Vampire for Christmas (12 page)

Taut
muscles toned to perfection greeted her eyes as he supported his
weight on his hands. She smiled and her gaze followed her fingers
as they wandered over his body, taking all of him in. She had
imagined him naked once or twice, or maybe a dozen times and more,
but the fantasy didn’t compare with the reality. He was gorgeous.
She eased her hands down further and unfastened his belt. Her
hungry gaze dropped to his groin. Every inch of him was
gorgeous.

He
shuddered when she ran her hand down the cool length of his
erection. His lips parted to reveal the tips of his canines. He had
changed again. If he opened his eyes, they would be icy but not
cold. They were never cold when he looked at her.

She
stroked his cock, teasing him, loving the way he trembled and
moaned whenever her fingertips caressed his balls or swept across
the sensitive head, his breathing turning heavy. He lowered his
head, so it hung forwards, and his cool breath washed over her left
breast.

Shannon
gasped when he dipped his head, swirled his tongue around her
nipple, and then sucked it into his mouth. She curved into him and
curled her fingers around his length. He moaned against her breast
when she pumped him and he thrust through the ring of her fingers.
The strength of his thrusts thrilled her and she quaked as she
imagined how it would feel to have him do that inside her. She
wanted it.

Rafe
caressed her side and then her stomach. Her breathing hitched with
anticipation as he circled her belly button, still suckling her
nipple, and she wriggled her hips, hoping to encourage him to go
where she needed him most. He thrust his cock into her hand again,
slid his fingers over her warm folds and then dipped them inside,
teasing her aroused clit. She tipped her head back into the rug and
moaned her approval at the fire. The flickering golden flames
blurred as she focused on the smooth slide of Rafe’s cock through
her fingers and the determined tempo of his fingertips over her
clit.

When he
slid a lone finger down to the opening of her core and slipped it
inside, she bit her lip and struggled not to climax. She didn’t
want to come yet. She wanted to wait, wanted this to go on forever,
and for her climax to be with Rafe inside her. She wriggled at the
thought and rode Rafe’s finger as he plunged it into her warm wet
core, driving her out of her mind.

“
Rafe,” she whispered, urgent and hungry, desperate to get him
to take this further.

He pulled
away from her breast and kissed across to her other one, lavishing
it with licks and swirls of his tongue. She lost her grip on his
cock and held on to his head instead, keeping him against her
breast. He slowed his fingers inside her to a stop and then kissed
up to her mouth. She devoured his the moment he reached her, so
hungry that she didn’t care if he laughed at her desperation. Their
teeth clashed and she realised he had retracted his canines
again.

Every
inch of her hummed as he slid his finger free of her body, eased
her knees apart, and moved between them, kneeling there. He pulled
his bathrobe off and tossed it onto the floor.

Shannon’s
gaze greedily drank in the sight of him naked and hard before her.
He was beautiful, every muscle toned and pronounced, speaking of
strength that she had witnessed firsthand during their missions and
now wanted to feel him use on her. Her gaze roamed down his body,
following the lines of his abdomen to his navel. From there, it
tracked the dark line of hair that led downwards. Her groin
throbbed and her stomach ached at the sight of his rigid cock among
the black curls. She held her hands out to him, trying to make him
come to her. He smiled, handsome and wicked, his sensual mouth
bowing in a way that stirred the heat inside her back into an
inferno. She pleaded him with her eyes and he leaned over her,
nestling his cock against her warm mound. She wrapped her arms
around his neck as he settled his at her sides, resting on his
elbows. He thrust against her, his erection rubbing her clit, and
she moaned. It wasn’t enough.

She ran
her fingers down over his chest and stomach, and then turned her
hand when she reached his navel and took hold of his hard cock. He
shifted back and she raised her hips, guiding him to her. He closed
his eyes as he eased inside, inch by delicious inch, stretching her
body with his. She kept her eyes fixed on his face, waiting for him
to come out again, and smiled when his hips met hers and he looked
into her eyes.

Shannon
stroked his shoulder, his neck, and then his cheek, holding his
gaze and letting him see that this was what she wanted. She had
wanted it for so long now but she had denied her feelings even
though she had known they were real. She loved him, and it didn’t
matter that he was a vampire. He was Rafe to her—a beautiful man
with a beautiful heart who had risked his life to protect her, who
had shown her real love and had helped her heal.

His lips
captured hers and he kissed her softly and slowly as he thrust his
body into hers. It felt like more than just a joining of their
bodies as they moved against each other. It felt like a joining of
their hearts too, a union that sent hazy bliss coursing through her
and made her feel as though she was floating. She moaned into his
mouth, echoing his groans, and lost herself in the emotions filling
every part of her. Warmth chased over her skin, shivers and tingles
that followed the ebb and flow of Rafe. She had never felt this way
before, not in all the times she had been with a man. It was
different with Rafe. It ran deeper, a feeling of connection
flooding her until she was no longer sure what part of this moment
was purely her. Was it the same for him? His soft moans against her
lips, the tender tangling of his tongue with hers and his tight
grip on her shoulders, said that he was there with her, lost in the
depth of their feelings and this moment. They were in this
together. There was no going back now.

Rafe’s
mouth left hers and she tilted her head to one side as he kissed
her jaw, murmuring sweet things that made her smile. The warmth of
the fire and the heat of their slow lovemaking washed over her,
turning her damp skin tacky. His chest stuck to hers as he thrust
into her, deep and possessive, his hands clasping her shoulders. He
kissed her jaw and down her neck, and she wasn’t afraid that he was
touching her there. She trusted him. She wanted him to be there, to
do as she had offered.

Her eyes
rolled closed when he sucked her neck. Pleasure rippled outwards
from the point where his mouth was on her and she held his shoulder
and the back of his head, burying her fingers into his hair and
keeping him against her throat.

“
I want you,” Rafe murmured softly against her skin, his
thrusts slowing, long strokes that made her quiver and took her
higher until she was floating again.

Shannon
knew what he was asking and moaned her response. In this moment,
there was no fear of the consequences. She trusted him with all of
her heart, with all of her. She tilted her chin up to show him that
he could bite her if he wanted to. He kissed her throat again and
she felt his hesitation. She moved her hips against his, tearing a
husky groan from his throat, and swept the hand on his shoulder
down to his backside. She pressed against it each time he thrust
into her, trying to speed him up, and he took the hint. His cock
plunged into her, faster now, and she moaned each time their hips
met.

He kissed
her throat again. “Want you.”

“
Want you too.”

It seemed
to be all the encouragement he needed. The moment the last word
left her lips, he gently sank his fangs into her throat. She
flinched with the sting of pain that radiated outwards, fighting
the momentary spark of fear that raced through her, and then forced
herself to relax as he removed his fangs and started to drink from
her. Intense heat emanated from the puncture marks, throbbing
through her each time he sucked, and it combined with the inferno
coiling in her stomach. Her body tightened and she moaned,
thrusting against him, seeking the climax that felt just out of
reach.

Rafe sunk
his fangs back into her throat and she cried out her orgasm. A hot
wave of lava rushed through her blood and her thighs tingled. Her
body convulsed around him and Rafe shuddered to a halt inside her,
his cock pulsing with his release.

He moaned
and collapsed against her, still suckling on her throat, his
fingers still tightly gripping her shoulders. Shannon sighed out
her breath and caressed his shoulders. Each pull he made her on
blood felt like an echo of her orgasm, sending another sheet of
fire flashing through her body. She mourned the loss of his mouth
against her when he pulled back and licked her neck.

She
smiled when he propped himself up on his elbows and she swept her
thumb across his lower lip to clear the blood off it. Rafe looked
away and rubbed his hand over his mouth. There was shame in his
eyes. The sight of blood on his lips didn’t disgust her. Neither
had the feel of his fangs in her throat. She had enjoyed it and she
wanted to feel it again.

Shannon
placed her hand against his cheek and brought his eyes back to
hers. She caressed his cheek and the strong line of his jaw, her
fingers light against him, and smiled into his eyes. His answering
smile was hesitant and short lived. She ran her fingers into his
hair, around the nape of his neck, and lured him back down for a
kiss. She kept it slow and soft, a sweep of lips alone that teased
her senses and tickled. Rafe leaned down again and slanted his
head, his mouth covering hers with more force. He growled and then
broke away and wrapped her in his arms, rolling onto his back so
quickly that she felt disorientated. She blinked and looked down at
him, her hands pressing into his firm chest.

He cocked
his head to one side, smiled, and carefully brushed strands of her
hair from her eyes, tucking it back behind her ear.

“
You’re beautiful,” he breathed the words in a voice laden with
sensuality and affection, and she blushed over them and the amount
of tenderness in his dark brown eyes. They sparkled at her, warm
and smiling as surely as his dusky lips were. “What happens
now?”

His
expression flickered to one of concern but he didn’t stop smiling.
She sighed down at him. How many times had she masked her true
feelings with a smile? She was doing it now, and so was he. They
were both afraid of the next step and what was going to happen in
the New Year, and it was a relief to know that he felt the same as
she did.

“
I’ll talk to the agency,” she whispered and pressed kisses to
his chest, pouring her love over him. She worked her way up to his
neck and gently bit. He groaned and shivered beneath her. She bit
again, eliciting another deep rumbling moan from him, and then
kissed along his jaw. She teased his earlobe with the tip of her
tongue. “I’m not leaving you.”

He placed
his hands in the small of her back and kissed her cheek. “What if
they refuse?”

A chill
shot through her. What if that did happen? She didn’t think it
would. The agency were normally quite accommodating when she asked
them for things, such as parting her from Rafe, although they had
been reluctant to do it. Relief chased the cold inside her away
when she remembered that they had been against parting them. They
would probably be glad to hear that she had changed her
mind.

“
They won’t.” Shannon felt sure of that. She smiled down at him
and stroked his cheek. He was so handsome. It was hard to believe
that she had wanted to leave him, to run away rather than face her
feelings. She didn’t want to imagine how miserable she would have
been if she hadn’t found the courage to embrace her emotions and
let herself go, and accept him in her heart and her home. He was
here now, in her arms, just where she wanted him to be, and she
wasn’t about to let him leave. “They think we’re great
together.”

Rafe
grinned, cocky and devilish. “I think we are great together
too.”

He pulled
her down for another kiss. She kept it short and broke away again,
unable to ignore the guilt twisting her stomach. “It was my idea...
to leave... I didn’t want to deal.”

His smile
didn’t fade. In fact, he looked as though he had known that all
along. He swept his fingers over her cheek and down to her neck.
His fingertips lingered against her throat and the marks there
ached. They didn’t feel as though they were bleeding. He must have
sealed them with his saliva, helping them heal. She leaned on her
other arm, careful not to press too much of her weight down on him,
and found his fingers with hers. He shifted them and took hold of
her hand, guiding her to the twin wounds on her neck. The holes
were shallow, barely noticeable beneath her fingertips. He had been
gentle with her, just as she had known he would be, and it had felt
amazing. Her gaze met his and there was deep affection in his
smile, love that shone in his dark eyes, laced with gratitude. She
blushed and lowered her hand back to his chest, stroking patterns
on it.

Rafe
frowned, his expression turning distant. She was about to ask him
what the matter was when he spoke.

“
It is midnight.”

It was
Christmas Day. On the very edge of her hearing, church bells were
ringing. Shannon looked over her shoulder at the tree. The coloured
lights and decorations twinkled, and the warmth of the sight
brought a smile to her face. She turned back to Rafe and kissed him
again. He pushed her back this time.