to pull a fresh longneck from the cooler.
Intentionally turning to face the woman, Sean breathed in deeply. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but instead of some floral or botanical perfume, her scent was enticing—like exotic spices and promises. Lusty promises that curled around him, twisting, swirling, drawing him ever closer.
He leaned in until his lips were mere inches from her cheek. When she turned her head to look at him, her scent grew stronger, filling his mind and his blood with the need to possess her. He wanted to taste her deep red, full lips, run his fingers through those auburn-and coppery-colored waves curling halfway down her back and get lost in the warmth of her brandy-hued eyes.
When she didn’t lean away from him, he motioned for the bartender to refill her drink then tossed the money for the beer and her drink on the bar.
“Thank you.”
Her low, throaty whisper raced warm and enticing across his face, leaving him almost trembling with lust. The dragon’s rumble of desire deepened to a guttural roar, demanding he claim this woman as his own.
Surprised by both his and the beast’s intense responses, he was certain this was no mortal woman. He freed his senses and brushed his mind briefly across hers.
Instead of discovering nothing of interest, a rush of familiarity, of like meeting like, confirmed his assumption—she was another preternatural. His knowledge about others of his kind was limited, gained from the few details his family had provided and from stories told by a vampire he’d run across a couple of months ago. It didn’t require an abundance of knowledge to know from the instant, sensual heat of her returned touch and the seductive half smile playing across her mouth, that she was a succubus looking for much more than just another drink.
Her sense of desperation swept over him. She wasn’t seeking just a quick night of pleasure. Sharp, painful pangs of hunger gnawed at his gut—she needed to feed from someone strong enough to withstand the draining she would unleash on them.
More than able to satisfy her craving, Sean smiled back at her. She could feed on his life force for days without draining him.
Before he could understand exactly what was happening, or offer protest, Sean’s beast gently blew an invisible puff of fire and smoke in her direction, marking the woman as his.
Didn’t the dragon understand that the two of them were one being? The beast couldn’t claim a mate without committing Sean to the same person. He resisted the urge to gasp at the implication. Of course the beast knew exactly what it had done.
Sometimes Sean wished he’d have paid more attention to what his brother had tried to teach him. Even though he didn’t possess the ability to materialize elsewhere or slide into another person’s dreams like his brothers did, he was able to shift and to communicate telepathically. While it made him more like them, more of a Drake perhaps, he still didn’t understand his beast the way his brothers did theirs.
Why had his beast chosen this moment to mark a woman when it had never considered doing so before? Was it because he’d recently been thinking about returning to Dragon’s Lair and his family?
And why this woman? Sean held back a chuckle. The answer to this question was obvious. He wanted this beguiling temptress with every fiber of his being.
She said nothing, but the slightest widening of her eyes let him know she’d felt the mental brand.
He pushed the drink he’d bought closer to her then grabbed the beer, deepened his smile and nodded before returning to the booth without saying a word.
Caitlin watched him leave. A less-perceptive woman might have been deflated by his nonverbal response, interpreting it as a dismissal. However, she knew better. He may not have spoken words, but his brief touch across her thoughts had felt like a warm, possessive caress against her cheek. His inner beast had marked her, meaning this was no mere mortal man. Whatever nonhuman traits he possessed were apparently from the animal kingdom. But his mental touch hadn’t permitted her entry into his mind to tell her which one.
However it didn’t require any degree of perception to notice that he hadn’t simply walked away—he’d sauntered, swaggered—as if confident of her interest and daring her to follow him.
Caitlin curled her fingers around the glass he’d pushed toward her. The imprint left by his touch was still warm under hers. Beneath the warmth churned a hunger as deep as her own. She shivered with anticipation, knowing her bed wouldn’t be cold or lonely tonight.
Of more importance had been the feeling that his interest in her was purely physical—an interest that she welcomed with relief. Because of a vow to her mother, she hadn’t fed in over a month, and now blood flowed through her veins like a thick, slow-moving sludge. The lethargy weighing her down was nearly unbearable; she needed something—someone—to refill her life force.
The fastest, easiest way to gain the life-giving power she needed to survive was to simply suck the force from another being. However, that required her to know when to stop before completely draining the donor, and right now her hunger would make that nearly impossible.
But the most pleasurable way to obtain what she needed, the fairest way for the other participant and the longest-lasting method was through hot, intense sex. Finding a willing partner wasn’t a problem, since as a succubus, men and women were always drawn to her whether she summoned the attraction or not. Unfortunately, most humans didn’t possess enough life force, or the driving need—a near-insatiable hunger—to survive mating with her.
Hence the reason for promising her mother that she’d refrain from feeding on them—again. Since this man wasn’t human, he stood a better chance of living through the event.
The old cliché “killing two birds with one stone” came to mind. She would still be honoring her parents’ request by not seeking out a human, and by morning she might gain enough life force to last weeks.
She raised the glass to her lips and then paused before putting the drink back on the bar without taking a sip. Already weak and slow, Caitlin knew the booze would only make her feel worse. She’d come in here as a last resort, looking for a donor, not to get drunk.
Now that she’d found what she wanted—what she so desperately needed—it was time to go. Not for one second did she worry about him finding her. She’d strategically leave enough of her scent lingering in the air that he’d find the way to her home with ease.
* * *
“Aren’t you a hot little thing?”
Hot? Always. Little? Caitlin resisted rolling her eyes at that description. She hadn’t been a little thing since she’d hit just under six foot tall at age twelve.
A yellowish glare from the streetlight at the end of the alley danced in the droplets of sleet rolling down the thug’s drawn blade. She forgot about his comment and took another step back from the two men stalking her, luring them farther into the dark alley.
They’d been in the booth behind the changeling at the bar. She’d heard their crude comments when she’d entered, felt them watching her when she’d left the bar, and she’d seen their reflections in the smoked-glass window as they followed her out. She’d expected him to follow her, but these two were another story.
With a quick touch of her mind to the humans, she discovered that while their goal also included sex,
