He needed more. Had to have it.
He rolled until she was flat on her back with him looming over her.
Cupping the side of her face, he stared down at her. Objectively, he knew she wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world, but objectivity no longer mattered. Instinctually, he knew she belonged to him. In his eyes, she was the most beguiling and stunning female he’d ever seen. There was something about her that tugged on his emotions as well as his intellect.
He wanted her.
“Stop me now if this isn’t what you want.” He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, and she flicked out her tongue to lick it.
In answer, Evie slid her hands up his arms and around his neck. She pulled him down to her and kissed him with a hunger that left him breathless.
Evie knew the very last thing she should do was to get involved in a physical relationship with Craig, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d been so cold and lost, alone for what seemed like forever. In truth, she’d been alone long before the vampire had found her.
Craig filled all those empty places inside her, made her feel warm. More human than monster.
Was it wrong to use him this way?
Conscience pricking her, she managed to turn her head to the side and break the kiss. “Maybe we should stop.”
Craig stilled, the muscles in his shoulders tensing. “Do you want me to stop?”
No, she really didn’t. She wanted to lose herself in the heat they generated between them, to feel alive and good for what seemed like the first time in forever. “Getting involved this way probably isn’t smart.”
Evie was surprised she could actually string an entire sentence together. Her breasts ached to be touched, her teeth tingled and she knew her fangs were seconds away from making an appearance.
Craig wrapped his fingers around her neck and stared at the pulse in her throat. He licked his lips, and she could sense his growing hunger, both sexual and the bloodlust. Instead of frightening her, it excited her.
That was sick, wasn’t it? Evie wasn’t sure what was normal and what wasn’t anymore.
“Evie?”
She knew he would stop if she asked him to. There was a bedrock of goodness in Craig that nothing could change, not even the fact he was a vampire. For the first time since the creature had attacked her and changed her life, Evie felt a stirring of real hope.
Hope that maybe her soul wasn’t lost, maybe she wasn’t destined to be a monster like the one who’d created her.
Craig started to move away from her and she panicked, throwing herself at him. “No, don’t leave me.”
He wrapped his strong arms around her and eased onto his back, taking her with him. She lay on her side watching him intently.
“I won’t leave you, but we don’t have to do this if it’s not what you want.
I didn’t mean to pressure you.”
Evie could see perfectly in the dark and there was no mistaking the bulge in the front of his jeans. Craig was very aroused. Her heart almost melted and her chest constricted with suppressed emotion. “It’s not that I don’t want you. I want you too much.” There was no way she could be any less than honest with Craig. She’d never been the type to play games in a relationship, and there was no place for any of that kind of thing between them.
Craig rolled out of bed and held out his hand. “How about we get a shower and see how things go from there.”
It would be smarter if they showered separately and then found their hosts.
They needed to talk with them, to find out what came next. That would be the intelligent, the right thing to do.
Evie took Craig’s hand and let him help her from the bed. Screw the smart thing, being with Craig was more important, something she had to do.
Nothing in her life made sense. In all the plans she’d made over the years, she’d definitely never included becoming a vampire in them. She had no idea if she could ever go back to her apartment again or if she’d lose all her belongings when her rent wasn’t paid next week. She had no idea what would happen with her art, her paintings.
Having children and a family was no longer a possibility. Her heart ached for that, but there was no use bemoaning what could not be.
So much was lost to her.
But Craig was standing beside her, waiting and watching. He wanted her.
He knew what she was and he still wanted her.
“Let’s get a shower.”
Craig wished he knew what was going on inside Evie’s head but wasn’t sure reading minds was one of his new powers. He didn’t want to test it on Evie. At least not yet. He didn’t think she’d like him peeking at her thoughts, and he was also afraid he might hurt her if he tried. Plus, he respected her right to privacy. He sure as hell didn’t want anyone reading his thoughts without his permission.
It was enough that he could sense her emotions and knew she was confused.
He could relate.
He’d have to have a long talk with Damek later to find out how the whole vampire thing worked. Did he have whatever powers he would have, or would more develop over time? He’d spent most of his life researching werewolves not vampires. Actually, he’d spent most of his time researching paranormal bounty hunters of all kinds.
He knew the basics about vampires, but not much else. They were secretive creatures, and none so much as Damek.
But that was for later. Right now, Evie was beside him, her hand trustingly in his. He led her into the attached bathroom, not bothering to turn on the light. His new vision was incredible, and the fact that he could see without his glasses was still something that would take some getting used to.
What surprised him most was the lack of sound. Other than their breathing and their slow heartbeats, there was no other sound. “Do you hear it?” he asked.
Evie tilted her head to one side and her hair fell over her shoulder in a tangled curtain. “Hear what?”
“Exactly. It’s so quiet.”
She turned her head slowly to one side then to the other. “There must be soundproofing in the walls.”
“Or maybe we’re both just getting better at blocking extraneous noise.”
Craig concentrated on dropping his protective walls and listening. He could hear traffic in the distance and the murmur of Damek and Sonia down the hallway. He put his barriers back up immediately, not wanting to intrude on them.
Pleased with his new discovery, he looked down at Evie and immediately forgot what he’d meant to say. She was smiling at him. It wasn’t a big smile, more a tilting of the corners of her lips.
But there was a light in her eyes as well that made them shimmer. She looked happy.
Lust exploded inside him, tempered with a softer emotion he wasn’t ready to name. He reached for her, needing to touch her, to know she was real. He put his hands on her sides, lifted her and set her down on top of the marble vanity.
Evie grabbed his biceps, steadying herself. He nudged her legs apart and made a place for himself.
The kiss was explosive. As though they’d both passed some point of no return, there was no being gentle for either of them.
He ate at her lips, loving their taste, their texture, the way she parted them for him. He felt like a conquering king, a marauder as he claimed her. And she was right there with him, digging her nails into his flesh, opening her mouth wider, tangling her tongue with his.
“God, Evie.” He kissed a trail down her jawline and then up to her ear. He caught the lobe and nipped it. She gasped and wrapped her legs around his waist.
Craig wouldn’t have been surprised if steam came out his ears. His cock was ready to explode. But he couldn’t let that happen. He had to get inside her first.
He pulled back, grabbed the hem of her shirt and dragged it over her head.