Marked By The Vampire (Purgatory #2)(20)
Author: Cynthia Eden

What did I do? Why? Why?

She could hardly remember anything about the sex with Shane—except that she’d needed him, desperately. Fire had ignited within her when his teeth sank into her neck, and she’d been overwhelmed by a sensual hunger for him. So consumed that she would have done anything to have him plunge into her.

He did something to me. That was the only explanation. Vampires could control their prey after they took blood from humans, and he must have been controlling her.

“Bastard,” she whispered. She’d thought he was a hero, that he was saving her, when all along he’d just been manipulating her. “Vampire bastard!”

“Ah, love, now why are you so pissed at me?”

Her breath choked out and she whirled at the sound of his voice. He rose from the water, easily, fluidly, and the water slid over his powerful, bare chest. He was wearing a pair of pants, nothing more, and looking too damn sexy.

He’s still controlling me.

She put her hands in front of her. “Stay away from me—and get out of my mind.”

He shoved his fingers through his wet hair. Frowned at her. Advanced. “I haven’t been in your mind. Just your body.”

Asshole. He came closer. Closer—

She punched him.

Or, she tried to, anyway, but the vamp caught her fist in his hand and held her easily.

“Not quite the greeting I was expecting, not after last night.”

Her cheeks burned. “What did you do to me?”

His thumb brushed lightly over her knuckles as he kept holding her hand prisoner. “Fucked you. I thought that was obvious.”

Her other fist flew out. He caught it too. Shook his head. “Olivia, sweet Olivia…” He leaned in close toward her. “Don’t you think it’s a little soon to say we made love? I mean…it was rough and it was hot and it was f**king, so I don’t know why you—”

“You used mind control on me.”

His face hardened. “The hell I did.” He still held both her hands in his grip.

“I don’t…that wasn’t me,” she told him, frantic, her heart galloping too fast. So fast it hurt.

“Climaxed so long and hard you nearly drove me out of my head?”

How was this happening? “Let me go.” Her voice was hoarse.

He hesitated.

“Let me go,” she said again.

“Only if you promise not to punch me.”

She nodded. Mentally crossed her fingers.

Slowly, he dropped her hands. “I didn’t use mind control on you. You had sex with me because you wanted me.” Anger roughened his words. “So maybe you’re just having some morning after regret because you screwed a vamp, and you always thought you were better than that.”

Better? No, that—

“We’re good enough to be your lab rats, the experiments that you study so carefully, but you never thought you’d be begging one of us to take you.”

Had she begged? She didn’t remember that part, but a lot of the specific details about last night were kind of blurry.

This nightmare would never end.

Olivia retreated a bit, and her back bumped into the rocks. “You did something with your bite. You…”

“Made you cl**ax?” He stalked closer, but didn’t touch her again. “Because you did. You came—twice—just from my bite.”

“You made me.” The only explanation that made sense. “You compelled me—”

“If I could control you, I’d be doing it right now.” Flat, brutal. Scary. “I’m not. I don’t force women to do anything they don’t want to do,” he said with a barely banked fury. “Now I realize you’ve had some bad f**king hours at Purgatory, but watch your step, love. You don’t want to push me too far.”

She was trapped in a cave with a big, too-powerful vampire. Her fear was a living, breathing thing inside of her, but Olivia wasn’t backing down. “Then what happened? If you didn’t control me, why did I want you so much?”

He growled. “Because I’m dead f**king sexy?”

Her lips parted in surprise. But wait, yes, he was.

His hand lifted and skimmed down her cheek. Her racing heartbeat actually stopped in that moment. “Do you know what you are?” Shane asked her, his voice a rumble that sank beneath her skin.

Lost. Terrified. Mildly turned on. Olivia shook her head.

His finger slid down her throat. His thumb rubbed lightly over the spot he’d bitten the night before. Pleasure pulsed through her at that caress.

Maybe more than mildly turned on.

“You’re a vampire’s wet dream. A woman who craves the bite so much that it brings her to release.” His hand tightened a bit around her throat. “No wonder you like to study the monsters so much. Deep down, you want us.”

No, that wasn’t true. Deep down, she was terrified of the monsters, but she did her job because there was no choice for Olivia. She had to do it.

I won’t be like them.

His head began to lower toward hers.

“D-don’t bite me again.”

His eyes held hers. “Afraid you’ll like it too much?”

Yes. “Just…don’t.” She also wanted his hand off her. Wanted his body away from her. The man’s scent seemed to surround her, and her hands had clenched into fists because she was not going to touch him, even though part of her wanted to so very desperately.

It was the part that Olivia always kept chained up, locked deep inside of herself. The part that thrived on danger, that longed for the rush of wild, hot sex. The part that enjoyed the darkness…too much.

It was Olivia’s secret side, a side that had terrified her for as long as she could remember.

It was a part that could be dangerous. Lethal.

Just like my father.

“Fine…” He smiled at her, and Olivia caught the glint of his fangs. “I’ll keep my teeth away from your lovely throat, until you ask for my bite.” He pulled away. Turned from her. Took two steps. Then glanced back. “And you will ask.”

“Don’t count on that.” She wrapped her arms around her stomach.

“You liked the bite too much not to want it…me…again.”

Her stomach clenched. “I just want to get out of here.”

His gaze turned shuttered. “Is that what you truly wish? That you could leave Purgatory now?”

Coming there had been one serious mistake. “What I wish is that you’d tell me what’s going on. Who you really are. What the hell is happening at this place. And yeah, after all that, I wish that we could get out of here. That we could just prance out of this cave and find a seaplane waiting to jet us to safety.” She sucked in a ragged breath when she realized that her words were rapping out at a frantic pace. “That’s what I wish, okay?”