Blood Mate: A Paranormal Romance (7 page)

Bryn put her palm against the
door and pushed the door soundlessly open.

Jett was at his desk. He
looked up in surprise, but didn't say a word. Bryn closed the door
behind her and locked it.

Bryn pushed away from the
door. “I want a rematch.”

Jett raised a brow. “You're
already a member of the investigation unit. Isn't that what you
want?”

“
Yes. But there is
something else I want.”
Someone I want.

Jett kept his eyes on her as
she walked over to him. “This time,” she said slowly, “I
am fighting...”

She stood right in front of
his desk and leaned in. “...for you.”

At this, his eyes flashed and
she gasped at the sudden, fierce heat in his eyes.

“
I will fight for you,
Jett,” she repeated breathlessly.

There. She'd said it.

Bryn waited. Waited for him
to reject her and humiliate her again.

Jett stepped towards her,
holding her gaze. His expression was grim, but when he spoke, she
heard a note of hope and sadness in his voice.

“
I'm not someone...you
should fight for. I'm no prize, Bryn.”

“
I...I know.”

His lips curved. “So,
if you win...” he challenged.

“
If I win, you'll give
me a chance,” she said, her words rushing out on a shaky
breath. “You'll give us a chance,” she whispered.

“
Us?”

Bryn swallowed hard. “Yes.
Us.”

His eyes blazed as he inhaled
sharply. “And if you lose...” he snarled.

“
You can punish me,”
she blurted out, without thinking.

At that, Jett smiled
crookedly, almost wickedly. “And you'll let me punish you? In
any way I want?” He tilted her face up with a finger under her
chin.

She blinked rapidly, her
breath hitching. There was a raw, feral hunger and power in his
eyes. His punishment would be brutal, pitiless, but she wouldn't
back away.

Not now. Not ever.

“
Y-yes,” she said,
not looking away. “You can do anything you want with me.”

Jett's throat moved as he
gripped her chin harder.

“
Fight, Bryn,” he
growled, but there was a plaintive note in his voice, like he was
begging her.

Fight this. Resist this!

Bryn gasped, but she refused
to cry out even though he was gripping her so hard that it hurt.

Jett loomed over her. Still
gripping her chin, he glared down at her, his lips hovering so close
to hers. She could feel his scorching, ragged breaths on her cheek,
her neck, and her eyelids fluttered.

She stared up into his
tortured eyes and saw them burning with wrath...and lust.

“
Fight me!” he
roared.

It was a command and a plea.

As her hands curled into
fists, he pulled her hard to him and covered her mouth with his.

Bryn gasped at the crushing,
bruising kiss. Jett took her mouth hungrily, angrily, demanding that
she yield to him.

His kiss was full of passion
and pain. There was nothing soft or tender about the kiss. The
pressure of his lips was unrelenting and merciless. Bryn could taste
his hurt and hunger with every hard stroke of his tongue. His kiss
was damning and blistering.

Mustering all her strength,
she gave him a hard shove. Jett staggered back a step and stared at
her, breathing heavily.

Throwing her shoulders back,
Bryn said, “Not yet, Jett. You haven't won. If you win, you
can do anything you want with me. But you haven't won. You haven't
fought me. You haven't fought
for
me. Have you?”

Jett let out a smirk. His
answer infuriated her. “No.”

She shook with rage, hurt and
want. There was no stopping her now.

In a blur, she lashed out and
her fist connected with his jaw.

Jett staggered back, and
swiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of
his hand. He rolled his shoulders, and turned to face her.

Bryn was breathing hard, her
fists raised to attack again. Her nostrils flared at the scent of
his blood, and she stifled a wince. She bit her trembling lip with
her fang, and for an instant, he saw her longing and aching want.

But the look passed quickly.
She threw her jacket to the ground, and curled her fingers at him,
beckoning him, daring him.

You want a fight? You got
a fight. No weapons. Just you and me. Just...us.

Her eyes were shining, not
with tears, but with anger. He could see the frustration and fury in
her eyes. And the pain.

Jett let his own jacket fall
to the ground, and cracked his knuckles. Pain was better than death.
He would hurt her, to save her life. Whatever illusions she had
about him, about them, he would shatter them tonight.

He waited for her to attack,
but she stood her ground, baring her fangs in a slow smile. “Make
your move, Jett. Don't keep me waiting,” she teased.

Jett couldn't hide his
grimace. He bent his head for a moment. Looking up, he met her
eyes, and struck his first blow.

She parried his blow
skilfully, standing her ground.

Jett's strikes were swift and
sharp, but Bryn was good. She dodged all his blows, and managed to
score a few hits. His jaw was smarting from her punches, and he
licked away the blood from his broken lip. Bryn was a good fighter.
She was fast, for a young vampire, and she was quick to take
advantage of any hesitation on his part. She was going all out, not
holding back. She was hell bent on winning this fight. She wanted
to win...him.

Jett stared at her flushed
face, at the tendrils of dark hair that had come loose from her long
braid. She was so pretty. He'd thought so the first time he laid
eyes on her. She was a trainee Enforcer, and he was her trainer.
She learned quickly, and was courageous and decisive in field
situations. He had been impressed, more than impressed. In fact, he
knew he was done for the moment he saw her.

He was doomed. But he'd lived
on a razor's edge all his life. Darkness and danger was his
lifeblood. He had too many enemies. They didn't just go after him.
He had gotten friends and girlfriends killed before.

Bryn was a young vampire,
vulnerable and innocent. He couldn't love her.

You already do.

Jett snarled at the painful,
undeniable truth. He grabbed Bryn and slammed her against the 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 convulsed violently as her
desire spiked and twisted through her, driving her almost out of her
mind.

“
I...I need...you,
Jett,” she whispered finally.

Jett held her tightly, his
desire to protect and possess her surging uncontrollably.

He knew all this time that she
was his.

His woman needed him. Now.

She was his.

He couldn't have her in his
life, but just for this moment, just for tonight, she would be his.

He would not deny her. And
there was no denying how much he wanted her.

He wanted this, wanted her,
for too long.

Jett gripped the ends of her
t-shirt, feeling his lust rage out of control. In a pounding
heartbeat, he ripped her shirt in two, exposing her pale, quivering
body.

Tonight, only for tonight,
you are mine.

Bryn gasped as Jett shredded
her t-shirt and pressed her hard against the wall. Her black bra and
black leather pants contrasted with her smooth, white skin. Jett
pinned her hands to the wall, and let his eyes rake slowly down her
body.

His gaze was hot and
predatory. His breath on her neck sent a jolt of molten heat
hurtling down her body. She squirmed and panted, wanting and needing
his mouth and hands on her. This maddening, tormenting hunger was
worse than anything she had ever experienced before.

Bryn blinked rapidly as her
vision began to blur. “Jett...”

She felt him grab her hands
and stretch them high over her head as he lowered his face to hers.

She tilted her face to him as
he began to kiss her. She could feel his deep yearning and his
hunger as he kissed her relentlessly and achingly. She felt the hard
length of him against her belly, and she moaned against his mouth.

She wanted more of him. She
wanted to put her hands against his broad chest, feel the powerful
beat of his heart and trace every sculptured line and angle of his
scarred body. She wanted to rake her fingers through his soft, sandy
hair and hold that handsome face in both her hands. She wanted to
feel him, all of him. She wanted to take him into her body, and take
his blood. He was her mate.