Good, the Bad, and the Vampire by Sara Humphreys Page A

with her own, and when the hard evidence of his desire dug into her hip, Trixie’s fangs burst free.
    â€œI can’t get enough of you,” Dakota murmured against her lips. He lifted his head but kept her pinned against the tree. “You taste like summertime in Texas. Sweet and hot. Damn, girl. If I still breathed, I’d be suffocated by how much I want you.”
    Trixie stilled. There was something in the tone of his voice. Gentleness? Emotion? Whatever it was, it made her nervous. If he wanted to get physical, that was one thing, but anything more than that was not happening.
    Sex? That she could do.
    Intimacy? Nope.
    â€œThen why are you stopping?” She nipped at his lip. “Let’s keep this going. As long as we don’t do a blood exchange, we can avoid the full mate bonding. We can still fool around.” She pressed her breasts into the hard planes of his chest and grasped the buckle of his pants.
    â€œWhat’s your hurry?” He brushed his lips over her forehead and covered her hands with his, stopping her from going any further. “I said that I want to get to know you and I meant it.”
    â€œThat’s what I’m trying to do,” she said before popping up on her toes and flicking her tongue over his lip. “Come on. Saddle up, cowboy.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œNo?” Trixie said with more than a little incredulity. “You don’t want me?”
    â€œThat’s not what I said,” he murmured. “And I believe I’ve made it plain that I want you.”
    â€œGreat. Then let’s go.” She tried to unbuckle his belt, but Dakota tightened his grip over her hands. Trixie fought the tickle of panic that flickered in her chest and let out a flippant laugh that didn’t even convince her. “Well, it would be easier to do this if you didn’t have clothes on.”
    â€œThat’s true, but gettin’ to know you doesn’t involve gettin’ naked.” His cocky grin widened. “At least, not yet.”
    What. The. Hell. He was turning her down?
    Anger and embarrassment flashed hard and fast as she yanked her hands away from his belt. Shoving him away from her, Trixie pushed her hair off her forehead, then folded her arms over her breasts. She couldn’t think of the last time, or any time, a man had rejected her for sex.
    â€œI should’ve known you wouldn’t be able to seal the deal. All that swagger of yours is bullshit.”
    Dakota didn’t move but kept his narrowed steely gaze on her, studying her like some damn bug under a microscope. She knew that look. She’d been on the receiving end of the judgmental well-aren’t-you-a-slut look plenty of times as a human.
    â€œWhat’s the matter? Didn’t the women from your time have sexual freedom? You think I’m a slut because I want to fuck you without having a freaking conversation first?”
    â€œThis isn’t about sex. Not by a long shot.” Hands on his hips, he looked her up and down. “And, no, I don’t think you’re a slut but I do think you’re scared. And I sure as hell want to find out why.” He winked and said, “You can add that to my list of questions.”
    She opened her mouth to tell him what he could do with his list. Before she could respond, a woman’s scream pierced the night. Fear bloomed bright in Trixie’s chest.
    Chelsea .
    * * *
    Trixie’s frightened voice shot into Dakota’s mind as she bolted into the air like a bullet. The surprise of hearing her voice in his head, the sweet beauty of it, set him off balance for a split second—just long enough for Trixie to get ahead of him. Dakota swore under his breath and took off after her. It took only a few moments for him to catch up and match her speed, but he suspected that she barely noticed. The fierce, determined expression carved into her features spoke volumes as they zipped above the tree