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“Francisco?” She waited until some of the madness left his eyes. “Do you remember when we first met? You wanted to buy an iPod, remember?” When he nodded, she smiled at him. “I kept having to tell myself that you were just a customer. But you’re more than that now.” He smiled back at her, his longer than normal fangs visible. Good, he was calm and still somewhat in control. She had to keep him that way. Just that quickly she made a decision. He’d managed to keep it under control during a week of torture and temptation. If she told him what was going on, maybe he could hold it together. “Francisco, you are going into Cruentus again. I need you to stay calm and focus on me. I won’t allow anyone to hurt you.” His smile faded, and a growl rumbled from him. “No, I’m not in danger. But you will be, stay with me.” His eyes closed briefly then opened, and he nodded. “Good.” She moved her wrist closer to his mouth. “I want you to bite me.” He moved like lightening, grabbing her wrist and pulling it toward him. Somehow she managed not to panic. “No, Francisco. Gently.” 82 83 She watched as he struggled to control the blood lust racing through him. The grip on her arm lessened, and he kept his eyes on her face as he brought her wrist to his mouth. She nodded and he placed his lips on her, sucking lightly at the pulse point a moment before his teeth slid in with a slight pop. The erotic pull on her vein traveled up her arm then down to her stomach, and desire flared within her. Her breath became ragged as the sensation grew, making her wet. Somewhere in her fog of desire, she knew that every vampire could smell it, but she didn’t give a damn. A tray slid across the dock to bump her hip. Blinking, Diana forced her gaze to it and grabbed one of the goblets, downing it in one gulp. Then another, replacing the blood he was taking from her. How long they continued, she didn’t know. Only that as soon as one tray was empty another appeared. Slowly, the red left his eyes, replaced by the steely blue she loved. Her body ached with the need for release, but she knew she wouldn’t stop him from taking what he needed from her. It felt too good. She shifted, moving to straddle his hips, centering his erection against her needy flesh. Moving in time to his swallows she rocked, pressing firmly against him. The friction built the need within her higher and she chased after the needed release. Francisco’s blue eyes became even more vibrant as his hips rose to her. Seeming to realize that she wouldn’t pull her wrist away, he moved his hands to her hips. Long, strong fingers stroked up her sides to cup her breasts through the thin fabric of her dress. She arched into the caress as he stroked a thumb over each of her taut nipples. A keening cry echoed down the river, and she barely recognized it as her own before she was swept away in an explosion of light and pleasure. Slowly he withdrew his fangs, lapping up the few drops that slipped sluggishly from the holes before they closed, then pulled her down to lie against his chest. “Thank you,” he whispered, for her ears only. “My pleasure.” At his quirked eyebrow she laughed. “Like you and everyone in the gardens couldn’t tell.” Her cheeks heated with mortification at the realization she’d dry humped him to orgasm in front of everyone. His smile turned rakish as he nodded. “So they can.” He rolled them so he was on top, then stood, pulling her with him. Diana straightened her dress, feeling the soft fabric slide against passion sensitive skin. Francisco kissed her lips softly, a kiss filled with promise, then walked over to the three rulers of vampire society. Even knowing he was safe, she worried, but knew her legs wouldn’t support her if she tried to continue standing. She sat back down, not caring about the damage the rough wood would do to the dress. She focused on the far bank, listening to the soft lapping of the river and the distant Christmas music, forcing a calm she didn’t truly feel. Someone laid a hand on her shoulder and she turned, following the slender arm up to see Mike standing there, concern tinged with amusement written on her face. Delilah K. Stephans The Envoy “I’m okay, or will be.” Mike sat beside her on the dock. “I’ve never seen anything like that.” The awe in the woman’s voice brought Diana’s thoughts into sharp focus. “I’ve never even heard of anything like that. The blood thing, not the…” Diana dropped her gaze, wondering if she’d ever live the last few minutes down, and shrugged. The blood thing was no big deal, better that Francisco bite her than seek out an unwilling human and gain another death sentence. She didn’t know if she could talk him out of another one. “I couldn’t let him attack anyone else. It would kill him.” Mike bit her lip and looked away, her shoulders shaking in suppressed mirth. “Oh Lord!” Diana shook her head, realizing the terrible and unintentional pun. “I can’t believe I said that.” “Don’t worry about it. At least it wasn’t intentional,” Mike consoled her. “But, I didn’t even know that was possible. How did you? I mean, you’ve only been a vampire a week.” Diana shrugged. She wasn’t sure how she knew it would work, she just had. Knowing that there was only one person who might know the answer, she pushed herself to her feet and walked over to the arguing foursome. “Excuse me,” she tried, but Jonathan and William were too intent on berating Francisco to notice. Sighing, she brought her fingers to her lips, then let out an ear piercing whistle. That got their attention. All three of them turned to her and she smiled sweetly. “I was trying to get Cassandra’s attention, but you three were making so much noise she couldn’t hear me.” Jonathan and William opened their mouths to argue but stopped when she placed her fists on her hips and glared at them. “Don’t either of you dare take Francisco to task for something he couldn’t control. Let me bleed one of you out as much and see if you could hold off the blood lust. As for what happened to me and the display of myself…” She focused solely on her uncle. “I wear big girl panties now, and I’ll deal with the embarrassment. I don’t need some relative I’ve never met ’til a week ago, no matter how well meaning, defending my honor.” She would have continued but the sound of slow clapping drew her attention to where Cassandra stood. The older woman was smiling as she clapped her hands. “I couldn’t have done better myself, my dear.” She reached out and patted her shoulder. “Gentlemen, meet the new head of our society.” Diana stared at the grandmotherly woman, stunned. “But…” 84 85 “Oh, I fully intended to die tonight, but you stopped that, risking your own life to do it. Then [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |