Midnight (6 page)

“No. I’m fine, really. It’s just stress. I never cry.”

He believed that. What had happened in her life that made
her need to hide her emotions? “Can I get you a glass of water or something?”

“No. Just leave the clothes and go. I’ll get dressed in a
little while.” She rolled to her side, facing the wall instead of him.

He shook his head as he walked across the carpet and climbed
into bed with her. He pulled her against him and held her while she cried, the
sensations alien to him. Never in his life had he given a woman comfort.
Pleasure, of course, in copious amounts. He’d been known to cause a little pain
in his time, also, when the situation warranted, but comfort was something new.

Even when he was married, he hadn’t been there for his wife.
That was the reason she’d given him when she’d told him she’d been with another
man. It still hurt to this day to remember her confession, but being here with
Amara lessened it inexplicably. She felt
right
in his arms, like she’d
been made to rest against him this way. That was ridiculous, considering she
was almost four hundred years younger than he was.

Amara stiffened at first, but soon relaxed against him. Her
breathing slowed, but she didn’t fall asleep. He found himself slowing his
breathing to match hers. His palm skimmed over the smooth skin of her stomach
and he nuzzled his face in her freshly-washed hair. This actually felt kind of
nice. He could get used to this.

Yeah, he could definitely get used to having Amara in his
bed. Now that she was relaxed, something other than comfort came to mind. The
burning need started low in his abdomen and it was all he could do to ease her
into the idea slowly. It was hard to do anything slowly while she was lying
naked in his arms. He pushed her hair off her neck and gently stroked the flesh
of her throat with his tongue.

That was a mistake. The second he touched her there, his
senses went wild. His control snapped, his fangs elongated fully, and his cock
hardened impossibly. He sucked in a harsh breath, fighting for a vestige of
control, but it was gone. There was nothing he could do about it now. It no
longer mattered that she didn’t belong to him. In a few moments she would, even
if it was just temporary.

He kissed the side of her neck, watching carefully for any
signs of protest. When none came, he took her earlobe into his mouth, sucking
gently as he scraped his fangs over her skin. She made a soft, whimpering sound
that only increased his arousal.

He rested his hand on her hip, drawing her rump back against
him. She had to feel his erection pushing against her. He tightened his grip on
her hip as his thrust his pelvis against her.

She reached back and grabbed his wrist. He expected her to
pull his hand away from her, but she didn’t. She held on to him, keeping him
there. “Your hands are so warm.”

“Did you expect them to be any different?”

She paused. “Well, yeah. I did.”

He eased his hand along her hip bone, down her stomach. When
he caressed her lower abdomen, she tightened her grip on his wrist. “Stop.”

He lowered his mouth back to her ear, licking the tender
flesh just beneath it. “Do you want me to stop?”

Her soft moan told him he’d found a very sensitive spot on
her body. “No, just…wait.”

He held his hand still, but continued to caress the flesh
under her ear with the tip of his tongue. After a little while she tilted her
head to give him better access. This time when he lowered his hand further down
her soft skin, she didn’t protest. He skimmed his fingers over her curls before
cupping her mound in his hand.

“I need to taste you, Amara.”

She stiffened in his arms. “I don’t think that would be a
good idea.”

It sounded like a terrific idea to him. “Are you afraid?”

She made a little sound of disbelief. “Well, yeah. It’s not
every day that when a man says he wants to taste you he means to literally take
a bite.”

He let his fangs graze her neck, not breaking the skin, just
enough to make her shiver. “It’ll be good. I can bring you a lot of pleasure
that way.”

“Who says I want you to bring me pleasure at all?” She said
the words, but her tone told him she was lying.

“Don’t you?”

She breathed deeply. “I…I guess I do. I’m still shaky. I don’t
know what I want.”

In this state, hovering between fatigue and arousal, she’d
be very easy to sway. He wasn’t proud of the fact that he was willing to try,
but he wanted her badly. If she truly wanted him to stop, he would, but he’d
have to hear the words. His slipped his fingers past her folds, stroking her
clit gently. His touch was soft, designed to make her crazy with lust but not
give her what she needed for relief. It worked. Soon her hand, still gripping
his wrist, was trying to push him harder against her. He pulled his hand away
completely, and she sighed.

He removed her hand from his wrist, pulling it back and
settling it on his thigh. He nudged a knee between her legs, raising her top
leg higher as he slid his hand between her legs again.

He clamped his mouth onto her neck, suckling the skin hard
while he slipped a finger into her wet cunt. He stroked in and out of her
rhythmically, thumbing her clit at the same time. He brought her right to the
edge of orgasm before he pulled his hand away again.

“Why did you stop?”

“You need something from me. I need something from you, too.”

She shook her head. “No. I don’t want you to hurt me.”

He smiled against her skin. “There won’t be any pain. I
promise you that.” His teeth grazed her flesh, nipping enough to just barely
break the skin. She cried out and he brought his hand to her breast, his
fingers circling her nipple. She squirmed against him as he warred with the
primitive instincts taking control of his body. He wanted to ravish her, but
something stopped him. She needed him to take it slowly, and he would do that
for her as long as he could.

Never in his life had he fought so hard for control of
himself. It didn’t take much to push him over the edge. A tiny drop of blood
formed at the wound he’d inflicted, and it made him wild. Rolling her nipple
between his thumb and fingers, he sank his fangs fully into the delicate skin
of her neck.

She let out a breath that ended with a moan. “
Oh, God
.”

He echoed her sentiments. She would never know what he was feeling.
Every sensation she felt, he felt tenfold. And he was still completely dressed.

The taste of her blood in his mouth was enough to do him in.
He felt her pulse beating under his lips and her body thrum with energy against
his. She was close to coming; it wouldn’t take much to send her over the edge.

He stroked her labial lips, spreading her folds. She arched
against him when he slid his finger back into her dripping cunt. She was so
hot, so wet, that he couldn’t wait to have her. Tonight he would. There was no
doubt about that in his mind now. She was pliant, willing in his arms. He could
do with her as he pleased.

His cock hardened way past the point of pain. After he
finished feeding, he was going to have to get inside her. There was no choice.
It simply had to be done, or he wouldn’t get any sleep again. Ever.

She tasted better than any woman he’d sampled. His body
heaved and he suckled her hard. He couldn’t get enough of her, in any way. The
woman was pure fire under his touch, and when he was this close he ignited,
too.

She writhed against him as he slid a finger into her cunt.
One stroke of his finger and she came. Her bucking against him was nearly his
undoing. The only thing that stopped him from potentially hurting her was the
fact that, despite the strength she’d shown, she seemed so fragile next to him.
That, and the very scary realization Amara Daniels could very well be his mate.

With one last sip of her blood, he pulled away from her and
rolled to his back. In over four hundred years, both as a mortal and a vampire,
he hadn’t found the one woman he was destined to be with. He’d thought he had,
twice, but both times were mistakes. He’d given up hope so many years ago he
couldn’t remember exactly when.

Amara was human. Not just a human, but a skeptical human.
That was the worst kind. She couldn’t possibly be the woman for him. He would
just have to ignore the fact that something about their being together felt
right. He was loathe to call it destiny, since destiny wouldn’t dictate he
kidnap a woman to get her attention.

“That was…wow.” Her voice was breathless as she rolled over
and rested her head on his chest. He could feel her body still trembling from
his assault. “But what about you?”

“I’m fine.” That was possibly the biggest lie of his life.
If she so much as touched him, he would explode. He couldn’t risk hurting her.
In fact, first thing in the morning he was going to return her to where she
belonged.

Far away from him.

Her hand skimmed over his chest and down to the waistband of
his pants. He reached for her hands, but she shooed him away. “What do you
want, Marco?”

“I think I should leave you alone so you can get some sleep.”
If she touched him, he would
have
to fuck her. There was no debating the
matter. If he fucked her, he would have to take more of her blood. He wouldn’t
be able to resist. But he wouldn’t hurt her either. He’d taken a lot, and he
didn’t know how much more he could take before it affected her.

He tried to sit up, but she pushed him back down. “Lay still
for a second, will you?”

“Amara, stop. This isn’t a good idea. You’re going to need
your rest after what I took from you.”

She brought her hand to her throat and touched the fading
marks from his fangs. She swallowed hard, but she smiled. “You didn’t hurt me.
Not too much.”

“I told you I wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, well with you I never know what to believe.”

The rasp of his zipper caught his attention. He looked down
as she started to slide his pants off his legs.

“Get undressed, would you? I don’t want to wait much longer.
“

He would have laughed if he hadn’t been so turned on. She’d
managed to distract him enough to start undressing him without his notice. That
was a first for him.

Before he could think about the consequences, he stripped
off the remainder of his clothes. Amara’s skin was flushed with desire, and he
could see from her eyes she plainly wanted him. He was a little confused.
Usually the human women just fell asleep. He couldn’t believe she wanted to be
satisfied again already.

Or that she’d thought about him as well as herself.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” He asked. “I don’t
want any regrets later.”

She nodded. “I want this. You have no idea how much I want
this. Now shut up for a minute, okay?”

Who was he to argue with that?

She grasped his cock in her palm and her touch was like fire
shooting through him. She was so warm everywhere. He let her stroke him for a
minute or two, until he couldn’t stand it anymore. Then he gently removed her
hand and rolled her onto her back. He would take her gently the first time.
And
it would probably kill him.
Anything beyond that…well he couldn’t be held
responsible for his actions.

He paused for a brief moment and caught her gaze. “I have to
know one thing before we take this any further. Are you protected?”

“If by protected you mean birth control, then yes. I get a
shot every three months.” She frowned, scrunching up her nose. “Is that your
concern?”

“Yes. I don’t need to worry about diseases. My immune system
is too strong to be affected by them or to carry them. But pregnancy is another
matter altogether.”

“A vampire can still procreate?”

She really had a lot to learn. “Yes. It’s difficult with a
human, but definitely not unheard of.”

“Well, I’m all set so there’s nothing to worry about.” Her
voice was barely above a whisper, but it held a husky quality.

He moved between her legs and positioned the head of his
engorged cock at the entrance of her cunt. He paused, watching her carefully
for a last-minute objection. When he found none, he slid his cock all the way
into her. She moaned softly, rolling her head back against the pillow.

For a long moment, he couldn’t move. She felt so hot and
tight, so
right
, that he wanted to savor the sensation. She looked up at
him through half-lidded eyes, her expression filled with desire and tenderness.

He didn’t want her tenderness. He didn’t deserve it, not
after what he’d done to her. But he’d take it, and anything else she had to
offer him tonight. He couldn’t possess her like he wanted to, but at least they’d
have a little while before she left him to go back to her real life.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept with a woman
he actually cared about. It had been hundreds of years since he’d allowed
himself to care in that way. Amara could change all that, if he’d let her. He
didn’t plan on it.

Her moans of protest finally goaded him to move. With each
stroke, staying in control of his primal side, the part of him that was more
animal than human, got more and more difficult. He wanted to ravish her in
every possible way, mark her so that she would know she was his forever.

But he would
not
hurt her. The more he repeated that,
the harder it got to stick to it. And if she kept digging her nails into his
back like that, he was going to do something they’d both regret. He suckled her
breasts, laving her puckered nipples until she whimpered.

“More,” she cried when he pulled his mouth away.

He trailed his tongue along her collarbone, up her throat,
across her jaw. She tasted like soft, clean woman, a mix of sensual and
innocent—a flavor that left him reeling. He nipped her neck gently in several
places, earning another few scratches along his back.