Page 18 of Sexual Appetites of Vampires

Loved?

Love had nothing to do with this and, besides, was a vampire even capable of love?

“There is something on your mind.”

With a suddenness that startled her, she realized that... “It wasn’t a dream, was it?” she said as if demanding he clarify it.

“You came to me,” he said, stepping further into the room.

“Because you called me,” she corrected.

“No, I did not call you. I thought of you, wanted you, but I never called out to you. You came to me of your own volition.”

Lara got to her feet quickly, keeping the blanket against her chest, as if the pathetic excuse for a shield would somehow protect her.

“You can’t deny that you want me, Lara.”

“Do I or have you placed the thought in my head?”

“I don’t manipulate women. I have no need to. I told you...fully awake and also fully willing are the only ways I will make love to you.”

She couldn’t help but ask, “Do vampires love?”

“Vampires love more strongly than any human. Our heightened senses don’t allow us to love any other way. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. The intensity of such strong love feeds a vampire almost as much as the blood we drink.”

“Love and blood, a strange combination.”

“Yet both life-sustaining.”

He had stepped closer, and her shield was useless, her body sparking. How could that be after she just had two orgasms? Yet here she was ready for more. She never remembered feeling so full of lust.

He stepped away from her, going to the cabinet and pouring himself a glass of wine. “You should go refresh yourself and join me here when you’re ready.”

Lara dropped the throw on the chair and scooped up the books she had been reading and hugged them to her chest. She wanted them for later, but now she wanted them to hide her untethered breasts.Untethered breasts?What did she think? That she was in a romance novel and that love would prevail against all odds and there’d be a happy ending to this unbelievable tale? She’d probably wind up bitten by a vampire while having sex with him—she shook her head at the absurdity of her thoughts and hurried out of the library and upstairs to her room. She locked the door behind her, though the lock served no real purpose. If Michael wished to enter, he would.

She dropped down on the bed after placing the books on the nightstand.

“Rational thought here, Lara,” she cautioned and turned on her back to stare at the cream-colored ceiling.

“Only if you’re fully awake and fully willing,” she whispered. Those had been his words when it came to making love to her. He had not forced himself on her nor had he bitten her. Her hand went to her neck and her body gave a little shiver, recalling the scrape of his fangs against her skin. She sighed and draped her arm over her eyes. One minute he was scaring the bejesus out of her and the next he was sending her into explosive orgasms.

And the next... She lowered her arm, her eyes remaining fixated on the ceiling. There was that warrior-of-old necessity in him to protect. Even if she wasn’t the woman he loved, he still protected her—even from herself, so it seemed.

Had she really sensed his desires and hunted them down? She laughed. She was like a vampire herself, though it wasn’t blood that drove her, it was sex. She laughed again. She had gone from dormant to raging hormones with one look at Michael. But then a woman would have to be dead not to respond to him. Or would she be dead if she did?

Lara popped up off the bed. “Enough. Enough,” she scolded herself. “Take a nice, hot shower and don’t dare think.”

She went through her suitcase and chose black leggings, and a black sweater with silver threads throughout. It was oversized, loose, and comfy. Forget tight and sexy, it would only get her in trouble. But wasn’t she already in trouble?

She carted them off to the bathroom along with her case of toiletries. After setting everything down on the sizeable vanity, she turned on the shower, then stripped out of her clothes. She gave herself a close perusal in the mirror.

“Average. You’re average,” she said to her image, as if reminding herself of something. “And he’s not.”

As if that settled things for her—at least for the moment—she stepped into the shower, shutting the door behind her.

She wanted to sigh with pleasure as the hot water beat down on her. She let the pulsating water soak her hair as well as her body. She twisted and turned so that the pelting water could reach every nook and cranny. It was like a gentle massage, and she turned her back to the water and bent at her waist so that her backside was treated to the soothing caress.

That’s when Michael popped into her mind. For a moment, she thought of him there, his hands squeezing her wet backside before he stepped closer and rubbed himself against her.

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