Vampire Mine - Kerrelyn Sparks [41]
She replaced his hands with her own and blew. Amazed, she wiped her nose. “That was so strange. Coughing and leaking and blowing—these bodies do the oddest things.”
“Aye, that they do.”
She glanced at his smoky blue eyes and was instantly lost in the intensity of his gaze. He wanted to touch her again, she could feel it.
Warmth spread to her cheeks. What was it about this man that made her react so strongly? She could just look at him, and her heart would squeeze in her chest. If he touched her, her heartbeat raced and her knees grew weak. She’d kissed him twice. In one night!
The desire she felt was so new to her, so obviously nonangelic. It was tempting to put the blame completely on this new body and its ability to make her feel sensations she’d never experienced before, but in her heart, she knew that wasn’t entirely true.
There were other men in the room, and she had no desire for them. It was all so strange. For millennia, she’d always loved mankind in general, all equally and from a distance. But now, her heart was yearning to be close to only one. Connor.
And he was feeling the same way. He’d admitted it. Desire. Longing. Her skin tingled with goose bumps. She wanted him to touch her again.
When he’d kissed her in the bedroom, she’d caught another glimpse into the darkness that surrounded his heart. An image of a young blond woman had flashed through her mind, a woman named Darcy. Why did she cause Connor so much guilt?
Marielle was impatient to ask him, but she knew it should be done in private. Even then, he might insist it was one of those personal things that humans didn’t talk about.
She wanted to do more than talk. She wanted to kiss him again. She wanted to feel his arms around her and his breath against her cheek. Such a human desire. The demon had warned her that the longer she remained on Earth, the more human she would become.
She had to resist getting too involved with him. The Archangels would never let her back into heaven if she couldn’t prove herself worthy.
“Thank you.” She handed the tissue back.
An odd look passed over his face, then he walked stiffly back past a smirking Gregori to toss the tissue in a trash can.
“My dear, I would love to hear about your life as an angel,” Father Andrew said. He glanced pointedly at the other men. “Anything we hear must be kept confidential.”
Gregori sprawled on the couch. “My mother will kill me if I don’t tell her everything.”
“My wife will want to know, too,” Robby protested. “And Angus and Emma.”
The priest sighed. “Fine. I’ll probably need to tell Roman. We’ll keep this within our small community. Is that all right with you, Marielle?”
“Yes. I’m grateful that you and your friends are helping me.” She knew enough about the current world to know she’d have great difficulty surviving on her own. She had no proof of identity, no birth certificate since she’d never been born, nor any currency to purchase food, shelter, or clothing. Furthermore, it would be nigh impossible to live among humans without inadvertently touching someone and causing a death.
The best place for her was this community of good vampires, and she knew it was more than a coincidence that she’d been found by one of them. Her previous thoughts returned to her. If she could accomplish some sort of noble mission here on Earth, she might be deemed worthy of rejoining the Heavenly Host.
She sat in the rocker and winced at the strange sensation of jeans hugging her thighs and bunching at her knees. Her T-shirt was black with the words Bite Me across the chest. An odd shirt to wear among vampires, but apparently, death didn’t diminish their sense of humor. In fact, for a group of Undead souls, they were remarkably lively.
She cleared her throat, aware that all four men were watching her expectantly. Robby and Gregori were sharing the couch once again with Father Andrew, while Connor stood behind them, his arms crossed over his bloodstained shirt. Her blood. A wave of grief flooded her once more over the loss of her wings. What if she never flew again?
She swallowed hard. “I want