Page 16 of Stolen By the Vampire

“What—”

He cut off her protest with a sudden movement. Where he’d once stood at the edge, now he was directly above her, his body leaned over hers.

Gods, she hadn’t been imagining his scent. This close, just as she’d pictured, her neediness grew. She tried to crush her legs together, but his knee pressed between them through the blanket.

“When you have these needs, I will be the one to tend them,” he growled.

When. The gall! Though it was hard to deny that. “If that’s my only option, I’d sooner go without.”

“Would you really deny yourself to spite me?” He sounded baffled. “A creature like you is made for pleasure.”

A creature like you. What did that mean? Confused, she chose another line of defense. “You have a mate. No doubt they wouldn’t like you with another female.”

Silas’s white fangs gleamed. “As I told you, leave all worries about my mate to me. You’re my priority this eve, Esmae.”

Just the sound of her name on his lips, somewhere between a growl and a purr, had her arching.

“I’m not having sex with you.”

She braced for the argument. If there was anything that annoyed the village boys, it was that line. Or worse, they took it as a challenge.

But Silas only nodded, as if it was a foregone conclusion. “I only wish to see to your satisfaction.”

A part of her couldn’t help but relax at that. Why was the monster so quick to acquiesce to her? In every matter except, well, letting her go or letting her kill him.

“Put your hands above your head, and keep them there,” he instructed. The thrall compelled her, and she was glad of it, because if he hadn’t—she would have still obeyed.

The movement pushed the blanket down. She was still dressed, but it made her feel exposed all the same. His hand came to her breast, feeling the mound of flesh through the fabric, his finger rolling the peak of her nipple with just enough pleasure to have her sucking in a breath.

“You’ll tell me if you dislike anything I do, immediately. You say you honestly wish for me to stop, and I will. You have my word, little witch. Do you understand?”

She nodded. She believed him. Even now, if she said she didn’t want this, he’d leave. But her body craved his touch. There was a reason her usual fantasies hadn’t sufficed. She’d had a taste of the vampire, and gods smite her, she wanted more.

“I need to hear your pretty voice,” he coaxed.

“I understand, Silas.”

He stared at her, his fingers stilling. “That’s the first time you’ve said my name, Esmae. I like it.”

She flushed. She’d been avoiding it, because saying his name made him seem too much like a person, but it had slipped out before she could stop it. “Delightful. Now, are you going to give me satisfaction, or was that all just talk?”

He grinned, the expression feral in the torchlight. “Fear not, little witch. I’ll have you screaming my name before the night is through.”

He descended upon her.

The blanket was ripped away, the cold air pricking at her senses. He pulled her untied trousers down her legs. She widened her legs on instinct, and Silas gave her an approving smirk as a reward. The expression should’ve turned her off, but no. Seeing the male so confident, so gleeful at her need for him—he could read her movements so godsdamn easily.

She was eager for his fingers, her body longing for even the slightest penetration. She’d said no sex, and she’d meant it. It was wrong to let the creature you planned to kill penetrate you, wasn’t it? Surely there was a line. But she felt so empty, need clawing at her. She tested her wrists, straining above, but her hands wouldn’t move as though they were tied to the headboard. The restraint made her feel freer to arch, to try to draw him in.

His hands slid slowly along her bare thighs, the touch surprisingly gentle, coaxing.

“Wider, Esmae. Show me all of you.”

She obeyed.

“Touch me,” she begged.

“I am,” Silas said, his movements on her hips utterly unhurried. As if he hadn’t a care in the world. Yet his appearance belied his words. His muscles were taut, his eyes bright and hungry. His erection pressed against her leg as he leaned over, just the slightest contact making her jolt.

---