Bite Me if You Can (33 page)

“Oh,” she breathed shakily, then gasped as he bent his head to tongue her nipple through the sheer material of the nightie. “I—”

“Leigh,” Lucian murmured around what he was doing.

“Yes?” she asked vaguely.

He lifted his head and opened his mouth to speak, then paused, his eyes sliding over her before he breathed, “You’re beautiful.”

“Thank you,” she said softly, then noticed the frown that touched the edges of his mouth.

“But pale.”

“Pale?”

“Hmmm. You need blood. I don’t want you biting me. At least, not for the wrong reason.” Suddenly he was off the bed and striding to the stairs.

Leigh sat up and stared after him with amazement, then sighed and slowly slid off the bed as he bent to collect the tray he’d dropped. Most of what he’d been bringing had stayed on the tray, she saw as she approached. Still, there were a couple of bits of glass and spots of water on the floor.

“Watch your feet,” he ordered gruffly as he straightened with the tray. He peered down at the floor, suddenly stepped up to her and bent to catch her around the hips with one arm, then straightened.

“Hey!” she cried as she fell forward over his shoulder.

“I don’t want you to cut your feet,” he explained, but she could hear the amusement in his voice, felt his breath on her hip as he spoke, and knew he was looking at her behind. Then she felt his hand slide over one butt cheek.

“Lucian!” she squawked, pushing against his back.

“Don’t squirm, you’ll make me drop the tray,” he said, and Leigh definitely heard laughter in his voice. His hand was now taking great liberty with her vulnerable position; sliding, squeezing, caressing...

She bit her lip and tried not to squirm under his touch as he started toward the stairs.

“There’s no glass here, you can set me down,” she pointed out as soon as Lucian started down the stairs.

“Too dangerous here. Better wait till I get to the ground floor,” he said lightly, pinching one cheek.

Leigh growled and pinched his butt in retribution as she watched the stairs slide by beneath her.

Lucian didn’t set her down until they reached the kitchen, then placed the tray on the table first before setting her down on the counter.

“Stay,” he ordered, and turned away to the refrigerator.

“Yes, master,” Leigh muttered, scowling at his back.

Lucian chuckled. “I like the sound of that. Master. It has a nice ring.”

“Hmmm.” Leigh grimaced. “If I thought you really meant that, I’d kick you in the butt.”

“You could try,” he allowed, turning back from the refrigerator with two bags of blood. He popped one to her teeth as she opened her mouth to respond to his challenge. He then popped the other to his own mouth, his eyes traveling over her in the indecent nightie as his teeth drained the bag. Neither of them could speak, but he didn’t have to speak for her to know what he was thinking as his gaze shifted over her body. The man’s eyes were going white silver, swirling with the molten color she was beginning to recognize. His eyes were hungry.

Uncomfortable sitting up there on display, Leigh pushed him back and slid off the counter. Lucian tried to catch her with his free hand, but she managed to evade his grasping hand and slid from the kitchen area, to move to the glass wall. Lucian followed, as she’d expected he would, stopping so close behind her she felt his heat along her back as she stared out at the lake.

When his hand slid around her waist, Leigh leaned back into him, then blinked in surprise as she saw their reflection in the window. She took in the picture of herself with him at her back, then raised her eyes to his to find them staring back. She drew her eyes from his and glanced at their bodies as his hand slid up toward her breast. She watched the reflection with fascination as his hand closed around the soft mound. She saw her body arch, pushing her breast invitingly into the caress before she even realized she was doing it.

When his other hand suddenly appeared in front of her face, she blinked at it with confusion, then glanced up to their reflected faces to see that his blood bag was gone and her own—while still in her mouth—was empty. Leigh took the bag out of her mouth and let him take it, glancing to the side as he tossed it on the coffee table next to his own.

She started to turn toward him then, but his hand tightened on her breast, the other going to her shoulder to hold her in place and keep her facing their image in the glass.

Stilling, she watched as he brushed the hair away from her neck and bent to press a kiss there as his hand loosened on her breast and continued to caress her.

Leigh had never thought of herself as an exhibitionist, but there was something erotic about seeing Lucian’s taller, wider body framing hers from behind. There was also something exciting about watching his hands and mouth move on her as he bent his head to her neck. She swallowed hard, her bottom pressing back against him as her back arched, pressing her breast into his hand.

Lucian raised his head and met her gaze in the mirror for the briefest moment, then shifted to watch himself as he pulled one strap of the naughty little nightgown off her shoulder. The triangle of gossamer cloth covering her breast dropped away, and even in their faded ghostlike image, she could see how hard and erect her nipple was, revealed to the cool air.

She expected Lucian to touch her bare skin, to toy with the nipple now revealed, as he was doing to the cloth-covered breast, but he didn’t. Instead, his hand drifted down her stomach, then pressed the fine net of the nightie between her legs as he cupped her.

Leigh groaned, her eyes trying to droop closed, but she forced them open, watching with fascination as her body responded, writhing and pushing and shifting as it came alive to his touch. Her legs shifted farther apart of their own accord, giving him better access and allowing him to push the cloth to the very heart of her, and she gasped and bucked against the caress. Then Lucian pinched the nipple of her still cloth-covered breast, and her eyes shot up to watch what he was doing there. It was only then that she realized she was panting. She could see her chest rising and falling quickly in the window, see her arms reaching back as she grabbed at him with her hands, both of them only able to reach the side seams of his black jeans. They were tight and there was no give in the material, but she still managed to dig her fingers in, forming handholds for herself, which she tugged at as he continued his caressing ministrations.

Exciting as it was, it was frustrating, too. Leigh wanted to kiss him, wanted to touch him, wanted... After an unbearable moment, she released one hand from his jeans and raised it to catch him behind the head. She pulled it down, then turned her head, offering her lips to him, silently begging for a kiss.

Lucian complied, his mouth closing over hers, but they were at an awkward angle. She wanted more. She wanted a proper kiss and tried to turn again, but was even more trapped by his caresses.

When Leigh dug her nails into the back of his skull in frustration, Lucian abruptly shifted, taking her in his arms and kissing her as she wanted to be kissed, his tongue thrusting into her mouth and staking its claim.

Leigh moaned, her body singing as he cupped her behind and lifted her, pressing her against him. She could feel the hardness of him grinding against her tender flesh, and wanted to wrap her legs around his hips and rub herself against him.

Even as she had that thought, Lucian tipped her back, his mouth pulling from hers and dropping to claim the little roseate pearl jutting out from her exposed breast. Leigh cried out, her hands clutching at his head and shoulders with excitement, then he turned his mouth to the other breast and did the same thing, this time through the cloth, and she blinked her eyes open in surprise at the sensation. Were he to ask her then which she preferred, she would have been hard-pressed to know. But then, at that moment she would have been hard-pressed to know her name.

Feeling the floor beneath her feet again, Leigh blinked her eyes open with surprise, immediately finding their reflection in the glass. Lucian had dropped to his knees, setting her back on the floor as he went. His wide back was a marble sculpture in the glass, half hiding her body, then he dropped to his haunches and her upper body was fully exposed. Leigh lowered her head, then stiffened and gasped as he lifted the short skirt of her nightie and pressed a kiss to the curls there.

When Lucian caught her upper legs in each hand and opened her up to his attentions like a book, she cried out and started to fall, but there wasn’t far to go. While he’d held her off the ground, he’d backed her up to the couch. She sagged against it as his head dipped between her legs.

Leigh’s mind went on hiatus. All ability to think died. All she was aware of was need. The need he was creating... and that seemed to swamp her... and then other needs that clamored to be heard. Her hands were fisted, nails digging into tender flesh, needing something to touch and hold onto. But there was only his head, and she was afraid she’d pull his hair hard and dig her claws into his scalp and hurt him, so refused herself that contact. Her lips wanted attention, too, wanting to open under his. If she’d had a pillow, she would have bitten it, but there was nothing near enough to bite.

Her frustrations built with her excitement as his mouth and tongue moved over her, then he suddenly pushed a finger up inside her and white light exploded behind her eyes. Her body was wracked with jolt after jolt of raw pleasure, and Leigh screamed, the sound piercing in her own head. It was echoed by Lucian as his teeth sank into her flesh. Then, like a supernova, the light went out and she felt herself falling.

Lucian woke with a start. He felt the cold floor hard under his back and the warm body splayed on his chest, and smiled, his eyes still closed. Leigh. His gift from God. His future. He would wake to find her warm by his side every morning from now on. They were life mates.

The knowledge left a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest, and he slowly opened his eyes to look at her.

Her cheek was plastered to his chest, her mouth open and drool slipping from one corner. Her hair was a tangle of snakes around her head... and she was perfect. She was also pale again, he thought with sudden concern.

He’d bitten her, Lucian recalled. It hadn’t been intentional. As he’d pleasured her, their minds had merged and he’d experienced what she felt. Every lick, every nibble, every caress had resonated through him, guiding him in his efforts and rewarding them as well.

He had forgotten that aspect of having a life mate. Knowing their pleasure, sharing it, bouncing it back so they experienced it anew, and then your own pleasure on top of that. Their mind then bounced it back again. It went back and forth, stronger each time, until the mind couldn’t handle it anymore and the mutual orgasm was mind-numbing.

In that moment, as the world shattered and dissolved around him, he had instinctively sunk his teeth into Leigh’s tender flesh. It happened on occasion, however—not being a newbie—he’d had enough sense to pull back before he consumed too much blood.

He had a vague recollection of falling back on the floor then, Leigh sliding down with him, then he’d blacked out. That wasn’t unusual either, although it was more common for a new turn who wasn’t used to the extremes of pleasure immortals could experience. Lucian wasn’t a newbie, but it had been so long since he’d enjoyed the pleasures of the body that he was practically a born again virgin. Fortunately, Greg had been right and his body had known what to do. It looked like he hadn’t needed those books after all. He knew without a doubt he’d satisfied Leigh.

A soft murmur from her drew his gaze back down, and Lucian once again noted her pallor. He might not have taken much blood, but between her turning and the exertion, Leigh needed to feed anyway. So did he, Lucian realized.

Easing out from under her, he grabbed an afghan off the couch, covered her with it, then got to his feet and went to the kitchen to fetch blood from the refrigerator. He consumed two bags there, then retrieved two more and returned to the living room.

Leigh hadn’t moved a muscle since he’d left her side, and Lucian smiled at her limp state. Kneeling beside her, he slid an arm under her and lifted her up so her head lay over his arm, her mouth dropping open. Of course, her teeth weren’t there, and he hesitated, then leaned down and breathed by her nose, hoping the scent of blood on his breath would be enough to bring them on. It worked, and Lucian relaxed as he watched her teeth slide out, then popped a bag of blood to her fangs and held her while she fed.

The second bag was to her mouth and almost empty when Leigh started to wake. She blinked her eyes open and murmured something unintelligible around the bag, and Lucian smiled. It was only a moment before the bag was empty, and he removed it.

“Good morning,” Leigh said huskily as soon as she could speak.

“We didn’t sleep that long,” Lucian told her quietly. “I think we were only out for ten minutes or so.”

Leigh shrugged. “It’s still morning.”

Lucian glanced over his shoulder to see it was true. The sky was lightening, the sun sending streaks of light ahead to warn of its approach.

“What are we going to do about the windows?” she asked, glancing around at the wall of glass.

“They’re specially treated,” Lucian assured her. “The UVs can’t get through. It’s safe.”

“Oh.”

He glanced back to see her smiling shyly, then she dropped her gaze, cleared her throat and murmured, “Thank you for... I’m sorry I didn’t—I’m not usually so selfish in—I mean, you didn’t get to—I should have—”

Lucian chuckled and silenced her stumbling apologies for what she thought had been a one-sided activity with a kiss. The passion immediately leapt back to life between them, but he broke it off before he could get carried away and forget to say what he wanted to. He responded to each of her stumbling attempts at apology one after the other.

“You’re welcome. I did. You weren’t selfish, and I did get to... ”

When Leigh blinked at him with confusion, he explained, “We merged, Leigh. I experienced everything you felt—including the orgasm—as my own.”