Dark and Deadly - Lynn Hagen Page 0,4

life was to drain people dry.

Ryan was scanning the partygoers when his gaze fell on one of the bartenders. The guy was tall, blond, and perfect for a midnight snack. The stranger’s hips moved with a feminine sway as he walked down the aisle behind the counter. He wasn’t even Ryan’s type, but the guy had a long swan neck, which would make getting to his jugular a lot easier.

The thirst itching at Ryan’s throat grew. He made his way to the bar, passing guys who looked his way with interest. Ryan wasn’t there to fuck. He had a mate, and even though Warren wanted nothing to do with him at the moment, Ryan wasn’t going to cheat.

Drinking from a vein was usually a very intimate act, but vampires could detach themselves from what they were doing if need be. This would’ve been a lot better if he could’ve taken what he’d needed from Warren instead of tiny sips, but…well…Ryan might have been a bit overzealous when it came to finding his mate.

He may or may not have come on a bit strong, but he was working on that. Or he would have been working on that if Warren would give him the time of day.

Until then…

Ryan moved to the end of the bar and tried to gain the bartender’s attention. If he could talk with the guy for just a second, he could enthrall him, lure him outside, and get what he needed, then wipe the guy’s memory of anything ever happening.

But it wasn’t the diva who came toward him. It was a tall, muscular guy with dark hair and chocolate-brown eyes. “What can I get you?”

Ryan gnashed his teeth. This was proving more difficult than Ryan had anticipated. But what the hell? A donor was a donor.

That godawful squeeze of Ryan’s throat wasn’t going away, so he couldn’t afford to be picky because the guy approaching him wasn’t the one he wanted.

They were about the same size, their musculature nearly identical, though the bartender was an inch or two taller than Ryan. They were both muscled, built solidly, and if Ryan hadn’t already been mated, he just might have been interested in the cocky son of a bitch.

“I need you to come outside for a moment.” He leaned his arms on the edge off the counter and stared right into the guy’s eyes. That was when the scent hit Ryan.

He was dealing with a wolf shifter. Did that matter? Right now Ryan couldn’t afford to be picky. He just needed to feed to get rid of the fog that was threatening to overtake him. His stomach still ached, and his throat was growing drier by the minute.

Soon he would be consumed with hunger and he’d attack, regardless to who was around him, and Ryan wanted to avoid that scenario at all costs.

And god, Ryan felt exhausted from everything—needing to feed, trying to stay one step ahead of Macaw, and trying to figure out how to get back into Warren’s good graces.

Something had to give.

The wolf shifter gave Ryan a cocky grin that spoke of dirty sex and a good time. “I don’t think so. Do I look that gullible to you?”

What? Had the guy just refused him? That had never happened before. Not in the two hundred years Ryan had been alive. There had been times when he’d had to mentally push the suggestion onto someone, but no one had flat-out refused him.

“I really need you to come outside.” Ryan had used a lot more power behind his words, yet the bartender didn’t budge.

“If you don’t want anything to drink, I have other customers to serve.”

Fuck me. Ryan scrubbed a hand down his mouth, wondering why in the hell it hadn’t worked. The bartender should’ve been walking his willing ass out the exit already.

“Hey,” Ryan called out when the guy walked away from him. He was still thirsty as fuck, but now he was also curious.

“Look, I don’t have time for this,” Mr. Grouchy snapped. “Go play your games with someone else. In fact, don’t play them at all. If I catch you trying to lure someone outside, I’m beating your ass.”

Ryan snarled. Not only was his hunger getting to him but so was this jackass’s attitude. Just because he wasn’t able to enthrall the prick didn’t mean he had to be rude and hand out threats.

“I’d like to see you try.” Air huffed out of Ryan’s nostrils. He was starving and raring for a fight if this