We locked eyes. The laughter faded. My heart stopped beating.
He was inches from my face. Close, but not close enough. His warm breath kissed my nose. A tinge of wine and somethingsweet. His pupils darkened, until the green became a night teased forest.
He leaned forward and his lips smoldered against mine. They were as soft as velvet and silk. But they pressed against mine as if they were claiming every part of me. I was on fire. Blazing with lust. I moaned, pulling his body onto mine. I was swept away. Desire obliterated everything else. Cognitive thought shunted to a halt. There were no sounds but the fast beat of my heart pounding against my chest. All I could taste was his sweet mouth, all I could feel were his lips caressing mine. His hands cradled the back of my head, sweeping my hair into disarray. His kiss was hot and heavy and breathtaking.
My body went into overdrive. My veins zinged like my blood was made of fruit tingles. Damp warmth swirled between my legs. I spread my legs and wrapped them around him. His hard groin pressed against my core. I shivered all over and clawed at his back.
Then he was gone. The heat disappeared. My hands were strangely empty. I blinked, panting, staring into the empty space he’d just filled. He stood by the fireplace with his back to me and downed the glass of wine.
My cheeks flared. My heart dropped into my lap. My self-esteem fell with a resounding thud to the floor.
Confusion racked my senses. Did he simply not like me? Were my limbs too thin for him? Was all this just a game? Or was it because I was a witch? Humiliation twisted a knife in my heart.
That was twice now he’d left me reeling.
I was such a fool.
He threw me a lustful look and I had no control over my body. I needed to escape. My legs felt shaky as I rose.
I gulped in a breath. “I’m going upstairs to read, feel free to let yourself out when you’re ready.” I strode up the stairs.
“You are being childish, Amelia.”
I stopped halfway and twisted back.
“Childish?” Hurt shifted to frustration. “I’m not the one playing games, so tell me, which one of us is being childish?” I turned and continued upwards.
I caught a blur, no more than a flicker of a light out of the corner of my eye. I felt the whisper of the wind on the side of my face and he stood at the top of the stairs.
I stepped up off the last step. He stood in the hallway making himself a human barricade.
“If you will excuse me?” I demanded. He didn’t move. He hardly seemed to breath. His eyes swirled like storm clouds on the horizon and seemed to penetrate right through me. The fine hairs on my arms rose. “I asked you to move!”
“I’m not playing games with you,” he growled, sounding angry. The audacity of him.
I place my hands on my hips. “Really? What exactly are you doing then?” I lifted my voice. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. My emotions are not toys you can fire up when you want. I get it, I’m a witch, you’re a vampire. You hate witches. I don’t blame you for that.” A burst of emotion burned up my throat. My eyes stung.Oh, God, I was going to cry. Why was I going to cry? My hands drop to my sides. “Please.” My voice comes out in a whisper. “Please, just move.”
He didn’t move. His gaze fell to the fireplace. When it fell back his eyes were brewing with anguish and what looked like feral hunger. “I am dangerous, Amelia.”
“I know what you are,” I answered, “and I don't care about whatyouare.”
He let out a roar of wild fury. One second I was standing, the next he had me pinned by the shoulders against the wall.
My breath caught in my throat. My heart beat too fast. Dizziness whirled through my head.
“Do you understand what I am capable of?” he snarled. He reached across and swept my hair back from my neck. His eyes honed in on the throb of my pulse like a hungry snake ready to strike its prey. “Do you know what I could do to you? One small bite, just one little taste and I may not be able to stop. Your blood is sweet, your smell captivates me. It whispers my name, calling me, inviting me to taste it.” His tone was ravaged by desire. He leaned forward, so close if I turned my head my lips would touch his cheek. His nose flared.
He was sniffing me.
Anger curled in my stomach. “That’s enough,” I snapped.
He stepped back. His hands taut by his sides. He wasn’t breathing as he stared a me, discord drummed through a face far too beautiful to be fair. His looks, his scent, his power a temptation I couldn’t resist. And he knew it.
“You don't get to treat me like I'm some plaything that you can pick up and discard when you’re done. And I most certainly am not a lollipop you get to lick when you crave it.” I raised my voice. “And I refuse to be treated like a tap you can turn on and off at will.”
He stepped to the side as I stormed past. I grabbed the handle of the door and turned back to him. “I don’t understand why you don’t just leave me alone.”
“You think I haven’t tried to leave you alone?” he shouted. His flash of anger was startling.
