Page 24 of A Vampire in a Pear Tree
“I wouldn’t mind squashing a few demon lords,” he admitted, for a handful of seconds dwelling with much pleasure on what he’d like to do to Desislav for his part in the thanes’ imprisonment.“But on the whole, I do not seek revenge.Not even toward my mother, who I now believe is downright delusional in her quest to regain access to the Celtic Pantheon.”
“The what, now?”Berry asked.“Is that what you were going to tell me last night when you suddenly appeared stark naked and asked if I wanted to hook up?”
Both Dark Ones eyed him with unreadable expressions.
“That was because you kept thinking things about my hair and chest and arms, although I don’t understand the term ‘hip-hop’ in relation to my hair.That aside, I assumed you wished to explore a sexual relationship,” he answered, a bit testily, to be true.
She slid a glance toward the Dark Ones, lifting her chin as she said, “I don’t know why you’d believe that.”
“Why?Because you were thinking the most lascivious things possible about me.I assumed you wish to act on the attraction we both feel,” he said.
“I never thought anything remotely smutty about you!”she declared, her eyes now filled with a mixture of irritation and arousal.
Her pupils dilated slightly when he raised his eyebrows at her statement.
“Fine,” she just about snarled, shooting an indignant glance at the two Dark Ones.“I may have had a few stray thoughts about how nice you smell, but that’s it.”
“You also thought many things about my hair, and what you’d like to do to it,” he reminded her.“Specifically, where you’d like it to touch you.”
Both Dark Ones studied his hair.
“Oh!”Berry said, rounding on him, looking like she wanted to punch his nose.“You take that back!I thought about your hair brushing across my nipples earlieryesterday, when we were at that restaurant, not after we were at my cousin’s house!”
The Dark One named Finch tipped his head toward Berry when he asked the other, “Beloved?”
His uncle looked thoughtful, then nodded.“I believe so.”
“I am a thane, not a Dark One,” he told them.“We do not have Beloveds.”
“Well, bully for you,” Berry said, actually whapping him on the arm, her eyes still glittering with ire and arousal.“Not that I care what you call a girlfriend, because I am not she.Her.Whatever is grammatically correct—I’m too annoyed to care.Not only that, I’d like to point out, Mr.Chatty Pants, that a gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell to strangers.”
“We haven’t kissed,” he pointed out.“Despite you wanting to suck on my lower lip.Would you like to do that now?”
She looked more outraged, if possible, which delighted him more.
“As a matter of fact, I would,” she answered, taking him by surprise, which pushed his admiration of her quirky nature even higher.
With a defiant glance at the Dark Ones, she leaned into him, her breath brushing his lips as she started to scatter the softest kisses imaginable along his lips.
“What are you doing?”he asked a full minute later, when she stopped, a mixture of puzzlement and annoyance visible in her expression.
“Kissing you.”
“Ah.”He lifted an eyebrow a minute amount.“Would you like me to kiss you back?Although I’m not sure the idea of me starting at your knees and working my way up is appropriate in present company.”
“Will you stop reading my thoughts!”she bellowed, catching the attention of everyone in the large hall.“It’s rude, and besides, my brain thinks things about you that I didn’t authorize, like the kissing my thighs and belly and ...and ...other parts.”
“Definitely a Beloved,” Finch told Christian, who looked thoughtful.
“Is that a yes or no to me kissing you in a manner appropriate to our surroundings?”he asked, squelching the bubble of laughter that wanted to rise in response.It was enough to keep a tight rein on his libido so that the dragons and Dark Ones didn’t witness him sporting a full erection, and he couldn’t do that if he was too busy being amused.
“No,” she said, giving an abrupt jerk of her head.“I don’t want to kiss you anymore.”
He raised his eyebrow a little higher.
She snarled something rude under her breath.“Later.You can return the kiss later.When everyone isn’t staring at us like we’re insects pinned to a board.”
The dragons had re-formed their huddle.The two Dark Ones looked pained, as if they were both trying hard not to laugh at the ridiculous situation.
