Then he waited.
Her heart thundered in her ears. Manic butterflies winged through her stomach. Anticipation tapped imaginary fingers down her back.
The man didn’t move.
Apprehension replaced anticipation. She tried to shove him away.
They remained in place.
He easily, effortlessly, kept her immobile. His head lowered until his breath heated her ear. “Am I making myself clear?”
She shivered and stifled a groan. “Like I said, you talk too much.” Her voice came out husky.
Dangerous teeth enclosed her earlobe.
Her knees went weak while her panties soaked.
He sucked, releasing her earlobe to run his mouth along her exposed jugular, those deadly fangs a mere hint against her skin. “I’ve wanted you to wear my mark since the first time I saw you in that bar.” The dark timbre of his voice vibrated against her neck and shot spirals of desire straight to her sex.
Was it possible to orgasm just from a voice?
Her blood pumped in rhythm with his breathing, with the heavy metal music winding around them. “Kane.”
“You were so sexy, winding through tables, your hair wild and that low-cut blouse showing perfect breasts.” He ran his lips up the other side of her neck, taking time to nip her other earlobe into a throbbing bit of need. “I couldn’t decide whether to grab you right there, or cover you up so nobody could see you but me.”
Her mouth opened, but no sound emerged.
He lifted his head, his features unyielding. “I don’t share, Amber.”
She took the statement for the warning it was. “Neither do I.”
A low growl, much more animal than man, rumbled up from his chest.
She started, reminded once again that the man wasn’t human. “Ah, Kane—”
“Too late. I gave you the chance to run. Now you’re mine.”
His lips took hers. Hard, relentless, determined. He dove deep, taking, whatever beast slumbering inside him suddenly unleashed.
She could taste the difference.
His tongue swept in a claiming. Nipping her bottom lip, he lifted his head to study her.
Her lips tingled. In fact, her entire body throbbed. “I’m not running.” Even if her brain insisted she escape, her body wasn’t going anywhere. Need had her trembling in his arms, fighting the very real urge to rip off his clothes. Shifting her shoulders enough to get her hands between them, she tugged on his zipper.
He kicked out of his pants, unsnapping her jeans. “These are in the way.”
She paused, blinking, shoving them and her socks to the floor.
His gaze swept her from head to toe, and an appreciative smile curved his lips. “Now the panties.”
The vampire sure liked to give orders. With a challenge in her smile, she slid both thumbs into the straps and scooted the skimpy material down her legs, shimmying her hips as they went, making sure to take her time.
His low growl made her smile widen. Oh yeah. He may be issuing orders, but they’d see just who kept in control. She had him, and she knew it.
She nodded at his shirt. “Now you.”
A wicked smile curved his lips as he yanked off his shirt. Both hands went to her waist, and he lifted her against him. “Wrap your legs around me.”
Instinct already had her doing so before he spoke. Maybe she’d taken on too much with the pissed-off vampire. “Are you still angry?”
“No.” Tugging her head back, he nipped the underside of her jaw.
He turned so the fire warmed her bare backside. “I am going to mark you tonight, Amber,” he rumbled against her collarbone.
“I know,” she sighed, gyrating against him.
“Now is your chance to choose where.” His hand swept down her back, the raised marking feeling hotter than the fireplace, hinting at a danger she was about to meet. Then that heated flesh cupped her ass.
“Um, the small of my back,” she whispered. For years she’d meant to get a tattoo there anyway. The Kayrs marking would be perfect.
“Excellent,” he murmured, pressing his palm to the base of her tailbone.
She stilled. “Are you tattooing me now?”
“No.” His hand ventured lower to cup her other buttock. “I need to be inside you to mark you.”
The low words sent fire right to her core. “Then we should get to it.”
“You know me better than that.” His mouth dropped to flick a nipple.
Her breath caught. The man did like to take his time. “Do that again.”
“Gladly.” He flicked again and then engulfed her nipple in so much heat her eyes fluttered closed. Her hips gyrated against him of their own accord.
He chuckled low, sending fire from her breast to her sex. Even so, she tried to keep a grip on reality as she opened her eyes. “You’ll have to twist your hand so the marking isn’t crooked.” Last thing she wanted was a half-assed tattoo.
“That won’t be a problem.” He kissed his way up her neck to peer into her eyes. “I plan to be behind you.”
Before she could respond, his mouth was on hers. Heat exploded between them like a gas fire. He held her still as he took her mouth, no games, no playfulness, no teasing.
Just pure, raw passion. Honest and true.
Dangerous as hell.
This was the first time she’d initiated sex with him, the fact giving her a sense of power. Feminine power. Even if she lived forever, she’d never forget the taste of him—rich, spicy, and male. He smelled like cedar and felt like steel. Pivoting, he set her on the sofa table, leaning her back just far enough she had to wrap both arms around his neck to stay balanced. His hands cupped her face, thumbs tracing her cheekbones gently, even as his mouth continued to destroy her.
The gentleness of his fingers compared to the fierceness of his kiss shot her entire body into a mode of hunger she’d never felt. She craved the vampire. The desire was so intense the feeling went beyond pain to necessity.
His hips rocked against her, his erection pulsing. He wanted in her . . . now. Even more, she wanted him inside her, stretching her, pulsing her into that orgasm that seemed so close.
Releasing her mouth, he ducked down, his shoulders hitting her abdomen.
The world tilted, and she found herself upside down over his broad shoulder. “Hey,” she yelped.
The smack to her ass flared need to life in her entire body.
He chuckled low. “If this is going to happen, we’re doing it right. In bed.”
Air kissed along her bare skin as he deserted the warm fireplace, stalking through a hallway to the dimly lit bedroom. Her mind spun as he flipped her over to place gently on the bed.
The world narrowed to the two of them. She couldn’t look away from the amazing specimen of a male standing buck-assed naked at the end of the bed. Vampires were truly a spectacular race.
One of his knees pressed into the mattress, his head dropping to plant kisses along her abdomen, tracing her hip bones, his hands opening her thighs.
She let go of all insecurity and fear, opening for him. This was a moment, one of a kind, and she was taking it.
His tongue ran through her slit. The sensation spiraled through her, and she gave a strangled cry, arching into his mouth.
Inflexible hands clamped down on her hips, holding her in place.
Oh God.
He shoved two fingers inside her while his mouth went to work. A spiraling started deep inside her and she shoved the sensation back, not ready. Not nearly ready to break.
Chuckling against her mound, his fingers started to play. “Stubborn little demon destroyer, aren’t you?”
Hell yes. A smart retort sprang to her brain, but her mouth would only emit a tiny gasp of need. Then he found that hidden bundle of nerves inside her, and her mouth snapped shut.