Page 69 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

She might have sworn it, but it hadn’t been her choice, and we both knew that.

“How fortunate that we’re in a library without a bed in sight.” I prowled toward her, walking her back until she was against the shelves.

She stopped breathing for a second, long enough to make me pause. Finally, she spoke, “That’s not what I meant...I can’t.”

Regret colored her words, and it nearly undid me.

She wanted me.

Her whole body called to me. But it was more complicated than that. It always was. “There are a lot of ways for me to taste you that won’t breach your vow.”

“You aren’t sucking my blood, vampire,” she snarled softly.

“Who said anything about blood?”

There was no fear in her gaze, only a kind of shocked wonder. I couldn’t help but wonder if she felt the connection between us as clearly as I did. If she knew what even I couldn’t admit to myself: that I hadn’t stayed for Julian and Thea.

“I stayed for you,” I confessed.

“That was stupid.” But there was no biting sarcasm. No warning. Only more remorse.

“I agree.” Daring to move closer, I lifting a finger to her neck, tracing along the pulsing vein beneath her tawny skin. I’d taken my gloves off, so I could turn pages more instantly. A jolt of magic passed between us, the touch absolutely forbidden. I shouldn’t, but I couldn’t stop myself, so I waited for her to stop me. Instead, her teeth caught her lower lip, barely managing to swallow the moan I saw in her eyes.

“We shouldn’t,” I murmured, almost an entreaty to myself.

She shook her head. “No, we shouldn’t.”

But neither of us moved.

“If you want to leave,” I offered, “go.”

“You could leave,” she suggested weakly.

I grabbed hold of the bookshelf behind her, my arms bracketing her. “I don’t want to.”

Her teeth caught her upper lip as she inhaled sharply, eyes searching mine. “Neither do I.”

“That is a predicament.”

“A real problem,” she agreed.

“Or, an opportunity. You’re supposed to keep your enemies close, right?”

“Closer,” she breathed softly.

I didn’t know if it was a correction or a request, but my self-restraint snapped. My mouth captured hers, a ragged groan catching in my throat as her taste flooded through me. Her tongue found mine, and I growled in surprised approval. Lia softened in my arms, releasing her caged moan, the sound of it bolting to my groin. I pressed my hips against hers, letting her feel my hardness as my fingers sought bare skin.

Soft and silky beneath my rough hands, I kept my touch feather-light, afraid I might leave a mark—evidence that she’d given me a taste of something far more forbidden than her kiss.

Her magic.

I stroked a thumb up the curve of her neck, marveling at the energy thrumming beneath her skin as I traced along her jawline. I wanted to touch every inch of her, map every bit of her magic.

Drawing back, I slipped my finger between her lips. Her tongue circled it and sucked, her inexperience giving way to whatever primal instinct drove us. She molded against me, her eyes burning into mine, begging for more.

My finger slid from her mouth and continued its exploration—down her throat, her breastbone, between the swell of her breasts. I paused at her naval.

Touching her was nothing like I’d imagined. It was better. The fantasy of her body paled in comparison to the reality of how it felt against mine, how her soft curves fit against me. She drew a single ragged breath, her tongue swiping over her lip, over that beautiful scar in invitation.

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