Free A Night of Forever by Lori Brighton

man above shouted.
    Aidan froze, jerking his gaze toward those windows.
No. He hadn’t the strength for two werewolves.
    “Aidan!” Mary Ellen rushed toward him. She didn’t
stop until she hurled her warm body into his arms. Relief was
bitterly sweet. He gripped her tight, breathing in her sweet scent.
She had seen what he was and she didn’t care. For this one moment
he would soak in her essence and pretend all was well. For one
brief moment she would be his.
    “You’re hurt!” She pushed back and cupped the sides
of his face, the fear was replaced with worry. Actual tears
trembled on her lower lashes. He’d thought if he could ignore what
he was, the beast would go away. But it was a part of him…a part
she accepted.
    Dear God, she cared. The human within him swelled
with hope but the beast had known all along that she belonged to
him. “I…I’ll be well enough in an hour or so.”
    Those eyes, those beautiful cornflower blue eyes
watched him with what could only be called affection. How long had
it been since anyone had cared? “Truly?”
    He nodded, unable to say more for a lump of emotion
clogged his throat. How ironic that his life had merely just begun
within in the dingy walls of a dungeon. But he suddenly felt whole,
there was a reason to live and by God, he would see that they
did.
    She glanced up at the windows, heedless to the
effect she had on him. “Then, I do believe it’s time to
escape.”
    Aidan laughed. “Yes.”
    But how to escape? The two doors were bolted from
the outside. The windows a good twenty feet above. If he jumped and
made it, could he break the bars? But he knew the answer to his
problems even before the beast inside him whispered the word, blood.
    Aidan swallowed hard and lowered his gaze to the
pulse thumping in Mary Ellen’s neck. That smooth, pale throat. Her
sweet scent. The beast inside him roared to life. It was the only
way.
    “What is it?” she asked.
    Their gazes clashed and he saw something shift in
her eyes…a knowing. She accepted what he was, but would she go so
far as to accept what he needed? “There’s only one way out of
this.”
    She didn’t speak for one long moment. “Tell me.”
    “I have to feed.”
    Fear and resignation mixed in her gaze. “On
what?”
    “You.”
     

Chapter 6
     
    She gave a nervous laugh and took a step back.
“You’re jesting.”
    How he wished he was. How he wished this was a joke,
or nightmare. Sadly, it was his life. “They’re bringing in two more
werewolves. I don’t have the energy to fight and kill them. I
haven’t fed in weeks.”
    “Fed?” her voice squeaked.
    He took a step closer, she took a step back. “I’m
injured.”
    She swallowed hard and looked at him exactly as he’d
expected…like he was a monster. He didn’t have time for her human
sensibilities. “Damn it, Mary Ellen, either I feed from you, or we
both die.”
    She narrowed her eyes, annoyance flashing in those
heavenly blues. “Well, when you say it that way.” She was furious
and for some odd reason he found her dramatic nature amusing.
“You’ve…you’ve ruined any chance I might have at a decent marriage
with Worthing.”
    “I saved you!”
    “Oh yes, saved! Because this is so much better than
being chased by a ridiculous man in a garden.” She brushed her hair
over her left shoulder. “You’ve ruined my gown.”
    His gaze found the pale column of her throat and his
heart slammed wildly in his chest. He knew how she would taste…like
the finest of brandies. “How, exactly, did I do that?”
    “You’re at least responsible! Don’t try to deny it.”
She tilted her head back, closing her eyes like some virgin about
to be sacrificed. “And now you want to drink my blood.” She sighed
long and loud. “Well, fine. Do it. But you better not kill me.”
    Aidan wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or shake
her. Instead he gripped her shoulders and jerked her forward. She
squeaked, closing her eyes more tightly. Lord, she