Saved at Sunrise

I?”
    “No, you’re not that bad. Just stubborn…” he met her gaze, “and perfect,” he said,
     but his voice sounded distant. “I need to get you to a hospital.”
    “No,” she said, feeling her knees weaken. “I need blood and I’ll heal. She didn’t
     hit any major organs, or I’d be dead. Just get me blood, Steve. That’s all I need.
     Vampires heal really quickly.”
    He frowned and pulled his phone out. “Don’t you dare call Burnett!” she seethed, but
     her knees folded and she dropped to the ground. “Please,” she begged, feeling tears
     fill her eyes. “I want to impress him. I can’t let him down.” She batted at her tears
     and saw Steve looking down at her with compassion.
    Relief fluttered inside her when she saw him put his phone back into his pocket. “Thank
     you,” she said. “Thank you,” she repeated, but she’d no more gotten that last word
     out when she smelled the dirty scent that hinted at rotten meat. They had company.
     Not the rogue vamps.
    Weres.
    Oh, shit! She really didn’t want to die today.
    She stood up, her whole body trembled. She prayed she looked a lot more menacing than
     she felt. There were three of them, big mean-looking dudes. Hair so dirty she couldn’t
     distinguish the color, and clothes that looked just as unclean.
    They’d obviously smelled her blood and came looking for a bite to eat.
    “Leave,” Steve growled at them. “Or I’ll kill you.” Sparkles started popping off around
     him. A loud roar filled the dark alley. The lion had returned, only this time it was
     even larger, the size of a small van.
    Two of the weres backed up, but one, obviously the most stupid, started running at
     Steve, his canines extended, his eyes glowing orange. Steve swatted one paw and knocked
     the were across the alley. He hit the fence with a loud thud. The two smarter weres
     ran like hell was on fire and chasing them.
    It took Della a second to realize she hadn’t done anything. She hadn’t even growled
     at the intruders to help Steve stand against them. But how could she when it took
     everything she had to stand?
    With the echo of the fading footsteps running down the alley, she watched the lion
     charge at her. But what she didn’t understand was why everything was spinning. Round and round the world goes, where it lands nobody knows. Her mind created the singsong words in her head to go with the light-headed feeling
     washing over her. Just when she was about to get used to the light-headedness, black
     spots started popping off like firecrackers in her vision.
    The last thing Della remembered was falling against the big beast and thinking that
     even as a lion, Steve smelled like some spicy male soap.
    *   *   *
    Della felt someone lift her head up.
    Then she heard a male voice with a Southern accent as sexy as the voice was deep.
     “You either wake up and drink this or I’m going to have to call Burnett. You hear
     me? Wake up, sweetheart.”
    Sweetheart? Della lifted her eyelids and looked up at the dark-haired, soft brown–eyed guy sitting
     next to her on the huge bed. He had one hand behind her head and the other holding
     a cup up to her mouth. It took her a second to realize who he was. It took another
     one for her to remember everything.
    The mission.
    The vampires.
    The weres.
    Steve’s kiss.
    Oh, yeah, she remembered Steve’s kiss.
    “Thank heavens,” he muttered when he saw her looking at him. “Can you drink?” He pressed
     the cup to her lips. “Just a couple of sips.”
    The sweet smell of blood filled her nose and she opened her mouth and sipped. It tasted
     so good, she took another sip.
    Steve lowered her head on the pillow that was so soft it practically swallowed her
     head. She glanced up at his smile.
    “I think you need to drink more, but we’ll give you a few minutes,” he said.
    The silky feel of the sheets against her bare back and the soft pillow surrounding
     her head told her two things. One, they weren’t back at the cabin, and two, she was
     practically naked.
    She moved her gaze around and took in what appeared to be a fancy hotel room. Then
     she reached down to the sheet that covered her chest and lifted it up an inch to check
     for clothes.
    Yup, naked. Well, practically naked. She still had on her red silk panties. And a
     bandage over her wound.
    She dropped the sheet down against her chest and frowned up at him.
    “Where are my clothes?”
    “I threw them in the bathtub and