Fatal Temptation: Between Two Alphas
Chapter 49

Chapter Forty-Nine

ΜΙΑ

"Cam!? What the hell are you doing here!?"

Cameron stands behind a table loaded with pastries and fruit and crepes. He walks toward me and he looks lethal.

The Ravens give him room and Corinne and Theo have already moved to sit at the head of the table.

"So much for a girls' trip," Rachel mutters as she abandons me.

I catch several other people-creatures?--but my attention is glued to Cameron.

He comes at me like a linebacker. One second my feet are on the ground, the next I'm up against his chest and held tight. He barrels out of the courtyard, through that trellised bridge and out into the front square.

"Cam, stop. Put me down."

He keeps moving.

"Cam!" I hit his shoulder.

When he finally sets me down at the far end of the square near where we came in, his green eyes are furious. "Don't you ever pull a fucking stunt like that again."

Nala growls.

I shove out of his arms. "I'm not bait. Or an experiment. Or some object. You don't own me."

I'm still angry over what he allowed Dr. Glass to do. Although, if I'm being fair, I don't think either of us were really expecting her to just jab me.

"I'm not yours anymore, Cam."

He grabs my arms.

The next second his mouth is on mine and he's kissing me.

It's a dark kiss, desperate.

He stops for the briefest instant. "Mia."

His scent and strength begin to wear me down. But it's that sharp, slight scent of fear that takes the fight out of me. He was afraid-for me.

The minute I kiss him back, his whole body shudders. He murmurs my name.

Then I'm held even tighter even as his hands are tugging and skimming over my body.

"Get a room," someone yells.

We both jerk apart and see on the second floor a huddle of-vampires?!--watching us. Their scent and movements give them away.

The female shrugs. "We love a good show. But you're loud. And it's our bedtime."

Right. Night creatures.

They don't seem bothered by the sunlight though.

I don't see any burning flesh or peeling skin.

The brunette female and her companions, another beautiful woman and a bearded man, all three stroll back into one of the many rooms lining that balcony.

I don't take my eyes off the vamps, even after the door closes behind them. Eric's lands were attacked by them. We've patrolled our lands and the surrounding human cities to keep them in check. Vampires are our enemies.

"What is this place?" I ask him.

"It's like nowhere else you've ever been," he says, staring pointedly.

Yes. Understatement.

He sets me on the cobblestones. He guides me to a small table beneath the shade of a citrus tree. It's early morning, but already the sun is bright and the temperature is rising.

"I got here yesterday. Had an incredible meal, slept in one of the nicest hotels in the city. Took the Lear Jet."

So he would've traveled in style and arrived in maybe six hours, max.

I spent thirty crammed in an SUV with minimal stops and only convenience store eats.

"The dynamics between the species are...different here."

"Corinne said something similar. She also warned that this place was dangerous."

He makes some sound. "Yes."

"You should've come to me," he says. "You should've told me what you wanted, what you needed."

"Cam, I can and will take care of myself. I've been doing it for a long time." I know it doesn't seem that way, given that Corinne crashed my trip, but I was prepared to come here alone. "I need you to see that I'm not the girl I was when you knew me."

I won't ask permission. I don't need him to try and save me.

"I don't need you, Cam-"

In the next instant, he's grabbing my hand and drawing me toward the stairs that lead up to the second floor.

I dig in my heels.

Next thing I know I'm swept off my feet.

"Cameron!"

He jogs up the steps. When he hits the top of the stairs he turns right. He passes several doors. Then he leans toward one before pounding on it. When there's no answer. He kicks it open. I'm tossed on a bed unceremoniously while he slams the door shut and throws the locks.

He's already dragging his shirt off as he turns back to me.

"What are you doing!?"

His eyes flash to Conn's and that golden glow tells me what I need to know.

He's done playing games.

"I'm doing, Mia, what I should've done the minute my eyes opened and you were within my reach."

His huge arms flex. The muscles in his chest and abs ripple. He's wearing pants but there is no missing the giant erection straining against the fly of his jeans.

His hands go to his belt and he slowly unbuckles it.

"W-whose room is this?"

He shrugs. "Doesn't matter."

I gulp.

"Take your clothes off, Mia. If you don't like the bed, I'll take you on the floor or against the wall."

Gods, the things he says.

My nipples tighten even as I'm debating if I can let myself get close to this man again.

I'm on a giant four-poster bed. It has a canopy and really thick navy blue brocade fabric. There are too many pillows to count. The walls are white. The room is huge. It has a reading nook. A chaise lounge. A sitting area with couch and tv. On the other side of the bedroom area is a huge marbled bathroom. There's a shower with dozens of heads, and a tub that looks deep.

"You don't need me," he throws my words back at me. "You don't want me."

"I didn't say that."

"Let me finish." His chest is all muscle, and I remember so many nights, lying in his arms, falling asleep to the sound of his heart beating. "You don't need me, but I need you." He starts toward me. "I've always needed you. And I'll want you until I draw my last breath."