Page 16

Chapter 15

Adeline

“I …” She cleared her throat, struggling to form the words. She averted her eyes, refusing to look at him while he kneeled between her legs.

“Why are you here, Adeline?” He pressed her again, his voice harsher than before.

“I made a deal with my maker. He let me roam freely while I hunted down the only creature who could kill us.”

Because I thought I could finally be free. She longed for the promise of freedom. To do with her immortal life what she wished. But Erik had made it known that her life was his, that she would not be here without him, that she owed him for it. She was indebted to him, for as long as he deemed her necessary.

And for some reason, he thought she was always necessary. Adeline had tried to run away countless times, using her assignments as an assassin to give her time away. But she always gave in, in the end. Erik would torture her back into submission until her desire to be free overwhelmed her again. The final time she ran away, she had disguised herself as a novice healer and gone to work for some nuns in a hospital.

It was when she met Colin that everything changed. She finally dared to get out of the horrific arrangements Erik put on her.

She wasn’t lying to Rolf when she said she wanted to learn modern ways of healing. Everything she had said tonight was truthful. And she had to wonder why. What was it about this stranger, in particular, that made her think he was Colin? That made her feel so comfortable that she could open her mouth and be honest?

He knew of no man. He said so himself.

Rolf dropped his hands and sat back on his heels, a frown plastered across his face. Though he looked shocked, she could hear how his heartbeat picked up and battered itself against its cage.

“A were-shifter,” he deadpanned.

It wasn’t a hard guess. Were-shifters were, after all, the only fae creature who could kill a vampire with one swipe of their deadly claws.

Though vampires were known to move quickly, heal fast, and have the strength of ten men, were-shifters had the stamina to keep up and claws so sharp could behead a vampire. In their human form, they were strong and could hold their own with any vampire in hand-to-hand fights. But as wolves? Large, ferocious, blood-thirsty creatures, the wolf shifters could take down several vampires at a time, easily dismembering them with a swipe of their sharp claws or a snap of their jaws.

If someone had the chance to injure a vampire enough, they could bleed out. But if, at some point before they were able to die, all they needed was a drop of fresh blood, and there was a chance of survival. Cutting off their heads was the best way to keep them from regenerating.

Rolf’s eyes had turned hard, but his hands rested on her knees, and his thumbs rubbed slow circles on the insides of her thighs.

Adeline shuddered at the intimate gesture. She longed for more, but why did that make her feel so guilty? “My freedom has run its course. If I don’t find and kill a were-shifter by this full moon, then…”

She held her palms face up and shrugged. Already she had said too much. Rolf didn’t need to know just how many were-shifters she had killed over the past century. She had killed one a year and always around the Hunter’s Moon - her yearly deadline and the time of the year when the were shifters would find their mates, settle down for the winter, and bed. Erik’s request had been to stop them from mating so that, soon, the vampires had no more immortal enemies left.

Erik wanted the vampires to be the top of the chain of command, and ending the were shifters was his way of ensuring all of the power remained in his hands.

But now? This was the first year that she would miss her deadline.

“Your coven will kill you.” Another deadpan statement. And though it wasn’t the entire truth, his guess was close enough. His hands gripped her knees, and he pulled her closer.

Adeline nodded, her mouth suddenly full of sand. The snow piled higher, still, but that would not keep them from coming to find her. And if they didn’t come, she was convinced Erik would. He always had ways of finding her, no matter where she ended up.

“And here I’ve been keeping you from doing just that.” Rolf ran his hands over his face and groaned.

“I think it was the snow, actually,” she said, jutting her chin at the window.

It was the way he groaned that had her skin tingling. What she wanted to say was, “Yes, now, let’s get back to business.” If this was what was left of her freedom, she wanted to enjoy it. And what better way to do that than earth-shattering orgasms with a stranger during a snowstorm?

Rolf tilted his head to the right, exposing the side of his neck, and looked her in her eyes. “I’m ready.”

Her heart stuttered.

She would be lying to herself if the thought of him worshipping her again didn’t turn her on, but she could feel her veins itching with the need for fresh blood. He was a willing participant, and still she hesitated. Her eyes roamed the cabin, but she wouldn’t find another rabbit. She would have to leave the cabin and search for some kind of animal outside. But with the snow so high, the full moon nigh, and her time running out…

Certainly, he didn’t mean it…

“I mean it,” he countered.

“Now?”

“If you need it, then take it, unless you won’t be able to stop yourself. In which case…” Rolf shrugged. “I’ll probably be dead by the end of the day tomorrow anyway.”

“I have perfect control over my needs, thank you very much,” Adeline retorted. Her eyes flicked to the veins in his neck. She needed it, but she didn’t want him to know how desperate she was. “However, I don’t want to be comatose again, so I think I will pass.”

“I haven’t had any juniper or garlic since yesterday. Whatever is still in my system will be minimal,” Rolf said. “I’m quite a bit larger than a rabbit.”

She lifted an eyebrow, looking down at him, and back up. “Yes, you are.”

He snorted but lifted onto his knees, rising to meet her eyes. When he tucked some of her hair behind her ear, she didn’t flinch or pull away at the intimate gesture. She remained still as a statue despite wanting to lean into him because, if she was being honest, she was too shocked at her reaction to do much of anything.

“Fine,” she conceded, kicking herself for giving in. “However, there is something you need to know first.”

“Tell me,” he whispered into her neck, kissing her earlobe.

“The feeling can sometimes be… addictive.” She looked him in his eyes, all seduction gone. She wanted him to understand how serious this was because if she could feel his orgasm through her actions, then she would be unable to take only what she needed to get stronger. She’d want to take more, and she’d already told him she had perfect control over her needs. “You can’t let yourself finish.”

He frowned.“How hard could it be?”

“Please, try your best,” she said, worried he wouldn’t be able to contain himself. She didn’t want the day to end before they had even had fun. And besides, there was a part of her that still believed she had a moral code.

“Understood.” His lips curved into a seductive smile, and his hands found the undersides of her breasts. He cupped them, and his thumbs brushed against her peaks. They hardened in response.

I need more than his blood…

A shiver washed over her body, from her head to her toes, when his deep, gravely voice said, “Like I said, Darkness, I plan on taking my time with you.”