Orianna was surprised she didn’t orgasm from his words alone.
He guided his erection against her hot center while she sank down on him.
A moan slipped up her throat as her body adjusted to his glorious girth. He filled her easily, her body slick and eager for him. Once she was seated with him fully inside her, Orianna began to move, bringing them both the ecstasy they sought. It started with her lifting and lowering on him and ended with her rocking her hips forward and back while Eclipse latched on to her neck, his fangs sinking into her vein.
Never in her life had she imagined so much ecstasy could be had. Thanks to human myths and lore, fangs were there to score and drain, vampires the epitome of evil and death. Knowing what she did, Orianna wondered who had put those rumors in play. Because this … Eclipse’s fangs in her neck … oh, God, it was heaven.
Orianna sighed as the exquisite sensations washed over her. There was no stopping her orgasm, her body suspended in that sublime state for long minutes as he fed from her and filled her at the same time.
By the time he was licking the wound closed, Orianna was hanging by a thread, in desperate need of more. Eclipse must’ve felt it, too, because he quickly shifted their positions. There was a brief chill as he separated their bodies, turning her so she was facing away from him. When she was on her knees, Eclipse behind her, he pushed deep inside her again and drove them both to the precipice. His fingers curled around her shoulders as he held on, this time riding her. Orianna hung there, suspended on the razor’s edge for long seconds, and when Eclipse slammed into her one final time, his fingertips digging in, she came as he did.
Due to their circumstances and location, there was no cuddling afterward. Just the cold separation of their bodies. Feeling slightly exposed because they weren’t alone, Orianna fumbled around for her clothes. When she located them all, she hurried to dress, then returned to Eclipse’s arms, where she wanted to remain for the rest of the day but knew she couldn’t.
“You should get some sleep,” she told him, running her fingers over his cheeks, enjoying the feel of his stubble against her fingers.
“Can’t sleep,” he mumbled against her neck. “Not without you beside me.” Eclipse lifted his head. “When night falls, we need to head back. Do you think your mother will go with us willingly?”
Orianna shrugged. It was what she hoped to talk to Elizabeth about, but she needed her mother to be alert, not immersed in that drug-induced fog she lived in.
“She needs you to look after her,” Eclipse said, as though reading her mind.
“I want to introduce you to her. When night falls. I know that’s against the rules, but…” Orianna smiled. “I really want my mother to know you, Eclipse.”
Eclipse nodded. “I can persuade her to go with us if you’d like.”
She should’ve probably been surprised that he was willing to break the rules for her. She wasn’t. If nothing else, Orianna trusted what they felt for one another.
She knew he had all sorts of magical abilities, and though she was hesitant for him to use them to manipulate her mother, Orianna wasn’t sure there was any other way.
Suddenly Eclipse pulled back, his eyes closing. “There’s a male here,” he said softly. “Just pulled in the driveway.”
It pained her to pull away, but Orianna needed to be upstairs when Erik came to the door. She wasn’t about to let him in if she could help it.
“Orianna.”
With one foot on the bottom step, she turned back to look at Eclipse. The tortured look on his face spoke volumes. He hated not being able to protect her and it physically hurt him.
“I’ll be fine,” she assured him. “I’ve been on my own for a long time, Eclipse. I know what I’m doing.”
His silver eyes caressed her face before he offered a clipped nod.
Without looking back, Orianna hurried up the stairs, her stomach wobbling when the stairs seemed to do the same. When she reached the door, she exhaled her relief, then stepped into the house.
No sooner had she closed the basement door than a heavy knock sounded from the front of the house. The knob was turning as she approached.
“What do you want?” she asked, yanking the door open before Erik could.
Her father’s eyes widened as he stared back at her, clearly surprised to see her. “Orianna, baby.” A smile pulled at his haggard face. “It’s so good to see you.”
Using her body, she blocked his entrance. “Why are you here?”
Erik peered beyond her into the house. “Your mother asked me to stop by.”
“No, she didn’t.”
His blue eyes lowered to her face and she saw the shift. Gone was the pleasant father who missed his daughter, in his place, the desperate, angry man who’d bled Orianna’s mother dry, stealing her money so he could fund his addiction to booze and gambling.
“I need to talk to my wife,” Erik demanded, stepping forward.
