I shake my head.
"You should be." He moves closer, each step deliberate. "Do you know what I am?"
My stupid husband who is cheating on me.
But I can't say that. “A vampire.”
"Most people run when they learn." His thumb traces my lower lip through the mask's edge. "You're still here."
I can't breathe.
His hand comes up to cup my face, thumb tracing my cheekbone where the mask ends. "You really can't remove this?"
I shake my head quickly.
"You're trembling." His mouth moves to my ear, his breath cold against my skin. “Are you nervous?”
“I’m not,” I say.
“Liar.” Then his lips are on my neck, *open mouth kisses and the world tilts.
He licks the spot where my pulse flutters wildly. I have to bite my lip to keep from moaning his name. His hands frame my waist, pulling me against him. I feel the evidence of his want and my body responds instantly, betraying me.
This is torture.
Having him so close, feeling his desire. He pulls back to study me, and something shifts in his expression. The hunger is still there but beneath it is something softer. “Why are you sad?”
Of course I'm sad.My husband is here in a brothel about to make love to a stranger.
"Does someone have a claim on you?" he asks carefully. "A lover who'd object to this?"
I almost laugh at the irony.Yes, I have a lover.
"No," I whisper. "I have no one."
Svenn goes still.
Then his hands are in my hair, tilting my head back. He’s studying my face like he's trying to see through the mask itself. “May I kiss you?"
The question breaks my heart. My husband, asking permission to kiss his own wife. Emotion builds behind my eyes.
But I nod, and his mouth claims mine with desperate hunger.
The kiss devastates me.
It's nothing like our kisses at home. Those are tender, knowing, built on trust and love. This is wild, seeking, the kiss ofa man drowning who's just found air. I need to stop him before this goes too far.
"This isn't part of the offer," I manage.
He pauses. "What was the offer?"
"A conversation and a drink." I'm trying to keep my voice serious despite the want coursing through me.
"I see." He pulls back slightly. "My apologies. But we are having a conversation."
No, we’re not.I glare at him.
His eyes darken."But I suppose we haven't gotten around to the drink part yet."
