“Do you want me to get rid of this?” He holds up the necklace.
“No, I like how it looks on you. I love the gold against your pale skin.”
His mouth lifts in a half smile and his gaze is foggy with lust.
I lick my way carefully over his mate mark, his necklace brushing my tongue. He groans and grips my upper arms like he can hardly stand it to remain still for this. I reach low and untie his trousers. He pulls his cock free and its weight settles on my hipbone. He grins mischievously, then quickly sheds his boots and stockings. He looks like a god come down to earth to torture me with pleasure. I’m more than ready to suffer.
Now, it’s my turn to undress. Archer turns me around, then he slowly unties my corset. It laces up the back and is a bear to do alone. He has no trouble with it, of course. His fingers brush mybare back, and I shiver. He drops a kiss on my shoulder.
“You’re a masterpiece, my Colette, my sunlight.”
I tip my head so that my ear touches his hand as he sweeps his palm over the base of my neck and my shoulder. He lifts my hair. The cold air teases over my skin, making the little hairs rise. His mouth is hot as he kisses me there too, the heat of his mouth chasing the chill away. I let my dress puddle at my feet. He comes around to the front of me and kneels. Closing his eyes, he whispers my name and leans into my body, his breath hot through the fabric. He inhales, and I take his head in my hands and rub the tops of his slightly pointed ears with my thumbs. With a low growl, he slides a hand between my legs and finds the slit in my underpants.
“So soft. So warm. Is this okay?” He looks up at me through the thickest, blackest eyelashes in the world.
I’m embarrassed by how wet I am for him, but I nod all the same. This is Archer. My mate. He loves me completely. I don’t have to be perfect for him. I only have to be me. My mark tingles with the truth of my thoughts.
He slips a finger inside the petals of my sex, and I grip his hair. It feels so, sogood with that lightning touch of his on my most tender spots. His thumb finds its way to my pearl and runs over the place just above it. I’m biting my lip to the point of bleeding, and then I have an idea.
“Can you bite me down there?”
He leans back to look up. “Where exactly? Are you sure?”
“Just a wee bite? Maybe here?” I point to a spot on my inner thigh.
He licks the spots, sending pleasure rocketing through my entire lower body. I gasp and fall against him.
“Interesting,” he murmurs. He places his fangs and nips into my skin.
Pain and desire crash over me. I’m shaking. My knees are not nearly strong enough to keep me standing. He eases me to the plush rug at our feet. But instead of getting to the area I want him to, he decides it’s time to remove my stockings and boots.
“Archer,” I beg, my cheeks hotter than the crackling fire behind me.
He has one side done quickly. The firelight dances over his sharp features as he rolls my second stocking down. He nips my ankle and fresh lust washes through me. I arch my back, wanting so much more. Afterfinally slipping my boot free, he lowers himself between my legs and licks my chosen bite spot once more. I writhe beneath the steel grip he has on my thighs. He bites into me and wonderful chills spread across my legs. Tension in my core rises to a level that can’t last.
“Please…”
He puts his head down, parts the slit of my underpants, and drags his tongue over me. He doesn’t stop either.
“Blessed Stones,” I moan.
Then cold air hits my core and I open my eyes. He’s pulled back, his eyes hazy with desire and his body looking as though its made for nights such as this.
“Why? What’s wrong?” I ask, my words rough and breathy.
“I’m taking my time.”
“Do I get a vote?”
“Not this time,” he says, his eyes twinkling.
“You’re an evil half vampire.”
“Sometimes.”
He rolls me to my stomach gently but with a quick, fluid movement. I feel his thigh between my legs, and then he is drawing a finger down my back slowly. I shiver and my nipples peak against the soft plush of the rug.
“What is this from?” he asks, tracing an old scar.
