Valerius couldn't think as he tasted her. Felt her. She cocooned him with her warmth and passion.
And it was all he could do not to take her on the stairs like some barbarian warlord.
"You have to stop kissing me, Tabitha," he breathed raggedly.
"Why?"
He hissed as she gently nipped his chin. "Because if you don't, I'm going to make love to you and that is the last thing either one of us needs."
Tabitha traced the outline of his lips with her tongue as he spoke. All she wanted was to strip off his clothes and explore every inch of his lush, male body with her mouth. To lick and tease him until he begged her for mercy.
But he was right. It was the last thing either of them needed. He was a Dark-Hunter forbidden to have a girlfriend and even worse, he wasn't the kind of guy she could ever introduce to her family.
They would all turn on her for befriending her brother-in-law's most hated enemy. Kyrian had been more than accepted into her large family. Everyone loved him.
Even Tabitha did. How could she hurt him this way?
No, it wasn't fair to any of them.
"All right," she said quietly. "But you'll have to get off me first."
That was the hardest thing Valerius had ever done. All his heart wanted was to stay right where he was. But he couldn't and he knew it.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to get up and help her to her feet.
His body was still hard, his breathing a struggle. He couldn't stand to be close to her without touching her. But then, he was used to restraint.
He had been bred to it.
What he had never expected was the almost animal-like need he had to take her. It was primitive and demanding. Fierce. And the only thing it craved was a taste of Tabitha.
"I suppose this is where we part company," he said, his voice catching.
Tabitha nodded. He passed so close to her that she could smell his raw, innately masculine scent. It made her heart pound and fueled her desire even more.
It was all she could do not to reach out for him. Aching, she watched him open the front door to his house.
"Thank you, Tabitha," he said quietly.
She felt his sadness and it made her hurt all the more. "Stay out of trouble, Val. Try not to get stabbed again."
He nodded and kept himself rigid and formal. But he refused to look at her.
Sighing wistfully over something that couldn't be helped, Tabitha forced herself to leave.
It was over.
Impulsively, she looked back as the door closed. There was no sign of Valerius. None.
Except for a sixth sense that told her he was still watching her.
Valerius couldn't take his eyes off Tabitha as she got into her car. He had no comprehension of why he felt the compulsion to run out of the door and stop her.
She wasn't like Agrippina. Tabitha wasn't soothing or comforting, and yet...
His heart ached as she whipped her car out of his driveway and herself out of his life.
He was alone again.