She stumbled as she stepped backward, tripping over the shallow brick barrier into the grassy lawn. Gawking at Trey, she held her breath, forcing back panic as she focused on her veil. He lifted his head and his radiant amber-colored eyes stopped on her, despite the fact she was invisible. His nostrils flared and he froze, going eerily still.
“It’s you,” he whispered and rose from his seat, hands gripping the arms of the chair so tightly his knuckles turned white. This was the danger of coming to Trey, of watching him from the shadows. Each time she risked exposure, and tonight she’d taken the game too far.
Shit.
He had to have caught the scent of her fear. The smell was all over the place, swamping the air. She had been so swept up in the moment she had only worried about her physical form, not that Trey would be able to track her with his nose. Movement was impossible. He might figure out exactly where she was. The only thing she could do was phase to a location he couldn’t follow, putting distance between them.
Please, let me think clearly. I only have one chance at this. If he gets his hands on me…
She shuddered at the thought, terrified of provoking his fury. He needed an outlet for his rage, craved it. In his current state there was no telling what he’d do. If he didn’t hurt her and took things in the direction she’d been fantasizing about, she’d experience the ultimate lesson of why shifters and vampires didn’t mate firsthand.
It might very well kill her.
Taking a deep breath, she prepared to flee, picturing the home of her coven. Her eyes flew open when Trey growled and appeared to look her straight in the eye as he said, “Don’t try to run. I can fucking smell you,” and lunged for her.
She was here—his phantom. A figment of his imagination he’d thought had vanished, abandoning him in his darkest hour and forcing him to endure everything alone when he left New York. So many nights he longed for her touch, for the soothing sensation of her fingertips brushing over his temples before winding down to his throat. When those caresses never came he accepted he’d finally lost his mind, having jumped into the deep end without a life vest. His thoughts were always chaotic now. Perhaps he didn’t have the stability left to form a coherent figment of his mind—a make-believe woman who cared for him, calmed him and gave him something more than anger to live for—any longer. He’d actually started to believe he’d made it all up.
Until now.
Her scent was one he’d never forget—wildflowers, incense and a dash of something that jarred a memory. Something from his past would reveal his phantom’s identity, if only he could remember it. Throughout the months, all he’d experienced were fleeting touches and not the key element a shifter needed to bring things together. That was no longer the case. Now he had her scent, could call upon it whenever and wherever he wanted. Which meant that if she was near, he would find her. There would be no escape.
The moment in time when he’d first scented the enigma tried to claw its way free, to break through the barrier that prevented him from remembering. Unfortunately he couldn’t dwell on that. He could see the imprint of his phantom in the grass, the plush indention of her ass and hands clearly visible. The alcohol he’d guzzled in such a short period of time made him slower than he’d have liked but he was fast enough to snare his prey. Despite his inability to see the female, his hands made contact with the fragile bones of a rib cage. As he manipulated his hold he trapped her arms at her sides.
Another first assailed him—the sound of her voice—when she ordered, “Let me go.”
And it hit, an instinctive tidal wave, like the first ray of sun across the morning sky bringing the world to life. In that instant something inside him changed. His wolf woke and rose to the surface of his skin, brushing fur against flesh from the inside, but there was no fury to go along with its appearance. Sexual hungers he’d never known—had never thought existed—consumed him. He wanted the woman in his arms beneath him, trapped by his body as he claimed her from behind, fucking her madly as he buried his teeth in her shoulder. He wanted to taste her blood as he came, to leave behind his absolute claim for the pack to see, smell and recognize.
He’d found her, after all this time, when he had nothing to offer.
My mate.
The bundle in his arms thrashed and fought, using a strength he wouldn’t have thought possible. He cursed under his breath and attempted to wrestle the female to the ground. To his stunned amazement, he saw a flicker, as if the form of the woman trapped in his arms was starting to lose whatever it was that allowed her to shield herself from him. Then she was there, gazing up at him with the most exquisite ice-blue eyes the color of the most sought-after aquamarine. Long dark lashes framed the stunning orbs, intensifying the shade.
Oh fuck.
Flashes from a night months before hit like an electronic transmission, allowing him to recall everything with vivid clarity.
Club Liminality.
The memory he’d tried so hard to remember returned, complete with the memory of the breathtaking beauty beneath him standing across the room—a vision in black leather, knee-high boots and a fuck-with-me-and-you’ll-regret-it look on her face. He remembered her flowing, light blonde hair. The way the lush strands had wrapped around her shoulders and fallen in a thick sheet down her back. He’d had no choice but to approach her, drawn to her in a manner he hadn’t fully grasped. As he’d neared it had been as if a portion of him that had been long dormant had come to life, sparking a fire in his blood.
But then she had done the unexpected and vanished before his eyes. There one moment and gone the next. Only one creature could do such a thing, a race that fed off the lives of others. Now that she was in his arms, what he hadn’t wanted to believe slapped him firmly across the face. His mind rebelled, a horrifying bray of fury and heartache even as his wolf growled in contentment.
It couldn’t be. Fate couldn’t possibly be that cruel.
“A goddamn vampire?” he snarled, caught off guard by the realization, repulsed that his cock was stiff as a baseball bat.
Unexpectedly the color on her cheeks vanished, leaving her pale—too pale. It was as though something vital had been torn from her grasp, her shield ripped away, leaving her raw, open and exposed. Her eyes widened, full and kissable cherry-red lips parting. There was surprise, then acceptance, followed by visible hurt on her angelic face when his words registered.
“That’s right, shifter,” she hissed, meeting his gaze with one of equal detestation. “A goddamn vampire.”
“It can’t be.” He buried his fingers into the arms of her leather jacket, using enough strength that she inhaled sharply in pain. Aware that he was causing her harm, he lessened his grip but didn’t let go. “It’s not possible.”
“Don’t be stupid.” Her arched brows came together as she glowered at him. “I suggest you get off me.” She stared into his eyes, looking at him with a seething hostility that seared his soul. “Don’t make me do something we’ll both regret.”
He lowered his eyes so that his attention rested on her nose and mouth. It was a trick. It had to be. “Don’t try your mind games on me. They won’t work.”
Her corresponding laugh was bitter. “You think I need a mind game to fuck you over? Oh shifter,” she purred. “You have no idea.”
In a blink her expression changed, becoming seductive, eyelids lowering to reveal less of her irises. She bucked beneath him, the softness of her belly rubbing against his cock. He wanted to be strong, to deny her. Instead he groaned, worried he might come in his pants like an eager male with his first woman. She might be strong and thin but she was also soft in all the right places.