him. He could feel her gaze on his back, feel her confusion.
"Jason?"
"Go to bed, Leanne." He had not meant the words to sound so harsh.
He sensed her hesitation, her hurt, and then, very quietly, she closed the door.
With a sigh he dropped into his favorite chair and buried his face in his hands, hands that trembled with the need to hold her close, to feel the warmth of her in his arms, to breathe in the scent of her hair and skin. She was so alive, so vibrant?just holding her made him feel a little alive himself.
He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there, staring into nothingness, when he heard her cry out.
Part 1 Chapter Six
Bolting from the chair, Jason ran into the bedroom, ready to do battle with Satan himself if need be. But there was no one in the room except Leanne, tossing restlessly on the bed.
Her hair spread across the pillows like chocolate silk. She'd thrown the covers off, and the gown's full skirt pooled around her thighs, offering him a beguiling glimpse of shapely calves.
Another cry was torn from her throat, and he saw a tear slip down her cheek.
Before he quite realized what he was doing, Jason was at her side, gathering her into his arms.
"Hush, love," he murmured. "It's only a dream, only a bad dream."
"Jason?"
"I'm here."
She burrowed her face into his shoulder. "It was awful," she said, her voice husky with sleep. "I was dreaming about tonight, but it was worse, much worse." She drew back, her gaze seeking his. "They shot you."
He shook his head. "No."
"Yes! I saw it so clearly. It couldn't have been a dream."
"But it was," he said reassuringly. "Look." He lifted his shirt so she could see his chest. "You see? No bullet holes."
"But I saw it, I heard the gunshots?"
He drew her head to his chest and rocked her gently. "Go back to sleep, Leanne. Everything's fine."
"Is it?" She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes. "You feel so cold."
Unable to help himself, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head, willing her to relax, to sleep, to forget.
"I love you, Jason," she murmured drowsily. "Please don't leave me again."
He closed his eyes, her words pouring over him like hot August sunshine. She loved him.
It was a dream come true.
It was his worst nightmare.
"Promise me," she whispered. "Promise you'll never leave me."
Ah,Leanne, my love, if you only knew what you were asking of me. If you only knew how your nearness torments and tempts me.
She pulled back a little so she could see his face, her eyes searching his. "You don't love me, do you?"
He looked away, unable to bear the sight of the pain that shimmered in the depths of her eyes. Love her, he thought, if only he didn't!
A single tear slipped down her cheek. It was his undoing.
"I do love you, Leanne." The words were wrenched from the depths of his soul. "Please, do not weep. I cannot bear the sight of your tears."
"You mean it?"
"I swear it by all that I hold dear."
"Oh, Jason!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, kissed him until they were both breathless.
She was fire and honey in his arms. All his senses came alive until he was drunk with the taste of her lips, the scent of her flesh, the sound of her whispered endearments. He felt his body grow hard. The need to nourish himself with the very essence of her life burned through him, as potent, as strong, as his desire for her flesh.
He groaned deep in his throat as her body molded itself to his. Her tongue laved the lobe of his ear, his neck; her hands explored the length and breadth of his back and shoulders, then boldly traced the outline of his thigh.
"Leanne." He caught her hands in his and willed his body to relax, knowing that in another moment his desire and his lust for blood would be impossible to control.
"It's all right," she said, her eyes shining with love and trust. "I want you to make love to me."
"I can't."
"Why?"
Why, why? What possible excuse could he give her? "I don't have any? any?" Hell's bells, what did they call those things, anyway?
"I don't care."
He summoned a tight smile. "I do."
"I don't have any diseases, Jason," she said quietly. "I've never been with a man before."
He felt his self-control hovering on the brink of collapse. "All the more reason why we should