Daric’s Mate (The Vampire Coalition #5)(7)
Author: J.S. Scott

“Gah…of course there’s no Dracula. Ridiculous legend, and the books and movies are an insult to all vampires. So much f**king drama that it’s nauseating. You’re in pain. Let me help you.”

“Stay away from me.” She lifted a hand, trying to keep him at arm’s length as he moved closer.

“I can’t,” he replied, moving close enough to take her extended hand in his and place it on his chest as he pinned her against the wall.

Hannah was enveloped in his heat, surrounded by his strength. Involuntarily, her palm opened over his chest, stroking the hot skin that stretched over his massive chest. “I don’t understand what’s happening to me,” she whispered in a shaky voice, her whole world turned upside down by her reaction to this man, a man who should have had her running from the house screaming, even though they were in the middle of a blizzard.

“You will. I know you’re confused right now.” His lips nuzzled her temple, and slowly moved lower, savoring the sensitive skin of her neck.

Her neck arched, giving him access, letting him have anything that he wanted. It was as if her body had completely disconnected from her mind, from her common sense. What if he wants my blood? He thinks he’s a vampire.

“I’ve already sampled, and although it’s a tempting thought, it’s too soon. And I am a vampire healer,” he rumbled against her skin, his voice amused.

Kiss me. Touch me. Take me. Please. The simple contact of Daric’s warm lips against Hannah’s flesh heated her entire body. “How in the hell do you do that?” How is he getting into my thoughts?

As he moved lower, his mouth sliding sensually over the swell of her br**sts, she stopped really caring about anything except those roving lips and his pulsating heat surrounding her.

She shivered as his left hand snaked into the sheet, searching for the opening. Quickly finding what he was seeking, his left hand slipped between the folds of fabric, moving possessively over her right hip. He dropped to one knee in front of her.

Hannah looked down at him through a sensual fog, her body vibrating with need. Daric’s eyes were closed, his hand moving over her leg, causing heat to rush through every nerve, muscle and bone in her thigh and knee.

It was over in seconds. Daric rose gracefully to his feet, leaned into her body and murmured into her ear in a husky voice, “I couldn’t decide whether to kiss you or heal you. My healing instinct, the compulsion to heal my mate was stronger. But now I can finally do this.”

Hannah decided, as his mouth claimed hers, that no one would ever claim Daric Carvillius was timid. He seized exactly what he wanted, and, at that moment, he apparently wanted her. Desperately.

He commanded…and she surrendered, unable to resist him, unable to deny him anything as he swooped down on her like a conquering hero, his kiss branding her, owning her. His tongue didn’t explore…it demanded she yield, sweeping through her mouth with so much surging power that he stole her breath along with her will.

Hannah’s arms curled around his neck, trying to get closer, melting into his powerful body as he mastered her with his mouth. Again and again. Over and over. Until she was nearly as insane as he, her body shaking like a lone leaf fluttering in a strong breeze.

Daric ended the scorching embrace abruptly, wrenching his mouth from hers as though the separation was painful. Hannah was panting, her breath sawing in and out of her lungs as she looked up at his face.

Sweat coated his skin, and his chest was heaving. He speared her with a hot, possessive look that made her respond instantaneously, every atom in her body reaching out for him, needing him with an intensity that was tormenting.

“I feel the same, Hannah. But you aren’t ready.” His voice was gruff, and filled with longing.

She wanted to scream that she was ready, that she needed him. But was it the truth, or just her body’s reaction to him? She was so overwhelmed that she didn’t know. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I don’t understand any of this.” She sounded lost, and she felt the same way.

Daric stepped back clothing them both in jeans and a t-shirt. Hannah jumped in fright as the apparel appeared magically on her body. “Cripes. Could you warn me before you do something like that?” Her body was trembling, a delayed reaction from the entire day.

The accident. Clothes appearing out of nowhere. The matching marks. A man professing that he was a vampire. And worst of all, the sense that he really could read her thoughts, see through her clothing. Everything that was happening was all so…not normal.

He grinned, a small smile that lit up his rugged face. “Sorry. It’s normal for me.”

Hannah felt refreshed as she looked down on her casual attire. “I feel like I just showered and dressed.”

His smile grew broader. “You did.”

She pushed on his chest, needing to move away from his beckoning heat, the temptation of that seductive smile. “Do you know how hard this is to believe? Vampires are myth. They aren’t real, Daric.” Frustrated, she started pacing the room.

He shrugged his massive shoulders. “We are very real. Humans are on a need-to-know awareness of our existence. And almost all of them don’t need to know the truth. Could you imagine the reaction and outright hysteria that would occur if they did?” He emitted a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall, watching her.

Hannah stopped abruptly, realizing that her leg had stopped aching. Gingerly, she tested the limb, stretching it more and more in the absence of pain. What the hell? Clenching her thigh, she couldn’t feel the ridges of her scars. Frantically, she moved her hand over her knee…feeling…absolutely nothing. She bent her leg up, kicked it back, and it reacted perfectly. “Oh, my God. You did heal me.” She hopped up and down in delight, cautiously at first, and then dancing in circles as her leg responded to her every command. “I can move. I can bend. I don’t limp.” This isn’t possible. Daric couldn’t have done this. But, he obviously had. There was no other explanation.

“Don’t even think about going back to that ass**le again,” he growled, coming toward her with purpose.

“Who?” she asked, genuinely confused as she watched his approach. He was scowling at her, his fierce expression making him look like a barbarian in human clothing.

“Your ass**le of an ex-boyfriend, Mark,” he grumbled as he stopped in front of her.

“How do you know about him?” Hannah looked up at him in startled surprise.