In his mind, she was his and always had been.
He growled, overwhelmed by rage and possessiveness. Yet he managed to hold on to his self-control. He managed not to exit the shower, storm down to her room, break down her door, and cover her body with his. He didn’t want to scare her any more than he already had.
To her, he was a monster.
The pure white wall in front of him faded to black. Ty stared into the abyss. Slowly, ever so slowly, he was becoming like the vicious, unthinking creatures that had slain his sister. The terrifying ability to perceive his transformation as it happened was about to shatter his mind.
Something snapped him out of it. Instinct again.
He had smelled her …
His head snapped up and he took a deeper breath.
Was he imagining it?
No, he could smell her close by. In his room. Here and now.
And he could hear her. Faint footsteps edged closer to the bathroom door.
What the hell was she doing?
His fangs elongated. His dick was already hard. Throbbing for her. Ready to claim her.
He watched as the doorknob to the bathroom door turned and the door pushed open slightly.
He heard her call his name. “Ty?”
Was she asking for permission to come in? Did she really think he would deny her?
He had to. She had no idea what was waiting for her. No idea what he was thinking. He wasn’t sure he could do it, but he took a deep, shaky breath, and tried.
He really tried.
“Don’t,” he gasped out. “Don’t come in, Ana.”
The door didn’t open any further as she hesitated. “Why?” she asked.
“I want you too much. I—I don’t want to hurt you.”
He waited for her to close the door and leave. He prayed he could let her.
Unbelievably, she stayed where she was. “I know you won’t hurt me.”
He closed his eyes, trying to block her out along with his spiraling need. “Ana, please listen to me. I’m on the verge of losing control. We’ll talk tomorrow. Just leave. Now.” He snapped the last word as his control began to shred. But he had to breathe, and when he did, a new, deliciously female scent aroused him even more …
He groaned when he realized she was wet for him.
He could smell it on her, and he wanted to taste those juices. Take them down his throat. Bathe himself in them until the day he died. “Go. Go.” His voice was almost unrecognizable now. Inhuman.
Fuck, it even scared him.
She didn’t leave. Instead, in a voice that was barely there, soft and a little shaky, she said the one thing guaranteed to snap his control in half.
“No.”
As Ana pushed the bathroom door open all the way, she saw Ty do the same to the shower door. She stopped cold for a breathless moment when he stepped out of the shower, wet and huge and marvelously naked except for the peculiar gold medallion he wore. She was rooted to the floor as he stalked toward her, his expression as dark and dangerous as she’d ever seen it.
Holy fuck, she thought, as her gaze swept over him. He was incredible. He was exactly as she’d envisioned in her dreams, right down to the birthmark on his left hip. She stared at the mark, which she’d already stroked and tasted in her mind, and instinctively reached out to touch it now. Knowing that her dream might have been prophetic made her shake. Ana instinctively lifted her hand to ward him off. “Wait—”
But then he was on her.
Chest heaving, he pressed his large body against hers, grasped her chin, and brought her gaze up to his. Though he didn’t hurt her, his touch was far from gentle. Ana gasped, not with fear, but with anticipation.
He looked ready to eat her alive and lick the plate clean afterward.
“I told you to leave. I gave you a chance. Why didn’t you listen?”
His gaze was focused on her mouth. The fingers gripping her chin loosened to stroke her jaw and the scar he’d touched only once before.
This time, she didn’t flinch from his touch. She arched into it, more than ready. She’d known perfectly well that entering his room would make this happen.
Fascinated, she watched his fangs grow even longer. They were sharp. Deadly. Capable of ripping out a man’s throat—she’d witnessed it happening.
She fought against the sensual languor of her betraying body, feeling as if he had entranced her. Yet she wasn’t scared. All she could think about was the intense pleasure his fangs had brought her before, in her dreams, when he’d plunged them into her soft flesh and drunk from her.
She craved that intensity. Felt the first stirrings of love—and respect—for him. He was willing to kill for her. He thought she was beautiful, despite—or maybe because of—the hidden scars she bore. And he cared enough about her to tell her to go, even though he looked as if he’d starve to death without her.
Ana didn’t care if he was a vampire or not.
She wanted Ty.
Ty didn’t consciously try to read her mind, but he could hear her thoughts now. She was convinced she wanted him. He refused to allow himself to believe it.
His brain ordered his fingers to let go of her and told him to step away but his body wouldn’t obey. If he lost contact with her skin, he would shrivel up and die.
The abyss in his mind had vanished when she’d come to him.
The darkness was still there … yet he could fight back. He didn’t have to die. He wanted to fully live during whatever time he had left on earth and—
She swallowed hard, and his gaze followed the graceful, undulating movement of her throat.
And then he snapped.
He didn’t pounce on her. He didn’t shove his fangs into her the way he longed to. But he knew in that moment there was no hope of her leaving. He would take her first. He had to.
“I warned you,” was all he said before he picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the bathroom and to the bed. There, he laid her down and covered her body with his.
“God, I’ve dreamed of this. I’ve dreamed of loving you, princess.”
At Ty’s words, Ana’s eyes widened. “Wh—what did you say?”
“I said I dreamed about you. Does that surprise you?”
“N-no. I just—” As she stuttered and flushed, his eyes narrowed.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, savoring the smell of her ever-blossoming desire. “You’ve dreamed of me as well,” he said. “You’ve dreamed of us. Well, it wasn’t just a dream, Ana. I didn’t know it at the time. I didn’t mean to do it, I swear. But I was really there. In your dreams. In your body. I didn’t force—”
She shook her head. “Of course you didn’t. I—I wanted it. Wanted you. But those were dreams. Ty … what you’re saying. It’s impossible.”
His gaze dropped to the hand that cupped her breast. Gently, he smoothed his thumb across her nipple, making her gasp and arch into his touch. “As impossible as vampires?”
“I don’t know,” she gasped.
“Never underestimate the power of desire. In my mind, you saw me the way I was before I was turned. You saw me when I was fully human.” He lifted his gaze to hers. “When you saw us together, what color eyes did I have?”
“B—blue.”
“That’s right. Blue. Now, what else do you know about me? Do you know how I kiss when I let myself go? How I feel and how I touch? How I loved sucking your breasts and licking you between your thighs?” As he spoke, he moved his hand to that very spot and rubbed at the tiny pearl hidden there.
She hissed and thrust her hips upward with a moan.
He laughed darkly, loving how the sound made her shiver. “Yes. You’re going to come. Just like before. Isn’t that right, Ana? You touched yourself in your bedroom and called out my name.”