Haven looked back at Yvette, the strain tearing at his strength. “I’m sorry, but I have to be sure.”

“There’s a way to make sure.” Yvette’s eyes shifted between him, Wes, and Kimberly.

Intrigued, he took a step closer. “How?”

She locked eyes with him before her lips parted. “I would need to taste the blood of all three of you.”

Wesley’s reaction was almost instantaneous. “No fucking way!”

Exactly Haven’s sentiment, but for a very different reason. Yvette wanted to bite his brother, sink her fangs into him and make him feel the same kind of arousal he’d felt when she’d bitten him? “Over my dead body!”

Yvette rolled her eyes at him as if she thought he was some little kid who was throwing a temper tantrum. Did she not understand the seriousness of the situation here? She couldn’t just go around and turn his brother into a pussy-whipped idiot. Was that her intention? To make them both drool over her so they wouldn’t give her any more resistance?

Closing the distance between them, Haven faced her, their bodies almost touching. Yvette didn’t back away, and he knew she wouldn’t. He knew her that well already. She would use all her female wiles to tempt him and then do the same to his brother. And that was one thing he couldn’t allow. And for the first time it wasn’t because he wanted to protect his brother. No, he wanted to make sure his brother didn’t touch her. Just like he wanted no other man to touch her. Yeah, that’s how screwed up he was. He wanted the vampire in their midst and would fight any man who trespassed on his territory—and that included his brother.

***

Yvette noticed the predatory glint in Haven’s eyes. She knew what it meant: he was going to fight her on this issue. Had his pea-sized, macho-man brain still not grasped the fact that she wasn’t going to hurt Wesley or Kimberly even if she bit them? Not that she had any intention of doing so. There was no need for her to sink her fangs into either of them. A prick of their thumbs would produce sufficient blood for her to taste and compare to Haven’s taste.

Blood of siblings had a similar texture, taste, and scent. It was as foolproof as a DNA test. And once they had established that her assumption was right and that Kimberly was indeed their long-lost sister, then they could go about trying to get out of this place. Maybe with their latent witch powers they could break through the wards.

And maybe then, Yvette would finally be rid of them all. Or at least of Haven, who still looked at her like she’d just swallowed his pet hamster. Was he contemplating how to punish her for not telling him about the sexual side effects of feeding?

Yvette didn’t like how close he stood. There wasn’t even a foot of space between them. Had the man learned nothing during their earlier encounter? Why else would he stand so close when he had to know that all this accomplished was getting her all hot and bothered and in the mood to press him against the wall and sink her fangs into his delicious neck while she freed his cock and impaled herself on it?

The heat inside her body bubbled to the surface in a warning not to let her mind wander in that direction. Too late. Soon her body would boil over like an unwatched pot of milk and burn its surroundings. And there was nothing she could do about it. It was as inevitable as a runaway truck sailing down a steep slope.

“Listen, all I need is a few drops.”

“Your fangs are getting nowhere near my brother’s neck,” Haven hissed.

How could one human man be so stubborn? “I don’t even need to—”

“I said NO! Can’t you get that into your head? Don’t you think it’s sufficient that you turned my head? Now you want to do the same to my brother?”

Had he just said “turned his head”? She must have misunderstood.

“I won’t allow it. It’s enough that I can’t think clearly anymore because of what you’ve done to me. You’ll have to kill me first before I let you do the same to Wes.”

What she’d done to him? “You think I’m controlling you because I bit you? There are no lasting aftereffects from a bite. Everything’s temporary. Whatever you felt because of it is long gone.” Yvette didn’t allow the smile that formed inside her to break to the surface. If he still felt an attraction for her then … “Whatever you feel is your own doing.”

Haven took a step back as if hit by a heavy object. His eyes filled with disbelief, and his mouth opened in protest. Only one word came over his lips. “Shit!”

“So if you’ll step aside, I’d like to prick Kimberly’s finger to test her blood.” Yvette looked around his heavy frame, her eyes finding the girl who stood watching their heated exchange. “Is that okay with you, Kimberly? It’ll just be a prick like a little blood test at the doctor’s office.”