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  Strangely, for the first time in longer than she could remember, she fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

  Ty stalked through the darkness toward the man kneeling in the center of a ring formed by his soldiers.

  The man smelled of sweat, sharp and acrid despite the cold—and fear.

  And well he should.

  “He was their leader,” Diego murmured. “The smartest among them. He ran.”

  The man stumbled to his feet, whimpering. “Please. Let me go.” He reached out a hand.

  Ty knew he couldn’t see a thing, so thick was the cloud cover that the full moon above it was completely shrouded in darkness. He strode toward the man and reached behind his head to grasp his thick hair. He pulled him close, grimacing when the man released urine that leaked down his pants leg and filled the air with the sour odor.

  He leaned close to whisper in his ear. “Say your prayers.”

  “Make me one of you. Please,” he begged, his breaths hacking with his sobs. “I don’t wanna die.”

  “You frightened my woman. Why would you think I’d spare you?”

  The man trembled like a leaf on a windy day. “I didn’t know… I wouldn’t have hurt her. I swear, I’m sorry.”

  Ty jerked back his head, baring his throat. “You’re gonna give me a bellyache, aren’t you?” He shook his head, letting loose his beast with a roar and bit deep into the man’s throat.

  Blood surged inside his mouth—rich, young, but tainted with the sour bite of alcohol. The man struggled, a gurgling sound issuing from the gaping wound in his neck.

  When at last he quieted, Ty released him, letting him drop to the ground. With his bloodlust sated for the moment, he threw back his head and howled.

  Ty found her sleeping on the sofa, fully clothed and unaware someone watched. He doubted she’d slept so soundly in a long time. Satisfaction warmed his heart—she felt safe. This was one thing he could give her.

  Only with a full belly was he able to stand being this close to her. Even now, his hunger rose thick to choke the back of his throat. Soon he’d have to taste her sweetness.

  He woke her and pulled her up, then lay on the sofa and dragged her body over his.

  Her legs intertwined with his and she sighed, murmuring sleepily as she fell quickly back to sleep with her head resting over his heart.

  Ty gritted his teeth against the urge to rut against her. His cock was full to bursting, but he embraced the ache, thankful he’d finally found the woman he thought might be strong enough to be his mate. She’d taken his rough loving, even reveled in it. When the time came for a deeper, harsher joining he knew in his gut she’d survive.

  Holding her, breathing her in, felt natural and right. He willed himself to relax. With his hand settling on the curved small of her back, he too fell into a deep slumber, lulled by the soft, warm breaths that gusted against his chest and the steady beating of her heart.

  Tonight, he’d let her rest. If he could stand it.

  Chapter Six

  Kate awoke to find herself pressed against the back of the sofa as Ty rolled out from underneath her. Just as quick, she felt her jeans give at the waist and heard the zipper rasp as he yanked it down. He quickly peeled her pants off her legs.

  “Ty?” she asked, knowing what he intended since he left her top completely alone.

  She quickly found herself sitting at the edge of the sofa, her legs draped over the tops of his shoulders.

  The inky blackness that surrounded them leant a feeling of unreality—like she was dreaming. The sounds of his breaths and the creak of the leather beneath her bottom seemed louder, filled with a ripening tension that brought her past dreamy pleasure straight to the blackest, hottest sense of eroticism she’d ever felt. Fear heightened her sensitivity so that when his thick thumbs parted her outer lips, she jerked and released a startled cry.

  “Ty?” she repeated and reached between her legs to grab his hair. “Talk to me.”

  “Can’t. Have to taste,” he said, his voice so gravelly it was almost unrecognizable.

  “Jesus,” she gasped when his tongue, strangely wide and roughened, lapped between her legs from asshole all the way up to her clit.

  When he repeated the action, again and again, she moaned, sure she was going to burst out of her skin she was so aroused. Hot, thick cream gushed from deep inside her and she arched, digging her heels into his back.

  His hands gripped her hard, holding her hips steady as he growled and lapped the liquid pleasure smearing her thighs and his face. His tongue tunneled into her, twisting to reach as far as he could, seeming to search for every drop her body offered.

  Kate gripped his hair hard and tilted her hips to grind her pussy into his face, wanting him deeper, needing his attention on her hardening clit. Her belly trembled and her thighs widened—splaying to give him better access to every part of her that ached.

  When one thick thumb sank into her ass, she keened long and loud. “Ty, oh God. Please. Suck my clit.”

  Instead, fingers, thick and calloused, crammed into her cunt, fucking in and out, twisting to screw her hard.

  Ecstasy slammed through her, gripping her body in a convulsion that shook her belly and thighs and had her whimpering endlessly as it built.

  When at last his lips closed on her clitoris and he sucked—air whooshed from her lungs and her back shot off the sofa as a pulsing coil of heat tightened her womb. She rode his mouth and fingers, tightening and slackening her inner muscles to hold onto the rapture a moment or two longer.

  When his mouth moved off the throbbing knot, she sighed in relief and slumped against the cushions as the aftershocks rippled through her vagina. He lapped her like a cat—rasping, soothing motions, now—licking over her swollen lips and clit, delving to either side to trace the crease between her thigh and her pussy.

  Her pulse throbbed against his tongue where he paused at her inner thigh, licking until the spot burned then grew oddly numb. A faint pricking sensation registered on her mind a second before she was thrust suddenly back into the maelstrom—her body awash with another deepening orgasm.

  All the blood in her body seemed to flow toward her cunt in a rush, drawing to the spot where he mouthed her inner thigh. Hot and cold all at once, she writhed as his fingers thrust deep inside her ass and cunt. Her inner muscles clamped hard around him, milking him—lush, wet sounds quickening to the rhythm of his strokes.

  Beyond words, almost beyond breath, her fingers clawed at his hair as her body undulated, riding out the storm that never seemed to wane.

  He groaned, a deep, guttural sound she echoed as she flew out of herself, rushing headlong into the darkness.

  “It was too soon, amigo,” Diego said quietly, as they sped up the long gravel road.

  Ty glanced over his shoulder to where Kate sat huddled in the back seat of the Hummer, sleeping despite the rough ride. The dark purple crescents beneath her eyes bespoke of exhaustion and blood loss. “Creo qué sí. You’re right.”

  He damned himself for his selfish act the previous night. He should have slept with the men inside the church rather then succumbing to the delicious temptation she embodied. With her warm body wedged close to his and her heartbeats thudding steadily against his chest, he’d been driven slowly mad, until he’d broken the vow he’d made.

  He’d promised not to take what wasn’t offered.

  That morning, Kate seemed unaware he’d crossed that line. Sluggish, she’d put her fatigue down to too little sleep and too much sex. She’d roused only long enough to see them all through the gate. Thankfully, his men had kept Shep and Danny busy long enough for Ty to bundle Kate into the lead vehicle without them realizing anything was amiss.

  “That’s one helluva fence,” Diego said, eyeing the twelve-foot-tall game fence with the barbed wire coiled on top like makeshift concertina wire.

  “Maybe she didn’t need us so badly after all,” Ty murmured, not sorry one bit they’d made the trip. “Maybe we’ll find you a girlfrien
d too.”

  Diego gave him a sour look, and Ty laughed. Diego’s cynicism regarding the opposite sex was a longtime source of humor for the team.

  Finally the ranch house and outbuildings came into view. He blew out a breath, surprised by what he saw. Despite the chaos that reined in the world beyond the fence, here, everything seemed well-tended—whitewashed, nothing out of place or order.

  “Nice operation,” Diego murmured. “No wonder she didn’t want to leave.”

  Ty echoed the sentiment in silence as men poured out of the buildings.

  Hands stood beside the corral and barn door and perched along the front porch, well-oiled weapons glinting at their sides or in their arms.

  He approved.

  He turned in his seat. “Kate, honey, wake up. You’re home.”

  Kate held a steaming cup of coffee between her hands and breathed in the aroma. Finally she felt like she was perking up. She sat on the railing, eyeing the loading of the transport vehicles.

  The families tromped in a steady trail back and forth to the vehicles with their meager belongings. Even the children came with boxes of their toys for the journey. Watching their excitement, Kate felt the weight of her responsibilities shift off her shoulders. She’d done the right thing for them.

  Boot steps clomped on the wooden porch and she stiffened. Without turning to see who it was, she knew Sam had joined her. All morning long, she’d acted like a coward, retreating behind the excuse of overseeing the introductions of Ty’s men and her people, taking part in the discussions with the families to help alleviate their fears of the coming trek westward to the Davis Mountains.

  “Kate,” he said, “you happy with your choice?”

  She swallowed against the lump forming at the back of her throat and turned to face him, setting her coffee cup on the railing. “Yes, Sam. I’m sor—”

  He shook his head. “Don’t. I’m okay. It’s not like we ever made any promises.”

  It was hard meeting his gaze. His eyes were moist, but a slight smile curved his lips. He looked sad, but resigned.

  “You know I love you,” she said.

  “And I love you. I only want you happy.”

  He held open his arms, and she walked into them, wrapping hers around his waist. They stood like that for a long time.

  “I’m not going with you, Kate.”

  “What?” she drew back, staring in shock at his handsome face. “Sam, you can’t stay by yourself.”

  “Shep and Danny, and a couple of the new men, are staying too. We’ll take our chances here.”

  She wanted to argue with him, rail at him for being foolish, but she recognized the stubborn set of his jaw. She could have been looking in a mirror. “Then she’s yours. Sanctuary is yours, now.”

  “Come back when you can,” he said, his voice rough.

  She nodded, tears blurring her eyes, not knowing what the future might hold for either of them.

  The front door slammed and Kate turned to the sound. Shep stepped out onto the porch, his gaze hard. “What hand did you say you stabbed?”

  It took her a moment to understand what he asked. “Are you talking about Ty?” she asked, feeling uneasy at the way Shep’s lips thinned. “His left one, why?”

  “Not a mark on him. I looked just a minute ago. Somethin’s not right.”

  Kate stiffened, feeling like the other boot had finally dropped. She hadn’t paid any attention, but she also didn’t recall seeing even a scratch on the back of his hand that morning.

  Shep and Sam drew their weapons, and Sam signaled to one of the hands who sat astride the corral fence. He jumped down and strode toward them, his hand already going to the gun strapped to his thigh.

  Kate followed suit, knowing where her duty lay, even as her stomach plummeted. She tucked her coat behind her holster and stepped off the porch toward the men loading the vehicles.

  Diego watched them approach and murmured something to Ty, who turned slowly to face Kate and her cowboys.

  His gaze swept down to the gun her hand rested beside, before coming back up to meet hers. “Something wrong, Kate?”

  “Your hand,” she said, keeping her voice dead even. “You healed really fast.”

  He nodded slowly. “I’ve got a great metabolism. The only problem is it needs blood to fuel it.”

  Shep sucked in a breath. “Vampires.”

  Kate felt as though the ground buckled beneath her feet. “What? They’re real?” Then she remembered the pricking sensation she’d felt the previous night when Ty had gone down on her. She stared at him for a long hard moment. “You said, you’d never take what wasn’t offered,” she said, hating how hoarse her voice sounded.

  Ty’s jaw flexed, but he didn’t respond.

  “Nothing’s changed, Kate McKinnon,” Diego said. “We’re not the bad guys. You are still under siege. We’ve come to help.”

  “For what price? Our blood?”

  “Only if it is offered,” he said, the Spanish inflections in his voice more apparent as he enunciated each word precisely.

  Kate snorted and gave both Diego and Ty a disbelieving glare.

  “Does this mean we’re not going?” One of the women asked, her arms filled with pillowcases of clothing.

  “Ma’am, you’d best get back inside the house,” Sam said, never taking his gaze off Ty and Diego.

  Ty reached toward Kate. “We need to talk.”

  She drew her gun in a blur of motion. With her thumb, she clicked off the safety. “Don’t ever come near me again. I want you gone.”

  Ty started to step forward, but Diego’s hand landed on his shoulder. “Not now, Ty. The children are frightened.”

  Sure enough, several sets of round-eyed stares peeked around the corner of the truck.

  Which confused Kate. If he was a monster, why would he care?

  Just as Kate was about to ask Sam what they ought to do next, the radio clipped to Sam’s shoulder squawked, “Sam, we’ve got another break along the southwest fence!” Danny said, his voice shaking with excitement. “And it looks like we have a whole goddamn pack headin’ toward the herd.”

  “We gotta saddle up,” Sam shouted to the men running from the barn. To Ty and Diego, he said, “This ain’t over. Keep clear of us. Kate, you coming?”

  “Damn straight!”

  “That’s bullshit, Kate!” Ty shouted, his fists curling at his sides. “Let me and my men handle it. We’re better equipped.”

  What was he trying to prove? That he still had a human heart? That he really gave a damn about anything other than his next meal? But she didn’t have time to worry about his motives. Kate’s lips twisted. “My men are out there. I’m not sitting on my thumbs.”

  Ty glared at Sam. “You gonna let her ride into danger? Again? Let me do this.”

  Sam tilted his head. “Have at it, soldier boy.” His glance landed on Kate. “Better he and his friends are out there with us where we can keep an eye on ’em.”

  Ty blew a loud whistle between his teeth and his men came running. In minutes, the Hummers were filled with his men, one standing in the each gun turret mounted atop the vehicles. Without a backward glance, Ty signaled for them to pull out.

  Kate watched their trail of dust for a moment, then gave Sam a narrowed-eyed look. “You just gonna stand by and let those wolves eat their way through your herd?”

  Sam’s lips curled upward at the corners. Over his shoulder he shouted, “Saddle up, boys.”

  In minutes, Kate was spurring Lucy Lu across the wide open fields, heading to the wooded southeast corner of Sanctuary with Sam and two more hands at her sides. This was something she understood, something she was good at—the hunt stirred her blood and filled her thoughts so she didn’t have to think about Ty and his Band of Bloodsuckers.

  Ahead, they heard the rapid bursts of automatic weapons firing in the distance.

  At the edge of the woods, Kate reined in and looked to Sam. “They’re going to drive the wolves towards us and into t
he brush, unless we can force them back their way.”

  Sam nodded. “Danny, send out the dogs.”

  Danny pointed into the tangle of brush and trees, and the dogs took off, whining and growling as they began to hunt. The cowboys separated, putting ten feet of distance between them to cover more ground.

  Kate urged Lucy Lu to follow, ducking beneath low branches, but following at a fast clip, keeping the sounds of the dogs just ahead of her. This deep in the brush, they’d not cross paths with the vampires in their vehicles. Perhaps, they could chase the wolves from the brush into their path and let the soldier boys take it the rest of the way. They seemed so eager to prove they were there to help.

  Kate and her horse entered a clearing, and she pulled back on the reins. Lucy Lu’s ears were pricking back and her flanks quivered with her fear.

  The dogs suddenly sounded louder, and that was when Kate heard deeper growls and saw blurs of gray fur as wolves burst from the brush and leaped into the air toward her horse.

  “Sam!” she shouted, slipping her boots free of her stirrups when Lucy Lu started to go down. She kicked away from her horse, firing her pistol at the beasts as she fell back to the ground.

  Wolves snapped at Lucy Lu whose high-pitched whinnies tore at Kate’s heart, but she had her own problems. She scrambled to her feet while two wolves circled her, tightening the circumference with each turn.

  She had three silver bullets left before she’d need another load. Each shot had to count or she was dog meat.

  Danny’s pit bulls hurtled into the clearing, biting at the flanks of the wolves savaging her horse, but never letting the beasts’ muzzles near their own hides.

  “Kate, hold on!” Sam shouted from astride his bay as he rode in with his gun drawn.

  Kate couldn’t take her eyes off the wolves closing in on her. If they’d only pause a moment, or move in a way she could predict where they’d be the next instant, she could risk a shot. She stood, turning in slow circles, her gun pointing outward, but close to her body so they couldn’t knock it away.