The friction. The rise and then the plunge to meet his thrusts. The hammering of her heart. The harsh rasps of her breath. The sensation of his body hard between her thighs. The friction, friction, and oh my God!
Her orgasm caught her and shook her with so much power that she couldn’t even scream. She hung there while spasm after spasm shattered her past and rebuilt her future expectations. Never would she feel this way again.
And as the spasms slowly grew weaker, she mourned their loss. She was thinking again. Had he gotten his release? He hadn’t . . . “You didn’t bite me.” She weakly climbed off him and lay on her back beside him.
He picked up her hand and placed it over his heart.
Surprised, she could feel his heartbeat. “It isn’t racing.”
“Believe me, for a vampire, that’s a racing heart. Any more excitement and I would’ve been the first vampire to die of a heart attack.”
She laughed, but then grew silent. Something was wrong. Cassie didn’t know how she knew, but she felt the tension in him. Was it her? “Is everything okay?” Did she sound pitiful or what? Tell me I didn’t take the most incredible trip of my life alone.
“What we just had . . .” He didn’t turn his head to look at her.
Lost for words? Not something she expected from Ethan.
“It changed everything, Cassie.”
What the hell did he mean by that?
“But something’s wrong. I feel it.” Strange how she was so sure she could sense the feelings of a man she’d known for such a short time. It was what it was, though.
Ethan finally looked at her, but his glasses hid his emotions.
“You felt what happened between us.” He held up his hand to stop her response. “Just know that I will keep you safe.” His lips softened into a smile. “Because I can’t imagine ever finding someone like you again in a thousand lifetimes.”
Chapter Nine
Cassie’s surge of joy came first. It was all emotion. No thoughts involved. She would have been happy to stay in that state forever.
But her mind couldn’t keep from messing with her happiness. The doubts began. He hadn’t mentioned love. Vampire or not, he was male. Was this only about mind-blowing sex? And he’d mentioned a thousand lifetimes. She’d be able to share only one with him. He’d have to trudge through the other nine hundred ninety-nine alone.
Since she didn’t particularly want to start a dialogue on any of those topics, she chose to discuss something impersonal, nonthreatening. “Is there a reason you think you might not be able to keep me safe?”
Only when she saw the flash of disappointment in his expression did she realize her mistake. He’d opened to her, told her his feelings, and she’d ignored him. Regret weighed her down, but it was too late to go back. She’d chosen to retreat from emotions that were too scary, that opened her up to hurt, and that had happened way too fast.
His expression smoothed out and he turned his head away. “We lost Darren tonight.”
Shock punched her hard enough to drag a gasp from her. “How?” She hadn’t really known Darren, and he’d been a jerk the one time they’d met, but she hadn’t wanted him dead.
Ethan laid his arm across his eyes as though the dim glow from the nightlight was still too much. “We’ve been splitting into small groups searching for Garrity and his men. Tonight it was just Darren, Zareb, and me. We found a gang of Garrity’s enhanced humans—or whatever they are—and their beasts. Lots of them. They were trying to capture a lone vampire.”
Cassie realized how totally selfish she was. All she felt was terror at knowing the danger he’d faced, was facing every night. She didn’t have any fear left over for Zareb or the others.
“There were too many of them. We knew if we tried to fight them, there was a good chance they’d get one of us. Vampire numbers are down in the city, so we couldn’t afford to lose anyone. We decided to follow them instead and see if they led us to Garrity.”
He paused and she sensed he was back in the darkness watching the enemy, wanting to destroy them, but knowing he couldn’t do a damn thing.
“But Darren had always been a killing machine. He was too close to the edge. His Second One took control. It didn’t have a lot of survival instincts, just a lust for slaughter.