He grinned. “We can escape here any time we want, ainsicht. Our minds are always open to each other now.”
“Are we dreaming?”
“No, just resting to the outside world. But our souls are very much awake.”
She let go of the sheet, spreading her arms outward and turning in the open air. He was, once again, reminded that her body had changed in subtle ways. Her scars were gone. A sheen of vivid color threaded her hair. And her skin had the vitality of an immortal.
He should have been with her during these earlier hours of her transition. “Have you eaten?”
She stopped spinning and smiled. “No. I’m very hungry.”
He held out a hand and she came to him, climbing onto his lap and wreathing her arms around his neck. He kissed her throat, awakening her pulse and she moaned.
“When immortal mates make love, their pleasure is heightened. I want to prepare you for that.”
She began to rock her weight over him, her keening moans awaking his desires. Her nose nestled closer to his pulse and her tongue licked over him. “I want you,” she whispered.
“Not so fast, my love.”
She frowned at him. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“I only want to prepare you. From here on, I will provide everything you need. I will feed from the animals and you will use my blood to nourish your body and our children. But when we feed from each other it will be unlike other feedings. The intimacy... It’s a potent mix of need and hunger, lust and drugging satisfaction.”
Her smile stretched and her fangs extended. “I want that. Now, Adam. Don’t make me wait.”
He slid out of his clothes and pulled her more on top of him, her body arching and purring as his blood thrummed through his veins, calling to hers. Her fingers scored his shoulders as she rocked over him. He cupped her breasts and kissed his mouth to each nipple.
“I’m here to meet your every need.” His fingers trailed up her spine. “Your every desire.”
“Adam,” she begged. “Please. I need you.”
“Take me inside of you.” She fit his cock between her folds, and sucked in a sharp breath as he filled her. Her pleasure melded with his own. He kissed her passionately, possessively, and whispered against her swollen lips, “Take what you need. I offer myself to you.”
Her head tipped back, and her fangs sank into him, impaling her body over his. Her nails lengthened, pressing into his skin and muscle as she greedily took what he offered. Her unguarded emotions unraveled before him, her hunger feeding his own.
Insatiable need rose up like tidal waves crashing in a boundless ocean. He drank from her. Their passion swirled and carried them deeper and deeper, until the world fell away and all that existed was their love, swept along with the tide, left gasping in the end.
Savoring the last sweet swallow of her blood, he reached for her hand, lacing his fingers with hers and toppled her to the bed beneath them. Now that she was like him there was no worry of hurting her.
He drove into her body with a claiming stroke of hard flesh. He marked her with his scent and gloried in the way her soft curves welcomed his strength.
“More,” she pleaded, locking her ankles at the base of his spine and rising to meet him. “Don’t hold back. I want to feel everything.”
Thrilling at the challenge, he gave over to his darkest desires and showed her how deeply his need traveled. They made love for hours, clawing each other’s skin only to watch it heal. When they tired, they fed. And after they rested, they made love again.
By the time the following dawn arrived, they were rumpled and well satisfied. But he’d never stop wanting her.
“My sweet, Anna.” He ran his hand over her hair, stroking the silken strands. They lay side by side, each on their backs, each sated and warm.
“Adam,” she asked, the scent of her lingering desire rich in the air.
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
Though he felt her care and devotion flowing from her like waves, he’d yet to hear her say those words. She claimed to have loved him when she thought she lost him. To hear her speak such words now nearly brought him to his knees. The fantasy of their surroundings, fell away to reveal the true setting of his annihilated bedroom. He blinked at her, a swirl of emotion choking him.
He’d waited so long to hear those words from her. To her, it might only seem like a few weeks since he’d come into her life. But for him... He’d waited a lifetime.
“I love you, too, Annalise. More than words can say.”
Her smile was gentle when she turned to look at him. Her fingers tightened around his. “Will you show me our house?”
“I’d love nothing more than to take you home.”