Arousal rose hot and hard at the overt submission. Arm, neck, it didn't matter. She was volunteering her blood to him. His vampire howled in delight. His fangs ached to pierce that white skin. Mate. Wife. His.

"Not two arms' worth."

"Oh."

She debated before thrusting the one without the bandage at him. He brought her palm to his mouth. She gasped. He touched his tongue to her skin. It took a second for what he'd done to sink through her fear. She gasped again.

"This isn't going to hurt, sweetness."

"You're going to bite me, how could it not hurt?"

"There are numbing agents in my saliva." He kissed her palm. "I promise you, only pleasure."

Her fingers naturally curled against his cheek. He set his teeth to the base of her thumb and nipped. She squealed. She was more than a little nervous. He smiled and did it again, just to get her used to the idea. Her thumb rapped his cheek. He looked up.

"Just do it."

"There's foreplay to blood taking, just like there is to lovemaking."

"I'm not interested in being seduced."

"Now, that is a pity."

Tension entered her muscles. "This is an experiment, Slade. Not the start of a wild weekend."

But it was the start of their relationship. It didn't matter what precipitated the act. The reality was, this was their first bonding. From here on out, a part of her would live in him. A very special first that would open her mind to his if he knocked, lock her emotions to his if he queried. After this, he would be able to find her no matter where she went, probe her mind no matter how much she tried to lock him out. She had a right to know that. He was a b.a.s.t.a.r.d for not telling her. "It's a start, make no mistake."

"Just do it."

Holding her gaze, he bent his head, enthralling her, catching her mind, holding it tightly, pulling her thoughts to his. Elation built within him. Vampire l.u.s.t, primitive and strong, rose right along with the joy. He quickly harnessed it. He wasn't going to convert her. He was just going to torment himself with a taste of her. Not enough to satisfy. Just enough to let him know what he was missing. He had to be insane.

Her pupils dilated. Her nostril flared.

Easy now. This is a taste, not a conversion. h.e.l.l, he didn't even know if she could be converted. His brothers had converted their wives out of necessity, life-or-death situations when the decisions were made. This was a choice, not an emergency. Tightening his hold on Jane's mind, Slade slid beneath her fear and untangled the threads of tension, replacing them with calm. His fangs ached and stretched. His mouth watered. Maybe his vampire wasn't as far away from his human side as he'd thought, because nothing inside him was horrified by this. Vampire and human alike wanted to posses her completely, wholly. He placed his fangs at the pulse point of her wrist. Echoes of her heartbeat vibrated along his nerve endings, strumming against the rhythm of his, accelerating it until it matched hers.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, one last time. "Nothing will be the same for you after this."

"Will I be vampire?"

Not if he held on to his control, kept a barrier between their thoughts. "No."

The pink of her tongue slid over the richer pink of her lips. "Then we'll deal with the fallout later."

Moisture glistened on the plump surface of her lips. d.a.m.n, was she trying to kill him? "Take a breath and relax for me, then."

If he was truly kind he would tell her to close her eyes, but he didn't want her to close her eyes. He wanted her to see him taking her this way, the same way he was going to want her to see him claiming her the first time they became lovers. He wanted her to know who gave her the pleasure so she'd know to whom she belonged. No doubt she'd call him a chauvinist for the impulse. No doubt she'd be right. He stroked his tongue over her skin. He wasn't born in her time, raised with her values. When he peeled off everything he'd learned over the centuries, he was still who he was. A nineteenth-century man who believed his woman was to be cherished, protected. Owned. He bit down. Hot, sweet spice poured into his mouth. Elation leapt to euphoria. He was helpless to contain it. Inside, his vampire cried more. And more came at him-her senses, her emotions, her thoughts. She wanted to be horrified, but a part of her sensed the rightness of this sharing between them. And that did horrify her. Slade could have told her nothing was ever easy, especially this. That it was inevitable and beautiful in its own way. If one had centuries to adjust to the idea.

Three swallows, he told himself. He'd allow himself just three. As he took the first, the scent of her arousal rose up to embrace him. Heady. Powerful. And sweet. Everything about her was sweet. On the second swallow, pa.s.sion weakened her knees. Catching her with a hand behind her back, he coaxed her into his embrace.

Come here, sweetness. Come here.

The compulsion for more was stronger now, too potent to resist. He was surrounded by her scent, imbued with her pleasure until nothing existed but his desire for her, hers for him. It was all around them. The promise of what would be. What should be.

Jane.

Slade.

The whisper of his name slipped into his mind. As sweet as her desire, as potent as her touch. Tendrils of her need wrapped around his, drawing him closer. Elemental. A longing for the physical as well as the emotional. Alone, she'd been alone for so long. She didn't want to be alone anymore. His thoughts twined around hers, holding her tightly, banishing that loneliness. She was ready. He could take her now and all she'd feel was pleasure. And she'd never be alone again. He'd always be with her. He could give her that.

If he took her humanity.

Slade closed his eyes. The third swallow never came. Releasing her wrist, Slade skimmed his fangs across her skin, the sense of loss pushing him harder than logic. A lap of his tongue sealed the wound on her wrist, but nothing could suppress the howl of loss from his vampire. A cry for a mate that would echo in his head far into eternity. Placing his lips on the inside of Jane's arm, holding her close as she shivered in reaction to the caress, Slade whispered the one promise he could make. "You'll never be alone again."

11.

SHE couldn't be alone.

Slade laid Jane on the bed in their cabin. Her pulse was too fast, her nerves were on fire. Her thoughts were hazed by discomfort and something he couldn't identify. And he didn't have a clue as to what was going on. He'd been very careful to take only a little blood. Nowhere near enough to risk conversion. But from all the signs, Jane was in rejection. Shifting and moaning, she twisted on the sheets, pushing the pillow aside, shoving her hair out of her face with short, jerky, frustrated movements. He pulled the sheet over her shoulder.

"Jane."

"No."

She shoved the sheet down. Slade caught her hands before she could claw at her skin.

"Don't, Jane."

"Itches," she groaned in that same half-conscious tone she'd used since he'd taken her blood.

He pulled the sheet down. A rash was spreading across her body, starting at her wrist and going up her arm, flaring downward from her neck.

Son of a b.i.t.c.h. She was having a reaction to his bite. He shoved her hand down the back waistband of his jeans, trying to keep it out of his way while he checked her back, then grabbed the other one and did the same.

As he lifted her, Jane's breath hissed out between her teeth. He froze. "What?"

"Better."

Better? What the h.e.l.l could be better about this?

"What's better, sweetness?"

Her palms were inching back and forth on the small of his back.

"My hands. So much better."

Her hands were better. He thought a moment. He was sweating. Could perspiration from his body be soothing whatever was causing the reaction? He'd heard some pretty bizarre conversion stories-good and bad.

Except he hadn't converted Jane.

Caleb's conversion of Allie had been nothing like Jace's of Miri. Of course, Miri had been werewolf and Allie human, but both women had gained strength with the conversion. Raisa had been converted centuries earlier, but had been so sick her whole vampire life that she'd always been on the verge of death, until Jared. His blood had given her strength. Jane might have been right. Maybe there was something about the Johnson blood that made conversions a whole different prospect. And maybe it was that "something" to which Jane was reacting. s.h.i.t.

Jane twisted on the sheets, her body writhing in a parody of l.u.s.t. She needed help. All he had to go on was that moment when she'd said "better." Slipping his hand behind her back, he felt the raised b.u.mps of the rash, felt her muscles immediately react as his hands opened-in antic.i.p.ation of what? More of his touch? h.e.l.l, if that's all it took to give her ease, he'd give it. Ignoring her mewl of protest, he eased Jane back before kicking off his right boot. "Hold on a minute, sweetness."

Jane moaned and reached out. It was a beautifully erotic gesture, sensual and vulnerable, but it was the vulnerability that drew him. It was her deep, dark secret, and she'd want to kick his a.s.s for finding it appealing. Shucking his other boot, he shoved down his underpants and jeans in one push. Getting into bed with her, he wrapped them together, skin to skin. She continued to moan, but not as hard. Her hands stroked up and down his arms, her feet up and down his calves, her shoulders rubbed against his chest, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s against his forearms. It was heaven and h.e.l.l.

Slade?

The whisper in his mind was from Caleb. It was immediately followed by softer ones from Jared and Jace. Distance made the latter queries weaker, but no less concerned.

What's wrong?

There was no way to shield his distress from his brothers. The connection that had always been between them had amplified with conversion. They couldn't always communicate mentally, but they could usually sense each other's moods, and distress was one that telegraphed well.

I'm all right.

He didn't know if his brothers got the communication in word or sensation, but he knew they got it. Now to only hope they respected it. They could be a bit overprotective, and they didn't trust the way he was behaving lately. Truth was, neither did he. He wasn't used to anything breaking his concentration, but lately he couldn't find the single-minded focus that was his norm. Work was piling up, his nerves were fraying, and new demands were coming in daily. But he would hold this illusion to preserve Jane's pride. Keeping a restful image in his mind, Slade turned on his side and pulled her tighter against him. She moaned and drew her thigh up his. His c.o.c.k jerked as his senses opened to her scent, the delicacy of her skin, the proximity of her throat. His fangs stretched and ached. He was only one bite away from the joining he should never have left half done. One bite away from the satisfaction he craved. One bite away from being the monster that would disregard her wishes. Would risk her life for his chance at forever.

s.h.i.t! She was only just recovering from the shock of his first bite. Jerking away, Slade thrust his mind into Jane's, giving her one order only. Sleep.

Jane went under, and he was out of the bed from one breath to the next. Running his hand through his hair, Slade took a deep breath, quelling the hunger that pushed at his honor. When he thought he had his vampire under control, he bent and kissed her cheek. Immediately his lips burned with want and his senses flared, encompa.s.sing all that she was, craving to bind it to him. On a harsh curse, he stepped away, his gaze following the hug of the sheet as it hugged her curves, caressing the tip of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, snuggling into the juncture of her thighs. So womanly. So beautiful. She sighed and turned, as if even in her sleep, she had to diminish her presence. He shook his head. Jane was so much more than she thought. All scientist, but all woman, too. No matter how much she tried to make herself out as cold or lacking in that department. Trailing his finger down a wrinkle in the sheet as it curved over her hip, Slade shook his head. Jane was not a cold woman.

"I hope to h.e.l.l you appreciate the sacrifice, sweetness."

Not even by a sigh did she acknowledge the comment. She just lay there, trapped in his enthrallment. It would be so easy to catch the edge of the sheet on his finger. So easy to draw it down. So easy to release the desire in her mind. So easy to slip between her thighs. So incredibly easy to take advantage of her.

Another step back. Son of a b.i.t.c.h, since when did a Johnson even toy with the idea of taking advantage of a woman?

Slade?

A need to see him was embedded in Caleb's query.

I'm coming.

As much as he hated to leave Jane, he couldn't be trusted around her. At least he could maintain their mental connection and take the worst of her distress onto himself.

To Caleb he ordered, Have Derek send someone to watch Jane.

Done.

Someone good.

Caleb didn't even mentally blink at the insecurity sparking the demand.

Of course.

SLADE had to take the tunnel to the main house. He wished it was night so he could burn off the energy thrumming along his veins. A run through the night air relieved a lot of stress. Opening the door to the kitchen with its blocked off windows, he saw Allie sitting there with little Joseph on her lap. Caleb sat beside her. Across the table sat Tobias, a D'Nally enforcer. All had coffee cups before them. All were watching him with wary, a.s.sessing gazes.

s.h.i.t again.

The Enforcer's eyes narrowed as soon as he entered the room. The hairs on the back of Slade's neck rose. A fight was good for relieving stress, too.

He nodded to them. "Allie, Caleb." He narrowed his eyes. "Enforcer. What are you doing here?"

"I'm on guard duty."

There was only one reason Tobias would be on guard. "Jace and Miri are here?"

He nodded. "They're upstairs with Faith."

"Guard duty is a little low for you."

"The D'Nallys take the protection of our Alpha and our children seriously."

Slade didn't doubt that, but he was learning there were many levels to everything the Enforcer did. And there was no just being on guard duty for the Enforcer. Enforcers were the special ops of the werewolf world. An Enforcer of Tobias's level had abilities that no one understood. Those abilities came into play only when there was a lot at risk.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Tobias took a sip of his coffee. "Just that you'd better get those guns fixed."

"Trouble coming?" he asked.

"Yes." The wolf's eyes narrowed as he tilted his head back slightly. "You've been with the woman."

It sounded like an accusation.

"I know he has the reputation of being a recluse," Caleb drawled, "but it's not that rare that Slade's with a woman."

"He's been with the scientist. This can't be."

"Why ever not?" Allie snapped.

Tobias's expression didn't change. "She's a distraction."

"No more than I am," Slade replied.

Tobias shook his head. "A lot more, for reasons you don't wish to acknowledge."

Caleb stepped protectively toward Slade. Allie followed suit, countering her husband's warning glare with a "What? He's my brother, too."

Slade didn't want either of them in danger because of him. Caleb had waited a long time for love and peace. Allie gave him both. Tobias's lip quirked in an amused smile that galled.

Slade shifted to the right, drawing the Enforcer's attention. "You don't think we're a match for you?"