Free Blood Hunt by Shannon K. Butcher Page A

told you that’s the first time that’s happened to me in a long, long time?”
    “You’re such a flatterer. And a liar.”
    “Sometimes,” he admitted, “but not now.”
    “I need to go. Do not follow me.” She turned to walk away, determined to search the inside of that blasted memory-stealing building despite how freaked-out she was now.
    Logan took hold of her arm and his living heat slid through her coat into her skin. “I’m sorry. I can’t let you go. I need you. My people need you.”
    “The bullshit just keeps getting deeper.” She tried to jerk out of his grasp, hoping for another burst of strength, but his hold stayed firm.
    He stepped forward until his body was pressed against her back. Instantly, she wished for a longer coat—one that would mask the thick press of his erection against her ass and the languid warmth it caused to pool in her belly.
    His arm snaked around her, sliding under her sweater until his fingers curled along her ribs. They were so warm. So gentle.
    Never before had she allowed a stranger to touch her like this. She had no idea why she was now.
    Hope felt his breath flutter across the top of her ear. “Please don’t run. I promise I won’t hurt you.”
    A comforting weight descended over her, but she knew it was a trick. Some kind of magic trick he was playing on her screwed-up mind.
    “Five minutes. Please give me five minutes.”
    “To do what?” She could think of too many things a man like him could do with that amount of time. Her heart pounded hard at the idea, and a burst of need exploded in her chest.
    He let go of her and caressed his way up her arm, over her shoulder, and up her throat until his hand settled along the side of her face. “I want to see your memories. Learn who you are.”
    “How is that even possible?”
    “How was it possible you were able to cast me to the ground with more strength than a man twice your size?”
    He had a point. “Why? Why do you want to see my memories?”
    “I think we can help each other.”
    “How?”
    “So many questions. It would take less time to show you than to explain. Aren’t you curious?”
    She was. That was the problem. She’d wanted to know the answer to so many questions for so long that even the merest hope of learning the truth called to her. What if he wasn’t lying? What if he could see her memories and tell her once and for all if she was human or something else?
    Hope nodded, feeling the heat of his fingers slide along her face. “Okay. Take a peek, but I swear that if you try anything funny, I’ll beat your head in with my flashlight.”

Chapter 6
    S he was a violent thing, but Logan discovered that it aroused him. Like everything else about her.
    He truly shouldn’t have allowed himself to get this close, to let the soft swell of her ass cradle his swollen cock. The appendage had a mind of its own, jerking and pulsing against her as if it could get closer.
    She was meant for someone else. He had to remember that.
    Logan had spent years ignoring hunger. This was simply one more type of hunger he would learn to ignore. Quickly.
    Before she changed her mind, Logan pressed his advantage and swooped into her thoughts. She didn’t fight him this time. In fact, he felt himself being pulled in, welcomed as if he belonged here.
    He started with her most recent thoughts and memories. Tonight.
    She was afraid of him. Attracted to him. He saw himself through her eyes and there was an odd sort of colorful halo surrounding him. He’d never seen anything like it before, but she was so used to it, her easy acceptance made him skim over that detail.
    She was looking for someone. A friend. Logan could see the young woman’s face clearly. Pretty. Dark eyes. Blond hair that had once been dyed pink, growing out to hide her face.
    Logan tucked that away, and moved back along her memories, seeing a stream of nameless people sliding through her life. Some of them she knew well. Others were strangers. She seemed