TALL DARK AND HUNGRY Page 0,82

eat."

"Peach soap," she breathed, her eyes drifting closed.

She tilted her head slightly to expose her neck to him. Bastien took advantage of the offering, and he nibbled a path to her ear. Terri moaned and shud¬dered, then lifted one hand to catch her fingers in his hair. She held him in place as she turned her face un¬til their lips met. Bastien accepted the offer at once, kissing her hungrily.

She sensed him stretching past her, and vaguely heard the sudden rush of water. Terri was even half aware of his urging her backward, but her mind was passion-clouded, and she was taken by surprise when she felt the drum of water on her back.

"What?" she asked, breaking their kiss.

"I need a shower, too. You don't mind joining me, do you?" He ran one finger lightly down her chest, caught her now soaked towel, and pulled it free. It dropped to the floor of the shower with a wet splat, leaving Terri as naked as he.

"You wash my back and I'll wash yours," he of¬fered, stepping closer and letting one hand drift down to caress her behind. He urged her against him.

If she had doubted his intentions, the hardness pressing against her stomach cleared that doubt in a hurry. Terri felt a slow smile curve her lips, and she shifted to rub against him. "But I've already show¬ered," she protested.

"Another won't hurt," Bastien said solemnly. "You can never be too clean. Or too wet."

One hand slid around to cup her breasts, and Terri gasped as his other hand dipped between her legs.

"No. You can never be too clean. Or too wet," she whispered, just before his mouth claimed hers again.

Bastien eased cautiously from the bed, doing his best not to wake Terri. She hadn't had much sleep the last couple of days. Last night had been especially short, thanks to the trip to the hospital. He'd still be asleep himself if a need for blood hadn't awakened him.

Kneeling next to the bed, Bastien opened the fridge hidden under it. He retrieved a bag of blood, then stood slowly and glanced at Terri to be sure she still slept. He wouldn't even have risked collecting the blood from the room if it weren't for the fact that he needed it so badly, and that the fridge in his office was empty. He should have had more brought in, but he kept forgetting. His mind seemed full of nothing but Terri of late.

Assured she still slept, Bastien grabbed the robe off the end of the bed, eased the blood bag into its pocket, and shrugged it onto his shoulders as he tip¬toed to the bedroom door. He eased into the hall and pulled the door carefully closed, only then relaxing and moving at normal speed. He headed right to the kitchen. He often found it necessary to consume blood out of a bag, but it was rather like drinking milk out of the carton. A glass was always preferable. And so long as Terri was safely asleep, it was possible.

Bastien fetched a pint glass, emptied a good por¬tion of the blood into it, and was savoring the liquid when the kitchen door opened and Vincent walked in. Startled, Bastien jerked around, slopping the liquid in his glass.

"You're awake," his cousin said in surprise.

"Yes." Bastien set the glass on the counter with a curse, grabbed a paper towel, and bent to wipe up the blood on the floor. He grabbed another towel to wipe up the bit that had slopped onto his chest.

"I didn't expect you to be up yet, and when I heard someone moving around in here..." His cousin shrugged. "Where's Terri?"

"Still sleeping."

"Your bed or hers?"

Bastien ignored his cousin's question and straight¬ened to toss the bloody paper towel in the garbage under the sink. It was really none of the other man's business. Vincent already knew too much. The man had been witness to his humiliating experience with Josephine, and now he was here for the second time Bastien fell in love. Not that he had truly loved Josephine. That had been more of an infatuation. He could see that now. Coming to care for Terri as he had had shown that to Bastien. His feelings for Josephine had been mild in the extreme, compared to the passion and enjoyment he enjoyed with Terri. Which meant it was going to hurt that much more when she turned her back on him as Josephine had. And once more, Vincent would bear witness to