Page 31 of Last Shot at Love

I moved to roll out of bed, only to remember I was naked beneath the sheet. And although Cerulean had seen me naked the night before, it had been dark and felt different in the daylight.

“If you don’t mind, while you check in with work, I’m going to take a swim. It’s strange being on land for so many hours.” Cerulean lifted the sheet from his waist and stood, making no effort to hide himself.

I swallowed hard, steadying my voice. “If it’s uncomfortable for you on land, how will you be able to live in the city with me?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “It’s not painful, merely unusual.”

It made sense. Most shifters got an uncomfortable itch that could only be scratched by releasing their natural form.

I spent so much time in my human form it had become easy to go long stretches of time without feeling the need to shift. My father, on the other hand, could only go about twelve hours in his human form before he grew antsy and needed to shift to his natural form.

Vampires and most other shifters could train themselves to go longer between shifting forms, but it would take some time for Cerulean to get used to staying in his human form the majority of the time.

“I live near the ocean, so you could visit the sea every day. But there are only a few months out of the year that it’s warm enough to swim in.”

Cerulean chuckled. “While I prefer warm water, I’m able to regulate my temperature. Swimming in the Atlantic in December wouldn’t be an issue for me.”

I shivered. “Well, don’t expect me to come swimming with you. I’ll watch from shore while wrapped in a blanket.”

Cerulean’s eyes softened, reminding me of a puppy. It was so dramatic I couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking.

“I’d like that,” he whispered.

Unable to hold his gaze, my eyes trailed down the chiseled lines of his body. He wasn’t overly bulky, like the guys who spent half their waking hours in a gym. His tall frame had the beautifully sculpted muscles you’d expect from a dancer… or a guy who spent twenty-four hours a day swimming.

There was no denying I was incredibly attracted to him. The man is exactly my type.

Despite my best efforts to keep my eyes from drifting lower than his chest, I failed miserably. And just like Dorothy on the yellow-brick road, I eagerly followed the thin line of golden hair. But unlike Dorothy, who’d needed to tap her slippers, there was something far different at the end of my path that I wanted to tap… and I wanted to do it more than three times.

Forget a magician; the man should have been a carpenter with the magnificent wooden tool he was working with.

Afraid he would notice that I’d begun drooling, I slid my tongue along my bottom lip and the corner of my mouth.

I hissed as the stale, coppery taste of my blood hit my taste buds. I touched my finger to my bottom lip. When I pulled it away, it was smeared with my blood.

“Seriously?” I stared at the blood, absolutely incredulous. “I haven’t bitten myself since I was a toddler!”

Cerulean moved faster than should have been possible. One minute, he’d been standing near the patio doorway, and the next, he was crouched over me, his eyes a solid, inky black.

I would have screamed, but I found myself spellbound as he wrapped his lips around my finger, and his tongue began lapping at my bloody fingertip.

A deep, guttural groan came from his chest, as though he were tasting a delicacy, which was strange, since vampires weren’t exactly known for possessing tasty blood since it was aged rather than freshly made. To be honest, vampire blood tasted downright disgusting.

Reluctantly, Cerulean released my finger. “I’ve tasted nothing like that.” His voice had gone so rough and gravelly I could barely understand his words.

The inky abyss of his eyes called to me, stirring the desire that had burned under my skin since meeting him.

“Oh, really?” My vampiric nature was intrigued and excited to play. Pouting slightly to better display my tiny injury, I purred in a husky tone I didn’t recognize, “It seems I’ve cut my lip. Maybe you could kiss it and make it better?”

Cerulean responded with a vicious snarl.

I’d expected a gentle, sucking type of kiss. I definitely hadn’t expected my teasing challenge to release his inner Kraken.

But dang! I was totally there for it.

His right hand sank into my hair, hauling my mouth to his as his body crushed me into the pillowy mattress.

I arched toward him, and his left arm quickly wrapped around my waist. His kiss was demanding, and I eagerly gave him what he wanted.

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