Shortly after her eyes closed, she awoke to knocking on the door. What the fuck, really? “What?” she screamed toward the intrusion.
Detective Gonela’s voice sounded muffled as it traveled through the wood. “Good morning, Miss Starr. I’m here if you need me.” His tone was mischievous.
Has she ever needed him? Her eyes widened as a thought crossed her cloudy mind. She ran to the door, cracking it as he turned to leave. “Wait, Detective. Do you know if they found Cole?”
His strange amber-colored eyes flickered as he smiled. Did she just see that? It took a minute for her mind to register his action. “Yes, we did. Yesterday morning. Thank you for your concern.” He grinned as he walked away.
“Thank you, Detective.” She shut the door heading straight for the coffee. Yesterday morning? He hadn’t come last night. Maybe he was working. She knew that crap wouldn’t work. Oh, just focus, Mia. You, have to believe. They had her going—she really thought she had kissed him.
It took several cups of coffee, breakfast, and a shower for her to feel somewhat refreshed. It was going on five p.m., and the sun would be setting soon. She went to the balcony and waited. Seven p.m. Nothing.
Feeling like a caged animal, she needed to occupy her mind. She turned on the computer and changed while it booted up. Friggin’ Windows. She could probably brew more coffee, and the thing still wouldn’t be ready.
Changing into her nightclothes, Mia slipped off her shorts and slid into a tank top. She walked over to her desk and sat, propping her feet up, crossing her legs at the ankles. Leaning back in the chair, she brought her keyboard to her lap and pulled up a search engine. Tonight she was going to research something different. Let’s see what information Google brings. First, she had to find out what they called police officers back in the old west days. She tried “Cole Barnett, Marshal.” Nothing. Her eyes scanned to the bottom of the page. “Cole Barnett, Texas Ranger, 1865.” Great—no picture. It was going on ten p.m., and by the looks of the information, she would be there all night before she came up with anything on Cole.
Tapping a couple more words in the search engine, she smiled when the next page loaded: Cole Barnett, 1881. She’d see if the date John gave her from the picture worked. Yes!
She clicked the link and read. The same picture that had hung on the wall was on the website. The caption on the picture read, “After a shoot-out, Deputy Marshall Cole Barnett and Marshall John Carr apprehended one of the most feared lawmen-turned-outlaw, Evet Bass, whom was shot by Marshal Barnett.” Her eyes soaked up every letter as she scrolled down to read the article.
“Cole Barnett, a career lawman, started out as a Texas Ranger and was then a Deputy Marshal alongside Marshal John Carr. After his apprehension in 1881, Evet Bass, sent word to his gang urging them to swear allegiance to the Clanton gang, also known as “The Cowboys,” who were wreaking havoc in Arizona. The gang members broke Bass out of jail, two days after he was apprehended.
“Bass took his revenge out on Barnett by taking his family away from him. He started with Barnett’s fiancé who, weeks prior, had been his brother’s fiancé. The Bass gang had already killed Barnett’s brother who was also a lawman. Bass killed him in a shoot-out and dragged him behind a horse, leaving his body for his fiancé to find the next morning. Out of honor for his brother, Barnett took on the responsibility of his brother’s fiancé. Bass took her first. He raped and killed her, then turned his rage on Barnett’s mother and sister, who also met the same fate.
“The Bass gang kept the lawmen busy in town creating a diversion while Bass took out his revenge on Barnett. When word got back to Barnett, he was devastated. After he properly buried his family, he was left with no one. He stumbled into a saloon one night, then disappeared for years. Some say he buried everything inside him and became a walking time bomb. He showed up years later as an Arizona Marshal where he swore he would hunt every one of the gangs down, until the last man was dead.”
The tears burned in Mia’s eyes. She swallowed hard and scrolled down more.
“This can’t be. Come on. Give me a picture.” Her eyes came across a tiny image. She clicked on it. “Please enlarge the thumbnail…” The photo seemed to load one pixel at a time. Her gaze locked into the eyes on the picture. It was him, but she refused to believe it. The reality of her world crumbled more every day. “Oh, my God. No. It can’t be him. All that pain… It just can’t be.”
“It is me.” The voice coming from behind her shattered the silence. Her heart jumped in her chest, and the chair fell backward. She grasped at the air to stop herself from falling.
In warp speed, Cole caught the chair before it hit the ground. He stared down at her as he held the chair, his jaw twitching as his eyes continued to burn into hers. Without pulling his gaze away, he slowly lifted her in the seat.
His heated stare burned her as he sat the chair back down on its four legs, then pulled her to her feet. The intensity in which he gazed at her made her heart beat more rapidly. His voice was low and raspy. “Miakoda, I need you.” He stepped toward her, and she took a step back away from him.
“Cole, this isn’t going to work. I-I can’t. I can’t get over the biting thing.” Her heart ached for him, but her body ached even more. She yearned to reach out and help him. He stepped toward her, and she took a step back. “Cole, I may have to take your invitation into my home back if you don’t back away. Please.” His eyes swept over her body, lingering on her breasts, before they returned to her eyes. He stepped forward again. This time she didn’t move.
“Then do it.” There was a hunger in his gaze, and he devoured her with it. Her breaths came fast, sweat dampened her palms as a dangerous grin stretched across his face, and a wicked light glimmered in his eyes at her hesitation to send him away.
He closed the gap between them and put his hand on her stomach, slowly lowering his palm. Gliding his finger across her belly, he followed the path of fabric to the hem of her panties.
“May I touch you?” His lips brushed across her ear as he whispered his words. At the slightest twitch of her head, he slid his hand underneath the soft cotton fabric. She stopped breathing and locked into his gaze. The shock of his touch caused her to sway, and she grasped his arms for balance. Desire burned in his eyes as he lightly touched the fleshy part of her warmth, stifling a moan at the feel of her flesh. “I still feel on the edge and you’re the only one that can calm me. I need you—now.” He submerged his fingers in her wet folds, and she could feel his cock, hard as a diamond, against her. He rotated his hand inside her panties, placing his knuckles on her flesh. His seductive voice tingled in her ears. “You won’t need these.” He bunched the material in his hand and with one fast forward jerk, her panties were gone.
She sucked in a breath, reminding herself to breathe as he walked her backward into the living room.
Cole shed every inch of his clothing on the way to the chair.
Mia couldn’t fill her lungs fast enough with air, and fear pricked at her skin.
“Cole. I can’t do this. Please, this is way too fast for me.”
Ignoring her words, he pulled her body to his, his cock jumped wildly against her. She gasped at the feel of his hardness against her belly.
“You were able to release some of your pain the other night. I can sense you still have some inside you, as do I, Mia. Don’t deny me my pain. Let’s release it together. Let go. Love me.” He burned a kiss onto her lips as he continued to walk her backward until the back of her legs hit the armchair.
He grabbed the bottom of her tank top, and her hands shot up over his in protest. “No, please. Let me leave something on. I would feel more comfortable.” Her cheeks flared with heat.
With a wicked grin, his hands grasped the top of her tank top. She gasped as he ripped it in half, causing it to fall open like a vest.
“There. I compromised.” He lifted her, and her legs wrapped around his waist. There was no stopping him. Her heart wanted him, her body ached for him, but somewhere deep inside, she screamed no.
Cole knelt onto the seat cushion of the chair, and laid her body over the backrest. Her legs straddled his thighs as her toes frantically felt around, seeking leverage from the chair to lift herself away from his thick shaft.
“Cole I can’t. Please, don’t do this.” Panic set in. He cupped the back of her head and pulled her up to meet his eyes. “Oh, God. Do it… just do it.”
“I am not going to do anything until I know it’s okay.” His voice had a low seductive pull.
A silent tear fell down her cheek. She fought hard to keep the dark memories at bay. “I don’t want you to bite me.”
“Then, I won’t.” His eyes were full of passion as he leaned down, catching her tear with his tongue. “Are you ready?”
“Oh, God, no. I’m not.” Her body began to tense as it had her entire life when it came to intimacy. Block out the images. Block them out.
“Mia, breathe.” His thumb stroked her cheek.
“I find it hard to breathe around you, Cole.”
His eyes caressed her face, and the back of his fingers stroked her cheek. “That’s funny. I find it easy to breathe around you. Don’t tense up on me, Mia. Please. It kills me to see you fear me.” He shifted their position, easing his shaft to rest at her opening. His voice softly stroked her, as his hands lightly brushed her inner thigh.
Uneasiness tugged at her, but she knew why. And she needed to get past it—for him, and for herself. She was about to have her first orgasm that wasn’t self-induced, and he hadn’t done anything yet. She wanted to please him.
His hands slid across her skin, and cupped her breasts, then he lowered his head and took an erect nipple into his mouth. “Mine.” He growled against her skin.
Her body tensed, but she didn’t know if it was from the fear, or the unfamiliar feeling jolting through her body.
“Mia, I’m not going inside you. You will have to do that part. Relax and breathe.” He strategically positioned her legs on his thighs so if she relaxed, she would slide down onto his rigid shaft, and he would be inside. She kept her legs tight.
Cole’s hands slid down her stomach, past her trimmed mound, and his fingers circled her wet flesh. An unexpected moan escaped her throat. His fangs popped at her pleasure, and her body tightened.
Still, she fights me, he marveled. He trailed a line of kisses up her stomach, then tilted her head to the side. Resting his mouth on her neck, he closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her pulse beating against his lips. His fangs grew longer with need. The smell of her blood called to him. He fought hard to control the vampire urges within. Want to bite. Need to bite.
She trembled under his touch as he nuzzled his nose back and forth on her neck, breathing in her scent. He let out a moan. “Mmm… your blood calls to me, your body calls to me, and your soul calls to me. You are mine, Miakoda.” He felt it, even without tasting her.
Her body tightened with tension as his deep voice rumbled over her skin. And then he watched as her internal defense mechanism kicked in. She was drifting away from him, running. Her expression went blank as she stared into the empty air. Cole froze and snapped her head back to meet his eyes.
“No. You will not do that to me! Look at me. It’s me—no one else. Tell me to stop, but don’t do that to me. Don’t… leave me.” His tone was pained, and the tip of his erection waited patiently to explore the warmth inside her.
“Cole, I’m… Just do it. Please. Just do it.”
His face tightened, and his jaw ticked. “I will not. You have to do it. It’s your fear—overcome it, my love. Miakoda, I want you to need me. I need you to want me, like I want you.” His lips passionately took hers as his thumb flicked across her wetness. His fingers wiped the strands of hair from her face, and they locked eyes. Does she know how stunning she is? How hard she makes me? Does she know what it takes for a vampire not to rip into something as beautiful as she is?
His gaze heated Mia’s very soul. Give in to him. She felt her pleasure rising higher and higher as he rotated his thumb below. Still, he waited at her entrance with such control. As much as she tried to block the images, they flashed through her mind. Her stomach began to ache as the blurred image cleared. I knew it. It’s a woman. Wait... it’s me? He’s thinking of me.
Her legs began to relax setting herself down onto him, and she felt the tip of his hardness slide into her. He let out a desperate moan against the nape of her neck.
His voice became hoarse, pleading. “Give yourself to me.”
She was on the verge of an orgasm when he moved his hand away. She whimpered in protest, relaxing more.
“You’re not where I want you, yet. You’ll just have to wait,” he teased as he rubbed his lips on her neck. The tip of his fangs raked across her skin, and she tensed. He lowered his hand back to her wetness and rolled her hard nub between his fingers as he whispered into her ear. “I want to bite you, but I won’t. Give yourself to me. Now.” Although he had no need for air, his rapid breathing matched hers.
“Cole, I do want you, and I need you.” Her pulse was racing, and her voice burned with desire for him as she watched his control slip away.
She relaxed her legs more and felt his hardness slide in further, the girth already filling her. Fuck, this was maddening. Her whole body felt like a tongue on a nine volt battery.
Cole threw his head back and stared at the ceiling trying to hold on to his control. The need to replace one urge with the other overwhelmed him. Mia’s words pushed him to the edge. She needed him, wanted him.
Need to bury myself inside her. Need to bite. Don’t bite. Don’t bite.
It had been years since he had touched another, felt the softness of a woman’s skin. He had hardened himself toward affection, love, and now she shattered years of mastered control with just a few words. He kept one hand on the back of her neck, cradling her head in his open palm so he could lose himself in her eyes, which had masked over with an eerie blue glow.
He slid his other hand through her silkiness below and she closed her eyes, letting another moan loose as her orgasm was about to peak.
When she opened her eyes, he tilted his head sideways, staring at her with an expression he hoped she could clearly read: Sorry for what I’m about to do.
Her legs instantly tightened as his mouth opened, curling back his lips, exposing his fangs as his hunger increased. He seared a kiss onto her lips, flicking his tongue over hers. Mine. Hungry. The taste of her—the feel of her—was more than he could take. He was losing control.
Cole tilted his head back like a snake before it attacked. And like a cobra, he lunged forward and buried his fangs into his forearm resting beside Mia’s head.
Her scream shattered Cole’s sensitive ears. As she flipped herself backward over the chair, Cole grabbed for her but missed When he stood over Mia, she pushed her feet against the floor, retreating quickly until she hit the wall.
Cole raked his fingers through his hair, while cursing himself for losing control. Searching Mia’s eyes for forgiveness, he knelt and held out his hand to her. “I’m very sorry. It’s been so long. I usually don’t lose control like that. This is what you do to me, Mia. I can’t control anything around you.”