Page 14 of A Velvet Kiss After Dark

Whatever she saw on his face, she released a harsh, shuddering breath. "Kane?" A gentle, frightened question.

She should be frightened with the thoughts he was having. He could make her so wet…. The thought sent his mind spiraling with desire of all the ways he could pet her, stroke her, kiss her body until she was squirming and writhing beneath him, above him, beside him. Crying out his name.

His shaft pulsed hotly.

His gaze fell to her mouth. Her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip in response and a slow grin curled over his mouth. Yes, he thought darkly. Victory was nigh.

With predatory slowness he moved in. One hand gently shepherding around her waist to tug her oh-so-gently closer. His heartbeat raged for her. Glad he was she couldn't hear its riotous tempo. His tongue was a parched piece of Sahara desert cotton, yearning for a single drop of dew to moisten its arid existence. Not just any dew—a taste of her. It'd been too long.

"Are you going to kiss me?" she asked breathlessly. Her hands came up to flatten against his pecs. They were icy against his heated skin.

Curl your mitts into me, little one; Let me warm you, his Beast purred.

"Would you like that?" How he managed to use his voice was a miracle.

Her lips parted and her eyes grew heavy-lidded. An expression he'd seen before and knew well. She wanted him.

Pride and joy surged in his veins like a high-dose drug exciting him beyond belief. Pure ecstasy. Yes! He wanted to shout from the rooftops, grab her close and kiss her dizzy. In fact, he was just about to do that when….

"I don't know," she admitted. A whisper of sound.

His frightened mouse. Why so scared? Surely she must know he'd never hurt her? He didn't make a point of hurting women, ever. Spanking didn't count, did it?

Damned this woman. She was maddening. "Tell me what it takes."

Both eyebrows rose in surprise. She seemed to be considering her options. Meanwhile the pads of her fingers brushed one of his nipples sending a shudder through him.

"For a kiss?" Her bright eyes rose to his with a clever glean.

He nodded. Hell, he wanted a whole lot more than a kiss. But a wet one would do wonders for his parched mouth at the moment. Lord knew what it'd do to his painfully erect cock that hadn't been properly manipulated in ages.

Her hands kneaded him like a cat might a fuzzy blanket. "How about… information."

Kane froze. A teeniest bit of lust faded from his brain—or cock—allowing him to contemplate this negotiation with a modicum of intelligence. She was a journalist for the most popular gossip magazine in the world—V Society Magainze.

She wrote in the gossip column under a vampire pseudonym, Alaina Morrison. Most of her entries were daring gossip stories that were often so true she often landed herself in trouble with dangerous folks.

Giving information to a reporter was bad news. Everyone knew that. Yet, the "no" was on his lips, when he felt her move closer to him. Her body alighted along his torso and hips. Biting back a curse, his hand at her waist tightened, crushing the material of her soft shirt while the other fisted the counter-top behind her.

Take her, his body cried. Pluck her up and stab home in her juicy center.

Sweat beaded his brown. His breaths uneven.

What was she playing at?

"What kind of information?" He was considering it, just to get closer to her.

Her pulse thudded heavy and swift, enticing him to scent her neck. To lick and mark her neck. To mark her as his.

Shaking the unusual thought away, Kane grunted and couldn't help fully pulling her soft womanly body against him. Inwardly he sighed at the soft pressure of breasts, belly and thighs joining against him. How right it felt. How hard he was for her. Fire burned inside him.

Yes! his beast growled. Take what is mine.

He figured his beast's visceral reaction toward her must have been because of his pent up arousal from last night.

"Oh, nothing really," she said coyly. Her fingers stroked more strongly against his pecs, massaging him. His eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head. Her voice lowered to a child-like whisper. "I just want to know what that list was in your wallet."

And, just like that, Kane stepped back from her. A brutally difficult move to make. But the spell was broken. Disappointment filled her gaze. Not nearly as disappointing as the crushing devastation he felt for not taking her mouth. At not rubbing against her body as he desired to.

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