Part 25 (1/2)

”G.o.d, you are so soft,” he said, caressing her, trailing his fingers down her side and abdomen, to the delicate flare of her hip. He pressed a kiss to her lips. ”So sweet.”

His hand traveled lower, between her thighs, coaxing her legs apart for his questing touch.

”So wet,” he murmured, plumbing her mouth with his tongue as his finger delved past her panties, into the slick folds of her cleft.

He penetrated her, just a tease at first, then deeper. She clutched at him, arching up as two more fingers entered her body, caressing the plush sheath that gripped him so fiercely. He broke their kiss and removed the lace that covered her s.e.x. Then he inched down the length of her, pus.h.i.+ng her legs apart and sinking down between them.

”So beautiful,” he rasped, mesmerized by the flushed perfection of her. He pressed his face against her, opening her to him with his fingers, tonguing her c.l.i.t and the wet crevices that surrounded it. He brought her to a swift climax, relis.h.i.+ng the hard tremors that rolled over her as she curled her fingers into his shoulders and cried out in release.

”G.o.d, you wreck me, woman. I can never get enough of you.”

He was so fevered to be inside of her, he hardly heard her little gasp as he came back up to cover her with his body. He registered the sudden stillness of her, but it was her voice that made him freeze above her. ”Lucan... your eyes... ”

Instinctively, he turned his face away from her. Too late. He knew that she had glimpsed the hungered glow of his transformed gaze. It was the same feral look she had seen in him last night-or, rather, close enough that her human eyes would have difficulty telling the difference between blood hunger and the heated intensity of desire.

”Please,” she said gently. ”Let me see you... .”

Reluctantly, bracing himself over her on his fists, he brought his eyes back to hers. He saw the flicker of alarm but she didn 't flinch from him. She looked closely, studying him.

”I won't harm you,” he said, his voice raspy and thick. He let her see his fangs as he spoke, unable to conceal any of his body's reaction to her now. ”This is need, Gabrielle. Desire. You do this to me. Sometimes just thinking about you-” He broke off, cursing low under his breath. ”I don't want to frighten you, but I can't stop the change. Not when I want you so d.a.m.ned much.”

”And all the other times we've been together?” she whispered, frowning. ”You've hidden this from me? You always s.h.i.+elded your face, kept your eyes averted, when we made love before?”

”I didn't want to scare you. I didn't want you to see what I was.” He scoffed. ”You've seen everything anyway.”

She slowly shook her head, her hands coming up to hold his face still. She looked at him deeply, taking in every part of him. Her eyes were moist, glittering, incredibly bright. Tender with affection, and all of it pouring out for him. ”You are beautiful to me, Lucan. I will always want to see you. There's nothing you ever need to hide from me.”

Her earnest declaration moved him. She held his wild gaze as she stroked his rigid jaw, her fingers tracing down to play across his parted lips. His fangs ached, elongating further as she explored his face with her tender touch.

As if to prove something to him-or maybe, to herself-she slipped her finger past his lips, into his mouth. Lucan groaned deep in his throat, a harsh, wordless snarl. His tongue pressed hungrily against her fingertip, his teeth grazing her skin with tender restraint as he closed his lips and sucked her deeper into his mouth.

He watched Gabrielle swallow hard. He smelled adrenaline jetting through her, mixing with the scent of her desire.

She was so d.a.m.ned beautiful, so soft and giving, so courageous in everything she did, he couldn't help but feel awed by her.

”I trust you,” she told him, her dusky eyes darkening with pa.s.sion as she slowly withdrew her finger from between his sharp teeth. ”And I want you. Every part of you.”

It was more than he could take.

With an animal grunt of l.u.s.t, he came down on her, positioning his pelvis between her thighs and spreading them wide with his knees. Her s.e.x was slick and hot against the head of his c.o.c.k, a welcome he couldn't resist. With a deep thrust, he impaled her, sliding as deep as he could go. She took every last inch of him, her tight channel gripping him like a fist, bathing him in wondrous, wet heat. Lucan hissed sharply as the walls of her s.e.x shuddered with his first slow withdrawal. He filled her again, hooking her knees over his arms so he could get even closer, delve ever deeper.

”Yes,” she coaxed him, moving with him in a tempo that was becoming anything but gentle. ”G.o.d, Lucan. Yes.”

He knew his face was harsh with the force of his l.u.s.t; he had likely never looked more beastly than at that moment, when his blood was running molten, summoning the part of him that was the curse of his father's brutal lineage. He f.u.c.ked her hard, trying to ignore the thrumming, rising need within him that called for something more than this immense pleasure.

His focus latched on to Gabrielle's throat, where a strong vein pulsed beneath her delicate skin. His mouth watered feverishly, even as the pressure built in the base of his spine, signaling his coming release.

”Don't stop,” she said without the slightest tremor in her voice. G.o.d help her, but she actually pulled him closer to her, holding his feral gaze as her warm fingers stroked his cheek. ”Take as much of me as you need. Just... Oh, G.o.d... don't stop.”

Lucan's nostrils filled with the erotic scent of her, and the faintly copper tanginess of the blood that was coloring her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and flus.h.i.+ng the pale skin of her neck and face. He roared in agony, fighting to deny himself-deny them both-the ecstasy that could be had only through a vampire's kiss.

Wrenching his eyes away from her throat, Lucan drove into her body with renewed vigor, bringing her, and then himself, to a shattering climax.

But his release only abated one part of his need.

The other, deeper one remained, worsening with each strong pulse of Gabrielle's heart.

”d.a.m.n it.” He rolled away from her on the bed, his voice raw and fevered.

”What's wrong?” Gabrielle put her hand on his shoulder.

She moved closer to him, and he felt the plush warmth of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s crus.h.i.+ng against his spine. Her pulse hammered audibly, vibrating through flesh and bone until it was all that he could hear. All that he knew.

”Lucan? Are you all right?”

”G.o.dd.a.m.n it,” he growled, shrugging from under her light grasp on his shoulder. He threw his legs over the edge of the bed and sat up, putting his head in his hands. His fingers trembled as he shoved them through his hair. Behind him, Gabrielle was silent; he turned and met her questioning gaze. ”You haven't done anything wrong. You feel too right, and I have to... I can't get enough of you right now.”

”It's okay.”

”No. I shouldn't be with you like this, when I need... ” You, his body answered. ”Holy Christ, this is just no good.”

He turned away again, about to get up off the bed.

”Lucan, if you're hungry... if you need blood... ”

From behind him, she moved closer. Put her arm over his shoulder, her wrist hovering just under his chin.

”Jesus, don't offer it to me.” Reflexively, he recoiled from her, like he would from poison. He got up, threw on his pants. Started pacing. ”I'm not going to drink from you, Gabrielle.”

”Why not?” She sounded hurt, rightfully confused. ”You obviously need it. And I'm the only human around at the moment, so I guess you're stuck with me.”

”That's not it.” He shook his head, eyes squeezed closed to force the feral part of him to heel. ”I can't do it. I won't bind you to me.”

”What are you talking about? It's okay to screw me, but the thought of taking my blood turns your stomach?” She gave a sharp laugh. ”My G.o.d. I can't believe I actually feel insulted over that.”

”This isn't going to work,” he said, furious at himself for digging them into a deeper hole because of his own lack of control around her. ”This isn't going to come out right. I should have set things straight between us from the start.”

”If you have something to tell me, I wish you would. I know you have a problem, Lucan. Pretty hard to miss it, after seeing you last night.” ”That's not it.” He cursed. ”It's part of it. I don't want to hurt you. And by taking your blood, I will. Sooner or later, if you are bound to me in blood, I will hurt you.”

”Bound to you,” she said slowly. ”How?”

”You bear the mark of a Breedmate, Gabrielle.” He gestured toward her left shoulder. ”It's there, just below your ear.”

She frowned, her hand drifting up to the precise place where the diminutive teardrop and crescent moon rested on her skin.

”This? It's a birthmark. I've had it ever since I can remember.”

”Every Breedmate has borne the same mark somewhere on her body. Savannah and the other females have it. My own mother as well. You all do.”