Night Haven Read online

  “Shouldn’t you be in Isla Vista?”

  Her brother studied her with a probing quiet gaze. “You want to talk, you know where to find me.”

  It was her turn to give him a small smile. “Yeah.”

  The scars were already fading when Dina turned back to the mirror and looked at herself in the dark shadow of night. A tall and muscled woman with a strong jaw and wolfish ears, with tired amber eyes and badass attitude. She knew nothing about art, but she remembered the face Luke had drawn, the softened features, parted lips, full luscious mouth.

  He didn’t know what he was dealing with. She was still brooding in the mirror when something crashed through glass.

  Chapter Five

  She knew that he would smell her fear. Even as something hammered in her throat, Dina forced her blood to calm. Maybe she couldn’t fight him, but she’d be damned if he would know she didn’t have her strength. “You didn’t have to break my window.”

  In the middle of her tiny living room, Rogue showed his teeth. “You wouldn’t have let me in.”

  No point in arguing. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have. So get out.”

  He took a step closer, predator stalking prey, his pale eyes glistening with bloodlust. He would try to mate her, Dina realized, and at this point he wouldn’t care if she was willing. Dread beat a rapid-fire tattoo over her skin.

  Maybe she’d have a chance if she ran out into the night, but she was through running away, from anyone. Magic or not, she’d make her stand, with or without the wolf inside her.

  “You got something to say?” Just keep him talking. She needed something, anything, a weapon. A quick grope of her fingers at her back told her she’d lost her blade.

  Slowly, Roguell came closer, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed with insulting pulls. “I smell a male on you.”

  “I know.” No point denying it. Maybe he would respect another man’s scent and back away, except she didn’t have a mate mark, nothing to prove another’s hold on her. Fear, cold and unwanted, shivered through her.

  “Where is he?” His smile full of teeth, Rogue turned a full circle. “Not here to protect you. He isn’t here to do jack shit.”

  A small flick of his wrist sent the punching bag into an angry spiral. Her hands clenched into fists, Dina waited for him to make a move.

  He slicked a hand through long pale hair, and looked at her with hooded, narrowed eyes. “You need someone to watch you.”

  An obvious insult to Manakell and a deliberate attempt to piss her off. She wasn’t known for patience. Rogue obviously counted on it.

  “You aren’t the one I had in mind.” Words, just use words. If she let loose with fists again, he would have every reason to take her down and even Man would not have any say.

  She didn’t lie to herself. He had the strength to tear her apart. Without magic, she had the simple choice of offering her throat or fighting to her death.

  As if reading her mind, Rogue shifted, tearing through his clothes, bone and skin melding into silver and grey fur. A huge wolf stood beside her punching bag, staring at her with Roguell’s madness-tinged eyes. His teeth snapped in a warning, she watched his fur rise on his back, his tail standing up parallel to his body.

  Without a choice she crouched for an attack, bared her teeth at him. Hoped that it would be over quickly.

  He showed his teeth and went down on his forepaws, coiling for a jump. She watched the muscles hunching on his flanks and pushed back the sudden and bright flash of terror. If nothing else, he wouldn’t smell desperation on her skin. She’d rather have her throat torn out than let him know she was afraid. She’d rather die than let him hear her screaming.

  Rogue leapt high in the air, and her last thought was to clamp her teeth onto her bottom lip, keeping the scream at bay. Something pushed her away before he reached her. She hit the floor in a painful and graceless lump, scrambled back up to see a strong, dark human body tangled with a wolf.

  She heard a low menacing growl followed by one just as ferocious. Her bones ached as she forced herself to move, rushed forward to see Rogue snapping his jaws around Luke’s forearm. Luke pushed his arm farther into the wolf’s throat, into the soft black tissue past the teeth.

  Blood spilled into the air, its sweet metallic taste familiar and full of rage. It filled her up with each harsh breath as Roguell tried to snap his jaw through flesh and bone. And something swelled inside her, dark and pure and simple.

  The throb of ancient magic slid through her bones, thickening her blood and skin and muscles. The world changed, darkening, rounding. Scent became vision and instinct became thought. Somewhere, in the part of her that remained human, Dina rejoiced at the sweet kiss of pain accompanying a shift.

  Her wolf senses roared at the scent of enemy and blood.

  Her head bent low, she growled, felt the echo of it reverberate inside her. She didn’t question her newfound strength when she leapt on Roguell’s back and pushed him onto the floor, ignored the flash of pain as his teeth missed her throat and landed on her recently healed shoulder.

  She forced him on his back, his belly open, his throat taut. She only had to sink her teeth into it.

  “Get out.” The words felt thick around her tongue, as if it was a foreign object. Beside her, she could feel Luke bleeding, his scent wrapping around her like a lover’s caress.

  “This isn’t over.” Still in wolf form, Rogue muttered the words but didn’t move.

  She sat back on her haunches, gave him the distance to make his choice. They both knew if he tried again she’d have to kill him.

  When he finally curled his tail between his legs, Dina just turned away and let him flee.

  She had the magic back. And when she faced the vampire, his green eyes were wide as he held out his bleeding arm.

  Her choice should have been simple. She was a bloodwolf. He was the enemy she was created to defeat. His blood dripped down his open hand, and she could have snapped it in a heartbeat. Instead, as softly as she could, Dina licked at the bite mark on his arm and quietly exhaled watching it close. Like her kind, he healed quickly.

  He was a vampire. His taste filled her, potent and rich and dark. This couldn’t be right, she couldn’t want him, couldn’t crave his touch. She backed away while he watched her, her head still low, her ears pulled back, her clothing a torn heap under her feet.

  The magic left her. Unable to hold on to her wolf form, Dina felt herself melding back into the human, vulnerable and naked.

  Watching her, Luke simply lowered his hand.

  “I don’t need anyone saving my ass.” She didn’t know what else to say, except the need for him built up inside her, a need she couldn’t deny.

  “Obviously.” He reached for her then dropped his hand when she backed farther away. “I’m sorry. About earlier.”

  “Don’t.” Under the collar of his jacket Dina could almost see her mark. She didn’t look into his eyes when she snatched up her torn clothing to hold against her breasts. Standing naked in front of him made her open and vulnerable and soft, and she couldn’t stand it. Couldn’t move away.

  His eyes burned her. “I couldn’t take your blood.”

  She should have left, slammed something. Instead, Dina stood still, hypnotized by the green fire in his eyes. “You didn’t want to turn mortal. I get it.”

  To her surprise he shrugged away the words. “I don’t want you to be like all the others.” A pause, as if he forced himself to spit out the words. “I’ve had plenty of women offering their necks.”

  She smelled his heat when she inhaled. “That’s why I kill your kind.”

  “Then do it.” With a swift motion Luke tossed off his jacket, shrugged off his shirt, baring his chest and heart to her. A knife gleamed in his hand, the one she’d left after she’d marked his skin.

  “I can’t control this hunger.” He advanced slowly, and she still couldn’t move away. “I can’t stomach the thought of feeding from somebody else.” He flicked his wrist so th
at the sharp flat blade bit into his palm and extended his hand with the smooth handle out towards her. “You have to finish it.”

  Shocked, Dina didn’t move. “You drink from me, you become mortal.”

  “That’s just a myth.” He was so close she could hear his heart beating inside that muscled chest.

  She swallowed, hard. “You’re crazy.”

  “Yeah, I am.” He took another breath. “I want you so bad I can taste how you would feel inside me.” His body shook with every word. “End it right now, before it gets too late.”

  She was still naked. He was beautiful. “It is too late.”

  He jumped at her light touch, fisted his hands beside him. “You don’t want this.”

  For once she knew exactly what she wanted. “Yes. I do.”

  A quick step closed the distance between them. She inhaled deeply, taking in the musk of pure aroused male.

  “Don’t do this. Don’t—” He groaned, he kissed her. Hard and deep, his mouth possessed hers, demanding, pleading. His arm banded around her waist while the other cupped her head, his fingers threading through her hair. He pressed her hard against the nearest wall so he could fit his body against hers.

  With heated urgency he used his lips over her skin, moving over her neck, her collarbone, tasting between her breasts. A sweet kiss on each nipple hardened them to aching points. He worshiped them until her knees wouldn’t hold her.

  This time she wouldn’t give him control. With a low sound in her throat, Dina gripped his arms, his shoulders, tugged on his hair to bring him back up so she could bite his mouth.

  His cock prodded iron hard against her stomach, and when she pushed down his pants to wrap her hand around him, his shocked breath filled the room.

  Mine. The word beat at her mind as Dina stroked him while he shuddered in her hand. His eyes were a deep, dark green when she pushed him onto his knees in front her, slid down to face him. Softly, she used her lips to tease him.

  Slow, torturous seduction. His fingers cupped her head as she reared up, guided herself over him, trembled when he finally filled her, so full and hot she buried her face in his neck to keep herself from screaming.

  He pulsed inside her; she moved over him. His eyes were clear and bright, and his breaths jagged in the silence.

  Mine. The word pounded inside her head as he locked both arms around her to move her on his body. Mine. She slammed herself hard onto his cock, rose up with slow exquisite torture. Her lips found the mark on her neck, she pierced it again, tasted him fully.

  Mine! She rode him hard now, licking at his neck and softly growling.

  In a sharp move, the arms that held her pulled her away from him. She growled deeper this time, licked her lips, savoring the taste of him. Those hooded eyes were heavy as Luke brought her closer to him, slowly, carefully. She saw the silent question on his face.

  Her answer was to grip his thighs with hers, push herself deeper over him. His heat pulsing inside her, Dina tilted her head and held her breath.

  His mouth closed over the junction where her neck became her shoulder. She shuddered at the soft, soft lips cruising over her skin, licking as if prolonging that dark final moment. Trembling, she fought to drag air into her lungs, anticipating, craving.

  Another shudder as he slid his fangs into skin, pleasure becoming a sharp fragment of purest crystal. With slow careful pulls, Luke drew her essence into him, his hands gripping her waist, moving her on his cock in sensual rhythm.

  She still couldn’t breathe when he lifted his head, his eyes darkening with knowledge and desire. Their blood was one, mated, fused together. And when he caught her mouth once more, the pleasure peaked and shattered as Dina writhed over his body, arching into a taut soundless scream before finally splintering into trembling pieces.

  His arms were still around her when her breath slowed, his heartbeat steady under her ear. The large hand on her buttock moved in slow lazy circles when she finally found the strength to lift her head and meet his somber gaze.

  “Problem?” She felt so fluid, so alive. She wanted to run naked in the woods and ride him under the cold autumn skies.

  With a gentle finger Luke traced the mark over her skin. “I’m sorry. I hurt you.”

  “I’m not. And you didn’t.”

  The hand over her buttock tightened just a bit before he softly kissed her shoulder.

  “Are you…okay?” Lame, but she didn’t know what else to ask him. Her blood should’ve made him mortal. A quick check showed that he still had his fangs.

  “It’s just a myth.” His voice was a deep rumble under her, his hand still on her rear.

  “It isn’t.” But she didn’t feel like arguing while cradled in his warmth, the scent of a contented male floating around her.

  “So this thing where you bite me.” He pushed a lock of hair from her face, as if to see her eyes. “It means—” He searched for the right words. “Something about mating.”

  She didn’t want to talk about it. “Its just for wolves. Besides”—she quickly changed the subject—“how do you know so much about Lycks?”

  “One of your Lycks once saved my ass. Manakell. You know him?” His eyes flickered away as if remembering.

  Chuckling, Dina licked one of his nipples. “Man’s my little brother.” And wasn’t it a kicker that he already knew this vamp?

  “I’ll know who’ll kick my ass tomorrow.” Luke’s eyes grew sober. “He all right?”

  “He deals.”

  A pause. “The mate thing.”

  “Yeah.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze. “It’s just a Lyck thing. While you got the mark, no one bites you but me.”

  In a short move she found herself under him, his body a warm weight trapping her in the darkness. His mouth trailed a slow path up to her neck. He parted her thighs with his and had her gasping. “That works both ways?”

  He didn’t move until she nodded, then filled her in one smooth stroke. Soft this time, gentle kisses, slow caressing hands. Shimmering endless pleasure that took her breath away and left her floating.

  When Dina found the strength to open her eyes, the sky had lightened and Luke’s brow furrowed in a frown.

  “It doesn’t burn as bad,” he said, looking straight into dawn with his arms tight around her.

  About the Author

  To learn more about Fiona Jayde please visit www.fionajayde.com Send an email to Fiona at [email protected] or join her Yahoo! group to join in the fun with other readers as well as Fiona! http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotalExposure.

  Look for these titles by Fiona Jayde

  Now Available:

  Pas de Deux

  One wrong move, and she could be dancing on her grave…

  Pas de Deux

  © 2010 Fiona Jayde

  Two years after an injury put her dancing career on hold, Lynnrina Kovaleva is determined to reclaim her place on the stage. On the eve of her comeback production, she takes the edge off her nerves with a one-night stand in the strong arms of celebrity bodyguard Mateo Rivera.

  Ex-cop Mateo is celebrating one hell of an anniversary: eight months since he was declared unfit for duty. When a delicate beauty boldly propositions him in a bar, he chooses to lose himself in her body rather than lose his mind to alcohol. This choice comes back to haunt him when he’s hired to protect a prima ballerina who’s been receiving threats.

  Despite her shock at seeing him again, Lynn must not allow their intense attraction—or any creepy fan letters—to undermine her performance. Mateo can’t reconcile this coldly focused dancer with the passionate woman who seduced him. Yet he sees fire under the ice, pain hidden by the smooth mask of perfection.

  The vivid memory of their entwined bodies wars with the job at hand, but he must keep Lynn safe—regardless of the cost. The most difficult challenge, however, will be keeping his hands to himself.

  Enjoy the following excerpt for Pas de Deux:

  Her legs ready to give out, Lynn only wanted to reach her dressin
g room and sit for a small precious second. Sit and not move a single inch. She went straight for her stash, barely chewing the first chocolate before tearing open another one and actually biting off a piece. It hurt to chew. Her whole body was aching. A month until opening night, and she wasn’t sure she had the stamina to carry it. Six different duets, each of them grueling. Her aching feet throbbed at the mere thought.

  She took another piece, letting the taste melt on her tongue before she swallowed. A tub filled to the brim with soothing hot water was just a few minutes away. She simply had to find the strength to get her body up and moving, and face Mateo in the hallway. She’d seen him watch her with those cool onyx eyes. Dark gaze, dark clothes that should have been pretentious yet weren’t.

  Pushing the thought of him away, Lynn thought about soaking in a tub until her fingers wrinkled. Just a few minutes more. The quick knock on the door made her softly groan. She didn’t want to put on a bright face, didn’t think she had the strength for it. Another piece of Midnight Dark. as the door swung open.

  “I didn’t say come in,” she muttered with a mouthful of chocolate just as Mateo’s gaze focused in on the bag of Ghirardelli’s.

  “You ready?”

  She was too tired to think about it. “I need a couple of minutes more.”

  “You tried to get rid of me.” Cool voice, his hands tucked in his pockets. Again her dressing room seemed much too small with him inside.

  “I have an alarm set up and there’ve been no more letters.” And at this point she was more nervous around Mateo than some anonymous creep. “I don’t think I need you…” She paused and started over. “I don’t think I need a bodyguard anymore. I can ask Simon to walk me home. Or André.”

  “We both know that’s not why you wanted to get rid of me.” Those cool dark eyes were merciless.

  “Maybe. It doesn’t matter now.” She didn’t have the strength to shrug. “Give me a few more minutes.”