Free Immortal by V.K. Forrest Page A

shapely buttocks pressed against his groin.
    He tasted her skin with the tip of his tongue. It would be so easy, just a tiny nip of the skin…Just a taste. It had been a long time since he had sampled human blood. And he had always had an affinity for Italian blood.
    He drew back, his head buzzing. He was dizzy with the ancient, cursed longing that would never be entirely satiated until he was dead. He couldn’t understand why Regan needed drugs; this feeling was a better high than any chemical.
    He pressed his mouth harder against her neck and she sighed again. No, it was closer to a moan.
    Do it .
    The voice in his head startled him and he drew back, looking down at her, cradled in his lap. He knew she had not spoken, but it had been her voice in his mind.
    Hadn’t it?
    “What did you say?” he whispered.
    She smiled, her mouth sexy, sultry. “I didn’t say anything.” She lifted her chin to kiss him again.
    Fin resisted. He couldn’t do this. Not here. Not now. Not when there was a dead man in the cooler in Dr. Caldwell’s office. A dead man who was, by forfeit, Fin’s responsibility. “You should go home,” he said, still holding her in his arms, not meaning it, but wanting to.
    She watched him for a moment and then relaxed in his lap. She didn’t seem offended. A little surprised, maybe, but not angry or hurt. She reached up and brushed her thumb across the corner of his mouth. “Lipstick. Apologies.”
    “What?” His mind was still fuzzy, his heart still racing. He couldn’t believe he had actually considered taking this woman’s blood. He really did need some sleep. He obviously wasn’t thinking clearly.
    “I got some lipstick on your mouth,” she said, smiling. “You’re a good kisser.”
    He laughed. He didn’t know why. Somehow her remark made him feel younger, his position in the world somehow less tragic. “You’re not bad yourself.” Impulsively, he kissed her cheek.
    She remained on his lap but leaned back, resting her hands on his shoulders. “I’m not looking for a relationship, Fin, if that’s what you’re worried about. Just a little summer companionship. I’ll be going back to Italy in August. I’ll never see you again.”
    She didn’t say she just wanted to have sex with him, but that’s what she meant. She just wanted a sexual relationship, no promises, no commitments. It was perfect for Fin. Forbidden by the sept, obviously, but perfect. Clean. And safe. Emotionally, at least.
    So why did he feel disappointed somewhere deep inside?
    “I’m sharing a cottage for the summer with my brother,” he told her. “Going there could get a little complicated.”
    “I’m sharing a house with my sister, my brother-in-law, and their three children.” She smiled that beautiful smile of hers. “So that could be a little complicated, as well.”
    They both laughed. “Let me walk you home,” he said.
    She slid off his lap, brushing her fingertips over the bulge in his shorts. It was not accidental. “I don’t need an escort, Fin. Whoever is out there should be afraid of me.” She walked away. “We’re at the Rose Cottage. You know it?”
    “I know it.”
    Built at the turn of the eighteenth century and well maintained over the years, it was the most expensive rental in Clare Point. It was on the oceanfront block, south of the end of the boardwalk, with a phenomenal view.
    “Come by tomorrow night after work,” she told him as she walked away.
    “I don’t know how late I’ll be,” he called after her. “Work’s become more complicated than my living arrangements.”
    “I’ll wait.”
    Her words were almost lost on the ocean breeze that had kicked up. But not her meaning.
     
    Rob wove his way through the crowded living room, circumnavigating couples dancing and a beer pong table. It was late and the party was in full swing. From the far side of the room Kaleigh watched him watch her, thinking he was kind of cute, in a geeky kind of way. She liked the way he