Stakes & Stilettos - Michelle Rowen [57]
“Tell me something I don’t know. But even with our issues we’re still together. Even though everybody and their pet rabbit thinks we’re doomed.”
He raised a dark eyebrow. “Who thinks we’re doomed?”
“Everybody. And their pet rabbit.”
“And how do you feel?”
I smiled up at him. “I’m starting to feel warm and fuzzy again.”
“Is that so?”
I nodded. “Now if I promise not to bite you, can I get a proper kiss?”
He hesitated and glanced at the door, then back at me. His expression was serious, but the longer he gazed into my eyes the more he seemed to relax. “Your idea of proper and mine may be two different things.”
“I don’t think it’s that far apart.”
“I’m glad that the events of the day haven’t made you more fearful. I would have thought that perhaps you wouldn’t want to be near me for a while.”
“Then you thought very wrong.” I stood up and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I hate coming to the conclusion that I was mean to Stacy, but I guess it’s a relief. She wants an apology and I’m going to give her one because she deserves it. Everything will be fine then.”
“Then I share your confidence.” He leaned over and brushed his lips against mine. I sighed. “You promise you won’t bite?” he breathed into my ear.
“Cross my heart.”
I guess that was enough to convince him, as our lips met again and held and I kissed him deeply. I waited, feeling a little tense, before I relaxed against him and opened my mouth to the kiss.
I felt a bit of pain as my enthusiastic tongue met the edge of his sharp fang, but I ignored it. Fangs can get in the way of making out, though normally it was my fangs that got in the way. This time it was Thierry’s.
With the small taste of my blood, his grip on me grew tighter and the kiss more urgent. I thought for a moment about Butch being right outside the door and maybe this wasn’t quite the perfect moment or location for taking things any further, but the thoughts quickly left my mind as I lost myself in the kiss and I wanted more of him. My mind grew cloudy and my skin warmed at his touch. Thierry broke off the kiss and held my face between his hands.
“Do you know how deeply I care for you?” he said, his eyes black and his voice raspy.
“Show me,” I said, leaning back on the desk. “Right here. Right now.” Again with the sultry voice and rising lust as I looked at the black-eyed Thierry.
Red flag!
Alert! Alert!
Danger!
He pushed me back onto the desk and pressed his weight on top of me, his mouth on me, licking a hot line along the pulse at the side of my throat. I ran my hands down his back under his jacket just as I felt his sharp fangs pierce my skin.
Unlike the last time he’d bitten me, which had been painful and scary, this felt very, very good. I knew on some level that my mind wasn’t working the way it should. That this actually wasn’t good. But… but it felt so… overpowering. Better than sex. Better than chocolate, even, and that’s saying something. True, I couldn’t eat it anymore and didn’t even get cravings for it, but my memories of chocolate were… well, not as good as this.
I vaguely wondered why he hadn’t been able to stop himself this time, unlike last night, when I’d begged him to bite me and he’d managed to put the brakes on just in time.
But last night he hadn’t tasted my blood first. This time he had, if only a couple of drops—his fangs had been sharper than normal or this never would have happened. He was still hungry from last night. Hungry for me.
He began tearing at my clothes as he drank from me. But no… no, I realized through my current fog that he wasn’t frantically attempting to remove my clothes and make love to me on his desk, he was trying to hold on to me while Butch was wrenching him off my body.
Thierry was strong, but Butch had leverage. I felt my blouse rip and a few buttons popped right off, and then Thierry was on his feet halfway across the room, his eyes black, the back of his hand held up against his mouth.
“I didn’t want to interrupt.” Butch sounded embarrassed. “But I think