Hunting Ground [Claiming Series, #3]

- 6 -

"Yes. Only a little, but yes."

Fear clutched her. "Will I change?"

"You didn't change when you were attacked. Drinking from you is nothing but drinking from you. It harms you in no way."

She felt she ought to get furious. He had taken her blood without asking. That was wrong, definitely. Somehow. But she couldn't quite figure out how considering what they had just done. Just that in some deep way, she felt it was wrong. But...

"Is that...is that why I felt as if you were part of me?"

"Yes. I felt you in the same way. It multiplies the pleasure."

"Whoa." she lifted her hand to her head, feeling as if the world were turning upside down again. She should be spewing rage, but she wasn't. How could she be when she had enjoyed every single moment? But she ought to be.

Shouldn't she?

Struggling with herself, she tried to get to her feet. At once Kane sat up and helped her. Standing facing him in the snow with the moon rising overhead, feelings ping-ponged around inside her like a mad game of table tennis.

"You shouldn't have done that," she said sharply. Except that, she was sure it had enhanced the incredible experience. Never before had she heard of two hearts beating as one except in sappy songs.

"No," he agreed.

"Promise you won't do it again without asking."

"I promise."

But she saw amusement in the curvature of his mouth and snapped, "What's so funny?"

"I won't have to ask you," he said. "Now that you know, you'll ask me."

That was just too much. "Over my dead body," she snapped, then turned to storm back to the house.

Every single step of the way she was aware of him right behind her.

And aware that he was right. She already wanted him again.

Consternation grew. There was only one murder that night.

"They're building an army," Kane said. "An army of newborns."

Julie spoke. "You can't be sure of that, Kane. Given the weather, a lot of people are staying at home. It may be that some of the killings have 't been discovered yet."

"Perhaps. But if I were them, I'd build an army of newborns if I truly wanted to unleash terror."

"How long will it take?" Tessa asked.

"There's some blessing," Asher answered. "It can take one of two nights for a newborn to fully change. But more important, no vampire can change more than one human a night."

"Why?"

Kane looked at her. "Because we must give our own blood to those we would change. No more than one night. Sometimes no more than one every two or three nights."

"So it would take time?"

"I think," he said drily, "that we can still breed faster than rabbits."

"Understatement," Mackenzie said sarcastically. "It would be a geometric progression, wouldn't it? Each new vampire makes another one each night?"

Asher shook his head. "No, because newborns drink their victims dry and almost never think to change them. They're too voracious."

"Small mercies," Mackenzie muttered.