Blood and Kisses - By Karin Shah Page 0,12

cascading flow over her body. Crystal water flowing over milky flesh. A sparkling stream sleeking her hair against her smooth shoulders and following the curves of her full breasts, the hollow of her belly, until sliding into the soft dark hair guarding her sex.

He sucked in a deep breath. His body hardened and the bloodlust, never far from the surface, surged through his veins. His fangs extended.

Beneath the sound of the water he could hear her breathing, feel the beat of her heart moving the sweet blood through her veins.

The water stopped.

He struggled to regain control as his rebellious mind furnished the image of her stepping from the marble shower stall, her skin flushed pink from the heat of the water, droplets gleaming on her rosy skin.

Even if she weren’t a witch, she wasn’t for him.

No one was for him. Passion was much too close to violence. He could never forget that the monster lurked, omnipresent, waiting for his opportunity to take over. His opportunity to destroy.

The hairdryer turned on, purring industriously. Several minutes passed.

Before sleep could take him again, her door opened. He listened to her progress throughout the house, jolting upright when he heard her run for the front door. It opened and closed, but she didn’t leave. She called out for Cam.

Footsteps entered his study. He heard drawers slide open.

She was going through his desk.

Anger twisted the threads of desire still entangling him.

So, the little witch thought to take advantage of him while he slept. Well, she wouldn’t find anything.

Her footsteps on the stairs brought him back to the moment. What was she up to now? The floor creaked outside his door. Her heart was pounding now. He could smell the adrenaline flavoring her blood. She was going to come in. The little fool.

He should end this right now. Instead he lay back on the bed and pretended to sleep.

Thalia licked her dry lips and placed her hand on the brass door handle of Gideon’s door. She pressed the other hand against the wood. For a moment, she imagined she could feel heat on the other side, as if there were a fire. Her witch senses warning her?

There might not be a fire, but danger sure as hell lurked on the other side.

She hesitated. He’d saved her bacon last night, brought her into his home. Snap out of it, Kent! He’s still a vampire. She blew out a gust of air.

Sure, he was hot, but the strange connection she felt to him was a biological advantage of vampires, nothing more. Without their magnetism, where would they get their next meal?

Gideon, like all vampires, was a predator. Only her poisonous blood prevented her from being a vampy snack. What made it so hard for her to remember that?

She couldn’t afford to trust him. Might just as well plant his teeth in her own neck, metaphorically speaking. Lily had no doubt trusted the monster who’d tapped her dry like a beer keg at a frat party.

Evoking the image of her cousin’s lifeless face once more, lips tinted blue, skin blanched, Thalia huffed, once twice, three tines. She could do this. She had to do this.

Pep talk over, she took one more deep breath, turned the handle, and stepped cautiously into the predator’s lair.

Chapter 4

It was dark in the room. Light from the hanging fixture in the hall spilled onto the wide bed like a spotlight, highlighting the still figure sprawled on its vast surface. Inky shadows hovered thick in the corners, disguising their contents.

Thalia whispered the final word of an illumination spell, and a cool yellow flame sprang to life above her curved palm. She raised her hand to dispel the shadows, revealing a room furnished in dark wood. She’d seen this suite in the catalog of a furniture company way out of her price range. A deep, rich red colored the walls. Dark wood plantation shutters decorated the window, but she knew the same heavy metal shades that covered the windows in the rest of the house were present behind them. She owned several of the same colorful prints that hung in the room, but she had a feeling these weren’t prints.

Her gaze drifted back to Gideon, who lay on his side. A white sheet covered him below his smooth chest. It emphasized the trim line of his waist and made his skin look like pale honey. Thalia drew a ragged breath. Even unconscious he was magnificent.

She tore her hungry eyes away from his large form and surveyed