I reach out and we both gasp when my fingertips brush his stomach. He’s still wearing his shirt, but a spark shoots up my arm all the same, and whatever he sees on my face makes him swallow hard again.
“Grant…”
“I came back for you.”
“You—”
“I protected you.”
He catches my hand. His touch is gentle. I expect him to move it away and tell me to stop, but he simply holds it, and his skin against mine is soothing in a way I’ve never felt before.
“You saved me,” he says. “Twice, I think.”
“Vlad.”
He frowns, tilting his head to one side. Touching me seems to have reassured him in some small way. Has that always been true? I’ve never noticed. Why have I never noticed?
“Are you hungry?” he asks. He reaches out with his other hand and wipes a drop of blood from the corner of my mouth. “You fed.”
“Killed,” I growl. He wipes the blood on his trousers, and his hand doesn’t return to my face. “I’m so hungry.”
“Then we—” He tightens his hold on my hand, begins to tilt his head, but I surge up and grab the back of it before he can move all the way. His shocked eyes jerk to mine in the second before I slam our mouths together.
God. Fuck. I should have done this before. My power draws back, pulls inward with a quiver as I breathe in the scent of him, tongue darting out to taste the shape of his lips. Vlad’s free hand clamps on my hip. Is he going to push me away? I should have asked. I should have—
He growls, the sound shuddering through me, and then his mouth moves against mine, lips parting as his tongue snakes into my mouth. I shiver and collapse against him. I don’t let go of his head, though, fingers tangling in his hair. He growls again when I tug on the strands and his arm sweeps around my waist, dragging me in until we’re pressed together.
I want to laugh. I want to cry. I never want to let go of him ever again. He kisses me with the same hunger I feel, and power flares behind my eyelids, but I know we’re safe right now, so it doesn’t need to do anything at all. I melt against Vlad’s strong chest, and when I whine into his mouth, he squeezes my hand.
We kiss until my jaw aches. I don’t know how long it lasts. I don’t care. The ache doesn’t even matter—I could keep doingthis forever—but Vlad knows, somehow, and he sucks on my lower lip, making my knees weak, before he pulls back.
I blink up at him, the world coming back to me in a rush. He’s him, I know that, but still I take a moment to study the familiar lines of his face. He looks astonished, and with his cheeks flushed, lips red and swollen, he’s a vision.
I kiss him again, darting up on my tiptoes to take another taste, and I think a laugh rumbles through his chest, but I don’t dare drop back to find out. This time, Vlad pulls me back with the faintest tug of my hair and I arch my back, pressing our hips together.
“Grant,” he says, a warning.
“Please.”
“You’re hungry.”
“Not for blood.”
He blinks at me. Does he look amused? Maybe, faintly. But he’s reeling too, just like I am.
And I might still have all that power, but I’ve used a lot. I sway where he’s holding me and Vlad frowns, drawing me over to the bed.
“Are you all right?”
I slump against his side. I’m not in danger. Just… tired. That’s nice, too. New. I’ve hardly felt tired since he turned me. “Tired.”
“Grant.” The panic in his voice is unwarranted, but for the first time in a long time, the concern in his eyes makes my stomach flutter. “You were outside.”
“The sun… Made me stronger,” I murmur. Fuck. I don’t want to go to sleep. We’re on the bed. I can convince Vlad to kiss me again, can’t I? He won’t want to if I’m going to pass out on him, I guess. Fair. I wouldn’t want that either.
“Stronger?”
“Power.” I yawn and lean more heavily against him, nuzzling my face into his neck. He makes a surprised sound but doesn’t move away from me. “I’m so tired.”
