Bitten Beauty (Book 3 Of the Deadly Beauties Live On) Read online

  It’s times like these that I wish those thought bubbles actually would appear over someone’s head, because I honestly don’t know what he just said. Not that I could see a thought bubble, since my eyes are closed and I’m melting against him like he owns me.

  “You smell so good,” he whispers across my neck.

  His teeth rake across my skin, and he sucks a spot on my neck that has me moaning.

  “So, so good. Too good.” His hand slides down to my ass, squeezing, and I shudder against him as my body goes into violent, almost desperate, unexplainable need. “I could very easily own every inch of you.”

  “Prove it,” I whisper hoarsely. It’s like I hear myself, but I have no control over what comes out of my mouth or how I’m even behaving.

  “I could. I could prove it for a very, very long time. Don’t tempt me. Guys like me… We really love owning things.”

  Possessiveness… I hate that so much. So why am I hoping he shows me how good it could be?

  “You keep talking instead of acting,” I taunt, arching into him more as my eyes roll back in my head. Every touch feels so intense, as though he’s coiling around me and dipping inside.

  “All of you,” he whispers, even though it doesn’t make any sense at all. “For as long as I wanted.”

  Almost instantly, I’m staggering forward, bumping into something, and my eyes dart open as a cold, bereft sensation creeps into my veins. A guy with very impressive fake fangs hisses at me, and I stumble back, bumping into someone else as I look around. Where did Zee go?

  Things are a little blurry, but it doesn’t take long to realize he’s gone.

  My head almost feels like there’s a cold fire going on inside it, and my heart is beating so fast that it can possibly be heard. It’s a dizzying, lingering effect that has me blinking rapidly and staggering toward the door.

  “Whoa! What happened?” Marilyn asks, grabbing me from the side when I almost fall.

  I don’t want to tell her that my body is still humming and craving for the touch I just lost, because it sounds so insane.

  “I think I had too much to drink,” I lie, even though the slurred words help me sound convincing.

  Maybe I did drink too much, because I sure as hell feel drunk.

  Chapter 2

  ZEE

  Running to catch up with Josh, I glance over my shoulder, feeling eyes on me. I almost fucking fall when I see who is watching me.

  I don’t know her name. I don’t know where she came from. All I know is she’s the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen.

  Long, black hair is wavy, touching her sides as she takes a drink from a bottle being handed to her. She’s hanging out with a group of random people in the parking lot.

  Josh whistles low when he sees what I’m staring at, and the mystery girl winks at me.

  My plans for the night just changed.

  “Zee, man, we might fight over this one,” Josh warns through a chuckle.

  The sex pistol is wearing the tightest jeans I’ve ever seen, and a shirt that shows off her midriff. She’s not looking at Josh. No. Those eyes are solely trained on me.

  “May the best man win,” I say confidently, making my way toward her.

  Her blood… Her scent… Her body…

  The last time I was tempted by anyone, I was turned into a monster.

  This can only end in disaster.

  I’ve been free from craving the bite for so damn long. I’ve been in control for over a decade. It hasn’t controlled me.

  But her… I almost did it, and I wouldn’t have stopped until I had taken all she could offer and screamed my name.

  Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but I refuse to fall prey to the fucking need to bite again. I control when and who. Not the monster inside me.

  The part that freaks me out the most is what else I considered doing.

  Voices break through my concentration, and I step back into the shadows just as the embodiment of my loss-of-control comes into sight.

  “You sure you’re okay?” the writer asks. I think Dice said her name was Marilyn. He warned me about her before he finally let her into my club to appease her curiosity and quit drawing so much attention to us.

  She can write her book, because I know she won’t mention this place by name. He did his homework on her.

  “Positive,” my temptress says. “Just too much to drink.”

  She staggers, and I inwardly curse. I had her under my thrall, reeling her in. I’ve never been too good with the night stalker perks because of my weaker sire bloodline, but since Gavin turned me into an even bigger freak… Everything about me is stronger.

  Including the feral instincts I thought I had under control.

  I can hear her pulse from here, and her blood is practically singing to me. It’s been getting harder and harder to ignore my urges, but never this hard. And I’ve never once felt tempted to do what I want to do right now.

  “The Pine Shore Inn,” I hear her tell the cab driver as the writer helps her into the car, and I watch her like I’m watching my prey.

  Why did I have to hear where she’s staying?

  Groaning, I turn and walk into the alley beside the liquor store that conceals the underground club, feeling the vibrations of the music beat lightly against my feet.

  “You need to do something about that before it’s too late.” The unknown, feminine voice has me whirling around, making everything in me instantly go on alert.

  My eyes settle on a familiar face, but it takes a second to remember where I’ve seen her. Why the fuck is she coming to see me?

  “Excuse me?” I ask, playing dumb, wondering if she knows I know who she is.

  She slowly walks toward me, seeming timid and unsure of herself as she peeks up from under her dark lashes. Her hair is up in some extravagant, complicated design, and her solid black dress looks like it’s straight out of the nineteenth century.

  She notices my quizzical look, and a nervous laugh escapes her.

  “I guess I look ridiculous, huh?” she muses, seeming a touch less timid.

  “Wondering if you’ve figured out how to time travel,” I reply dryly.

  She laughs, but I don’t even so much as smile. Why is she here?

  “The Manley Manor had a themed ball tonight.”

  I cross my arms over my chest and study her, waiting on her to end this charade.

  “And you just chase down random strangers in the street this late after going to a ball?” Deciding to press things farther, I let my eyes slowly crawl to their brightest blue. “Shouldn’t do that. I could be dangerous.”

  Fire lights her eyes, and she takes a step toward me. “Believe me, Zee. I know exactly how dangerous you are.” So she admits to knowing me, but I don’t know if she’s baiting me for information on her. “Well, I did know. Until Gavin got ahold of you. Now I don’t think even you realize how dangerous you are.”

  Her eyes flit to the marks on my arms that feel alive, constantly thrumming through my veins with power.

  “How do you know Gavin and what he did to me?” I ask, deciding to play dumb.

  She takes a cautious step toward me, and I hold my ground as she reaches out and slowly traces the lines of ink on my arm. She’s full-blooded witch, yet I have no desire to taste her blood. I couldn’t even get the name of my temptress because I was so caught up in her scent.

  That’s a good thing. It means I haven’t really lost my control. I just have some weaknesses.

  “You feel your control slipping,” she announces, ignoring my question and possibly reading my mind.

  Didn’t know witches could do that.

  “These marks,” she goes on, still tracing the lines with her fingers, “are Gavin’s. I know them well. We spent a lot of years being close.”

  I notice the look in her eyes and how slowly she’s dragging her touch across me. She’s trying to seduce me?

  Wrong place. Wrong night. Wrong fucking guy.

  Playing her game, I rem
ain quiet, letting her take her time and draw out her touch however she feels like it.

  “Most days you’re probably fine. The days when you use your magic the most, you feel hungrier than usual. Magic wasn’t meant for night stalkers. I don’t suppose you’ve sired anyone, have you?”

  Probing for answers? Really?

  “I don’t suppose you expect me to answer questions when you don’t.”

  Her lips play with a smile, deciding to finally let it shine fully. “Let’s not be coy, Zee. You know who I am, or you wouldn’t be standing here talking to me. You want to know what my angle is. So, we can keep doing this dance, or we can cut to the chase.”

  Well, that was easy enough.

  “What do you want, Morgana?” I ask, stepping out of her reach. “We let you live because Gage believes in your innocence. We let you walk away because we believed you and Gavin were both under a blood oath. Now you’re stalking me and playing games? Why? Because Gage is with Kimber, but I’m single and easy? You should have done more homework if that’s the case.”

  Her lip trembles, and she looks over her shoulder, as though she’s worried someone is watching her. When she looks back at me, she steps closer, hiding herself in the crack between two buildings that’s barely enough for her shoulders to squeeze in properly.

  “I can’t talk about things. You know why. But I can give you something you need.”

  My eyebrow cocks up.

  “What do I need?”

  Without warning, she pulls a blade from thin air, but she slices it down on her wrist before I can react. When her blood pools from the wound, that primal urge inside me refuses to remain dormant.

  A growl rips from my throat, and her eyes flash with fire again, burning brighter this time.

  “Human blood won’t be strong enough to help you, Zee. You’re more powerful, so you need more powerful blood. You can’t drink just any fey’s blood. They have to be a night stalker sired by you in order for you to get any sustenance from it. But witch’s blood is the exception. I’m willing to donate.”

  Fuck that.

  “Witch’s blood is addictive and you know it,” I snarl.

  “But it’s powerful. You need it whether you want to admit it or not. You think there’s another witch who will offer it straight from the source? Don’t deny that you feel like you’re losing an internal war. Before you know it, the monster you’ve leashed will be in control of you if you don’t take care of yourself.”

  “And you’re donating your blood? Why the fuck would I trust you?”

  None of this is making sense. She’s trying too hard, and this seems so fucking random. How does she know I’m struggling?

  “You don’t have to trust me. All I want is Gavin. I’ll give you as much as you need until you leash the monster again. Once you’re in full control, I’ll help ween you off my blood. After you feel it’s safe, I want him returned to me. That’s it. I just need to know he’s alive and safe in the meantime.”

  Yeah, and I was born fucking yesterday. Why do all the old fuckers think I’m stupid?

  I glare at her, not wanting to seem overly eager to question her intentions.

  “It’s blood, Zee,” she says, tempting me with the scent as more oozes from her wrist.

  My jaw ticks as my control starts to unravel. I don’t have long before I hold her down and take as much as I crave. It smells so much sweeter when it’s dripping right in front of me.

  “You always carry around an anointed knife to slice your wrist open in front of a night stalker?”

  “I carry around an anointed weapon for protection against night stalkers. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s panic within the fey world right now. Witches are back on the all-you-can-eat menu, since everyone is scrambling to get stronger. They sense the threat, just like we do.”

  “You were with the threat,” I remind her, ignoring the tremble in my hand.

  The blood… It’s taunting me… Tempting me… Fucking with my head. My mouth actually starts watering, and the tremble in my hand grows stronger.

  “I can help you,” she says softly, putting her hand on my cheek as she steps closer.

  The sweet scent gets stronger, almost overwhelming me, and my pulse thuds in my ears as my vision zeros in on the blood right in front of me. I can’t get my fangs to recede, and I’ve lost control of my eyes now.

  “They sent me to try and seduce the information out of you, but I refuse. I want Gavin back so we can run away from all of this,” she whispers hoarsely.

  I’m sure I smell tears tainting the sweet scent of her blood, but I can’t look away. My tongue slowly runs across the seam of my lips as she steps into me, pushing her wrist a breath away from my lips.

  “They want Gavin, but they can’t have him. Not again. I won’t let them use me. They want to know everything about you, but I won’t tell them anything. If you’ve ever loved someone, you’ll understand the desperation I feel.”

  Just as she moves to press her wrist against my lips, I grab her arm and grip it with more force than necessary. Her eyes widen when a dark, warning growl emanates from deep within my chest.

  It takes all the willpower inside of me, but I dematerialize away from her, and I don’t rematerialize until I’m staggering through the woods behind Gage’s Pine Shore cabin. I almost want to go back and rip her head off her shoulders for fucking with me now that I’m not being weakened and taunted by her damn blood.

  Just as I push through the door, I hear Thad and Dice talking.

  “It’s a legitimate question,” Dice says, seeming far too amused as Thad glares at him.

  “Wanting to know if I can fuck Roslyn’s wolf with my bear is not a legitimate question. Where the fuck does your twisted, sick mind go?”

  Sometimes I wonder if you go insane the longer you live. It would explain a lot.

  “I’m a sexual deviant by nature,” Dice says dismissively. “Therefore, it’s only natural that I be curious about the boundaries of others. Hashtag, don’t judge me. Oh! What about your tiger? A little feline on canine action… Who wouldn’t be curious about that?”

  I roll my eyes while walking toward them.

  “You sick son of—”

  “Sorry to interrupt,” I announce, not feeling sorry at all, “but we have a real problem.”

  Dice leans up as Thad turns around to face me. “A realer problem than figuring out if Thad can fuck Roslyn’s wolf in various forms?” Dice muses. “Sounds serious.”

  Thad growls and cuts his eyes warningly at the sick fuck of an incubus, but Dice just smiles.

  “What’s going on?” Gage’s sudden voice has me turning around just as he and Kane come into the room.

  With one word, Gage turns white and the other three men curse. “Morgana.”

  ***

  ZEE

  “That’s fucked up,” Chaz says while running a hand through his hair as I finish doling out the details for our collective group. “We had her and let her go because we didn’t think she was a threat.”

  “I didn’t think she was a threat,” Gage mumbles, looking guilt-ridden and regretful as Kimber walks up behind him. “You all just trusted my judgment.”

  Alyssa blows out a breath while leaning back and rubbing her barely pudgy belly.

  “If anyone has a sample of her blood, I can track her down and take care of it,” Roslyn offers, even though I can see the shadows of her own issues creeping through her haunted gaze.

  “I’ll be the one to take care of it,” Thad tells her, nuzzling her cheek before kissing her neck. “Not you.”

  “How fucking morbidly sweet,” Dice says dryly, even as his girl gets more comfortable on his lap.

  I swear I’m in couple hell these days.

  “No one is killing her until we know for sure what she’s after,” Kimber says, leaning closer to Gage.

  “She needs to be killed before she can touch one of us,” Gage counters, his eyes weighted with even more guilt. “She acted like she still love
d me and claimed Gavin had put her under the Aphrodite spell. Now she’s going after Zee because she knew I’d never take her back.”

  “It all seemed rehearsed,” I go on. “Like she had lines to say. Even telling me ‘their’ plan seemed staged. It’s like she wanted to earn my trust too quickly, and her desperation shined.”

  Kimber and Ella exchange glances as Drackus stands up. Shaylan—his demon-on-a-leash—stands as well. Gage disappears from the room, apparently finished with this conversation.

  “We’ll see what we can find,” Drackus says before disappearing into thin air.

  “Anyone else hate the fact that he is using that demon within our circle?” Kane asks, looking over at Alyssa as she tries to get comfortable.

  He goes to her side as Deke answers. “Definitely sick of him being around. He could be a leak. We don’t even let Amy bring Duke around.”

  “Duke?” I ask, confused. I can never remember his name, but that’s not it.

  “It’s Deke’s new name for Amy’s night stalker.”

  Still confused… Sierra seems to notice, so she adds, “He was sired by a Duke. It’s easier to remember than his name, apparently.”

  Deke’s logic… Whatever.

  “Drackus swears Shaylan is under his control. He’s under a blood oath to protect us, too,” Alyssa says, wincing and rubbing her stomach again.

  “I’ve got to get her out of here. The baby is draining her, and the stress is making it worse,” Kane says on a worried breath, scooping her into his arms.

  “I’m fine,” she protests, but her second wince destroys her conviction. “We’re needed here.”

  “We’ve got this,” Chaz tells her softly, kissing her forehead. “You go rest.”

  Before Alyssa can argue more, Kane is dematerializing them from the room.

  “We could really use Calypso’s help,” Dice says on a groan.

  “She’s more useful helping take care of Alyssa. We shouldn’t have even let her in on this conversation,” Chaz points out. “I’m going to make some calls. We should keep an eye on Morgana. If they’re using her, they’ll have to contact her sooner or later. Maybe this is the best thing to happen yet.”