The Vampire's Kiss (11 page)

Impossibly, she felt her body struggling for another release. The tension within her wound tighter. Tighter.

His teeth plunged into her neck. Burning pleasure ripped through her. He thrust into her one more time and spilled himself into her, his body shuddering.

The cord of tension snapped. Her body convulsed in a climax so intense she sobbed. Lights flashed before her eyes and then faded to darkness.

Complete darkness.

HER NECK FELT SORE.

Savannah frowned, feeling the pain dimly. Why was her neck sore? What had—

Her eyelids snapped open.

William was frowning down at her. His hair had come free of its tie, and the dark mass hung loosely around his bare shoulders. He looked fierce. Dangerous. But then again, he always looked dangerous. There was no hiding the true nature of the beast.

She tried to sit up, but he put his hands on her shoulders, holding her easily in place. “Don’t move.” There was a trace of gruffness in his tone. “Your body’s weak.”

She nodded. Her limbs felt heavy and a deep lethargy filled her.

“It’s from the blood loss.” His assessing gaze traveled over her. “I took too much from you. I should have used more care—” His jaw clenched, and the scar on his cheek seemed to whiten even more. He looked up, gazing into the flames. “There’s no excuse. I’m sorry, Savannah.”

There was such sadness in his words. She didn’t want William to be sad. He’d had enough pain in his life. “I wanted you to do it. You know that.” She’d wanted him to do everything. Wanted him to claim her body. To take her blood.

“I should have had more control.” His hands clenched around her shoulders. She flinched at the painful grip, and his hold immediately eased.

“I didn’t have much control, either.” Her lips curved in a wan smile.

He searched her face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you?” She swallowed, trying to ease the dryness in her throat. “Tell you what?”

“That you’d never been with a man. That it was your first time.” The words fell heavily into the quiet room.

She took a deep breath and pushed herself into a sitting position. His hands fell away from her shoulders. “You didn’t ask,” she muttered, feeling a flush stain her cheeks. So she’d never had sex before. Big deal. Why was he making such an issue over it?

“You should have told me,” he murmured, his gaze falling to rest on the gentle rise of her breasts. “Things would have been different. I could have made it better for you—”

It got better? Savannah didn’t know if she could survive a “better.”

“William, I didn’t want anything different. I just wanted you.” And that was the truth. She hadn’t cared about their bargain. She’d only thought of him. And of the need that he stirred within her.

His hand reached out and he began to caress her breast. “Why did you wait? Why didn’t you find some nice human and have sex long ago?”

Her nipple tightened. Just a touch and already her body was burning again. She took a deep breath, trying to focus on his words. “Why did I wait?” She laughed softly, a light, bitter laugh. “At first, I was too sick to care. After all, when you’re dying, making love is very low on your list of priorities. I was in and out of the hospitals. Sick from the therapy, the surgery, the medicine. I didn’t have the energy to waste on a relationship.”

She thought about the way it felt when William claimed her. Thought about the pleasure. The need. Yes, it was true that she hadn’t cared enough about making love to experiment. But if she’d known what she was missing . . .

His hand cupped her breast and Savannah bit back a sharp moan.

Oh, if she’d known . . .

But then again, making love with someone else wouldn’t have been the same. There was no one else like William. No one.

Already, her body was heating, her muscles clenching, as a new hunger swept over her.

“You’re so responsive.” His eyes began to smolder. He stared down at her, his features tense. His hand slid down her stomach, to the cradle of her thighs. “I want you again,” he said, his voice guttural. “I need to feel you, wrapped around me, squeezing me—” His fingers slipped inside her.

Savannah gasped at the mix of pleasure and pain that ripped through her.

William froze. “Savannah?”

She licked her lips. “I-I’m a little sore.” But she had a feeling that he could make her forget all about the pain.

He swore, the words eloquent and harsh. His fingers slowly withdrew from her, easing out of her passageway. “Of course, you are. I’m sorry. I—” His jaw clenched. “I don’t seem to have control around you.”

Her heart pounded at his heated expression. She realized she didn’t want him to have control. She wanted him to need her, to want her, desperately. No one had ever wanted her like that before. No one.

He locked one of his arms around her shoulders and slid his other arm under the curve of her knees. He lifted her easily, cradling her against his chest. He stared down at her, his gaze intent. “I’ll take care of you, Savannah.”

She gently traced the line of his scar. A scar his brother had given him on a bloody battlefield. “And I’ll take care of you.”

He blinked, as if startled.

Savannah smiled and rested her head against his broad shoulder. William didn’t realize it, but she knew that he needed her. Just as much as she needed him.

He walked through the house, carrying her easily. His arms were tight around her, secure. And she felt so safe in his arms. Being there, being with him, felt right.

In moments, he was standing on the back deck. Savannah glanced around curiously. A huge wooden deck extended along the entire length of the house. A large hot tub sat in the middle of the deck. The night sky shone down on them, the glitter of a thousand stars lighting the area. Savannah shivered, feeling the cool touch of the air upon her skin.

William eased Savannah to her feet, and his arm braced her against him. He bent down, quickly turning on the tub. A stream of bubbles erupted.

“This will help you. It’ll ease the soreness.”

The steam from the water began to rise, drifting like a ghost in the night. The soft sound of the bubbling water relaxed her. William helped her into the tub, and she sighed at the feel of the water. She sat down slowly, letting the warmth of the water envelope her.

William moved in beside her, his gaze watchful.

She leaned back, resting her head against the edge of the tub. The water felt good against her skin. But not as good as William.

“Better?” His hand rested on her thigh.

Savannah nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

He moved closer to her, his muscled leg sliding against her. His arm slipped behind her neck, cushioning her head.

He sat with her for an endless time, seemingly content to just stare into the night. Savannah didn’t speak. The moment seemed strangely special. The two of them, sitting in the quiet of the night. There was no death here. No monster waiting to attack. Just them.

She heard the distant cry of an owl, a sad, mournful cry. William shifted against her, pulling her closer to his body.

He was so strong. His body was full of thick, steely muscles that had been hidden behind his clothes. Now, naked, he looked like the warrior he’d been so long ago. The warrior that he still was.

She looked at him carefully, studying him from under the veil of her lashes. What had his life been like? What all had he seen and done in his thousand years?

She had done little in her life. She’d only just graduated from high school when the first tumor had been discovered. After that, her life had been a blur of hospitals and surgeries. She’d wanted to go to college. To study art in Europe. But she’d never had the chance.

“I can feel you, Savannah. Your sadness.” His voice rumbled against her. “What troubles you?”

“How can you tell—” She stopped as realization dawned. Of course, he knew. He’d given her the second bite. They were linked now. The second bite gave a vampire enormous power over his victim. According to the legend, he would be able to read her thoughts now. If he wanted, he could completely access her mind, no matter how far away she was from him.

She would never be able to escape him now.

“No,” he said softly. “You won’t.” His arms tightened around her.

“I don’t like you being in my mind,” she told him, her gaze fixed on the bubbling water. She didn’t want him, or anyone, to know all of her emotions, all of her thoughts.

“Why not?” There was a hard edge to his words. “You’ve been in mine for days.”

Her head snapped up, and she stared at him, stunned. “Wh-what do you mean?”

His stare was locked on her, fierce with intensity. “From the first moment that I saw you, you’ve been all that I could think about. Waking. Sleeping. You’ve been there. In my mind. Driving me crazy.”

She swallowed.

“I thought about you all the time. About the things that I wanted to do to you.” His stare burned her. “I wanted you, naked, beneath me. Holding me so tight that I couldn’t tell where you ended and I began.”

Need ripped through her. She’d thought she was too tired to respond anymore. But with just a few words, he had desire stirring within her again.

“You want me, too, don’t you?” William murmured, lifting his hand to caress her breast beneath the churning water. “I can feel your desire.” And it was true. He could feel it. Her passion. Her need. It inflamed him. He wanted her. Now. Wanted to feel her body clenching around his. Wanted to hear her moaning his name. Her desire was a temptation he couldn’t resist. His head lowered. “I want to taste it. Taste you.”

His lips captured hers. She met him eagerly, her moist lips parting instantly for the thrust of his tongue. His body was rock hard, throbbing for her. He had to have her again. He had to.

His hands cupped her breasts. Perfect breasts. They fit into his hands like they were made for him. She moaned, and he drank the sound eagerly from her lips.

He parted her thighs, pushing his hips between them. The broad tip of his penis pushed against her opening, eager to return to the paradise of her body.

His right hand slid between their bodies. He found her core, teased her, pushed lightly against her button of desire. Her legs strained against him.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. And she was. He’d never seen anyone so perfect. Her eyes were bright, flashing with desire. Her cheeks flushed a light pink. Her lips were parted and moist, just waiting for his kiss. The starlight shone down on her, lighting her delicate skin with a gentle glow. She was so beautiful that he ached just looking at her.

Her nails dug into his back. Her hips pushed against him. The bloodlust rose within him. The beast, hungry for her, roared its need. Just a taste. Just one more taste . . .

His head lowered to her throat. He licked her. Once, twice. She was so sweet. So damn sweet. And he just needed a taste.

His incisors burned. He could feel them stretching. All it would take would be one bite. Just one bite. And she would be his forever.

He scraped her neck, opening his mouth wider. He caught her delicate skin with the edge of his teeth.

“William,” she whispered, her voice soft, full of need.

He froze. The beast within him howled. The man struggled for control.

She wasn’t strong enough. Her body wouldn’t survive the third bite. Not now. He’d taken too much from her earlier. The blood loss had made her too weak.

His body shook with the effort of maintaining control. He couldn’t do it. Not now. He couldn’t drink from her. If he did, he would kill her.

His head lifted slowly, painfully, away from her neck. He stared down at her, taking deep, gulping breaths. He had to stay in control. He couldn’t risk hurting her.

She lifted her hands, curving them around his shoulders and then sliding them down his chest. Her fingers brushed against his chest hair, rubbing against his nipples. Her scent wrapped around him, stirring his need, and her hips pressed against him, pushing the tip of his penis inside of her tight opening just a little more.

He shuddered. “So damn good,” he whispered, his voice a savage growl. He lifted her smooth, soft legs and wrapped them around his waist.

He couldn’t wait any longer. He thrust, deep and strong, into her welcoming warmth. They both gasped.

She was so tight. He could feel her body squeezing him, gently milking him. He moved slowly at first, trying to give her body a chance to grow accustomed to the feel of him. But then she moved, pushing her hips up against his. And he was lost.

He pulled back and then thrust deep. Again and again. His jaw clenched. Sweat beaded his brow. Deeper. He had to get deeper.

“Come on, Savannah. Come for me. Give me more. Give me—”
Everything
, he finished silently. He wanted everything that she had to give.

He felt her clench around him, heard her choked scream and felt the ripples of her release.

Her climax sent him over the edge. He thrust deep one more time and erupted. Pleasure slammed through him. His entire body shook in blissful release. He felt consumed by her, by the pleasure that ripped through him.

When the tide finally ended, his head dropped to her shoulder. His body shook slightly. His breathing was ragged. His heart pounded.

The water bubbled around them.

He kissed her smooth skin.

For the first time in over nine hundred years, he felt at peace. And it was because of her.

She lifted her hand, brushing it lightly through his wet hair.

He moved, shifting his body up. He captured her hand within his. His vision was strong. Even in the starlight, he could see the two red lines that marred her palm. He pulled her hand toward his mouth, licking the lines with gentle care.