She can touch me.

She can fucking touch me.

Jesse walked beside and slightly behind Shea, shamelessly listening to every random thought that passed through her bewildering female brain. And more than that, he could feel her so much more now. Feel every emotion she was feeling.

It was fucking amazing. It was like he was a part of her, and she of him.

He wondered if it was the same for her, with him?

Shea.

He directed his thought at her, and smiled when she stumbled over a non-existent root. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, frowned, and kept walking. With the streaks of blood on her face and in her hair, she was nonetheless stunning. Like a satanic princess.

And she could hear him. Hear his thoughts when he directed them at her. Or could she hear everything as he could?

I want to lick her sex until the taste of her is seared in my brain.

He thought it only to himself, not to her. A truth that would shock her into reacting if she could hear it, judging by the way she’d stumbled when he’d only called her name. But there was no reaction this time. Shea wiped her brow with her sleeve and trudged on, pushing a tree branch out of the way and holding it so it wouldn’t smack him in the face.

So, she couldn’t hear everything. Good. That was very good.

Much as he wanted to submerse himself in her every thought and emotion for the next year or so, there were more important things he needed to be thinking about right now. They hadn’t found his phone, or hers. And though they were traveling as fast as their battered bodies could go, they needed to find shelter and rest. It would make them incredibly late to their destination. But hopefully, he would still find the blood before the demons figured it out. He needed every advantage he could get in dealing with them.

“There.”

Jesse looked where Shea was pointing. There was a hill just ahead and to the left. It jutted out over a small creek that was little more than a trickle, but must become a raging river when the rains came. Enough that it carved out a small alcove into the side of the hill. Little more than an overhang, really. “Will that be enough?”

She eyed the sky, then looked back at him. “It’ll have to be. The sun is coming up. Worse case scenario, just bury me in the dirt.” She grinned, but he knew she was perfectly serious.

Jesse nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

When they got to the overhang, he saw it was a little deeper than he had originally thought. Unless the sun decided to change which side of the earth it rose on, she would be out of the direct rays.

Jesse would make sure of it.

“Go ahead, Shea,” he ordered her.

But she didn’t do as he told her. Instead, she dropped down to her knees beside the creek and tasted the water. She nodded. “It’s good,” she shot over her shoulder. Then she cupped her hands and started drinking in earnest.

Jesse hadn’t realized how thirsty he was until just that moment. Or how tired. He nearly fell to the ground beside her, and followed her example. The water was icy and crisp and tasted delicious.

Downstream from him, Shea removed her sling and splashed water on her face and as much of her body as she could, even rinsing out strands of her blood coated hair. When she finished, she pushed herself up to her feet without looking at him, and shuffled over to the overhang. She crawled all the way to the back and lay down.

Jesse pulled off his blood-soaked shirt and submersed it in the water. He scrubbed the material with pebbles from the bed, getting out as much of the stain as he could. Then wrung out the water and stood. Hanging the shirt over a low branch to dry, he followed Shea inside. He was glad that Cruthú hadn’t been with them in the crash, yet a part of him wished she was there. If she were, he could send the raven with a message. Instead, he had to reassure himself that they would be able to move much faster once they got a good day’s rest.

And the demons would not be going anywhere until the sun went down.

Shea lay down with her back to him, her arm bent beneath her head for a pillow. He waited until he heard her breathing even out. It didn’t take her long, and he wasn’t surprised. He knew she was much more exhausted than she let on.

Jesse sat cross-legged and rested his palms on his knees. Once he was certain she was asleep, he closed his eyes and spoke in low tones, calling on forces that most wouldn’t dare get near. When he opened his eyes, the sun was coming up, but the air around their little cubby was thick with protective layers, blocking out the rays so completely it was nearly dark inside.

Now they decide to answer.

The entities were fickle.

Lying beside Shea, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her limp form close to him. Resting her head on his own arm, he curled his body around the back of hers, and ignored his instant hard-on.

There would be plenty of time to ease that ache when she could bring herself to accept his part in her life. He wouldn’t attempt to take her until then.

Trying to ignore the warmth of her skin and the way her curves fit so perfectly against him, Jesse closed his eyes and willed himself to sleep.

* * *

Jesse woke first. Disengaging Shea’s limbs from his own, he had already washed up in the creek, put his now dry shirt on, and was sitting in the opening keeping watch when she finally regained consciousness.

“What time is it?”

Her whiskey voice—even huskier than normal after sleeping so hard—raised chill bumps along his skin. Jesse glanced up at the sky. “About nine, judging by the position of the moon.” He twisted around to face her, and caught his breath.

The battered female from the night before was gone. In her place was a woman who, although still covered in dirt, was haunting in her perfection. Even the unusual paleness of her skin and shadows under her eyes, caused by her lack of feeding, did nothing but add to her ethereal beauty.

Some may say her chin was too pointy, her forehead too wide, her cheekbones too sharp, or her bottom lip too full. She was tall for a woman, nearly as tall as Jesse, but he knew from cuddling up to her as she slept that she fit against him like she was created just for him.

And she was. He’d known it from the first time he’d sensed her in the altar room, before he’d ever seen her face.

To him, she was perfect.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” She pushed her dark hair from her face with arms that were both working perfectly, fussing with her appearance. Though there was little she could do, and there was no need.

“I was just thinking that you look pale, Shea. You need to feed.”

She was shaking her head before he’d even finished saying the words. “I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re not ‘fine’. And we’re never going to get out of here if you keep refusing to drink from me. There’s no bagged blood lying about for you to choke down.”

Lines appeared between her elegant brows as she scowled. “I should have searched near the portion of the plane I found—”

Jesse burst up from the ground, his tolerance at an end. “Fucking hell, Shea! Stop! Just stop.” He lowered his voice and inhaled deeply, embarrassed that she had brought out such a reaction in him. But he was tired of keeping it under control, especially around her. “Just…stop,” he told her, calmer now.

His vampire had shot to her feet when he had, and now stood slightly bent over to avoid banging her head on the top of the overhang. Pointed, white fangs were bared under a raised upper lip, and green eyes glowed with the sharp focus of a predator. They were fixed to his every move. He had startled her with his outburst.

Raising his hands in front of him in supplication, he kept his voice low and even. “I’m sorry I startled you, but you must feed, Shea. And I feel wonderful, thanks to you. I can afford to spare a little of my blood for you. You’re no good to me the way you are right now. You’re weak, and unfocused. If we had to defend ourselves, I would be too busy worrying about you and we would both be killed.”

She had settled down during his speech, and seemed to deflate before his eyes now that the rush of adrenaline was gone. Her eyelids drooped with exhaustion, despite the deep sleep she’d just had. Even the act of standing up seemed to be too much. Her thoughts bounced around in her head, making no sense.

“I’d like a little privacy. Please.”

He nodded. “I’ll take a little walk. But I won’t be far, so just call out if you need me. I’ll hear you.” He didn’t bother to tell her that he would hear her even if she whispered inside of her head without ever speaking a word out loud.

As a matter of fact, she didn’t even need to do that much. With her blood inside of him, he was tuned in to her every emotion. If she felt the slightest sliver of fear, he would know.

Shea gave him a nod, and headed outside. He watched her kneel at the bank of the creek and cup her hands to drink, then he turned and did a quick check of the area. Opening his senses to any intruders, he listened closely, but he sensed nothing other than the usual nocturnal animals. Satisfied that she would be okay alone, he told her he would be right back, and returned to the crash site. It didn’t take him long. Jesse could move at a speed that shouldn’t be possible for a human.

However, he wasn’t a human. Not completely.

It took him a total of five minutes to find the one blood bag that had survived the crash. He also found the pilot and co-pilot. The cockpit had broken off from the rest of the plane and they appeared to have died instantly. Jesse left the bodies there to feed the scavengers.

He stared at the plastic bag of blood in his hand, his lip curled in distaste. If Shea wanted to feed, she would drink from him, and only from him. Gripping the opening with his teeth, he tore it open and dumped the contents onto the ground at his feet. He watched the red liquid soak into the dirt to mix with that of the pilots, and felt not an ounce of remorse. He had plenty of blood for her. She didn’t need this. She only needed him.

Five minutes later, he slowed down as he came within sight of their makeshift camp. He saw Shea sitting beside the creek with her arms wrapped around her knees. She didn’t move a muscle as he walked up to stand behind her, though he knew she was aware of his approach through his new connection with her.

She didn’t look at him. “Did you find any of the blood?”

Jesse narrowed his eyes at the back of her head. Was she in his head more than she let on?

“I saw you take off in the direction we had just come from, so I assumed you went back to the crash site to look for blood.”

Ah.

“No.” The lie slipped easily off his tongue. “I didn’t find any of the blood. I would imagine it was destroyed during the rough landing.” He felt her probing inside his head, and by the clumsiness of her approach, he could tell she didn’t realize yet she was doing it. He raised his guard, blocking his thoughts.

Her shoulders lifted and lowered as she took a deep breath. “All right, then.”

Even though she had just agreed to drink from him, in so many words, she made no move to do so. Her continued stubbornness angered him more than he’d like to admit. Lowering himself onto his haunches beside her, Jesse held his wrist out in front of her face. Blue veins showed clearly beneath the unmarred skin. He waited to see what she would do. Would she continue the charade? Or would she mark him with her bite as they both so longed for her to do?

Her upper lip twitched, and the blood lust emanating from her became his. It flooded every cell of his body, a mere shadow of the hunger she had to be feeling. He knew she was starving, and still, she resisted.

Jesse clenched his jaw. She wanted to pretend that he was so distasteful to her? She could deny it all she fucking wanted. He knew better. Without taking his eyes from her, Jesse made his offering irresistible.

Shea inhaled sharply as the skin on his inner wrist split open, as if an invisible knife of the sharpest steel slowly cut its way through his skin. Blood rose to the surface, pooling there briefly before running down his wrist, where it paused to gather into a good amount, then dripped onto her lap.

“Tilt your head back, Shea,” he commanded. Jesse was done with her games. He’d fucking force-feed her if he needed to.

Her tongue flicked out to wet her dry lips, and he thought she would refuse again, but then she tilted her head back. With a sideways glance, she parted her lips. Her tongue ran over the tip of one fang, then the other, teasing him with the vision of her bite.

“Good girl.” Jesse moved his wrist over her waiting mouth, and as the first drops fell between those sweet lips, he growled deep in his throat—a rumble of satisfaction. It was an indescribable feeling, knowing that he alone provided the only sustenance she needed. That he was the single reason she still survived.

And as for his vampire, the moment his blood hit her tongue, her eyes rolled back before closing completely as her spine straightened and her mouth opened wider. Her appearance altered as he watched: color replacing the pallor of her soft skin, her limbs fleshing out, and her breasts swelling. Her legs moved, restless, as she moaned. Her entire body begged for his touch. The changes were subtle. Most people wouldn’t even notice. But Jesse did. He noticed everything about her.

Like the way she looked at him now as she drank, eyes burning with need. Jesse smiled as his body hardened in response, and she quickly looked away. He sighed, but didn’t push her more. She was feeding, and that was enough for now. He fed her until she was satiated, although she tried to wave him away before she’d had nearly enough.

When she finished, he rinsed off his arm in the creek, the cut gone when he pulled it from the cold water.

“How did you do that?” Shea had gotten to her feet, and stared down at his wrist in disbelief.

He shrugged, a casual movement meant to throw her off the scent. “Just a simple parlor trick.” He shouldn’t have shown her that ability. It would make her too suspicious. He’d done it without thinking. He should’ve left the wounds as he’d done before. Little did she know, it was only the tip of the iceberg as to what he was capable of. “Are you feeling better?”

She nodded, still staring at the smooth skin, a tiny crease between her brows. “A little, yes. Thank you.”

Turning away, Jesse started walking. “Good. We need to get going.” He heard her following him. “If I’m not mistaken, we’re not very far from our destination. If we hurry, we can make it there tonight. Are you up for a run, Shea?” She didn’t respond, and he looked back over his shoulder to check on her.

He caught her staring at his ass, and he smiled. “Shea?”

Green eyes flashed up to his. “Yes. I can run.”

Ah. So, she was listening after all. “You’re thinking about me naked.”

Her footsteps faltered. “I am not.”

Jesse could practically feel the daggers aimed at his back, and glanced back to find her narrowed gaze focused right between his shoulder blades. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Shea. I think of you naked all the time. The sight is scalded into my brain. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.” This last was said with respectful fervor, all teasing gone from his tone.

“Jesse, please.”

He stopped and turned. They had no time for these games, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. “Please what, Shea?”

She stopped walking as well, and now stared up at him with pleading eyes. “I can’t do this right now.”

“This is what you keep telling me.” He studied her lovely face, lowering his guards as he did so. Her emotions flooded through him: confusion, lust, need, denial. So many emotions, all tumbling over one another. Jesse sighed. “All right. Are you ready to run?”

Her relief flowed through him. “Yes.”

“If you get tired, you must tell me. Understood?”

She crossed her arms and narrowed her cat eyes. “What about you? Won’t you get tired?”

He smiled. “With your blood running through me? I feel like I could shift the earth off its axis if I wanted to. I don’t think I’ll be getting tired anytime soon.”

She rolled her eyes. “Let’s just go and get this over with.”

So you can leave me? He kept the thought to himself. Honestly, he didn’t want to hear her answer. He didn’t need to. He knew that’s what she intended. But he would face that obstacle when he came to it. Right now, they had other things to worry about.

Turning on his heel, he took off at full speed, dodging tree trunks and hanging branches. Shea caught up to him within moments.