The Zombie Billionaire's Virgin Witch (Zombie Category Romance) (17 page)

“So
it won’t be as good if you kiss me?” 

Automatically,
she dropped her gaze to his lips.  A bit of chocolate was smeared in the
corner of his mouth.  While she watched, he licked it off with much
enjoyment, leading her to remember his mouth between her thighs.

“Kiss
me, Clare, and find out if it’s still good.  Don’t you want to know?”

Stubbornly,
she shook her head.  “No, I don’t.  Because I’m not going to travel
to Greece with you or let you buy me some stupid restaurant in New York that I
couldn’t care less about.”

“Actually,
the restaurant I just bought is in St. Paul, MN and I already gave it to
someone else.  Dmitri’s now the proud owner of a ma-and-pa diner in his
wife’s hometown, although he doesn’t know it yet.”

“That
was nice of you.”  She conceded, but refusing to take up his
invitation.  “So he threatened to leave you, too?”

Yiorgos
let a wry smile twist his lips.  “Yes he did.  The two most important
people in my life suddenly found their independence and decided they didn’t
need me at all.”

She
crushed the tender feelings threatening to spout in her heart.  “So you
bought him off?”

Now
he did scowl at her.  “If I were going to buy him off, I’d give him the
second best hotel in New York City.  It was beyond time for me to pay him
back for many years of friendship by giving him exactly what he most
wanted.  Now he can move his family home and make a name for himself at
Dmitri’s
,
as you will with your restaurant.”

“I
don’t…”

He
cut in, “
Remy’s
is yours per our agreement.  You wouldn’t have me
go back on my word now, would you?” 

He
shifted backwards, managing to lounge on the uncomfortable counter like it was
a throne.  He’d left the top two buttons undone on his shirt, bearing
bronzed skin and a sprinkling of chest hair.  It was all she could do not
to bury her face against him and inhale his spicy scent. 

“Of
course you might be too busy with your new duties at the Academy to run the
restaurant like it deserves.  Maybe you could use a little help now and
then from a…  How did you say it?  A pigheaded alphahole?”

Giving
into temptation, she stepped close enough to drop her hand onto his jean-clad
thigh.  “Perhaps slightly more alpha than asshole.”

“Progress,
then.”  He sighed, shifting closer to the edge of the counter—forcing her
hand to glide just a little higher.  “I’m trying to be very good and let
you decide whether you’re going to kiss me or not, but it’s all I can do not to
drag you into my arms and kiss you senseless.”

The
raw need roughening in his voice drew her to stand between his thighs, though
she didn’t dare touch him more.  “I’m afraid it won’t be the same.”

“It’ll
be better,” he promised, giving her that soul-searing dark glare that made her
smile despite her misgivings.  “I’ll make it so.”

“How
can you improve on what we shared that night?”

“I
love you, Clare.  I’d like to spend the rest of my life making sure you
feel exactly how much I love you.”

Her
heart was trying to climb up her throat, choking her.  Or maybe that was
the tears threatening.  She leaned in slowly, afraid and yet bursting with
hope that maybe he was right.  Maybe they didn’t have to have magic
flaring between them.  Maybe he could stop flinging money around like that
would solve all their problems.  Maybe…

Her
lips touched his.  She had a hard time understanding how something so soft
could exist on such a hard, masculine exterior.  His thighs flexed beneath
her hands as he levered his body closer to hers.  So much muscle and
strength at her fingertips. 

She
traced his bottom lip with her tongue, tasting the chocolate he’d just
eaten.  He kept his mouth soft and open, letting her suck his lip into her
mouth.  She tugged gently with her teeth and he groaned deep in his
throat.

Smiling
against his mouth, she released his lip.  “Maybe you should give me your
tongue instead.”

The
counter creaked beneath his grip but he willingly slipped his tongue into her
mouth.  She took him deep, wrapping her tongue around his.  Heat
pooled in her abdomen and her breasts ached for his hands, those elegant,
teasing fingers, the urgent demand of his body.  Need rose in her, burning
hotter.  She wrapped her arms around his neck, and the touch of his bare
skin fanned the flames into a bonfire. 

When
he lifted his head, they were both breathing hard, but he’d never put his hands
on her nor taken control of the kiss.  “Well?”

“I
think we need a little more experimentation to be sure.”

He
smiled and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.  “I wanted
to wake up with you beside me so I could kiss you awake and make slow, sweet
love to you again.”

“I
couldn’t bear to stay.  Not when I felt so… defeated.  I didn’t want
you to feel like you had to take care of me just because I broke the curse.”

“I’d
like nothing better than to take care of you in every way possible, whatever
you need.  Not because you need me to, but because I love you.  I can
fix a lot of things with my money, Clare, but none of it matters if you’re not
there with me.  It makes me happy to buy you things.”

“No
restaurants,” she warned, settling her hips against his.

“Duly
noted, Ms. Remy.  Would you consider jewelry?”

She
played with his shirt, unbuttoning another one so she could get her hand onto
his chest.  “That depends, Mr. Michelopoulos.”

He
reached into his back jeans pocket and pulled something out, keeping it hidden
in his hand.  “Close your eyes and give me your right hand.”

She
hesitated only a moment.  Her right, not her left?  She’d assumed he
meant to give her an engagement ring, but perhaps that’d been presumptuous of
her.  He certainly hadn’t come right out and proposed.  Maybe he was
having second thoughts.  Between the Academy and
Remy’s
she’d
certainly be too busy to tour around with him, smiling and waving like a vapid
little doll to the paparazzi.   

Cool
metal slid onto her finger and a dam exploded inside her.  That massive
wall of boulders that separated her from her magic crumbled beneath a massive
outpouring of power.  So much.  She didn’t know if she could hold it
all.  She felt like a leaf tossed about on wave after wave of a killer
tsunami.

She
didn’t know how long the magic surge lasted.  Slowly, she became aware of
his arms around her.  His heart beat strong and steady against her ear and
his hand smoothed her hair, over and over.  She tried to speak, but her
tongue didn’t want to work.

“I’ve
got you baby.  Are you all right?”

“What
was that?”

“Look
for yourself.”

He
held her hand up for her, and her father’s signet glinted on her finger.

“Ms.
Kettlewich restored it.  I don’t know how much you know about what she
did…”

Clare
sighed.  “I’m sorry you got caught up her schemes.”

He
tipped her chin up, his fingers digging into her skin with his
determination.  “I’m not.”

Pressing
his mouth to hers, he kissed her deep and long, taking her breath, claiming
every inch of her mouth, while her magic danced and sang in her veins. 
But more, desire flickered back and forth between them, not amplified by the
magic.  Just simple overwhelming human need.

He
hopped down off the counter, turned her so she leaned against it for support,
and then knelt before her on one knee.  “Maybe, or yes?”

Now
she couldn’t stop crying.

“Ms.
Remy, if you will give me the great honor of consenting to marry me, I promise
no wedding in Greece.  We’ll get married right here if you want with all
the wizards and witches you care to invite.”

“Yes.” 
She cupped his cheek in her right hand, loving the way magic sparked across
their skin.  “But I never said no to Greece.”

He
dug another ring out of his pocket and held it up for her inspection. 
She’d expected the richest tycoon she knew to give her an ostentatious diamond
so heavy that she needed a wheelbarrow to drag her hand around for her. 
Instead, it was a simple antique band with a single, tasteful brilliant
stone.  “My mother’s ring, and my grandmother’s before her.”

Her
heart felt so full and light that she could almost fly away.  “I love it.”

Before
he slipped the ring on her left hand, he said, “I have one more stipulation to
specify in this agreement, Ms. Remy.”

Trying
to tame the wide grin on her face, she nodded.  “I’m listening, Mr.
Michelopoulos.”

“I’ll
give you whatever you want. 
Remy’s
, cursed rings, even a dinner
party with crazy old witches who cursed me.  The only thing I ask in
return is that you make me a Death By Chocolate Cake at least once a week.”

She
laughed.  “Think of the calories!  In a few years, you’ll hate me, or
I’ll hate you because you’ve gotten so fat and lazy.  If we agree to this
contract, we’ll be stuck with each other.”

“God,
I hope so,” he breathed fervently.  “Not the fat and lazy part, of
course.  I need my chocolate fix, but I need my luscious kitchen witch
more.”

Holding
her breath, she leaned down to brush her lips against his.  “Someday, or
now?”

He
pushed up to his feet, snagging her in his arms in the process.  “Now and
forever, Clare.  This is our fairytale, and I’m going to make all your
dreams come true.”

Other
books by Joely Sue Burkhart

Dare to peek beneath the mask

JoelySueBurkhart.com

Current
Series and Upcoming Releases

Zombie
Category Romance

THE
ZOMBIE BILLIONAIRE’S VIRGIN WITCH, October 2012

The
Maya Bloodgates, paranormal romance from
Carina
Press

BLOODGATE,
a
free read
prequel

THE
BLOODGATE GUARDIAN, June 14, 2010

THE
BLOODGATE WARRIOR, August 6, 2012

A
Jane Austen Space Opera, SF erotic romance (BDSM) from
Samhain Publishing

LADY
WYRE’S REGRET,
free read
prequel

LADY
DOCTOR WYRE, March 29, 2011

LORD
REGRET’S PRICE, tbd

HER
GRACE’S STABLE, tbd

DEATHRIGHT,
tbd

The
Connaghers, contemporary erotic romance (BDSM) from
Samhain Publishing

LETTERS,
TAKE ME, LIE TO YOU,
free
read
prequels

Conn,
DEAR SIR, I’M YOURS, June 2009

Victor,
HURT ME SO GOOD, October 2010

Vicki,
YOURS TO TAKE, May 2012

Mal,
MINE TO BREAK, tbd

Historical
Fantasy Erotica (BDSM) based on Imperial China from
Carina Press

GOLDEN,
August 29, 2011

Blood
& Shadows, erotic romantic fantasy (BDSM), re-releasing December 2011

THE
HORSE MASTER OF SHANHASSON,
free
read
prequel

THE
ROSE OF SHANHASSON

THE
ROAD TO SHANHASSON

RETURN
TO SHANHASSON

SURVIVE
MY FIRE

THE
FIRE WITHIN, 2012

GIVEN
IN FIRE, tbd