Bound by Revenge (Guardian Series) by Jennifer Thibeault Page B

steady vibrations of the engine didn’t help clear Sam’s mind at all. She watched Vance shift as he raced across town. The control that he had of his body and his machine made her mind reel.
    His hands gently curved onto the shifter, just inches away from Sam’s leg. He was strong but gentle, skillful and adept. Each move brought Sam closer to release as the seat vibrated underneath her. Sam couldn’t break her gaze from those hands. She needed them to roam over her body and to treat her with the same loving control he paid the car. She needed to feel those hands touching every inch of her skin. She needed him. Her enemy. No, her teammate. Sam tried desperately to fit the new thought into her paradigm.
    Just when she thought she couldn’t take another moment of anticipation, the vehicle stopped. Sam didn’t even know how long they were driving. She had no idea what direction they had gone or how to get back when the time came to leave. Sam snapped her eyes shut tight and rubbed her temple with two fingers. This wasn’t anything like her. She’d never been one to end up so completely out of control. She not only had no clue where she was, but she was also with a demon she still wasn’t sure she could trust.
    Instead of panicking, like she really wanted to do, Sam took a deep breath and opened her eyes to look at her surroundings. They were in a typical suburban neighborhood. In front of her, stood a small white cottage, with a little square yard, picket fence, apple tree, and all.
    “What is this place?” She asked, looking over at Vance, waiting for him to laugh at her and pull the car away from the home she’d instantly fallen in love with. Instead his words shocked her.
    “It’s my house. Well, kind of. I don’t own it or anything. But I rent it. I know it’s not big and fancy like Alex’s but I really like it.” Vance stammered as he looked at Sam with hooded eyes.
    “There’s just something about it. I needed a place to stay when I got here. And everything’s been so different than normal. I thought maybe I’d get to stay here for a while.”
    He spoke with a need that had nothing to do with the lust that had filled the car just minutes before. It was a strange contrast to his physical appearance. He actually seemed worried that after seeing Alex’s house, Sam wouldn’t think that his home was good enough.
    To the contrary, she thought it was perfect. It was everything that she could have ever wanted for herself. It was actual Americana and the hope she saw in Vance’s heart was astonishing. She’d thought she was the only one of her kind who had dreams of a normal life. Of having a permanent home. A place to call her own. But, as unlikely as it was, Vance was the one to prove her wrong. Vance was the one who shared her dreams and now they’d been hand-delivered a shot to live them out together.
    Without skipping a beat, Sam leaned over and touched her lips to Vance’s for the first time, not that she hadn’t pictured this moment in her mind hundreds if not thousands of times before. Just for a second, the kiss was purely innocent, her lips gently skimming his soft skin as a means to comfort that vulnerable male that showed through.
    It was everything she had ever imagined. Vance’s masculine scent, a mixture of cedar and spice, filled the air. Her mind swirled with each of her senses flaring at the contact. Any lingering doubts that she had held, any determination to stay away, melted away from her with that single kiss.
    She was his. Her last wall had crumbled to the ground. All the feelings she had closed up for all this time were free and she felt him with every inch of her body, from head to toe.
     
    Vance’s instincts took over from there. He had been with more than his fair share of women over the years. The life of a demon was well suited to debauchery and one night stands and while each encounter fed that physical need, he had never felt any emotional connection with even one of