Obviously, he didn't realize the heels were wood, and I didn't give him the time to work it out. I kicked him, with all the force I could muster, in the goolies. Air left his lungs in a whoosh of sound that was all agony, and as he hunched forward, I swung a fist, hitting his chin hard and knocking him out cold.
I whirled around to help Jin, only to stop in shock. The other baby vamp lay at his feet, moaning in agony, his legs and arms bent at odd angles. Jin was barely even breathing fast, but as I watched he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if the scent of the baby vamp's pain was somehow fueling his body.
Which was a very weird thing to think. But chills scampered across my body anyway - if only because no lone human should have been able to defeat a vampire. Not even a baby one.
So, did that mean Jin was something other than human? And if so, why were my senses still reading him as human? Or was it merely a case of him having psychic talents at his disposal ? I glanced down at the vamp, at the pain and fear etched on his face. Psychic talents that broke limbs? I'd never heard of something like that before, but I was by no means an expert. I couldn't even define my own talents, for Christ's sake.
I grabbed my cell and made a quick call to the Directorate to order in a cleanup team - though I made out for Jin's sake that I was just reporting the attack. I'm sure the caramel cow thought I was crazy. But then, she undoubtedly thought that long before this phone call.
Jin blew out a soft breath as I hung up, then opened his eyes and turned around to fully face me. There was a spark in his dark eyes that spoke of something almost alien. Otherworldly. Another chill ran across my skin and yet, perversely, the wolf in me reacted with fierce desire. The strongest alpha in the pack was always the most desirable, and this man, alien eyes or not, had me wanting him so badly it was painful.
As his gaze met mine, he smiled. It was a ferocious thing to witness. The thought of retreat flashed through my mind, but before I could decide he took five quick steps, wrapped a hand around the back of my neck, and kissed me. Hard. His other hand slid around my waist, pulling me against him, so that the thickness of his erection pressed against my groin. It felt so very, very good.
"I want you." His voice was a harsh growl filled with a passion every bit as fierce as mine. The hand at my back slid down my spine, past my butt, onto thigh. Goose bumps flitted across my skin and I wasn't entirely sure whether its cause was desire or the unnatural warmth of his caress. "Here, now."
"Not here." His fingers had slipped under the stretch satin, and it was all I could do not to move, to guide those fingers to where it ached so badly. "Your place. It's warmer."
He made a low sound of frustration then grabbed my hand and pulled me forward, forcing me into a run. Water splashed across my bare legs, but if they were chilled I couldn't feel it. Jin's heat and desire and something else - an energy I could sense but not name - pulsed over me in waves, causing perspiration to dot my skin and my blood to boil through my veins.
If he had been were, I would have thought he was using his aura to make me compliant and ready. And, God help me, I was ready, for whatever he wanted to dish up.
We turned left into a side street. Three houses down, he pushed open a gate and raced me up the front steps. I had a brief glimpse of a white painted, classic double-story Victorian town house, then the paneled door was opened and I was all but pushed through.
"First right," he said, as he slammed the door shut.
I walked into the lounge room, stripped off my coat, and tossed it onto the nearest chair. My shoes were flung in the same direction, but I kept my purse long enough to grab some condoms.
Though I heard no footsteps - despite the wooden floors - he was suddenly behind me, his hot hands briefly brushing my thighs as he grabbed my dress and pulled it roughly over my head.
He made a low noise of appreciation, then pushed a hand against my spine and propelled me across the room toward the back of the big old leather sofa.
"Grasp it," he ordered.
I did. He grabbed the condoms from me, kept one, then tossed the rest onto the sofa. After kicking my legs farther apart, he began to explore, his touch so fierce it was almost bruising as he pinched and caressed and teased, until the need to have him inside was so intense I thought I'd surely explode.
And then he bit me, hard, on the shoulder. Somewhere in the last few minutes pain and pleasure must have become one, because I gasped aloud at the exquisiteness of it.
"You like it rough," he commented, breath harsh and fast against my shoulder.
"No," I somehow managed to say. "But that felt good."
Why was the question. I'd never been into the whole pain for pleasure routine, though I had played around the edges of it a few times.
This was already further than I'd ever stepped before. Further than I'd ever wanted to step. And yet I couldn't stop it, didn't want to stop it, and some deep down part of me worried about that. Worried if it was willingness and pleasure or something else that was allowing previously set boundaries to slide.
But that tiny spark of worry had no hope of stopping events. Not when the tide of pleasure was rising.
His teeth scraped my skin, nipping and teasing as he moved down, then he bit again, this time on my rump. I shuddered, unable to hold back a thick groan that was part pleasure, part pain.
He drew a deep breath, as if sucking in the sound. His fingers trembled against my skin, evidence of the control barely maintained. "Perhaps a little bit rougher?"
Part of me shuddered at the thought but I didn't say anything, too caught up in the moment to protest now.
He slapped my rear. Like the bite, it was hard, and sent little jolts of stinging electricity skating across my skin. I groaned, seesawing between desire and pain, part of me wanting to push it further, part of me resisting and wanting to hit back.
"How good does that feel?"
He gave me no chance to answer, but slapped again, harder still, leaving my butt stinging and my body quivering.