War of Hearts (True Immortality 1)

Thea gasped and Conall wrapped his arms tight around her, rolling her onto her back. He didn’t seem to care she’d caused a blackout as he continued to move inside her, murmuring how much he needed her, how much he wanted her as he chased his own release and came with a ragged shout in her ear.The morning came and still they wanted.

Thea wondered if human women felt sore after a full night of lovemaking. She didn’t feel sore because, “Hello, magical healing powers,” but she tingled between the legs with the knowledge that Conall had spent most of the night buried in her.

They’d woken up that morning with a silent understanding between them. There was no mention of a change of plans, that Thea wouldn’t have to go to Ashforth. They both knew that was impossible if they wanted to save Callie.

However, they also both awoke still wanting each other, still wanting the connection, and seemed to come to the wordless agreement it was okay to indulge in that need until their time together was over.

They showered together, which was a new experience for Thea. It was wonderful to be petted and explored and washed clean by Conall. They shared wry looks at the broken bulbs in the room and Conall made a crack about the damage charge on his credit card. Thea thought he looked kind of smug that he’d managed to make her lose control like that.

And when they left the room, he reached for her hand. He held it as they went downstairs and while they looked over the breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant, caressing her skin with a swipe of his thumb gently back and forth.

Every part of Thea was aware of every part of Conall.

Sitting at breakfast, they didn’t say a word at first as they ate, but now and then their eyes would meet, and she’d know he was remembering something particularly delicious from the night before because he’d flash her a wicked smile that made her laugh.

She looked down at his plate, piled high with enough eggs and bacon to feed three men. “Hungry this morning?”

“Aye. Someone kept me awake most of the night with her insatiable appetite.”

She snorted. “Insatiable, huh? Well, I’m sorry if I’ve got too much stamina for you.”

Conall narrowed his eyes but she could see the humor dancing in them. “Dinnae you worry about my stamina, lass. I’m quite happy to prove I can keep you satisfied for however long you wish it.”

Flushing at the thought of keeping Conall as her personal sex slave, Thea marveled at how she’d gone from being ambivalent about sex to feeling pretty goddamn turned on all the time.

She guessed that’s what happened when you were attracted to a guy who was part animal.

Speaking of, Thea had a thought, remembering how she’d gently or maybe not so gently, bit Conall’s shoulder last night as she came for the third time. He’d liked it. Very much. What he didn’t do at any point was drag his teeth over her skin. She’d remembered what he’d said about a werewolf’s bite either killing a human or changing them.

She lowered her voice. “How do you turn someone into a werewolf?”

Conall almost choked on a bite of scrambled egg. He coughed, took a swig of coffee, and stared incredulously at her. “Why do you ask?”

Thea shrugged. “Just curious. Why? Is it a secret?”

Shaking his head, he leaned across the table to tell her quietly, “Werewolves are hard to make. Most wolves are born, not made. It takes a rare, strong human to survive a werewolf’s bite.”

“And does it have to be intentional? Or can an accidental nip cause the change?”

He nodded. “We have to be very careful. If our saliva or blood gets into the wounds, which, let’s face it, our saliva most certainly will, the human becomes infected. It’s like passing a mutation onto them and their body must be strong to take on that mutation. Most people arenae strong enough. A human dies of a werewolf’s bite 98 percent of the time. In comparison, a human almost always survives the change to a vampire.”

Wow. That was a low change rate. “But the TV shows got the vamp thing right? Vampires in comparison are made, not born. And a vampire has to drink a person to the brink of death for a human to turn?”

Conall scowled. “Aye. Then they make the victim drink their blood to complete the transition. Dirty bastards.”

Thea burst out laughing. Sometimes he was hilarious without even trying. His scowl disappeared as he watched her laugh, his own eyes bright with mirth as Thea dabbed at the corner of her eyes.

“You’re funny,” she said, reaching for another slice of toast.

“So I see.” His eyes watched her every movement. “Why the questions?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I was thinking about last night and how it was nice we got to be ourselves.” It was more than nice that she could let go with Conall without worrying she’d break him. “But I remembered what you said in Düsseldorf. And last night, you were careful with your teeth.”