Chapter One
Trees swayed in the wind. An owl hooted through the night sky while the half-moon created dim lighting over the lush garden. Cruz didn’t need the light to offer him a view of the werewolf lurking through the path of the garden. His vampire abilities made her rounded curves beneath her pink baby doll dress visible to him. Her long auburn hair rested above the rounded cheeks of her bottom. Creamy white skin stood out in the dark night. Cruz groaned at the sight of her.
If only she’d turn around and acknowledge him. Kiara enjoyed teasing him, and Cruz didn’t mind Cruz, much. She reached down and plucked a red rose from the garden, turned so he could see her face, and raised the flower to her nose. Heat rushed through Cruz, filling his groin with need. Her lips parted as she inhaled and her eyes fluttered closed. Kiara held the capacity to cripple him with simple moves. Everything about her screamed seductress, yet, her innocence made her unaware of the power she possessed.
Kiara opened her eyes, glanced his way a moment, and smiled before she continued to walk along the path. Cruz groaned again, unable to stop the sound echoing from his mouth. Every step she took, he followed, weaving his way along the path but staying back enough to let her tease him.
Striding toward the pond beneath the shadows of the lone cypress tree, Kiara stopped and spun around. “Some would say stalking is a criminal act.” Her voice emerged playful, the sweet sound a trait he’d become fond of.
Cruz chuckled, quickening his steps to catch up to her. He plucked a red rose on his way. The thorn dug into his finger, but he paid the sting no attention. Now facing him, her midnight blue eyes shone with the wonderful soul he’d fallen in love with. Her dress fit snug along her body except for the skirt, which flared out. Not something he liked. Cruz wanted to see the curves of her thighs, the lines of her pussy for his own pleasure. Kiara had offered him one luxury. She hadn’t worn a bra, leaving her taut nipples to peer out against the pink fabric, only to taunt him. “Some would say being out in the middle of the night alone is a dangerous act.”
Kiara smiled, a grin to make him burn with desire. “There may be vampires lurking about.”
Cruz closed the distance between them; the heat of her body intensified with each step he took. He inhaled, smelling the rich, earthy scent of her mingled with vanilla. “Vampires who crave to drink your blood.”
A visible shudder ran through Kiara. Her eyes hooded and her lips parted, sending a whisper of air to escape. “But will he drink me dry?”
Cruz grinned, raised the rose to her cheek, and trailed the petals along her tanned flesh. “There’s no doubt he’d taste you, but he’d only sample your blood. He’d be too preoccupied drinking up other parts of your moistened body.” Life had given him something he wondered if he deserved. He could have rotted away in the ground as death took him, but a vampire had given him another chance at life. He hadn’t met his maker, seen who turned him, and had lived for years wondering who gave him the gift of immorality. Answers he’d never found, and ones he cared no longer about. He had Kiara.
Leaning toward her, Kiara’s smile blossomed before he took her lips. A kiss of longing. Many nights had passed since he’d been treated to the gloriousness of her mouth. Too long. His tongue twirled with hers in languorous swipes and the taste of her sent a wave of heat to erupt in his cold form.
Cruz groaned, pulling away from her, and placed his forehead on hers. In the present world, the rules of werewolf packs and vampire society declared their relationship needed to stay hidden. Vampires and werewolves did not co-mix. Six months ago, a meeting between the strained enemies had brought them together. An instantaneous spark erupted between them. He’d sought her out, and they’d met in secret ever since. “I’ve missed you, my wolf.”
“Me too.” Kiara sighed.
Raising his head, he cupped her cheeks, his thumbs brushed against her soft skin. “Have you been well?”
Tears glittered in her eyes. “Well enough.”
He understood her simple words. If only he could bend the rules. Make the other supernaturals see love overrode power. Kiara’s status as an Alpha’s daughter meant her bloodline among the wolves was a cherished one. Her father would never agree to her heart belonging to a vampire. “How long do you think we have tonight?” Cruz suspected in no time someone would come looking for her, as they always did.
“Half an hour.” The sadness shone through her pretty eyes.
Cruz wished he had the strength to erase the prejudices, but he held no control. The world had sealed their fate. If Kiara spoke of their love, she’d face an unkind life. Being the Alpha’s daughter, she’d not be killed for her actions, but she would forever be marked as a traitor. Cruz loved her enough to make sure she’d never suffer such cruelty. “If we only have a half an hour, I won’t waste my time. I’ve craved you, Kiara. Thought about you every moment I have been away. Your body, your scent—it’s driven me to near insanity.” Leaning in, he took her lips again, more forceful now.
Kiara inhaled with a sharp breath, sank against him, and raised her delicate hands to his shoulders. Her fingernails dug into his skin. Cruz experienced the same urgency. As their mouths worked together, Cruz’s cock tightened, throbbed in response to having her so near.
As if reading him, Kiara tore her mouth from his. “Please, Cruz, make love to me.”
He closed his eyes, fighting against himself to remove the look of pleading on her face from his mind. His body screamed to accept, break through her innocence and claim her, yet his respect for her couldn’t be undone. He’d not take her in their current predicament. She deserved to be loved in every sense of the word and until he held the ability to love her forever, he’d not indulge himself.
“Cruz,” Kiara whispered, making him realize he’d had his eyes closed for some time now.
Opening them, the beauty of Kiara made him growl. More so, her heated gaze staring back at him, begging him to take her. “Please don’t look at me that way.”
A tear escaped her eye, trailing down her cheek, and Cruz smoothed the dampness away with his thumb. “I’ve waited long enough—I want you.”
Cruz sighed, releasing his desirable thoughts in hopes his mind held more power over him than his cock. “I know you do and it’s killing me just the same. Do you know when you look at me like you are now, I want to spread your thighs and find a home there?”
“I’m not stopping you. In fact, I’m begging you to.” Her teary eyes dried, and a stern look crossed her face. “Why won’t you?”
“Because you deserve to be marveled at for hours on end before your innocence is given away, my wolf. And I can’t offer such things now.”
Each word tore at his heart, made him sick, and angered him enough to make him want to rage against the ones who made their love impossible.
Tears formed in her eyes again, and her chin quivered. “I hate the conflict between vampires and werewolves. I hate how it keeps us apart. Is the battle between our kind ever going to end?”
“I hope one day everyone will put their biases aside and we can live in peace.” He doubted the acceptance would ever happen. The two had no reason to join each other, their differences spun into existence at the beginning of time. Cruz could see no chance of it changing. Yet, he wouldn’t tell Kiara as much. He didn’t want to break her heart.
Kiara pressed her body tighter against his, forcing him away from his thoughts. “Give me something, anything to keep with me for the next nights I’m without you. Something to remind me of you and the way you make me feel.”
He smiled, brushing away the rest of her tears, quite sure he could give her what she looked for. “I’ll give you a climax to last in your mind so you won’t forget.” Scooping her up, he strode toward a tree trunk nestled beside the pond.
At the tree trunk, he lowered Kiara down onto the flat surface, placing her bottom on the stump, and knelt down in front of her. He ran his hands up her thighs, widening them, moving her dress up to expose what he longed to see. Kiara angled herself back, rising her hips up in invitation. Once her skirt rested at her waist, Cruz groaned at seeing her dark, trimmed curls and soft, pinkish flesh glistening with moisture.
Reaching up, he took Kiara by the hips and brought her bottom to the edge of the tree trunk. “I can smell you from here.” His voice sounded lustful even to his own ears. “Your luscious scent is doing wicked things to my body, Kiara.” Running his hand up her leg, he felt her juices along her inner thighs. The man inside of him roared in satisfaction that he caused such a reaction in her.
“Touch me. I need you so much.”
Cruz ran his fingers through her curls, feeling her shudder beneath his touch. “Is here where you want me to touch you?” Avoiding her sweet spot to increase her need, he fondled her, wanting her to writhe for him.
“Lower,” she gasped. “Feel how moist I am for you.”