“Oh.” She arched her back as he suckled hard.

He picked her up, his hands on her bare rump, and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He tugged at one breast, then started on the other.

“Phineas.” She ran her hands over his short hair.

“Mmm.” He tickled the tip of her nipple with his tongue, then pulled her closer so her core was pressed against his bare stomach.

He tugged on her breast in rhythm to rocking her against him. Moisture seeped from her, and tension built higher and higher.

Oh God, she was going to come before she’d even gotten his clothes off.

“Stop!” She pulled his head back and wiggled out of his arms.

“You don’t like it?”

“I love it.” She yanked his shirt off his shoulders and kissed his chest, his nipples, his six-pack abs. He was gorgeous, muscular . . . and walking her backward. “What—?”

He shoved her back, and she landed on her rump on his jacket. With a grin, he pounced on top of her.

He kissed her mouth, then moved down her body, kissing and nibbling past her breasts to her stomach. “You’re so beautiful.”

“You’re still dressed.” She pushed him back, then pulled his legs up to make him fall onto his back on the grass. With a yank, she had one boot off. She tossed it aside and grabbed the other boot. It proved to be more stubborn, and she tugged so hard she lost her balance.

He took advantage, giving her an extra shove so she tumbled back.

“Umph.” She landed on her back with the boot in her hands.

He seized her ankle and nipped at her calf. “Now I have you.”

She tossed his boot aside. “Oh yeah?” She planted her other foot against his chest and shoved him back. As soon as his butt hit the ground, she leaped forward to pin his shoulders to the ground. “Now I have you.”

“Wolfie-Girl, you are wild.”

“You’d better believe it.” She leaned forward and rubbed her breasts against his chest.

He kissed the top of her head.

With her heart thundering in her ears, she sat back on his thighs and unbuckled his belt. “All right, Love Doctor.” She unbuttoned his jeans. “Let’s see what you’ve been hiding.” She struggled, getting the zipper to move over the bulge.

Finally, it unzipped, and she grasped the waistband of his jeans and underwear and pulled. He sprang free.

She gasped.

He took advantage of her momentary shock and pushed her back onto his jacket. She struggled to sit up, but he pinned her shoulders down.

“Stay.”

“I’m not a dog.” She glanced down his beautiful body to the magnificent erection that pointed at her, wide and blatant, smooth and rock-hard. “Woof,” she whispered.

He chuckled. “Now be a good Wolfie-Girl and let me ravish you.”

Moisture pooled between her legs, and she ached for him to fill her. “Hurry.”

“Patience.” He smoothed his hands over her breasts and down her belly. Her skin prickled with gooseflesh, and she shivered.

He clasped her thighs and pushed her legs apart. “I want to look at you.”

She whimpered as more moisture seeped out.

He leaned closer till she could feel his breath against her wetness. “So pretty. And juicy.”

She jolted when his tongue licked her slowly.

“Tasty.” He inserted a finger inside her. “Tight. And wet.”

“Oh God, please!” She wiggled against him. “I can’t take it anymore. I want you inside.”

“I’m not done with the outside.” He skimmed his juice-slickened fingers up to her clitoris, and she jolted again. “Look what I found.”

Tension built rapidly as he rubbed against her. Pinched and tugged. She shook her head, moaning. When he lifted her hips to clamp his mouth on her, she screamed and shattered.

Spasms shot through her. Her toes curled and her vision blurred. He showed no mercy. With two fingers inside her, he coaxed more spasms from her till black stars twinkled before her eyes.

“Enough,” she wheezed, struggling to catch her breath.

“We’re just getting started.” He smiled smugly.

“You’re—you’re—”

“Sexy? Incredible?”

“Ridiculous!” She shoved him back. “You still have clothes on.” She yanked his jeans and underwear down his legs.

“You recovered quickly.”

“You’ll have to work harder than that to wear me out.” She eyed his erection. “Oh yeah. This is good.” She traced a vein along the silken hardness.

He sucked in a hissing breath.

Joy burst inside her. She loved how strongly he reacted to her. “Does it feel good?” She circled the crown.

He gritted his teeth. “I want inside you.”

“I’m not done with the outside.” She leaned over and licked the bead of moisture from his tip.

“Dammit.” He shoved her back and wrapped her legs around him. “We’re doing it now.”

“About time!” She grabbed on to his shoulders and trembled when his erection nudged into her damp folds.

He stopped. “Brynley.”

“What?” She gazed into his eyes and forgot her frustration. He was looking at her so tenderly, it made her heart ache.

“I love you.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I—ay!” She squealed when he plunged into her. “Oh, Phineas.” He was so wonderfully big and hard.

He kissed her brow and started slow. That didn’t last long. She was soon begging for more. Harder. Faster.

Her nails dug into his shoulders. Her heels dug into his back.

She screamed, and the spasms seemed to last forever as he pumped into her. With a long groan, he collapsed beside her. The aftershocks continued, and she gasped for air.

He lay still beside her.

“Are you still alive?” she asked.

“Until sunrise.” He kissed her neck. “Did you need more?”

She groaned. Was he trying to kill her? “I just want to lie here for a while.”

“Good plan.” He rolled onto his back and gazed at the stars. “It was better than I ever imagined.” He took her hand in his and laced their fingers together.

Her heart swelled with love. “This is perfect.”

“Yes.”

They lay together holding hands until the cold night air made her shiver.

“You’re cold.” He sat up and dug into a pocket of his jeans. “You might want these back.” He dangled her panties in the air.

“You kept them?” She grabbed them and slipped them on.

“You can wear my shirt.” He handed it to her, then pulled on his jeans.

She snapped the shirt together. “What do we do now?”

He pulled on his boots. “We still have to find Corky.”

“I mean about us.”

He stood and slipped his jacket onto her. “We make it work.”

She bit her lip and looked away. It had been perfect, but perfection could never last.

“Bryn.” He nudged her chin back so she’d look at him. “We can do this.”

“I want to believe that.”

“Then do it.” He pulled her close. “Let’s get the rest of your clothes.”

She nestled her cheek against his bare chest. Everything went black, and she materialized in the cabin.

A gun fired, and Phineas stiffened.

She gasped. There was a dart in his arm.

He ripped it out.

Another shot exploded, hitting Phineas again. His body jerked, and she stumbled back, bumping against Jack on the floor. He lay, stiff and motionless, a look of horror in his eyes.

Phineas yanked the dart from his shoulder and grabbed her. “Let’s go.”

“No!” a blond woman shouted, firing her pistol again and again. Corky.

Brynley pulled the darts from him as fast as she could. His body shimmered as he tried to teleport, but then he solidified and collapsed onto the floor.

It had all happened so fast. Shock quickly morphed into full rage. She threw off Phin’s jacket and shifted, growling and ready to attack Corky.

“Don’t even think about it,” a man’s voice said.

She whipped around and saw three men standing at the back of the room. Kyle and two others.

“Allow me to introduce myself.” The tallest one stepped forward. Dark hair, dark eyes. But not a friendly brown like Phineas’s. His eyes were cold and hard like flint. “I’m Rhett Bleddyn. This is Dimitri. And I believe you already know Kyle.”

She shifted back to human form. When Rhett’s cold gaze drifted over her ripped shirt, she put Phineas’s jacket back on. “What do you want?”

Rhett smirked. “You, of course.”

“Not going to happen.” She glanced down at Phineas. He seemed to be conscious and watching her.

“The vampires are paralyzed.” Rhett motioned to Dimitri. “Thanks to a special potion Dimitri brought us. Kyle, would you care to demonstrate?”

Kyle came forward and kicked Phineas in the ribs. He lay there, helplessly taking the attack.

“Stop!” Brynley shouted.

“Oh, it could get much worse,” Rhett said. “You see, Kyle has a stake, and he’s ready to plunge it right into the hearts of these vampires.”

Kyle whipped a wooden stake from his belt and held it over Phineas’s bare chest.

Brynley’s heart stuttered.

“So, Miss Jones,” Rhett continued with a sly grin. “I believe we were going to get married?”

Chapter Nineteen

Nightshade. Phineas struggled to make his body follow orders, but it lay attached to his active mind like a sack of dead meat. Too ironic. The former drug dealer taken down by a drug. And not just any drug, but the same damned drug that had inspired his death and transformation. The Malcontents had murdered him and made him a vampire so he could get them the ingredients to make Nightshade.

Karma was a bitch. It had come back to kick him in the butt. Or the ribs. He winced inwardly as Kyle rammed another pointed cowboy boot into his side. The creep had done the same thing earlier to his brother.

Shit kicker, Phineas wanted to yell at Kyle, but then that made him the shit. And rightly so. He should have called Jack before coming. He should have managed to teleport Brynley away before succumbing to the drug. Now she was in danger. Her eyes met his, and he cringed inwardly at the fear he saw there.

Be strong. You’re a survivor. As long as you’re alive, you can fight.

A rebellious spark lit in her eyes, as if she’d heard him.

“You haven’t answered me, Miss Jones.” Rhett Bleddyn strode toward her. “Have you agreed to marry me?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll consider it if you leave these men alone.”

“You’ll agree or the vampires will die.” He motioned to Phineas. “That one first. His scent is all over you.” He stepped closer, his face twisted in a sneer. “You reek of sex with him. It disgusts me.”

She lifted her chin and glared back. “Frankly, Rhett, I don’t give a damn.”

He slapped her hard enough to make her eyes water.

Rage burst inside Phineas, but with nowhere for it to go, it felt like his head would explode. Stay strong, sweetheart. Don’t give up hope.

“I have heard of your disobedience to your father,” Rhett growled at her. “With me, you will learn to submit.”

She avoided looking at him and focused on Phineas, her cheek aflame with a red handprint. “I will marry you a week from today.”

Hope flared in Phineas’s chest. She was looking at him, making the promise to him.

“Three days,” Rhett countered. “On the first night after the three nights of the full moon.”

It was a strategic maneuver, Phineas realized. Any werewolf could shift on the three-night period of the full moon, but only an Alpha like Rhett could shift the following night. He wanted the ability to defeat any ordinary werewolf that might object to a forced marriage. Brynley’s father was an Alpha, too, but he was obviously for the marriage.

But this was a mistake on Rhett’s part. It gave Phineas and his friends three nights to gather their troops and rescue Brynley. Unless, of course, Rhett intended to kill him and Jack tonight.

Brynley inclined her head. “I want the ceremony to be at my father’s ranch in Montana.”

“Of course. We’ll be going there shortly. I suggest you dress appropriately and wash that vampire’s stench off you.” Rhett motioned to Dimitri. “Make sure that restroom is secure.”

Dimitri peered inside. “No windows, no doors. She can’t escape here.”

She picked up the clothes she’d discarded earlier and with a worried glance at Phineas, she went inside the bathroom and shut the door.

Rhett sneered down at him. “She will do everything I ask. Kyle will remain here with his stakes, and if she gives me any trouble, I’ll call him, and he’ll turn you to dust.”

“He deserves to die,” Corky hissed as she moved toward them. “He is the one who betrayed me and tried to capture me.”

“There, there, love.” Rhett pulled her close and kissed her brow. “I was happy you came to see me again.”

She gave him a sly smile. “Our plans are going well.” She glanced down at Phineas. “Dimitri found the formula and ingredients to make Nightshade hidden in a safe at the Coven House in Brooklyn. He cooked us up a batch and brought it here.”

She nudged Phineas with her foot. “We have plenty more. You and your traitorous companions will not be able to stop us.”