Page 89 of Nearly Dead

I place my hand over his heart, feeling it beat beneath my palm.“But you found me.You always find me.”

His hands slide under my torn shirt, cool against my skin.It rests on the wound now healing over my chest.His eyes darken as he leans in, capturing my mouth in a kiss that steals my breath.There’s desperation in it, a need born of fear and relief.I understand because I feel it too.The terror of almost losing each other.

My hands find their way under his shirt, tracing the hard planes of his chest.The kitchen counter presses against my back as he lifts me onto it, stepping between my legs.My body responds instantly, hybrid senses heightening every sensation.

“We shouldn’t,” I murmur against his lips, even as my legs wrap around his waist.

“Just a moment,” he whispers, his mouth trailing down my neck.“Just one moment to remind ourselves we’re alive.”

I arch into him as his fangs graze my skin, not breaking it but threatening to.My own extend in response, the hybrid hunger rising.I want his blood, his body, the connection that only comes when we’re joined completely.

He seems to read my thoughts, his hands tightening on my hips.

“When this is over,” he promises, “when your family is safe, I’m going to take you to my home in the mountains.Just the two of us.No council, no Elizabeth, no one to interrupt.And I’m going to make love to you for centuries.”

The image he paints makes me shiver with anticipation.“Promise?”

“I swear it,” he says, sealing the vow with another kiss.

I believe him.Not because of the sire bond or vampire compulsion, but because in this moment, I trust him completely.Whatever comes next, we’ll face it together.

The kiss deepens.This time neither of us pulls back.There’s no space for hesitation.His hands slide beneath the remnants of my shirt, lifting it over my head and tossing it aside without ceremony.I’m not gentle either, tugging his pants free, hungry to feel skin against skin.When our bodies meet, it’s not just sex.It’s need, raw and biting, sharpened by everything we almost lost today.

He sets me down on the counter.I barely register the hard surface.All I want is the slick slide of his skin against mine.He presses into me.His mouth claims every inch of mine like he’s trying to imprint himself into memory.It’s ridiculous because I’d never forget him.

We don’t speak as we move.There’s no need for words.I tilt my head, offering my throat without thought.His fangs brush the sensitive skin, teasing, threatening, worshiping, edged in hunger.My own pierce his shoulder and the blinding pleasure erupts in climax.

He buries his face in my neck, clamping down hard, and I feel him release with me.It’s not gentle.It’s not pretty.But it’s real.It’s us.

When we finally break apart, I feel more focused.The blood and Costin’s touch have restored me, body and spirit.I slide off the counter, straightening my clothes.

“Let’s go kick some ass,” I say.

As we leave the kitchen, I feel something nudge against my consciousness.A faint echo of the power I felt in the crypt.It whispers to me of danger, of change, of choices yet to be made.

Elizabeth is waiting for us, and she won’t be alone.But neither will I.

I have Costin.

ChapterTwenty

New York City…

Going to the underground city feels like descending into an old, familiar nightmare.The mausoleum entrance stands before us like a hungry mouth, eager to swallow us whole.The leering carved faces on the tombstones are judging me for coming back.I’ve been this way before, but never with such dread in my stomach.Strange, since I was mortal the first time.

If I listen, I can hear the city all around us.At first, it’s car horns and the hum of engines stuck in traffic.Beneath that, I pick up pieces of random conversations.It’s unsettling how much privacy humans don’t have from supernaturals.I wonder how many of my conversations have been eavesdropped on.

“Tamara?”Costin touches my shoulder.“What is it?”

The city has so many smells.Many of them unpleasant.Still, I take deep breaths, letting it overload my senses.

“Tamara?”

“I wasn’t outside long when they took me from your underground palace to the estate.It’s overwhelming, isn’t it?All these people.So many lives.So many heartbeats.”

“Do you need to feed again?”His hand becomes heavier as if he’s preparing to stop me.

“I didn’t say I wanted toeatall the people,” I chuckle.Costin already made me gorge myself, and he gave me a canteen to carry as backup.He’s worried that if I get too drained, I’ll go feral like I did in the library.“I kept my wits when we fought the zombies.I’ve found balance.I’ll be fine.”

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