pillow beneath her like a dark, wild halo.
“I’ll go slow, Char. I promise.” He kissed her mouth, her neck, the tender spot right behind her ear where her pulse beat frantically beneath his lips. All the while, he kept his fangs carefully in check.
He reached between them, slipping a finger inside her. She was warm and silky soft. She moved against him, encouraging him to continue. Easing in a second one, he pressed his thumb against the little ball of flesh at her opening. She moaned against his lips and his fingers slipped in deeper.
He chuckled. “It’ll fit now.”
Her heart was pounding so loudly that he heard it in his head, like a drumbeat calling a warrior to battle. Thank God he’d taken blood not long ago and it was only desire that called to him now.
Her fingertips were cool as they tracked up and down his back. He knew from experience that he’d be feeling her nails in a minute. “Good, because I really want you.”
He grabbed the base of his erection and positioned himself carefully. As he slipped the tip between her folds, he stared at her heart-shaped face to gauge her reaction. Her lashes were thick against her cheek, her tongue darting out to wet her lips as she waited for him to continue. Slowly, he pushed into her warmth.
Holy mother of God. His fingers curled around the sheets beneath her and balled into fists. Her body was tight—so damned tight around him. Every fiber of his being urged him on, demanding he claim this woman as his own. Deeper, harder, all the way to the hilt.
But he couldn’t. He needed to go slow.
She hissed in a breath.
“Are you okay?” he asked, hesitating.
“Oh, my God. Yes.” Her short nails dug into his back, urging him to continue.
Inch by inch, he continued to ease himself in, pausing several times to give her a chance to adjust to his girth. It was a lesson in patience, but he didn’t want to hurt her. Finally, when she arched her hips a little more, he slid the rest of the way in. Out of habit, he reached for the small decorative pillow beside her head and tucked it beneath her bottom to keep her hips tilted up. She giggled.
“What?” he asked, but then he remembered. She’s always found it funny that he used her pink polka dot pillow this way.
“Nothing,” she answered. “It’s…this is…incredible.”
Yes, yes it was. “Char,” he managed to say into her hair. “You feel amazing. I’d forgotten—” Man, he needed to seriously slap some sense into himself. He’d almost screwed up and told her this wasn’t the first time he’d made love to her.
When they’d been together, they could hardly keep their hands off each other. It was as if their bodies were calling to each other on a totally different plane, demanding more than each of them expected. Then, in the car tonight, he’d tuned in to the beating of her heart.
Want me. Take me. Love me, it seemed to be saying.
And he couldn’t get that rhythm out of his head.
Oh, God, how he’d missed this. Forgotten how it felt to have this woman beneath him. He kissed her and slid his fingers into her hair. There was that tiny moan again, vibrating against his lips. Rocking his hips back, he began to move inside her. A voice in his head said maybe it had been foolish to take her home, because it would be harder to stay away now, but he told it to shut up. He’d worry about that tomorrow.
“So…so do you,” she said.
He had to have her this one last time. The Fates had put him on the street tonight when she needed him the most. Yes, he’d indulge himself in her sweetness, then he’d never be back again.
He pushed himself up and glanced down. He was now completely hidden within the walls of her body, liquid heat surrounding him. Like this, they were one entity with one goal, joined intimately for each other’s pleasure. He sensed the rapid beat of her heart as if it were his own.
Slowly, carefully, he eased himself almost all the way out. Moisture glistened on his shaft, a visual indication of how her body was reacting to his.
“Don’t stop,” she said breathlessly, her nails digging into his arms.
He laughed. “Believe me, I’m not. I’m just very visual.” Although he could tell she was ready for more, seeing it with his own eyes, rather than just feeling it, totally