Amanda tasted him in a way she'd never tasted any man before. As their tongues danced, she could feel him all the way to her soul. She'd never in her life been bold in bed. But then she'd never wanted a man like this.
With the whole of her.
Tears welled in Amanda's eyes as she buried her lips against his collarbone, over the scar where Valerius had dragged his ring and left it bloody.
Such strength. Such love. She would give anything to have a man love her the way he had loved his wife.
More to the point, she wanted Hunter to love her. She wanted his heart. She wanted this man who knew what love was, who understood commitment and compassion.
Whether he would admit it or not, he needed her.
No man should walk eternity alone. No one should ever be hurt the way he'd been hurt. Not when his only crime was loving someone more than he had loved himself.
Her breath mixed with his as she climbed up his body and straddled his waist.
Kyrian groaned as he realized she wore nothing beneath his T-shirt. Her thighs were hot and moist as she slid herself against his bare stomach, igniting a fire deep inside him that needed her so much it terrified him.
Push her away.
But he couldn't. Not tonight. Not after the nightmare that was still fresh in his mind.
Right or wrong, he needed comfort. He wanted to feel loved again. He wanted to know the softness of a woman's hands on his body. The scent of Amanda on his skin.
Kyrian shook as she reached down and wrapped her hand around him. "Oh gods," he breathed against her lips. No one had touched him like this in over two thousand years.
His entire body throbbed and ached as she stroked his hot, rigid shaft.
Today, he would have her. There was no way he could push her away now.
His breathing ragged, he trembled from the feel of her fingers gripping him, her palm brushing up, along his shaft, then down to the base where she cupped him gently. Her fingers skimmed the underside of him, making him even harder, hotter, until he thought he would burst from it.
He trailed his hands slowly over her body, savoring every dip and curve. Savoring the feel of her soft skin and the T-shirt against his palms and fingers. He nuzzled her neck and for the first time since his Dark-Hunter incarnation, he felt an overwhelming urge to feed off a human.
The sound of her blood coursing through her veins filled his ears. Her raw energy beckoned him, making the Dark-Hunter in him long to sample her life force.
It was forbidden. No Dark-Hunter was supposed to puncture a human neck. And yet as he stroked the hollow of her throat with his tongue, the deep-seated need burned in him.
He grazed her neck with his fangs and it took every piece of control he had not to taste the blood he could feel rushing under his lips. He felt the chills spread over her body, making the nipple under his hand even tighter.
Pulling back with a growl, he latched onto her mouth and kissed her deeply as he slid his hand under the T-shirt, to the dark triangle between her legs.
He groaned at the feel of those tiny hairs teasing his fingers as he carefully separated them and touched her for the very first time.
She jumped in surprise, then moaned a welcoming murmur as she quickened her fairy strokes on his shaft.
Kyrian couldn't believe how wet she was already. Gods, how he wanted her. Wanted to taste every inch of her flesh. To drive himself deep into her fiery heat.
But he resisted because he wanted to savor the moment. Wanted to explore her tenderly, slowly.
He wanted this morning to last forever.
"You taste so good," he whispered as he ripped the T-shirt from neck to hem, pulled it from her, and threw it to the floor. He nibbled a path from her neck to her breasts.
Amanda arched her back as he gently teased her nipple with his tongue and fangs. The feel of those sharp teeth on her skin made her burn like lava.
Once more he dipped his hand back down between their bodies and touched her where she ached most. His fingers swirled around her, teasing and soothing, delving and stroking, making her burn even more for him as he slid them deep inside her and made hot, sweet love to her with his hand.
"I want you, Hunter," she breathed against his lips. "I've never wanted anyone like this."