She needed his hands on her. “Clothes off,” she ordered, ripping the parka from her body. Damned Velcro on the sleeve. She couldn’t get it off fast enough. Then she removed the pajama top.
She looked down at Nikolai who gazed up in wonder, blood glistening on his lips. “Beautiful,” he whispered. “Extraordinary.” He reached up and skimmed his fingers over her breasts, causing warmth to pool between her legs. “Perfect.”
“I need you naked.” She unbuttoned the shoulder of his shirt and pulled it down to his waist. She climbed off him and tugged his boots off, then unzipped and yanked his jeans down, shirt right along with them, and tossed them away. Kneeling at his feet, she paused to enjoy the view. He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Every inch of him was powerful, and his skin flickered gold in the lamplight. Yes. She wanted this. All of him, and his blood coursing through her made her strong. She needed more.
“I need to bite you,” she said, crawling back over him wearing only the boots, centering her core right over his erection.
“I know.” He placed his warm hands on either side of her face. “Open. Let me see.” She opened her mouth, and his erection pulsed under her. “You’re changing.” He placed his thumb against a tooth. He withdrew, showing her a puncture wound with a drop of blood swelling from it.
Holy shit. She ran her tongue over her top teeth to find two elongated and very sharp canines. A pang of fear stopped short and melted immediately when he grinned.
“And your eyes are red. Deep, beautiful, passionate red,” he whispered. “I love it.”
Her chest pinched inside. Slayers didn’t believe in love. And there was no way the most distinguishing features of vampires—her red eyes—appealed to him. Focus on the plan, she reminded herself.
“Bite me, Elena.” He ran his hands from her throat across her breasts, circling the nipples, then lower, down her belly to where her body met his. “Tell me what you need.” His fingers found just the right spot, and he applied pressure, causing her to grind down on him. “That’s it. Tell me with your body and your words.”
She groaned. The blood had made her strong, but she needed more. She stared down at the beautiful man beneath her. He hated vampires, but he was encouraging her to drink his blood. Desire, fear, and confusion swirled through her in a volatile concoction. She couldn’t back out now. She had to do this to stay safe. To stay alive, she had to become immortal and free herself from him.
“Talk to me,” he said. “Tell me what you need.”
Him. She needed him. More than just his blood or the pleasure he offered with his playground of a body, she needed him—and that was far more terrifying than becoming a blood-sucking monster.
Blood still glistened over the bite on his lip. She leaned down and licked it off, and he ran his hands over her back, urging her on.
“Do it,” he whispered, sweeping his hands over her skin, making her body thrum. “You can’t hurt me.”
But he could hurt her, and now that she had his blood flowing through her, she felt even more bonded to him. The goal was to escape. The plan. Return to the plan.
Step four: drink enough blood to become immortal.
Instinctually, her body ground against his, forward and back. It was difficult to focus with his thick erection so hot and hard underneath her. Just a few inches forward, then a shift in angle, and a hard press down, and she could have him inside her. That’s what she wanted. And she’d heard Aleksandra say she couldn’t get pregnant. Diseases didn’t even transfer between different species. Perfect. She threw her head back and continued to rub over him.
No. She’d gotten off schedule. Blood first, then Step Five.
She kissed his shoulder.
“Yes,” he whispered. “Do it. Make yourself strong and safe. Bite me. Drink from me.”
Running her tongue over his skin, she could feel his pulse. He was alive with what she needed. His blood would save her life and make her immortal. It would enable her to escape.
“Do it, Elena.” He swept his warm hands over her back.
Breaths coming in shuddering gasps, she paused at the area between his neck and shoulder and pressed her lips to him. She could feel the blood right under the surface. So close she could almost taste it.
He thrust up against her. “Yes. There. Now.”
Her teeth cut through the flesh easily, and evidently painlessly, because his body bucked and he moaned with pleasure as she bit down. Rich, sweet blood filled her mouth, and she clutched him in desperation. She needed something else. More. More than his blood. She needed his body. She needed Step Five.
Not withdrawing her mouth, she scooted forward to where the head of his erection pressed against her entrance.
He took himself in hand and rubbed up and down against her. She was slick and so ready.