“Will you answer me one question now?”

Liking her curiosity, I said, “Ask.”

“You said you don’t do ‘more.’ I always wondered if that was because you tried it and it was so bad that you didn’t want to try again. Have you ever been in a relationship before?”

“Yes. Twice. Both relationships fucked up because, like I told you, I’m not good for people.”

“Or maybe they weren’t good for you. Two people can be good but be absolutely shit when together.”

“True,” I allowed.

“Were they both human relationships?”

I tutted. “That was another question. We agreed on one. But…I’m willing to bargain.”

Suspiciousness flickered across her face. “Yeah?”

“I’ll answer your question”—I tapped her lower lip—“if you give me a little taste of this mouth.”

She swallowed. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

It was a fucking great idea. I pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, inhaling her tantalising scent. “I just want one little taste of what’s mine. A kiss, nothing more.”

“Butch—”

“You know how good it will feel.”

“You really think you can just walk out after a single kiss, without pushing for more?”

“I give you my word that I won’t push.” Even though all I wanted was to strip her naked and feast on her. It took extreme effort to shove that thought from my mind. “One taste and I’ll stop, I promise.”

I could see that she was warring with herself. Eventually, she said, “Answer my question first.”

I hid my satisfaction. “Both were human relationships.” As curiosity again lit her eyes and she went to speak, I shook my head. “No more questions. We had a deal. Now you have to live up to your end. Of course, I’ll answer another question if you’re willing to give me more than a kiss.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Just one kiss.”

“One.” I tugged her lower lip with my teeth, her lips parted on a gasp, and I thrust my tongue into her mouth. I groaned at the addictive taste of her. It was just as sweet as her scent, and it was a punch to my senses. I’d missed it. Been without it for too fucking long, and hadn’t expected to have it again.

I needed more.

Sliding my hands into her hair, I angled her head; allowing me to go deeper. I took. Feasted. Sank into her. Gorged on what I craved day and night. She had no idea what she did to me. No idea how much I needed this, needed her. No idea how far I’d go to keep her.

Once I’d tasted her a year ago, there had been no going back. I’d just realised that too late.

My cock throbbed as her scent changed, ripening with need. Growling low in my throat, I pulled back before I broke my promise, bent her over the arm of the couch, and fucked her until neither of us could walk. She took a steadying breath, licking her lips. I nearly groaned. “Three nights, baby. Then I’m coming and we’ll talk it all out.”

“You know that no one on this island would give us their blessing, don’t you?”

“Can’t say I’d blame them.” I had a reputation as a hit and run, and I’d let her go once before.

“Your squad is very protective of mine, which means they really won’t like it. Do you want to be at odds with them?”

She just wasn’t getting it. “Nothing is going to keep me away from you, Imani. Not them. Not you.” I brushed a kiss over her forehead. “Sleep well.” With that, I left.

CHAPTER FIVE

(Imani)

Settling in the luxury cabana, I sighed happily. I loved the beach at night. Contrary to popular belief, sunlight didn’t harm vampires. But we were nocturnal creatures that preferred the cover of darkness for hunting.

After the conference and a grueling training session, I went to the beach with Paige, Ava, and Alora. At the meeting, Sam and Jared had announced two things. Firstly, dealing with the ever-so-chatty blogger wasn’t going to be easy. Their attempts to crash the blog weren’t working any better than their attempts to electronically track the IP address. Their theory was that he could have an affinity to technology and was using it to hide and protect himself. In any case, they intended to keep working on the problem.

Their second announcement was that Lazarus had issued an invitation for them to visit. He’d also subtly hinted that I join them, to which Sam had consented. It was concluded—after much deliberation—that Ava, Salem, Max, Paige, and Butch would come along.

It made a good entourage. Paige, Butch, and Ava had amazing abilities. Salem had a psychic punch, and Max could cause sensory paralysis.

Jude had complained that she wanted to come along and had suggested that Butch remain behind. Personally, I thought she was just messing with Butch to get a reaction. But I was hoping that just maybe Sam would agree to the switch. I didn’t have the emotional patience for him right now. I was still finding it difficult to digest the things he’d told me. However, I hadn’t been able to argue with Butch’s point that he was the logical choice.

He’d said, “In terms of protection, there’s no better person to go with Imani than me; I’m a living fucking shield.” That meant he could protect me without having to actually kill or hurt anyone, and he could do it fast and easy. Still, I needed space to think. Butch didn’t like giving me space.

He must have sensed that I was ready to object because he’d pinned me with his gaze and said, “If you think I’ll stay here while you face your Sire again after all this time, think again. This won’t be easy for you, so I’m going to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible.”

It was sweet in a Butch-like way.

“Something you want to tell us?” Alora’s voice snapped me back to the present. It took a moment for me to realise that she was speaking to Paige.

Having exchanged a baffled look with me, Paige replied, “Nope.”

The redhead arched a brow. “You sure?”

“Positive.”

“Not even that Stuart and Max had some kind of argument over you last night?”

Paige’s head jerked back. “Argument?”

“You haven’t heard about it yet?”

Ava held up a hand. “Wait, wait, I thought you and Stuart broke up.”