Veso Read online

  He blinked but didn’t move or say anything. She eased away from the wall. She had to walk sideways to avoid flashing him her bare backside. The curtain covered her breasts down to her mid-thighs. She was afraid to look away from him as she kept scooting closer to the bedroom door.

  “We’re both under a lot of stress,” she reminded him. “So just chill out. Sorry I called you a dog. I was mad. You have a tendency to do that to me. You’re very abrasive.”

  He moved his head to keep tracking her. It scared her a little. She had no idea what he was thinking or if he was still pissed. His expression had blanked but those yellow eyes reminded her of a predator. The dog comment had been a little out of line but justified. Still, she wasn’t about to admit that aloud to him.

  She made it to the bedroom door and relaxed a little. He blinked again and she backed into the room, reaching out to close the door between them. Her fingers brushed the wood and she pushed, hoping there was a lock on it.

  Veso lunged, coming right at her. A table was in his way but he just shoved it aside.

  A scream caught in her throat and she only had time to suck in air before two-hundred-and-whatever-he-was pounds slammed into her.

  It threw her off her feet and backwards. She expected pain but she hit something soft instead. Her body bounced once on the mattress before she was pinned when Veso grabbed her wrists, jerking them above her head. He leashed them together between his finger and thumb. Their faces ended up being inches apart and she couldn’t look away from his sharp fangs.

  “What are you doing? Get off me!”

  His eyes glowed a brighter shade of yellow. They were eerie, yet entrancing. They really did remind her of a cat’s, only the shape was wrong. It was the inhuman quality of them.

  Her heart was pounding and she felt fear. Would he hurt her? She didn’t think he would. Sure, he was a jerk, but he hadn’t left her inside that mine. He could have. He’d even taken her up that cliff. A cruel person would have just abandoned her on that ledge to face the coming night where those creepers could get her.

  “You piss me off too,” he snarled.

  “You lied to me and broke the phone. You treated me like a moron when you told me to shower. You just didn’t want me around when you made that phone call. I played along because a hot shower did sound good. I also didn’t want to argue with you again.”

  His grip on her wrists lessoned a tiny bit but not enough for her to jerk them free. She tried to no avail. His skin was a little chilled from the cold water he’d dosed himself with from the hose outside. He was big, and she was more than aware that he could crush her, but he’d braced his elbows on the bed to hold most of his upper body weight. She felt small and helpless under him. It was a reminder that he wasn’t anything like her. Being half Vampire and Werewolf was a pretty terrifying concept.

  He didn’t respond and she continued, trying to calm him down.

  “You get pretty condescending, Veso. I’ve been through a lot. I know you have too, but you were just taken to that mine. I was there for a while. I didn’t know about Vampires or creepers.” She took a breath. “Or about what you are. It’s all new to me and it’s kind of been a nightmare I wish I hadn’t experienced.”

  Some of the brightness of his eyes toned down to a softer shade. It encouraged her.

  “You keep accusing me of wanting to molest you. It’s insulting. I don’t know what your world is like but in mine, the men usually pursue the women. Not the other way around. I don’t have any trouble getting dates if I want one. I don’t have to take advantage of drugged men. Do you see how your accusations could push someone’s buttons? It would be like me accusing you of getting kidnapped on purpose so you could be locked in a room with me. Hell hasn’t frozen over, has it? You say I’m not your type. Well…Ditto.”

  “What is your type?”

  The question surprised her. “What?”

  “What types of humans do you fuck?”

  She wasn’t sure how to respond. Part of her wanted to tell him it was none of his business, but she was still floored that he’d even asked.

  “I bet they’re scrawny and weak.”

  “I…” She didn’t know who to be more insulted for. The kind of men he thought she dated or herself. “Please get off me.”

  “Answer. Describe your last lover.”

  “No.”

  “Because he was scrawny and weak.”

  “You really are an asshole.”

  He growled.

  She swallowed, regretting those last words. “Please get off me? Is that better?”

  “Why the hell do you smell so good?”

  “What?” He threw her for a loop again.

  He sniffed at her, and she gasped when he buried his nose against the side of her throat. “You smell so fuckable to me.”

  Her heart raced. “It’s the blood. Remember? They stole our blood and injected us. They gave you some of my blood and forced your blood into me. That master guy said something about fooling you into thinking we were mated or something like that.”

  His mouth was compressed into a tight line when he raised his head. “Right. That’s how your finger isn’t cut anymore. My blood healed you.”

  “That’s possible?”

  “Yes.” He eased some of his weight off her upper body but didn’t let go of her wrists. His gaze lowered to her chest. “You’ve still got bruises that haven’t faded yet. They must have been pretty severe to still show.”

  “He jabbed two needles into me.” She swallowed hard. “That’s so weird. The blood thing, that is.”

  “You wouldn’t understand.”

  “Do you already have a mate?”

  “No. We can only take one. I wouldn’t feel affected by you if I was already taken.” He grumbled a little, his chest vibrating. “I still want to fuck you.”

  She had no words. She just swallowed hard and stared at him.

  “We’re not mated. My mind knows it but my body isn’t listening.”

  “Make it listen to reason then,” she suggested.

  He glanced away, seeming interested in studying the room. He finally looked at her again. “The Vampires ripped out the line going into the house. I managed to connect it again but it didn’t work. Then I realized where we are after finding some mail the human had in a drawer. I’m farther from my territory than I should be, so no one will be looking for me here. It means they kept me drugged for at least one full day before I woke. I lost my temper and broke the phone.”

  “Oh.”

  “We’re going to have to stay together longer, until we can find a connected one so I can call my people. I would leave you here but it isn’t safe. The master will return to his nest at nightfall and he passes this cabin. I didn’t go to all that trouble to rescue you only to allow you to be recaptured. It would just mean he’d attempt to drug and kidnap another VampLycan to breed with you.” He growled, his gaze lowering to her breasts.

  “And that makes you angry?” He appeared furious.

  He held her gaze. “Yes.” That one word was snarled.

  “Me too.” She was glad they had something in common.

  “No one else is going to fuck you if I can’t.”

  She hadn’t expected him to say that. It left her mute once more. He leaned in and sniffed her again. She held still since it was impossible to get him to move off her until he was ready to.

  “Damn,” he rasped. He suddenly buried his face against her skin.

  Glen gasped when he nuzzled his nose against her neck and licked the skin right under her ear. His hot breath fanning her flesh tickled a little. She didn’t struggle, too afraid he was going to bite her. He’d admitted he was part Vampire. Maybe he did suck blood.

  “Don’t eat me. I’m not food,” she said in a shaky voice. “I’m a person. Remember?”

  He groaned. “Don’t give me ideas.”

  “Please, Veso?” She recalled reading that using someone’s name helped somehow if she found herself in a bad situa