Free Night Haven by Fiona Jayde Page B

her lips. “I should kill you right here.”
    “Yeah.” He backed away, his mouth mocking. “Yeah, you should.”
    Her heart pounded now—insult and shock pulsing under a slick layer of aroused fear. Once more she had let him put his hands on her. He could have torn open her throat with one smooth move.
    “Get out.” The words came out in a low trembling hiss.
    “After you.” He raised a brow when she didn’t move. Even if she was an idiot, she wasn’t about to give her back to a damned vamp.
    Another sizzling moment and he shrugged as if he didn’t really give a fuck, and walked towards the back entrance. Dina pushed through the crowd after him, forcing herself to breathe, already reaching for the short blade hidden at her lower back.
    She’d cut strips off his skin before piercing his heart and leaving him for morning.
    As if he read her mind, he smiled darkly when he turned and stepped aside. “Go ahead,” he said again and this time Dina took the invitation. Better to get out first and secure the scene instead of stepping out blindly.
    The alley behind Kennedy’s was dark and crisp with cold November air, the stench of alcohol and trash a foul assault on her nose. His body was a shadow in the dark, silent and still.
    She clutched the cold smooth handle of the push blade and swung out, barely missing bone and skin. Another strike, which he evaded just in time for her to ram a fist into his granite jaw.
    Pain flashing up her arm, Dina jumped back and crouched, waiting for him to make a move. Willing him to make a move so she could kill him with a clear conscience.
    A second passed. Another. He remained still, not lifting a limb to strike her. Instead she felt his gaze burning her skin.
    She didn’t like the taste of fear and arousal, arousal she didn’t understand. Trembling, she let the knife drop to the ground, its clatter drowned by the thunder of her pulse.
    She wouldn’t back away, she wouldn’t step closer. Trapped by his gaze, Dina damned clothing and caution and dropped her balance to the ground, forcing herself to shift into her other form. Instinct would overpower thought, she wouldn’t feel the tug and pull of lust inside her belly.
    His gaze caressed her skin.
    She bared her teeth at him, curling her hand into the ground. Another moment and she’d feel the kick and pulse of magic melding her bones into her other shape, forcing her into wolf form. She’d change while he watched, give him a good, long look. Maybe then his gaze would stop tugging at something inside her, maybe then she would tear him apart instead of wanting to jump him and give in to this greed for more.
    The cold November breeze teased goose bumps on her skin. Still standing in the shadows, the vampire flicked his wrist to light a cigarette. The short flame lit his face, illuminating harsh lips and cruel watchful eyes.
    “You let me know when you’re ready.”
    Shock was a chilling coat of sweat. She couldn’t breathe because a fist squeezed at her belly. Her blood ran cold while she gasped for breath. She couldn’t shift, couldn’t feel the magic burning. Shaking, mindless, Dina groped for her knife, waited for him to leap, to grip her throat, to end it.
    He took the cigarette out of his mouth, puffed out a ring of smoke. Holding her gaze, he uttered the same words that she had given him earlier.
    “Get out.”
    With shock clogging her throat, she did.

Chapter Two
    He had one hell of a death wish. Then again, the bloodwolf with the amber eyes and carnal mouth could do the one thing Luke wouldn’t do himself.
    The morning tore into the sky, pink streaks of light burning his eyes with color. For the past twenty years, he ended every night wondering how far he could stand up to dawn.
    Bright light fought its way into the high attic window. Like always, he waited to curtain it off, foolishly clinging to the hope that he could look the rising sun square in the face and have the guts to burn.
    The bloodwolf’s scent