“Keep that up and you’ll find out.”
His heart was pounding, the sound magnified in his ears as his blood hummed in his veins. The need to touch her, kiss her … fucking claim her … was more than he could stand. And if she didn’t stop…
Heaven help him, if she didn’t stop, Mirakel was terrified he was seconds away from letting his dumb handle take over.
Mirakel was the absolute most stunning maleshe’d ever laid eyes on.
And in all her years, Briony had seen quite a few males.
Well, parts of them, at least.
Most wouldn’t believe that she had never been with a male before. Not in a romantic sense, anyway. Oh, wow. And now her naiveté was showing. Romantic sense? Briony didn’t think males and females tended to think along those lines these days. Everything had gone …casualas of late. Yes, that was a good word for it. Friends with benefits, no strings attached, casual sex. All terms used by the populace who was having sex before marriage.
Regardless, Briony was still a virgin, and she doubted anyone would’ve guessed that about her. Then again, if they knew nearly all males reacted similarly to the way Mirakel did around her, perhaps it was a bit more believable.
Briony wasn’t sure what it was about her, but males tended to view her as something fragile, innocent. Untouchable. Likely the reason she was untouched. They didn’t mind feeding her when necessary, nor did they have a problem drinking from her vein. However, not a single one had ever wanted her …thatway. Not the way she knew Mirakel wanted her.
Truth be told, she’d never wanted a male before him, either. Not like this, with a deep-seated desire that remained even when she wasn’t near him. None had ever stirred such crazy things inside her, made her do things such as have an orgasm while feeding. Yet, with him, she’d done so on more than one occasion.
As for the reason she was here in Mirakel’s room … well, that was entirely selfish on her part. She remembered vividly how difficult he’d found being around her, and she knew it wasn’t because she repulsed him. No, quite the opposite. According to the healer, the vampire had imprinted, and while she didn’t know what that entailed, nor what it might lead to, Briony found she was intrigued by the notion.
Hence the reason she was here. She’d come to Mirakel’s room this morning in an attempt to push him, to see if he would give in to what was plaguing them both.
And here she was, taunting the beast because she knew deep down that was the only way he was going to give in. He was a noble male, far too polite to take her the way he wanted. But she’d seen it in his beautiful eyes. The heat, the need, the passion. And perhaps she was out of her mind, but she wanted to experience it.
“Briony, what are you doing?”
His voice was dark thunder, rasped out of his lungs as though he was hanging by a thread.
“Wanting you,” she admitted, leaning in and pressing her lips to his back.
His sharp inhale spurred her on. Without fear, she trailed her lips up his long spinal column, loving the way the muscles in his back flexed as though he could hardly contain himself. Because of the drastic difference in their heights, she couldn’t reach all that high, but the broad expanse of his back left plenty for her to linger over.
“Briony … you don’t want this. Trust me, love. You—”
An animalistic growl sounded when she nipped him with her teeth.
Before she knew what had happened, Briony found herself pinned to the bedroom door, Mirakel’s enormous body surrounding her, those neon blue eyes brightly lit as he stared down at her.
“I want this,” she assured him, reaching up and brushing his jaw with her fingertips. “More than you know.”
“We can’t.”
“Why?” She was tired of the evasion. If Mirakel didn’t want her, he was going to have to tell her as much.
His head lowered and she felt his warm breath fan her cheek. Briony turned her head to the side, bringing her lips closer to his.
“Tell me,” she urged.
As was his nature, Mirakel didn’t respond. She’d gotten familiar with the strong, silent vampire over the past few weeks since she’d started feeding him. He was a male of few words, but those he did speak were more than enough to send that desire pulsing through her.
Her hands trailed down to his neck, lower to his chest. She pressed her palms against him, felt the rapid thump of his heart.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
Briony met his eyes. “Then show me.”
Once again, he moved so fast Briony was barely aware of it until her hands were lifted above her head, pinned to the door in one of his big fists, the other cupping her face, his thumb tilting her head back. It was an aggressive move, but there was such gentleness in his touch. As much as he was trying to scare her, she sensed he didn’t want to hurt her.
