He swallowed hard and turned his disfigured face away from her. He’d screwed up the most perfect moment of his life because he’d let his desire rule him for an instant. It was stupid. Now, not only would she not kiss him, she would most likely fight the idea of having to feed from him again. “It’s fine,” he said, keeping his voice emotionless, “you don’t have to. I, uh—”

He felt her hand grip his chin and tilt his face back to her until he was forced to look into her eyes.

“One kiss for each feeding?” she asked, then nodded slowly.

Each feeding? He’d only meant one kiss for all future feedings, but he couldn’t bring himself to protest. He wasn’t noble enough to admit that all he wanted was one single kiss. She’d misunderstood him, but he wouldn’t correct her; instead, he just nodded.

“I think it’s only fair. You want me to pay now?”

Suddenly he felt cocky. “How was dinner?”

“Delicious.”

The knowledge that Maya liked his blood was more of a turn-on than he could have ever imagined. “Then I guess it’s time to settle the bill.”

Gabriel watched her as she slowly moved herself closer to him. Her position was perfect: she was still straddling him. He couldn’t imagine a better position for a kiss, except maybe if she was lying beneath him. But he was getting ahead of himself.

Like a cat, she shifted closer until her mouth hovered above his. Her lips were slightly parted, and he could scent her breath. Her breathing was suddenly more uneven than before, and he wondered if she was afraid of what he would do. Would she regret her decision and pull back at the last minute?

“I can keep my hands on the couch, if you prefer,” he offered and placed his hands palm down onto the cushions beside her thighs. He didn’t want her to fear him and think he would take advantage of the situation, as much as he wanted to do just that. But knowing that this wouldn’t be the last kiss she would grant him, he could tamp down his greed and only take what she was willing to give him, without crossing the boundaries of the kiss.

He could learn to savor this. Every day, he would have something to look forward to. But he had to play it cool, not overwhelm her with the passion he felt inside, not scare her away or she might cancel their deal. No, his response to her would have to be muted, so she wouldn’t know the extent of his desire for her and be frightened by its magnitude. And every day he could allow himself to take a little more, make her more comfortable with him. Maybe she would start to feel the same attraction for him that he felt for her.

Maya’s lips brushed against his, and Gabriel knew he would have a hell of a time keeping this kiss sweet and innocent.

***

His masculine scent was all around her. Maya couldn’t believe her luck. After feeding on his blood she felt rejuvenated, stronger than she ever had, and hornier than she’d ever been as a human! And now what he wanted in exchange was a kiss? Could things be more perfect?

Kissing him was no sacrifice for her. When she touched his lips with hers, she enjoyed their perfect mixture of softness and firmness. She hadn’t noticed until now how full his lips were. But now that she sucked his upper lip into her mouth and licked over it with her tongue, she was fully aware of their perfection.

Maya slanted her mouth over his, and under light pressure of her tongue, his lips parted. Greedily, she slipped inside and explored him. He tasted just as amazing as his blood. She knew that her reaction to him was purely chemical. The pheromones he was emitting ignited desire in her. Like an age-old instinct, her body recognized his as the perfect match. She’d read the clinical studies on the chemical process that produced lust and desire and knew this was happening to her. Surely this was all it was, pure lust. There couldn’t be anything else involved. She barely knew anything about Gabriel. No emotions could have developed in such a short time.

She continued kissing him, stroking her tongue against his, but his reaction wasn’t what she’d expected. Like any dominant man, she would have expected him to take charge, to make the kiss more demanding, but he didn’t. He only responded with a stroke of his tongue against hers when she coaxed him long enough. When she tried to pull his tongue into her mouth, he resisted.

Frustrated, Maya broke away. She looked into his startled face. “Didn’t you like it?”

His face turned from startled to confused. “Of course, I did,” he claimed.

She dropped her gaze, not able to look at him when she asked him her next question. “Then why don’t you kiss me back?”

His answer came as a surprise. “If I kiss you back, I won’t be able to keep my hands to myself.”