"laylah, you asked why the oracle marked me." she winced, lifting her hand to press it to the strange mark on his chest. "to punish you." "no. it was to bind me to you." oh ... gods.

laylah shook her head in horrified disbelief. for such a proud, independent vampire it must have been torture to be forcibly bound to another.

"why would they do such a thing?" she breathed.

he didn't look horrified. in fact, there was something that resembled anticipation smoldering in his eyes.

"it doesn't matter, i was already in your power."

she narrowed her gaze in suspicion. she'd been a fool in london to think her magic was strong enough to control a vampire.

"i don't believe you were ever in my supposed power."

with a shift of his hips he managed to part her legs, settling between them with a wicked smile.

"i have become your slave, but it has nothing to do with jinn magic and everything to do with pure female bewitchment."

heat curled through her body at the feel of his thick erection pressing against her inner thigh. oh, it was so close to perfect. all she needed was a wiggle or two and she could have him settled exactly where he needed to be.

"your slave, huh?" she husked.

"it's the truth, my sweet." he stroked his lips down her cheek, pausing to nibble at the corner of her mouth. her arms instinctively circled his broad shoulders, skimming down his back. pleasure hummed through her. nice. she could spend hours exploring the hard muscles that rippled with encouragement beneath her touch. "with or without spells you're a part of me," he said, his voice thick with a fierce intensity.

she pulled back to study his somber expression with a searching gaze.

"what are you saying?"

"you're already the mate of my soul. i want to make it official."

laylah's mind shut down at the same time her heart went into overdrive, ricocheting around her ribs like a pinball.

"mate?"

his lips twisted. "are you shocked or horrified?" "i'm stunned," she readily admitted. he frowned, as if puzzled by her reaction to his little stunner.

"did you actually think i would chase after you for days, defy the commission and my own anasso by keeping you hidden, and risk my neck because i had nothing better to do?"

"but, i'm a jinn mongrel," she said, those words explaining everything.

jinn mongrels didn't mate.

end of story.

or at least it should be.

tane, however, seemed to be out of the loop as he flashed a smile filled with dangerous intent.

"i hate to disappoint you, my sweet, but i managed to figure that out all by myself."

"i'm an outcast."

"and i'm not?"

she made a sound of impatience. "i'm unstable."

"you're a female." his smile widened. "it's expected."

"jerk." she curled a fist and hit his back with enough force to make him grunt. dammit. was he completely insane? or was his fascination with her a part of his guilt-complex? she was, after all, the go-to gal for a vampire with a self-destructive urge. "you won't think it's so funny if i accidentally strike you with a bolt of lightning or collapse your lair into a pile of rubble."

he captured her lips in a kiss that blazed through her, searing away her self-righteous impulse.

making her toes curl in the process.

"so long as you are next to me it won't matter," he said against her lips.

she gave a tug on his mohawk. "you must know this is crazy."

"be my mate, laylah," he coaxed, his eyes glowing. "say yes." she should say no.

had she forgotten the horrible accidents over the years? for god's sake, she'd killed more than one demon when her powers had slipped her control.

of course, it had only been in self-defense, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. and none of the demons were anywhere near as indestructible as a vampire.

and ...

and she loved him.

the pure simplicity of her emotion brought an end to her inner dialogue. "yes," she said.

he groaned, pressing his forehead to hers. "thank god."

laylah stroked the tense muscles of his neck, bracing herself for his strike. she wasn't afraid. excitement bubbled through her, as intoxicating as champagne. but, she'd had an up close and personal view of his fangs. it seemed impossible they wouldn't at least sting.

tane, however, caught her off guard, crushing her lips with slow, drugging kisses that had her arching in ready response. he tasted of wildfire. and sex. and power.

a lethal combination.

his hands skimmed down her body, removing her bra and panties with skillful ease, then returning for another intimate exploration that made her tremble with pleasure. he stroked the line of her shoulders, and down her collarbone. he cupped her breasts, his thumbs teasing her nipples to aching peaks. and all the while he kissed her with a deep urgency that made her blood race.

desire swelled inside her, as well as something new.

a hunger to feel him at her throat, his fangs buried deep in her flesh.

perhaps sensing she was too impatient for a marathon seduction, tane lifted himself off her long enough to shed his shorts before returning to cover her, his mouth seeking the pointed tip of her breast.

he groaned in approval as her hands scraped down his back, digging into his hips with her nails.

using his tongue and teeth, he tormented the swollen bud, his cock rubbing against her clit until she was ready to plead for release. he shifted his attention to her other breast, his hand sliding between them to slip a finger between her folds, finding the pinpoint of her desire with remarkable ease.

"tane ..." she choked.

"yes, my sweet."

"i need you."

as if her words snapped the last thread of his composure, tane gave a low growl and with one hard thrust was buried deep inside her.

laylah gasped, feeling stretched to the very limit. then, with a throaty moan she wrapped her legs around his hips in blatant appreciation.

"mine," he rasped, burying his face in the curve of her neck. "my mate."

she quivered as his tongue ran a wet path down the line of her jugular, arching her head back to offer what he desired. tane didn't hesitate. with a harsh groan, he plunged his fangs through her skin, his hands holding her hips steady as she bucked from the pleasure slamming into her.

gods.

she wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight as he began to pump his hips in rhythm that matched the sucking of her blood.

the combined sensations were ...

earth shattering.

happily tossing herself into the maelstrom of bliss, laylah met him stroke for stroke, rushing toward an orgasm even before he released a trickle of his power. she screamed as the tiny jolt of electricity threw them both over the edge and she exploded into a million pieces.

lost in the shattering pleasure, she felt him withdraw his fangs and gently close the puncture wounds. she floated in a daze of paradise, already sensing the deepening connection between them.

he nuzzled a path of kisses toward the hollow beneath her ear, his hands stroking up the curve of her waist to cup her swollen breasts.

"your turn," he whispered.

laylah readily threaded her fingers through his mohawk, excitement shimmering through her. she was no expert on vampire relationships, but she did know that the mating was only half complete. it was only after she took his blood that they would be truly bound together.

not giving herself time to consider the pain she was bound to cause, she raised her head to sink her teeth deep into the flesh of his neck. she didn't have fangs, but she was able to draw enough blood to trickle down her throat.

tane groaned in satisfaction. "laylah."

the breath was snatched from her lungs as the awareness of tane flowed through her with a shocking intimacy. it was like ...

she sucked in a shaky breath.

it was like he was a part of her, so deeply ingrained it was impossible to know where one began and the other ended.

and buried deep in her heart were the threads of his love that shimmered as brilliant as the finest gold.

she lowered her head and met the fierce honey gaze. "you're mine."

his hips began to thrust at a slow, delectable pace. "forever."

lying entangled with laylah in the middle of the bed, tane ran gentle fingers over the crimson tattoo that was scrolled beneath the skin of her forearm.

it was the mark of their mating.

his mark.

just as he had an answering mark on his arm that revealed laylah's claim. not that he needed any tattoo to prove their mating. she was the other half of his soul. cheesy, but true.

his lips twitched. if someone had told him two weeks ago that he'd be as smug as a pheral demon with a harem of harpies at being mated to a jinn mongrel, he would have laughed. or sliced out their hearts.

lifting her arm, he pressed his lips to her palm, his body readily stirring despite the past four hours he'd spent making love to this woman. it was fairly certain he'd never, ever get enough of laylah.

he ignored the sensation of night falling, instead savoring the scent of spring rain that wrapped around him like a warm blanket.

for this rare moment, he wanted to forget the world beyond the closed door ...

a hand slammed against the door with perfect timing, the cold chill of jaelyn's power swirling through the air.

so much for forgetting the world.

"open the door, charon," the hunter ordered.

"go away," he growled, wrapping protective arms around his mate.