“Ah. Does that mean you’re saying yes?”
She nodded, glad that she’d already showered her mascara off, because the tears were now streaming down her face. She gathered herself enough to say, “My father will want a real wedding.”
Christian threw his head back and laughed. “A wedding he’ll have then.”
“You mean it?”
“Of course. All I care about is having you by my side and in my bed every night.”
Natalie rolled her forehead against his wet chest. She was so happy she could hardly contain it. “I love you,” she whispered, then looked up at him and said it again. “I love you.”
“Je t’aimerai á jamais, ma Natalie.” I will love you always.
Christian bent his head to kiss her, then said against her lips, “Now, about fucking you up against that wall . . .” He reached down and grabbed her butt, lifting her as he backed her against the tiled wall of the shower.
Natalie sucked in a surprised breath, but responded quickly, wrapping her legs around his hips and squeezing, pulling him against her. Christian growled his approval, hitched her a little higher, then gripped his cock and slipped it into her slick and ready pussy, going deep with a single, gliding thrust.
“So nice and wet for me,” he murmured, his deep voice a hum of sound over her wet skin.
She shivered and tightened her hold on him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and locking her ankles over his butt, pulling him even further into her body. Her nipples scraped the soft hair on his chest, and she lowered her mouth to his shoulder, kissing the thick skin over solid muscle, licking her way up to his neck.
He did the same to her, his tongue a hot rasp over her flesh, until his mouth closed over her vein, and she felt the hard brush of his fangs.
She moaned in anticipation, sucking the strong tendon between his neck and shoulder, giving in to the temptation to bite, her teeth sinking in until she tasted blood. She froze in shock at what she’d done until she heard Christian’s groan.
“That’s it,” he ground out. “Taste me.”
Natalie’s whole body shook with desire. She bit down harder until her mouth was filled with his blood. She swallowed automatically. The orgasm came from nowhere, storming through her body, and shaking her bones, until she thought she’d break apart. Her nerves were on fire, her body clamping down on Christian’s cock, as she cried out again and again, ecstasy rippling over her in growing swells until she could only cling to Christian and ride it out. His arms were banded around her like steel as he slammed his cock into the tight glove of her pussy, until, with a shout, he plunged deep and stayed there, the hot wash of his release filling her, as his fangs sliced into her vein and sent her screaming into climax all over again.
Natalie bucked helplessly, her emotions spilling out in sobs while she clung to his massive shoulders, her face buried against his neck. Christian hummed his pleasure as he drank her blood, and in the midst of her orgasm, she found a sensual satisfaction in knowing that she was keeping him strong and alive.
Eventually, the tremors slowed, and stopped. She felt the warm scrape of Christian’s tongue on her neck, and then he lifted her away from the wall, and reached out with one hand to turn off the water. Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed a huge, fluffy towel and wrapped it around her, then carried her into the bedroom. He pulled the covers back and laid her down on the bed, then joined her.
Natalie stirred enough to say, “We’re all wet.”
“And soon we’ll be dry,” he replied, unconcerned. “Come on, you’ll catch a chill.” He wrapped her in the towel, tugged the covers over them both, and pulled her into his arms.
Natalie snuggled against him, too exhausted to do anything else. She’d worry about wet sheets later. Right now, she just wanted to curl up against Christian and sleep.
“Natalie,” Christian said softly, forcing her tired eyes to open again. “Where’d you get the gun?”
“Cynthia Leighton sent it to me,” she mumbled. “I think she wanted me to kill you, though,” she added without thinking, then froze, realizing what she’d said.
But Christian only snorted, and said, “That woman really knows how to hold a grudge.”
“A grudge?” Natalie asked, feeling her consciousness slipping away.
“Later,” he murmured, rubbing a soothing hand up and down her back. “Go to sleep.”
CHRISTIAN KNEW the moment Natalie drifted off. What little tension had been left in her body disappeared, and she slept curled up against his chest as if she couldn’t get close enough. Which was fine with him. His need to protect her was stronger than anything he’d ever felt before, stronger even than his feelings for Marc. He had to fight against the urge to hold her closer, for fear he’d break something.
Rolling over to his back, he pulled her against his side, and laid his head on the pillow. The sun was already tipping over the horizon. It was a testament to his power that he’d been able to remain awake this long. But he’d wanted to see Natalie asleep before he fell himself.
Once the full power of sunrise hit him, he’d be literally dead to the world. He only hoped she would sleep until he woke. If she didn’t, if she woke before he did, she’d learn the hard truth of sleeping with a vampire lover.
NATALIE OPENED HER eyes in the unfamiliar room, her memory slowly coming back to fill in the blanks. This was Christian’s bedroom, and they’d gone to sleep together. She rolled over, expecting to find him sound asleep, and admittedly curious to see what he looked like when he did his vampire sleep thing.
Except . . . he wasn’t there. She blinked in surprise. If he was already awake, that meant it was after sunset, and she’d slept through the entire day—something she’d never done before. Of course, she’d also never been kidnapped, shot her way out of a locked room, and then helped kill a powerful vampire before either. Add sex in the shower with Christian, and suddenly, she wasn’t all that surprised she’d slept so long.