“There’s more,” he said.
A tiny, panicked laugh escaped her.
“I understand the sensation of healing to be rather painful.” He cleared his throat. “But, as you know, our saliva has numbing properties. I will need to…”
“You must lick me?” Her words were laced with incredulity.
“It’s the only way. Trust me, I’d know. I’ve researched everything there is about vampirism,” he said. “But I really must insist before that festers.”
And they still had a hard night’s trek up the mountain.
Lalo bit into his wrist like an apple. He offered his arm to her. Gingerly, she wrapped her fingers around his skin and brought her lips to his gash. Her lashes fluttered. She saw into Lalo’s world. Saw his townhouse near the center of the bustling ciudad of Los Campos. Saw him sitting at a charming desk, reading books. Saw him kill and weep and run. She saw him gazing at her with a desperate hope in his heart.
“That’s enough,” he whispered.
Carolina pulled back, breathless and woozy from all she had witnessed.
He loved her. She had seen it. He loved her, and it scared the life out of him. She loved him too, but that love didn’t scare her. If anything, his love made her feel braver than ever before.Because if he could see her, see the truest and most private parts of her, and love her still, then that love was something worth facing a thousand monsters for.
An icy heat began to prick her lips, then the inside of her throat, her stomach. The pain Lalo spoke of was starting. She straightened her spine, not meeting his eyes. “Do your worst.”
He took her hand first and ran his tongue over her palm. Her mind went completely numb and the pain dulled at once. His soft fingers brushed her hair from her shoulder next. The sensation of his skin against hers was like a lightning bolt. Invisible sparks sizzled where his fingers touched her ever so gently. She couldn’t help but sigh.
“Don’t do that.” His voice came out hard and tense.
“Don’t breathe?” she asked.
“Yes. No.” He shook his head. “I don’t know. Just…stay as still as possible. Please.”
She grinned. “Why is that, sediento?”
“Don’t make me say it,” he whispered.
“Tell me.”
“You must know what you do to me,” he said softly.
Before she could reply, he bent forward and ran his tongue over her cuts. She had to bite down on her lip to keep from gasping. Everything inside her came alive because of his touch. His tender magic. Her fingers reached out and clenched his shirt.
She wanted him. His kisses. His hands. She just wanted him. And before they set off on their final adventure, she would have him.
She dug her hands into his hair and pushed his face up, so they were nose to nose.
“Kiss me,” she whispered.
“I already told you what would happen if I did. I said I might never want to stop.”
“Then don’t.”
He closed his eyes as if her words pained him.
“We have this moment, Lalo. Let’s pretend this is our forever.”
He cupped her cheek. “You are so beautiful.”
He kissed her, but there was no softness in this brushing of lips. No hesitation.
An explosion of need burned through her. She could not take the wanting anymore, she needed to explore him.
