Page 16 of Taken By the Vampires
His warm, caramel gaze drank in my face. He cupped my cheek, stepping so close to me now that my breasts brushed his chest and still I stood my ground. I didn’t think I could move, even if I wanted to.
“You’re fascinating,” he whispered before he bent his head and captured my lips with his. Just gently at first, and then he deepened the kiss with languid sweeps of his lips. I gripped his biceps, anchoring myself to him as my whole awareness became Xander and his lips on mine.
One arm banded behind my waist, the other hand threaded through my hair and cupped the back of my head. He slanted his head, capturing my lips, teasing me, building a fast stoking flame.
I closed my eyes, my senses converging in the darkness I found there. There was no sense of wrong, of holding back, or even a question of whether or not I should be kissing Xander at all. I was swept along with the proficiency of his kiss, the way his lips, so stern and even harsh looking, could also be so soft. So skilful.
“I find I am unable to resist you, Tu Ena. I could just eat you up.” His rough voice at my ear made me shiver. I found myself unable to resist him as well.
I let my head fall back as he sucked on my earlobe and kissed his way over the pulsing vein along my neck. He stopped there and inhaled, breath filling his lungs as his chest expanded. He pressed an open-mouthed kiss right on top of my jugular before trailing a path with the tip of his tongue back to my lips.
He kissed me deeply then, his tongue sweeping into my welcoming mouth. His flavor burst on my tongue. Masculine. Heady. Fueling my desire.
I let my tongue sweep against his, pushing my aching breasts against his solid chest, needing the quickly growing pressure to be released any way it could. He tilted his head. There was a sting on my bottom lip and I jerked back, momentarily surprised. Need bolted through me.
I sucked my bottom lip, tasting a drop of blood on my tongue. If I thought I’d experienced desire before, I was wrong. A heady tide of arousal surged through me, spiking with a need so great I wrapped my arms around Xander’s neck, threaded my fingers into the fine hair at his nape and kissed him hard. I groaned as I kissed him, rubbing my aching breasts against him.
The slow burn that had started between my legs now throbbed. I needed to be touched there. If only he would undress me, cup me with his bare hand and slide his fingers through my folds. Spear me with his fingers, just like Davon had done. I needed release or I was going to burn up.
Xander cupped my cheeks, resting his forehead against mine. His fingers tensed, his breath shuddered out as a violent quake rocked his body. “Ella, we need to stop.”
“But I don’t want to stop.” I undid the top buttons of his shirt. Overcome with the urge to taste him, I dipped my face and licked at the area of skin I had bared. Delicious, just as I suspected.
He stepped back, capturing my hands. I tried to remove his grip, but he held firm. “Calm, Ella.” His voice had changed. It was deeper, strained. The low tone reverberated through me.
It took me a moment to focus, to understand what he was doing. I went to move towards him, but he stepped back and away from me. “Xander?”
He drew in a deep, deep breath. “I thought I could do this. It would be so simple, to just take you, but…I have to go.”
He stepped away from me. My body lurched, leaving me unbalanced, cold. Confused, I sought his face, but he had turned away as though he were ashamed of what he’d done. “I’m sorry, Ella, I…”
Humiliation washed through me, cooling me more effectively than stepping into the blizzard that raged outside. I crossed my arms, trying to rub away the sudden chill. I should be used to this sort of rejection. It had been my mantra for years now. The outsider. The one nobody understands. The woman no man wants.
“Did I do something wrong?”No doubt I had done something very wrong. First, I’d allowed his friend Davon to feel me up and now I’d let Xander kiss me. God help me if I hadn’t responded the same way to both men. He was right to rebuff me. I should have more self-control.
The thing was, I usually did.
“No, Ella. It’s me. I have to stop. You’re not ready for the consequences.”
“But...”
He strode to the door, still averting his face and gestured to a section of the library. “The spells and curses are in this section. I insist you start there.”
Then he disappeared.
Again.
Chapter Eleven
Confused, it took me some time to pull myself together, not believing what I’d done. Mortified, I faced the window and focused on the driving snow on the other side, wishing it could white-wash this feeling from inside me.
I couldn’t blame Xander. I didn’t even know why I’d started kissing him. He must think I’m such a slut. He’s probably thanking his lucky stars he got away when he did. I don’t know what had gotten into me since I’d been here. It was like I possessed no self-control, as though some secret part of me inside had finally been revealed and was making up for lost time.
“Ella? Are you all right?”
Damn. Cassius. I didn’t want him seeing me like this. I wiped tears from my face, pulling myself together before I turned around. “Yes, I’m fine.”
The look on his face said he didn’t believe me. I wondered if they had a bet going between them. Who would be the first to bed the desperate idiot who tripped down a mountain?
