Touch of Temptation by Rhyannon Byrd

some just make you feel like you’ve been put through a wringer. The poison is something that lives in the vampires’ bodies, which they can often pass on to their victims, depending on the specific strain—but with most of the infected nests, that’s where the cycle stops. The Reykers’ strain of poison is one that’s no longer contagious once it spreads through their victims. So even though it’s inside me, the poison isn’t something I can pass on to another.”
    “Oh.” She took another deep, trembling breath. “Then why won’t you help me? I mean, I know I’m nowhere close to your usual type, but this is…this isn’t a normal situation.”
    He hated that she looked at it that way, as if he ever would have preferred his usual type to her.
    “Chloe, I swear I’m not trying to be an ass. The truthis…” He groaned, wanting to tell her he was afraid of his wolf taking control and hurting her, but damn it, he didn’t want her scared of him. So he told her another truth instead. “The truth is that I’d like nothing more than to…to give you what you need, but I can’t do that. I’m not the kind of guy you want to get mixed up with, honey. Even for something that’s short term.” Because he knew damn well that once she learned about all the stupid shit that he’d done…about the way he’d bedded down with one of the Casus females and nearly gotten his friends killed, she’d be disgusted that she’d ever allowed him to touch her, much less take his blood into her body for a Merrick feeding.
    Kellan thought it might be more the ragged edge to his words than the actual words themselves that had her lifting her head to look at him. “What do you mean?”
    His mouth twisted with a wry smile. “I’m fucked up. Hell, my issues have issues. Big, nasty hairy ones that you really don’t want anything to do with.”
    Her brows drew together in a small V. “Weren’t you in here for the beginning of this conversation? I already know about the women, Kellan. Raine said you’re known as a playboy of epic proportions. A relentless womanizer.”
    He couldn’t believe the heat burning in his face, as if he was actually embarrassed that she knew about his man-slut reputation. “Yeah, well, that’s part of it. Olivia would tell you it’s my ‘coping mechanism.’”
    She suddenly laughed, though the light sound held a brittle edge. “Did I miss something?” he asked.
    Shaking her head, she said, “It’s just that that’s how I look at my lifestyle. The way I seclude myself from other people is my own little ‘coping mechanism.’”
    Kellan frowned. “And that’s funny, how?”
    “Well, think about it. We went about ‘coping’ in completely different ways. You by nailing everything that moves, so long as it was gorgeous and built—while the only things I’ve been nailing would be pictures on the wall, and all by my lonesome.” She snorted, saying, “Of the two of us, I’m betting you’ve been having a helluva lot more fun than I have.”
    With a rough burst of laughter, Kellan slowly shook his head, not knowing what to say.
    Then her smile faded, and he tensed as she quietly said, “I’m not asking you to marry me, Kellan. I’m not even asking you to be my boyfriend. Aside from the blood, I’m just asking you to give me what hundreds of other women have gotten from you.”
    He swallowed against the knot of regret lodged deep in his throat, and somehow managed to rasp, “I can’t do that.”
    “Why not?” she asked, clearly baffled by his continued refusal.
    “It’s…complicated,” he muttered, while his wolf roared with raw frustration, the savage sound so loud within his mind that he winced. Though he wanted so badly to give in, Kellan knew that no matter how miserable Chloe Harcourt was at that moment, she could get what she needed from one of his unmated friends once they were free…and then she’d be okay. Not to mention a helluva lot safer than if she let him touch