Page 66 of The Doctor and the Devil
“I love you, Rafael. I cheated Death to be with you. I defied the laws of nature to stay on earth and claim you as my own. I have carved out my place in the darkness so that together, we can be our own light.”
I closed my eyes and leaned forward, touching my forehead to hers. I threaded my fingers through her hair and thanked the gods—every one I could name—for answering my pleas.
“Mina, my goddess, my Persephone, has finally come to the Underworld.”
“Rafael, my devil, my wintry Hades…I have always been here.” A tear slipped down her cheek—not blood, but a soft, glowing silver.
I pressed my lips to hers, so softly, fearing this was all a dream and she would fade away with the dying light of sundown. The gentle kiss deepened, and she laced her fingers behind my neck, pulling me down to cover her body. Her soft, pink tongue licked at the seam of my lips, igniting volcanic lust buried in me. The leash of my holy restraint snapped. I pulled back quickly, the question hovering on my lips.
“Mina, are you certain—do you feel well enough to…”
Blue fire sparked in her eyes and in answer, she ripped my clothes from my body with a flick of her wrist.
22
MINA
April 28, 1768
Château du Diable
I was startledby the sharpness of my claws and the strength in my fingers—I’d need to be careful. Unused to this odd supernatural body and all its new, inner workings, I pulled away slightly, intimidated and hesitant.
Rafael smiled softly and straddled me, tugging the chemise up over my head.
“Say it again, Mina,” he purred, his eyes liquid pools of jet.
“I love you,” I murmured, feeling more contentment than I had in the past twenty years. Perhaps even longer.
He closed his eyes for the briefest moment, then lowered his body to mine and buried his face in my neck.
“If I heard those words from you every day until the end of time, it would not be enough,” he said.
The soft brush of his lips on my collarbone sent a ripple of fire through me, and I arched toward his luscious mouth. I felt him smile against the skin on my neck, and his tongue slid out—licking and exploring my jawline and my earlobe. Every feeling was so intense, it was as if my nerves had doubled, and my brain struggled to keep up with the delicious torture from the lightest touches. He dropped kisses on my cheeks, forehead, eyelids and chin before my need urged me to yank his mouth to mine and plunder it thoroughly.
The slickness of his tongue tangling with mine sent heat spiraling straight to my core. My nipples tightened, and I felt the strange pressure in my gums as fangs lengthened in my mouth. I pulled back, my hands flying to my teeth. Rafael and Laszlo had two sets of fangs, more than other turned vampires, but I had…mon dieu.All my teeth had become fangs. Embarrassment and confusion battled against my lust, but Rafael dropped back on the bed as if he had all the time in the world. Perhaps we did.
“It’s all right, my darling,” he said, stroking one firm hand up my arm. “That’s perfectly normal. It will take you some time to get used to them. Do not fear them and do not be ashamed of them. Every vampire’s fangs are different. Yours are beautiful—dangerous and lethal. Impossibly erotic.”
I nodded, running my tongue across the sharp points. His red pupils flared with the movement, and he crawled forward again, predatory and excited.
“Would you like to continue? Or would you prefer we waited until you’ve had more time to adjust to your new form?”
I didn’t even pause to consider the question. I offered an encouraging smile and beckoned him closer. When he’d wrapped me in his arms again, I rolled him over and pinned his hands above his head, emboldened by the way he’d looked at me with these new, disconcerting teeth. For the first time ever, I had no trouble pinning him to the bed. My strength matched—and possibly surpassed—his own. The thrill in his eyes and the wild grin on his lips was a heady rush of power, and I found myself drinking it in greedily.
I slid my hands down his pale, muscled chest, tickling the soft, dark hair beneath his bellybutton and nestling his hard cock. I leaned down to twirl my tongue around his nipples and loved every muscle in his stomach that tightened, every harsh breath he sucked in, every filthy word he hissed when I trailed my lips and tongue and claws lower.
When I wrapped my fingers around his impressive length, he bowed off the bed and snarled at me.
“Mina,” he groaned. “Please.”
Tentatively, I licked the smooth skin underneath. A litany of words in a language I didn’t recognize exploded from him in a bestial growl. I couldn’t help but chuckle, reveling in this newfound sense of power and control.
“I wonder how much you held back from me because you were afraid of damaging my human body,” I said idly, taking him into my mouth completely. I sucked gently, swirling my tongue from the base of him to the salty tip. He almost came up off the bed, but I pushed him back down.
“Gods above, please,” he growled. “You are killing me. I need you, Mina.”
“Did you?” I asked, encircling him with my hands.
