Blood Flame (Flame 1)

He examined Jason’s hands for other signs of torture. His nails were intact though several of his fingers were broken. He also had a red, half-heart tattoo between his forefinger and thumb.

Curious, Connor glanced at the witch’s hand.

And there it was.

He stood up. Was it possible? “Holy shit,” he murmured.

“What?” Iris moved in closer.

Connor waved his hand between the bodies. “These two were involved.”

“Why on earth would you say that? Wait a minute, what did you see?”

“They have a shared tattoo, two red half-hearts. If you put them together, you get a whole.”

Iris shifted to have a look herself, then returned to stand once more beside Connor. She shook her head as though unable to make sense of what she’d seen. “But that would mean—”

Apparently, she couldn’t even speak the words. Truth was, he had a hard time saying it as well. “They were lovers.”

She shook her head again, harder this time. “No, that’s not possible. He’s a vampire.”

He totally got where she was coming from. “And she’s a witch.” He met her gaze and a strong current passed between them.

He felt as though a pulse of energy kept hitting his sternum repeatedly. She must have experienced something similar because she drew in a soft stream of air and immediately folded her arms across her chest as though protecting herself.

“Are you trying to enthrall me?”

Her eyes popped wide. “No. God, no. I would never do something like that.”

“But you could.”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t.”

He believed her, which meant he was in serious trouble. He trusted the witch and his instincts told him this bizarre thing between them was mutual.

“You knew I was at your house tonight, didn’t you?”

She huffed a sigh. “I did.”

“Were you always aware? Each time I came to you?” He’d gone past counting the number of times he’d hovere

d above her garden, making liberal use of his spotting scope.

She nodded slowly, frowning. “Yet, you never approached me or tried to hurt me. The visits seemed harmless enough.” Her eyes glittered.

“Fuck.”

“What’s going on, Connor? I don’t get any of this, as in why you’ve been spying on me or this strange attraction between us. I mean, did you arrange to have me brought here to Sentinel?”

“I don’t have those kinds of connections or power.”

“Well, why did you start coming to my house in the first place? I don’t get it?”

He turned toward her and took her arm in a firm grip. He felt a flow of energy race up and down his arm, something he couldn’t explain. “Because of this. Do you feel it?”

She nodded. “It’s some kind of visceral reaction. So you’re saying you were at my house because you’re attracted to me, even though I’m a witch.”

“Despite that you’re a witch.”