Page 28 of Secret of the Vampire
Shoving his coat off his broad shoulders and down his arms, I let it fall to the floor and shoved him into the wall behind him. He grunted when he hit, and I was worried I’d been too rough in my haste to feel him closer to me. His hands and mouth never stopped though, yanking my shirt out from my pants and sliding beneath it, his palms warm and rough on the bare skin of my back.
Oh gods.
His mouth left mine and I cried out in protest, only to moan a second later when I felt him kissing the side of my neck, his mouth hot and wet against my skin. He continued down, sinking his teeth into the muscle between my neck and shoulder before soothing the bite with more kisses.
I gripped his shoulders, my legs like Jell-O and my head thrown back to allow him access, my fangs on full display. One of his hands slid down to my ass, lifting my hips into his until I felt his hard length pressing into me.
“Kenya…”
My name was little more than a ragged gasp. And then his lips were back on mine, one hand gripping my neck and the other my ass, his hips rolling against mine. I forgot to be careful with my fangs. I forgot everything but the things this man was making me feel.
I wanted more.
The world spun around me and I felt the wall against my back, Alex now pressing into me, pulling one of my legs up around his hip until I could feel his hardness between my thighs. His other hand was back under my blouse, burning my skin, squeezing my breast, then pinching the nipple through my bra.
And through all of that, he was kissing me like his life depended on it, and all I could do was hold on for dear life as he consumed me. He was all I could see. All I could hear. All I could feel. The rush of blood—both his and mine—filled my ears and his scent filled my nose. It was a disconcerting feeling for one who was used to being the predator, not the prey.
But it wasn’t just his physical form possessing me. His shields were down completely. I heard his desperate need and felt his power swirling around me, holding me to him tighter than his strong arms.
The scents, the sounds, the magic…it was too much. I pressed my hands against his hard chest. “Alex, stop,” I whispered against his mouth. “Stop.”
Immediately, he stilled, kissing my bruised lips softly a few times before pressing his forehead to mine. We stayed like that for quite a while, our heaving breaths mingling as our pulses slowed. “I’m sorry,” I began.
“No. No. Don’t apologize. You don’t have to apologize,” he insisted. His voice was rough. Raw. “I should be the one doing that. I got carried away.” He exhaled and removed his hand from beneath my shirt as I lowered my leg. Then he stepped back just enough to put some space between us.
I shivered, wrapping my arms around myself, the air cold and impersonal against my skin as we stared at one another. I already missed his heat, and my throat burned with thirst. But I couldn’t go there. We couldn’t go there. Desperate for one last memory, I reached out to him with my mind, but his shields were back in place. That loss of connection froze me out more than the physical space between us, and I mourned its loss even as I knew he was right to do it. “We can’t do this,” I reminded myself aloud. “It’s against the rules. You shouldn’t even be here.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
I met the challenge in his eyes and told him the truth. “No. But you have to. And we can’t tell anyone about what just happened.”
“What about Jamal?”
“What about him?”
“Won’t he smell me on you?”
Shit. He was right. “I have a change of clothes in the back. I’ll wash up and change.”
I saw the question in his eyes.
“Sometimes things get a little messy in the private room.”
Understanding dawned across his face, followed swiftly by the angry set of his jaw.
“Really?” I asked him when I noticed his expression. “You know what I am, Alex. What we do here. As a matter of fact, I believe it was your aunt who insisted we keep things contained within The Quarter and specifically this club. So, don’t look at me like that when I’m up front with you about why we need to keep a change of clothes here. No one dies. Everyone has a good time. Me and mine are fed. No harm done.”
“It’s not that,” he told me.
“Then what is it?”
But he just shook his head. However, he still stared at me, his fists clenched at his sides.
“What?” I insisted.
I didn’t think he was going to answer me at first, and I was about to walk away when he said, “I don’t like the idea of you being that…intimate with someone.”
Well, well, color me surprised. That’s not what I was expecting. “I have to feed, Alex.” I didn’t bother telling him that I only did so when the thirst was near unbearable. That I didn’t take advantage of what I was now.
