“So Darien, what do you do?”

He set logs into the fireplace, doused them with lighter fluid, then lit them. The smell of charring wood filled the cabin and he sighed, not entirely happy, as it drowned out her scent.

“Nothing,” he said finally. He took the only chair in the cabin and faced it towards the fire.

She snorted. “Nothing. I doubt that. You look like a man who likes to keep busy. So don’t be shy, tell me what you do.” He closed his eyes and counted back from ten.

“I work with wood.” He had to get her out of here.

“Like a carpenter?” She sat up on the side of the bed and kicked her legs back and forth over the side. “Yeah,” he said gruffly. He wanted to turn his chair away from her, but that would be too obvious and something told him that that would hurt her feelings. And some very stupid, too soft part of him didn’t want that.

“Do you have a woman?”

The abrupt change in topic had him faltering for an answer. He wasn’t a liar, but he almost did.

“No.” Shit, should have lied. Her smile was sweet and way too sexy. He turned away from her. “After dinner, you’re leaving.” The cot dipped as she stood up. He watched her wearily; he never knew what this woman was up to. She took a seat against the wall near the fireplace, stretching her legs out before her. He’d always enjoyed tall women, the kind that could wrap their legs around him as he rode them, but this little thing would be lucky to do that.

Guilt flared hot and deep. He was a fucking disgrace. Spitting on Dana’s memory as he sat here with a semi-hard dick wondering how far this little vampire’s legs would spread for him. Shit. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

“I can’t leave after dinner. I’m hurt and I need your help.” Darien’s gaze shot to hers. She sounded almost desperate. He didn’t believe that shitty story she told him about fighting a moustache-wearing woman. No, a man did that. She was probably on the run, too. His chest swelled in pride--good for her. Seeing her delicate face covered in dark, ugly bruises made his own fists curl. He’d love to show the motherfucker who did that a thing or two.

He shook his head and stared into the fire, much safer than looking at her eyes—blue. “Then after we eat, I’ll take you to town. Or the hospital. I’ll pay for whatever you need.” She frowned, her eyes glazing over with a look of such raw pain that Darien’s breath caught. Suddenly she smiled and crawled towards him. God her smile alone could knock a man dead.

“How about this, lykaen. I’ll leave tomorrow if you feed me.” His eyes narrowed.

“I’ve already offered to feed you. It’s just rabbit stew, but it’s good.” She threw back her head and laughed. The sound was soft and wily, just like her.

“What?” Unease filled his gut.

Her eyes widened as she smiled. She stopped crawling scant inches from his leg. He had the urge to move his leg away from her...and an even stronger one to open up wider and put her between them where she belonged. Damn. Not once in the days since Dana and the baby’s death had he even gotten hard for a woman. Yet this one had him going hard and soft in a minute+. The sooner she got out, the better.

“Have you forgotten what I am, Darien?” She laughed softly and smiled up at him with another naughty look.

“Shit.” Yeah, he’d forgotten. His head hasn’t been screwed on right since he carried her back here. A mistake—most definitely. He’d met a couple of vampires, but he didn’t exactly hang with them. “How much would you need?”

“Not too much, but you’re a big man. I’m sure you could fill me up.” He almost groaned aloud at the thought of doing just that. His lips suddenly felt dry and he envisioned sinking his cock deep into her. She’d be wet and so soft.

“If I feed you, then you’ll leave? My offer still stands to drive you to town.” Sometimes he really hated his soft spot for women, especially troubled women and this one had it in spades.

“Yes, but not until tomorrow.” He stood and went to stand at the doorway. Fresh chilled air swept into the cabin but did nothing to douse the scent of stew and vampire.

“Why can’t you leave tonight? I don’t want you here.” Truer words had never been spoken. Several moments of silence passed and he turned to look at her. She was staring into the fire, that raw look in her eyes. Seeing that look felt like having his heart set on fire while it still beat in his chest. She turned back to him though and smiled, the glimpse of pain wiped away.

“Honestly I’m afraid I might have a concussion, but I don’t have insurance either, and well, I’ve never been a fan of hospitals. They start to see you regenerate fast and they kind of freak out,” she said, tossing her hands in the air with a shrug. “I’ll make a deal with you, Darien. Let me take a bite from you and I’ll leave nice and quietly tomorrow.” Her pink lips curled up on her unbruised side.

He thought about it, weighing the odds, then finally, nodded slowly. She smiled brilliantly like he’d just given her a gift. He turned away so he didn’t have to see it. Guilt weighed heavily on his chest.

“So when can I have my snack? I’m starving.” Her words were soft and husky.

Against every instinct, every nagging sensation inside him, he turned to her. The impact of seeing lust in her eyes was harder than he thought. He took a deep breath and brought his beast to the surface. It helped to steady himself, to bring his warring body back under control.

“Let’s get this over with.”

The lykaen giant looked so troubled as he took his seat back at the fire. Cassandra couldn’t help but wonder why he was out here alone. Why wasn’t there some woman around to help him ease the pain that was so clearly etched in the lines around his eyes?

Crawling to his side, she took his hand in hers. He tensed, but slowly relaxed until his fingers hung loosely in her hand. His skin was so much darker than hers. Where her hands were smooth with a tint of pink, his were speckled with dark hair around his knuckles and rough spots grazing his palm.

“Get it over with.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” She hid a smile.

He looked away and she wished she knew what he was thinking. She’d never felt this draw to another person before. Though she’d never met a lykaen before. She’d probably wake up tomorrow and realize he wasn’t a tall, sexy, giant with a weight of pain hovering around him like a black cloud. Maybe lykaens just had an animal magnetism that made her feel this way. That pushed her to take blood from a man who clearly hated the idea. Yeah, this lykaen totally has mojo. She barely covered her laugh.

His jaw grinded left then right. His poor teeth. Well, she supposed she better put him out of his misery. The man looked like he was about to have a tooth pulled out with a wrench and not about to lose a little bit of blood.

A wicked thought flirted through her as she turned his palm up. She traced the whorls and lines etched into his palm and debated telling him. Her eyes couldn’t help but stray across his thigh, which was easily wider than her hips, and she had big hips. She’d never really noticed a man’s legs before, but this one filled his jeans up so tight and hard she had the urge to pull them down and feel if his legs were as hard as they looked.

“Get it over with before I change my mind.”

She laughed. “Anything you say, Darien. Lykaen...” She started to lean over his wrist. The pulse danced below like music to her ears.

“Cassandra—”

“Cassie,” she corrected gently.

“If I start to feel weak, I won’t think twice about snapping your neck and tossing you into the fire.”

There must be something seriously wrong with her because his threat did nothing to scare her. If anything, it made her shift a little to ease the growing heat in her sex. Besides, who was he kidding? This giant was obviously a great big softie.