Darkness Eternal(32)

“Warm skin, a steady pulse . . .” Barely aware he was moving, Uriel lowered his head to touch his lips to the hollow behind her ear, nuzzling the satin softness of her skin. “The scent of tiger lilies,” he husked. “I can assure you that you’re very much alive.”

 

“Oh.” She shuddered, the scent of her arousal perfuming the air while Uriel planted a trail of kisses to the revealing pulse at the base of her neck. “What are you doing?”

 

“I think I should double check,” he said, the driving pleasure in touching her overcoming his small claim to intelligence. “We can’t be too careful.”

 

“I warned you, vamp . . .” Kata breathed, her hands lifting to his chest. She no doubt intended to push him away, or maybe something even worse, but instead her fingers splayed over his rigid muscles, the heat of her touch searing through the thin material.

 

“Uriel,” he rasped.

 

“What?”

 

“My name is Uriel.”

 

She shivered. “Uriel.”

 

Chapter 5

 

During the long years of her imprisonment, Kata more than once skirted the edge of madness. Not only from the endless days of being trapped on the narrow cot, but from sheer loneliness.

 

Even with her ability to view the world through Marika and Laylah, as well as Yannah’s occasional visits, she’d been tortured by her isolation. She was a human who’d been raised by loving parents who’d been openly affectionate. To be suddenly denied the comfort of her family and loving tribe was worse than death.

 

She craved companionship with an aching need.

 

Which was the only reason she was tilting back her head to encourage his seeking lips, and why her hands were lifting to tangle in his thick curls. It was why she arched closer to the growing promise of his erection . . .

 

Blessed mother. Ruthless desire blazed through her, belatedly jerking her out of her self-delusion.

 

Mere comfort didn’t make a woman’s heart race with a wild excitement or her stomach clench in anticipation.