Page 67 of Hunters and Hydrangeas

Fireworks bloom in my stomach as he deepens the kiss. I sink against him, feeling molten. Neither of us is in a hurry. The kiss is long and languid.

Noah's cell phone rings. He ignores it.

A couple laughs loudly as they pass by our door in the hall. We ignore that, too.

One of Noah’s hands moves to my thigh. He grips it, his palm warm. I’ve never felt safer than I do right now, reveling in each other’s kisses in our private cocoon, separated from the reality that waits for us beyond the hotel room door.

I’m not sure how long we’ve been making out when my hands stray to the hem of his shirt. The cotton is soft against my fingers, comforting. But I want it gone.

When I tug at the fabric, Noah pauses, stroking the back of my head as he meets my eyes. Releasing me, he pulls his shirt up and over his head, tossing it at the end of the bed.

My eyes drop to his tanned chest and abs, snagging on every hardened ridge. He draws in a breath when I drag my fingers over him, going still, his muscles firm. I trail my hand over his side, and then his chest, finally pressing my palm to his shoulder, using him as an anchor. Needing his stability.

“Noah,” I say when the ache in my chest becomes too much. “You know Ethan bit me.”

His eyes flash with anger, but his grip on my leg softens. He soothes it over my skin, his touch tender. “I do.”

“I scrubbed my skin raw last night, trying to get him off me.”

His eyebrows lower slightly, and he moves his hand to my cheek. “I noticed.”

I’m fine now. My body healed from the slight abrasion before I woke up this morning.

“Does it bother you?” I whisper.

Noah’s hand drifts to my neck, and he rubs his thumb over the invisible wound. “A stolen bite doesn’t make you his. You aremine.”

His words are a balm to my internal wounds—a reassurance that Ethan’s unwanted bite didn’t taint me.

“It hurt,” I whisper. “And I was terrified.”

Noah closes his eyes, trying to hide his rage so he won’t scare me, but I can feel it in his muscles.

I press a kiss to his lips. “I want you to erase it.”

He slowly opens his eyes, studying me. His honeyed gaze darkens, and a concerned frown touches his features. “How?”

“Bite me,” I whisper.

His pulse quickens, and the air between us becomes charged.

“Please, Noah.”

I know Ethan’s bite didn’t change my line—it didn’t suddenly make me his. But bites have power in this strange vampire world I’m suddenly a part of. Ethan knew it. That’s why he attacked me. It wasn’t to finish the job he started so we could be together in monster immortality. It was to dominate me, to make me submit to him, and show I was weak.

And I hate it.

After several long seconds, Noah touches my chin and tilts my face to the side. I’m exposed and vulnerable, but I’m not scared. Not of Noah.

“Are you sure?” he asks quietly.

When I nod, he brings his lips to the underside of my jaw, barely brushing a kiss over my skin, taking his time.

I think he’s nervous.

I’m nervous, too.

Slowly, Noah feathers kisses down my throat. Tentatively, he runs his tongue over my pulse point, making my skin tingle. I tighten my grip on his shoulder, urging him to keep going.

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