She cried out. He nuzzled close to feel the throbbing spasms. Holy moley. He needed to be inside her fast.
"I love you," she gasped.
He glanced up and saw her red glowing eyes. He hesitated only a few seconds, but she used that time to push him down and roll on top of him.
"I love you," she repeated as she trailed kisses down his chest. She teased his nipples with her tongue.
His erection wedged against her bottom, and he almost lost it. "Darcy, I can't wait."
She straddled his hips and lowered herself onto him. Each time she wiggled to accommodate his size, he groaned.
"Now." He grabbed her hips and forced her down. Faster, he told her with his mind. I can't wait much longer.
She sat up and tossed her hair behind her shoulders. She began to rock slowly, her eyes closed, her mouth slightly open. He'd never seen her so beautiful, so sexy. He cupped her breasts and gently squeezed. With a moan, she fell forward onto his chest. He grabbed her hips to increase the pace.
Her breathing grew ragged, her fingers dug into him.
He was pushing up, grinding their hips together. Not much longer. He gritted his teeth, fighting for more time. He'd make her come with him, somehow. He reached between them and tweaked at her slick, hot nubbin. She cried out. He wrapped his arms around her, and they shattered together.
Suddenly, she stiffened and jerked free from his embrace. She sat up, her whole body shaking.
"Darcy, what's wrong?"
"No!" She slapped both hands over her mouth. Her blue eyes filled with horror.
"Darcy?"
She scrambled off of him. Her eyes turned red, and she doubled over, crying out in pain.
He couldn't leave her like this. "What can I do?"
"Go! Run away!"
He jumped back when he saw the white flash of fangs. Holy crap. Her fangs had come out. He tumbled out of bed.
A cry ripped from her throat, a cry so replete with pain and terror, he hesitated. She needed help.
But what could he do?
"Run!" She grabbed a pillow and sank her fangs into it.
He shuddered at the sound of ripping fabric. That could have been his neck. Feathers floated around her head.
He ran to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of Chocolood, and dashed back to the bedroom. He unscrewed the top. "Here."
She remained curled in a ball, crying.
"Darcy!" He nudged her arm with the cold bottle.
She sat up with an angry hiss. He jumped back. With her eyes bright red and her fangs distended, she crawled across the bed toward him.
Holy shit. He felt like he was trying to feed a wild animal. He gingerly offered her the bottle.
She seized it and upended it. She guzzled it down so fast, drops of blood escaped and ran down her neck and chest.
Austin gulped. How could he live with this? He turned away to get dressed. He could hear the gulping sounds behind him. Finally, when he was buttoning his shirt, it became quiet.
He turned. She set the empty bottle down on the bedside table. Then, she used the sheet to wipe the blood off her chest.
"Are you all right?"
She shook her head, unable to look at him.
"Have your fangs ever come out before?"
"Only once. After I was transformed. It's an automatic reaction, then. But that was four years ago.
I–I've never wanted to bite anyone. I thought I was safe."
"You were just hungry. We'll make sure—"
"No!" She looked at him, her eyes glistening with tears. "I've already eaten tonight. I'm not that hungry. It was—I don't know. I lost control."
"From the sex?"
A tear rolled down her face. "We can't do this again. I could have killed you."
"But you didn't. You attacked a pillow." The slashed pillow made him wince.
"I had to bite something." More tears slid down her cheeks. "I can't let you live with me. I'm too dangerous."
His heart plummeted. "We'll figure out something." This couldn't be happening. He couldn't lose her now.
"No." She turned her head away. "I want you to leave. Now."
It felt like his heart had fallen into a vat of acid, and he was left with nothing but shriveling, gnawing pain. He considered arguing with her, begging her, anything to keep her. But she wouldn't even look at him.
One last feather floated down onto the bed, landing next to the blood-stained sheet. He glanced at the slashed pillow. She was right. She could have killed him. He stumbled toward the door and left.
CHAPTER 24
Austin couldn't stay at the penthouse. His bedroom there reminded him too much of Darcy. The scent of her shampoo lingered on the pillows, making it impossible to sleep. He took the subway back to his apartment in Greenwich Village. Even then, he couldn't escape the pain or the memories.
The next day, he went to the office. He wasn't there five minutes before he realized how difficult it would be to continue working for the CIA. He could no longer fight every vampire with the conviction they were all evil. He needed to convince Sean that it was only the Malcontents who were attacking people. If he could steer the Stake-Out team's focus toward the Malcontents and away from law-abiding Vamps, then it would be worth keeping his job.
Emma stopped by his desk and looked him over. "You look tired. It must be hard being the sexiest man on earth."
"Exhausting."
She snorted. "Well, wake yourself up, Lover-boy. Sean wants you and Garrett in the conference room in five minutes."
Austin groaned. Sean probably wanted a report on the reality show and DVN. None of those vampires were a threat to humanity. Even humongous Otto was all bark and no bite.
He wandered over to Garrett's desk. "How's it going?"
Garrett glanced up. "I'm going over my list of vampire contestants. Where was Reginald from?"
Austin frowned. "Reginald? Was he a vampire?"
"Yeah, I think so."
Austin sighed. "I'm having trouble remembering. I think the vampires must have messed with my memory."
"Really?" Garrett's eyes widened. "When did that happen?"
"I don't know. If they erased my memory, how can I remember it?"
"Oh." Garrett shifted his gaze back to his paper. "I remembered these names."
"Can I see your list? Maybe it'll help jog my memory."
"Sure." Garrett handed him the paper.
Austin scanned the list of names. Garrett hadn't been very industrious if this was all he had discovered while working undercover. "You don't have their last names. It'll be hard to track them down."
Garrett shrugged. "We never knew their last names."
"Are you sure?" Austin lifted an eyebrow. "Or did they erase your memory, too?"
Garrett looked confused. "I don't know."
"Did you find out where Shanna is?"
"No." Garrett stood slowly. "Or maybe I did, and they erased it."
"Damn." Austin crushed the paper in his fist. "Sean expects us to give detailed reports, but we can't remember much."
"But I do remember. I remember the penthouse and the five lady judges and—"
Austin listened while Garrett rambled on and on, then slipped into his head without the guy noticing it. Austin couldn't erase memories like a vampire, but he could certainly muddle someone's memory by projecting contradictory images. Garrett stopped talking and closed his eyes as his mind overflowed with the mental pictures Austin sent.
"Hey, are you all right?"
Garrett rubbed his forehead. "It's hot in here."
"Maybe you're coming down with something. Or maybe it's just an aftereffect from those vampires messing with our heads."
"Yeah." Garrett nodded. "That could be it." He wandered toward the conference room.
"I'll be right there." Austin's heart raced as he headed for the shredding machine. Garrett had been pathetically easy to confuse, but still, messing with a fellow agent's head was too much like treason.