Skin Deep by Megan D. Martin Page A

Seedy McGee through the window, as she shared the human’s wine and even touched his hand.
    She should have been enjoying Cain’s wine, his company. She should have been laughing at his jokes. He knew he was a hell of a lot wittier than that fucking tool bag. The sad ass part about the whole deal was that dinner wasn’t even the worst bit.
    Cain had hidden himself in the trees around the hair salon, out of sight, for their return home. Hidden himself for the grand finale. He got to stand there, nut-hugging a goddamned tree, while watching the human push her luscious body against the car while he fucked her with his mouth.
    It was almost more than he could take. The beast in him clawed to get free and scratched at the inside of his skin, ready to destroy. The human was a very lucky man. Lucky because Kiera ended the kiss when she did. That was the only reason he got to keep his extremities.
    Now he looked down into her golden, teardrop-shaped eyes and had the strange feeling of coming home, a feeling he hadn’t had in centuries. His mind rushed back to that time, long ago, when his life had been good, when he had loved with all of his being. The faces of the ones he’d lost flashed before his mind, each as beautiful as the last. His breath caught in his throat, choking him with emotion.
    What the hell?
    The impression was fleeting, quickly replaced with a sharp pain in his groin where her knee made forceful contact.
    “Fuck!” He groaned as he stepped back and released her. She took off running as soon as his hands were off her, shouting for help as she sprinted away.
    Kiera ran for her life. There was no other way to describe it. Her date was over and suddenly Cain, her beautiful stranger, had appeared and pulled her into the shadows. It was the look in his eyes that scared her more than anything. She had seen that mien many times before, in Roth’s eyes. A look that meant only one thing to her—that she was in for a world of hurt. It was a look of possessiveness and anger.
    “Help! Someone please!” She ran. There was no way in hell she was going to let herself get filleted by some psycho asshole like she had before.
    Thundering footsteps echoed behind her. She panicked, her legs and chest burned, but she pushed herself harder. It was no use. A hard-as-steel arm encircled her midsection, while another clamped over her mouth. She flailed against his hold. Again, she was pulled from the lamplit sidewalk into a thick, wooded area.
    Just wonderful. She’d all but led him straight to a more secluded place. Surrounded by darkness, he spun her and pressed her back into another tree. His hand stayed firmly clamped over her mouth.
    He leaned his perfect blond head in and inhaled deeply at her throat. He groaned on the exhale and loosened his hold on her mouth.
    “Don’t understand this … pull to you.” Cain nuzzled his lips against her throat. It shamed her how her body warmed from this contact. It was like lighting a sparkler and swallowing it. He burned her to the core. A sweltering heat more intoxicating than a pint of absinthe. “I can smell his sickening scent. All. Over. You.” His whispering words became an angry growl against her skin.
    Instead of scaring her, her heart rate accelerated out of desire. She suddenly became aware of every inch of contact his body had with her own. The soft fabric of his shirt made goose bumps rise on her arms and chest. His jean-clad thigh pressed in between her own, a pressure that made her go utterly wet for him.
    “Gods, I can smell your need … for me. I can tell it’s for me. That prick did nothing for you but leave a bad taste in your mouth,” he murmured in her ear.
    As much as she wanted to deny it, he was right. Luke’s kiss hadn’t even warmed her, while Cain’s mere presence set her on fire.
    “You make me burn . ” The words were hot and thick from his throat.
    His roaming lips found her own, leaving a searing trail in their wake. She shouldn’t