He stared at the wealth of tight, strawberry-blond curls that cascaded without order around her oval face. She wore her long hair plaited down her back. And her hazel-green eyes were filled with a brilliant vitality and warmth.
Though she wasn't a great beauty, her features had a quiet charm that was inviting, tempting. Against his will, he reached his hand up to touch her jaw, just below her ear. Softer than velvet, her delicate skin warmed his cold fingers. It had been so long since he last touched a woman. So long since he had last tasted one.
Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and captured those parted lips with his own. Wulf growled at the taste of her as his body roared to life. He'd never sampled anything sweeter than the honey of her mouth. Never smelled anything more intoxicating than her clean, rose-scented flesh.
Her tongue danced with his as her hands clutched at his shoulders, pressing him closer to her. He became hard and stiff with the thought of how soft her body would be in other places.
And in that moment, he wanted her with an urgency that stunned him. It was a desperate need he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Cassandra's senses swirled at the unexpected contact of his lips on hers. She'd never known anything like the power and hunger of his kiss.
The faint smell of sandalwood clung to his flesh and he tasted of beer and wild, untamed masculinity. Barbarian. It was the only word to describe him. His arms flexed around her as he plundered her mouth masterfully.
He wasn't just deadly to Daimons. He was deadly to a woman's senses. Her heart hammered as her entire body burned, wanting a mad taste of his strength inside her.
She kissed him desperately.
He cupped her face in his hands while he nibbled her lips with his teeth. His fangs. Suddenly, he deepened his kiss as he ran his hands over her back, pressing her closer to those lean, masculine hips so that she could feel just how hard and ready he was for her.
She felt him all the way down her entire being. Every hormone in her body sizzled. She wanted him with a ferocity that terrified her. Not once in her life had she known such hot, wrenching desire, especially not for a stranger.
She should be pushing him away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his broad, rock-hard shoulders and held him tight. It was all she could do not to reach down, unzip those pants, and guide him straight into the part of her that throbbed with demanding need.
Part of her didn't even care that they were on the street. It wanted him right here. Right now. No matter who or what saw them. It was an alien part of herself that scared her.
Wulf fought the urgency inside him that demanded he pin her to the brick wall beside them and have her wrap those long, shapely legs of hers around his waist. To push her sinfully short skirt up over her hips and bury himself deep inside her body until she screamed out his name in sweet release.
Dear gods, how he ached to possess her.
If only he could…
Reluctantly, he pulled back from her embrace. He ran his thumb over her swollen lips and wondered what she would feel like writhing beneath him.
Worse, he knew he could have her. He had tasted her desire fully. But once he was finished with her, she would have no memory of him. No memory of his touch. His kiss.
His name…
Her body would only soothe his for a few minutes. It would do nothing to ease the loneliness in his heart that yearned for someone to remember him. "Good-bye, my sweet," he whispered, touching her lightly on the cheek before he turned around. He would remember their kiss forever.
She wouldn't recall him at all…
Cassandra couldn't move as the Dark-Hunter walked away from her. By the time he had vanished into the night, she had completely forgotten he'd ever existed.
"How did I get out here?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around her to banish the biting cold. Her teeth chattering, she ran back into the bar.
Chapter 2
Wulf was still thinking of the unknown woman when he pulled his dark green Expedition into his five-car garage. He frowned at the sight of the red Hummer parked against the far wall, and turned his car off.
What the hell was Chris doing home? He was supposed to be spending the night at his girlfriend's house. Wulf went inside to find out. He found Chris in the living room, putting together a huge… something. It had metallic arms and things that reminded him of a poorly designed robot.
Chris's wavy black hair was sticking out in front as if he'd been tugging at it in frustration. There were parts and papers strewn all over the room, along with various tools.
Wulf watched in wry amusement as Chris battled the long, metallic post he was trying to fit into the base. As Chris worked, one of the arms fell and smacked him on the head.
Cursing, he dropped the post. Wulf laughed. "Been watching QVC again?"
Chris rubbed the back of his head as he kicked at the base. "Don't start with me, Wulf." "Boy," Wulf said sternly, "you better check that tone."