Ashley gasped at her own actions, a ripple of unease tearing through her. She'd never killed anyone and yet, she'd just plunged a knife through someone's heart with no second thought.
She released the hilt, her eyes flying up to Jonny's face.
"I'm not gonna lie. It does hurt," he said with a grimace. He raised a hand and calmly gripped the hilt of her knife. "But you're gonna have to do better than that." He pulled it free.
Xander wasn't joking about not being able to kill him. She had suspected all along her guardian was lying about the alleged godslayer it took to kill Jonny in order to dissuade her. The sound of her knife hitting the tile floor startled her out of her disbelief.
"My turn," Jonny said.
She twisted away from his first attempt to grab her, whirled and ducked as he Traveled directly behind her. The next minute happened in a blur of instinct and shadows. She evaded, danced and maneuvered away from him.
And then he caught her. Or rather, her whirling ponytail. Ashley's head was yanked back. Before she had a chance to twist out of his grip, his hand was on her throat and then, his teeth sinking into her.
She stifled a cry. He wasn't numbing the pain like he had the first time. The tiny knives that were his teeth hurt worse than paper cuts against the delicate skin of her neck. The moment his skin touched hers, she was unable to react. Her muscles relaxed despite her survival instinct screaming for them to move. Jonny released her hair and wrapped the arm around her back, pulling her into his body the way he had on the beach except this time, she was able to feel every inch of his hard frame against hers without the distraction of the seizure. His warmth and scent invaded her space and senses, made the fire in her blood light for a reason other than danger.
Fear began to edge out her anger. She pushed against him, unable to budge his grip on her when her body was responding to his power rather than hers. The bleeding had stopped from his chest. He was healed as quickly as Xander claimed he would.
"Stop!" she whispered finally, starting to panic at the idea Jonny wasn't afraid to draw Xander's anger.
Jonny sucked her blood a moment longer before withdrawing from her neck. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you liked being my dinner, Ashley." His voice was husky and low. He nuzzled the tender skin.
She shivered.
"I warned you," he repeated. "What made you come here?"