“I wouldn’t be going through the loss of a child alone, Traian. If I get pregnant, I believe you would feel the same sense of loss. We’d be in it together.”
“I don’t want that kind of pain for you.”
She smiled at him. “I can feel that you genuinely don’t, but no one can predict what is going to happen in the future, not even an all-powerful Carpathian. Because your prince’s wife miscarried, as sad as that is, doesn’t mean I will if we are lucky enough to become pregnant.”
“I will be more careful in the future to explain details to you, so you know what you are getting into,” he promised.
He leaned toward her, kissing her gently, with exquisite tenderness, with the overwhelming love in his heart that he couldn’t quite put into words but tried to show by worshiping her with his body. He kissed her over and over, long, slow kisses, his body locked deep inside hers, his hands tunneling in her thick hair. His mouth roamed over her throat, down to her breast, and found her heart unerringly.
Joie felt the swirl of his tongue, and her heart leapt in anticipation. Her body tightened around his. White-hot pain lanced through her, and then gave way immediately to pleasure. She cradled his head to her while he fed, while his body moved slowly and erotically deep within her. The sensation was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. He was in his body, in her mind, filling every empty space with—him while he took her blood, bringing her ever closer to his world.
She writhed helplessly beneath him, arching her hips up to meet him, her breasts aching and full with need. When his hand cupped the weight of one breast, his thumb sliding over the taut peak of her nipple, she pressed his head closer to her, offering more—offering everything she was to him.
Joie could hear her heart picking up the exact same rhythm of his. Her blood pounded in her veins, rushing toward him, hot and carrying the very scent and taste of her to him, matching the hammering beat of his blood. It should have been frightening, even disgusting, having him take her blood, but for her, the act was sensual.
Traian closed his eyes, savoring the taste of her, the craving for her growing as power and energy rushed through his body, soaking into every cell, sinew, and bone, filling him up with such strength he knew she completed him. She’d given him so much just by being born, being in his world, surrendering herself to save him. The gift was a miracle to him.
He swept his tongue across the pinpricks, tasted the temptation of her breast before finding her mouth to share the taste of their life’s essence. He took his time, his tongue thoroughly exploring her mouth, teasing and dancing and mating with hers.
“Come into my world, Joie. Another step closer,” he murmured in his dark, mesmerizing voice, a seductive invitation, she couldn’t possibly resist—nor did she want to.
This time she was locked in a dreamy haze, aware of his body’s sensations as she moved restlessly, wantonly under him. As her mouth moved against his chest, taking his precious gift, his fingers stroked her throat, her breast, keeping the intimacy between them sensual, as well as helping her to feed. His body thickened inside her, moved with greater force and purpose. She felt the now familiar flames, hot and white and pure, burning in his veins, pulsing through him even as they crackled with life, pulsing through her.
She was overjoyed to be able to bring him such pleasure, so much happiness. She wanted to be fully in his world, with him just like this, so close she couldn’t tell where he ended and she began. She moved more aggressively until he was surging into her with strength and power, until she felt the gathering of every nerve ending, every muscle, and the flow of blood, until they soared together higher than ever.
I want more time with you. I want to touch your body and know it the way you know mine. I want to see the things you’ve seen and make you feel the way you’ve made me feel, she whispered into his mind.
“We have time,” he said. “All the things you fantasize about, all the things that matter to you—we have time for everything.” Very gently he stopped her feeding, closing the slash across his chest. He laid her on the bed, his