The chains of the link between them were drawing tighter, but right then, he didn't care. He had this moment, and he had Nikki in his arms. That was a damn sight more than he'd had in a very long time.
"I need you,” he whispered and held her tightly, breathing in the scent of her hair as he battled the urgency pounding through his body, his heart.
"Then take me,” she murmured, her lips trailing fire where they touched. The gentle dance of their minds grew heated, wildfire ready to explode. God, she felt so good, so right. How in the hell was he going to walk away from the emotions underlying the heat of all this? How could he deny the harmony of their minds? How could either of them?
Nikki ran a hand through the dark silk of his hair. “Hush, Michael. Just love me. Let tomorrow worry about itself."
Give me one night without fear, one night to remember when Jasper is gone, and you walk away. Pain flickered through her heart, but she ignored it. She had no time, no wish, to do anything more than respond to the heat of his touch, the warmth of his thoughts. Lord, it felt as if she had known him all his life, had been responding to him for the three hundred years he had mentioned—as though his touch and his kiss and his warmth were as vital as air. As vital as the blood that thundered through his heart and hers.
Maybe they were. But that was something she'd worry about tomorrow. She had this moment and time without Jasper in her mind. She had to make the most of it.
* * * *
Michael gently caressed Nikki's thigh. Lord, it felt so good, lying here beside her in the warm aftermath of their lovemaking. Her thoughts were as quiet as the gentle rhythm of her heart. In a few minutes she'd be asleep. But as much as he wanted Nikki to rest, he couldn't let her, not just yet.
"Nikki, we need to talk,” he said softly.
She stirred and murmured something he couldn't quite catch. He reached out, brushing silken strands of hair away from her face. “Nikki?"
Her eyes opened, and a smile twitched the corners of her mouth. Only the sudden wisp of wariness in her thoughts made him resist the impulse to kiss her.
"I gather vampires are immune to the make-love-then-collapse syndrome that seems to affect so many men."
He smiled. “No, they're not.” He would have liked nothing more than to fall to sleep with her in his arms. But Jasper was out there. “We have to talk."
"What about?” A flicker of guilt ran through her thoughts, and he wondered if she were already regretting their lovemaking.
"About Tommy."