against the fabric of her dress, rubbing with each subtle movement.
Nicolas leaned toward her, and sent a stream of warm air bathing her breasts right through her dress. She felt the lick of his tongue curling around her nipple. Gasping, she drew back, color stealing into her face as she realized there was a small wet spot right over her engorged nipple.
«No one can see us,» he murmured. «I have to see you like this-wanting me.»
«I think you've managed to accomplish that already.» Even her voice was different. Husky. Sexually charged. An invitation. She couldn't take her eyes from him, mesmerized by the sheer, naked longing on his face. She had never, under any circumstances, imagined a man looking at her like that, let alone a man such as Nicolas De La Cruz. «You have this way of making me feel as if you are so focused on me you don't see another woman in the room.»
«Why would I want to see another woman? You are the only one who matters to me.» He continued to absently brush his fingers up and down her arm, absorbing the warm, silky texture of her skin. «You are my woman.»
His softly spoken tone, like black velvet rubbing over her exposed skin, caused her womb to clench and moisture to gather at the junction of her legs. She twisted her fingers together in her lap beneath the table as trembling began to work from her toes to her head. The music seemed to be playing in her head, or maybe it was the rush of her own blood keeping time with his.
She felt starstruck, unable to speak when her body was shaking with need of him.
Nicolas tugged on her arm until she gave up her hand. His long fingers stroked over the ridges on her wrist, now much fainter than they had been. «Promise me if I drive you to feel so hopeless again, if anything or anyone does, you will tell me.» He brought her hand to his chest, over his heart, his fingers still stroking those long caresses up and down her bare skin. «I know I am not an easy man to take, nor will I ever be, but I want only to secure your protection and happiness.»
She managed a nod. «I promise.»
He leaned closer to her, his lips inches from hers. «And I want to feel your body under mine and hear you scream with pleasure. I plan on taking my time, having you over and over all night long until neither one of us can stand up, until you cannot think, only feel. I want to give you every sensual experience that I can.» He brought her hand to his mouth. «I have waited several lifetimes for you, Lara.»
His voice was gentle, low and very sensual, his black gaze hooded, but there was nothing gentle in his eyes. Turbulent. A violent storm raging. A hunger that was so sharp and savage he looked ready to throw her onto the dining room table and rip her dress from her body. The thought added to the temperature rising fast inside of her. Between her legs she was so hot she felt on fire. He hadn't really touched her, yet she wanted him almost beyond imagining. The lines etched in his face spoke of control-only by a thread and a part of her wanted to shatter that control, to know what it was like to be thrown on the table and taken by a man whose hunger for her was insatiable.
She blushed and hastily looked down at the table as the waitress approached.
She cannot see you clearly. His voice brushed intimately against the walls of her mind, making her entire body tingle with awareness. She wanted to be out of the inn and into his bed. She could barely breathe anymore with desire swamping her.
The waitress placed the bowl of vegetable soup in front of her and left without speaking. Nicolas kept possession of her hand. Lara dipped the spoon in the bowl, took it out and then began making little waves with it.
«Are you afraid of me?»
Her gaze jumped to his. «Not of you. I've never had sex before. You seem very experienced.»
A slow smile softened the edge of his mouth. «I had many centuries to learn technique and speculate what I would want to do with my partner, should I ever be so lucky to have one. Our males can be quite obsessed with the idea of sex, but as a general rule, it is not fulfilling without our lifemate. Perhaps that is a safeguard for our women as well as the other women around us. My sexual appetite is raging and if just anyone could assuage it, I am not certain how long I could stay in complete control. We are not human, Lara, and we may appear tame and civilized, but we are not.»
He didn't look tame or civilized to her. He looked powerful and dangerous and far too sexy for a woman as inexperienced as she was. She wanted him with every fiber of her being.
«You have to eat so we can get out of here,» he reminded.
If that was what it took, she was willing. She scooped a little of the broth into the spoon and stared down at the bowl of soup. Her stomach lurched unexpectedly. «I don't think I'm as hungry as I thought I was.»
Nicolas frowned. He had given one blood exchange as well as giving her blood twice. She was already Carpathian enough that regular food wouldn't sit well with her, but she needed nourishment. She pushed the contents of the bowl aimlessly around. He very gently took it from her hand and held the broth to her mouth.
Lara shook her head. «I've always had a little trouble eating food. Usually soup is one thing I can get down as long as it is only vegetable, but the smell of it is making my stomach rebel. I honestly don't think I can.»
Nicolas reached with his free hand to curl his palm beneath the fall of silky hair to caress the nape of her neck. «You have to eat, Lara. You've had one complete blood exchange and taken my blood twice. You cannot go without sustenance. I'll help you hold it down.»
It was the last thing she wanted to do, but he was looking at her with his incredible eyes and she found herself nodding. In her heightened state of awareness, the slide of his mind against hers was almost sexual, a caress, much like the brushing of his fingers against her skin. Her breathing turned ragged. There were so many erotic fantasizes playing through his mind, and each one was more shocking than the last.
He certainly wanted to sweep the items off the table and lay her across it, peeling back her dress one inch at a time until he could see and touch her hot satin skin. Lara touched the tip of her tongue to her lips, fighting for breath when her lungs refused to work. His gaze held hers captive, never blinking, never looking away, until she felt consumed by him.
I think that will do. I cannot wait another moment. Can you walk out of here?
She blinked and looked down at the empty soup bowl. While she'd been examining the images in his
mind, he'd been feeding her, but as she had looked and fantasized herself, her rising desire had obviously affected him. She smiled at him and this time a good deal of the shyness was gone.
I can make it to the door if you can.
He held out his hand. Lara placed hers in it. The black eyes held hers a heartbeat longer.The moment I get you out of here, I'm stripping every last bit of clothing off of you. I want to feel you and see you, not just in my imagination, but the real thing .
There was a warning and a promise in his tone. He was back to being the dangerous predator and this time, she was his prey. The knowledge should have frightened her, but instead, her entire body reacted with heated anticipation. Along with that shiver of anticipation that crept down her spine, she felt the flush of arousal sweep through her body at the drawling caress in his voice.
He yanked open the door and they stepped out into the night, his hand on the small of her back, just at the base of her spine. His long fingers caressed the curve of her bottom under the thin material of the dress he'd fashioned for her. The fabric was heavy and burning against her sensitive skin. They hurried down the stairs into the street where snowflakes drifted down to melt against their hot bodies.
Nicolas didn't wait, impatient to touch her. He swept her up into his arms, cradled her against his chest, barely remembering to mask their presence when he took two running steps and leapt into the sky.