“I think I understand that now.” Forcing her lips into the semblance of a smile, she pushed herself to her feet. “I’m going to take a walk around the ship, have a shower, get my head straightened.”
For a moment, she thought he would argue, and then he nodded. “I’ll be on the bridge when you need me.”
She found a cabin and showered, then pulled on her clothes. She roamed the ship for what seemed like hours, allowing her mind to wander over her memories of Rico and Janey. The Trog. She didn’t cry. The tears had all dried up.
In the end, she was drawn to the bridge where she knew Callum waited, worrying. He was slouched in the pilot’s chair, but he straightened as she entered, his gaze searching her face.
“I’m okay,” she said to preempt the question.
“No you’re not. But you look a little better.” He rose to his feet and held out a hand to her. “Let me try and help you forget some more.”
…
Callum waited to see whether she would take his hand. He wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t. How could she ever forgive him? How had she turned out so strong after such a beginning? He reckoned he owed the vampire a big thanks for that. Though he’d never be able to deliver that thank you. Rico was dead.
As Tannis soon would be.
He’d shied away from thinking about how long Tannis had left, but he’d been lying when he’d said she looked better. Already, if he looked closely, he could see the faint violet tinge to her skin—the first visible symptom of the poison. He’d never known it to react so quickly. Perhaps she’d been exposed to it at the research center, or one of those experiments had predisposed her to the poison. He didn’t know. And did the whys really matter?
He thought she was going to ignore his outstretched hand, but she took the final step, reached out, and slid her palm into his. He pulled her close, lifted her in his arms, and headed out of the bridge and down the central corridor, kicking open the doors as he passed. Finally, he found one with a big bed and took her inside, lowering her gently to the mattress.
He intended to make slow love to her, to make it last, to draw out her pleasure, make her forget the past and the future.
She was exquisite. He couldn’t believe he had ever not thought her beautiful. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, her body long, slender, sinuous. Her skin luminous, shot through with iridescent lights.
He stripped off her clothes, kissing each inch of her skin as it was exposed. Then he quickly pulled off his own clothes, dropping them to the floor, before stretching out beside her. He took her mouth in a long, slow kiss, his tongue sliding between her lips to stroke the warm velvet of hers. When he raised his head, her eyes were heavy, languorous. He kissed her throat, nipped the soft spot where her neck met her shoulder. He licked long strokes over her breasts, then concentrated on the dark red nipples until they were tight with need, and she made mewling sounds deep in her throat.
“Please, Callum,” she murmured.
“Shh. Trust me.”
His tongue dipped into her navel, tasting her, then lower over the flat plain of her belly to the dark curls that protected her sex. He blew a light breath over her, and her hips rose. Parting her legs with one hand, he slid his tongue along the seam of her sex, the taste of her making his cock twitch with need and his balls tighten. He shifted to lie between her thighs, using his hands to part the folds, reveal her secrets. She was glistening wet, and he dipped his tongue inside, holding her still as she wriggled against him. Then he slanted his mouth against her and kissed her, using his lips, his tongue and teeth to give her pleasure, sucking and licking, nipping gently with his teeth. She was pushing against him now, and he finally took her swollen clit in his mouth and suckled. A low, keening cry left her throat as she came. He lapped at her soothingly until the tremors that racked her calmed, then he bit down, and she screamed.
He moved swiftly up her body, to stare down into her pleasure-flushed face.
“You want me?” he asked.
He lowered his hips so the hard length of his erection pressed into her, and her hips rose up to meet him.
“Yes.”
…
Tremors of pleasure rippled through her as his shaft nudged at the entrance to her body. She needed him inside her, and she shifted her hips impatiently against him. One hand came up to cup his jaw, and she stroked the pad of her thumb over his sensual lower lip. His tongue flicked out, licking her fingers, and heat pooled in her belly.
Then his hands slid behind her neck and he pulled her to him. His lips met hers with a savagery she’d never felt in him before, and she gave herself over to the feeling, allowed her own rage and fury to come through.
For a second, he hesitated, then he deepened the kiss, his tongue thrusting into her mouth with a fierce passion.
He reached between their bodies, opening her with skillful fingers, then stared down into her eyes as he pushed inside her, filling her with one fluid thrust of his hips.