She was human while he wasn't. The last time he had deigned to feel compassion for a woman who wasn't meant for him, he had caused her the pain no woman should ever have to bear and himself death.
It still didn't stop his body from craving Tabitha. His heart from feeling a strange pang over the fact that she had stood up for him.
Before he could stop himself, he reached out and cupped her scarred cheek with his hand.
He'd been alone for so long. Isolated. Hated.
And this woman...
She filled some inner emptiness that he had forgotten was even there.
Tabitha's heart pounded at the warmth of his hand on her face. The gentleness she saw in his dark eyes and the gratitude she sensed inside him. No, he wasn't what Otto thought.
He wasn't cold and unfeeling. Brutal or vicious. If he were, she'd know it. She'd feel it.
None of that was there. She sensed only loneliness and pain from him.
She covered his hand with hers and offered him a smile.
To her surprise, he returned it with one of his own. It was the first time she'd seen a real smile from him. The gesture softened his features and tugged at her heart.
He dipped his head toward hers.
Tabitha opened her lips, wanting to taste him.
"Hey, Valerius?"
He jerked upright as she fought back a curse at Otto's timing.
Valerius stepped away from her two seconds before Otto came into the foyer. "Yes?"
"I'm heading out for the night. I'm going to meet up with Tad and Kyr from the Dark-Hunter Web site. I'll have my phone on if you need anything." Otto's gaze slid to hers and she felt his disdain.
Tabitha smiled at him. "Night, Otto. Don't let Tad get you into trouble."
"You know Tad, too?"
"Babe, I know almost everyone in this town."
"Great," Otto muttered under his breath as he headed for the door.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Valerius started past Tabitha.
For some reason she couldn't fathom, she reached out and caught his head in her hand.
Startled, he opened his mouth.
Unable to resist the temptation, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.
Tabitha was completely unprepared for his reaction to her kiss. In one swift, tender motion, he pulled her to him, lifted her off her feet, spun about, and then laid her down on the polished stairs. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions, but it was strangely erotic.
Still, it was no match for his hot, demanding kiss that left her weak and breathless. His long, masculine body lay between her legs as he kept all of his weight on one knee. She could feel his erection pressing against the center of her body as her own body burned to feel him like this naked.
The rich, delicious scent of him tore through her, exciting her even more.
There was nothing civilized or proper about the way he kissed her. Nothing civilized about the way he held her. It was raw and earthy. Promising.
Tabitha wrapped her legs around his lean waist as she returned his kiss full force.