He honestly couldn’t imagine all she’d been through in her search for her sister. Though she was the most beautiful female to have ever crossed his path, Eclipse could see the wariness in her face. There were shadows both in her eyes and below them, proving she’d had a go of it, making her look far older than her twenty-four years. He wanted nothing more than to shield her from the pain, protect her from it, to give her the life she’d deserved all along. Hell, he wished he could take it all away, let her start anew with him.
“There’s one thing that’s not complicated,” he told her, holding out his hand and urging her to come to him.
To his relief, she didn’t hesitate, getting to her feet and walking over. When she was near enough, he took her hand and pulled her into him. Despite the strength he’d glimpsed within her, she seemed out of sorts. Not fragile or broken but in need of something. Comfort, perhaps? It brought him tremendous pleasure to hold her, shield her from the dangers of the world, to offer her a safe haven. In fact, he was content to do nothing more than that for as long as she needed it.
Something told him she didn’t need it as much as he’d thought.
When Orianna tipped her head back, those cornflower-blue eyes searched his face, but he wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for. He had initially intended to spend the day comforting her, but that went out the window when he saw the flash of heat in her gaze. All hints of propriety disappeared when she reached up and removed his sunglasses.
“I like to see your eyes,” she said softly, setting the sunglasses on the dresser behind him.
“Why aren’t you scared of me?” he asked, not sure why he chose now to broach the subject.
“Why should I be?”
“I killed a male,” he said.
“It was self-defense,” she countered. “He shot you, Eclipse. And threatened me.”
Reasonable, fine.
“The fact that I’m an angel,” he noted.
Orianna exhaled heavily. “Believe it or not, I’ve met all types. Never an angel or a vampire, mind you. I guess I just haven’t seen anything that scares me yet.”
And he prayed she never did.
“Enough talking, Eclipse.”
When Orianna closed the distance between them, he dropped all pretenses, cupping her face and leaning down until his mouth met hers.
For whatever reason, Eclipse had always thought of human females as fragile. That so wasn’t the case with Orianna. There was a steely strength within her that made him believe she was strong enough to withstand anything.
The soft moan that escaped her spurred him, had him sliding his hands down to her ass, lifting her with ease. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck, and Eclipse felt complete for the first time in nearly seventeen hundred years of existence.
Without releasing her, he put one knee on the bed and eased her down beneath him, lips fused, tongues searching. When he lifted his head to look into her eyes, there were so many things he wanted to say, but Orianna cut him off with a finger pressed to his lips.
“No talking,” she whispered. “Just make me feel, Eclipse. That’s all I need right now.”
That was all he needed, as well.
And as he did as she asked, all thoughts of food were forgotten.
Long minutes passed as they worked to remove the clothing that kept their bodies separated. First his shirt, then hers. Eclipse grazed the smooth mounds of her breasts as he reached beneath her and released the catch on her bra. Orianna wasn’t shy, removing the black lace and tossing it over her head. As he stared down at her dusky-pink nipples, his cock twitched behind his zipper, the damn thing eager to be inside her. He, of course, ignored it because there was far more he wanted to explore before then.
Cutting his gaze to her face, Eclipse took one hardened tip in his mouth, sucked gently. When her hands curled around his head, urging for more, he gave her every ounce of his attention. He sucked and licked until she was writhing beneath him, her fingers locked in his hair, tugging roughly. He moved lower, sliding his tongue over her flat stomach, pausing to dip into her navel before continuing his trek.
He could feel her eyes on him as he unhooked her skirt, lowered the zipper on her hip, and tugged the black fabric down. It joined the pile of clothes on the floor as he admired her smooth, pale skin against the red of his comforter. Her blond hair was spread out around her, her eyes flashing with heat, all that smooth ivory flesh available to him. With his feet on the floor, he bent at the waist as he trailed his finger up the inside of her thigh, pausing at the apex.
“Touch me,” she urged, her eyes never leaving his face.
Eclipse slipped his finger into her panties and tugged them to the side, revealing the glistening pink folds of her sex. A rough growl escaped him as he dipped his head low, grazing her slick heat with his tongue.
Orianna moaned, her legs falling open as he lapped at her sweetness. She tasted exactly as he’d imagined, the perfect blend of sex and sin. It went right to his head, made that fragile grip on his control slip. Using his fangs, he ripped the delicate lace of her panties before tossing them aside and burying his face between her thighs. He plunged his tongue into her, her sexy moans and urgent pleas the music to which he feasted.
Eclipse only stopped so he could suckle her clit, flicking the tiny bundle of nerves with his tongue until she was whimpering, her fingers once again tugging at his hair.
He felt her pulse against his tongue seconds before she cried out his name, her body thrashing as she came apart at the seams.
