Blood Mate: A Paranormal Romance by Natalie Kristen

wall.
    She struggled but he pressed
on, pressed hard into her. He would end this fight, now.
    Smashing his arm against her
throat, he pinned her against the wall. He increased the pressure,
threatening to choke her.
    She fought him hard, refusing
to give up. She bared her fangs and hissed at him but he only smiled
grimly. He was stronger than her, and he had been in dirtier,
grittier fights than this. He had tangled with monsters, rogues that
were worse than monsters and survived.
    Bryn stood absolutely no
chance against him.
    Gradually, her flailing and
thrashing subsided. She glared at him in defiance, and then lowered
her eyes in defeat. She turned away.
    You win.
    Jett leaned in and growled
into her ear, “You said you'll accept any punishment from me.”
    “ Go ahead,” she
answered belligerently. “Do what you want.”
    “ What I want—is
this.”
    Jett leaned in and covered her
mouth with his.
    This time, the kiss was
gentle, tender, full of feeling and longing. She gasped against his
mouth and blinked repeatedly.
    He kissed her again, savoring
the feel and taste of her. He touched his lips softly to hers in a
light, gentle kiss. With one hand on the back of her head, he tilted
her face up to him, kissing her endlessly. He couldn't help himself.
He just couldn't get enough of her.
    Bryn's entire body began to
quiver when he deepened the kiss. She melted against him, arching
her back to give him more.
    He was pulling back from her
when she let out a tortured cry and started to shake violently.
    “ Bryn!”
    He grabbed her and held her,
trying to steady her. When her eyes finally flew open, Jett saw that
her beautiful black eyes had turned a pulsing, scorching red.
    He could see her fangs
glistening. There was blood on her lips. Fresh, hot blood.
    His blood.
    He had cracked his lips in the
fight, but he hadn't felt the pain. Jett stepped back, swearing
viciously.
    He knew vampires recognized
their mates by blood. Did she...recognize him as her mate? He had
seen her shock and hunger earlier when she first licked a drop of his
blood from her finger. And now, her body was reacting so strongly to
his. His blood, his scent, his nearness seemed to be tormenting her,
driving her out of her mind.
    He saw the fierce, quaking
hunger and desire in her eyes. She let out a small whimper, and
started to shake violently. She bent over with a cry, her body
wrecked by spasms.
    “ Jett...” Cold
sweat dotted her forehead.
    He grabbed her and stared into
her red eyes. She started to gnaw on the back of her hand with her
fangs, trying to fight her maddening hunger. Her back arched and she
stared at him with crazed yearning, her nails digging hard into his
biceps.
    “ Jett...” she
panted. “I...I need...” You.
    As soon as she uttered the
words, she turned away quickly. She didn't want to see his disgust
and disdain. And have him reject her to her face.
    “ Bryn...” Jett
stared down at her.
    Bryn gave a small, pained cry
and buried her face in her shaking hands. She was ashamed of her
body's reaction, resentful of the uncontrollable and undeniable lust
and desire raging through her. She didn't want him to see her face,
and see the unrelenting hunger in her eyes. She was trying to hide
from him.
    Jett closed his fingers over
her slender wrists and forced her hands away from her tear-streaked
face.
    Bryn hiccuped a sob and turned
away, refusing to look at him.
    “ Bryn, look at me,”
Jett grated, slamming her hands against the wall on either side of
her face. “Look at me! Don't hide from me. I want you to
look at me!” he ordered.
    He held her face in both
hands. “Tell me what you need, Bryn. Tell me. I will give
you what you need,” he spoke solemnly and slowly, letting her
understand the full import of his words.
    She gasped and blinked at him,
her eyes registering shock, relief, satisfaction, joy and a touch of
terror. The conflicting emotions burned in her dark eyes as she
stared at him. Her body shuddered and