Night Haven - By Fiona Jayde Page 0,2

for morning.

As if he read her mind, he smiled darkly when he turned and stepped aside. “Go ahead,” he said again and this time Dina took the invitation. Better to get out first and secure the scene instead of stepping out blindly.

The alley behind Kennedy’s was dark and crisp with cold November air, the stench of alcohol and trash a foul assault on her nose. His body was a shadow in the dark, silent and still.

She clutched the cold smooth handle of the push blade and swung out, barely missing bone and skin. Another strike, which he evaded just in time for her to ram a fist into his granite jaw.

Pain flashing up her arm, Dina jumped back and crouched, waiting for him to make a move. Willing him to make a move so she could kill him with a clear conscience.

A second passed. Another. He remained still, not lifting a limb to strike her. Instead she felt his gaze burning her skin.

She didn’t like the taste of fear and arousal, arousal she didn’t understand. Trembling, she let the knife drop to the ground, its clatter drowned by the thunder of her pulse.

She wouldn’t back away, she wouldn’t step closer. Trapped by his gaze, Dina damned clothing and caution and dropped her balance to the ground, forcing herself to shift into her other form. Instinct would overpower thought, she wouldn’t feel the tug and pull of lust inside her belly.

His gaze caressed her skin.

She bared her teeth at him, curling her hand into the ground. Another moment and she’d feel the kick and pulse of magic melding her bones into her other shape, forcing her into wolf form. She’d change while he watched, give him a good, long look. Maybe then his gaze would stop tugging at something inside her, maybe then she would tear him apart instead of wanting to jump him and give in to this greed for more.

The cold November breeze teased goose bumps on her skin. Still standing in the shadows, the vampire flicked his wrist to light a cigarette. The short flame lit his face, illuminating harsh lips and cruel watchful eyes.

“You let me know when you’re ready.”

Shock was a chilling coat of sweat. She couldn’t breathe because a fist squeezed at her belly. Her blood ran cold while she gasped for breath. She couldn’t shift, couldn’t feel the magic burning. Shaking, mindless, Dina groped for her knife, waited for him to leap, to grip her throat, to end it.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth, puffed out a ring of smoke. Holding her gaze, he uttered the same words that she had given him earlier.

“Get out.”

With shock clogging her throat, she did.

Chapter Two

He had one hell of a death wish. Then again, the bloodwolf with the amber eyes and carnal mouth could do the one thing Luke wouldn’t do himself.

The morning tore into the sky, pink streaks of light burning his eyes with color. For the past twenty years, he ended every night wondering how far he could stand up to dawn.

Bright light fought its way into the high attic window. Like always, he waited to curtain it off, foolishly clinging to the hope that he could look the rising sun square in the face and have the guts to burn.

The bloodwolf’s scent still clung to him—reckless and dangerous and sexy. No perfume, no floral imitations to mask her natural fragrance. Just female arousal and nerves mixed in a heady combination. He liked the nerves, liked feeling her heart shuddering under him. Liked feeling, because that in itself was rare.

Maybe he shouldn’t have kissed her knowing what she was, but he couldn’t resist those dangerous gold eyes, that tough and sexy body. Remembering the feel of her pressed hard against his chest made Luke’s blood hum again.

Her clean, sharp aura enflamed him. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d craved someone to touch. The women who offered themselves to his fangs were just a dirty means to appease hunger. Faceless, forgotten until the need for blood stirred once again.

As the light brightened safely behind the drapes, he sketched her face with quick strokes of his pencil. Strong features—too bold to be delicate, too striking not to take a second look. Stubborn, he figured, as he enhanced the fragile curve of her jaw on paper. Strong build, a soft and carnal mouth. He spent a lot of time on it, smoothing the lines, shaping it till the bottom lip curved just as he had