“Please,” she gasped. “James, please. Will you … leave them on?”He didn’t reply, but he slowly pulled the denim back together and dragged the zipper up. She couldn’t help noticing that the button at the top stayed undone, baring a small vee of his smooth tawny skin.“That’s the only request you get tonight,” he said in a deep rasp. “You still have time to reconsider. But not much. Now disrobe, or ask me nicely to let you leave.”He was testing her. She knew he was deliberately pushing her now, probably so sure that he could make her change her mind with a few menacing words.Really, she should be afraid. Not just of being alone with a warrior like James, but also of the intimate, sacred act she was about to defile by drinking from a male she had no intention of taking as her mate. Truly, she degraded them both by asking James to service her like this, and if he was disgusted by the thought – or by her – she could hardly blame him.“What’s it going to be, Grace?”She stood up, too awa
Hell, she was on fire with need – both the physical thirst and the carnal one that vampire blood inspired in females bearing the teardrop-and-crescent-moon birthmark.Absurdly, James fought to distance himself from the gravity of what was happening. He tried to occupy his mind with a clinical mental inventory of her features – anything to dull the erotic movements of her mouth on him – but it was no use. Grace was too real, too damn hot, the way her spine arched and snaked with each long draw of her mouth. Her breath heaved, rapid and deep, and her lips were making deliciously wet noises in the quiet of the room.Her eyelids flicked open as if to beg permission and James was struck by the lovely amethyst color of her irises now that hunger and desire had darkened them. Her cheeks were pinkening already from his blood in her system, her lips stained a glossy, beautiful red where they held fast to his wrist.“Finish it,” James told her, his tongue thick, his own mouth dry as bone. “Take
Thousands of years ago, the Kingdom of Nork.Near the Dark River.James… James... Heal yourself. James...The deep male voice that called to James was familiar. Always in his dreams, when his defences were weakened, but it was stronger now than ever before. It was so familiar that James could almost feel the familiarity of the voice.In the back of his mind, he heard the tick, tick, tick of a clock. “Who are you?” he demanded.An image flashed in his mind. Not of the speaker, but of huge, grotesque monsters crawling toward him. Each had eight legs, with sharp, deadly points. They were black and hairy, their eyes big and beady, their tails pointed and curling toward him. They were staring him down, as if he were a tasty snack. Bile rose in his throat, but James pressed on, ignoring them.“Where are you? Who are you?” James asked.The voice whispered. James… my brother…heal yourself, and come. Time… save me, save us. The woman. She is the answer.“Answer?” James asked again and again.
A low moan caused James to jolt upright.Out of habit, he catalogued his surroundings in an instant. The moon was high, golden, the stars bright, winking from their scattered perches. Ghost trees swayed against a cool, sultry breeze. A river rushed along a pebbled bank.His brows drew together with confusion. He was enveloped by the sweetest scent of passion…fading…and the ripe scent of pain…intensifying. Who was in—?Another low, female moan sounded, broken and harsh. His attention whipped to the left, down. Grace. Grace lay beside him. And gods above, she was practically naked. Her only covering was a tiny scrap of white material between the apex of her thighs.He should remove it. With his teeth.Instantly his fangs ached. A familiar sensation in her presence. For a moment, he could only drink in the sight of her, his gaze greedy. Her breasts were small, her nipples pink as berries and beaded deliciously. Her stomach hollowed, showcasing every single one of her ribs.Clearly she ha
Grace flattened her hand over his heart, as if measuring the erratic beat against her own. So trusting she was, so trustworthy. She hadn’t left him when she’d had the chance. So forgiving, too. James had allowed her to be whipped, yet still she’d taken care of him. Had even, he mused, cleaned his teeth. His mouth tasted fresh, like mint.She groaned again, but this time, oh, this time, there was no pain in her voice. Only pleasure. Such a decadent sound. Instantly James’ shaft stood at attention, filling, hardening, and readying. He bit his tongue, his fangs sinking deep into the tissue."James?" Grace breathed sleepily. "All is well, Grace. Go back to sleep.""No, I—""You’re right. You may sleep after you tell me who hit you," he interrupted before she could make a demand of her own."You did." Warm breath trekked over his chest, tickling his skin."What?" he shouted. "Me?""Accident. No worries. And I didn’t mean to cuddle up to you. I’m sorry."She was sorry? "Grace. I am sorry."
Another sigh, her entire body sagging into the ground. "I know that, too. I’m too attracted to you not to give in."He loved such an open, honest admission. "Good. Now. Have I covered everything that worried you?""Well." She chewed at her lip until a tiny bead of blood formed. "I’ve been thinking.""I have already mentioned that you do that far too much." Before he realized what he was doing, he reached out, collected the blood with the tip of his finger, and licked it away. Her flavor, as sweet as her scent, fizzed and crackled over his taste buds, and he moaned.Pure, nothing had ever tasted that good. The need for more grew…grew…until he was sweating, panting, fighting for control.James would not fall on her. He would not. He had known she would delight him in this way, but he had not expected this."I could return home at any second," she said, unaware of the change in him. "I mean, you’re free now, and isn’t that the reason you summoned me? So it stands to reason that the magic
"Distract me," Grace said. Otherwise, she just might beg him for a happy ending. Something she couldn’t allow herself to do. He said they would mate soon. Which meant, now was not the time.Or was she supposed to beg? Before, in the bedroom, he’d said, Not until you beg me. Was that what he wanted now? What did he expect? To work her into a frenzy and hear her plead? Well, she would—"Distract you how?" James asked, surprising her.Okay, so begging wasn’t on the menu. Astonished with herself, she fought a wave of disappointment. "Tell me a story."He stilled. "A story?""Yes." Grace cracked open her eyelids and added, "Whatever you do, don’t stop massaging!"His lips twitched despite the tension radiating from him, something she found endearing. Most likely, amusement had not been a part of his life for a while, yet he seemed to enjoy her. As she enjoyed him."A story about what?" he asked. He remained between her splayed legs, with her knees bent and framing him."I don’t know. Your
A glimmer of hope in his expression. "I mention this only as a possibility, not a reality. I could never want anyone as much as I want you right now." He was looming over her a second later, his mouth poised just above hers. He was breathing shallowly, his hands anchored next to her temples, his erection pressed between her legs.Finally. The contact she’d yearned for. He was hers, hers, only hers. She could believe nothing less. "You may not know yourself, but I think I know you," she said. "Trust me, no one is waiting for you."Well she hoped for the best and longed that James wouldn’t break her heart.She wasn’t being stubborn or blind about this. Discarding his raw possessive nature and the fact that any woman he committed to would have his full attention, he was a vampire and vampires mated for life. They are physically incapable... couldn’t stray. Research has proven that. So, memory or not, he would not react to Grace if his heart belonged to another."Perhaps I am a horrible p