Charming the Beast (Purgatory #3)(24)
Author: Cynthia Eden

Chloe was going to be the death of him, he just had that feeling.

“Why not?” Chloe stared up at him. “I wanted you. I still want you.” Her hand lifted and pressed to his cheek.

His head turned and he kissed her palm. “You don’t know what I did.” Guilt was tearing through him. “Chloe, I—”

“You think I don’t know a werewolf mating? Really?” She shook her head. A faint smile teased her lips. “I know.” Her smile slipped. “But I also know what’s coming for me. I wasn’t ever meant to have one of those happily-ever-after lives. For me, those dreams ended a long time ago.”

He didn’t understand what she was saying.

Eric was pounding on the door again. Seriously, that SOB needed to back off.

“And your bite didn’t hurt.” She seemed to consider the matter a bit and added, “I think I could grow addicted to that bite.”

Because that was how vampires had been designed. When they wanted it to be so, their bites could give their prey nothing but pleasure. So much pleasure that the victim would submit, again and again, to the vampire.

I don’t want Chloe to be prey…or to be a victim. I just want her.

He rose from the bed. Jerked on his jeans.

Chloe rose, too. She grabbed her clothes and headed for the small bathroom. When she stumbled, he immediately grabbed her elbow. “I was too f**king rough,” he muttered. “Baby, I’m sorry.” If he could do it again…would my control hold? Because he’d never wanted anyone the way he wanted her.

When she’d kissed his scars…when she’d looked at him and actually seemed to understand him…there is no one like Chloe.

And he was in way over his head.

“You were exactly what I wanted,” Chloe said.

“Open the damn door!” Eric yelled.

Connor snarled back at him.

“You think I’m scared of your wolf?” Eric shouted as he pounded on the door again. “Try that again! I will send your ass back to Purgatory as fast as you can blink. I know what you’ve done in there! I told you—hands off! Did you listen? Oh, hell no, you didn’t.”

Eric was ranting. Figured.

“I’m all right,” Chloe said. “Just, give me a minute, okay?”

He hated to do it, but Connor let her go. He watched as she headed into the bathroom. Chloe closed the door. The soft click seemed a little too loud.

He stared at that closed bathroom door. Then, squaring his shoulders, he headed toward Eric. Before Eric could pound again, Connor yanked the room’s door open. “You are pissing me off,” Connor told him.

Eric lifted a brow. “So sorry to interrupt your f**king fun time with the little—”

Something snapped in Connor. He grabbed Eric—his boss—and shoved him back out of the room. His claws burst from his fingertips as he rammed Eric into the nearest wall.

“She-wolf!” Eric yelled. “Hell, man, all I was going to say was little she-wolf!”

Connor tried to choke back his rage, and, after about ten seconds, he managed to let go of Eric.

“Why do I put up with this shit?” Eric muttered. “I should slap a silver collar on you and just be done.”

“The collar won’t work. You know that. The silver does nothing to me. Not since you made me into—”

“A paranormal super soldier?” Eric straightened his shirt. “That’s right, I did. You’re welcome for that.”

He thought about biting the guy, just for spite.

“You drank her blood.” Eric glanced toward the room behind Connor. “That could work to our advantage. We need to infiltrate this pack, so I’ll get you to compel Chloe to go in for us and to—”

He lunged for the guy again. But, Eric, showing strength he shouldn’t have, caught Connor around the neck and held him back.

“I get that you’re angry because I interrupted at the not-so-best time,” Eric muttered. “So I gave you one attack. I don’t have time to shit away with another.”

Connor’s claws were inches from Eric’s face. Just what kind of damage would they do to each other if they fought?

“Compel Chloe, and let’s get a team ready to go. You having her blood makes things easier. At least now I know we can trust her.”

Eric still had a hand on Connor’s throat, and Connor’s claws were poised to rip into Eric. “I’m not compelling her.”

For the first time ever, Connor saw surprise flash on Eric’s face. “What? Why the hell not?”

The door creaked behind him. “Because he doesn’t need to,” Chloe said. “I’m going to make the trade. I’ll get Harris back for you, I promise.”

Eric’s hand slid away from Connor’s throat. “Well, that was sure easier than I expected.”

There was a dull pounding in Connor’s ears. He turned to face Chloe. She stood in that doorway, looking even more delicate and fragile than before. Her hair was loose, pulled forward around her neck and shoulders. To hide my mark? She was dressed in her jeans and t-shirt. And her face…her cheeks were still flushed. Her lips red. She was so beautiful to him that he couldn’t look away from her.

“I planned to do the trade all along. Ever since I saw the video.”

Now he knew why she’d wanted to make love with him. Chloe thought she was heading out on some kind of suicide mission. “It’s not happening.”

She shook her head. “I can’t let him die.”

“And I won’t let you die.” Didn’t she get that she was important to him?

Then he realized…no, she didn’t. Because Chloe was right. He’d been little more than a jailer to her. And it wasn’t like Connor was big on sharing his feelings. Hell, he hadn’t thought he was capable of actually caring for a woman, until her.

Everything was changing for him.

Eric clapped his hands together. “Great. Fantastic. Seems like everything is settled.”

Nothing was settled. Eric was insane.

Eric pointed to Chloe. “Come downstairs and we’ll see if we can find you some easy-to-conceal weapons. Unfortunately, silver will burn you as much as it burns them, but maybe I’ve got some other gadgets we can use.”

Eric turned away.

“Nothing is settled,” Connor said, each word snapping out. “She’s not trading herself.”

Chloe smiled at Connor. “I wasn’t asking for permission from you. Like I said, this is what I planned to do all along.” Then she slid right past him.