So simply. So perfectly.
His blood flowed onto her tongue. Rich, but strangely sweet. Like a fine chocolate. She loved chocolate.
He groaned, a ragged, desperate sound.
Olivia immediately jerked her mouth away. “Did I hurt you?”
His eyes opened.
No, that’s not pain.
“Pleasure, love, only pleasure.” And then he was the one to catch her in his arms. He pulled her close. Lifted her up.
Olivia wrapped her legs around him, and when his teeth sank into her throat—
It was just as it had been before. A powerful surge of pleasure rushed through her whole body. Incredible.
She pushed her sex against him. Their clothes were in the way. She wanted to be naked. She didn’t care where they were. She had to be with him.
This time, her back hit the fence. He let her go just long enough to strip away her jeans and to yank open his pants. Then he lifted her up again. Her legs curled tightly around him.
“Hold on,” he told her.
“Always,” she promised.
His fingers twined in that fence, gripping tightly on either side of her head, then he surged into her. Filling her so deeply, so completely.
He thrust, driving into her once, twice, surging right over her clit—
She bit him.
They both came, erupting with a wild fury that didn’t end. A fury that churned through Olivia, pulsating through every inch of her body. So powerful. So complete.
So perfect.
When it ended, finally, aftershocks still had her sex contracting around him. She licked his throat, trying to soothe the small wound that she’d left there.
She’d marked him.
Just as he’d marked her.
Shane’s head lifted. He stared into her eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” After all, she wouldn’t have sex up against a fence with just any guy. Only Shane. Forever…Shane.
“Always,” he said as his lips brushed against hers.
It was a promise for them. Hope for the future.
“Always,” Olivia whispered back.
And a light mist began to fall on them. Soft rain that drizzled down from the night sky.
She tensed in his arms.
He kissed her again. “It’s okay. It’s just a little rain.”
Olivia shook her head. What if it wasn’t just rain? What if it was more?
“It’s just rain,” he said again, his eyes dark and determined as he gazed at her. “It can’t hurt us. Nothing can hurt us. Not anymore.”
I wish the rain would stop. She had that thought, so clearly in her mind.
And the rain grew harder as it pelted down on them.
“I wish the rain would stop,” Olivia shouted.
It didn’t. It soaked them. Poured and lightning flashed.
She laughed then. Laughed and held tight to her vampire lover. The darkness inside of her didn’t seem like a dangerous, crouching beast any longer. It seemed…natural. A part of her that could be controlled.
She tilted back her head and let the rain fall on her. The past washed away. All of the fear. All of the death. The rain washed it all away.
The future waited for her now.
Forever.
What more could a woman wish for?
Epilogue
The rain had stopped.
Eric stood at his window, staring out at the night.
Shane had taken Olivia away. He wasn’t sure where they’d gone. When a vampire as powerful as Shane wanted to vanish, stopping him wasn’t exactly an easy thing to do.
Especially if I wanted to keep him on my side.
If he’d battled Shane, tried to keep Olivia there longer for tests, hell, he might very well have lost his head.
That tended to happen to Shane’s enemies.
“So…she’s not a djinn any longer?” Connor asked carefully. “She’s a vampire?”
“She’s not a threat any longer.” That was the only thing he was willing to say. “But others are.” He turned toward the werewolf in front of him. “I need your help.”
Connor shrugged. “Well, seeing as how you’re the guy who keeps me from getting tossed into Purgatory, you know I’ll do what you want.” His jaw hardened. “I kind of f**king have to.”
Because Connor wasn’t a man with a clean past. He was trying to earn his redemption, the same way that Shane had.
“Case is going to be out of commission for a while.” That was putting things mildly, but at least the guy would survive. Eric had plans for him, too. “You have to take his place.”
Connor raised his brows. “Just where was his place?”
“I need you to guard Chloe Quick.”
Surprise flashed across Connor’s face. “The senator’s daughter? But the senator is dead! He’s no threat to her any longer.”
“He’s not. But others out there are.”
Connor leaned toward him. “You need to find someone else for this mission.”
“I need a werewolf for this one. Your kind isn’t exactly running loose and wild at the FBI.”
“I can’t be her babysitter. I can’t be—” He broke off, and when he spoke again, his words were stilted. Too controlled. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to be in close proximity with her.”
Now that was interesting. “Why not?”
Connor looked away.
“You can keep your control on a mission, can’t you, Connor?”
“Yes,” he snapped.
“Because I need you,” Eric continued. “I need a werewolf close to Chloe. The senator wasn’t working alone. There was a whole damn pack who attacked us at the cabin. We need to destroy that pack, and find out just what end goal that group has.”
Connor stood. “I don’t do so well in a pack.”
Right. The guy was more of a lone wolf, but he was also an alpha. If anyone could get the job done, it would be him. “Finish this mission, and the slate is wiped clean. As far as the government is concerned, all of the sins from your past will be wiped away.”
Surprise flashed on Connor’s face. “I’d be done? Clear with the FBI?”
“Provided,” Eric added carefully, “that you manage to keep Chloe Quick alive for the course of this mission.” He leaned forward. “She’s important. An asset that we can’t lose or compromise anymore. Do you understand?”
A slow nod was his answer. Then Connor said, “I understand. I can keep her alive, but you need to understand something, too.”
Eric lifted a brow.
“I’ll keep her alive, but as soon as this mission is over…” He flashed a smile, one that showed wickedly sharp teeth. “I’ll have my freedom, and Uncle Sam can kiss my ass.”