“Do you think I’m redeemable?” asked Minach.

“Far more redeemable than I am. I’ve got foulness in my blood. Your foulness is merely on the surface.”

“Don’t say that,” he replied, pulling his hand away abruptly, his brows knitting together again. “Don’t ever say that about yourself.”

“It’s the truth.”

“No, it’s not. There is nothing in you that’s foul. You’re a beautiful creature, inside and out.”

“I’m not sure I want to talk about myself, Minach.” Amara turned away to look out the window towards the jagged coastal cliffs silhouetted against the afternoon sky.

“Well, that’s unfortunate. Because every time I look at you I’m reminded how good a person can be, and I want to be a better man. Every time. You’re as near perfect as anyone in the world, Amara. You just don’t see it.”

She wiped away an errant tear that had slipped down her cheek, cursing herself for the show of emotion. “Not so,” she said, slipping off the bed to step towards the window. “But I want you to realize that you and I aren’t so very different. You’re imperfect, just as I am, but you’re not a villain, Minach.” She turned and stared at him. “You should stop acting like one. Stop denying what you could be. Stop denying yourself happiness.”

“Stop denying myself happiness?” He rose to his feet, stepping swiftly around the bed towards her. “Do you begin to understand what you just asked of me?”

He was close now. So close that she could taste him. Her desire was almost unbearable. To wrap her arms around him, to taste him.

Clearly he felt the same need, because in one smooth gesture he cupped a hand around the back of her head and crushed his lips to hers. The world tumbled, Amara’s head spinning like a feather caught in a hurricane. His tongue found its way to hers, aggressive but gentle. It was the most wonderful thing she’d ever felt. The taste of him was magic, her mind swimming in a sea of bliss. Life surged through her; heat, joy, the perfection of the moment.

Perhaps it was that she couldn’t hope for more than a kiss. Perhaps it was that she knew this was as far as she would ever get with Minach. Whatever the reason, his lips against hers summoned the most wonderful explosion inside her, greater than any orgasm she could imagine.

He was kissing her cheek now, her neck, pressing her back towards the wall, his hands pinning hers to her sides as his mouth explored her jaw, her chin, her neck. Oh, his lips were so hungry for her body, and she welcomed them. Moving down her chest now, seeking a nipple through her cotton shirt. Amara had forgotten how good it felt to be tended by a man, to be so desired. She’d forgotten how alive, how immersed in erotic pleasure she could feel.

“We have to stop,” she moaned, uncertain that she could possibly mean it when everything he was doing to her body was so, so good.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, laying soft kisses on her breast, lifting her hands over her head to intertwine his fingers with hers. “Do you?”

No, of course she didn’t. She wanted him to keep going, to keep up his aggression until he was on top of her, deep inside her, her legs wrapped about his waist as he sheathed himself over and over again. Wanted to cry out his name as he filled her with his seed.

Desire flooded through her in a torrent. Desire for his body, for his soul, for his very life force. She wanted to consume him.

She wanted to drain him of everything, of his warmth, his very essence.

His blood.

Oh, God.

No, no, no!

Minach had no idea what sort of danger he was in. Her Wolf might have faded, but the blood-seeker inside her was starving, and in a matter of seconds, he’d become a potential feast.

“I said stop it!” She thrust her hands against him and pushed with surprising force. Minach careened backwards into the bed’s footboard, flying almost into the opposite wall. He raised his hands in submission as he seemed to realize what had just happened. He was many things, but he was not the sort of man to force a woman to do anything against her will.

“What’s going on with you?” he asked. “I don’t understand what you want from me, Amara. Last night, and now this…”

“I can’t be with you. I’ve told you that. I can’t. You should have listened,” she cried, pulling herself backwards. “This place upsets you because you see constant reminders of what once did. You want to know what it feels like to be me, Minach? It doesn’t matter where I go, you know. I’m constantly surrounded by reminders of what I can’t have, what I can never be. Try living with that.” She threw her arms out, gesturing to the whole world. Her chest was heaving, her voice hoarse with pain and longing.

“Amara…”

“Please, just go. Leave me alone, for both our sakes.”

He was too desirable. Too delicious. Too strong, too good, too bad. Too everything. Powerful blood coursed through his veins, and despite the fact that she’d never craved it before, she was filled with a sudden, painful longing for the hot red liquid. Some terrifying power had overtaken her, and it took every ounce of strength that she had to fight it back.

She knew now what she’d always suspected. She would have to stay away from him for the rest of her days. She could never touch him again. She could never give herself to him.

Because if she did, she would destroy them both.