Thunder and Lightning

“I want you.” Blatant honesty. He could give her that when it came to his feelings. Along with his eternal fidelity. He already knew he’d never be tempted by another.

Her jaw fell slack as her eyes blazed with the realization of his words. The passion and promise wrapped around them.

Cane moved in for the proverbial kill, taking one last step to close the gap between them. He felt the heat radiating from her body. Smelled her skin and her blood and her excitement. Heard her soft, shallow panting.

One hand gripped her waist, holding her steady because she swayed slightly as though she’d gone weak in the knees. The fingers of his other hand skimmed along the graceful bare neck exposed by her ponytail. He could feel her pulse jump beneath his touch and he fought the urge to kiss her there. To bite her. To ravage her.

He knew fighting his primal instincts would be difficult, but damn it, he’d do it. Because this was a mating game he was determined to win.

“Your jaw’s tight,” she said in a soft voice as she raised her own hand and brushed her fingers over the clenched muscle. “Because you’re holding back.”

Holding onto his sanity was more like it.

He merely nodded.

“Don’t,” she whispered, her tone sharp. Hungry. Greedy.

Cane didn’t think his cock could get any harder. It did. He let out a low grunt from the discomfort. And the passion that roared through him. The beast within him pushed toward the surface, but he kept it tamped down, fought it back.

He wanted sex, not death.

Intimacy, not horror.

He wanted his passion sated, not his vampire thirst. That would come later, when he was alone. Hurting this woman in any way was the absolute last thing he wanted to do and he would call on every ounce of restraint he possessed to keep from doing so.

Yet, that made him hold back now, when she’d implored him not to.

“Bev,” he said, his voice tight. Strained. “I could hurt you.” He had to warn her. It was only fair.

But then she turned the tables on him. Her body gravitated toward his until she was pressed against him, melding to him. “No,” she said in a low tone. “You can’t. You won’t. Trust me.”

She had no idea the fire she was playing with. He couldn’t warn her further nor could he walk away from this moment. It was selfish and somewhat hypocritical, he knew it.

But to not have her…

He couldn’t even fathom resisting this temptation.

His eyes closed as she leaned toward him and took a deep breath, as though inhaling his scent the way he did hers. She all but purred in delight and anticipation and it made him grip her waist tighter, crushing her body to his. Liquid heat raged through him as she rose on tiptoes and sealed her lips to his, telling him with certainty that she wanted him as much as he wanted her.

The first thing that registered in Cane’s head was acceptance. Mutual desire and need. The second thing that consumed him was the warm and supple feeling of her mouth. Her lips were heaven on his and he fantasized about how they’d feel on his skin as they blazed a trail over his chest, down his abdomen. How mind-blowing they’d feel wrapped around his cock.

And then he concentrated on the way her body felt as it joined with his in a soft, sensuous entwinement that made him think she’d become a part of him.

Their mouths opened at the same moment and his tongue delved deep, tasting, teasing. Giving as much as he took. He could hear her heart hammer in her chest. The erratic beats pounded in his head. He could feel her desire escalate as her fingers twisted in his hair and she gave herself over to the passion that consumed them.

Outside, thunder roared loudly, but it barely registered above her pulse. The lightning that illuminated the stained glass windows in the foyer created flashing light like strobes behind his closed lids. He couldn’t focus on anything other than Bev, though.

In his arms, pressed against him, moaning softly as he deepened their kiss.

His hands roamed her body, needing to touch and caress and please. His fingers slipped behind the lacy material of her top and glided up her silky skin until he palmed her bare breasts.

Christ. No bra. His cock was this close to exploding. Biting back a groan, he skimmed the pads of his thumbs over her small, hard nipples. Gently at first. A teasing touch that perhaps was subconsciously meant to be a test to determine how far she intended to let him take this seduction.

Or a warning on his part as to how far he intended to take it.

Her body seemed to coalesce with his even more, giving him the answer he sought. He rolled a tight nipple between his thumb and forefinger and her mouth tore from his as she gasped for air.

Cane could barely breathe himself, but there was no letting up now. His mouth was on her neck and he found the restraint he’d hoped for because his need to fuck her overrode his need to bite her.