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“What I need is to get away before things go
too far.” He seemed frozen on his knees before her, his big hands
cupping her hips. It was clear he was fighting the urge to take
her, fighting against himself and his natural instincts.

For just a moment Lauren paused. Should she
really be doing this? Should she really be pushing him this far?
But she told herself firmly she was through being afraid of his
Scourge side. How bad could it be when he looked so human? When he
held her so sweetly as he had earlier when he was comforting her?
Go with the flow,
she reminded herself again.
Let it
happen. No,
make
it happen.

Slowly she parted her thighs, giving him a
good look at her hot, inner pussy still coated with the sticky
puree. “Come on, baby, clean me up,” she murmured.

His answer was a low, wordless growl of pure
lust and then he was thrusting her thighs apart, spreading her wide
to get at her. Lauren moaned and buried her hands in his hair as he
parted her swollen pussy lips with one sweep of his tongue,
cleaning away the strawberry coating and then licking deeper, as
though trying to get past the sweetness to her own hot feminine
flavor.

Xairn’s broad shoulders split her wide but it
was clear she still wasn’t open enough for him. Reaching down, he
grabbed one of her legs and hooked it over his shoulder, spreading
her even farther in his quest to taste her thoroughly, to own her
completely.

Lauren gasped as he pressed against her,
lashing her sensitive clit with his tongue one minute and thrusting
it into her tight opening the next. The steel kitchen island she
was leaning against was cold on her bare ass but she didn’t
care—couldn’t care about anything but what he was doing to her.

She’d never had a man go down on her like
this before, with this level of intensity and need. It was as
though Xairn was dying of thirst and she was the only source of
water for a hundred miles. He lapped and sucked, working her hard,
rasping his tongue over her sensitive clit and giving her exactly
what she needed. In fact, it was almost frightening the way he
tasted her, the single minded ferocity he showed in laving her
sensitive folds. But she pushed away her sense of unease and
gripped his hair tighter, bucking her hips in time to his rhythm,
giving herself completely to his silent demands.

“Yes! Oh God, yes, Xairn.
Yes,”
she
heard herself chanting. She was close…so damn
close.
“God,
please, more!
More.”

“I’ll give you more.” His voice was a low,
menacing growl. Suddenly she was flipped over and held down, her
bare breasts pressed against the hard top of the kitchen
island.

She gasped in surprise and scrabbled at the
cold steel, uncertain of what was going on. The bowl of homemade
butter cream frosting went spinning off the island to crash on the
tile floor.

“Down,” Xairn growled when she tried to lift
her head and look back at him. A large, cruel hand was suddenly
pinning the back of her neck, making it impossible to move.

“Xairn,” she whispered fearfully but he
wouldn’t let her go.

“You don’t understand.” He was on her now, as
heavy as a mattress, his big, muscular body covering hers as he
pressed her painfully into the unyielding stainless steel. “You
think what I want, what I
need
is your love. Your devotion
and caring. But that isn’t enough. Not for a Scourge.”

“What…what is it you need, then?” Lauren
could hear the fear in her own voice and she tried to control it
but she couldn’t—not quite. This was all happening so fast,
changing from an incredibly charged erotic moment to a scene out of
a nightmare at the speed of light.

“Your submission,” Xairn growled in her ear.
“Your complete and unconditional submission. Spread your legs for
me—
now.”

When she was slow to comply, he kicked her
ankles apart, forcing her thighs open, putting her pussy on
display.

“Xairn, please!” Lauren struggled but it was
like struggling against stone—he wouldn’t let her up, wouldn’t let
her budge so much as an inch.

“Beautiful.” He ran one hot, heavy hand down
the groove of her spine and then cupped her buttocks. Suddenly he
gave her a stinging slap.

Lauren gasped and bucked against his hand.
“Xairn!”

“So fucking beautiful,” he repeated. “Now
spread your legs wider and arch your back. Let me get a good look
at that sweet little cunt. Do it now unless want more
punishment.”

Panic had begun to build inside her but now,
somehow, it was overtaken by a different emotion. Lauren didn’t
know why but that low, purring voice and the hot, possessive way he
touched her was doing something strange to her insides. It was as
though he owned her—as though he could do anything to her and she
was helpless to stop him. A moment ago she’d been fearful. Now…now
she didn’t know. She only knew that her nipples had grown hard
again and her pussy felt wet and hot and open. He was holding her
down, touching her—
owning
her. And why did that make her
feel so strange inside? So hot? Slowly she did as he commanded,
arching her back and spreading her legs, opening herself even wider
for his inspection.

“Good, very good.” His voice was a low growl
of approval. “Gods, you look hot from behind. I love the way your
sweet little cunt opens for me this way.”

“Xairn,” she whispered as his big hand
traveled down to cup her open pussy. “What…what are you doing?”

“Taking what’s mine.” He was behind her, on
top of her again, his breath hot in her ear. Suddenly two thick
fingers pierced her folds. Lauren gave a startled cry as he thrust
deeply into her, filling her slippery channel. “I’m going to
fuck
you, Lauren,” he growled, pumping roughly into her,
making her moan and writhe helplessly against his invading fingers.
“Going to fill you with my cock right here and fuck you long and
hard. Isn’t that what you want? What you
need?”

“Yes but please…I…I…” She didn’t know what to
say. How to explain the conflicting emotions that were filling her.
On one hand she was both frightened and outraged—how dare he do
this to her? Treat her this way? But another part of her, a newly
awakened part, was deeply and undeniably turned on at the feeling
of being helpless beneath his big body. “Xairn,” she panted,
writhing against his thick fingers. “Please, I don’t know what to
say.”

“You’re not required to speak.” She heard a
low purring sound and knew that his zipper was coming down. Then
something hot and hard and menacingly huge was brushing over her
inner folds. Lauren cried out when she felt the blunt tip of his
cock slide over her sensitive clit.

“Wait!” she gasped but Xairn had already
found her entrance and was beginning to press inside her.

“I’ve waited long enough to fuck your hot
little cunt,” he growled, pressing deeper. “Not gonna wait any
longer. Hold still.”

Lauren writhed under him, moaning
breathlessly as she felt the broad head of his cock breach her
channel, stretching her to the limit. God, he was really going to
do it, was really going to hold her down and fuck her, whether she
wanted him to or not! Her body was responding to his rough
treatment but she couldn’t help feeling shocked and appalled that
he wouldn’t stop or even pause when she asked him to. What was
wrong with him? Where was the sweet, caring man she’d come to love
and who was this animal that had taken his place? This beast
rutting on top of her wasn’t the real Xairn—it couldn’t be!

“Yes, it is.” Suddenly he stopped, with his
shaft only halfway inside her. “This animal—this
beast
is
me, Lauren. The real me.” The cruel hand released her and suddenly
he pulled out, leaving her feeling empty inside.

“What?” Lauren turned to face him but he was
already tucking himself away and fastening his jeans. When he
looked up from his task, his face was a mask of misery.

“I tried to tell you. Tried to warn you.” He
pressed a hand to his eyes briefly and spoke in a low, choked
voice. “I am Scourge, Lauren. It doesn’t matter how human I look,
I’ll never be anything else. And I’ll never be able to love you
without hurting you.”

“Xairn honey, wait,” she protested but he was
already gone, rushing out of the shop before she could say another
word.

The AllFather let out a hissing curse and
pounded his clenched fist on the arm of his throne. So close! Xairn
had been so close to taking the little human female. He’d been
scanning the emotional vibrations coming from the area that she
called home—the place he was certain Xairn had taken her—and he had
felt it clearly. The build-up of rage and lust, the desire to
possess which was the hallmark of a Scourge male coming into his
own. If only Xairn had followed though his mind would be open now,
able to receive the AllFather’s messages. The images he wanted to
send.

“But he cannot ssstop himself forever.” The
AllFather spoke aloud. Standing, he swept back the hood of his
shadowy cloak to reveal his burning eyes and the grinning skull of
his face. “He mussst take her sssoon. And when he doesss, I ssshall
be ready.”

He already had the trap prepared—the bait he
planned to use would bring Xairn running back to him without delay.
As soon as he took the little human fully, his mind would be
vulnerable to attack and the AllFather would not hesitate to press
his advantage.

In the mean time, he might as well cast a
little more doubt and satiate his hunger at the same time.

“Alpha,” he called to the huge guard at his
right. “Prepare the beam. It isss time to harvessst another.”

Xairn wandered the streets for hours, hating
himself. Gods, what was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he love Lauren
normally, treat her gently the way she deserved? Why was it that he
turned into a monster the moment his sexual urges overtook him?

Because you’re Scourge. And you’re never
going to be anything else, anything better. You’re never going to
be the male she deserves,
whispered the voice of self-hatred in
his head
.
It was true and he knew it.

I should leave,
he thought for the
hundredth time.
Leave her while I still can. Tonight was too
close, I almost lost control.

Only the human DNA grafted to his own had
saved him—it had allowed him to stop before it was too late. That
and Lauren’s thoughts. Xairn knew they had no mental link, knew he
shouldn’t have been able to hear what she was thinking. But it had
happened again, just as it had the first time they were intimate.
Her thoughts came to him clearly, almost as though she was speaking
them aloud. And what she had been thinking nearly broke his
heart.

She couldn’t believe that I would take her
that way. That I would hurt her. She saw me as an animal—as a
beast. But even as I was about to force myself inside her she still
wanted to believe that I was good, that I wouldn’t do such a
thing.

Xairn stopped for a moment, leaning his head
against the side of a brick building. What was happening to him?
Why was he able to hear Lauren’s thoughts? And why had he been able
to command the stupid male who had been her assistant with his
words? Only one other being that he knew of could do such
things—the AllFather.

No, I am not like him! I
refuse
to become like him!
But if the way he had
treated Lauren was any indication, it was already too late—he
was
becoming like his father. More like him every day. His
Scourge impulses were growing stronger—the human DNA he’d gotten
from Lauren was holding him back but just barely. And its influence
over him couldn’t last forever. Which was all the more reason to
get away from Lauren before it was too late.

Xairn shook his head. What had happened today
had been too close—he’d almost gone too far. It was time to admit
that this was a mistake, that his attempt to love her and have a
relationship with her was futile. It was time to ask for the O-ring
back, get into the little Kindred ship and leave, never to
return.

Just the thought of that, of never seeing her
again, made him feel like a cruel fist was squeezing his heart. But
if there was no other way to stop himself from hurting her—from
forcing
her—then it was what he had to do.

“I have to talk to her,” he whispered and his
voice sounded low and broken in his own ears. “Tell her I love her
but I can’t…can’t stay. Gods…” There was nothing he would rather do
less and therefore he needed to get it over with before he lost his
nerve.

Sighing, Xairn lifted his head and pressed
the heels of his hands to his eyes. Then he dropped his hands and
looked around. Where was he? He had been walking for hours and the
streets had grown dark. There were occasional lamps high above to
light the way but he was still on unfamiliar territory. Or was
he?

Lifting his head, he scented the air. The
faint, sweet smells of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry wafted to
him on the warm evening breeze. They were barely there and he was
sure a human couldn’t have smelled them. But his heightened Scourge
senses detected them at once. He had been wandering in
circles—Lauren’s shop was somewhere very near.

He turned down an alley between two
buildings, following his nose, when a sudden soft cry of distress
caught his attention. Xairn stopped, frowning, and looked around.
There it was again—a sound like an animal in pain. But he had seen
no animals in the immediate vicinity of Lauren’s shop. None but the
mangy black canine that had begged at their table during lunch.

I don’t have time for this. I need to
speak to Lauren.
But he turned toward the sound anyway,
following the cries that seemed to be getting weaker and weaker
even as he listened.