And yet this woman with open, honest eyes and a beguiling smile tugged at a heart he had banished centuries ago. He didn't need that. Dark-Hunters were forbidden to take steady lovers. Out of necessity, their sexual encounters were relegated to one-night stands.
They were reborn to walk alone through time. Each of them knew it. They had sworn themselves to it. Never before had it bothered him. There had only been one other time in his long life that he had felt this strange giddy feeling in the pit of his stomach when a woman smiled at him. He cursed at the reminder.
"Oh, come on, Kyrian," he said as he bathed himself. "Get out of the house, kill Desiderius, and go home. Forget you ever saw her."
Pain cut through him at the very thought of never seeing her again. Still, he knew what he had to do. This was his life and he loved the night he was bound by oath to. His duties were his family. His loyal oath his heart. His job was his love, and it would remain that way for eternity.
"Amanda?"
Forcing her thoughts away from her handsome Dark-Hunter, Amanda looked to where Grace was seated in the armchair.
"Would you mind going up to the babies' room and getting a diaper for me?" Grace asked. "If I walk up those stairs again, I might not come back down."
She laughed. "Sure. Be right back."
Amanda went up the stairs, then headed down the hallway. She passed the bathroom at the same time Hunter came out of it, wrapping a towel about his waist. They collided. Hunter put his hands on her shoulders to steady her, his eyes widening a degree as he recognized her.
Amanda froze as she realized her silver charm bracelet had gotten tangled in one of the terry-cloth loops. Worse, the sight of all that lush, tawny skin and the feel of his strong hands on her body made her mouth water for a taste of him.
Her heart hammered at the sight of all the lean power and strength. At the smell of his warm, clean skin. His wet hair was slicked back from a face so well sculpted that she doubted any man could ever be more handsome.
He fixed those dark eyes with sinfully long eyelashes on her. The raw hunger in them made her hot and shivery. He looked as if he could devour her, and in truth, she wanted to be devoured by him. Completely. Utterly. And with relish.
"Now, this is interesting," Hunter said with a hint of amusement in his voice.
Amanda didn't know what to do as she stood there with her wrist dangerously close to the sudden bulge under the towel. Why was it they kept getting attached? Her gaze slid over the multitude of scars covering his body and she couldn't help wondering how many of them were from the torture he'd mentioned to Julian.
"Most of them," he whispered as he moved one hand over to cup her neck in his hand. She felt his fingers stroking her hair. His grip on her shoulder tightened ever so slightly.
"What?" she asked, looking up.
"Most of them are from the Romans."
She frowned. "How did you know what I was thinking?"
"I'm eavesdropping on your thoughts much the same way you listened to me and Julian." A chill went down her spine as she considered his psychic powers. "You can do that?"
He nodded, but he wasn't looking at her, he was staring at his hand in her hair as if he were committing the texture and feel of it to memory. His gaze returned to hers so fast it actually made her gasp. "And in answer to the question you're too afraid to think, all you have to do is move your arm and you'll know."
"Know what?"
"If I look as yummy without the towel as I do with it."
Her face flamed at the way he used her own words to describe exactly what she was too terrified to think. Before she could move, he released her and dropped the towel to hang from her bracelet. Amanda gaped at the sight of him completely naked before her. His hard, well-toned body was perfectly sculpted. And she quickly learned that his skin was golden all over. It wasn't a tan, it was his natural skin color.
She wanted him with a desperate need. All she could think of was taking him into the bedroom and pulling him on top of, over, and then under her for the rest of the night. Oh, the things she wanted to do to this man.
A half-smile hovered on the edges of his lips, and by the light in his eyes, she knew he was reading her thoughts. Again. He leaned forward, his face just to the side of hers. His hot breath fell against her neck, scorching her. "Ancient Greeks never had a problem with public nudity," he whispered in her ear.
Her breasts tightened. Slowly, he lifted his hand so that he could tilt her chin up. His gaze held hers enthralled as he appeared to search her mind for something. Before she could move, he lowered his lips to hers.
Amanda moaned at the contact. This kiss was different from his last one. This one was gentle. Tender. And it made her burn.
He left her lips and trailed a blazing path down her jaw to her neck, his tongue laving her skin ever so lightly. She wrapped her arms around his bare shoulders and surrendered her weight to him.