Page 71 of The Assassin and the Libertine
“Daphne,” he said, placing a hand on me to stop my explorations of his body. “You don’t mean that. I can’t ask you to give up your mortality, not for me. I don’t deserve such a sacrifice.”
“I’m in love with you,” I blurted.
For a moment, we remained frozen. He stared at me, eyes wide. Panic started to build while I waited for him to respond.
“Étienne?”
His lips broke into a wide, beautiful smile and his eyes shimmered with emotion.
“Daphne, I’ve loved you since the very moment you tried to kill me and I’m going to love you until one or both of us is dust.”
I bent to kiss him, shutting my eyes against the threatening tears. I slid my tongue into his mouth, gently testing the sharpness of his fangs. He slid his hands up my thighs and I sighed into him, stroking his hardness until he threw his head back with a guttural curse.
“Putain de merde, Daphne, that feels?—”
I stroked him again, firmer this time. His eyes squeezed shut again and he whimpered.
“Daphne, please, you’re killing me. I’m going to?—”
I straddled him, shifting slightly to position him just at my entrance.
“Tell me again,” I demanded. Once more, his gaze flew to mine. That devastating smile again. He let out a breath so deep, it seemed he had been holding it since he first arrived.
“I love you, Duchesse. In fact, I’m really quite mad for you.”
I laughed and slid him inside me. He cursed a litany of smut that rushed through me. He pushed me back down on the couch, driving into me with fire. My pleasure built to its breaking point and Étienne sensed it. He reached between us and pressed his fingertip against my bud.
He pulled out and ducked between my legs, setting his tongue and fingers to work. In moments, I began to see stars. When I came apart, I felt his teeth on my thigh—a momentary prick of pain, and then another tidal wave of pleasure, unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. He moaned helplessly against my thigh, gently sucking while I twined my fingers in his hair. Too soon, he stopped, and I mourned the loss of his warm, wet lips.
“You are, without a doubt, the most delicious thing I’ve ever had,” he grinned.
He collapsed above me and rolled off the couch, bringing me down to the floor with him. He wrapped his arms around me and nuzzled my neck.
“My love,” he said again. His smile would have made angels weep.
We lay there for a few moments, temporarily sated.
“So,” I hedged, breaking the silence. “Is that the only reason you came here tonight?”
Étienne kissed my temple and adjusted his clothing. He reached into his pocket and produced a small box. I gasped.
“It’s not what you think,” he said hurriedly. “That is—I visited Georges the jeweler after we questioned him. He didn’t have any real information for me about the murders. He could not find Jeanne’s ring, for obvious reasons.” He chuckled. “He was incredibly worried about how you’d respond to his failure. I told him you’d changed your mind, and that I was there to acquire something else on your behalf.”
I opened the box to find an exquisite amethyst and diamond choker. It sparkled in the glow of the fire and I blinked back tears.
“Étienne, it’s beautiful. You didn’t have to—I don’t deserve—” He silenced me with a kiss.
“Yes, you do. I came here tonight to ask for your forgiveness—to tell you that I can’t help myself. You’re worth someone ten times the man that I am, but I’m too selfish to let that man come along and take you from me. If you let me, Daphne, I swear I’ll endeavor every single day to deserve you.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks and I kissed him again—this time slower and more gently.
“No, Étienne. I was wrong about so many things. I thought the world was divided into light and dark, but then you came along and showed me otherwise. If anything, I should be the one proving myself to you.”
Étienne tightened his hold on me. “You have nothing to prove to me, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to hear it again.”
I sat up and tugged at the rest of his clothes, eager to have his sculpted, naked body beneath me again.
“I couldtellyou,” I teased. “But perhaps I should justshowyou instead.”
