Bound In Sin (A Vampire/Werewolf Romance)

Author: Cynthia Eden

This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to
real people, places, or events are not intentional and are the
result of coincidence. The characters, places, and events in this
story are fictional.

Published By Cynthia Eden at Smashwords.

Copyright ©2012 by Cynthia Eden

Some bodies just wouldn’t stay buried–no matter how
much dirt you shoved on top of them.  Those bodies…they just
kept digging out of their graves.

And chasing a girl until she was so damn tired of
running. So tired that she’d consider trading her own soul, just
for a few moments of safety.

Paige Sloan stared up at the high stone walls of the
werewolf compound. It had been ten years since she’d last been
inside of those thick walls.  Only she hadn’t been looking for
protection back then. She’d been looking for love.

Will he even remember me?

Paige stood there, trembling from the cold–she
hated
the bone-numbing cold of Alaska–and then she heard
footsteps coming her way.  Strong. Determined. She sucked in a
deep breath and straightened her shoulders.
 
Showtime
.  She just had to play this bit right
and get past the guards. Paige lifted her arms into the air. “I’m
not carrying a weapon!” Better to just go ahead and get that part
out early.

Werewolves could be too unpredictable. She didn’t
want them attacking first, then trying to get answers from her
cold, lifeless body later.

The gate opened with a screech.  Two men came
rushing out. They weren’t carrying weapons. Then again, they didn’t
need to carry extra firepower. If they wanted, she knew those two
men could shift into powerful wolves in an instant.

Most humans didn’t realize the truth about the world
that surrounded them. Humans thought monsters were make-believe.
Just stories to scare children in the darkness of the night.

If only.

Paige knew monsters were real. They were the
nightmares that walked the earth.

“
Vampire…”
One of the men snarled the
accusation at her, and just that quickly, his claws burst from his
fingertips.

Under the moonlight, she saw his nostrils flare and
knew the guy had caught the scent that revealed her for exactly
what she was.

A monster. A vampire.

“You want to die, vamp?” The other guard demanded. He
was the taller of the two, with close-cropped, dark hair, and huge,
hulking shoulders. “Is that why you’re here?”

Well, they weren’t trying to rip her open yet, so
that was a good sign. Paige cleared her throat and kept her hands
up. “Technically, I’ve already died.”  That was how she’d
become a vamp and–

The smaller werewolf lunged at her.  Smaller,
but still wicked strong. He wrapped his claws around her neck and
snapped, “You’re about to die again.” His dark eyes promised a
world of pain. 

She could do without that promise.
Been there,
done that. Not really interested in that scene again,
thanks.

Paige didn’t fight his hold, not yet. If things got
desperate, then she’d be the one delivering the pain. But first…
“Drake …” She whispered the name that had haunted her memories and
a small, icy cloud appeared before her mouth. She ignored the cold
and focused on what mattered right then. She needed these
wolves…and their new alpha. “Drake Wyler.”

The werewolf holding her leaned in even closer. 
She could see that his blond hair was long, brushing his shoulders,
and his face was all hard angles and lines.  “What do you want
with the alpha?”

This was the part that would be tricky. Slowly,
because she didn’t want to set the guys off, Paige lifted the long
necklace that had fallen to rest between her breasts.  She saw
the blond werewolf’s eyes widen as he stared at the necklace.
Stared at it–then hurriedly jumped the hell away from her.

That was right. No other werewolves were supposed to
touch
her, not when… “I belong to him,” Paige said
simply. 

And in an instant, those werewolves started tripping
over themselves as they hurried to open the gate for her. 
Sure, they might hate her kind, but as long as she had their
alpha’s protection, they couldn’t touch her. 

Well, not if they wanted to keep living.

Paige stared into that wolf compound.  Dark.
Dangerous. But, hopefully, not as deadly as what waited behind
her.

And if she could just get the alpha to overlook that
little matter of her vanishing for ten years…

Then maybe she’d have a chance of surviving the
coming days and nights.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

The werewolves took her into the heart of the
compound. Right inside the big, three story house with heavy stone
walls that stood starkly against the night.

They walked into the foyer, and the tap of her boots
seemed to echo on the marble floor.
Marble.
The wolves
were kicking things up a notch. Normally, the vamps were the ones
who liked to throw around their money.

She glanced down at her scuffed boots.
Not that I
ever had money to toss at anyone or anything.

But it looked like Drake had plenty of money
now.  And one big, fancy house. This place wasn’t where she
belonged, and soon enough, she’d be leaving. After she took care of
a little business.

“This way.”  The werewolf on her right–the blond
one who’d wrapped his claws around her neck moments before–was
pointing to the stairs.

She nodded quickly and followed him up those winding
stairs. Then they hurried down a hallway. Turned around a corner.
As they headed down that quiet hallway, Paige got a really, really
bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Are you taking me to
Drake’s office?”

The werewolf beside her, the dark-haired one, just
grunted.

That bad feeling got worse. This looked like private
quarters to her.  Like they were taking her–

A door jerked open to her left. And then, right
there, bigger and even sexier than she remembered, with wide
shoulders that brushed the edges of the doorframe, a muscled and
bare
chest, a wild curl of black hair, and eyes that
blazed golden fire…right there stood the werewolf alpha, Drake
Wyler.

The man she’d loved and lost before.

The man she needed now.

But at that moment, he stared at her with so much
fury she almost felt the heat of his glittering gaze burn her
skin.

“
Paige.”
Her name was a growl of rage. Okay,
so coming here hadn’t been the best idea but–

His nostrils flared.

Hell.
Her whole body tensed. With
werewolves, their sense of smell was so strong that it only took
one whiff to realize… “
Vampire.”
The word was a curse.

She didn’t flinch. Well, perhaps she did. When he’d
known her before, his voice had always been softened with need,
with love.

Not hardened with deadly rage. 

He grabbed her, not with his claws out, like the
other werewolf had, but Drake wrapped his hands around her
shoulders and pulled her over the threshold of the room–and into
his arms.

Then he kissed her.  His lips pressed down on
hers, and because she’d wanted him, for so long, Paige kissed him
back. Her mouth opened beneath his. Her tongue met his, and the
desire that only Drake seemed to be able to stir burned through
her.

Her heart raced. Her hips arched toward him even as
her nipples tightened against his chest. One kiss…and she craved.
It was the way it had always been with them.  She’d never
wanted anything more than she wanted him.

And she’d never been meant to have anything less.

His tongue slid over her lower lip. Stroked into her
mouth. Her wolf had become an even better kisser over the years.
Seducing, taking, and making her want so much more. Making her–

Drake’s head lifted.  He stared down at her–with
that strong, chiseled face that often slipped into her dreams, a
face that had a few more fine lines now, but the same square jaw,
the same high cheekbones, and the same sensual but slightly cruel
lips. His eyes blazed so brightly, and she could see the same raw
lust she felt reflected in his stare.

The years hadn’t changed the way he felt. He still
needed, just as much as she did. He still–

“Guess that means she is yours…” The blond werewolf
behind them muttered. “A vampire…with a werewolf, how twisted
is–”

Drake pushed Paige away and grabbed the wolf in one
fast, brutal move.  “I saw your claw marks on her throat.”

Paige lifted her hand and touched the skin. She felt
the light wetness of her own blood. Huh. She hadn’t even noticed
the sting. After all she’d experienced in the last ten years, what
did few scratches matter?

“You don’t
ever
touch her.”  Drake
tossed the guy down the hallway. The smaller werewolf’s head
thudded into a wall. “You come at her with your claws again,
Michael, and I’ll rip you open.”

Ah, all right, so Drake thought that the scratches
mattered. She hadn’t remembered him being quite so
blood-thirsty. 

He swung back toward her. The lust and fury were
still battling in his eyes.  This wasn’t the man she’d fallen
for all those years ago. The guy staring back at her–he was a
primal wolf.

“Make sure no one disturbs me,” Drake ordered and he
stalked back toward her.  She should speak. Say
something.  She hadn’t said a word to the guy yet. Maybe she
should start with something like…
Hi, there, long time, no
see.  You might wonder why I disappeared without a word. I’ve
got a really good story to tell you.

More like a nightmare tale. A nightmare that she’d
just brought to his door. 

And the door closed behind him with a soft click. Her
gaze flew around the room. She’d been right. This was definitely a
bedroom
.
Complete with one huge, rumpled bed. But at least
it looked like Drake had been sleeping alone. If there’d been a
she-wolf in there with him, Paige might have just let her own claws
out. 

When he touched her, she jumped. Paige wanted to hide
her fear, but being a werewolf, he could probably smell the scent
on her. Werewolves had such damn superior senses. Better than
anyone or anything else in the world.

His fingers brushed over the curve of her breasts.
The guy had to slow down. This couldn’t happen. Not yet anyway.
They had to talk first. “Drake, I–”

He lifted the necklace. Stared at the heavy gold
etched with the carving of a wolf’s head. 

She cleared her throat.

“Why are you wearing this?” Drake asked her, his
voice the rumbling mix of darkness and lust that had always been
able to make her yearn.

She was yearning already, but she pushed back the
need and focused on what the guy was saying. Her necklace. He’d
given it to her when she’d turned nineteen. The day he’d told her
what he really was.

Werewolf.

That had been the day when her life had started to
spiral out of control.

Time to woman up and talk. She swiped her tongue over
her lips, tasted him, and managed to say, “Y-you told me…you said a
werewolf would never attack me if I wore it.” The necklace had been
a sign of pack protection.

His strong, tanned fingers closed around the
necklace.  Then he yanked and broke the gold chain in one
vicious tug that seemed to claw across her heart. “I told you,” he
said, voice even darker, “that this necklace meant you belonged to
me.
”

Ah, right, that rage was burning so bright in
him.

“But then you left.”  A muscle jerked in Drake’s
jaw. “Disappeared.”

Paige backed up a step. When a werewolf this big and
angry was coming at you, a smart woman backed the hell
up. 

“You vanished,” his fingers had whitened around the
necklace, “when you were supposed to be
mine.
”

Yes, a human named Paige Sloan had promised to love
him, always. But then she’d stopped being a human, and she’d become
the one thing that she knew he hated.

Vampire.

“You don’t taste like death,” Drake told her.
 

She flinched at the cold and brutal words. 
Werewolves always were saying that vamps smelled and tasted like
death–that was one of their many insults.  So why hadn’t she
expected that slam from him?  Her chin lifted. “And right now,
you don’t look particularly furry.”  She’d never actually seen
him shift. She didn’t want to, either. Paige squared her shoulders
and held his gaze. “I guess we’re both full of surprises, huh?”

“You can fucking say that again.”

Her back teeth clenched together.  She hadn’t
expected the guy to run to her, wrap her in his arms, and
immediately swear his undying love. She’d let that dream die a long
time ago. But, jeez, did he want to rip her soul out or what?
“Look, I know you aren’t exactly happy to see me–”