Touch of Temptation Page 5

  Shaking his head, he said, “The poisoning actually happened before I got to the compound.”

  Her gaze immediately slid to the bite wound burning at the side of his throat, and she visibly swallowed, her pale features stricken with worry. “Is that what the bite’s from? An infected Deschanel? I’ve heard of that, but don’t really know much about it.”

  “It was my own stupid fault,” he rumbled, keeping his tone light. “I wasn’t paying close enough attention as I was crossing the Wasteland and ended up running into a poisonous vamp named Asa Reyker, who thought I looked tasty.”

  “So this is another nightmare that can be laid at my feet,” she said softly, dropping her head back until it clunked against the wall.

  “That’s bullshit,” he grunted, her reaction reinforcing his decision not to tell her the complete truth about the poison. “You didn’t ask me to come here, Chloe. It was my choice.”

  “I’m just so sick of this!” she burst out, thumping her small, fisted hands against the cot as she lifted her head and looked at him. “I want out of this place, but not at the expense of your life, Kellan! I didn’t want anyone else to be hurt!”

  “I’m not hurt, damn it.”

  “Yeah? Because being poisoned doesn’t exactly sound like something that feels good!”

  “I’ll be okay,” he lied, trying to calm her down, even though he knew damn well that he was dying. “The poison can’t kill me, so stop freaking out. It’s going to be fine.”

  “Fine? Look around you, Kellan.” She flung the words at him. “Nothing about this situation is fine!”

  In another sudden shift, he could see her worry bleeding back into something primal and raw, and she started to shiver. Her eyes became heavy as she stared at him from the cot, her chest rising and falling with swift, panting breaths.

  Thickly, he said, “Your Merrick is rising again.”

  In a gesture he was beginning to recognize as one of the witch’s favorites, she rolled her eyes at him again. “Gee, ya think?”

  He liked her sassy mouth, though he had a feeling she was more than a little surprised by the things she kept saying to him, as if she hadn’t expected to be so brave when faced with a dangerous Lycan.

  “Has the blood they’ve been giving you helped at all?” he asked.

  “They’ve shoved it into my veins,” she told him, her voice strained. “Even made me drink it from a cup. But none of it has helped.”

  “Chloe, I want you to know that I would help you with this, if I thought it was the right thing to do. But I know that it’s not.”

  “And I’d stop looking at you as if you were my next meal, but I seem to have this whole split personality thing going on right now that makes that impossible. So you should really just go.”

  “I know it might not feel like it at times, but you will be able to manage the Merrick’s hunger until we’re out of here,” he told her. “I’m not saying it will be easy, but I know you’re strong enough to do it.”

  “Kellan, I’m not kidding,” she groaned, obviously struggling to hold it together. “You need to leave. Immediately.”

  His muscles tensed with frustration. “I don’t want you to be alone. Not when you look like you’re in pain.”

  “Damn it, I am in pain! And you being over here is making it worse!” Dropping her head forward, she took a deep, shuddering breath and licked her lips, her voice hoarse as she said, “I don’t understand any of this. Is it…is it because of the poison? Is that why you won’t feed me? Are you afraid of it hurting me?”

  Watching the way she was twisting her fingers together in her lap, he forced himself to be honest. “No. A Deschanel nest can become poisonous for any number of reasons, depending on what they’ve done. For some, it’s because they were cursed, and in other cases, because they broke one of the sacred covenants of the Deschanel. There are all different types of poisons and they’re not all lethal, though some of them can probably make you wish you were dead. Hell, some can even cause madness, and some just make you feel like you’ve been put through a wringer. The poison is something that lives in the vampires’ bodies, which they can often pass on to their victims, depending on the specific strain—but with most of the infected nests, that’s where the cycle stops. The Reykers’ strain of poison is one that’s no longer contagious once it spreads through their victims. So even though it’s inside me, the poison isn’t something I can pass on to another.”

  “Oh.” She took another deep, trembling breath. “Then why won’t you help me? I mean, I know I’m nowhere close to your usual type, but this is…this isn’t a normal situation.”

  He hated that she looked at it that way, as if he ever would have preferred his usual type to her.

  “Chloe, I swear I’m not trying to be an ass. The truth is…” He groaned, wanting to tell her he was afraid of his wolf taking control and hurting her, but damn it, he didn’t want her scared of him. So he told her another truth instead. “The truth is that I’d like nothing more than to…to give you what you need, but I can’t do that. I’m not the kind of guy you want to get mixed up with, honey. Even for something that’s short term.” Because he knew damn well that once she learned about all the stupid shit that he’d done…about the way he’d bedded down with one of the Casus females and nearly gotten his friends killed, she’d be disgusted that she’d ever allowed him to touch her, much less take his blood into her body for a Merrick feeding.

  Kellan thought it might be more the ragged edge to his words than the actual words themselves that had her lifting her head to look at him. “What do you mean?”

  His mouth twisted with a wry smile. “I’m fucked up. Hell, my issues have issues. Big, nasty hairy ones that you really don’t want anything to do with.”

  Her brows drew together in a small V. “Weren’t you in here for the beginning of this conversation? I already know about the women, Kellan. Raine said you’re known as a playboy of epic proportions. A relentless womanizer.”

  He couldn’t believe the heat burning in his face, as if he was actually embarrassed that she knew about his man-slut reputation. “Yeah, well, that’s part of it. Olivia would tell you it’s my ‘coping mechanism.’”

  She suddenly laughed, though the light sound held a brittle edge. “Did I miss something?” he asked.

  Shaking her head, she said, “It’s just that that’s how I look at my lifestyle. The way I seclude myself from other people is my own little ‘coping mechanism.’”

  Kellan frowned. “And that’s funny, how?”

  “Well, think about it. We went about ‘coping’ in completely different ways. You by nailing everything that moves, so long as it was gorgeous and built—while the only things I’ve been nailing would be pictures on the wall, and all by my lonesome.” She snorted, saying, “Of the two of us, I’m betting you’ve been having a helluva lot more fun than I have.”

  With a rough burst of laughter, Kellan slowly shook his head, not knowing what to say.

  Then her smile faded, and he tensed as she quietly said, “I’m not asking you to marry me, Kellan. I’m not even asking you to be my boyfriend. Aside from the blood, I’m just asking you to give me what hundreds of other women have gotten from you.”

  He swallowed against the knot of regret lodged deep in his throat, and somehow managed to rasp, “I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?” she asked, clearly baffled by his continued refusal.

  “It’s…complicated,” he muttered, while his wolf roared with raw frustration, the savage sound so loud within his mind that he winced. Though he wanted so badly to give in, Kellan knew that no matter how miserable Chloe Harcourt was at that moment, she could get what she needed from one of his unmated friends once they were free…and then she’d be okay. Not to mention a helluva lot safer than if she let him touch her.

  “Complicated?” she repeated, her expression a mixture of hurt and genuine bewilderment. “How freaking complicated can it be? It’s not like I’m asking you to explai
n quantum mechanics. If the idea is so repulsive to you, then stop torturing me and just go away!”

  By the time the last word had left her lips, she was shaking again, even harder than before, her eyes flashing from gray to silver like sparks of light.

  Feeling like a useless jackass, he said, “Just take a deep breath, honey, and try to calm down.”

  Her eyes narrowed with blazing astonishment. “You don’t think I’ve tried that? God, I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius with a raging IQ! I thought—” She gasped, leaning forward, her slender arms clutched around her body as she rocked. “Oh, hell,” she groaned, gritting her teeth. “This sucks so bad.”

  Unable to stay away from her, Kellan knelt down in front of the bars that were closest to her cot and reached in with one hand, clutching a handful of the blanket, his hard fist only inches away from her slim little body. “Chloe,” he rasped, torn between what he wanted to do…and what he knew was right. “Chloe, honey, look at me.”

  She didn’t say anything at first. Just kept rocking, forward and then back again, and from this close, Kellan could actually feel the potent forces working within her. Feel that mesmerizing rise of power inside her pulsing against him. When she turned her head and pierced him with those glowing silver eyes, Kellan felt her power slam all the way down to his bones. The air felt electric, sizzling against his skin, and he realized that being part Mallory might be having a serious effect on her awakening—one they foolishly hadn’t anticipated.

  “It’s getting worse,” she whispered, the sharp points of the Merrick’s fangs just visible beneath the sensual curve of her upper lip, “and it’s scaring the hell out of me. I don’t…I don’t think I can control it anymore.”

  “Just stop. Please.” A hoarse, graveled demand.

  “If you…if you knew how hard this was for me, Kellan, you wouldn’t make me beg.” She licked her lips again, her silver eyes glistening with tears. “I can’t keep—”

  “Just a little bit longer and I’ll get you out of here, Chloe. Then we can get you somewhere…” The words stuck in his throat, but he forced them out. “When we’re free, you’ll be able to find someone to feed from. Someone of your choosing.”

  “You fed Raine.”

  He opened his mouth, but before he could explain, she went on. “I’m not complaining. I mean, after everything that she’s been through, she needs a champion.” Her head tilted a little to the side, her eyes liquid and bright. “I just don’t understand why you can’t do the same for me.”

  Westmore had used physical abuse, as well as Raine’s family, to force her cooperation, brutally murdering the psychic’s younger sister. Her baby brother would have suffered the same fate, if Raine hadn’t taken the upper hand, using her “sight” on Gregory DeKreznick to blackmail Westmore into leaving her loved ones alone. But in order to keep her weak, Westmore had continued to starve her, never allowing her to have any blood, only feeding her bits of food. Knowing she needed sustenance or she was going to die, Kellan had pushed his arm through the bars of his cell and given Raine his wrist. And while she’d been careful not to take too much, since it would have been obvious to Westmore and the others, Kellan had made sure she’d taken enough blood to dull the pain gnawing at her insides, and to help with the internal injuries she’d suffered.

  But that didn’t mean he could do the same with Chloe, because her needs were far more complicated…and it was Chloe his inner beast wanted to get its hands on.

  “What happened with Raine was different, and you know it,” he told her, his deep voice actually shaking with emotion. “All I did was give her my wrist.”

  And as an awakening Merrick female, Chloe was going to need a hell of a lot more than that.

  Tears coursed down her cheeks as she stared back at him, her breath shuddering from her lips as she quietly said, “Give…give me your wrist, then, and I’ll do the rest myself. You won’t even have to look at me or come inside my cell.”

  Aw, hell, he thought, her soft words echoing painfully through his head as he swiftly moved to his feet.

  Without a doubt, Kellan knew this woman was going to drive him out of his ever-loving mind.

  And the danger was only getting deeper by the second.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  WITH ONE HAND SHOVED deep in his pocket, Kellan shakily scraped his other hand through his hair and struggled to remember his mission.

  Find the witch.

  Protect the witch.

  Save the witch.

  Unfortunately, nailing the witch’s beautiful little ass to the wall wasn’t anywhere on the agenda, no matter how sweetly she begged him. Didn’t matter how tempting she was. How desperate he was to touch her. It wasn’t gonna happen, because even without his wolf screwing dangerously with his control, Kellan hadn’t been lying when he’d said he wasn’t good enough for her. Shit, he wasn’t fit for her to wipe her friggin’ shoes on, much less trust with her body. She was a stunning, white-hot goddess with a sassy mouth and endearing blushes, and he was…well, he sure as hell wasn’t a god. Christ, at the moment he was even more animal than man. And he didn’t trust the animal to control itself with her. One accidental swipe of his claws or bite from his fangs, and she could be seriously hurt…if not killed.

  Which meant that he had to keep his filthy paws to himself…and off the delectable, intoxicating little Merrick.

  But it wasn’t going to be easy. She was too pale, the bruise-colored smudges under her tear-filled eyes growing darker, and his insides twisted with guilt. Damn it, she needed blood, badly, but it was too dangerous, his beast fighting harder to bust its way through with each second that passed by.

  And it wasn’t as if blood alone was going to ease her suffering. As an awakening Merrick female, she needed fresh blood…and an earth-shattering orgasm.

  “This is wrong,” he groaned, wincing at the raw, gritty sound of his voice. It held too much of the wolf in it, the animal seething with primitive lust, urging him to forget what was right and wrong and just follow his baser instincts. “You don’t wanna do this, Chloe. Trust me.”

  “Please, Kellan.” A vivid blush burned beneath her smooth complexion, and he could tell how much it was costing her to ask him for something so intimate. “I’m starving.”

  A tremor shuddered through his coiled muscles, a fresh sheen of sweat breaking out over the surface of his skin, despite the freezing temperatures in the cellblock. Knowing that if he gave in he could be putting her in serious danger, he tried again to make her understand why it couldn’t happen. “I didn’t come here to take advantage of your situation, damn it. I came here to keep you safe.”

  “You want to do something selfless?” she threw back at him, sliding her slender legs over the side of the cot. “Be the hero? Then give me what I need!”

  “It’s not that simple!”

  She made a choked sound, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her fingers. “If you’re waiting for an easier solution, Kellan, there isn’t one.”

  Sounding ragged and on edge and desperate, he carefully said, “A little more time, Chloe, and I’ll have you out of here.”

  “Aren’t you listening?” she cried. “I don’t have any more time!”

  “Damn it, don’t say that!”

  Sharp, panting breaths slipped past her lips, followed by a stream of soft, unsteady words. “I meant what I said before, Kellan. If you don’t help me, I’m afraid of what I’ll do.” She flicked her tongue against the shiny swell of her lower lip, the brief glimpse he caught of her fangs—the only physical change that Merrick females experienced—just about the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. “And I don’t want some other man. Not one of your friends or the people who are helping them. I want you.”

  Though Kellan had used every ounce of his strength to hold on to his fraying control, those last three words were what broke him, completely shattering his resistance.

  Cursing and shaking with lust, he quickly grabbed the keys that hung on the far w
all and flipped the switch on the counterweight for Chloe’s door. Then he let himself into her cell, dropped the keys on the floor, and crossed the distance between them. In the next instant, he wrapped one arm under her bottom, lifting her against his body as he shoved the cot out of his way, sending it slamming into the iron bars. Then he lunged forward, pinning her against the wall, unable to hear the words he could see her lips shaping over the crashing roar of his pulse. Heat crawled up over his back and shoulders, spreading into his face as his free hand closed around the back of her neck in a dominating hold, his heart hammering to a dark, predatory beat. She stared up at him, her glistening eyes wide and bright and…hopeful, and with another sharp curse, Kellan covered her mouth with his, licking his way past those plush, petal-soft lips, seeking the silken warmth within. And God, she tasted delicious. Mouthwatering. Completely addictive, each succulent detail a devastating assault on his senses.

  He used every last ounce of his willpower to give her the time to decide whether or not she wanted to go any further with him, but the instant she flicked her tongue against his, he was gone.

  “Kellan,” she gasped, her slender fingers gripping his hair as she fought to pull him closer, her legs wrapping around his waist. The kiss turned into something savagely explicit, wet and raw and violent, the passion between them dangerously explosive. “More. Give me more!”

  With a feral growl, Kellan lifted her higher, grinding his granite-hard cock against her mound, his jeans rasping against the soft cotton of her panties. “That what you want?” His voice was dark and rough as he pulled her head to the side so that he could drag his open mouth down the slender column of her throat, the heady taste of her skin making his cock even harder. Her small hands clutched his bare shoulders, her nails digging into the slick, bunched muscles, and he could hear his wolf urging him on as he found her mouth again, kissing her harder…deeper…raw lust searing his veins.