Desire the Night

Kay blew out a sigh as she dropped the wrapper into the sack with her other trash.

“There’s five more in the bag,” Gideon remarked wryly.

“Maybe later. What’s that look for?”

“I was wondering if I could put that same blissful expression on your face.”

“Hmm. Maybe if you were covered in chocolate,” she said, stifling a grin.

“Light or dark?”

“Oh, definitely dark.” She rummaged in the bag, pulled out another Milky Way, and held it up. “We could melt a few of these and find out.”

“I can’t wait that long,” he said with a growl. “I’m about three seconds from taking you to bed, unless you tell me no.”

Refusing never crossed her mind.

Reading the answer in her eyes, Gideon swept her into his arms and carried her to bed. Stretching out beside her, he wondered what enchantment she had worked on him. In all his years as a vampire, he had never taken anyone—mortal or vampire—to any of his lairs, never confided what he was to any of the women he had seduced. He didn’t stop to think what that might mean. Right now, all he wanted was Kay writhing beneath him.

He undressed her slowly, savoring each inch of honey-gold skin exposed to his gaze. She had the body of a goddess, firm, smooth, warm. He nuzzled her br**sts, stroked her thighs, ran his tongue along the curve of her throat. Sweet, so sweet. His yearning kicked up a notch when she began to undress him.

She explored his body boldly, her beautiful golden brown eyes glowing with passion, her hands like living flames as they moved seductively over him, igniting his desire still more. She clung to him, restless hands measuring the width of his shoulders, admiring the way his muscles flexed at her touch. Her fingers tangled in his hair, slid over his chest and down his belly.

He pulled her body against his, his mouth claiming hers, his tongue dipping inside to mate with hers.

Tucking her beneath him, he kissed and caressed her, arousing her until she trembled with need, her voice sobbing his name, begging him to take her.

With a low growl, he buried himself deep within her, felt her body convulse as he carried her over the edge into paradise.

Kay stretched her arms over her head, then smiled languidly at Gideon. “That,” she drawled with a smile, “was absolutely amazing. Can we do it again?”

“Maybe later,” he said, one hand lightly stroking her bare belly. “Right now, we need to talk.”

The smile faded from her face. “That doesn’t sound good,” she said, rolling onto her side. “If we were going steady, I’d think you were about to break up with me.”

“Not quite. I made a stop at my place in New York while I was out.”

“Do you think that was safe?”

“I didn’t give it much thought. You needed something to wear. I can’t be buying you a new wardrobe every day, you know.”

She grimaced, annoyed by his attempt at humor. “Magic or no magic, I can’t believe she found us so quickly.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. The way I see it, she didn’t find us. She found you.”

“What makes you say that?”

“All she needed for a tracking spell was something that belonged to you,” he explained, thinking out loud. “Clothing, hair. Blood.”

“How do you know it was me she was following and not you?”

“I don’t know a lot about witches, but I know they can’t compel vampires, and they can’t work their magic on the dead or the Undead. Only on the living.”

“Then we’re probably not safe here, are we?” Kay bolted upright, one hand clutching the sheet to her br**sts, her eyes widening in alarm as she glanced around the room, her gaze searching every corner, as if she expected to find Verah lurking in one of them. “Are we?” she repeated when he didn’t answer.

Gideon shook his head.

Kay stared at him a moment, and then her eyes widened. “You’re not safe, either, are you, as long as you’re with me?”

“I’m not worried about me.” His existence wasn’t in danger, only his freedom. He was the one Verah wanted. Kay was only the means to an end. If they split up, Verah would hunt for Kay until she found her. When that happened, the witch would try to use Kay as bait to trap him. If that didn’t work, Verah would have no reason to keep Kay alive.

He knew by Kay’s expression that the same realization had occurred to her. “How long do you think it will take her to concoct another spell?”

“I don’t know. A few hours. Maybe a few days.” Whatever the future held, he wasn’t about to let Kay face Verah alone.

“We should leave, right now.”

“Right now?” His gaze moved over her, lingering on the swell of her br**sts.

Blushing, she pulled the sheet higher. “After we get dressed, of course.”

It was a shame to cover that luscious body, he thought regretfully, but with Verah breathing down their necks, Kay was right. It was time to get the hell out of Dodge. They couldn’t afford to stay in any one place too long.

Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to the hollow of Kay’s delectable throat. “I think you’re right, dammit,” he muttered. “We need to get out of here.”

* * *

Chapter 15

Verah paced the floor in the windowless room where she performed her magic, her anger and frustration growing with every step. From time to time, she plucked a jar or a bottle from one of the floor-to-ceiling shelves that lined the east wall and hurled it into the small brick fireplace.

She had found the perfect location spell. Quick and easy to execute, it had worked flawlessly, yet when she had arrived in New York City at the place where the vampire and the werewolf were supposed to be, they were gone. She had found evidence that they had been there in the scattered clothing they had left behind, and the arrival of the pizza deliveryman who had shown up only moments after she did. Since the pizza had already been paid for, she had taken it home with her.

A swipe of her hand cleared the rough, wooden table in the center of the room. If the location spell had worked once, it would work again. But it would have to wait. She could feel her body aging, her steps becoming slow and uncertain, her joints aching. When she’d looked in the mirror last night, she had noticed several strands of gray in her hair, fine lines around her eyes, faint age spots on her hands.

It was galling to know that the vampire would never have taken her to bed if he had seen her as she really was. The spell she had used to transform herself into a young, beautiful woman had been fleeting, lasting just long enough to get him into bed and bind him with silver.