Текст книги "Dark Seduction"
Автор книги: T. A. Grey
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Текущая страница: 10 (всего у книги 11 страниц)
Chapter 22
Christine never let herself cry. Not even during sappy movies that she liked to watch on occasion. But tonight, there was no holding back.
She opened the door to her house and was met with complete silence. Her home was empty and cold, so fitting to how she felt right now.
She climbed into bed fully clothed, then stared up at the ceiling. Burning wet liquid pushed at her eyelids, but she strained, staring at the ceiling, refusing to let a single tear fall. If she did, then she’d be done for. There would be no stopping it.
She knew what his response would be after she told him. “God, I can’t believe I’m actually surprised,” she said with a shaky laugh. Still, she’d hoped.
She was stupid; it was as simple as that. It didn’t matter. She was going to tell him tonight anyway, she’d just wanted some time to be with him again before she did.
The burning liquid behind her eyes wouldn’t be contained anymore. The first tear slipped down past her temple and into her hair. More followed like little chicks following their mother.
A harsh sob broke from her, the sound nasty and bitter. Christine rolled onto her side, pulling a pillow tight against her stomach. Squeezing her eyes shut, she forced the crying to stop.
She didn’t know how long she lay there, listlessly. The dark night painted her room in shadows that moved with the swaying of the trees outside, creating dancing figures along her wall. She had to make a decision for herself, she realized. She was always letting someone else run her life.
First, her mother and her decisions; and now Dmetri did the same thing.
Her mind raced for answers on how she could change his mind. But long after the tears dried on her skin she realized that it didn’t matter that there was no getting him back. She’d said the “L-word” and now he was running from her.
She screamed until her throat hurt and her voice went hoarse. She pummeled her fists into the mattress until exhaustion took over.
Her heart was broken, but she could do something. Maybe it would fix it, maybe it wouldn’t. But if she finally took her life into her own hands, she could be happy. She didn’t want to marry some Alpha. A man’s status meant nothing to her. She wanted Dmetri, but how could she get him to agree? She’d seen his blank expression after she told him she loved him. The man had completely shut down.
As the night grew, Christine rested atop her messy bed and contemplated, planned.
Because she had finally found a man worth fighting for, and she wasn’t about to lose that so easily.
* * *
The knock came just as sleep was about to take her. Christine blinked several times as she groggily got out of bed. She peered out the window and saw the sky still dark with night.
Mumbling to herself, she stumbled against the wall and bumped her shoulder. The knock came again, harder than before.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming,” she said, rubbing her throbbing shoulder. She reached the door and pulled it open. Then the breath she was taking left her on a whoosh.
Dmetri stood there, tall and imposing, his face drawn into a fierce look. Christine’s heart started racing at a deadly speed.
“This is...unexpected.” She flinched at her voice, which was hoarse from crying.
The muscle over his right eye ticked and she almost smiled. “Indeed. May I come in?” Confused, she nodded and let him in. Dmetri usually charged in, taking command as if he owned any place he was in. Tonight he stood in front of her sofa for a moment, and then sat in it hesitantly. His eyes met hers and it was like an electric connection shot between them.
Christine’s heart raced, her breaths came quick and short. She felt as though something profound was happening, but she hadn’t figured out what it was yet.
“What?” She wanted to run to him, crawl into his lap until he wrapped his strong arms around her again and made everything feel okay. But she didn’t.
“I’ve been thinking about what you said.”
Her eyebrows flew high and once again, hope fluttered its big flapping wings in her chest. Bitterly, she knew she was only setting herself up for disappointment again.
But he’s here, isn’t he?
He ran a hand through his long hair. “You’ve shoved me into a hell of a dilemma, millaya moya. ”
Hearing her nickname fall from his lips was too much for her, and she went to him. His eyes narrowed on her as she came, but she didn’t care. She fell into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. It was only with some great amount of strength that kept her from falling into a sobbing mess.
He came back!
She buried her face in his neck just inhaling his wonderful scent even if it would be for the last time. Slowly, one hand came around her back then touched her spine. Then finally the second arm came around her, as if he couldn’t help himself, and held her—she wanted to cry out with joy.
“You had me thinking a lot after you left tonight.”
Christine pushed his hair away from his neck and buried her face in his warmth, pressing kisses and licks across the thick tendons of his neck. The hands at her back flexed against her even as his body relaxed into hers until they meshed perfectly. He tasted so good, she felt crazed with the need to taste him at least one more time. So she scattered kiss after kiss from his ear to his jaw, down to his neck. The response between his legs was quick and hard. She only held him closer, pressing her core as tightly against him as she could.
“Thinking about what?” she asked when he didn’t say any more.
He coughed to clear his throat while his hands started making passes up and down her spine, over the soft material of her shirt.
“Whether you love me or not doesn’t matter, because I’m still taking you with me.” He might as well have said that he loved her with how giddy his words made her.
Frantically, she trailed kisses up his jaw then covered his lips with her own. A soft moan, hers, passed over them.
His lips parted beneath hers and she went wild, thrusting her tongue greedily inside to taste him. Masculine and rich his taste flooded her senses like a drug. Christine felt consuming hunger flood through her blood, her body. She couldn’t keep still, couldn’t stop touching him, kissing him.
His lips became ravenous against hers, kissing her back, biting her lips until she grew too restless. Pressing her lips harder against his as if trying to sear him into memory, she reached for his shirt and grabbed the front, then gave a hard yank. Buttons flew across the room, material ripped, and the sound was better than any music.
Dmetri’s hands grew impatient. They ran under her shirt finally touching bare skin. He touched her everywhere, from her back up to her neck, then stroking her sides. He swept up her sides, a scant inch away from her breasts and Christine froze, lips hanging against his to see what he’d do. Her breasts were pulled tight and firm, ready to be molded, stroked. But he didn’t touch them. His hands passed back down to squeeze her waist in a possessive touch.
“Dmetri,” she whispered.
“Mine,” he growled against her lips.
Christine whimpered, writhed in his lap. All too soon, it wasn’t enough, not nearly enough. She gave him one more hard kiss, then sat back and began furiously pulling open his belt and zipper.
He was just as hungry. He grabbed her shirt by the collar and ripped it with one hard pull.
The material split raggedly down the middle, baring her naked breasts to his ravenous gaze.
Fingers trembled, and it took her twice as long to get the damn button out of the hole of his jeans.
Finally, she reached in and grasped the hard shaft of his cock.
Dmetri groaned roughly, the sound like sandpaper. Then in a quick move, he wrapped both of her wrists in one hand and held them behind her back, thrusting her tight nipples towards him. He leaned forward, and Christine sighed blissfully, letting her head fall back.
The touch, when it came, was pure sexual fire. His mouth closed around her nipple like a wet vise. The sucking pressure came and an answering pull throbbed from deep in her core, wetting her sex until she was sleek and hot, vibrating with need. With his free hand, he squeezed her breast and took more of her into his mouth. Her nipple became his delicacy as he sucked, flicked, and bit the small point.
Christine couldn’t handle it. She wanted him inside her now. Hard and fast. She wiggled in his lap, trying to press her core against his erection, but his arms held her in place so his mouth could trail a wet path to her untouched nipple.
His mouth, so very warm, so wet, coated her nipple, spreading a rack of chills down her body and curling her toes.
“Dmetri, please.”
He grunted against her breast, and then slowly pressed kisses across the top of the mound. She struggled against the hand holding her, but he only tightened his grip until she stilled. Then his free hand was at her bare thigh, pushing up, underneath the denim skirt. Once again she was glad she didn’t wear panties; she moaned as his fingertips teased the bare skin at her hip.
Kisses pressed along her collarbone, the soft curve of her shoulders, her jaw. That dangerous hand of his which could so easily drive her crazy slowly drifted towards her center.
Her center that sat open and poised as her knees braced against either side of his hips. His fingers found the patch of short hairs there and played with them as if he were petting a new toy.
“Dmetri,” she said, warning in her voice.
She had no control over him now. Unlike before where she’d taken control of the reigns, he had all the power now. His lips trailed up to her neck, and a hot wet lick trailed over her jugular. She shivered, anticipation burning hot in her veins.
“You tremble before me, Christine. So beautiful.” Sharp points pressed against her neck, no, not points– fangs.
The pressure at her neck grew slowly, steadily as the fingers in her curls drew down and into her creamy heat. Fingers stroked like a butterfly’s caress across her swollen lips as the pressure at her neck reached an almost unbearable level–and then his fangs broke through. The break was clean and sure. His fingers swirled once over her needy bud then sought out her entrance as he sucked from her in greedy, hungry pulls.
Pleasure engulfed her like a cloud until she was swimming in it. He didn’t take from her slowly as he did before but like a starving man. Each drugging pull, tightened something needy inside of her, pushed her closer and closer to that cliff that she desperately wanted to leap off.
“Dmetri...” she whispered, her fingers curling into tight little fists.
She was left to his touch, his caresses, and she loved it.
His fingers thrust heavily inside her, pumping again and again. Each thrust curled her toes tighter, made her flush hotter, wetter. Moans, gasps, and pants came from her, intermixing until she couldn’t keep silent any longer. His fingers retracted to focus on her needy bud, and her entire body tightened like coiled metal.
His lips formed a tight bond over her neck as he feasted from her flesh. His wonderful fingers worked magic along her until the coiling couldn’t tighten any further, and she had no choice but to explode—and she did long and hard. He took one long pull from her neck as his deft fingers shot her into an explosive, blinding orgasm. Hard trembles racked her entire body; cream doused her channel, hoarse cries escaped from her tight throat. The pleasure was intense, burning through her body like gasoline.
He petted her sex softly, stroking her down from the heavens as he retracted his fangs and licked the wound closed. It wasn’t until her hands fell to her sides that she realized he’d let her go. She sat on his lap for long minutes, simply trying to regain some sense of self.
Slowly, her eyes fluttered open to see him gazing at her with an unreadable expression on his face.
“What?” she asked, breathless.
“You are so beautiful... It’s stunning.”
She was sure even in the darkened room he could see her blush. Christine’s heart expanded in her chest until she was afraid it might burst with all the love she felt for him. Unable to contain it, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. The kiss was long and slow, more passionate than any kiss she’d ever experienced with any man, even with him.
But her blossoming love for him couldn’t be contained so she pulled away, fisting a thick chunk of his long hair. She closed her eyes, pressed her sweaty forehead against his, and then pulled back slowly, staring him in his beautiful eyes.
“I love you, Dmetri.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips, then another. “I love you.” More kisses, kisses that came from her heart and soul, each one longer than the next, harder, sweeter.
“Please love me,” she said softly.
Suddenly his arms banded around her waist, pressing her hard into his chest. His tongue thrust into her mouth, mating, possessing. She hadn’t realized she’d been searching for a response until she got it, and it was perfect.
His hands roughly pushed her skirt up to her waist, and then he grabbed her hips with strong hands. Christine moaned around his tongue, thrusting hers back against his.
Strong hands guided her over his cock, poised stiff and swollen between them. He entered her as if he had all the time in the world, slowly spreading her, filling her until finally he hit some part inside of her. Christine tore her mouth away to breathe at the sensations ricocheting inside her body. She couldn’t sit still, not with him filling her so deeply. She rocked and trembled, hands rubbing over his shoulders, neck, then finally fisting his hair.
“I told you you’re mine, Christine. Look at me.” His harsh words broke through her hazy mind like a hammer. She turned, met his gaze straight on.
“You really want that, vampire?” she asked in a soft voice.
His answer was to lift her off him, then slam back inside. Again. And again. The pleasure was too intense, her body wanted to melt to the floor in a puddle, but somehow she managed to keep her eyes open to watch him. His cheeks were dark with color, eyes low-lidded and dark, lips wet. He was the sexiest man she’d ever seen. And he was hers. She knew it in every ounce of her soul. She could have laughed in that moment, screamed with joy. But he tightened his grip on her hips to steady her, and started thrusting.
The thrusts were just like him—hard and unforgiving. He pumped into her, sucked a nipple into his mouth, and suckled. The two pleasures, between her legs, from her breast, were too much...too sharp. She struggled to get away from it, hips wiggling as he pumped and pumped.
“Oh God!”
It was useless. With one hard pull at her nipple, he sent her flying apart by the seams.
Shaking so hard, sounds faded except his harsh breathing and grunts as he worked himself inside her slick channel. Her sex gripped him, milking, clinging around him in rippling waves, trying to pull forth something from him he wasn’t ready to give.
He slowed his thrusts to her fading release. He pumped lazily but hard. His hands finally released her to trail over her bare shoulders, her naked back, to cup her ass. His grip tightened on her bottom, and then he lifted her off him.
Christine stared at him in confusion. “What? I want you to finish.” He stood, kicking the last of his clothes away like he couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. He grabbed her and followed her down to the sofa. She sunk into the soft cushions.
“Oh I will, millaya moya. ”
Anything he’d have asked her, she’d have done. And this was hardly a chore for her—she burned for him. Her knees caught his hips, hands delved eagerly down his sinewy back. The groan she elicited from him made her smile like a fool.
His lips caught hers. His hand trailed down her hip to her thigh, and then he caught her leg and pushed it up onto his shoulders. Christine gasped into his mouth as her ankle rested on his shoulder, baring her open to him.
He looked down at her body with hungry eyes. “I want to lick you everywhere.” She sucked in her breath, then released it in a fast stream as he thrust back in. He didn’t take her slow now. He leaned down, pressing her knee to her chest and thrust like a man with one thing on his mind—coming.
So good, she thought.
“Fuck yes, it is,” he said.
Christine’s eyes widened as she realized she just said that aloud. Hell if she cared though.
She scratched her nails down his back and dug in as his thrusts grew hard, hitting that spot inside her again and again.
They moved in a rhythm together, hips sliding and withdrawing, giving and taking. Lips caught and stole frantic breaths, as their sweat-slicked bodies grew feverish, rushed. Reaching for something powerful.
Christine felt the moment he was close. His breathing staggered, hips hammered against her, his tongue thrust heavily inside her mouth, filling her over and again. She moaned around it, digging her nails into his back.
“Come for me,” he said against her lips.
She shook her head wildly. “I can’t. It’s too much.”
He laughed the sound choked and deep. Then his hand reached between her legs to rub across her swollen, sensitive bud. All at once, everything tightened inside her. He groaned, and she knew he felt it too. Knew it because he pounded in faster, his heavy sac slapping across her wet flesh. He rubbed her swollen bud fast, faster.
She screamed so loud she was certain everyone in the pack heard it, everyone in a ten-mile radius. Her body didn’t just rise to a peak and fly apart—she exploded. And he toppled right there with her. His pain-filled groan sounded over her screams, and he pushed deep, holding himself there. The jets came, dousing inside. He trembled above her, his expression one of pain then collapsed like a weakling.
Laughing, feeling much lighter than she had in hours, Christine wiggled her leg from being squished between them until she had it wrapped lazily around his thigh.
She felt exhausted like every bone in her body was made of ooze. Before her eyes closed and sleep took her, she whispered fiercely. “I love you, dammit.” He made a sound, somewhere between a grunt and a laugh. “I know,” he said and pressed a kiss to her lips.
Chapter 23
The soft snick of the door opening might not have normally awoken Christine. But the soft noise sounded like a hammer being slammed against concrete to her sleeping ears.
She came awake slowly and squinted around at the dark living room. Dmetri’s heavy weight squished her down into the mattress, and her leg was asleep. Damn, she knew when she’d go to move the sucker would sting like a thousand needles stabbing her. But oh well, it was worth it to sleep in his arms again.
Grunting under his weight, she scooted into a sitting position to look around the living room. She’d thought she heard the door open and close but the door was closed, the room quiet, as it had been. Sighing, she lay back down and wrapped her arm around Dmetri’s back.
She was just about to close her eyes and go back to sleep when a shadow moved. It wasn’t the shadow of trees swaying outside, but a heavy shadow with mass, like a person.
Christine had only a moment for her muscles to tighten, when the shadow came and went, and then she was staring up into a nightmarish face.
“Dmetri!”
Her shout was too little too late. The glint of metal in Claude Phelan’s hand appeared too fast for her to say something, too fast for Dmetri to come awake and stop it. Claude lifted the knife and viciously slammed the dagger down. The blade slammed deep into Dmetri’s back, sending him awake with a roar of pain that left her shaking beneath him.
His wide, frantic eyes met hers and then he exploded from the couch, engaging Claude in a melee of blows, the silver blade still resting deep in his pale back. Red blood oozed out the side of it and down his back.
Claude skirted away from Dmetri with a laugh. Then he pulled another blade out, this one longer, sharper, meaner. He slashed with the blade but Dmetri jumped back, narrowly missing having his intestines spilled.
Christine jumped up, frantically searching the room for some kind of weapon. Without really thinking about it, she grabbed the remote control for her TV and threw it with all the strength she could muster. The plastic controller slammed into Claude’s nose, producing a satisfying stream of blood from his nostril.
He turned to her, the look he gave her was filled with so much malice, so much evil, it rooted her in place. He took a step towards her and Dmetri rammed his shoulder into his gut.
They both went flying to the floor hard enough to shake the ceiling.
She couldn’t just stand there. She darted into the kitchen and grabbed a knife. She started back for the living room only to stop. Her mind wasn’t working right, too much was going on.
Fear made her act slow, lethargic like she was sick. Really, she was just terrified. She ran back to her knife drawer and grabbed another wicked butcher’s knife, one for each hand.
She ran to the living room, and her heart sunk at what she saw. Claude stood over a grimacing Dmetri as he panted, and squirmed on the floor. A deep cut split his stomach in two, leaving a frightening amount of blood pouring out.
“Get out of here!” Dmetri roared.
Christine jumped at his shout. It took her all of five seconds to register his words in her jumbled mind and dart for the back door. She reached it and yanked on the door. The stupid thing was locked! She pulled up the metal hatch then reached down to kick the bat she kept pushed against the sliding door out of the way. She yanked open the door and was met with a burst of wind.
She took one step outside, a scream tearing from her throat, when brutal hands covered her mouth and yanked her back inside. She was thrown back, air rushed by her as she flew through the air, and then all air left her lungs in a harsh wheeze as her back slammed against the kitchen wall. She heard the dry wall split and crumble to the floor around her as she slowly slid to the ground. Her head felt heavy, her brain scrambled in her skull. The knives fell uselessly from her hands.
Heavy booted feet appeared before her. Slowly, she dragged her gaze up. It didn’t matter because he grabbed her by the throat, choking the life from her. She made a choked wheezing sound and clenched his strong wrist with both of her hands. Suddenly her butt was no longer on the ground as he lifted her up against the wall until they saw eye to eye.
His lips were crossed with a nasty snarl. “He’ll pay for his weakness for you.” The fingers around her throat tightened, squeezing the tendons and muscles until she felt her throat closing, collapsing. Wide-eyed, she could only stare at him as she furiously inhaled air through her nose. In, out. In, out. Just breathe.
A loud thump came from the living room and his eyes flashed. The hand at her throat released her and she slid into a clump on the floor. She sucked in ragged gulps of air over the burning pain in her throat but it actually hurt more to try to breathe. With trembling fingers, she reached for the butcher’s knife near her leg. But he grabbed her hand and walked into the living room, dragging her body with him.
Christine’s head lolled around as she tried to find Dmetri. He was gone! Joy coursed through her veins; he’d get help. He’d be okay. The grip around her hand tightened in anger. She heard the bones pop and snap as he broke her hands. She cried out a strangled sound, uselessly trying to tug her broken hand back.
“Come out Dmetri, or I’ll kill your woman.”
Tears fell from her eyes. There were no thoughts about staying strong and not crying. She just did.
If Claude’s goal was to give Dmetri an ultimatum in exchange for her, then he only gave him two seconds. Because two seconds later, he dragged her up against him by her broken hand.
He clenched her throat with his other, rendering her completely useless. He squeezed her tender throat and more tears streamed from her eyes.
“Please don’t,” she croaked.
His wild eyes like that of a crazed beast landed on hers. She wasn’t prepared for what he did next. She couldn’t have prepared even if he’d given her warning.
The attack came quick and brutal: he closed his arms around her, and then stabbed his sharp fangs into her neck. She cried out but the sound barely made it past her bruised throat.
Draining her. That’s what he was doing. Each hard suck stole more and more of her until her vision darkened. Her temples pounded until her head felt as if a balloon floated inside it. Her body grew heavy, muscles limp and relaxing not with the happy glow of satisfaction—but impending death.
He growled against her throat, shaking his head like a dog with a chew toy. Skin from her neck split, and warm blood trailed down her bare shoulders.
Dmetri. She opened her mouth to say his name one last time, but it came too suddenly.
Her eyes went black and her body slumped to the ground without a thought or care in the world.
* * *
Dmetri squared off against the two vampires, waiting for the right opportunity. His damn back and shoulder were injured from the fucking blade sticking out of him, and his head felt as if it’d been run over by a train. He had to hurry this up, had to get back to Christine. If Claude was in there with her... Christ, he’d never felt such fear. Claude had knocked his ass out. His ego would be sore for the next thousand years of his life—if he lived—but first he had to kill the thugs who’d been busily dragging his ass into the forest.
The vampire at his back launched forward. He grabbed the handle of the knife and yanked the blade out of Dmetri’s back. As he swung the blade back in a sharp arc meant to kill, Dmetri swung his arm out against the man’s bladed hand, sending the metal flying into the grass.
The two jumped on him at once, sending his ass slamming to the ground so hard his teeth chattered. Dmetri rammed his fist into the closest vamp’s mouth and heard the satisfying sound of teeth breaking.
The other vamp landed two solid blows to his kidney. Dmetri was sure that if he could still piss that hit would make him piss blood.
The vamp with the busted smile growled, his jagged, bloodied mouth pulled into a snarl.
“You should see a dentist about that. Gingivitis and all that.” The vamp went wild, charging at him like a bull. Dmetri took a deep breath and timed it perfectly. Right as the vamp nearly slammed into him, he stepped to the side and wrapped his arm around the vamp’s neck. With a vicious yank, he pulled the vamp’s head in the opposite direction until he heard a nasty pop of bone. The vamp fell lifeless to the floor. A solid silver blade to the heart and the bastard would stay dead.
The second vamp was smarter; he didn’t charge but bounced on his feet side to side, eyes wide, teeth bared, readying his attack. Dmetri’s gaze flicked to the silver blade in the grass some twenty feet away. Fuck. And it was near the fuming vamp.
He made his plan in an instant, acting without much thought since the only thing fueling him was getting back to Christine.
“Why aren’t you attacking the Kategans? Why me?” Distract, then attack.
The vamp shook his head, blinking fast. Then in a quicken voice said, “Kill Dmetri, kill woman. Remove greatest threats. Kill Brayden.” He slammed his hand against his skull. “Kill Vane, kill all Kategans. Kill all Kategans. Kill all Kategans.” Dmetri relaxed his body, letting the vampire see his open hands, slack shoulders. He took it for weakness, a dying of his defenses, and charged with fangs bared. Dmetri flew into a sidekick and landed his kick solidly in the vamp’s stomach. Damn, but he didn’t go down. The vamp wheezed, then slashed forward with another blade. Dmetri raised his arms, blocking each possible blow, then slammed his foot forward catching the vamp’s knee. Bone cracked, and his howl sounded through the community.
Dmetri didn’t take time to see the neighboring house lights turning on. He dove for the blade, rolling to the ground and gripping it hard. He came to a stand in a deft move and let the blade fly by the tips of his fingers.
The vampire stopped in mid-step on a gnarled cry. He looked down at the silver blade protruding from his heart, and then his skin turned ashen white and he dropped lifelessly to the ground.
He heard a crowd forming. Heard shouts, but his only thought was Christine. His heart pounded like a thousand horses galloping, and he ran to the unconscious vamp with busted teeth and jammed the blade into his heart too. The vamp paled instantly, body stilling with death.
Dmetri sprinted, shouldered through the front door, and then his heart stopped beating.
Time stood still as Claude pulled back from Christine’s neck with a bloody smile. Her eyes slid shut, body falling lifelessly to the floor.
Dmetri’s roar could have been heard halfway across the globe. Fury unlike he’d ever felt slammed through his veins, tightening his muscles with an insane need for violence—and all of that violence centered on Claude Phelans.
Dmetri sped through the air. He caught Claude’s shoulders and sent them both flying to the ground, the metal dagger flying out of his hand, forgotten in his rage. His fist met Claude’s mouth, nose, and eyes with the hard crunch of breaking bones. Claude laughed beneath him, and Dmetri clenched his fist tighter, hitting him harder until his arm burned, and his shoulder ached.
Suddenly he was thrown back through the air. His back slammed against the couch, sending it skirting up the floor and into the TV. Metal cracked, glass shattered.
Dmetri stood, squaring off with a man whose face was now unrecognizable over the blood covering it. Still the flash of white fangs came through the bloody mess.
Claude attacked first. Hard blows landed across Dmetri’s face, deep into his chest until felt his ribs poking out his back. Still, he fought back with each hit of his own—only harder, angrier. From the corner of his eye, he saw movement.
At first he thought it was help coming. Fuck, he could use Brayden right about now. But a particularly hard blow knocked the wind out of him and sent him to his knees, and he realized it was Christine. Shit. He wanted to scream at her to stay down, to let him finish this, but he couldn’t risk it.
