“Is something wrong?”
“No. Just … stay right there.”
It took a minute for him to get himself under control, but he managed.
Mostly.
Instead of keeping his hands to himself, Mirakel brushed the wisps of her hair away from her neck as he stared down at the delicate column, watching the steady thump of her pulse. What he should’ve done was pierce her flesh and offer her his hands so she could feed from him. What he did was slide one arm around, pulling her head back against his shoulder as he pressed his fingers against her chin, angling her how he wanted her.
He leaned in, his fangs having emerged long ago. But rather than pierce her vein, Mirakel pressed his lips to her skin.
Briony moaned softly, relaxing into him.
Mirakel kissed her, sliding his mouth up and down, toward her ear, along her shoulder.
“Briony…”
The hand that wasn’t holding her chin found its way to her chest, then slipped lower, separating the folds of the robe until her breasts were revealed. She had nothing on beneath the burgundy silk, her ivory skin as creamy as he remembered from the first time she’d revealed herself to him.
As he unwrapped her like a present, Mirakel watched his hand move over her skin. It was as though he was observing someone else cupping her heavy breast, rubbing her nipple between forefinger and thumb. And though that voice in the back of his head was telling him he was going to get burned, he couldn’t seem to stop.
“Spread your legs,” he urged, sliding his hand down her flat belly to the juncture between her thighs.
Briony’s knees parted, falling open and exposing her sex. As a Fae, she was completely bare, her skin utterly smooth, no hair anywhere except for on her head. His fingers homed in on their target, sliding through her slick slit. When she bucked her hips, he groaned softly.
“Move back,” he instructed, shifting so he could get her neck closer to his mouth while his fingers continued to wander.
Her soft moans had his cock throbbing, but he ignored the damn thing.
“I’m going to bite you,” he informed her as his fangs trailed down her neck. “And I’m going to make you come with my fingers.”
“Please…”
Figuring it was in their best interest for him to be at least somewhat distracted, Mirakel shoved his fangs into her skin, piercing the vein. As he took the first pull on her, he pushed his finger inside her, then retreated, coating the digit in her silky juices before thrusting inside her again.
Time became irrelevant at that point. He fed from her as he fingered her, spurred on by her softly spoken pleas and the decadent taste of her blood on his tongue.
Fearful he was going to hurt her, Mirakel finally pulled his fangs from her flesh, sealed the wounds, and then pushed two fingers inside her. He curled them upward, searching for—
“Mirakel! Oh … yes!”
Briony’s sex squeezed his fingers as she came in his arms. He let her ride out the waves, his fingers still buried inside her tight sheath. Only when she was breathing normally did he pull them out and bring them to his mouth. His eyes slammed shut as her exquisite taste exploded on his tongue. It was all he could do not to move, not to roll her beneath him and mount her.
Somehow he refrained, but he did reposition them so that they were flat on the mattress, him spooning her from behind, his arm draped over her, the sheet between them, ensuring he didn’t do exactly what he wanted to do.
“Don’t go, Briony,” he whispered. “Let me hold you tonight.”
Her hand covered his arm, squeezed gently. “I don’t want to be anywhere else.”
As he drifted off, he found himself hoping that was true.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Michael didn’t expect the Alpha vampire toemerge from his bedchamber, yet Michael had come here anyway. And here he was, sitting on the strange furniture in what he’d heard them refer to as a living room, waiting to see if by some miracle, the male would come out of his room so they could address the pressing issue before it was too late.
Patience had never been his strong suit, but Michael had long ago learned to hone it when it came to his warriors. Those males worked on their own timeline, and they cared not whether Michael was appreciative. He sometimes wondered how they could stand to be idle for so long. Heaven knew it wasn’t his favorite thing to do.
However, it was imperative that he speak with the vampire, find out what his intentions were. Now that Kaj had officially claimed the Fae as his own, decisions had to be made. There was no longer time to sit around and wonder what would happen next. They were running out of time, and if they didn’t prepare, they would be caught unawares once again.
