Reborn Yesterday - Tessa Bailey Page 0,50

dress. When she took over the task, he looked her hard in the eye and hitched the hem of the garment up to her waist. “Remind me I could hurt you if I take you. Remind me there are rules and consequences.”

Wetness rushed to the juncture of her thighs on the wings of desire so wild, it didn’t have a name. She shook her head in a stubborn no to his command and peeled open the bodice of her dress, revealing the sheer peach lace of her bra, the breasts that swelled out of their cups.

Jonas’s fangs snapped into view, his gaze darkening to a dangerous dark green. “No, Ginny,” he breathed. “No, love. No. Don’t turn your beauty into my enemy.”

“You don’t have to fight the battle alone,” she said, threading her fingers through his hair and pulling him down for a soft kiss. “You don’t have to be alone at all. Give us a chance. I’m acknowledging the risk. I’m taking it.”

A shudder traveled through Jonas. A surrender. His lips peeled back from his teeth and he slowly lowered his mouth to her breasts, rubbing his lips over the peak of her hard nipple. He made a guttural sound and thrust his hips, absorbing Ginny’s whimper with that emerald intensity. He seemed to be powerless to do anything but kiss her and he did. Hard. Wild. They dove back into the hungry writhe of lips like they’d never stopped for a moment, and the pace accelerated quickly, making their bodies strain closer, her legs wrapping more securely around his hips.

Jonas broke away to let her breathe, eyeing her pulse while moving closer, closer to it as if drawn by hypnosis. He brushed the flutter of life with his lips and his hands gripped her thighs in a bruising hold, sending a thrill through Ginny, all the way to her toes. His willpower was on full display while he kissed her neck reverently, but when his tongue came out and licked the entire length of her flexed tendon, Ginny wasn’t expecting the deluge of lust—and she jolted.

His fang caught on her skin, causing Ginny a flash of pain.

Jonas drew back in horror, the flaming green fire transfixed by her neck. Reflected in his gaze, she watched the red trickle run down the paleness of her skin and couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

What would he do?

So many times, he’d warned about the three rules and how easily they could be broken. A relationship led to drinking her blood leading to potential death. What if he couldn’t help himself? Had she pushed him too far?

With a growl of pure hunger, Jonas lowered his head and licked the trickle of blood from her neck, bringing it into his mouth and swallowing the way someone might with a fine wine. Almost immediately, his body fell forward on top of her. He caught himself with shaking arms right before he could crush her.

A throttled rendition of her name left him. What was that sound?

There was a muted throbbing between them and at first she thought it came from her own rollicking heartbeat, but no…no, it came from Jonas.

He balanced on one hand, tearing at the left side of his chest with the other.

Was his heart beating?

“Mate,” he gasped, fangs elongating another fraction of an inch. “Mate.”

Before she could respond, Jonas threw himself off the bed and landed on his feet. His fists clenched at his sides for a heavy moment, as if he was considering lunging at her, pinning her, but in the space of a second, he’d gone out the window instead, leaving her alone and wheezing on the bed.

Mate?

Ginny was so confused by what had happened, it took her almost an hour of staring into space and replaying the scene to realize…she still had her memories.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ginny had the dream again that night.

She was edging along the outskirts of the luminous fair, drawn by her very bones to the darkness. Drawn to the tree where the man stood in his hat and suspenders, watching her as though he’d been waiting for her. As if he’d been watching her for a while and memorized the way she moved. Which made no sense since she was positive she’d never seen him before. She would have remembered being magnetized, hot and shivery just being in his presence.

Having no choice but to get closer, she stepped out of the light and watched him push off the tree and go rigid. “Don’t,” he said, though his voice didn’t