Chapter 4

Drake, hunched and wheezing from the radiating pain in his balls, somehow still found the breath to laugh.

Damn, what a woman.

Only rarely did he meet a female who didn't either swoon at his looks or cower at his size. And while he'd seen the admiration in Sally's eyes—and tasted it in her kiss—he hadn't intimidated her at all, a fact that his inner beast noticed and approved of. Actually, his beast more than liked this girl. It wanted him to go after the ballsy Sally and...claim her?

Drake stopped dead en route to his apartment. No way. Surely he misunderstood.

Or not. His beast stirred and whispered sibilantly in his mind. Mark her. Claim her. She is our mate.

Oh hell no. Drake shook his head in negation and resumed walking, but the idea he'd found the one woman who could complete him churned in his mind. And all I know so far about her is her name is Sally and she's a bounty hunter for Hell. Oh, and he shouldn't forget the fact that someone wanted her discredited, or worse, from the soul retrieval game.

When he'd accepted the job to steal a bounty out from a hunter's nose, he hadn't asked questions, not with the zeros attached to the fee. Nor had he batted an eye at the postscript that stated there would be a bonus if the original hunter for slimy Albert got hurt or killed. The games played by the denizens of Hell were both varied and deadly, and in this demon-eat-demon world, only the strongest survived. Like me.

As one of the stronger players, he had a choice. He could dispatch the lovely Sally and collect the money—his hoard could always use more riches—or he could ignore one treasure in order to claim a bigger one. Her.

The answer was already clear. If he'd wanted the bonus dollars, he could have easily dispatched her in the alley. But he hadn't. And he wouldn't.

While it would seem Sally had been unknowingly drawn into a game of survival, she had a hidden advantage—Me. Which begged the question, what where the rules, and who were the opposing players? Something he'd have to discover if he was to keep her safe until he could claim her.

Funny how the very idea didn't make him panic. For a man set in his bachelor ways, he was awfully calm about the fact that he'd met the one woman who would complete him. Then again, hadn't he waited centuries to find the one?

The humans called it love at first sight. Drake called it fate. Fate had drawn them together, and fate would bind them, if she lived long enough.

Someone wanted her dead.

His inner beast growled. Danger. We must protect her.

Drake got the feeling Sally could protect herself, but that wouldn't stop him from finding out more about the sexy lady and who seemed bent on destroying her. And once he found the one who thought to hurt his mate, he'd first thank them for introducing him to the woman who would soon grace his bed, and then he would rip their head from their body and bathe in his enemy's blood.

Shocked? Too bad. This was who he was. Inside, his darker side chuffed in anticipation.