Page 38 of Fanged Desire
From the way my body responded to her touch, she was well aware that I wanted it too.
Maybe it was the consequences of too many lonely nights, my touch-starved solitude finally catching up to me. Maybe it was because she’d had my back, time and time again when I thought I had no one in my corner. Maybe it was just the way she was looking at me, like I was the only thing in the world she’d ever want to look at – like she couldn’t tear her eyes away.
I leaned in first.
My breath mingled with hers for all of a second before her mouth crashed against mine. The kiss was slow and searing, every inch of contact sending sparks through my electrified body.
Hunter wasted no time in closing the distance between us. She was over the back of the sofa and melding against me in a matter of moments, one hand holding fast to my jaw, refusing to break the kiss – not even for a breath of air.
I grasped for the self-control I so often brandished like a weapon, reaching for the reasons I had to keep my distance from the woman before me. But that part of me was distant, tired, and the rest of me thoroughly enthralled by the taste of her lips. Common sense was still there, somewhere. But it didn't quell the burning heat that tore through my body like a forest fire. It didn't inspire the same kind of restraint.
Hunter’s free hand alighted on my waist and then tightened its grip, pulling me closer as the world narrowed to the two of us. I melted in her grasp, and Hunter held me steady, grippingthe nape of my neck as her lips traveled along my jawline and I seized the opportunity to suck in a ragged breath.
I hadn’t realized how lonely I was until that moment – until I felt Hunter’s hands on me, her tongue trailing fire down my neck. It was intoxicating, overwhelming, and exactly what I needed. She tilted my head to capture my lips again and I was falling, tumbling into her as her tongue probed my mouth with inquisitive, hungry intent.
When we finally pulled back, both of us breathless, I could only stare at her.
“Are you... a god or something?”
Hunter laughed, tousled hair falling over her eyes, brushing her thumb along my bottom lip.
“Not even close.”
Chapter 15
Hunter
Dylan was unusually chatty that evening. The vampire you could always count on to be stoic and grumbly was,talking, full-on rambling, like there wasn’t a filter between her brain and her mouth.
It was strange and somewhat jarring, but if Jordan and Skye were anything to go on, a happy, blissful marriage will do that to a person. The Dylan I knew before Amara was guarded, quiet, and moody as hell. The Dylan I knew now was still moody, but… lighter. She laughed more, her sharp edges softened up a bit, and she was always down to talk about her wife. It was a night and day difference, and I was currently bearing the brunt of it.
And damn if that didn’t spark some kind of yearning in me.
Seeing her happy, really happy, with Amara made something twist deep in my chest. A familiar ache. It wasn’t jealousy, exactly, but it was close. I’d told myself I didn’t need that kind of connection – hell, it was better that way. Less messy. But watching Dylan find it and thrive? It left a sour taste in mymouth. Maybe Ididwant something like that. Or, at the very least, it made me realize how much I missed it.
Or maybe I was just thinking too much about Addison.
I kept trying to tell myself that the kiss with her was just... attraction. Physical. Something I could shake off if I gave it enough time or, better yet, got it out of my system entirely in a night of passion on the glitter-slicked floor of Micere. It was just that – physical. Not to mention the scent of her blood, that decadent aroma that had my fangs aching to sink into her throat.
But who was I kidding? Every time I thought about her, her lips, the heat between us, the way she melted into my touch, it felt like a thread pulling me deeper, getting me tangled – cutting off air.
Dylan nudged me with her elbow, bringing me back to reality. “Are you even listening?”
“Sure,” I muttered, though I hadn’t caught a word she said.
The pale vamp rolled her eyes. “Well, we’re done here, right? Memory wiped? Cashier won’t be blabbing about her little vampire sighting…”
“Yeah.” I rifled through my pockets and hauled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes, only to pause and stare at the box. “Yeah, we’re done.”
I’d promised Addison I’d quit – not that a humble cigarette could do much damage to vampire lungs anyway.But you promised, asshole.I pocketed the box with a disgruntled sigh.
Dylan and I stood outside the jewelry store, the ‘closed’ sign flipped to face the street.
Earlier, two Leyore vampires had decided thatPam's Jewelerwas the perfect place to have a snarling contest over God-knows-what, and the poor young cashier had been an unfortunate witness. It wasn’t a difficult job to handle – I’d wiped the woman’s mind, a quick and clean job. Another day in the life, and so on.
The woman clearlywantedto forget what she’d witnessed, she’d been shaking like a leaf when Dylan and I arrived. But even so, these jobs always left a bitter taste on my tongue. We had to keep vampire sightings under control, the safety and security of the entire Leyore coven depended on it. But prying into people’s minds was not as easy as it had once been. I hadn’t given it much thought, entering a mind and rearranging memories, not until Selene, at least.
“Hunter…Hunter.” Dylan waved a hand in front of my nose, snapping me back to reality, and I gave her a scowl for her efforts.
