Blood Eternal (29 page)

He hung his head. “Enjoy yourself. Forgive my barbs, I grow tired.”

“I didn’t think vampires got tired.”

“Not much physically, however, that does not exempt us from life’s taxations.” He lifted his head but his face remained in the shadows. “What is it you want, Savannah? I cannot read your jumbled emotions and quite frankly, I have no inclination to probe further.”

“I know,” she said, thinking about her next words. Maybe now wasn’t a good time to talk to him and he was too fed up to hear her out.

“If you have come to fault me for your arousal—”

“No.” Her cheeks heated at his words. “Not exactly.” She breathed in deep. “I came to apologize for being so difficult.”

“What brought this about?” He moved toward her. “Have you changed your mind about becoming a vampire?”

She bit her lip and shook her head. “No, but I do realize you have no control over what you’ve become. After all I’ve been through, I should have been more understanding.”

He stopped, facing her. His gaze searched her face. “And now?” His voice was no more than a whisper.

“I don’t care anymore.” Savannah trembled, resisting the urge to cover her chest by crossing her arms. “I want to be with you, for as long as you’ll have me.”

His eyes drifted closed, lashes like midnight against the olive tone of his skin. When he opened them, they seemed nearer and when he cupped her neck in a hand, she didn’t resist. “I feel I have waited an immortal lifetime to hear you say those words.” He kissed her then, hard and unyielding, grasped the sides of her ribs and teased the tender undersides of her breasts with his thumbs. He pulled back slightly, leaned his forehead against hers. “Stay with me tonight, Savannah.”

Unsure of her voice, she nodded.

He tugged her forward, twisted her so she faced his window. The rooftops of Rome spread out before her, sprinkled with intermittent cupolas. “The view is beautiful. I hadn’t realized...I never looked outside my windows.”

Luke kissed her jaw, worked his way down her neck and to her shoulders. “I never woke to see sunrise as a human. Now I long for the opportunity.” He hooked his fingers beneath the thin straps of her slip, brushed them down her shoulders. The silk material peeled back, revealing the two rosy tips of her breasts. “Do you know what I want to do to you?” He breathed out the question against her ear as he rolled one nipple between a thumb and index finger.

The streets below were empty. Still, she couldn’t stop the anxiety about her body. “My scars—”

“Are beautiful.” Releasing her nipple, he slid the slip over her hips, letting it pool on the floor. She wore nothing beneath. “Close your eyes.”

She did as he asked.

His touch was firm but gentle as he lifted her arms, pushed her forward against the glass. “Your skin looks like porcelain beneath the moon’s light.” He kissed her back, eased his hands along the indentation of her waist and over the flare of her hips. Groaning, he pressed his length against her backside.

When had he removed his pants? Goose bumps rose on her skin as her head fell back. She moaned, arching forward. Her nipples became like tight little beads and shocks of pleasure sparked from where they rubbed against the glass.

Hands on her hips, he lifted her, placing himself beneath her entrance. One thrust and he could enter.

Savannah whimpered. “Please.”

Driving upward, he sheathed himself within her. In and out, he tortured her with slow, deep strokes. “Better?” She heard a smile in his voice.

“Hmmm.” She nodded and lifted herself up on her forearms, leaned against the window. Her breath fogged the glass. With each thrust, her breasts swayed, hitting the smooth, clear surface in front of her. “Luke.”

He pulled himself from her, but before she could cry out in despair, he turned her and plunged into her again. “I want to see your face when you come.” He cradled her back as he dipped his head, caressed the pink tip of one breast with his lips. His body ground against her, spreading her legs further apart.

She threaded her hands through his hair, but he caught them and restrained them above her head. Crest upon crest built up within her as his gaze bored into hers. The friction between their bodies pushed her toward the edge. She shook her head, unable to deal with the growing angst. “I can’t.”

“Let yourself go.” He kissed her. When she came, he deepened the kiss, swallowing her cry.

Pulling away, he cupped her chin and tipped it up so she faced him. His lips twitched as if resisting a smile. “Not quite as hard as you thought?”

Hard? If anything, it was way too easy to lose her head around him. “Not quite.”

He stepped back from the window, taking her with him, legs still wrapped around him. His hardness pulsed within her. He hadn’t yet found his release and the realization unsettled her. Did he not find her appealing?

“Shhh.” He placed a finger along her lips. “Release whatever doubts are occupying your mind.” He pulled himself from her and set her before him. “This night is yours.”

She wanted to pleasure him, but the words to tell him so stuck to her tongue. She faltered in her step.

“Careful, pet. I have you,” he said, steadying her.

With one hand, she encircled his length. Covered in her release, it glistened. Up and down, up and down, she caressed him.

Moaning, he stilled her hand and holding it, tugged her with him as he moved toward the bed. He lifted her, set her on the bed and covered her. Their bodies intertwined, and he wedged one knee between her thighs.

Tonight he became hers and she, his. She reached up and cupped his face, bringing him closer. His mouth melded to hers, his kiss impassioned but not rough. He broke the kiss. Moving down her, he poised himself above her entrance.

“What are you doing?” She lifted herself up on her elbows.

“You shall see.” His dark eyes danced as he leaned close, flicked her clit with his tongue. Back and forth, faster then slower.

Hands fisted in the sheets, she arched upward, surprised at the tremors of ecstasy lancing through her. Could she find another release so soon? “Luke,” she cried.

Gripping her rear, he lifted her closer, suckling her as her hips jerked against his lips. When the storm of pleasure had calmed, he rose. “Tonight you are mine. There is neither past nor future to think about.”
Let your mind be free
, he whispered through her mind.

She nodded and helped him slide a condom down his length. He pushed into her. Her slick canal accepted him easily, and she lifted her pelvis to meet him, matching his hurried rhythm. One hand wrapped around the back of his neck, she pushed herself up and kissed him. Her breasts bounced with the movement, her nipples grazed his chest.

He reached down and cradled her back, rolled her so she sat atop him then thrust into her harder, faster. Pushed forward by the force, she braced herself against his shoulders as she looked down at him. Her curtain of hair shaded his face from the moonlight and she drew it back to see him. His every muscle tensed as he plunged into her. Waves of pleasure built inside her.

Releasing a deep growl, Luke drove into her one last time. One fang swept against her nipple, pushing her into release.

* * * *

Savannah slept peacefully beside Luke, her soft purrs alluring. He could not tell how long he’d stared at her, imagining an impossible life. A life that involved a house full of children and grandchildren. One where he woke each morning to see her curled into his side.

“Luke?”

He met her questioning gaze. “You are awake.”

She nodded. “I called your name several times. Is everything okay?”

He breathed in her scent and wrapped an arm around her. “My mind drifted elsewhere. The truth is, I have not felt this incredible in a long time. I could not ask for more.”

“Well, we shouldn’t stop.” Savannah licked her bottom lip and pulled on it with her top front teeth as she came up to her knees and straddled his hips.

Luke lifted his hands but she caught them, pushing them down to the bed. Her bare breasts swayed over his face and he longed to catch a nipple between his lips. “What are you doing?”

She tilted her head. “Taking control. Do you think you could handle surrendering yourself to me?”

No
his mind screamed and yet his insides quivered with anticipation and excitement. He wanted to surrender himself. He wanted to show her he trusted her. “You would not be in your current position if I could not handle it.”

“In that case...” She bent and nibbled the length of his jaw, made her way down his neck and across his chest. She scooted lower along his body. The friction between them drove him insane.

Luke groaned as she circled one of his nipples with her tongue and trailed her way over his stomach. His muscles went taut with restraint as he ached to grab her and return the attention.

“Not yet.” She laughed as she smoothed her thumb along his length. She encircled him, pumping up and down. “I can feel you thrumming beneath me. Don’t worry. You’ll get your turn soon enough.” Holding his gaze, she licked her lips and brushed their wet softness against his tip.

Luke growled. “Any man, human or otherwise, would have a difficult time handling you.”

Savannah lifted her head and smiled. “I guess that makes you a lucky guy.”

Lucky would not even begin to cover how he felt at this moment. He cupped her face, guiding her to him as he pushed himself into a sitting position. “Beyond lucky,” he said and kissed her. He deepened the kiss as he caressed her arms, gently pulling her toward him.

She placed a hand on his chest and pulled away. “Not so fast, charmer. First things first.” Reaching down, she gripped his shaft and rose up on her knees. She pressed his tip to her entrance then slid herself down the length of him. Whimpering, she ground herself against him, wrapped her arms around his neck. “Kiss me, Luke.”

His pent up passion unraveling, he kissed her. As if it had a mind of its own, his body arched into her, driving him deeper into her wet sheath. He surrendered to her rhythm as she rode him, her hips building speed like a piston.

Head thrown back, she cried out first as she pressed herself to him.

His cry was deep and guttural as he released himself into her.

Silence hung heavy during the minutes that followed. Something had changed within him, yet he hesitated to say what.

Savannah seemed to sense the difference, but said nothing. Instead, she guided him back against the bed and curled into his side. Within minutes, her breaths softened into a slow and steady rhythm.

“Sweet dreams, love.” Luke placed a kiss along her temple and curved his arm around her.

* * * *

Sensual. Luke almost laughed at the thought. As a human, he’d never experienced a woman with a passion for food. His mother, who’d deemed cooking beneath her, would not have known the difference between poultry and venison. And Victoria, like today’s women, had eaten like a bird for fear of an expanding figure. Not Savannah.

Her hips danced slowly, their only apparent melody boiling water and the clink of a whisk along the sides of a pot.

He shook his head, making a poor attempt to avoid the innocent seduction. After last night, he found it difficult to keep his gaze from straying to her. “Where did you learn to cook?”

“I’ve always loved to experiment. Guess it’s creating something others get so much pleasure from. I used to cook with my mother. Don’t you have a favorite meal your mom made?”

“No.” He laughed. “My mother never cooked. We employed a housekeeper who made incredible scones and blackberry preserves. At times, she indulged my cravings.” He shrugged. “I fear my short human life left me lacking in exposure to culinary delights. I was not an adventurous sort in that aspect.”

“And as a vampire?” Savannah asked.

“Those of us who are purebred neither need nor desire food as you humans do.”

“Too bad. I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t cook. Can you smell the butter?” She turned, her eyes gleamed with delight. She looked beautiful in a white, off-the-shoulder sweater dress. Simple, yet understatedly sexy. “I don’t even need to taste it to know this polenta is going to be amazing.”

“I must take you at your word.” He breathed in deep. Fontina and parmigiano reggiano permeated the atmosphere and yet the scent tantalizing him belonged to her. Vanilla and orange blossoms. He closed his eyes, slid from his stool to stand behind her. His hands lingered over her hips.