The Soul Collector - By Tamela Quijas Page 0,44

He repeated and gripped the tender flesh of her arms, dragging her closer. “I…. am... only...”

He didn’t finish speaking, the words halting when Eva performed the single action he’d only imagined. Temptingly, she captured his mouth with her soft lips, and fire shot through him at the surprising contact. A low and tormented groan slipped from him before he succumbed to the tantalizing softness. Languorously, he returned the gentleness of her kiss, his breath aching in his lungs.

She pressed closer, nearly tumbling into him. Her quivering hands steadied her near fall, moving from his face and resting on his shoulders. She gasped against his mouth, the sudden heat of his breath fanning her sensitive flesh.

“Please kiss me.” Eva pleaded, her words revealing the ache expanding within her. He released his painful grip on her arms, and cupped her face in his hands. He stared deep into the glowing depths of her eyes and slowly, deliberately, he complied.

She was breathless from the gentle onslaught of his lips. He flexed hungrily forward, lured by the unspoken promise in her seductive touch, while a highly inflamed groan erupted from his chest. He shuddered and pulsated with a rush of unfulfilled need, his loins surging with unrepentant longing. Every throbbing nerve trembled with her nearness, and an unrestrained quiver jarred him as the kiss deepened, seeming to draw the essence of her soul into him.

“I'm only a man.” He repeated the words in softly tortured tones. Eva's lashes fluttered and a low moan slipped from her as his lips caressed her cheek. Her body arched and she curved into his heated flesh, craving more.

Hoarsely, he murmured her name, his breath stirring wispy fine tendrils of hair. His ragged breath escaped in a shaky gasp and he pressed his forehead to hers, savoring the feel of her trembling body. His composure crumbled and an intensely throaty growl tore from the suffering depths of his anguished soul, shaking her.

“You are temptation, Star Light.” He whispered in a disconcerted and strangled tone. Lucien's breath escaped him from flared nostrils, each gasp appearing a struggle of valiant control, and his gloved hands dropped to the tantalizing curve of her waist.

Eva's vision was flooded with his brilliant image, her heartbeat soaring to unimaginable heights. She attempted to absorb every detail, the texture of his lightly flushed skin, the hardened length of lean muscle, and the hint of soft words. Her quivering fingertips trailed over a furiously pounding pulse in the side of his throat, pausing as she felt his ever-quickening reaction.

Entranced, aware of her yearning, she was inundated with emotion. He appealed to her darker sense, and a part of her id demanded appeasement. In the depths of her heart, which was so very much alive at this moment, she wanted Lucien. She didn't want to be the method in which he would seek his end. Her body arched into his with hunger, molding more to the hardened contours evident beneath the thickness of his dark sweater.

“Evangeline,” he ground out, and then halted. Whatever he had been about to say stuck in his throat as her fingertips traced his mouth, pausing to linger on his lower lip.

Lucien's gaze darkened, although not with the senses he had been gifted. Instead, the ebony color of his pupils enlarged, nearly encompassing the slate colored iris. He pulsated with highly aroused blood, sending his usually calm thoughts reeling into a spiraling dive of want and hunger. Eva clutched at his shoulders, urging him closer, as if she meant to meld into him.

“Do you need me, Lucien?”

She felt the alarming beat of his heart beneath her hand and the quivering gasps forced from his lungs. She was stunned as the heated fullness of his lips brushed her eager mouth, seeming to perform a wicked dance. Once again, her mouth parted, relishing the tantalizing warmth he tentatively offered.

Her starved senses detected the fragrance of long forgotten summer nights and sweet clover scented fields, mingled with a heady masculine aroma. He savagely deepened the pressure of his kiss until she became breathless, cajoling her to respond to him with equal measure.

Eva pulled her head back, wantonly relishing the sound of his disappointment before she sought to recapture the proffered warmth. She felt awash with absolute power and need as she brushed her lower lip over his parted mouth.

He trembled beneath her touch, and a muffled laugh escaped her. She captured the firm moistness of his lower lip between her teeth and drew him nearer with unvocalized