Page 90 of A Vampire Bewitched
He heard her footsteps behind him. “I love you!” she yelled.
Nik pulled up short halfway across the yard. He couldn’t have heard her correctly. He’d erased any intimate memories of him.
His back still to her, he turned his head to the side so she could hear him. “What did you just say?”
Chapter 49
Emma stood barefoot in the soft grass of her front yard, shocked at what had just come out of her mouth, but unable to take it back. She wished he’d turn around so she could see his face. Was he laughing at her? Angry at her? Or was he hurting too?
Oh, what the hell. Just tell him. What have I got to lose?She let her hand fall back down to her side. “I said, I love you. I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay. Here. With me.” She wished she could think of something more eloquent, but that was about the gist of it.
She held her breath as she waited to see what he would do.
Nik spun around on his heel to face her, and Emma had to take a step back as she was hit full force with a desperate wanting. The sensation slammed into her, feeding her own need, and she realized, somehow, it had come from Nik. Steeling her spine, she stepped forward again. Twisting her hands in front of him, she searched his face.
His expression was open, honest…nervous.
She wished he would take her back inside and straight up her bedroom, where she could properly show him how much she’d missed him.
When he didn’t respond, Emma felt a single tear roll down her cheek. She wasn’t imagining this…thing between them. She knew him. Somehow, she knew him. “Nikulas?”
Nik struggledto hold himself in check as his emotions, too many emotions, washed through him. Happiness. Doubt. Guilt. Hope. Hunger.
“Nikulas?”
Haltingly, he took a step toward her. Then another. And another. Picking up speed until he was so close she had to crane her neck back to see him.
His hands shook with barely controlled restraint as he raised them to cup her face, his eyes roving lovingly over her features. “Do you mean it, Em? Don’t say it if you don’t. Please, don’t…don’t say it if you don’t really mean it. ”
Emma wrapped her hands around his wrists, holding his hands to her face as another tear slid down her cheek to disappear under his palm. “I’ve been so miserable since I left. I told myself it was because I was worried about my sister, but it wasn’t just that. I’ve missed you so much, Nik.” Her face crumpled as she began to cry in earnest. “Please, stay with me. Tell me I’m not imagining this. Tell me you feel it, too. Tell me…” She dwindled off, her eyes telling him everything she couldn’t say.
“Shhhh.” Nik wiped her tears away with his thumbs. He felt the truth of her words flow through him, her emotions twisting and twining with his own. Not as strong as before since it had been so long since they’d been together, but still there.
He pressed a soft kiss to her nose, her soft cheeks, and finally her mouth. His entire body shuddered at the feel of her beneath his lips, and he felt her own body tremble in response.
There was no fucking way he could put into words the extent his body—and his soul—had craved her these last two weeks. She was his entire world now. Being away from her for so long had thrown him into a place worse than hell. He couldn’t feed, couldn’t sleep, couldn’t even concentrate on what he needed to do to get Aiden back. All he’d thought about was Emma.
Breaking off the kiss, he pressed his forehead to hers. “I’ve missed you, too. So much, Em. You’re not imagining things. Of course, I’ll stay with you. Where else would I go?”
Fresh tears welled in her eyes. Happy tears this time, he hoped. Her smile widened to match his as he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her feet off of the ground. Squeezing her so hard she gasped for breath, he planted a sound kiss right on her mouth. Her laughter was the sweetest thing he’d ever heard.
Sliding one hand under her pert ass, Nik lifted her up until she wrapped her legs around his waist. Sliding his other hand to the back of her neck, he tucked her face into the curve of his neck and shoulder as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He needed to get them inside, and quickly, before he took her outside on the ground like an animal.
A low growl rumbled deep in his throat as he felt her soft lips kiss the skin on his neck, and he strode determinedly back to the house as quickly as he could.
He would tell her what he’d done. He would bring her memories back, and hope and pray she didn’t hate him for it.
Later.
“You feel so cold,” she murmured against his skin.
“‘Cold’ is the exact opposite of what I’m feeling right now, sweetheart.”
Taking the stairs two at a time at supernatural speed, he took her straight up to her bedroom and carefully laid her down on the quilt, then lowered himself between her legs. Her robe fell open and he tugged at her nightshirt until she was bare to him. He rolled his hips, hoping his jeans weren’t too rough on her. But damn if he could tear himself away long enough to take them off.
Emma welcomed his weight with open arms. She wrapped her limbs around him and slid her fingers into his hair as he dropped his head down and took her mouth with all of the hunger he was feeling.
She gasped, and he took the opportunity to thrust his tongue inside, beginning a rhythm that matched the rolling of his hips. Emma allowed him take control, opening to him completely.
