“You bit me?” She craned her neck in an attempt to see what he’d done but he nuzzled her with his mouth, pushing her head back down against the bed.

“Yes. I marked you as mine.”

She relaxed under him, letting his statement settle into her sex-hazed brain. She didn’t mind. It was odd being bitten and she knew he’d drawn blood. It stung a little less as he ran his hot, wet tongue over the spot.

“Am I going to have a scar?” She didn’t mind as long as it healed fast.

He chuckled and brushed a kiss on her neck. “Maybe, but it isn’t bad. Just…my teeth made a mark. There will be two little holes. Your family will wonder if you mated a vampire.”

“You got my shoulder, not my neck.” She smiled and her fingers brushed over his where she still clutched at his hands.

“I could bite your neck.” He kissed it again. “Your thigh. I can think of a hundred good places to put my mark on you. Are you angry?”

“I mated a New Species.” It actually amused her. “No peeing to mark your territory though. At least not inside the house. I’m aware of that canine trait and, um, keep that outside in the yard if the need arises.”

He chuckled, seemingly not insulted as she feared he might be. “Deal.”

He lifted up and she turned her head enough to see him.

“I won’t bite you again. It was instinct to bite my mate and mark her.” His serious expression told her more than words could.

“It’s okay. Really. I found it sexy and you just nipped me hard. Just once, huh? I found it kind of hot right at the second you did it. Great timing. I don’t think I’d find it sexy if you bit my thigh and definitely not when you’re going down on me. That might be ouchie.”

“I wanted to taste your blood.”

That disturbed her a bit. “Like bloodlust?”

“No. I know your scent and your taste but not that of your blood. Now I do.”

“Is that important?”

He hesitated.

“True?”

“It’s just instinctive. I don’t know why.”

She let that sink in. “It’s okay.”

“I won’t always behave or think like you do. Sometimes I might seem more animal than human.”

“I know and I accept that. It was just a little bite. Is there anything else you want to taste on me?” She grinned. “Just so I’m warned?”

He shook his head, watching her intently. “But I can’t promise I won’t play with your hair and run a few strands under my nose from time to time. I love how it smells.”

“So how does my blood taste?”

“Good.” He grinned. “I know it now and I’ll never forget.”

“So if I cut my leg shaving and you cut your face shaving, and our blood got on the same towel, you’d know which was mine and which was yours?”

“Yes. I don’t shave though.”

She’d forgotten about their lack of facial hair. “Right.”

He rolled onto his side, pulling her with him, and curled around her. “Sleep. You must be tired.”

“I am.” She loved being curled in his tight embrace with him still connected to her.

He snuggled even closer. “I love you, Jeanie.”

Tears filled her eyes. She really had needed to hear the words and he’d finally said them. Better yet, she knew he meant them.

“I love you too.”

“Sleep. I’m right here and you’re safe.”

* * * * *

True woke, instantly aware of his surroundings. Jeanie’s slow, steady breathing assured him she still slept. The noise that woke him sounded again, faint and barely distinguishable. He identified it as the vibrate function on his phone. It came from his discarded pants on the other side of the bed.

He carefully extricated himself from Jeanie and tucked part of the blanket around her body to assure she stayed warm. She didn’t stir, testament to her lack of heightened senses or just that she was very tired. One glance at the clock showed they’d been sleeping for six hours. He slid off the bed, bent to retrieve his pants, and walked out of the bedroom. The door didn’t make a sound as he closed it and strode down the hallway into the living room as he pulled out the cell phone. Four text messages waited. He read them and placed the call.

“Hello, Darkness.”

“Sorry for disturbing you. I wanted to keep you informed of what was going on.”

“You’ve been assigned to give me updates? I just saw the texts from Slade.”

“The team went inside Boris’ home and successfully planted transmitters on all his electrical devices. He won’t be able to cough without us knowing about it. They also installed some cameras so we can see him in most of the rooms. They cloned two disposable cell phones they found stashed in his garage and put a tracker on his car. Tim’s tech guy downloaded all his information from his computer. The human returned home half an hour ago and the ghost program is up and running. He logged in to two email accounts we were unaware of and we were able to watch everything he did as if we were standing behind him.”

“What did you find out?”

“He’s pretending to be two other different people and we’re searching all transportation records to see if he’s flown or even taken a bus or train to any locations under those names. We’re checking rental car agencies too. So far we haven’t found anything but it strongly suggests your female may have been right that he has other humans he’s fooled and is using for the same thing he used your mate for.”