Page 175 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

My mother smiled at me, at that look of wonder on my face. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I grabbed her hand. “Would you walk me down the aisle tomorrow?”

Her throat slid as she nodded. She squeezed my hand once and released it, crossing to open the door for Julian.

He filled the doorframe, hands braced on either side, fully clothed now but sexy as hell. “Am I interrupting?”

Despite our conversation, my mother shrank back a step. I couldn’t blame the reaction. Not with the dark energy that radiated from Julian, not with his divine, lethal beauty.

But she collected herself. “I was just leaving.”

He moved to the side to allow her to pass.

She paused and looked at me. “I can help you get ready tomorrow, if you like?”

I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I merely nodded.

“I’ll show you out,” Julian offered, if a bit stiffly.

I pushed out of bed, carrying the food tray into the living area. I’d just returned to the bedroom when Julian strode in behind me.

He stopped, his lips drooping into a frown. “You’re out of bed.”

“I’m fine.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“It’s not that.” He aimed for me, hooking an arm around my waist and drawing me into his hard, broad chest. “I’ve just been looking forward to getting into bed with you.”

“Oh.” I leaned into him, filling my lungs with his scent—cloves and spices drifting in a midnight garden. “I’ve been in bed all day.”

He tipped my face up with his finger. “I’m open to the chair, the desk, the wall—any flat surface really.”

“So open-minded,” I teased, but my ribbing came out breathless, pulsing with the need I felt.

But Julian didn’t move. “Your mother is coming to the wedding.”

Not exactly a question, but I nodded. “Is that a problem?”

“No.” His forehead wrinkled. “Of course not. It’s just a good sign.”

“It is.” A smile burst onto my face, one only for him, for us, for our future. “I told her everything. About the baby. About the island. My magic. I think we’re going to be okay.”

His shoulders sagged under whatever weight he’d been carrying. “Thank the Gods.” He winked at me. “I need someone else I can trust to worry about you two as much as I do.”

I couldn’t understand it. It seemed impossible that I could fall more in love with him but every moment, every second, every breath, proved me wrong.

His throat bobbed, eyes darkening. “It’s the same for me, you know.”

“I can’t wait to marry you.” The words slipped from me and his smile chased even the shadows from his eyes. “Technically, I think you’re not supposed to see me the night before the wedding.”

As if to prove how little he cared about that tradition, he scooped me off my feet. His mouth found mine, the kiss slow and languid, a reminder that we had eternity before us. Julian laid me on the bed, tucking a pillow under my head before he stripped his clothes off.

“I’m not worried about bad luck.” He climbed onto the bed, urging my legs apart and kneeling between them. His hands rucked my silk nightgown to my hips. He gripped my thighs as he moved closer, lifting me until he was seated at my entrance. “The wedding is a chance to show you off.” He pushed in an inch and my fingers twisted in the sheets. “All that I am belongs to you.” Another inch and I moaned. “I have for a very long.”

On the final word, he sheathed himself in me entirely and I cried out his name. My nipples pebbled, the silk rasping against them. My skin tightened and grew feverish. Every inch of me came alive and centered on where he filled me. But despite the need that wrapped around both of us, he moved slowly, each thrust unhurried. My body answered his rhythm, my legs coiling around his waist, his fingers digging into the flesh of my hips.

He belonged to me. This God kneeling between my legs. And I belonged to him in ways that I was only beginning to discover.

There would be time later to allow that desperate need to claim possess us, but for now, I watched him, savored the masculine assurance on his face as he worked me toward an unhurried climax.

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