“Are you sure about this?”

“I’m sure.” Kellan Barstow raised the hood of his Mercedes and stepped back to look at the mostly deserted stretch of road. Traffic was light in this area past sunset. Nothing was wrong with the car, but a broken-down vehicle was the perfect ruse to get the woman headed this way to stop. “Now, we wait.”

“Odd place to pick up a female,” Luke Phillips said, scratching his stomach through his black button-down Oxford. His idea of clothes to go trolling in consisted of a trench coat, suit pants, and a dress shirt. At least he’d left the wingtips at home.

Small favors.

“Not so odd.” Kellan tipped the brim of his baseball cap back to check his watch in the thin beam of the street light. “Fewer people equals less attention.”

“Shit, Kell, you planning on killing her or sleeping with her?”

Kellan flashed him a smile. Oh, he had plans for the woman, and they required her to be very much alive. But men of…their breeding couldn’t be too discreet. “Sleeping with her will suffice. Though if you’re good, I’ll let you take your turn first,” he replied, though he was beginning to think that wasn’t too likely.

Sydney would be his. Only his. And if he shared her with his best friend for Luke’s own good, that sharing wouldn’t last more than the night.

He’d picked this street, approximately two blocks from the shop where he took his nightly coffee break, for two reasons. First, it was dimly lit and rarely traveled. Second, Sydney would come this way into town, as she did every evening. He’d taken note of her routine about a week ago when he’d arrived at Pastry ’n’ Joe earlier than usual. Speaking with her was the highlight of his day, so he’d waited until he saw her small white Chevy zooming down the street. She’d parked haphazardly, occupying one and a half spaces, and then run inside with her dark hair askew and her eyes delightfully wild. It had taken everything he possessed to calmly request his black coffee when he’d yearned to take her where she stood.

She was gorgeous. Simply mesmerizing. That was the night he’d decided he would have her. Luke was along for the ride, mainly because Kellan was tired of seeing his friend pine for his One True Mate. If screwing another woman didn’t spur Lucas into action where Emily Yost was concerned, nothing would.

Vampire logic and humans never mixed well. But the heart—and blood pheromones—chose what they would, reason be damned.

Kellan took a deep breath. He didn’t see the Chevy yet, but he’d smelled the succulent aroma of Sydney’s sugar-drenched plum perfume as soon as they’d approached this stretch of road. He’d pulled off where she would be sure to see them and his car would be safe from harm.

“Lot of work for some snatch,” Luke muttered. “Better be worth it.”

Kellan only smiled and sucked in more of her scent. Close, closer. She was barreling right toward them, hellbent for something. Someone.

Two someones.

And they would be waiting.

* * *

Sydney Langdon exited the highway in the same overexcited state she’d been in since discovering her boyfriend in bed with her closest friend. Her closest male friend.

She needed sex.

Most likely, becoming aroused by what she’d witnessed was an odd reaction. She was used to being odd. A woman who made her living reading chakras and doing tarot card spreads for bored housewives and naïve college students didn’t mind walking the path less traveled. Nor did she care if her parents or her friends would chastise her for feeling lusty rather than outraged.

Her nicked heart always subjugated itself to sex. So did her appetite for food, which was why, at twenty-nine, she was the same size she’d been in high school. Other people scarfed down Rocky Road and loaded up on onion rings when they were down.

She just went down.

She sighed and pushed the volume up button on her CD player. Nine Inch Nails would soothe what ailed her, at least temporarily. It wasn’t like her relationship with her now-ex had been all that long-term. Barely two months. Neither she nor Tate had ever brought up the future. And both Tate and Jed had apologized profusely and begged her to understand. They hadn’t planned on their…situation happening.

Yeah, it sucked sideways, but she didn’t begrudge them finding each other, though a little disclosure first would’ve been nice. Hell, maybe the two of them would discover the spark she herself had never found with Tate.

In the meantime, all hope wasn’t lost. She could always peruse her little pink book. After all, she hadn’t been coupled up that long. Surely she could find a man willing to console her with some doggie-style lovin’.

She slowed down to get a better look at the two figures walking along the side of the road. It had started pouring a few minutes ago, but neither seemed in much of a hurry. Though she couldn’t see their faces, she caught a glimpse of long, white-blond hair. The other person wore some kind of cap. Both were tall and broad-shouldered, dismissing any possibility that either could be female.

The dark-haired man turned and flashed a predatory smile as he stuck out a thumb. Even from the shadows, that smile blazed through her, causing her nipples to harden against her demi-cup bra.

Did she dare?

Nettles, Maine wasn’t exactly a metropolis. Her town boasted a population of less than a thousand. The last murder had occurred over twenty years ago. Besides, her reflexes were as energetic as her libido, and her street smarts had never failed her. A quick conversation with these two mystery men would let her know if they were likely candidates for the night’s festivities.

Two.

Her own smile bloomed in return. She’d never done two at once. There had been that wild night her senior year of college when she’d stumbled, in a drunken stupor, from one friend’s bed to another’s, but that had been serial sex. Not simultaneous.

Her pussy dampened at the thought.

Sydney drove past them, then slammed on the brakes and steered over to the side of the road. This street was poorly lit, and it wasn’t safe for pedestrians. Picking the men up would be a public service.

If they passed her test.

She rolled down her window and blinked at the deluge that pelted her in the face. The endless thunk-thunk-thunk of her windshield wipers was annoying so she silenced them with an irritated flick of her wrist. When she glanced back, the two gentlemen were already approaching the car.

And the darker of the two looked deliciously familiar.

“Hello.” The blond man spoke first. His long, wet hair curved against the alluring hollows of his raw-boned face and spilled over the shoulders of his black calf-length coat. But it was his eyes, a startlingly vivid shade of Windex blue evident even in the dim light from her headlights, that caused her heart to pump faster. “Nice night for a drive, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she mumbled. “Love the rain.”

She swallowed over the sudden lump of nerves in her throat. These weren’t skinny guys. Not that she liked scrawny men, but if the lust tingling in her belly overrode her good sense and she turned out to be wrong, she didn’t know if she could take them. Even the pocketknife tucked in her purse next to her spray can of Mace wouldn’t help much, if the sheer potent masculinity pouring over her was any indication.

Then the second man stepped forward, and her concerns floated away on the gush of liquid between her thighs. Black hair crept out from under his ball cap—Florida Marlins—and a wet white T-shirt clung to his pecs under the snug bomber jacket that hugged his waist. As he moved closer, the appealing scent of damp leather filled her nostrils.

Oh, God, could there be a hotter cologne? Umm, no, she didn’t think so.

Even better? This mystery man wasn’t a stranger, after all. At least not completely. She worked four nights a week at the local coffee shop, Pastry ’n’ Joe, and this guy had come in during each of her shifts for the last three weeks. Handy thing, too, because severe horniness aside, she’d had some doubts about having sex with two random guys.

Sydney tugged her lower lip between her teeth. But since she sorta knew dark and dangerous….

They’d smiled and flirted, nothing more. Rampant sex drive aside, she didn’t pursue other men while she was in a relationship, even a mostly casual one. She was horny, yes. A cheater, no.

But all the rules had gone out the window now.

“We meet again.” He had just a hint of an accent, faintly Southern, as if he hadn’t been home in a while. “Can’t say I’ve ever been happier to see a woman before.”

She arched a brow. “Any woman?” Somehow that hadn’t been the opening she’d been hoping for. Not that she expected him to say she was his soulmate, but c’mon. A little charm never hurt.

“No.” The intensity of his gaze would have been unnerving, if she hadn’t felt a matching intensity pulsating between her thighs. “You are the woman I’ve been waiting for.”

Sydney swallowed hard. Okay. From stranger-danger sex to being the woman. That qualified as a quickie, all right.

“Are you working tonight?”

“Uhhh….” Great. Suddenly her lips weren’t capable of forming anything but grunts and her tongue had swollen to the size of a shoe. She’d had the same reaction to him every night he had strolled into the restaurant. “No, tonight’s my night off. I, uh, was coming from home.”

“Well, as long as you come my way—” he smiled, lightning-fast and devastating “—I’m glad.”

She pressed her legs together. Shit, she hoped she didn’t soak clear through to her shorts. She’d had to wring out a couple pairs of panties after their innocent exchanges over the coffee shop counter. What would happen if he touched her? Would she implode on the spot?

“I’m not sure we were ever properly introduced. I’m Kellan Barstow.” He extended a hand that gleamed as pale as his friend’s, but that didn’t faze her. She’d seen her share of fair guys around these parts, as Maine in early May didn’t lend itself to deep tans. “And you would be?”

Should she tell him her real name, first and last? This wouldn’t be more than a one-night thing. Probably wouldn’t even take that long. And he patronized her workplace. Her nametag at the coffeeshop identified her just as “Syd” so maybe she’d be better off being as vague as possible. She had no intention of tying herself up in more strings after she’d just gnawed through one raggedy knot.

Without answering his question, she reached out and clasped his palm.

Her body jerked at the current that arced between them. Damn. What the hell was that? She’d experienced intense connections with guys before, but nothing quite so feral and all-consuming. It had only been six days since Tate had left for his business trip to Atlanta, which meant it had only been seven since she’d had sex. And yes, seeing Tate and Jed getting friendly had given her an unintended jolt, but this was ridiculous. She was half tempted to climb on the hood and spread her legs.

“Sydney Langdon.” Her name tumbled out without regard to her earlier concerns. Then she fumbled around for something else to say. “Your accent. I’ve wondered where you’re from. You’re not from…around here,” she finally managed. God, he was still cradling her hand.

Yep, her panties were toast. If her nipples got any more erect, she’d be saluting her new friends.

“No. I’m from South Carolina originally. Found it didn’t suit my lifestyle, so I ventured north.” With his eyes on hers, he brushed his lips over the tips of her fingers. “Pity we haven’t exchanged names before now.”

“Yes, pity.” She forced out a breath. “So why haven’t we?”

“You’re always too busy serving and pouring. I didn’t want to intrude.” He gave her a slow grin that made her think he didn’t mind intruding at all. “You look like a Sydney. Actually, Luke, she reminds me of that girl from your show.”

Because he was now speaking to his companion, not her, Sydney took a moment to gather her composure. She was so going to do this. Them. She didn’t much care what society said was proper. Besides, no one would ever have to know.

For the next hour—or two, depending on how long she detained them—she’d get to scratch her itch with what she ventured were two really long poles.

She moistened her lips, preparing to speak. But Kellan’s pal took her turn.

“You mean Alias? Jennifer Garner? Oh yeah.” The blond man smiled, his lips stretching over straight white teeth that sparkled in the beam from her headlights. “I see what you mean. The dark hair, except this Sydney’s hair is shorter and straighter. The big brown eyes.” His gaze zoomed toward her breasts. “The gorgeous breasts.”

She didn’t reply, but not because she was offended. If she’d ever been less offended, she didn’t remember it. She’d already been checking them out, too, though the stormy night hardly helped her efforts. At least the rain seemed to be stopping.

“Hey, Luke, mind the manners. You don’t talk that way to a lady.”

“Oh, I think this one likes it.” Hot on the heels of Luke’s eyebrow wiggle, his mouth turned down in a surprisingly sour expression. “Besides, this was your idea.”

“This what? Asking some chick for a ride?” Her voice had finally returned, along with her spine. “Or playing two-on-one, Luke?”

“Lucas Phillips.” The man in question reached into her open window and took her other hand. His grip was different than Kellan’s. Less possessive maybe, but no less arousing.

Kellan’s hold on her hand intensified, as did the potency in his amber eyes. Even in the backwash from her headlights, they seemed to glow. They weren’t brown or hazel. Those shades were too bland to describe their molten color. “We definitely want a ride. But we also want to give you one. If you’re interested.”

Interested? Hmm, now that was a nice, tame way to put her desire to screw them both until she couldn’t stand up straight. Still, it didn’t pay to seem too eager. “How’d you boys end up walking this way anyway? It’s not exactly the spot for a nightly stroll.”

“Our car broke down.” Lucas motioned vaguely over his shoulder. “Over there. Engine overheated.”

“Don’t have Triple-A?”

“Nah.”

“What kind of car is it?”

“A Mercedes.”

Sydney cocked an eyebrow as Kellan released her and directed a murderous look at his companion. “Wow. Didn’t think those puppies broke down too often.”

“Bad luck.” Kellan smiled, flashing his teeth. “Until you came along, that is. So what do you say? Up for a ride?”

“Depends. Where you guys headed?”

“There’s only one place I want to be right now.” Kellan leaned forward and braced his hands on her car window. As his stomach muscles rippled underneath his wet T-shirt, her thoughts flatlined. “Inside you.”

She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. Her belly clenched when Kellan’s gaze openly followed the move. “Looks like it’s your lucky day, boys, because I love giving rides. But if we’re doing this, I insist on a hell of a lot more than just one.”

Kellan’s eyes never left hers. “Count on it.”

“You’re of age?” Lucas asked.

The phrasing struck her as odd, but she nodded. “Twenty-nine. Both of you?”

Kellan merely smiled, again showing off a mouthful of blinding white teeth much like Lucas’s. There was something almost feral about them, as if they were blades poised to strike. But rather than concern her, the thought only turned her on more.

“We’re above the age of consent, yes.”

“Then let’s go.” She hit the button to unlock her doors. They opened with a deafening click. “You,” she murmured to Kellan, “can sit up front with me.”

* * *

The two men had taken no more than three steps when Luke piped up. “You sure about this, Kell?”

Kellan snapped a hot gaze toward the man beside him. If Lucas were human, he’d be rendered speechless from the force of that look. Unfortunately, his power had no effect on his similarly endowed friend. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Lucas wasn’t without his own enhancements, but it was hard to realize the full scope of your gifts when you questioned yourself like a namby-pamby mortal around every turn.

“Strap on a pair, would you?” Kellan lowered his voice, knowing Lucas would hear him at a decibel Sydney could not. “We talked about this.”

“I know.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“You know what the problem is.”

Kellan shook his head and tipped his head back to view the churning sky. The rain had stopped for the time being, possibly a good omen. He could use one.

He didn’t know if Sydney was just a momentary distraction, but he figured a night with her would answer that question. And Lucas needed to get laid by someone. Anyone who wasn’t a certain petite librarian named Emily, a nondescript woman with glasses and a complete disinterest in sex. Especially vampire-bonded sex, since she subscribed to the notion vampires were nothing more than a subject of lore. She knew plenty about that lore, too, and shared her knowledge with the masses during her endlessly boring monthly library chats. The subjects ranged in topic but she seemed to return to vampire and paranormal mythology with frightening regularity.

She was a smart woman, he had to give her that. But she was also incredibly naïve and annoying as hell.

Which brought him full circle to Lucas. Yeah, Kellan was a humanitarian. Vampiritarian? Whatever. Though thinking of his fellow man was only his first priority when he didn’t have a second, Lucas was the exception. His buddy was ailing, and Kellan hated to see that, even if his friend was blinder than three bats. He’d found his damn bonded mate. Most vampires searched for decades—if not centuries—for theirs, and here Lucas was, willing to walk away because Emily had rebuffed his pathetic attempts at seduction?

Ridiculous.

“We made a deal. You said you’d give another woman a chance. A gorgeous babe wants us. Both of us. And now you’re fretting and blushing?”

As Lucas pushed a hand through his long hair, leftover rain streamed over the shoulders of his black trench coat. He always dressed in dark colors. Standard B-movie vamp attire. “I’m not blushing. And what’s up with calling her breasts tits? Hypocrite.”

“It’s completely classless, but I’m trying to speak in your adolescent vernacular.”

“Most guys call them tits.”

“Most guys also wouldn’t turn down a hot, juicy pussy.”

Lucas frowned, his eyes blazing. “I’m not turning it down. I’m just—”

“Thinking about Emily again,” Kellan finished. Because Lucas’s mind was almost painfully straightforward, his pal would never guess that Kellan’s attempts to push him toward another woman weren’t what they seemed.

Much as he hated to admit it, Lucas had found his true mate before Kellan had encountered his own. Damned fool just couldn’t accept the truth.

Honestly, he had no interest in sharing a woman with Lucas for more than an hour or two. Especially not this woman, whom he’d had his eyes on for weeks. It was the ultimate sacrifice to offer him Sydney. But he owed Lucas. Besides being the best friend he’d ever had, Lucas had forgiven him the biggest of sins and also allowed Kellan to live in a manner far beyond what his own modest efforts as an artist could provide. Sharing a woman with him, to hopefully prompt him to finally make his move toward Emily, was the least Kellan could do.

“What is taking you guys so long?” Sydney called from inside the car, and Kellan gave Luke a pointed look.

“On our way,” Kellan replied, gesturing to his friend.

“I don’t know why I can’t let her go,” Luke muttered. Still not moving.

I do. Kellan resumed his stroll around the back of the car. Sydney had waited long enough. “Trust me, banging Sydney will wipe all thoughts of that virginal librarian from your mind.”

“I just don’t know.”

Luke might not have realized it, but his refusals were all the proof Kellan needed that Emily was indeed his lifelong friend’s true mate. Normally, vampires were hornier than rutting dogs. Morality wasn’t part of the equation when the fever was upon them, except after they’d found their physiological mate. Then they became almost indifferent when the subject of another female was mentioned.

Almost being the operative word. Male vampires were still men, after all. Occasionally a pretty female managed to get a bonded vamp’s attention, but she couldn’t hold it. That was the vital difference.

A vampire discovered his fated lover as he discovered many things—through scent. The vagaries of desire could always be discounted, but the potency of blood pheromones could not. Emily had already been put through the scratch-and-sniff test, thanks to her own butterfingered attempt to open a sealed envelope. Instead, she’d slashed her own wrist, and Lucas, one of many in the crowd at her lecture, had to be restrained by Kellan to keep from leaping on her at the podium. Thank God Kellan had chosen to go with him that night—TV offered nothing but reruns—or else their whole existence would’ve been in danger.

Luke couldn’t be blamed for his reaction, either. Most blood was alluring to vampires. But the blood of a mate was the sweetest nectar, almost physically impossible to resist. Or so Kellan had learned at Emily’s lecture. How else would he have heard about the disturbing new trend of youngsters wanting to go vamp? Probably due to all the hype over that series of sparkly vampire movies. Blasted authors thinking they had a right to fictionalize and embellish real life.

Glittering skin. How ridiculous.

Whatever the cause, some vamp groupies had discovered they could alter their blood with drugs to fool new vampires into bringing them into their society for real. Now even mating wasn’t as simple as it once had been. Because these newfangled drugs temporarily altered the blood chemistry of both human and vamp, how could a vampire trust any female he came upon wasn’t amped up on some blood juice meant to trick him?

But that wasn’t the case with Emily. She didn’t even believe in the existence of vampires, though she enjoyed propogating their lore as if they were some fairy tale. There was virtually no chance she’d imbibed a street drug to tempt a man she didn’t find worth her time. She and Lucas were likely the real thing.

Kellan’s mouth curled as he stared hard at Sydney’s car. And no, he wasn’t the least bit bitter.

“I’m just not certain I should—”

“Enough. You in or out?” Kellan lifted his hand to the door. Already his cock was so hard that walking was difficult. He’d endured more than enough talking for one night. “You’ve got ten seconds and then the offer’s off the table. Go find some smoky pub to drown your sorrows in while Sydney and I are enjoying each other.”

“Fine.” Luke nodded, though he made no effort to lose his dour expression. “I’ll have sex with her.”

“I’m sure she’ll be thrilled.” Kellan yanked open the passenger door. His irritation at Lucas caused him to forget to check his strength, and he damn near pulled the thing off the hinges.

Sydney blinked up at him, her dark eyes gleaming in the shadowy recesses of the car. “You guys took awhile.” Her pouty mouth drew down in a frown. “Something wrong?”

Thank God they’d been speaking below her range of hearing. “Of course not.” Kellan directed a narrow-eyed look at the back seat as he and Lucas entered the car. The doors thunked shut behind them. “My friend was just having some trouble with his zipper.”

Her eyes widened. “And you had to help him with it?”

The mere possibility of what she was suggesting made Kellan’s jaw tighten until his teeth ground together. “Absolutely not. He’s on his own.”

“Oh, well then—”

He didn’t give her time to finish the statement. Kellan slid across the seat, barely aware of the console’s hard nudge into his thigh. His only concern at the moment was seeing if Sydney’s mouth was as luscious as it looked.

He gripped her chin in one hand, his gaze locking on hers as his mouth closed the distance between them. Sydney’s lips parted at the first sweep of his tongue. She tasted innocent and sugary, like butterscotch candy, but the way her hands traveled down his torso spoke of experience. No virgin here.

He hated virgins. The last thing he had time for was wooing and sweet words. Maybe he didn’t debase women by referring to their tits in normal conversation, but he was all about ixnaying the talk in favor of screwing. From the insistent pressure of her mouth on his, Sydney seemed to agree.

He helped her tug his T-shirt from the waistband of his jeans and groaned when her hands met his bare flesh. God, it had been weeks since he’d been with a woman, which equaled approximately ten-point-six in human years. Maybe more. Her touch was as heavenly as the cooling aloe he’d slathered all over himself after that nasty incident on the beach in Charleston. But even as he reveled in the feeling, he needed more.

Once again she seemed to read his mind and rolled up her own T-shirt, revealing full breasts that nearly overflowed their puny constraints. Two flicks of his fingertips on the clasp between them and they swung free, their light brown tips pebbled and ready to be sucked.

Her moan shattered the stillness as he took one erect peak between his lips. He’d forgotten all about his friend the moment he’d kissed Sydney, but now he caught sight of Lucas’s white-blond hair out of the corner of his eye. His companion had moved forward to bury his hands in her thick locks. While Kellan watched, never ceasing his ministrations on her breast, Luke bent forward to sample Sydney’s swollen mouth.

A strange sense of possession filled Kellan. She was his. Why had he thought this was such a good idea?

He drew more strongly on Sydney’s nipple, savoring the pulse of blood beneath his lips and tongue. It would be so easy to bite, though he fought to keep his fangs from extending. The urge was pure instinct and resisting took most of his reserves, especially when his frenzied suckling only made her more crazed. Her blood would taste as sweet as her mouth. Sweeter. And he could sip from her, swallow her until their essences mingled in his bloodstream, then wipe her mind before she summoned the strength to scream.

But what he could do and what he should were two different things. This would just be sex. Only sex.

He pulled back, but she seemed too involved in kissing Luke to care. She moaned again as Lucas started massaging her breasts, her hips lifting so the waistband of her khaki shorts drooped enough for Kellan to see the bright blue stone in her navel.

So damn hot.

He’d known she would be wild in bed from the way she pushed her cleavage into his face while she counted out his change at the coffee shop. Now that he had her here, he intended to take full advantage.

Watching Sydney and Lucas together proved to be more than he could stand. He undid her thin black belt, yanking the smooth leather free of its loops with a snap that had the buckle clinking against her breast. She yelped and tore her mouth from Luke’s, her gaze zeroing in on Kellan while he unzipped her shorts. He pushed his hand inside the gaping vee, shoving aside her soaked panties and delving into her steamy heat. Her groans rent the air as her plump pussy lips sucked his fingers deep.

Lucas resumed kissing her and fondling her gorgeous breasts, reddened from Kellan’s mouth, but Kellan’s only focus was rubbing her throbbing clit while his other fingers stroked in and out in a merciless rhythm.

“Yes, yes. Please,” Sydney rasped, unabashedly grinding against his palm. “Oh, God, I’m going to—”

“Not until I’m inside you.”

He gave her mound a teasing slap, his cock thickening as he watched the jolt reverberate through her body. She was so at ease with her sexuality, so sure of herself even when confronted with two virtual strangers. Maybe picking up two aroused vampires on the side of the road wasn’t the wisest move a woman could make, but he’d ensure she never had cause to regret this night.

“Then put it in.” She eyed the massive bulge in his pants with open appreciation. “Now.”

His dick twitched against his jeans. He needed to spill his seed inside her. “Not a lot of room.” Not for what he had in mind, anyway.

She slipped away from Luke and leaned over Kellan’s lap to work the lever on the opposite side of his seat. “Lay back.”

As he reclined, she laid claim to his cock, her fingers squeezing and releasing, inflaming him more with her hand than any other woman ever had with her pussy.

She let out a breathy squeal as she playfully measured his length. “I guessed you were built, but this is beyond my wildest expectations.”

Kellan knotted a hand in her hair, dragging her down until the ends teased his bunched thighs. “Blow me, and I’ll exceed them even more.”

“Mmm. Showoff.” She gloved his cock in her warm, wet mouth, lapping up the beads of pre-cum that dampened the tip. His balls tightened as her ruby red lips engulfed half his shaft.

“You get all the fun,” Lucas said from the back seat, his snappish tone proof he wasn’t happy to be reduced to rubbing Syd’s ass through her tight shorts.

Sydney gave Kellan’s dick a kiss with plenty of suction and then turned her head to grin at Luke. He’d stationed himself between the seats like a voyeur. “Drop your pants, sweetheart, and I’ll give you the same treatment.”

Not so shy and retiring now, Kellan noted darkly as his friend rushed to comply. “Later,” he said, pinching Sydney’s nipples to bring her attention back front and center where it belonged. “Right now, we’re going for that ride.”

Her eyes blazed as she popped back down in her seat to thrust her shorts and panties down her legs. While she fought to yank them off, she sent Kellan a flirty look under her lashes. “Why don’t you see if you can stroke that gorgeous cock up another inch, like you promised me?”

“Just like a woman. Never satisfied.” But he couldn’t claim fisting his length was a hardship, any more than it was to watch her breasts bounce as she clambered over the console. “Better?” he asked, nudging his erection into her belly while he captured her mouth in a punishing kiss.

“It’ll do.” She drew slow circles over the head of his erection. “Condoms? If you guys don’t have any, I have some in my purse.”

“We don’t use condoms,” Lucas said, his voice smug. “No need.”

“Oh, no?” She laughed. “You have special sperm or something?”

Kellan shot his pal a warning glance. Shut the hell up.

“We’re clean,” he said instead, tracing his fingertips over her dewy pink cheek. As lovely as her skin was now, if she were turned, she’d be simply luminescent.

Kellan swallowed. Why the hell was he thinking that? He wouldn’t turn her. That had never been part of the plan. This was about sex only, mostly for Luke’s benefit, though his plan had begun to disintegrate the moment Sydney had pulled up beside them. She was too perfect to use as a demonstration model for his best friend.

“Do you have medical reports to prove that?” she questioned.

“I promise you have nothing to fear. Let me inside you,” he said into the silence, dipping his fingers between her thighs once again. Amazingly, she was even wetter than before. “No barriers. Skin to skin.”

He expected the doubts shining in her eyes to override his command. But then she straddled him, falling forward on his chest so her head didn’t bump the ceiling. Her pussy brushed his cock, once, twice, taunting him, before she finally arched and sheathed him in her slick heat.

“God.” She rubbed her breasts against him, her rock-hard nipples practically scoring his skin. He tore his T-shirt in his hurry to get it fully out of the way. Oh, yes. Yes. Nothing had ever felt so deliciously right.

“Want more?” He dug his fingers into her ass, rotating his hips so the crinkly hair at the base of his shaft ground against her clit.

She panted, nodding. “Yes. More.” She gripped his shoulders and lanced her tongue into his mouth, her body consuming his with every clench of her cunt. So tight and hot, so juicy and perfectly made for his cock, she took him and begged for more.

He reared up to drive himself deeper into her scalding heat, his balls slapping her in time with his thrusts. Here was the woman he’d dreamed of, in living Technicolor. Naked, her nipples branded with red circles from his lips, her body welcoming him with every stroke.

Luke leaned forward over Kellan’s seat to lap at Sydney’s breasts as if she were a dripping ice cream cone. The stiff cock he’d freed from his trousers bobbed a little too close to Kellan’s cheek for comfort, but Luke resumed stroking it, thereby keeping his staff out of Kellan’s line of sight. Damn good thing, because his buddy was on his own.

Kellan leaned up on his elbow, his mouth unerringly locating her pulse underneath her collarbone. He licked her skin, exploring the hollow between her delicate bones as he changed the angle of his cock to stimulate her G-spot.

Her nails burrowed into his shoulders. “God, you feel incredible.” Her moisture flooded his cock, eliciting his own raw groan. “Damn, I’m coming.”

He pumped deeper, his fingers seeking her distended clit. He pistoned his hips, pushing her for more. “Not done yet,” he murmured into her ear.

“I can’t, I can’t—”

“You can.” Kellan pulled out, leaving her hovering on the edge of his shaft. Then he slowly pushed deep, coaxing another climax from her, one that caused her inner walls to ripple around him.

She moaned, fusing her mouth to his while she bucked and quaked. Shuddering, she collapsed against his chest, her body limp and beaded with sweat.

Kellan adjusted his hold and thumbed up her chin. Her breath hissed out as he skimmed the edge of his teeth along her damp jaw. In another second, his fangs would be fully extended. There could be no stopping the reaction any more than he could halt the orgasm bearing down on him.

An instant would be all it would take. Her blood would flow over his tongue, warming him, filling him, until he tasted her and scented her in every pore. His erection pulsed insistently. Yes, an instant. Then he’d take away the memory and she would never know.

“Man, don’t do it,” Luke warned from the back seat. He leaned forward to brush his mouth over Syd’s temple, but his gaze was all for Kellan. “Don’t.”

Kellan surged his cock inside her. Dammit, he needed to come. And he needed her blood just as much as he’d needed to feel her spasm around him.

“Don’t what?” She lifted her head, making it even easier for Kellan’s teeth to access that alluring throb beneath her skin. “Come inside me? It’s okay.” Her lips lifted slyly. “I’ve been on the Pill forever.”

Screw Lucas. He’d do what he needed to, consequences be damned.

He gripped her ass, lifting her until his swollen tip grazed her clit. He entered her again slowly, inching inward as her body accepted him on a warm, welcoming gush of liquid.

Her eyes shuttered and she kneaded his stomach, goading him on. “Oh, God. Come inside me. Let me feel it.”

He needed no further invitation.

Kellan drove deep, rearing up to slice her skin with his fangs as his cock pumped its release. She twitched in his hold, her moans turning to screams as her sweet, slightly salty blood rained down his throat.

Never had he sampled someone so delectable. He needed more. No amount could quench his thirst. His balls jerked as they emptied and still he drank, unable to stop, until finally he realized her pleasured moans had ceased.

Luke grabbed his shoulder. “Goddammit, Kell, you’re killing her!”

He ripped his mouth away from her throat, staring in horror at the wide gash he’d made. She looked like she’d been attacked by a savage. Blood soaked the T-shirt she’d never managed to get all the way off, and her cheeks had paled to the white of the moon.

He released her and she slumped against him, boneless. Not moving. Barely breathing.

Dear God, he had killed her.

“She’s not dead.” Luke spoke in an even voice. “Yet. But you know what we have to do now. We have no choice. You took too much for her to heal on her own. She needs our blood.”

Giving a human vampire blood was always dangerous. A lot was required for a change, so that wasn’t an issue. But a blood exchange scent-marked them as vampire bait and gave them some of the same powers as the vampire that fed them. In a few days, the fading vampire essence would become overwhelmed by the composition of the human’s blood, but in the meantime, their minds could not be wiped.

It was a fine line. A little sip, memory access. A little more, the ability to alter those memories. Still more, saving the human from certain death. And then finally, with a long drink, the choice to offer them eternal life.

But there were always risks. While the humans were riding the vampire juice, the possibility existed their memories of the bite would slip through, although the mortal would have to be extremely strong-willed. But to be safe, they had to be quarantined from other humans, lest they talked about what had occurred.

In short, he’d just royally fucked her—and himself.

The good news was they could fix this. After a few days passed, he would have to bite her again, but just enough for him to taste her, allowing him access to her memories. He could mind-control her marginally without the bite, but to be sure nothing remained, he would have to sample her again. That would grant him the ability to hold her in his thrall while he rifled through—and altered, if need be—her mental files from tonight.

“Goddammit.” He was furious at himself. What had happened? How could he have lost control? It had never happened like that before.

He stared at Sydney. Good God, was it possible? Time was of the essence, but he couldn’t move. Her blood coursed through his limbs, but at the same time he felt weightless, as if he hovered just above the earth and the moon itself could shine through him.

His mistake had been tapping her vein. The minute her blood pheromones had washed over him, the game had changed.

Everything had changed.

“Kell!” Luke slapped him full in the face. “We have to move. What’s wrong with you?”

“Sorry. Sorry.” He shook his head to clear it. He couldn’t lose her now, not when he’d finally found her. And he would lose her if he didn’t break free from his blood-and sex-drunk stupor.

Luke pulled the driver’s seat back without benefit of the lever and then vaulted effortlessly into the front. He was already withdrawing the blade he always carried from his trouser pocket. “Then let’s do this.”