"I didn't do it on purpose."
He pushed away from the bed. He stopped two small steps from me, staring down. "I tried to play the mortal for you, ma petite. But Richard is much better at being human than I am. I have not been truly human for so very long. If I cannot be the better man, let me be the better monster."
My eyes narrowed. "What's that suppose to mean?"
"It means, ma petite, that Jason told me of what happened this afternoon. I know how close you and Richard came."
How much had the lycanthropes been able to hear? More than I was comfortable with, that was for sure. "I just love being spied on."
"Do not be flippant, ma petite, please."
It was the please that got me. "I'm listening."
"I told you once that if Richard could touch you and I could not, it would not be fair. That is still true."
I pushed away from the door. He'd stepped over the line. "Are you asking me to let you touch me where Richard touched me?"
He smiled. "Such righteous indignation, ma petite. But have no fear. Forcing myself upon you in such a way would smack of rape. I have never been interested in such things."
I took a step back, putting a little space between us. Unless I was really angry, it was never good to get that close. "So, what are you saying?"
"You have always forbidden me to use vampire tricks, as you call them, with you." He held a hand up before I could say it. "I do not mean bespelling you with my eyes. I am not even sure that is possible anymore. I cannot be human, ma petite. I am a vampire. Let me show you that has pleasures beyond humanity."
I shook my head. "No way."
"A kiss, ma petite, that is all I ask. A chaste kiss."
"And the catch is?" I asked.
His eyes were solid, sparkling blue. His skin glowed like alabaster under lights.
"I don't think so," I said.
"If you were truly sure of Richard, I would leave you to him. But does the fact that I love you not earn me so much as a kiss?" He glided towards me. I backed up, but the door was right there, and there was nowhere to go.
He was like a living sculpture, all ivory and sapphire, too beautiful for words. Too beautiful to touch. His hands smoothed over my forearms, along my hands. I gasped. Power rushed along my skin in a smooth wash, like air dancing over my body.
I must have tensed up because Jean-Claude said, "It will not hurt, that I promise."
"Just a kiss," I whispered.
"Just a kiss," he whispered. His face lowered towards mine. His lips brushed mine, gently, slowly. The power flowed across his lips into my mouth. I think I stopped breathing for a second. My skin felt like it was melting away and I would sink into his body, into that shining power.
"Looks like I got here just in time." It was Richard in the doorway.
I shoved my hand into Jean-Claude's chest and pushed him away hard enough for him to stumble. I was gasping for air like I'd been drowning. My skin pulsed and beat with the power that still crawled over me, into me.
"Richard," I whispered. I wanted to say that it wasn't what it looked like, but I couldn't get enough air.
Jean-Claude turned, smiling. He knew exactly what to say. "Richard, how good of you to join us. How did you get past my wolf?"
"It wasn't that hard."
I stared at both of them. I was still having trouble breathing. It felt like every nerve in my body had been touched all at once. The line between pleasure and pain was damn narrow, and I wasn't sure which side this went on.
The light was seeping away from Jean-Claude, leaving him pale, lovely, almost human.
Richard stood directly inside the door. His eyes glowed not with inner light but with anger, an anger that made his eyes dance, tightened the muscles across his shoulders and down his arms so that the effort showed from across the room. I'd never been so aware of how physically large he was. He seemed to fill more space than he should have. The first skin-prickling rush of his power swirled over me.