with shock and he took full advantage, sliding his other arm from the back of the couch up the curve of her spine to send her tumbling off-balance and into his chest.
“Much better,” he said, pulling away for a second. Natalie’s mouth opened in protest and he tugged her full lips back to his, biting lightly on the lower one until she opened her mouth, then he slid his tongue inside, teasing along hers until she was panting. She straddled his legs on the couch, her hands trailing up his biceps to grip his shoulders as her nails dug into his skin. The tiny bites of pain triggered a primitive thrill. He could feel the heat where he held her at the small of her back and his fingers slid into her riotous hair, twisting and tangling those red waves until her heart was pounding. He could feel it against his chest.
Alive. She was so alive and Baojia felt as if he’d been cold for so long. He could hear his own silent heart thump once against hers. He wanted her. Needed her.
Needed her?
The low growl built in his throat, and his fangs fell down, nicking the edge of her lip.
“Ow!” She gasped and pulled away, her mouth red and swollen. His eyes narrowed on the tiny trickle at the corner of her mouth.
“Let me…” He pierced his tongue and licked up, sampling the heady flavor of her blood and the salt on her skin as he healed the tiny cut. He wanted more. “Natalie—”
“Stop,” she whispered, placing a hand on his chest. “Are you going to bite me?”
He stilled immediately. “Do you want me to?”
“I… I don’t…” Her eyes were round and uncertain. “I don’t know.”
He groaned and pulled her close, leaning his forehead against hers as he tried to gather his control. She was frightened. This wasn’t the way it should be.
“One day,” he said in a low voice, “I want you to crave my bite.”
She blushed again; he stopped breathing. Her scent was too tempting.
“Does… I mean, doesn’t it hurt?”
As if on cue, a low satisfied moan of female pleasure echoed down the hall from Tulio’s chamber. Baojia looked at Natalie, who had turned toward the noise, her mouth falling open a little.
“No,” he said. “It doesn’t.”
“Oh. I didn’t think…” She backed away, untangling from his arms, distancing herself. “I mean, she’s so much older than him.”
Baojia cocked kaojeded herhis head in confusion until he remembered that Cirilda was probably in her fifties. “He is far older than her, Natalie.”
“Oh.” She shook her head. “Of course. I just… She looks older, so it’s kind of confusing.”
Humans were often strange about age. They put so much stock in appearance. “Remember to not judge their relationship by human standards. They have been together many years. I know he’s very fond of her. I doubt her age troubles him except as a reminder that their time is limited.”
He saw her look thoughtfully down the hall as the sounds of carnal pleasure turned to more intimate, muffled conversation. He heard a low laugh from Tulio, then another quick exchange between the vampire and his lover.
“He wouldn’t make her a vampire?” she asked quietly.
“No. If he did, it would change their feelings toward each other. It is a different kind of relationship and would break their connection as lovers.”
“Someone else, though?”
He shrugged. He doubted there were any immortals Tulio trusted enough to change Cirilda. Any vampire who sired her would have her loyalty and an unbreakable bond for eternity, possibly interfering with her loyalty to him. “She may not want to become a vampire, Natalie. I don’t know.”
“What will happen to her?”
“I imagine he will take care of her until she dies, unless she wants to leave. He is an honorable man.” Why was she so troubled? “Are you worried about her?”
She shook her head and moved farther away from him, which displeased him. “No. It’s none of my business.”
“But you are worried about something.”
“I, uh…” She stood up and grabbed her purse. “I’m worried about the case. What’s our next step? Are we leaving soon?”
She was lying, but she did have a point. They had little time to waste. He needed to drive to Los Angeles, find a safe place to keep her, then speak to his father. Ernesto wouldn’t be pleased, but there was little he could do about that. This problem of the murdered humans had landed on his father’s back porch, courtesy of a visitor from the south.