Blake rolled onto his back and immediately pulled Lilo halfway onto his body, loving the feeling of her weight on him, one leg draped over his groin, one hand on his chest, while her head rested on his shoulder. For a few moments, all he could do was catch his breath. Lilo, too, was breathing hard.
He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “I can’t even tell you what it means to me to have you in my bed.”
She lifted her head and looked at him.
“To know you’ve accepted me for what I am.” He locked eyes with her. “To feel you lick my fangs. I never dared hope for this much.”
Lilo gently ran her finger over his lips. “I’ve never seen anything more erotic than when you showed me your fangs and let me touch them.”
His heart thundered at the revelation. “You weren’t afraid.”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt me.”
“You trust me despite everything that happened.” He could hardly believe it. But he saw it in her eyes. Lilo had faith in him.
He took hold of her finger and kissed it. “I’m sorry about pricking you with my fang.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Lilo looked away. “Did you like it?”
“Your blood?”
She nodded.
“How could I not? Lilo, you have no idea what it’s like. My sense of smell is so hypersensitive that even now I can smell your blood. And you know what that does to me?”
She lifted her eyes back to meet his gaze. “What does it do?”
He took her hand and guided it to his groin, where he placed it over his hardening cock. “That’s what it does.”
Her chin dropped. “How can you already be hard again?”
He chuckled. “Because of you. That tiny drop of blood that I licked off your finger is making me want more. That’s why the vampire inside me is preparing for it, for you. The vampire inside me wants to seduce you with sex until you allow him to bite you.”
He knew he shouldn’t tell her this, but he was done hiding things from her. If he had any chance of winning her for good, he had to be honest about every aspect of himself. Winning her for good? The thought suddenly struck him. Did he truly want her in his life? When had he made that decision?
When she didn’t respond, he slid his hand under her chin and looked deep into her eyes. “I would never force you. I want you to know that. But you should know that every time we make love, my desire to drink your blood will grow.”
Understanding shone back in her eyes. “Is that why you think that Hannah let Ronny bite her?”
He stroked his hand over her head and drew her against his chest. “You said they’d been dating for at least six months. No vampire, no matter how civilized and tame, will stay with a woman for that length of time without biting her. With or without her permission. Though I doubt Hannah would have denied him. She knew what a vampire’s bite entailed, before she ever met Ronny.”
“Knew, how?”
“Because I bit her.”
Lilo shot up to a sitting position. “What?” Her eyes were wide with shock. “You and Hannah? You were lovers?”
At her appalled look, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Hannah and I?” He sat up and pulled Lilo to him, but she pushed him back. “Hannah and I were never lovers. We were never attracted to each other. Not for a single second.”
She frowned, obviously not believing him. “Then why?”
“You wouldn’t by any chance be jealous?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” she shot back.
But he knew he’d hit a nerve, and that fact made his heart beat out of control. Lilo had a fierce streak of possessiveness in her that he hadn’t expected. But he had no time to revel in it, because first he needed to calm her down and assure her that the bite had had nothing to do with sex.
“Hannah offered me her blood to save my life.”
~
Still skeptical, she searched his eyes. Was he telling the truth? And why should it matter that Blake had bitten her best friend? It was none of her business.
Oh please, just admit that you can’t stand the fact that he bit Hannah, but not you, the voice in her head said.
“I had an accident.” Blake’s words pierced her thoughts.
Slowly she nodded. “What happened?”
He reached for her then and pulled her onto his lap, so she was straddling him, before she could protest. Well, maybe she hadn’t wanted to protest because she liked the fact that he sought a physical connection to her.
Blake caressed her back gently. “Baby, there was never anything between me and Hannah, though she did save my life, just like you saved mine last night. And while I was very grateful to Hannah, I never touched her the way I can’t stop touching you.” He brushed his lips over hers in a feather-light kiss.
Then he leaned back against the headboard.
“I was in pursuit of a suspect one night close to sunrise. The road was wet, and I was driving too fast. There was no time to call for backup. I knew I had to catch him before he was gone for good. It was a winding road in a wooded area. I lost him behind a bend in the road. Or so I’d thought, until I realized he’d managed to pull onto a dirt path to hide. When I saw the headlights in my rearview mirror, I knew he’d outsmarted me.”