* * *
What the hell are you doing, Kai? she thought as she sucked at the cut on her thumb. The cut made by his fang. You have no idea what you’re playing with here. He’s not like you.
She knew that was true, felt it down into her very marrow. Part of it was her own fascination with the man, the vampire, before her. And part of it felt like an unseen force, as if a part of her psyche was being drawn to him against her will.
Henrik’s big body loomed over her, his muscles so taut they popped under the tight shirt. The whole bed trembled under the strain of his restraint. Trained on her mouth, his eyes glowed and threw off sparks like a pair of spotlighted diamonds. His nostrils flared. He panted and shuddered.
The dark promise of his words hung in the space between them. I’m going to be all over you.
Kaira had never been more aroused in her life, hadn’t even known her body was capable of feeling this way, nearly vibrating with life and need and want.
His desire heated the entire room, beaded her nipples and dampened her panties. She’d never felt so wanted, not surprising since her illness did little to attract the opposite sex. But it was more than that. It wasn’t just that some man desired her, it was that this one did.
Immortal. Powerful. Royal.
And she possessed the ability to help him.
She pulled her thumb from her mouth.
The sound of cracking plastic exploded from under Henrik’s right hand.
And then he was on her. Though not the way she expected.
He grasped her face and planted his mouth on hers. His hands dug into her hair as his big body climbed over hers. He worshipped her with devouring kisses, his hands fisting and opening with each kiss and withdraw.
Sexual heat radiated off him and soaked into her depths. A soft growl rumbled in his chest and she longed to feel it against her own. Yet, he kept his weight off her, almost like he was afraid to fully yield to the chemistry pulling them together.
Kaira’s heart broke into a gallop, making her gasp for oxygen around his demanding, desperate kisses. His big hands tilted her head and tugged at her hair, and she let herself be guided. When he pushed his tongue into her mouth, dizziness swamped her. His incredible male spice was a thousand times more potent on her tongue. Hunger erupted deep inside her and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
He groaned and shook, his muscles nearing full-out tremors. What would it be like if he let loose that tremendous restraint? She wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Or that she could handle it if he did.
Her tongue brushed something hard and unyielding. His fang. She moaned into the kiss and he growled and surged forward, pressing her back into the pillows. His body overflowed the narrow bed and so completely encompassed hers that he was all she knew, all she smelled, all she tasted.
A warm tingling heat gathered low in her belly and her hips tilted and rocked of their own accord. Her body yearned for friction, for contact, for penetration. The fact that her experience was so limited made these desires new and scary, but no less intense. She whined and whimpered and tugged at his broad shoulders.
With one strong arm, he shifted their bodies. Kaira didn’t really notice until the next thrust of her hips brought the aching place between her legs up against something warm and hard. She unleashed a strangled scream into the kiss and thrust again. Squeezing her thighs, she realized he’d slid his leg between hers. She rubbed herself against his thigh, alternating between holding her breath and gasping for air as she chased the maddening pressure growing within her core.
For just a second, her bottom lip pinched and stung. Until Henrik unleashed an animalistic grunt and suction pulled at the small wound made by the Soul Eater.
She was bleeding. And he was drinking it down.
Fear and arousal shot through her veins in equally shocking amounts, followed by the dragging heat of lust.
But now that she’d acknowledged her fear, it escalated, tearing her in two between what her body wanted and what her head thought was right...was safe.
His lips tugged hers and she caught a flash of brilliant light from his eyes.
And then blinding white light was all she saw. The orgasm ripped through her in a wave of breath-stealing contractions. She wrenched her head against the pillows, every muscle in her body taut.
On the way back down, her fear went volcanic. What did I just do?
Kaira beat on his chest and shoved at his shoulders and pushed with her feet. “Nei! Stoppe!” she cried. “Nei!”
On a growl, Henrik lurched away until he was on his knees above her. His chest heaved. His fangs protruded. And his lips were coated in the dark red of her spilled blood.
Hunger rolled off him in waves of potent energy.
He was nowhere near sated.
Chapter 8