jason smiles and nips at my hand. "Good, because I expect to be more than just a blood slave."

I can't help but grin. "What would you like to be? My stag prince?"

He glares at me. "Your lover."

I lean forward and brush his lips with a gentle kiss. "How about you being simply 'mine'?"

Jason frowns and considers my words. "Why the hell is that so damn sexy?"

"Because you know it's true." I kiss him before he can say anything else.

# Thank You

Dear Reader,

Thank you for purchasing _Sex on the Hoof_. I hope you enjoyed it. _Law and Supernatural Order_ Books 2 and 3 plus a prequel will be released in the winter and spring of 2016. If you like paranormal gay romance, you may also enjoy the Wild R Farm series. I offer a free book to anyone who joins my mailing list. To learn more, click here.

Please consider leaving a review where you purchased this ebook or on Goodreads. Reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations are vital to independent authors.

I love hearing from readers. You can email me at silviaviolet@gmail.com. To read excerpts from all of my titles, visit my website: <http://silviaviolet.com/books>.

Silvia Violet

# Author Bio

Silvia Violet writes erotic romance in a variety of genres including paranormal, contemporary, and historical. She can be found haunting coffee shops looking for the darkest, strongest cup of coffee she can find. Once equipped with the needed fuel, she can happily sit for hours pounding away at her laptop. Silvia typically leaves home disguised as a suburban stay-at-home-mom, and other coffee shop patrons tend to ask her hilarious questions like "Do you write children's books?" She loves watching the looks on their faces when they learn what she's actually up to. When not writing, Silvia enjoys baking sinfully delicious treats, exploring new styles of cooking, and reading to her incorrigible offspring.

Website: http://silviaviolet.com

Facebook: <http://facebook.com/silvia.violet>

Twitter: <http://twitter.com/Silvia_Violet>

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#  Titles by Silvia Violet

Coming Clean

If Wishes Were Horses

Needing A Little Christmas

One Kiss

### Fitting In

Fitting In

Sorting Out

Burning Up

### Thorne and Dash

Professional Distance

Personal Entanglement (Coming Spring 2016)

### Unexpected

Unexpected Rescue

Unexpected Trust

Unexpected Engagement

### Wild R Farm

Finding Release

Arresting Love

Embracing Need

Taming Tristan

Willing Hands

Shifting Hearts

Wild R Christmas

### Galactic Betrayal

Abandoned

Deceived

### Available from Dreamspinner Press

Denying Yourself

Pressure Points

### Available from Loose Id

Astronomical

Meteor Strike

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