As Shadows Fade (The Gardella Vampire Hunters 5)

She felt the emotion well up inside her, and tears sting the corners of her eyes. So different, this flood of warmth, of rightness . No guilt, no furtiveness, no… rushing.

When his mouth closed over hers, she tipped toward him on the edge of her step, leaning against his warm chest, her hands planted at the tops of his shoulders. Pulling him close.

Where he belonged.

There was no urgency, no ferocity between them… but the kiss knocked her breathless, stole her reason, weakened her knees. It was deep and long, and as if he had all the time in the world.

As if the sun wouldn’t soon be rising and pouring through the sidelight windows, illuminating and warming them.

As if he couldn’t ever grow tired of matching his lips to hers, tasting and sliding in an easy, sensual dance. His hands slid up into her heavy hair, lifting it from her warm neck, holding her head cradled so the kiss could go deeper.

Damn him. He was right. If he kept this up, she would forget her own name.

As if reading her mind, he pulled away, but not before his mouth curved in something like a smile against hers. As if he were well pleased with himself.

“Perhaps,” he said-and his voice wasn’t quite as steady as normal, thank God-“we ought to move somewhere a bit more… comfortable. ”

Her hands slid down over the front of his shirt, and she felt the firm muscle beneath, heating the cotton. And the mad pumping of his heart.

“What?” she managed to say, stepping backward up the stair behind her, tugging on his shirt so that he would follow. “Not here?” As jests went, it was another feeble attempt.

His lips, full and soft now, stretched into a bit of a smile. “Neither staircases nor carriages lend themselves to a terribly thorough experience. ” His eyes were still hot. “And I intend to be very thorough. ”

Victoria nearly tripped on the back hem of her gown, but he was there to steady her. She had to work hard to swallow, yet her own mouth curved into a delighted smile. “It’s about time, Max. ” Her voice came out in a purposeful purr, her hands still planted on his chest. But inside, she was a riot of warmth and relief. This was him. This was Max . This was what she’d always wanted.

His response was to lift her in his arms and take the rest of the stairs swiftly and easily. As he climbed, she felt his muscles slide and shift beautifully around her, and dipped her face into the hollow of his shoulder. Pulling the shirt away, she found warm skin that smelled like Max and tasted like him, too.

By the time they reached the stop of the stairs, he was breathing a bit harder-and not because of the climb. At the top, he allowed Victoria to slide down from his grip in a swirl of gossamer silk and lace. His hands moved over her breasts, covering the lace, and then suddenly his palms cupped her bare flesh. Thumbs found the hard and sensitive points of her nipples, followed by that hot, slick mouth.

Her world became a slow, swirling vortex of pleasure, of gentle, purposeful hands, sleek mouths tangling and tasting, warm skin, and the insistent need tugging at her… then more and more urgent, demanding.

Before she realized it, the bed materialized beneath her, and she felt the soft linen on her bare skin… the warmth of his body as he moved next to her, his hands and mouth never stopping from their inventory. She arched up when he moved down to take the vis bullae into his mouth, and heard the soft click of the metal against his teeth… and then nearly cried out in surprise when he moved lower.

A strong hand was planted gently on her belly, thumb twisting around and amid the strength amulets, kept her steady, but writhing as he kissed and licked and stroked until the only sound in her ears was the rush of her own breath. And then the little gasps of her rising pleasure.

Max brought her over the edge and stayed with her while she trembled against him, biting her lip to keep from crying out, fully aware of a slender tear trickling from the corner of her eye. Then he was next to her, warm and sleek, lining up alongside her torso as she reached between them. When she wrapped her fingers around him, he closed his eyes with a sigh.

But then moments later, he removed her hand, gently but firmly, and covering her mouth with his, settled over her. His weight felt blessedly solid and warm, and she pressed her curves up into the solid planes that made his torso, imprinting herself on him, holding him close.

When he slid fully home, she closed her eyes and thought… at last .

Giulia came to him in his dreams… in a more real way than she had for many months.

Sebastian didn’t know if it was the amount of brandy he’d consumed, or the fact that he’d finally accepted Victoria’s decision.

Either way, when he woke, it was to reach blindly for Max’s sister… only to find her no more substantial than Victoria.

Who had gone to Max.

Max’s sister.

Max’s lover.

Sebastian gnawed on bitterness, there in the breaking dawn.

The remnants of the dream still clung to his consciousness, and he closed his eyes again, trying to bring them back. He touched her long, dark hair-just as thick as Victoria’s, but without the curl. He looked into her Pesaro eyes, felt the warmth of her body next to his as he’d never done in reality.

In his dreams, he missed her. Grieved anew. And pined over the fact that it was he who’d ended her undead life, who’d sent her to eternal damnation.