He balanced on his elbow, set his free hand against my hip, and drew my body up against his, against the hard line of his arousal.
“Rising to the occasion,” I murmured against his mouth, and felt his answering smile.
He sat back on his heels, pushed away his hair with a hand, and began unbuttoning his shirt. The fire in his eyes—silver and green in turn—sparked and changed, like the flames of the fire beside us. He watched me, let his long fingers trail down each pearl button with slow deliberation. It was a tease, exposing a hint of his flat and toned abdomen, of preternaturally smooth skin.
I lifted a hand to press against the muscles that clenched there, but he pushed it aside.
“I’m not done,” he said, and tossed the shirt away. “And I’m in charge now. I want you wild with desire.”
One corner of my mouth quirked into a smile. “Trust me. You won’t have to try very hard.” The sight of him—strong and powerful and undeniably gorgeous—was enough for me. But Ethan Sullivan—soldier and Master—was a man of his word.
He clasped my hands in his, lifted them over my head, lowered his mouth to mine as he pinned me beneath him.
“This isn’t so bad,” I said playfully. And it wasn’t, until he let his fangs descend and tugged at my lip, then scraped the delicate skin of my neck.
“No?” he asked, and rearranged his hold on my wrists to free one of his hands. He slipped it beneath the hem of my dress, trilled those long and clever fingers up my thigh, heightening desire and want with movements designed to tease. To inflame.
He sat up again, his eyes silver, his fangs gleaming in the firelight, his face glazed with desire. He was the embodiment of power, of man, of vampire.
And he was mine.
It was my turn to take. And fortunately, I’d learned a trick or two, mostly from him.
Still beneath him, I arched my body, watched his eyes shift down. I took the moment, and I took the control. I shifted my weight and, in one quick move, reversed our positions so he lay in front of the fire while I straddled him.
His expression—surprise, awe, and thrilled desire—was worth the trouble.
“I believe I’m in charge now,” I said, and pulled the dress over my head, tossed it aside. He did the same with his final garments, and then I covered him with my body, pressed my mouth to his, and kissed him until his body thrummed with tension, with anticipation.
His nimble fingers roamed carefully, intently, as if he might memorize the shape of my body by touch alone. He looked up at me, traced a thumb over my swollen lips. “I’m not sure I’ll ever have enough of you, Sentinel.”
“You have all of me, always,” I said, and arched when he touched me, when he drove me over the first delicious wave of pleasure.
He leaned up, skimmed fangs across my collarbone, my neck, then paused to wait for my affirmation. For the consent I’d once been unable to give.
Yes, I said, and he bit, fangs piercing tender skin, and sent me over another crest. Ethan groaned with pleasure, arms banding around me as he drank, as we shared the unique connection of vampires, the union that linked us even closer together.
My body was already warm and limp with pleasure when he covered me again, kissed me slowly as he moved within me. I slid my fingers into his hair, closed my eyes to focus on sensations, on the taste of him, the feel of his body against mine as heat gathered and rose again.
“Look at me,” Ethan said, his voice deep, the words as much order as request. I opened my eyes, undoubtedly well-silvered by desire, and met the molten metal of his gaze. And I watched his pupils dilate, his lips part, as sensation pushed through him.
The sight of him midpleasure, sharing that most intimate of moments with me, sent me flying again. We fell together like angels bound to earth, and bound to each other.
It wasn’t a bad way to go.
4
Since Ethan and I were both vampires, the sinking of the sun behind the horizon should have affected us equally, waking us together at the same time. But for some reason—personality, biology, or just plain magic—he was usually awake before I was, donning a dark, sexy suit while I snoozed.
Tonight, those tables were turned.
I’d risen before Ethan, grabbed a muffin from the basket Margot had left at the door—and I had no idea how she accomplished the miracle of waking even earlier than Ethan usually did—and taken a seat at the antique desk in the sitting room.