"We'll talk," he murmured, nipping at her bottom lip, making her heart jump. "But I want to show you somethin'." His strong hands running over her back and the side of her ribcage were confusing her. He pulled back and waited until she opened her eyes to see him staring down at her. "Close your eyes, and let me," he commanded gently as his hand tipped up her chin.
She took one moment, one moment to consider. But the way that she felt in his arms, the safety, the warmth, the excitement had pushed out everything else. And the way that he looked at her like he needed her to comply, needed her to give him this moment, it was enough for her to close her eyes, and lean into the hand cradling her face.
She nodded.
And she heard his whispered curse before he was taking her mouth again. This time, she opened for him and he swept in, tasting her, groaning as he did before he crushed her against him like he couldn't get her close enough.
He tasted like secrets and dark chocolate.
He felt like he was made for her body to be crushed against him like this, his lines and hard edges matching perfectly with where she dipped and flared.
And then, just as before, the image of him kissing Astra popped in her head but when she stiffened, the pad of his thumb ran over the sensitive skin on her neck holding in her pulse, and that image suddenly changed.
It was like someone had changed the channel and instead of Astra in his arms in an amorous embrace, he was standing with his arms crossed over his broad chest as she spoke to him before he cut her off and said something that her mind could not hear, but whatever it was made the woman step back in shock. He pointed. She looked shaken. And then both heads turned to where Tilly knew she had then made herself known, walking across the street to confront them.
To yell at him.
Astra's cat-like smile.
It hit her then. The envelope she opened just before with the latin words and the odd feeling that had overcome her.
It hadn't been real. What she had seen had been magic. She knew that as honestly as she knew that he wouldn't do that to her.
So when Theo bit her lower lip, sucking on it gently she released her fears, released holding herself back and she gave in. Her fingers dug into his hard chest before they slid up the sides of his warm neck into his thick hair, pressing her smaller body up into his in a answer to his beg for possession.
When that pulled a groan from somewhere in the back of his throat that she felt throughout her entire body, she lightly tugged on the strands of his hair.
His answering low growl made something curl in her lower belly. She hadn't felt this out of control ever. She'd never been out of control like this.
He pulled his mouth from hers, their harsh breaths colliding against each other and she made a sad sound which made him grin down at her.
"I need to taste you," he said and her eyes widened.
"You," she pulled in a shaky breath, "you want to, like my blood?"
His eyebrows moved up the slightest, that grin lifting higher on one side as his eyes roved her face. It was devastating making a man this stoic smile at you like that. Like she had magic for him.
"Yes. But no," he finally answered. His own breaths matched hers.
She shook her head in confusion. "I," she bit her lip, worrying the kiss-swollen skin between her teeth as she toyed with her shyness. "I would let you."
Now his grin was sharp and wolfish, something flashed in his eyes, something secret and delicious and she was certain he had magic too because parts of her responded to him that she didn't know could be controlled like this.
"You do not know how much agony your willingness is putting me in, but I meant a different kind of tasting."
Before she could voice her confusion further he swept her up into his arms and started walking through the woods. The sudden movement made her gasp, throwing her arms around his neck and laugh.
"What are you doing? Where are we going?"
"My house," was his simple, gruff reply. He was no longer grinning. He had a hard determined look on his face and she ran her fingertips lightly over the straight line of his nose and over his high cheekbone to brush over his lips where the pad of her thumb wedged between the seam slightly until she felt something sharp.
His head turned to look at her with a dark look, black more than chocolate brown now. He gave her a warning growl and she smiled at him, suddenly feeling very not shy and very brave instead.
"Is that your agony growling at me, chief vampire?"
"If you keep teasin', we won't make it to my house." He turned his face back to focus on where he was carrying her and she bit her lip, trying to hold back her smile as she did it again. She ran her finger between his lips to touch his sharp teeth.
"Are these called fangs?"
