Page 33 of Bound By Blood

“Having second thoughts?” he asked.

“No.”

Drawing her into his arms again, he kissed her, his hands moving slowly, seductively, along her spine, traveling up and down her thigh.

His touch awakened her desire, and her hunger. She rained kisses on his cheeks, the hollow of his throat, until she found the soft, sweet place just beneath his left ear, and bit down. She had never tasted vampire blood. It was a high like no other. Or maybe it was simply because it was Zack’s blood. Whatever the reason, she knew one taste wouldn’t be enough. Would never be enough …

“Easy, girl,” Zack said.

But she wasn’t listening.

Muttering an oath, he grasped a handful of her hair and gave a sharp tug.

A low growl rose in Kaitlyn’s throat.

Damn, maybe this hadn’t been a good idea. “Katy darlin’, that’s enough.”

It was the endearment that broke through the red haze of her hunger. Lifting her head, she stared at Zack in horror. “I didn’t want to stop,” she said, her voice little more than a hoarse whisper. “I could have killed you.”

“I don’t think so.”

“What if I hadn’t stopped?”

He laughed softly. “I don’t want to brag, darlin’, but I think I could take you down if I had to.”

“You’re making fun of me.”

“No.” He drew her into his arms and brushed the hair away from her face. “This is the first time you’ve really surrendered to your thirst, isn’t it?”

She nodded, still embarrassed. “I don’t know what came over me.” When her father had taken her hunting the first time, she had been careful to keep her hunger in check, perhaps because she knew he was watching, perhaps because she was afraid of losing control, of taking too much. Whatever the reason, she had never let her hunger get out of hand. At the Fortress, she preferred to drink from Northa or one of the other women. While living at Wolfram, she had occasionally hunted in the city; since coming to America, she had survived on bagged blood.

“It’s all right, Katy,” Zack assured her. “No harm done.”

“How do you stop when what you really want to do is take it all?”

“Willpower, darlin’. Lots and lots of willpower. And practice,” he added with a grin. “Don’t forget, I’ve got a couple of hundred years on you.”

A slow smile spread over her face. “Maybe I could practice on you again sometime.”

“Anytime, Katy darlin’. Anytime at all.” He stroked her cheek with his knuckles. “There’s a bond between us now.”

“What kind of bond?”

“A blood bond. Can’t you feel it?” It bound them together. Wherever she went in the future, he would always be able to find her.

“I don’t think so. What does it feel like?”

“It’s hard to explain.” His mind brushed hers experimentally; he still couldn’t read her thoughts, but he sensed her curiosity, her trepidation. “Try reading my mind.”

She sat up, her brow furrowed in concentration, and then she shook her head. “Nothing. Can you read my mind?”

“Not exactly, but I can feel the link between us,” he said, pulling her into his arms again. “I’ll always be able to find you. The bond between us will grow stronger every time we share blood. Perhaps one day the link will go both ways.”

Nodding, she rested her head against his shoulder. It just wasn’t fair, she thought. She should be the stronger one. She had been born a vampire, after all, and yet, because of her mortal blood, she lacked many of the preternatural powers the rest of her people possessed.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, it seemed even the Others had stronger powers than she did.

Chapter Fifteen

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