Her next move caught him by surprise. The witch pressed closer until only a hairbreadth separated them. The flat of her palm met the taut plane of his lower abdomen and her fingertips played there before sliding up, caressing along the way. Cole wasn’t quick enough to stop the reactive tensing of his muscles in response to her touch and she gave him a gloating look. His eyes shimmered dark when she continued on in a slow exploration of the breadth of his chest muscles and eventually finished by draping her arm lazily over his shoulder.
Ella enjoyed the silken feel of his dark hair, twirling her fingers in the strands that lay against his collar. Finally she pressed her lips to his ear, letting them graze lightly there, while she molded herself to him. Her whisper was every bit as hot as the desire now burning through him, “I could watch you roast slowly, all night.” She let Cole feel a bit of warmth radiating from her fingertips at his neck.
Damn if she hadn’t been delightfully sexy when she threatened his life. Cole couldn’t control his appreciative chuckle. He was drawn to her because she was a beautiful immortal, but he might actually be capable of liking this little being. Too bad she had chosen an affiliation with the Light and he had purely selfish reasons for pursuing her.
Cole thought he witnessed a bit of answering humor lurking in the depths of green so he took advantage of it. There were only a few inches separating their mouths and he removed them. His lips moved over hers for a whisper of a second, but before she could react he had already released her. When he peered down to gauge her response, her lips were parted and her tongue was just darting over the lower, and she was probably unaware of how telling that action was.
Ella had given herself a bit more than she could handle with her teasing exploration of his body. Still reeling from her insane desire and the conflicting emotions that came along with it, when he had given her his mouth, she had been nearly overcome with a fiery wave of the less than magical variety. The heated need that had come on hard and fast was appalling.
Despite them being sworn enemies, Ella was intrigued. His dark looks had already had her thinking not the purest of thoughts before she knew his true nature. Now that she had an idea of what was hidden beneath his fine clothes, she wanted to forget to remember what he was. She felt certain he would be fully capable of making her melt from the inside…repeatedly. A quick glance up at the vampire told her that her current state of want was understood and she expected him to press his advantage.
Rather than reaching for her, Cole instead turned to top off her glass and appeared relaxed when he extended it back to her. The heat in his stare belied that though and was likely to be her undoing, “Fiery little witch, we can wage a battle of insults until dawn, wasting good drink and a wonderful spring night…or we can call a truce and enjoy this bottle of wine together.”
He was pleasantly surprised when she appeared to actually be weighing the offer, so this time he did press his advantage, “We are far removed from the Realm, Princess. I will offer you my vow not to harm you, if you will return the same. Let us forget the war that separates our breeds, at least for tonight.”
Ella was considering his words carefully. His dark good looks and inviting smile were tipping the scales in his favor, as was the memory of that sculpted body beneath that shirt. He had only a few times straightened enough that she could determine his height. As tall as she was, even with the additional four inches of her heels, she estimated that Cole towered a good three more above her.
She reasoned with herself that she was not engaged in the conflict of the Realm and did not know that she ever would choose to be. She felt little real connection with that world. How much harm could there be in letting Cole entertain her? It was not as though she would be defenseless if he turned all blood-sucky at the stroke of midnight. If both she and Cole were swearing off any allegiance to either Light or Dark tonight, it really could be just two immortals passing some time together.
All those thoughts rambled around in her brain while he patiently gazed down at her. That cocky grin tugging at the corner of his mouth while she did made her want to nibble him…right there. She couldn’t resist - decision made – she was in celebratory mode tonight, not in the Realm.
Returning her eyes to his, Ella inclined her head to indicate her acceptance and raised her glass, “I am Ella.” Just because she could, she stepped into him again, this time sliding her palm over the muscled bicep before it found home on his shoulder. Raising up on her toes, she rubbed her lips against his jawline as she spoke, “I accept your terms, Vamp.”
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
If you have made it this far, thank you for your interest in the series. Thank you also for taking the time to read my book.
God opened a window that provided me with the opportunity to begin this journey. Thank you God. You answered my prayers in a way I could not have imagined and have given my family countless and amazing blessings.
D.A. Fleener is my rock and loves me in a way I could never have imagined. Only a few times during this whole harried journey did he look at me like I might be a bit nuts. Truly, without him supporting me the whole way, I would never have had the courage to see this project through to completion.
Fleener – I love you very much with my whole heart.
I might also not have made it to the end if I had not had a cheerleader, pseudo-editor, sounding board and shrink in my sister, Kiki. She kept me sane and calmed my anxiety and read draft after draft as I revised and edited and revised again. Amazingly, she managed to survive all of my anxiety-ridden, middle of the night emails and did not once threaten my life.
Kiki – This would not be if it were not for you making me believe that it was actually possible. Thank you for all that you did and for being the amazing sister that you are. I love you.
Chosen: Book 1 in the Ancients of Light series Page 36
