again. “Others are full of themselves because they don’t.”
But Vinny didn’t dwell on it. “Nina has an Arabian Nights theme going.” He grinned. “Meet the burly harem guard.” He took a swoop at thin air. “You have a problem, look for the sword.”
Got it. “Much better than you with a chain saw.” We’d lost three trees during his stint as a gardener.
We headed downstairs to find Lucien waiting. He looked fantastic in an understated black suit and a blue tie that set off his eyes.
I felt his gaze touch me and it was all I could do not to trip down the last three steps.
“Is the research department working on Slimprol?” I asked, just to have something to say.
“They are,” he said slowly.
I couldn’t help remembering the way he’d touched me the night before. Clearly, he was thinking of it, too.
He ate me up with his eyes. “You look amazing.”
I snorted. “You’re only saying that.”
“No, I’m not.”
I moved close enough for him to smell my honeysuckle perfume. “You just want to bite me,” I said, my voice huskier than I would have liked.
He took my hand as I tried to breeze past.
“Maybe,” he said, drawing me back, his hand cupping my chin, his thumb grazing my lower lip. “I also want this.”
His mouth brushed mine once, twice. The thrill of it slapped through me. I grabbed his head and deepened the kiss.
My body collided flush with his. And those parts that had ached in frustration roared back to life.
God, I’d waited so long for something like this. I deserved it.
Lucien wanted me. It was a heady feeling.
If I should have been kissing him.
I broke away, trying to keep my breath even and failing miserably. “We said no kissing.”
A brief flash of stark emotion crossed his features. Good. “You said no kissing,” he said, with his infernal logic. He nipped short kisses along my jaw, as if he couldn’t quite help himself. “Do you like it?”
Too much. My breasts felt heavy as he nuzzled my earlobe. “That’s beside the point.” One of us had to be sensible.
It probably should be me. I ran my hands down his shoulders and arms, feeling the heavy weight of his suit jacket. Then again, maybe the whole sensible thing was overrated.
He pressed tight against me.
Oy vey. What was I getting myself into?
Yes, I found I enjoyed touching and being touched. But we were pretending here, playing roles. I’d forgotten that last night. When this was over, he’d be sent on another job for the Vampire Council and I’d be returning to my pack. Alone.
He lowered his mouth to mine again and I let him. I let him kiss me into a heart-pounding fury until I forgot all about what I’d said I was going to do.
He slid his hands down to the small of my back, tempting me closer, but I didn’t need any help. I rubbed against Lucien like a cat, savoring every rock-hard inch of him.
“You like it,” he said, drawing back just long enough to grin at me with boyish pleasure before he devoured me again.
Damn the man. He was good at making me forget just why I said I’d never kiss him in the first place.
“I like it, too,” he whispered against my lips.
“I can tell,” I said, wriggling against him, a victorious twinge lancing through me when I felt just how much I affected him.
Lucien wasn’t the jaded creature I’d first imagined. He was a man. Admittedly an immortal one, but a flesh-and-blood man all the same.
His expression softened as he saw the change come over me. “What are you thinking?” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.
“Hmm ...” I mused, enjoying the sexual power I held over him. “I’m thinking you need to kiss me again.”
I beat him to it. I took the lead this time as I tasted him, savored him. Our kiss deepened as he pushed back. He wanted me. We drove into each other. He wanted me so bad.
I’d never had this with a man. Sure, maybe I’d had a few meaningless flings, but no one like Lucien.
To the males of my pack, I was a dare, an experiment. But this affair with Lucien went much deeper. It was both alarming and exhilarating.
“Okay, come on. Break it up.” The front door creaked open with Vinny behind it. “I got the car started, for all you noticed.”
Lucien drew back a fraction. His lower lip glistened. God I wanted to kiss him again.
“We’ll walk,” he said,