In the Dead of Cold (15 page)

“Jacob’s fine too.”

“Oh, no…” She suddenly clung to him with her fists in his shirt but kept her distance. She looked like a tornado swirled through her, and she didn’t know which direction to move, closer to him or as far away as she could get.

She did neither.

“I’m sorry.” She wiped at the tears on her face. “I don’t even know how to feel right now. I want to laugh that you saved me and cry because Bart’s still out there.”

Milo felt her pain. It gripped his heart. He understood her emotional state. In the past twenty-four hours, her life had been turned upside down. His had as well.

“I never want to hurt anyone! Why couldn’t you have locked me in a room or drugged me or something so I couldn’t hurt anyone?”

Milo was glad to see her anger. It fueled some of his own. “There wasn’t time. And I had no idea how strong his hold on you was or what he could control you to do. You have unique abilities, remember? You could have brought the entire resort crashing down, don’t you see that? And with every passing moment, his control over you built.” At his mark on her throat, he saw her pulse, saw her pulse racing. He smelled her fear and confusion. He sensed her anger beginning to ebb, and underneath it, he smelled her desire for him. “He talked through you. He used your energy.”

As he said the words and pulled her to him, he felt tension flow and energy gather in the tornado of emotions swirling through her. He turned her around and pressed her back against his front, crossing her arms as he held her in a strong bear hug. “Call your energy back. Don’t let your emotions control it,” he ordered, his jaw clenched as he prepared for a punch in the stomach. “Do it!”

“I can’t,” she cried. “Once it’s out, I can’t stop it!”

Because they both now faced the window and wall, Milo couldn’t see the rest of the room. When he heard a shuffle behind him and saw something move in the reflection of the window, he turned, still holding Jane in his arms. Every breakfast dish on the table several feet away slid across the smooth surface, hovered in the air a second or two, then crashed to the floor. Milo was thankful she’d channeled the energy away from them and unleashed it across the room. The table vibrated but remained standing upright.

Jane collapsed against him, sobbing. Then her knees buckled, and Milo slid down to the floor with her, never letting her go.

“Jane, you have to listen to me.”

“No! Everything’s so horrible. I’m usually able to control it and not let my emotions affect my ability. But with everything that’s happened to me, things are just a bit out of whack. The only thing that feels right is your touch. Please, don’t say anything! I don’t want to hear any more.”

“You have to.”

“No, I don’t. You’re right. I could have killed someone last night. He could have made me… I can leave right now, get on a plane, and fly to Europe or Australia or somewhere else far, far away.”

“Is that what you want?” He had to know. Her sobs caused his chest to ache.

She shook her head. “No. I want to keep everyone safe, but I don’t think I can leave you.”

“Even if you tried, Bart would find you. He knows your taste, he knows your smell. It might take him a day or maybe a week, but he’d find you. That’s why I’ve asked Mr. M. to take you somewhere safe, where Bart can’t find you.”

She let out a groan filled with so much pain it tore at his heart.

“You what?”

He held her closer, her back against his chest. “It’s not important.”

“What do you mean it’s not important? You asked him to take
me
away, not us? You wouldn’t be with me?”

From his position, he could see tears on her cheeks. Each one was another stab to his heart. ”I mean even if he agrees, I’m not letting you go. I see what a stupid idea it was now. I can’t hide you from Bart. The only safe place for you is beside me.” He cupped her chin and forced her to look at him. “I’m sorry you’re hurt and you’re in this position, but I won’t ever say I’m sorry for what I did—for making love to you or for tasting your blood. You have to understand; I felt I had no choice. None. I felt Bart’s strength. He’s strong. My kiss should have been enough to break his connection to you, considering the dreams we’ve shared, and it wasn’t. Then my kiss with being inside of you should have been enough, and it wasn’t either. I confess I was terrified for you—for both of us. I was afraid nothing I did was strong enough to break his hold on you. And I couldn’t let him have you, no matter what. Do you understand what I’m saying?” He shifted slightly so he could hold her closer.

“You would have killed me.” Her voice shook with her whispered words and touched him like cold fingers.

He rushed on, speaking softly into her ear. “I did it to save you, and I’d do it again without hesitation if I had to.”

Her laughter was filled with sarcasm. “You would have killed me to save me. That’s almost too funny.”

“I’m not going to try and tell you I’m some innocent man who never hurt anyone before. You know what I am. But you need to understand that I would have done whatever was necessary to keep Bart from doing what you saw him doing to you when he touched you. You own my heart. I learned that when I tasted your blood.

“What do you mean?”

He loosened his grip on her, knowing she already bore too many bruises, but he still held her to him. “It explained the dreams.”

“How so?”

He looked at her. “You’re my other half, my chosen one, my soul mate.”

“What?”

“It means your heart beats with mine. You are my mate. We are meant to be together. It’s what I tasted in your kiss and in your blood.”

“That can’t be true.” Jane’s whispered words became lost in the silence that fell between them.

“That’s why it feels so right when I make love to you and we touch. That’s why I constantly need to see where you are, and why my heart hurts when I can’t. It’s the same for you. Isn’t it?”

His heart skipped when she nodded.

He went on. “That’s why the dreams are so much a part of each of us.”

“What if I said I didn’t want to be with you?”

He chuckled. “You can try. I can’t even come to terms with the idea of letting Mr. M. take you somewhere safe. But it’s your choice. I can promise you, though, that you can’t be with anyone else. I know. I’ve tried. Remember the dream, where I told you I tried to screw other women and couldn’t?”

“Yes.”

“I really did try to be with other women. But I can’t. You are my mate. We’re bonded.”

She was quiet for a moment. “How often do you drink blood?’ she finally whispered.

“Not often. When the need is there, like if I’m injured or dehydrated, but nothing more.”

“But you drank from me last night?”

“Because you needed me. I needed to take back the control Bart had over you.” He didn’t tell her that he would feel the need again, and it wouldn’t matter if he was injured or dehydrated or not. Now that he’d tasted her, no one else’s blood would satisfy him like hers. It was one reason he might die without her.

“Is it true what they say? Are vampires like the walking undead or something?”

“On the contrary, we are very much alive—stronger, faster.” As he spoke, he rose to his feet and took her with him to the sofa, where he snuggled her close to him as he continued. “Our hearts beat. Blood flows through our veins, air moves through our lungs. Yes, we are thought to be immortal because we can heal ourselves. But without blood and air for an extended period of time, we’ll die, not much different from humans. To wound us causes pain, and there are other things that can be very painful to us as well. And like anyone else, too much of a bad thing could kill us.”

He held her close and felt her breasts rise with each breath she took. His cock thickened; his mouth watered with the need to taste her. His hands itched to feel more, and he gave in and cupped her breasts. He savored the thrill that slithered through him. The need to lose his dick in her tightness was greater than before.

He leaned forward and kissed her neck, relishing the sweet taste of her skin. The steady pulse in her throat sent a fire to his loins. If his cock could have found its own way out of his jeans and into the sweats she wore, it would have.

Jane placed her hand over the mark where he’d bitten her. He would have loved to kiss that spot, but she didn’t move her hand.

“Does it hurt if I touch you on that spot?”

She avoided his gaze as she held her hand to her throat. “No. It’s just… It tingles. It made me feel funny when you kissed me there.”

By the way touching it had made her come, he bet his kiss had sent a quiver to her pussy as well. He still longed to touch her, hold her, slide his tongue over that mark on her throat as he slid his fingers inside her to test her reaction again. But he didn’t move. He knew she couldn’t deny him any more than he could her, but he also understood her vulnerability. “Jane—”

He met her gaze when she held up a hand to stop his words.

“I thought your answers would ease my confusion, and they did help put things in perspective. But I don’t want to talk anymore.” Before he could stop her, she rose from the sofa, leaving him cold.

“Do you have a paper bag I can put the pieces of glass in?” She knelt down to clean up the mess of broken dishes on the floor.

Milo hated to leave her but went to the kitchen area, where he found the small bag that had held the last two bottles of wine he’d purchased. He returned to find Jane had gathered much of the glass pieces into a pile.

She took the bag he held out. “I left a busted table in the lobby, a dent in the wall in your bedroom—okay, it’s more than just a dent, it’s an entire body imprint—and now broken dishes. At this rate, Mr. Masterson should hand me over to Bart just to save the money.”

“That isn’t true.” Milo dropped to his knees to help her.

“Please,” she whispered. “Leave me alone. I need to think, and I need to do it alone.”

Milo watched as she absently scratched his bite mark while she picked up the mess. He’d be glad to scratch it for her. With his tongue.

He sighed and reluctantly stood up and moved away, giving her some space, like she’d asked.

JANE REACHED FOR a broken dish and forced her hand away from the tingly spot on her neck. It didn’t matter how it got touched. It made her hot and wet between her legs. It was more than making her horny, though. It was as if his mouth was already sucking her pussy and his tongue was tickling her clit.

What the hell was wrong with her? She’d known many men, had even dated a few and had relationships with some. Until Milo, no other man had ever made her feel as if she
burned
if she didn’t feel his touch. And it didn’t matter if she was awake and looking at him, or asleep and dreaming with him.

She wanted to take her clothes off right now. Her pussy still tingled from having his hard cock inside her earlier while the bubbles of the hot tub had heightened her senses. It was as if he’d rocked her with his hard body just five minutes ago, not hours. He left her hot and needy, wanting more from him. When his lips had touched her throat in nothing more than a butterfly touch, it had taken all her willpower not to peel off her clothes so she could be skin to skin with him.

This was more intense than the dreams they’d shared. She wasn’t certain she could handle it. She sucked in another deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart and quivering insides. It didn’t help much. Not looking at him, ignoring him didn’t help much either.

When she’d placed all the glass in the bag, she stood and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?”

His voice… Oh, his rich voice melted through her all the way to her core. With his words alone, he had the ability to touch her soul. How could his words make her nipples ache and press against her shirt? She could listen to his voice forever. She could never ignore anything he asked of her.

Jane had to get away from him—right now—before she took off her clothes and melted at his feet. “I thought I’d take this downstairs and report to the kitchen that these dishes are broken and offer to pay for them.” She looked back at him and into his eyes. She tried to swallow, only to discover it was like trying to swallow a golf ball, her throat was so tight.

“You don’t need to do that.”

“I want to. It’s the honest thing to do—pay for something when it’s broken.” She needed to get away from him for five minutes and test his theory. See if she could clarify her thoughts without him. This man had invaded her dreams, had somehow managed to show her more passion than she’d ever thought possible while he set her soul on fire. And with his closeness and the sound of his voice, she could lose herself, slip off her clothes, and make love to him. He talked about Bart’s control over her, but look at what
he
could do to her!

Then, after a glorious bout of sex, he could oh so casually lean down and drain her of her blood. Or rip out her throat. And Jane had the uncanny feeling that she might not even want or try to stop him.

She shuddered.

She needed some breathing space for a few minutes so she could think.

He shrugged. “All right, if you feel you must. I’ll come with you.”

“No,” she said a bit too quickly. She turned to the door. Her purse sat on the foyer floor. She reached for it. “I need to be away from you. Besides, not that your sweats aren’t comfortable, of course, but I do have a suitcase in my SUV. With everything that’s happened, I completely forgot about getting some clothes from my vehicle. I might take a look around at the boutique too, while I’m downstairs.”

“Of course.”

She felt his gaze on her as she left. Hell, she even felt him watching when she was in the hall. Twice she looked back and found herself alone. Yet, with every step she took to the elevator, she swore he was right behind her. She ignored the way her neck itched.

She also tried to ignore the need she felt to be with Milo.

The girl in the kitchen was very pleasant. And the way she refused to take Jane’s money made Jane wonder if the girl had been expecting her. As she headed to the lobby to retrieve her suitcase from her car in the parking lot, she noticed James coming toward her down the hall.