The healing cut on her lip tasted salty as he delved deeper into her, hungry to devour her. Every kiss he’d ever had in his lifetime paled in comparison. Kat exuded pleasure, and Luca was desperate for more of her.
She moved suddenly to wrap her arms around his neck, and his instincts kicked into action. As Luca jerked back, the subtle sound of a dagger being drawn from its sheath broke the stillness surrounding them. Just as fast as he’d drawn the deadly weapon, Kat reacted by catching his wrist in a near-bone-crushing grip.
“I’m sorry.” Luca’s heart raced, and his breath came fast. “I just—You startled me.”
After plucking the dagger from his grasp as if she were taking candy from a baby, Kat turned it over in her hand. Placing a finger against the sharp point, she watched as a tiny bead of blood welled up from her flesh.
Her penetrating gaze pierced his soul as she stared into him. In an achingly slow motion, Kat licked the blood from the tiny puncture with one long, sensual sweep of her tongue. The effect the simple act had on Luca was electrifying. His mind raced, and he wondered what that tongue would feel like on his hot skin. Just the thought increased his body temperature until he thought he would burst. The rush of blood to his swollen cock left him dizzy and light-headed.
With the flick of her wrist, Kat threw the dagger at the dining-room table. It protruded from one of the wooden legs, her aim undeniably perfect. She reached for Luca again, and this time he didn’t so much as flinch.
“I am a woman with a burning desire to know what it feels like to be beneath you while you claim my body. And you are a man who is answering the call of that desire with your very own. Nothing else matters in this moment. There are no vampires or humans here; there is only us.”
Try as he might, Luca was unable to reply. She was right. He could feel it too. This wasn’t about anything outside of every passionate moment and the one after that. And though his common sense called him a fool for believing so, he felt they could enjoy one another without the chains that bound them getting in the way.
He plunged his hands into that amazing red hair like he’d wanted so badly to do. It was softer than he’d imagined. Kissing her with total abandon, Luca gave himself over to the carnal instinct that guided him. Knowing that on some level they shouldn’t have been so eager to give in to their attraction only made Luca want her more.
Kat threw her arms around his neck, holding him to her with a tender embrace that exposed her inner longing. The softest sigh escaped her when he began to kiss a slow, moist trail down her neck. As Luca kissed and licked his way to the soft hollow at the base of her throat, he couldn’t help but grind his groin against her.
Her fingers played in the hair at his nape as she pressed her warm mound to him. Luca groaned, sliding his hand down through her hair to rest on her firm ass. Holding her tightly to him, he bit gently at her creamy white skin. Torn between wanting to take it slow and needing to be buried deep inside her, he kissed his way down to her ample cleavage.
If Luca’s hands were the last to ever touch her like this, that would have been just fine. She doubted she’d ever respond to the touch of another the way she responded to his. The warmth of his skin, the beat of his heart brought Kat to life in ways she only felt when caught up in the momentary glow of the kill.
She’d known undoubtedly that he wouldn’t turn down her invitation. She could smell the desire for her all over him. Now there was no turning back. Her body craved the powerful union, and she knew a man like Luca would be more than a pleasing partner. Something told her he would take her the way she needed to be taken. To the edge of the abyss of pleasure and beyond. Her anticipation was running high; her excitement barely contained.
Arching her back, Kat reveled in the sensations that swept her as his mouth eagerly licked and sucked at her flesh. She could have melted into a puddle on the dining-room floor when his hands found her sensitive nipples through the thin fabric of her dress.
A shudder caused her to tremble in his hands. Luca deftly slipped the straps of the dress down her shoulders, causing the bodice to fall to her waist. She shimmied so the entire thing slipped from her body and pooled on the floor at her feet. The red velvet bra and G-string she wore had Luca ogling her like a teenage boy getting his first eyeful.
“God, you’re gorgeous,” he murmured. His wide-eyed appreciation made her laugh. Kat loved the effect she was having on him. The sound of his heart thundering fed her excitement. It was difficult to draw out the moment when she ached to ravage him.
When Luca hesitated, she clasped his hands in her own. Bringing them to her breasts, she whispered, “Touch me. And don’t stop.”
Luca didn’t need to be told twice. His lips lifted in a slight smirk, and he gave a low, sexy growl. His touch grew aggressive, causing the tingle in her loins to grow into a demanding throb. As Luca skillfully unhooked her bra, Kat practically purred with giddy glee. After tossing the garment aside, he filled his hands with her bare breasts before lowering his face to hungrily suck a taut nipple into his mouth.
Kat’s breathy moan was the only sound. The warm wetness of his tongue as it swirled around her nipple caused her stomach to tighten. A flood of moisture gathered between her legs, readying her for him. Hell, she’d been ready since she’d watched him stake Jerome. This man was a hunter, a warrior. A killer in his own right, just as surely as she was.
His hair was silky soft as she held him to her. The masculine scent that rolled off him tantalized her blood-hungry nature. The desire for his blood was as great as that for his body. However, Kat had no true intention to follow through with satisfying the hunger for his blood. She meant what she’d said. This was about a man and woman discovering in one another that which they’d both been without for so long. Everything else could fall away.
Danger heightened every earth-shattering sensation. Kat was no idiot. She knew how wrong this was on so many levels. Yet she was so far beyond caring. Arden would exhaust himself with the endless ways he’d find to torture them if he ever found out. The envy would eat him alive. But she knew what she felt, and the love-starved woman within her was getting what she wanted from this man regardless of the risks involved.
Luca lavished careful attention on her breast, then moved to pay tribute to her other nipple as well. He tugged on it gently with his teeth. A hint of pain had Kat collapsing in his arms with a moan. Her head thrown back and her knees weak, she was delighted when he swept her off her feet.
“Point the way.”
She gestured to the hall beyond the dining room. “Last door on the left.”
Being in his strong arms made Kat feel feminine in ways a designer dress and killer heels never could. She had always been the predator, hunting down satisfaction. Now it had made her the prey. And she welcomed the feeling of being the wanted one.
When Luca laid her in the center of her perfectly made bed, she prepared to kick off her four-inch stilettos. He stopped her with a hand and a look so chock-full of sex that it left her tongue-tied.
“Leave them on.”
The anxious hesitation Luca had been exhibiting had since vanished. In its place was the confidence and dominance of a man acting on raw lust. It pleased her almost as much as his request. His sudden take-charge attitude was a welcome surprise. Used to being the aggressor, Kat loved that he could match her in that regard. It was a heady delight. So Luca knew what he liked. She was eager to discover what else rocked this man’s world.
Sitting up with the eagerness of a kid on Christmas morning, Kat flicked on the bedside lamp and watched him disrobe hastily. It was as if he couldn’t stand to be clothed another moment. Her eyes widened with intrigue. Every piece of flesh he revealed was reminiscent of a Greek god’s. He could have just stepped out of a mythology text. Kat hadn’t known men could be formed as if they were works of art. This man certainly was.
The smooth curves of perfectly formed muscles were enhanced by his creamy brown skin. Lean and sculpted as if from the finest marbl
e, Luca’s hard body thrummed with health and vitality. His bare chest was hairless and smooth. A faint smattering of dark hair began below his navel and disappeared into the blue jeans he tugged down over his hips. He wore nothing underneath, and Kat was unable to contain herself.
She felt like an absolute animal when she eyed his magnificent erection. Hungrily, she licked her lips and reached for him. He stepped up beside the bed, looking down at her with fire in his eyes. All she wanted was to touch him. Slipping a hand around the base of his shaft, Kat applied just enough pressure to coax a sigh from him as she stroked him with a slow, sensual rhythm.
The scent of Luca’s arousal toyed with Kat’s senses. The blood that rushed beneath the surface of his flesh was heavenly, and she couldn’t recall having ever encountered any mortal who smelled so sweet. Every tight stroke of her hand up and down his cock brought a groan from his lips and a smile to her face.
Luca visibly tensed when she lowered her mouth to him. A small growl low in her throat brought his hands to her head. He ran his fingers through her hair and down her arms. Raising her arms up over her head, he tightened his hold on her wrists and forced her back down on the bed.
Kat was momentarily disappointed, and a question flashed through her mind. Was Luca wary of allowing her fangs too close to such an intimate region? She told herself it was nothing to take personally. He wouldn’t be standing gloriously nude before her if he had no trust in her at all. Luca buried his face in the warm cleft between her legs, and all thoughts were swept from her mind.
He released her wrists and sought her full breasts. Deeply inhaling her musky scent, he met her gaze for one long, mind-blowing moment before tasting her. Kat threw her head back, gripping the blanket beneath her, her body tense with anticipation. Luca’s lips caressed her flesh with the softest of kisses before his tongue darted out to taste her. His delicate touch sent immense pleasure spiraling from her core, filling her entire body.
Kat plunged a hand into his hair and held his head tightly against her as he worshipped her. The flurry of sensations threatened to overwhelm her as the pleasure grew. The orgasmic waves built, climbing quickly to that crucial peak.
“Please,” she gasped, biting her lower lip. “I need to feel you inside me.”
Another long and achingly slow lick from top to bottom and back up again had her fighting the urge to squirm. “Why so impatient, pretty one?”
She could hear the smile in his voice. Luca was driving her wild, and he damn well knew it.
When was the last time she’d been pleasured like this? Men had certainly pleased her in the past, but none of them had had the expert touch and hungry need for her that Luca did. It had her glowing. A small growl spilled from her lips as her patience wore thin. She wanted him buried inside her now.
Her response was a series of moans, each one echoing the intensity of the building sensations that flooded her. She came hard, crying out in a manner that would instill jealousy in her female neighbors. Kat didn’t have to tell him again.
Crawling between her legs, Luca rose up over her and placed his hands on either side of her head. He stared at her with such power behind his eyes. Even as it entranced her, it also created a sense of discomfort. No one had ever looked at her like that, with raw emotion. It was frightfully exciting.
He never looked away from her face as he pressed himself to her slick opening. Bringing his lips to hers, he kissed her deeply. Kat quaked in anticipation.
He thrust into her, sliding deep in one smooth motion. And then he stopped suddenly. She felt it too. A crackle of electric power, a force bigger than the both of them. The touch of Luca Alexander had reached her very soul. And it was too late to turn back now.
Whatever Luca saw reflected in her emerald eyes had him stunned, but the moment passed before she could be sure it had ever happened. He withdrew from her body, only to thrust deep once again. Throwing her arms around his neck, she nibbled at his lower lip. Lifting her hips to meet him, Kat experienced a growing awareness there was more going on here than either of them had intended.
Holding Luca as he moved with the sensual grace of a skilled lover left her feeling like she’d been living in the dark and had just now seen the light. How could it be she’d gone on for so long and never known she was missing something so powerful?
The urge to sink her fangs into the pulsing vein in his neck was maddening. She wouldn’t do it. Not to Luca. Not without an invitation. The realization she cared for the man making passionate love to her was astounding, horrifying in its brutal truth. She shoved the thought out of her mind, preferring to go with the flow. She could analyze it later.
Instead of sinking her deadly teeth into that vein, she ran her tongue over it. Luca’s heart was beating fast, and his breath came in pants and moans. He quickened his pace, plunging into her with enough force to border on painful, and she hungrily welcomed the mix of sensations. The power behind his thrusts revealed to her that he needed this just as much as she did. It was fascinating, new, and intoxicating.
Wrapping her legs around his lower back gave him a better angle. Grinding their groins together, Luca breathed heavily in her ear. Her name came out a breathy whisper laced with undeniable human need. Was she imagining she’d heard that in his voice?
An overwhelming heat swept throughout her entire body. Every moment brought her closer to climax. Kat needed to feel him inside her when she came. Their union was magical in its fierce strength.
Running her hands down his back, she gripped him with sharp nails that quickly drew blood on his perfect skin. The small of his back was slick with sweat. Kat inhaled the heady masculine scent, reveling in the lively aroma of his lust. He began to move faster, pounding into her with an animal-like aggression. The sheer joy of the intensity brought a smile to her lips.
Every wave of orgasmic bliss intensified with each delicious stroke until Kat was riding the sensations right over the edge. All at once, a flurry of feelings, both physical and mental, slammed into her. They were too much. She cried out, opening herself up to Luca as much as possible. She couldn’t get enough of him.
Her muscles convulsed, gripping his shaft tightly. Luca exploded within her. It fed the waves that rocked her body, and she clung to him as if she’d never let go. Luca kissed her with a tenderness that set off warning alarms inside her head. The lines between physical response and emotional were beginning to blur.
From his intoxicating scent to the way he felt nestled between her thighs, Luca was all Kat had been longing for—and more. And because of that, she was filled with terror. Love didn’t fit into her world. Love with a vampire hunter? Now that was just asking for trouble.
Chapter Eight
The streetlight beyond the window shone into Luca’s eyes with perfect precision. He sat up in his bed, squinting against the artificial glow. Try as he might, a sound sleep was not going to happen. Not if he continued to have such awful dreams about Kat. It had been three nights since they’d slept together, and he could not get the redheaded temptress off his mind.
Since he’d left her bed at the crack of dawn that morning, Luca had been unable to focus on much else for long before his thoughts turned back to her. Every time he attempted sleep, his dreams became nightmares in which he watched his own hand drive a stake deep into Kat’s heart. It was always just when she burst into dust that he awoke, panting and gasping for breath.
He’d had no contact with her since their little rendezvous. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she was avoiding him, her personal vengeance for Arden sidelined by what she felt was a mistake she never should have made. Still, he had no way of knowing if that was truly what she thought or felt. If only she would make it clear. If only he weren’t too much of a coward to go to her. Despite their night together, Luca feared her rejection.
She knew how to contact him, and he’d felt it best to leave that in her hands. Luca didn’t know what she wanted from him beyond a partner to assist in Arden’s demise. There had been a str
ange look in her eyes when he’d left her, something that told him she was as confused as he was. Neither of them had anticipated the connection formed between them that night. But he’d felt it, and he knew she did too.
“Fuck!” Luca swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his eyes. This was no way to be spending his time. Lying in bed dreaming endlessly about a woman who had likely used him for a cheap thrill but he couldn’t convince himself that was true, despite how desperate he was to believe it.
After slipping into a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt, he went to the kitchen, where he stared at the empty coffeepot. No, that wasn’t what he wanted. Only one thing would help him wipe away the thoughts that lurked at the forefront of his mind. The neighborhood pub was a few blocks away. And there was a bottle of scotch there with his name on it.
Fifteen minutes and three shots later, Luca was starting to feel all right. Shaking his head, he had to laugh at himself. Of all the women in his past, he’d fallen for a vampiress. The very thought had him rolling his eyes and slamming back another shot. The liquor burned its way down his throat, and he savored it.
Having spent two days refusing to believe what he felt for Kat wasn’t emotionally driven, he’d given up and accepted that whatever it was, it was wrong, but it was real. He wasn’t foolish enough to call it love. What did he know about love anyway?
“Four more shots,” he told the bartender and pulled a few folded bills from his wallet.
“Why don’t you let me get that for you?” a voice from behind him asked. A chill crept up Luca’s spine. Without turning around, he knew who it was.
Uninvited, Arden slid onto the empty stool next to him. He slapped a hundred-dollar bill down on the bar before Luca could pay. Luca remained calm, despite the strength it took to do so. The vampire certainly had a lot of nerve.
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