Blood Shadows by Lindsay J Pryor Page A

breath, enraptured, shocked at the warm rush between her legs.
    He was naked aside from a towel resting dangerously low on his trim waist. Her attention was drawn immediately to the captivating Cobra tattoo guarding his heart, before being distracted by the droplets of water that slid down the crevice between his pecs – droplets that glided languidly down that honed abdomen towards his belly button. Every trained, taut muscle in his arms and broad shoulders flexed as he wiped the back of his neck with his hand, revealing the symbols up his left side – the protective ward against staking through the most accessible point to a vampire’s heart. His cropped dark hair glistened, his compelling navy eyes fixed on her.
    She just about stopped herself swearing aloud. Even if she’d been holding a broken bottle, she wasn’t sure now if she’d want to use it. He was perfection incarnate, from every sinew of that hard, toned body to his enticingly relaxed composure. Kane Malloy was undoubtedly everything an effective vampire should be. And despite his brief nonchalant assessment of her, that had infuriated her and triggered a painful sense of inadequacy, she still couldn’t tear her attention away as he turned to open the wardrobe. She lingered over the sword tattoo stretching the length of his spine, the ornate hilt resting between his shoulder blades. The beauty of its intricacy held her spellbound until he discarded his towel.
    Caitlin flushed and immediately snatched her gaze away. Hearing him pull on his jeans she glanced back to catch a glimmer of amusement in his eyes – eyes sinfully dark in the dim light. And as he stepped up to the bedside table and knocked back a mouthful of drink, Caitlin braced herself, her fingers digging into the bed sheet.
    This was it. She was finally alone with him. She was finally totally alone with Kane Malloy. And from the amalgamation of contempt and distaste in his eyes, he had no intentions of making this pleasant.
    But she reminded herself he wasn’t going to hurt her. If he wanted her soul, there was only one way in. Kane needed her on side.
    But not as much or as soon as she needed him.
    She warily watched him sit back against the footboard, bottle in hand, his legs bent and casually splayed.
    She couldn’t show she was intimidated. She couldn’t risk showing anything of what was going on inside.
    ‘Nice to know I make you nervous,’ she said, holding up her wrist, metal clinking against metal again.
    He took a mouthful of drink, his sullen gaze not leaving hers.
    ‘I suppose it’s too much to ask where we are?’ she added.
    ‘Blackthorn.’
    ‘That narrows it down,’ she sniped before reminding herself to curb the sarcasm. ‘How long have I been out?’
    ‘Two hours.’
    ‘What time is it?’
    ‘Half-four.’
    ‘So is this where you were planning to bring me last night?’
    He stretched an arm across the footboard, defining every muscular curve. ‘You wanted me alone, right? Preferably in a detainment cell, I know. But this is so much more intimate, don’t you think?’ His gaze unashamedly raked the length of her body. ‘No risk of interruptions,’ he added before taking another mouthful of beer.
    She felt herself flush again. His toying with her was cruel and intentional and, as she reminded herself, insulting. But she had to be smart. She had to maintain her composure without provoking him. He was calm, he was controlled, but Caitlin knew only too well of the impulsive side, the reckless and self-sating side. And she knew that, aroused or incensed enough, he could forget the consequences.
    He lowered his hand to hold his beer bottle loosely against his bent knee, his legs still casually open, and subtly licked beer from his bottom lip in a way she found painfully provocative. She didn’t want to think of sex, but just being in his presence again was enough to spark the usually restrained part of her. Just the thought of it made every nerve ending ignite in