She realized his cock remained rock hard inside her. “I know you came so why aren’t you softening?”

“I’m not human.”

“Right.” She rested her cheek against the curve of his shoulder. “I don’t feel weak or dizzy anymore. I guess taking your blood worked. I don’t want to believe this but I can’t dispute the fact that the blood is affecting me the way the shots do.” She actually felt better faster than she normally did. “Thank you.”

“Never thank me for giving you what you need. It’s my privilege and honor to care for you.”

She chewed on her lip. He sounded sincere. Part of her felt uncomfortable with the situation. She hadn’t known him that long but they’d just had sex. It was a first for her. She normally dated someone for months before taking that step. Drantos was different. It wasn’t just because of how they’d met or the fact that they’d gone through so much together in such a short time. There was a strong attraction Dusti hoped they shared. She wondered if he felt the same way.

“Was this just sex to you?”

“No.” He held her tighter.

“Okay.” She relaxed a little.

“I’ve never felt this way about someone else.”

She liked hearing that. “Me either.” She was warm now, no longer cold, and felt comfortable in his arms. They were still physically joined since he kept her on his lap. It was the most intimate after-sex time she’d spent with a man. The silence bothered her, though; made her feel like the emotional connection was missing. She just wanted to hear his voice so she said the first thing that came to mind.

“Talk about firsts. I’ve never jumped into bed with someone this fast—and I drank some of your blood. Are you a little freaked-out too because you bit me during sex?”

He didn’t say anything.

“Did you fall asleep already? I know guys conk out after sex but I thought you were different.”

“What do you mean by freaked-out?”

“You know, the whole being bitten and having sex thing.”

He cleared his throat. “You’ll get used to it.”

He spoke so quietly she barely heard the words, but she had. Uneasiness slowly sank into her. “You’ve done this before then? You bite women during sex?” Does he do this often?

She’d thought what they did was special. She was feeling things for him. Did that mean he’d just walk away in the end? What they’d shared had felt so exceptional to her.

He cleared his throat again and he massaged her with his hands. She thought he would lift her off him but instead he settled her more firmly against him. “Neither of us were virgins.”

“What does one have to do with the other?”

He held her just a little tighter. “You know how you don’t want to know my actual age? I believe this is another subject you don’t want to discuss tonight.”

Confusion had her lifting her head away from him. She wished she could see his face. “What are you not saying? Now I’m going to imagine all kinds of bad stuff. Just tell me. Do you drink blood from all the women you have sex with? Is what we just did together your normal?”

He took a deep breath. “Fine. Sometimes during sex, VampLycans draw blood. It’s foreplay if they are into rough sex, or if they want to test to see if the woman could be their mate. One will bite, but we don’t bite each other at the same time.”

She let that sink in. The image of Drantos with other women, allowing them to fuck and suck on him, wasn’t one she enjoyed at all. She forced her body to relax and rested her head against his shoulder again. It’s not as if we’re engaged or even dating, she reasoned, trying not to feel jealous but failing. Pain surfaced too. What they’d done was way out of her comfort zone and she’d mistaken it for a lot more than he seemed to.

“Dusti? I can feel your heart pounding. I told you that you didn’t want to know.”

“It’s no biggie,” she lied.

He remained silent. She held still for a full minute.

“I should get off you. I can’t sleep with you inside me.”

He softly cursed. “I shouldn’t have told you. You’re angry.”

“No. I just don’t sleep straddling a guy’s lap with his dick buried inside me.”

He growled. “You will with me.”

“I still plan to curl up on your lap. You’re keeping me warm.”

“You’ll stay where you belong.”

That had her eyebrows lifting. “What does that mean?”

“Sleep. You need to rest. You’re comfortable and warm where you are. You’re right where I want you.”

“Just because I fucked you doesn’t mean you can order me around.”

His body tensed. “Sleep, Dusti. We’ll finish this argument in the morning if you want to have one. We need to rest. It’s been a long day.”

She relaxed. “Fine. We’ll fight in the morning. If I wasn’t exhausted, you’d be in a world of shit though for acting all caveman with me.”

His hands roamed her body, massaging where he touched. “None of them mattered, sweetheart. You’re special to me. You and I exchanged blood together during sex. That’s a first for me.”

Some of her anger eased. He probably said that to all the women he had sex with but she wanted to believe it. She allowed the exhaustion to take hold. She didn’t want to deal with the fact that she might be falling in love with someone who wasn’t human and that her entire world had turned upside down.

I’m not totally human either. Tears filled her eyes but his massaging hands on her body soothed her into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Eight

Drantos woke before dawn. He knew he’d messed up the night before. He never wanted to lie to Dusti but admitting that some biting during sex wasn’t rare with VampLycans had angered her. It was possible it even hurt her feelings.

Her slow breathing assured him that she still slept. His own anger stirred when he remembered the shape she’d been in when he’d found her curled into a ball, near death.

His pure hatred for Decker burned inside his chest. The clan leader had forced his only daughter to flee into the human world to escape a horrible fate of being sent to the cliffs to live with a GarLycan. Dusti’s mother, Antina, had either told the human she’d lived with the truth about her being a VampLycan, to actually form a mating bond with him, or she’d bypassed her instincts. It would have been difficult to get pregnant but not impossible if she snuck his blood, taking hold of his mind to make him forget afterward. It was a depressing thought to have to live with someone that way.