Undying Embrace by Jessica Lee Page B

if he was a demon released from hell, and she was his first taste of light. And God, it was good.
    His lips trailed across her cheek, her chin. The scrape of his short beard along her face had her nipples tightening into hard peaks and a rush of moisture gathering between her legs. She leaned her head to the side as he made his way to her ear and then down the side of her neck. Her heart raced. Elle ran her hands down his back and over the hard muscles that rippled under the leather he wore. She loved the way he felt in her arms.
    He licked at her neck, and she couldn’t help but moan. Then the sharp sting of fangs scored her throat. She jerked and froze, digging her nails into the leather on his back. Images of long fangs, stained with blood, flashed inside her mind. She gasped. Memories of a suffocating stench flooded her mind, horrible pain, pulling her under into darkness.
    No escape.
    She was going to die.
    Shoving her palms against his arms, she flung herself away from his chest. She scrambled off the bike, nearly tumbling face-first into the dirt. The sound of her blood pounded away in her ears, an ironic drumbeat to the passion that had made her pulse race moments before.
    Whirling, she faced him and reached for her throat, needing to soothe the ache there. She pulled her hand away and glanced down. In the shadow of her headlights, a dark, wet stain smeared her skin. Her hand trembled at the sight. Hold it together, Elle. Remember, you’re all grown up now.
    “You son of a bitch.” She dragged her gaze from her palm and to his face. He didn’t speak; instead, he leaned over and snatched his helmet with one hand from the ground. When his gaze returned to hers, he shook his head and sighed.
    “Get out of here, Gabrielle. This is not what you want. And I’m definitely not who you want.”
    Her head spun like some skydiver in an out-of-control free fall. And that’s exactly how she felt. She backed away then turned and gripped her car door. What did she really want from him? She was the one running now, proving everything he’d said was right. God that chapped her ass raw. She glanced over at Arran. He sat there, holding his helmet between his legs—waiting for her to leave first.
    “Go to hell, MacLain.”
    “Been there. Many times,” he said with half a smile. “The guy with the horns keeps a seat hot for me.”

Chapter Five
    Elle yawned, reached up, and worked her palm in a lazy circle over the wet mirror in the steamy bathroom. Slowly, the blurred image of her face came into focus. If only it were that easy to remove the doubt and fear from her mind. With just the wave of her hand, all would be right with her world. Kenric and Arran had offered years ago to erase her memory of that night. She had refused. The DEAD attack in the alley seven years ago, and the memories of her childhood nights spent fighting off her mother’s boyfriend-of-the-week before she’d married their step-father, had made her the woman she was today: a fighter. Stronger. She didn’t need anyone manipulating the neurons in her brain so that she could cope.
    Hell, that’s what she’d been doing since the day she was born, coping.
    She breathed a heavy sigh, followed by another yawn. The day had been a long one. Without the deep dark UV protection over the windows, her sister’s apartment was much lighter during the day than she was used to, making it hard to sleep. That, and the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about what had finally surfaced between her and Arran.
    He was right. She had been deluding herself for years, ignoring the fact that he was a vampire and the needs that entailed. Instead of dealing with her trauma, she’d been burying it. Working with the Enclave had given her a physical outlet against her enemy, but last night had forced her to take a hard look at herself. Her bigger problem existed deep inside. If she didn’t find a way to exorcise that nasty little demon out of her head, she would always be