"Burn the flesh off your bones and make you scream! "

Whimpers. More wolves backed away. White-hot power burst through him. He felt the wings rip from his back, shredding his clothes and growing, stretching-

The alpha held his ground.

The others huddled against the alley's walls.

Maya lay on the ground. Not moving, but still breathing. Still living.

He wouldn't be able to say the same thing about the wolves in a few moments.

A smile twisted his lips, revealing the teeth that were growing ever longer, stronger.

The alpha lunged for him.

Still in half-human form, Adam caught the wolf around the neck with one hand and threw him back ten feet.

"You don't know who you're fucking with," he said, his voice deeper, rougher as the fire worked its way up his throat.

A boy crawled forward from the darkness. Some kid covered in grime and blood with eyes that looked too big. He crouched over Maya.

The alpha climbed to his feet.

"L-Lucas." The kid's voice. Weak. "H-help…h-her…"

The wolf's head cocked toward her. His body tensed. Then he leapt-

Placing his body between Maya and Adam.

"Give her to me," Adam ordered, fighting to stay human for just a few more moments. When the change took him fully, hell would come. Fire. Death. The rage he felt was too strong. Too hot.

The wolves would all burn.

Everything would burn.

Monster. Devil.

Maya had thought she was the evil one-she had no idea just how damn evil he could be.

The alpha growled.

" Give her to me or I'll burn your pack to ashes!" He was ready. Smoke drifted from his nose.

Hold on, stay human until she's safe. Don't hurt her.

The wolf's head lowered toward the ground.

Submission.

Adam ran forward. His wings flapped in the air in powerful bursts behind him. Not fully formed, not yet.

Soon.

He grabbed Maya, slicing her arms with his talons and scales as he picked her up and pressed her to his chest.

Her heart stuttered against him.

No!

"Let me help you."

Adam's head jerked up.

A man stood where the wolf had been. Naked. Muscled. Head still bowed in submission. "Let me help you both, Wyvern."

"Don't so much as move!" Adam snapped. The dragon was too close to the surface.

The woman in his arms was his only link to control. If she died, that link would shatter.

Using a talon, he slashed a line across his chest. Forced her mouth to him. She had to drink. If she took his blood, if he could just get her to drink –then she'd be all right.

Don't leave me, Maya. I need you.

More than he'd realized.

Her lips were still against him. Soft lips.

Cold.

"Drink!" His snarl screamed into the night. Drink. The plea whispered through his mind, hers.

Her body trembled and her lips parted. The blood trickled into her mouth. She moaned, shifted her head, and her teeth sank into his chest.

Adam groaned and held her tight.

His gaze met the wolf shifter's.

Her mouth suckled him, drawing his blood from right above his heart and taking it with her tongue and lips.

The lust he felt each time she drank from him exploded through his body.

The wolf kept watching him.

The pack stayed in the shadows.

Adam shuddered. Her mouth.

Maya's lashes fluttered. He didn't want her to see him as he was-some horrible mix of man and dragon. Face changed, teeth deadly, wings, talons, scales.

Her eyes opened.

No fear.

Hunger. Need.

No fear.

Her tongue licked across the wound. Then her mouth lifted, lips red and glistening. Her lips trembled, curved. "I…was…hoping to see you…again, S-Slick."

Her words were for the man, not the beast. His arms tightened around her.

Maya's smile slowly faded and her lashes closed.

CHAPTER 14

She felt like she'd been hit by a truck. Or maybe by a dozen very pissed-off level-ten demons.

Maya groaned, feeling pain in every cell of her body. Her mouth was bone dry and her lashes felt like weights were holding them down.

"It's all right." Adam's voice. Close. A hand, his hand, smoothed over her cheek. "You're safe."

Safe. She liked that word.

But she hadn't been safe before. She'd been in the alley, surrounded by the pack. Snarls. Growls.

Pain.

Then he'd been there. Adam. Her dragon. Roaring with fury. Fire on his breath and wings on his back.

Maya forced her lashes to lift. She needed to see him.

Bright light flooded her eyes, making black spots dance in the air around her head. She blinked them away, found him.

Sitting beside the bed. Shirtless. Streaks of blood on his chest. Worry on his face.

She lifted her hand, wanting to touch him.

He caught her fingers in a grip of steel. His gaze held hers. So intense. Emotions swirled in his stare. Anger. Fear. Lust.

"You're a liar, Maya Black." He said the words softly.

Not exactly the impassioned words she'd been hoping to hear. "Y-yeah, w-well-" Damn, her throat hurt. She needed a drink, bad. "Y-you're a w-winged dragon."

He blinked at that, then leaned forward, closing the space between them and keeping his gaze on her. "You told me you didn't help people." His lips thinned. "Then you risked your life not just for Cammie, but for that boy."

The young shifter. Her heart lurched in her chest. "I-is he all…right?" Her voice was getting stronger. She swallowed a few times, trying to ease the ache at the back of her throat.

A muscle flexed along his jaw. "You should worry about yourself."

Well, the pain she felt meant that she was alive. What more was there to worry about? "H-

how…is he?" That boy, with the tortured eyes-had he survived the wounds she'd inflicted on him? "He's healing." His fingers tightened around hers. "What the hell were you thinking?"

She'd been thinking the boy was just a kid. Tortured. Held prisoner, and, thanks to her, poisoned with silver. "C-couldn't…leave him."

"Like you couldn't leave me?"

No, that had been different.

"And what about that prostitute on Quentin Street?"

What? "You fought that demon when you saw him attacking her. You couldn't just leave them alone, either, could you? You had to help. "

He made the word sound like a curse.

Beneath the pain, her own anger begin to stir. "I do…w-what I want." She didn't need some thousand-year-old dragon telling her how to run her life. "I-if I hadn't gone back, the…boy would be dead." Of course, until Adam had told her that the kid was healing, she'd thought he had died.

"You almost died saving him."

Maya shook her head. "S-saving him was…the easy part." She sighed. "Damn p-pack…they nearly…k-killed me."

"And I nearly killed them." Stark.

A frown pulled down her brows as she stared at him. "Adam…"

He brought her hand to his lips. Kissed the palm and she felt heat tingle across her skin. "I nearly killed them all," he whispered again. "I wanted to burn them to dust."

She swallowed. "What stopped you?"

His breath blew against her hand. "You did."

Oh. She didn't exactly remember stopping him. Maya just remembered opening her eyes and being damn grateful to see him.

Because for a few minutes there, she hadn't thought that she'd ever look into his eyes again.

"Adam-"

"You need to drink."

Her eyes immediately fell to his throat.

"You fed in the alley, but it wasn't enough. You need to take more blood."

She licked her lips. His blood would soothe her terrible thirst and help her fight the weakness that weighed down her limbs.

He eased into the bed with her. Brought her hand to his chest. Such a warm, strong chest.

His fingers tangled in her hair, urged her head close to his neck. "Take all that you need," he said, his voice rumbling against her ear.

Her tongue smoothed over his flesh. Felt the vibration of his pulse. Fast and hard.

"Take, Maya. Take from me."

Her teeth pierced his skin and the rich taste of his blood filled her mouth.

More.

Her lips tightened greedily around him and she drank, loving the flavor of his essence. So much power, so much strength. She could literally feel it pouring into her.

Her fingers trailed down his chest. Dug into his skin. And she kept tasting him, drinking him in and strengthening the bond between them.

He shuddered against her and shifted his body, pressing the swollen length of his arousal against her leg. She could feel the thick shaft, through the thin sheet, through the bloodstained jeans he still wore.

Maya was aware of an emptiness inside. A hollow ache. She wanted him to fill her, to thrust deep and sure into her sex and stop the yearning.

Her tongue swept over his neck, catching the drops of blood that trickled over his skin. She moaned, the tightness in her body changing swiftly from pain to taut need.

"Easy," Adam said, and his hands caught her shoulders and pushed her back against the pillows.

"Your body needs more time to recover."

His blood would heal her. Her body would mend. She needed him. Her breasts were tight, the nipples hard and eager for his mouth.

She saw the slight flare of his nostrils, knew that he could smell the cream spreading between her legs. Yet his hold on her didn't ease and she didn't have the strength to fight him. " Adam ." A whispered demand.

He stared at her with eyes a stormy emerald. His pupils were expanding, his lust rising to match her own.

"I need you." Maya held his gaze, needing him to understand. It wasn't just his blood, it was him.

His head lowered. His lips swept over hers. Too light. Too fast. A protest rose in her throat, but Adam just shook his head.

She tried to break free of his hold, to grab him and force him back-but his strength was greater than hers.

"Relax, baby. I'll take care of you." His words were said against her neck. His breath tickled her skin. His lips feathered over her, and then she felt the wet lick of his tongue right over her pulse point.

Her hips arched. Yes. That was good, that was-

His teeth closed over her flesh. Bit down. A bolt of sexual heat spiraled straight from her neck to her sex as a choked moan eased past her lips.

"You're not the only one who likes to bite," he grated and then he was moving down her body.

Kissing her flesh. Licking her. All the while keeping her hands pinned on either side of her head.

His breath fanned over her breast, making the sensitive nipple tighten even more. His lips closed over the pink tip. His tongue lashed her, then he bit her flesh.

"Adam!"

Not too hard, not hard enough to pierce the skin. The bite was just fierce enough to send pleasure ripping through her.

And to make the hunger burn even more.

His mouth widened and he took her breast into his mouth. Sucking strongly, pulling at the nipple with tongue and teeth.

Maya's head pushed back against the pillow. Her legs shifted restlessly against the bed. She could smell her own arousal, could feel the quiver of her sex.

He turned his attention to the other breast. Laved the nipple. Drew it deep into his mouth. She arched into him, clenching her thighs tight in a vain effort to ease the throbbing need.

"I love the way you taste," he muttered against her breast. "Sweet. Hot. Like you're mine."

His head slid down. His teeth grazed her stomach. His tongue swirled over her belly button.

Then her hands were free.

He touched her, spreading her thighs wide and lowering his head between them. "The taste is even better here," he said, the words full of a dark lust.

His fingers parted her folds, spread the cream over her flesh. Then he drove two fingers into her, thrusting them knuckles-deep into her straining opening.

His mouth pressed against her clit. Kissed. His lips parted, closed over the bud, and sucked, hard, harder .

His fingers pulled back, only to plunge inside again. Maya's breath caught in her throat. Her fingers dug into the mattress, claws scratching, cutting.

Adam withdrew his fingers. Licked her clit, pressed the edge of his teeth against her-

"Yes!" She hissed out the word, feeling the promise of pleasure tighten her body.

His tongue pushed against the opening of her body. Then thrust inside. Warm. Wet.

Tasting her.

Devouring her.

Maya came on a long, hard wave of release. Her hips bucked against him, but Adam grabbed her, chaining her in place with an iron-hard grip.

And he tasted. He drove his tongue into her again and again and lapped up her cream as she shuddered and moaned beneath him.

When the climax ended, she went limp, every muscle loosening as she lay sprawled beneath him.

Adam's hands slowly eased their fierce hold. His head lifted and his mouth glistened from her sensual moisture.

Maya lifted her hands, reaching for the snap of his jeans.

"No." He caught her fingers, held them tight. "That was for you."

She shook her head. She'd never been the type to take her pleasure while another needed.

Adam needed. She could see the desire on his face. Feel it in the long bulge pressing against her.

But he was pulling away from her. Rising from the bed. Clenching his hands and gazing at her with eyes that held secrets.

She didn't like secrets.

If she weren't suddenly feeling so damn tired, she'd find out just what was happening behind those spooky eyes of his.