She tilted her head back, offering him access to her throat, closed her eyes when he turned onto his side, aligning his body with hers. She felt the gentle pressure of his fangs, sighed with pleasure as he drank from her.
Caught up in the sheer pleasure of his touch, she let her hands drift restlessly along his back and shoulders, tangle in his hair to hold him close. She pressed against him, hating the clothing between them, wanting to feel his skin against hers.
Like magic, her robe and nightgown vanished.
Derek chuckled when she gasped in surprise. “Be careful what you wish for,” he murmured, nuzzling her breast.
He kissed her then, a long searing kiss that left no doubt as to what he wanted. His lips moved over hers, coaxing, demanding, as his hands played over her body, learning every hollow, every curve, until she writhed beneath him, desperate with longing, and yet afraid to surrender to him completely.
Drawing back a little, he gazed into her eyes. “You’ve never been with a man?”
She shook her head, embarrassed to admit she was still a virgin. She had made out with boyfriends in the past, but something had always kept her from going all the way.
He cursed softly, then buried his face in the warm hollow between her neck and her shoulder.
Sheree went still. “Derek?”
“It’s all right, love.” Lifting his head, he ran his knuckles across her cheek. “It’s probably best that we wait.”
“But . . . I don’t want to wait.”
He lifted one brow. “That’s not the message you were sending.”
“Just because I’m afraid doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“Well, I’ve never done it before and . . . and you’re a vampire and I don’t know if vampires make love like everyone else . . . and . . .” She looked up at him, her gaze searching his as her arms twined around his neck. “I love you.”
“And I love you. Enough to wait until you’re ready. And FYI, vampires make love like everybody else. Only better.” He laughed softly as her stomach growled. “Maybe we should see about getting you something to eat.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“I’m not a horny teenager. I can wait.” He ran his tongue along the curve of her throat. “You fed me. It’s only fair that I feed you.”
Swinging his feet over the edge of the bed, he grabbed his pants.
Feeling suddenly shy, Sheree slipped her nightgown over her head, pulled on her robe, then ran her fingers through her hair.
“You’re beautiful, love.”
“So are you. Love.”
Hand in hand, they made their way down to the kitchen.
Derek gestured at the ice chests. “We stocked them with everything we could think of that wouldn’t spoil right away.”
“Thank you.” Lifting the lid of the first one, she found a quart of milk, butter, cheese, a package of roast beef, mayonnaise, and mustard. The second one held paper plates, bowls, cups, glasses, and utensils, as well as a loaf of bread, a box of cereal, packets of sugar and cream, several candy bars, apples, bananas, oranges, peanut butter, jelly, and a package of blueberry muffins. And, thankfully, toilet paper.
Deciding on a glass of milk and a muffin for breakfast, she carried them into the great hall and sat on one of the sofas.
“I’ll take you out to dinner later,” Derek promised, sitting beside her.
“I’d like that. Have you ever been here before?”
He shook his head. “First time. Mara’s got places all over the world.”
“Really?”
“Most vampires who have a few hundred years under their belt keep multiple lairs. They can’t stay in one place too long, you know. People start to wonder why they don’t age, why they don’t have children or visitors. So they keep several places for when it’s time to move on.”
“Do you have more than one . . . lair?”
“Not yet. I’m still young. I’ve got a little place in Sacramento. I thought I’d start looking for another one, assuming I’m still a vampire after the full moon.” He stretched his legs out in front of him, then asked casually, “Any place you’d like to live?”
The question, which implied a lasting relationship, filled her with warmth. “A few years ago, my parents took me to Italy on vacation. I’ve always wanted to go back.”
She ate the last of the muffin, drained the glass and set it aside.
When Derek slipped his arm around her shoulders, she snuggled against him. “Do you need to rest?”
“No, I’m good.” Which was odd, he mused. He usually wasn’t able to be awake this long during the day. Another perk of Sheree’s blood, he wondered? Or an unexpected side effect of the werewolf gene? There was no way of knowing. But it didn’t matter. He was content to stay where he was, with Sheree beside him.
Of course, he couldn’t sit there without touching her, kissing her. Before long, they were stretched out on the sofa, arms and legs entwined. Slowly at first, he explored her body, as she explored his, each caress longer, bolder, more intimate than the last.
And that was how Mara and Logan found them.
At the sound of amused laughter, Sheree bolted upright, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment.
“Ah, young love,” Logan remarked, waggling his eyebrows. “Ain’t it grand?”
“I doubt if you can remember what it was like, old man.” Derek sat up, his arm wrapping around Sheree in an unmistakably male gesture of protection.
“Old man!” Logan looked at Mara. “Are you going to let your son talk to me like that?”
“Do you remember?” Mara asked with a beguiling smile.
Logan’s eyes turned smoky with desire. “Want me to show you?”
“Later.” She cuffed him on the arm, then looked at Derek. “How do you feel?”
He shrugged. “Fine.”
“No cravings?” Mara glanced at Sheree, her brow furrowed.
“No.” Derek rubbed his jaw, his expression thoughtful, and then, he, too, glanced at Sheree.
She fidgeted under their combined scrutiny. “What’s wrong?”
“I told you so,” Mara said with a smug grin.
Sheree looked at Derek. “Told you what? What’s going on?”
Derek gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Nothing to worry about. Mara brought you here because I told her that being with you calms me. . . .” He hesitated before adding, “And because your blood satisfies my hunger like nothing else.”