The Last of the Red Hot Vampires - By Katie MacAlister Page 0,41

touch. Now they're all gone. And for that matter..." I flexed my arm, swinging it in a wide circle. "My sore shoulder isn't the least bit sore, and the doctor at the hospital said it would probably be a few days before the pain and stiffness wore off."

He moved closer, his warm fingers gently touching my neck. It felt so much like a caress that my knees threatened to give in. "I am sorry that I hurt you, Portia. I never meant to harm you."

"I know," I said, horrified by how breathy my voice was. With him standing so close to me, my brain was losing a battle against my emotions and bodily demands. "Now, at least. I didn't know it then. But that doesn't explain why the bruises are gone."

His thumb brushed the hollow in my throat. I swallowed convulsively.

"You are a virtue. They healed."

"I thought I wasn't officially part of the immortal Court until I pass all the trials?" My breath caught in my throat as his hand slid down to my shoulder. He pulled me close to his chest, his eyes glittering blackly.

"You're not immortal yet. But you are a virtue, which means you're...enhanced."

"Enhanced can be good." My breasts tightened and sent little zings of pleasure down to my belly as they brushed against his shirt, the heat from his body warming me like the blanket couldn't.

His head dipped, his lips brushing mine. "Enhanced can be wonderful. I want you, Portia."

I leaned into him, rubbing my hips against his in a wanton fashion that was so totally alien for me that for a moment, I was shocked by my own desire. "I kind of got that idea."

"Are you...that is, do you understand what it is I want from you?" His voice, deep to begin with, roughened, the Irish lilt more pronounced. His hands were on my waist now, holding me, but not caressing. The look in his eyes was earnest, hot, filled with carnality that I knew should have shocked me to my toenails, but instead called forth a response within me.

"Are you asking if I'm OK with the thought of going to bed with you?"

His tongue flicked across my lower lip. I wrapped my arms around him and let him see my own desire.

"Yes, I'm OK with it. I know that only a few days ago I would have moved heaven and earth to get this most fabulous butt of yours into jail. I know you're virtually a stranger, and I'm not at all the type of person to jump into bed with someone I've just met, but somehow none of that really seems to matter anymore."

"No, it doesn't," he murmured, his hands moving, sliding down my silk-covered back to my behind, easing their way under the material to stroke my bare flesh. "I've wanted you since the moment you tried to run me over. You are unlike any woman I have met before. You are strong, and courageous, and you do not suffer fools. Not to mention the fact that your breasts drive me to distraction."

I sucked in an inordinate amount of air as one of his hands suddenly cupped my aching breast, gently teasing my nipple until I thought I would spontaneously combust. "You have way too many clothes on," I finally managed to say, my hands shaking with excitement as I struggled with the buttons on his shirt.

"Yes, yes I do. Feel free to remove them."

I all but ripped his shirt off, ignoring the sound of a couple of buttons as they pinged on the floor, my eyes feasting on his bare chest for a moment before he pulled me back into an embrace.

"I highly approve of your chest. It's masculine without being overly hairy," I said as his mouth descended upon mine, the last coherent words I spoke while he kissed the breath right out of my lungs. He tasted faintly of wine, and something that was wholly Theo, an elusive masculine taste that thrilled me. His hands were everywhere, touching, stroking, teasing me in so many different places that all I could think of was how much I wanted him.

"You look as if you're hot," he said a few minutes later, when we came up for air. The desire and admiration in his eyes bathed me in a glow that raised my temperature another notch.

"Sweltering," I said, panting slightly. "Teddies are notoriously hot."

His gaze slipped down to my chest. "In so many ways. But it would be ungentlemanly of me to