Part 21 (1/2)

”Give them to me.” He took the boxes from the now also gaping bellhop, then hesitated. ”I don't have a tip. Chris, do you have a tip?”

”What?” The editor stared at him blankly.

”A tip for the man,” Lucern repeated irritably. He gestured to his nakedness. ”I don't have anything. I'll pay you back later.”

”Oh.” Chris patted his boxers where pockets would have been on slacks. He scowled. ”No, of course I don't-”

”That's okay. You can just catch me later,” the bellhop said quickly. Looking uneasy, he held out a pen and a clipboard with a slip of paper. ”Just sign this so they can be charged to your room, and I'll be off.”

Chris quickly signed the slip and handed the pen and clipboard back. ”Er, thanks.”

”You're welcome, sir. You two have fun now.” The bellhop winked, then pulled the door closed.

Chris whipped around to face Lucern, horror dawning on his face. ”He thinks we-that you and I-he...” He was almost incoherent with horror.

Lucern was too impatient to get back to Kate to calm him down. He took the vampire shortcut and slipped into the editor's mind. Go to bed, Chris. This was all a dream. You're sleeping.

The man calmed at once. He started to walk toward his door, muttering, ”Oh, yes. I'm sleeping.”

Lucern watched Chris's bedroom door close, then hurried back to his own room. He nearly ran Kate down. She had re-donned her robe and was apparently coming to find him.

”Oh,” she gasped and took a step back at his sudden appearance. ”I thought I heard a knock at the door and voices.”

”Yes. Hotel delivery,” Lucern said. Noting the way her eyes widened as Kate took in the boxes he held, and afraid she would be put off by the number of condoms, he added, ”I wasn't sure what kind to get, so I ordered all of them.”

”I see.” Her face turned pink, but she managed a smile. ”Well, that's... er, that shows forethought... or something.”

Lucern sighed inwardly. This condom business could really put a crimp in the act of lovemaking.

Displeased with the discomfort now between himself and Kate, he set the boxes on the dresser, pushed the door closed and pulled her into his arms. He wanted her warm and wet and aching for him again. He hadn't gone to all this trouble to have the moment ruined. He kissed her with a deliberate pa.s.sion meant to stoke the embers of the fire he'd built earlier, but when Kate didn't immediately melt against him, it occurred to him once more that it was a shame her mind was locked to him. It would have been so much easier to simply communicate his desire to her and infuse her with it. Instead, he had to do this the hard way.

Urging her around to lean against the dresser, he broke their kiss to lean back and untie the sash of her terrycloth robe. He froze as the cloth gaped open.

d.a.m.n, she took his breath away. He raised his hands to capture her b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

Kate released a shuddering sigh as he caressed her, and Lucern realized there might be something to be said for the hard way. He wanted to hear more of those sighs. He wanted moans and groans, and for her to say his name in that s.e.xy pleading voice. He wanted to sink inside her and drive her wild with pleasure. And he didn't want to waste time moving to the bed.

Releasing her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, Lucern pushed the boxes of condoms out of the way, caught Kate under the arms and lifted her to sit on the dresser. Pus.h.i.+ng the robe off her shoulders, he let it fall to the hard wooden surface, then stepped between her legs. He wanted her on fire again. He wanted her mindless, all his. Catching her by the back of the neck, he drew her forward for another kiss. His other hand played over her body. Using fingers and mouth, he planned to trace every line of her body, neglecting not an inch. He wanted to fondle, nibble, caress and devour.

Kate had a few demands of her own, however. He felt her hand encircle and slide along his length, and he nearly came undone. He managed to contain himself, but his kiss became almost savage. His hand immediately slid between them to find the heart of her.

Kate gasped and nearly leapt off the dresser. Lucern's touch was a shock to her still sensitive skin. She moaned and scooted closer, her legs closing around his hips, her hands moving over his body. He was hard and strong and a pleasure to touch, and he was driving her mad. He had already pushed her over the edge once earlier and she was aching for the experience again. But this time she wanted him inside her.

Lucern moaned and shuddered when she found his hardness and caught it in hand. Kate smiled against his mouth, pleased at this proof that she could affect him, too; then she felt blindly about until she caught one of the boxes on the dresser. Somehow she got it open one-handed and retrieved a condom. She had no idea what kind it was and couldn't have cared less. She just wanted him inside her. Now.

Lucern heard a vague crinkling sound, then tearing. He was about to break the kiss to glance around when he felt something press against the tip of him and begin to slide over his length. Now he did break the kiss to look. Much to his amazement, Kate was sliding a condom onto him.

”Kate,” he got out through gritted teeth. ”I-”

”I want you,” she breathed, finis.h.i.+ng her work. Catching him by the behind, she drew him closer to her. ”Now.”

That was all she had to say. Lucern had thought it would take a bit more work to get her back to this point, but her cheeks were flushed with color and her body was straining. She wanted him. Without further ado, he caught her under the knees, slid her forward on the dresser and pressed his mouth to hers. He plunged into her. Then he had to stop at once. The feel of her closing warm and wet around him was like nothing he had ever experienced. He was enveloped in her scent and feel, was almost one with her in body and soul. Almost.

Acting instinctively, he slid his mouth from hers and down to her neck, and he partially withdrew. Kate murmured with pleasure, her lower body wiggling against him. Her head tipped back to allow his caress. Lucern felt his teeth protract and plunged them into her neck as he thrust back into her body. It was a purely animal action, like a dominant male cat catching a female by the neck, as he drove into her. Kate C. Leever was his, and he was marking her as such.

Kate cried out and strained against Lucern as her mind was suffused with pleasure. It was a sudden rush, an overwhelming wave as his mind merged with hers, gifting her with what he was experiencing. Her pleasure-almost unbearable before-was suddenly doubled, and for a moment she was sure her heart couldn't take it. Then her body shuddered and contracted, her legs clenching around his, her nails unintentionally raking the length of his back, and lights exploded behind her tightly closed eyes.

She felt Lucern's hands slip under her bottom and pull her tighter to him, and she moaned. The movement made another wave of pleasure course through her. The waves were battering her, riding one atop the other as she experienced both his pleasure and her own. She clutched her hands in his hair, held on for dear life as the overdose of excitement made her woozy. She was afraid to open her eyes, afraid the room would be spinning as wildly as her mind.

Mere mortal lovers would seem tame after this experience, she realized sadly. Lucern had ruined her for all others, and she very much feared it was like a drug. All Kate could think was that she wanted more. Her heart was hammering, her body writhing, and she wanted more. She wanted to drown in it. She was drowning in it, she realized as she began to lose consciousness. Yet still she wanted more.

Lucern felt Kate sag against him as his pleasure overcame him. He cradled her against his chest as his body shuddered, then waited another moment for his strength to return. Pulling her back enough to peer into her face, he saw that she had fainted.

He wasn't terribly surprised. It had nothing to do with his bite. While he had sunk his teeth into her, his body was presently sated and he had not drunk. This faint was purely a result of what they had just experienced. It had happened in the past on those few occasions when he had poured all of his pleasure into the mind of his lover, and none of those times in the past had been as explosive as this one. He would have been more surprised had she not fainted.

Smiling, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, then again rested her against his chest. He had to regain his strength; the experience had hit him pretty hard, too. Lucern had never felt quite so weak yet satisfied in his life, and this woman in his arms was the reason. He rubbed her back with one hand, sifting the fingers of his other through her hair. Finally, once he felt able again, he caught her under her bottom and lifted her from the dresser. He carried her like that to the bed, her legs and arms sagging but their bodies still joined. Yet by the time they reached the bed, he had once more grown hard within her. He was relieved when she murmured and opened her eyes. He knelt on the bed with her, then laid them both down.

”Luc?”

”Yes.” He brushed the hair off her forehead and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose.

”That was...”

”Yes,” he agreed solemnly. s.h.i.+fting, he moved to one elbow to take some of his weight off of her. Kate's eyes went wide as she felt him move inside her; then she appeared disappointed.

Lucern didn't understand why until she said, ”You didn't-”

”Yes, I did,” he interrupted, unwilling to let her think for even a moment that she hadn't pleased him. ”But you're intoxicating, and I want you again.” He withdrew a little and slid back in as he spoke.

Kate's eyelids drooped to half-mast, leaving her looking sleepy and s.e.xy and with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

”Oh, well, I do try to keep my writers happy, Luc,” she said.

Then, before he could comment on her comment, she caught his head and drew him down for a kiss. She arched against him, pulling him into her body.

”Luc's out of books,” Chris said.

”What? Already?” Kate turned away from the male cover model she had been talking to. The man was one of the most popular models around, his name and face selling books as much as any author's name. He was considering getting into the writing end as well, to make more money on his name and face. Unfortunately, from the sample chapters he had sent her several weeks ago, it was obvious he couldn't write worth a d.a.m.n. Kate had been trying to convince him to use a ghost writer for the last two hours. Now she gave up on him and frowned at Chris.

They were at the Book Fair. There was no hospitality suite today; the book-signing was scheduled for ten a.m. to two p.m., and every single author in attendance was there signing books and talking to readers.

Kate and Lucern had arrived at 10:01. They had been a minute late, but would have been even later if Chris hadn't hara.s.sed them into hurrying by pounding on both their doors at 9:30 and shrieking, ”Get up, get up! We have to go.”