“Bad move.”
As the dulcet tones directed from behind brushed over her, she realized three things in quick succession. One: there had been two wolves, and she left the black one behind her when she was staring like a moron at the blond model in front of her. Two: said wolf was now gone, leaving Eric Bana in his place. Three: and this one just took the whole cake . . . She was ass naked in front of said men, in a room that was an inferno waiting to happen, in a place she did not know, and with no way to escape. She either had gone completely crazy and was now in the Twilight Zone, or was dreaming some stuff that meant she needed to see a therapist in the morning. Either way she was screwed. The lingering pain in her neck had her reaching up to cup the side. Her touch brought back memories of the evening, and suddenly, being naked in the middle of two of the most beautiful men she’d ever seen in her life was terrifying no matter if she was crazy or not. Her body twitched, ready to bolt. A growl stopped her.
“Rion.”
Zelina looked over to Blondie and figured he was Rion. His lip was pulled back to reveal four sharp teeth—four sharp teeth, like Brian. She felt her blood drain from her face. She went cold. She wasn’t crazy. She was going to die.
“Rion! You’re scaring her,” the dark one hissed, lips tight over what she figured were his set of dog teeth. “You’re safe here, mate. Never fear us. But now is not the time to run. There is so much you have to understand. Running will trigger instincts you aren’t ready for yet. Trust me in this.”
“So you guys can kill me? Screw that.” Zelina moved to grab something, anything, to use as a weapon and for the second time that night got the wind knocked out of her. A massive, hot form slammed her body into the wall, effectively pinning her. She couldn’t move with all her might.
She made another discovery, her mind nearly bubbling with hysterical laughter. She was really tired of discovering tonight. If she made it through this, she was canceling her Discovery Channel, she swore she was. The aforementioned hunk had her plastered against the wall, something long, hot, and thick tucked neatly into the crease of her ass. He leaned nearer to her neck, growling softly against her flesh. Discovery one thousand: he was hung like a horse!
Chapter Eight
He smelled wild, untamed, fresh meadow and forest mixed into one package. He was rock solid behind her, unmoving, but his hold on her wrists was gentle—shackling, but gentle. Something in her warmed. She felt her breasts grow heavy, her nipples harden and touch the wall, could feel her pussy plumping. Something was wrong with her. His control of her, the teeth, the growling, and the fact that he was clearly not human should not be enticing her. She shouldn’t feel the urge to push her butt into him, to feel him grow harder, to feel the wetness of pre-come on her back as he kissed her neck. Zelina should not have wanted any of those things, and yet she wanted them all.
Confused and afraid, she started thrashing again. Rion stepped harder into her, lifting her nearly off her feet, his cock pushing between the globes of her ass. His teeth nibbled where her shoulder and neck met, his growling louder and more threatening.
“Don’t fight him. He can’t help his need. Rion, you are scaring her, brother.”
“No, Quin, I am not. I can smell her want. I can smell her need. She wants me. She wants this,” he whispered against her flesh, flexing his hips against her.
Zelina couldn’t stop the moan that escaped. Something felt right, despite her fear. With his hands on her, she couldn’t think straight.
“She doesn’t understand yet, Rion. She has to accept it. There is no other way.”
Zelina could feel the tenseness in Rion behind her. He was holding himself so tight it felt as if he was close to shattering. She didn’t understand the undercurrents, didn’t know why she wanted to make him feel better, but she did. When she twisted her wrist a little, he let it go, then rested one hand against her body, his other palming the wall. Lifting her hand, she tucked it behind his right ear, under his hair, and rubbed the spot. He exhaled against her, his forehead touching her shoulder as he breathed deeply in and out.
“Better?” she asked before she could even stop herself and realize what the hell she was doing.
“Yes,” Rion answered, his voice nearly cracking, and somehow she felt it was okay. He relaxed behind her, pulling her away from the wall and spinning them both until his back was to the wall and she rested against him. When she tried to step away, his arms tightened on her waist.
“Let me go.”
“I’m not that okay.”
“I. Said. Let. Me. Go.”
“Not happening,” he returned, gripping her tighter.
“What are you called?” Quin asked before she could toss back another retort.
“Zelina. But they call me Z.”
Quin made a graceful bow, so old-world that Zelina was charmed to her toes. Did they even make men like him anymore?
“My name is Tarquin, and that is Centurion. Quin and Rion for short.”
“Your mother cursed you with those names, huh?”
Quin chuckled, but it was Rion who answered. “Ancient Rome didn’t see a problem with it. Our names were a rave at the time. There are kings that shared Tarquin’s name. Mine, well, the name is military related, so it said I had strength.”
“In those times, that was important,” Quin finished, a chuckle still in his voice.
Chapter Nine
“In those times? Did you say ‘in those times’?”
In one rush, the fear was back. She was in a room with two things that were animals before. They spoke of ancient Rome as if that wasn’t crazy as hell, and they had teeth so much like Brian. Brian, the one who attacked her. Who was injured by water. Who chased her down for his next meal and ripped into her throat like a ravenous animal. Fear clouded her vision, tears filling her eyes. For a moment of sexual desire, she had been at ease, even reacted to one of her captors’ frustration. She had wanted to soothe one of the men who could very well be ready to kill her.
She had lost her mind. All because of some stupid blind date, she was surrounded by things that should never have existed. She couldn’t even bring herself to say in her mind the name they were called. To say the name, even to herself, seemed as though it would make it more real, as though the things that went bump in the night really did exist and she was the unlucky bastard to meet three on the same night. She swore then, that if she got out of this, she was going to never date again, nor would she ever talk to Jezzie again. The girl had a serious butt-kicking coming. The feel of Rion’s teeth scraping her pulse had her gasping in fear-edged desire. The combination scared her even more.
Grabbing her throat frantically, feeling for the wound Brian had left, she tried with all her might not to let the tears fall. She wasn’t ready to die, and she had put herself in a position that made it easier for them to do whatever they wanted to her. She didn’t know how the first wound had healed, but she knew for a fact that Brian had bitten her, remembered the pain as his fangs ripped into her flesh.
Vampyre movies had it all wrong. There was nothing remotely sexy about it. Hearing the name of what they were in her head finally shattered any desire she had felt, shattered any misconceived notion that a vampyre was a thing to hope for and crave when you’re under your covers late at night reading some book. They killed things, and they were going to kill her. She felt more than heard Rion’s growl then as her body strained away from his touch and she craned her neck away from his seeking lips.