Eternal Flame (Night Watch #3)(12)
Author: Cynthia Eden

Her hand pushed against him. “Zane, you’re hurt. You’ve got to—”

He jerked her cuffed hand up with his, forcing it above her head. Then his left hand caught hers and lifted it high. He pinned her to the wall. Her eyes had adjusted a bit to the interior of the cabin, and she could see him better now. The stark planes and angles of his face. His eyes …

So dark.

One of the good guys. He came into a burning building to save me, he’s not-

His mouth crashed onto hers. He caught her gasp, and his tongue drove into her mouth.

The kiss was too rough. His lips were too hard. Too demanding. He didn’t ask, didn’t seduce, he just took.

His hips thrust against hers, that thick c**k sliding against her, letting Jana know exactly what her demon wanted. Me.

Her heart slammed into her chest. Her ni**les were tight, too sensitive.

And damn but that demon could work his tongue.

No! This shouldn’t be happening, she knew it. Drugged. Hell. The guy probably didn’t even know what he was doing. Or who I am.

She tore her mouth away from his, panting. She needed to—

His mouth went to her throat. Licking, sucking, honing in on the spot that always made her knees go weak. Oh, hell, right there.

She choked back a moan. He was warming her with his lips and his lust. Warming her, just when she’d started to grow cold from the after-effects of the charge.

Part of her wanted to hold him tight. Wanted to dig her nails into his back and hold on for the wild ride that she knew would come. But …

But the man had taken two tranqs, and she knew what the drugs could do-demons could be so weak.

Her eyes squeezed shut. “Zane … this isn’t you.” Yeah, they’d kissed before, but that had been different. A skilled play of tongue and lips. Seduction. A tease.

This was desperate. Wild. Rough.

And, dammit, she liked it. Because the charge from the fire had burned off. The need that it left behind-always left behind-had her gut tightening. Adrenaline had filled her blood as she used her power, and without that rush, she was lost, shaken, needing.

He freed her left wrist. His hand snaked between them and found her breast. Zane fondled her through her bra, and her nipple pebbled even more for him. Her sex creamed, and she couldn’t help it-she arched her hips against him.

He wrenched open the top of her shirt, sending buttons flying. Then his hand slipped inside. Hot flesh, callused fingertips touched her. He yanked her bra out of the way and strummed her nipple.

Her teeth clenched. Not right. He was drugged. This wasn’t… Jeez, that felt good. But… “Zane!” The word burst from her.

His hand was sliding down her stomach, heading for the snap of her jeans.

Heat rolled off his body. Delicious, wonderful heat. But his eyes were blank. His touch too fierce, and—

Jana twisted and managed to break away from him. She took two stumbling steps, then the handcuffs yanked her back.

Fuck.

His left hand rose and curled around her throat. Her pulse raced against his fingers. Demons and drugs … everyone knew that was one screwed-up combination. So what, the tranqs had been some kind of sexual stimulant for him? Just great.

She turned her head and met his stare. “You’re drugged, Zane. You don’t know what the hell you’re doing.” But it sure felt good.

He blinked. Once. Twice. Real slow, and he almost looked like a robot she’d seen on a sci-fi show once, trying to process information.

His gaze dropped to her shirt front, to the gaping neckline and the black bra that was all too visible. “I know exactly what I’m doing.” His voice came out deeper, rougher than ever before. Rough, but no emotion. Too flat. Not his voice.

“Wh-what?” If… hurt… you … The guy had been trying to warn her before. Such a damn good-guy thing to do.

“I’m f**king you.”

Chapter 4

Need ate at his gut. A white-hot, burning need that fired Zane’s body from the inside out. He could smell her. Jana. Her scent was all around him, the rich scent of her sex tormenting him.

Take.

His vision had narrowed to her. He could barely hear what she was saying because his heart drummed too loudly in his ears, the blood flowing too fast and hard.

Take.

She trembled in his grasp. Trembled. Small and weak. Ready for him. Her mouth … red and swollen. He’d kiss her. He’d touch her. He’d f**k her. He’d do anything he wanted.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said, her eyes big and wide. “I know you said … but I don’t want to.”

Hurt him? Nothing could hurt him. No one.

“I don’t want to, but I will. And you’ll probably even thank me for this tomorrow.” Her chin tilted back. “Take your hand off me or—”

He laughed at her. Laughed, picked her up, and tossed her onto the old bed in the corner. Dust billowed in the air.

“I warned you,” she said, then bit her lip as fire crackled in the air. A hot, thick circle of orange flame.

He waved his hand and the fire vanished.

“Wh—” She shook her head, sending that black mane flying over her shoulders. Her eyes narrowed, and the fire flared again.

With barely a thought, he put out the fire. The power of the demon burned wild and free in him, pulsing, just beneath the skin.

His knees hit the mattress, and then he covered her body. “That the best you got?” Wouldn’t be good enough. Nothing would.

A thick, choking darkness pressed against him, and she was the only damn light he could see. Her … and her flames. Already flickering again.

His face hovered over hers. “You can’t hurt me.” His temples throbbed. And her smell… fucking driving me crazy. There was nothing like the scent of a woman’s arousal. And Jana was aroused. He smelled her cream, and he had felt the tight buds of her ni**les. “Nothing can hurt me.”

“Really? Sorry to do this but …” Then her knee drove into his groin. A vicious, fast drive that sent pain radiating through his body. “But our first time together isn’t going to be while you’re flying on tranqs.”

Fuck. His hand locked around her hip. The light around her face began to fade, even as the flames flew higher, burned brighter. His fingers clamped onto her flesh.

Burn, let the f**king fire burn, can’t touch me, can’t hurt me.

“Zane?” A breath of sound, a gasp, lost. Her gaze caught his. There was fear in her eyes. Fear lurking in that river of blue. Afraid… of me. Monster.