Amaury released her nipple, only to lavish his attention on her other breast. He dared not use his teeth to tug harder, lest he scare her. But he wanted her—no, needed her—underneath him. He pressed her back into the sofa cushions and shifted his own position, nudging his heavy thigh between her legs.

***

Nina felt his weight on her and his thigh pressing against her sex, as he continued to use his talented tongue on her breasts. With every lap, he sent bolts of fire down to her core, liquidizing anything in its path. She felt her panties soak with the evidence of her desire and was unable to stop her body from responding to him. The same way he responded to her: his erection pressing against her hip was impossible to ignore. Too big to overlook, too hard to wish away, even if she wanted to.

Nina arched her back to force him closer and slipped her hand onto his firm ass. His muscles bunched under her touch when she squeezed him. Would his skin feel soft or rough? Would it be smooth, firm, and warm? Without thinking, she let her hand glide underneath the loose-fitting cargo pants to explore.

She gasped when skin met skin. The man didn’t even wear underwear. Just the thought of it turned her body temperature up by five degrees.

He groaned loudly when she grabbed him firmly. Amaury released her breast just long enough for an excited “Oh, yes” to pass his lips.

Then his mouth blazed a trail of molten lava from her breast to her neck, before he looked at her. The moment he pressed his lips onto hers, she noticed his eyes flash red. His lips urged her to surrender, as his tongue teased her. Resistance would be impossible. Her tongue met his for an unequal duel. As he gained ground, she suddenly felt how he pressed her harder into the cushions, until—her tongue touched his fangs! What the hell was she doing? Sleeping with the enemy?

Nina shrieked and pushed back with all her strength. Instantly, a wave of pain raced through her ribs again. “Ahh!” she cried out in agony.

She was stupid, stupid, stupid!

Amaury pulled back and lifted his weight from her. “What’s wrong?” He looked concerned, but she wasn’t fooled. His eyes were flashing red like alarm beacons, and his pointy teeth peaked out from beneath his lips. If she’d ever had any doubts about what he was, all of those were extinguished with one look at his sharp fangs.

Holding her ribs to counteract the pain, she glared at him. She couldn’t form a coherent sentence, still too dazed from his touch and kiss.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had another injury?” he accused her and touched her side with his hand.

Nina flinched, not because it hurt, but because she didn’t want to feel his touch. It made her dizzy and stupid. Only a stupid woman would be making out with a vampire—and like it.

“Don’t touch me,” she barked.

Amaury gave her a startled look. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to hurt you. You should have said something before.”

He reached for her side and placed his hand over her ribs. She wanted to pull back, but he shot her a warning glance. “Keep still.”

His gentle movements, testing whether her ribs were broken, were unexpected. How could a vampire with such large hands have such a soft touch? Maybe she’d hit her head during the fight and was hallucinating.

“Nothing seems to be broken. They’re only bruised.” When he looked at her again, she noticed that the red in his eyes had disappeared and been replaced by a deep blue. Did the man have to look this gorgeous?

Nina nodded. “It hurts like hell.”

His hand came up to stroke her cheek so softly; she couldn’t reconcile this side of him with the glimpses of vampire she’d seen.

“I’ll be more careful in the future.” Amaury’s lips curled into a roguish grin. “So, where were we?”

His mouth approached her, but she pulled back. The man was obviously so overconfident that he thought he could just continue where he’d left off. As if she was some grateful damsel in distress who’d go all gaga over her rescuer.

Arrogant prick!

“We were right at the end. And it’s not going anywhere from here.”

Nina had to stop this madness and get out of his place. He was most likely using some vampire trick on here, some sort of glamour or control. Why else would she have let him touch her and kiss her so intimately? That had to be the reason, for sure. She wasn’t the kind of woman who’d just let her hormones rage and melt the moment a hot guy showed her some attention. No, she was always in control. Vampire or not, he was a man, and men were not to be trusted.

“Maybe you should rest a little. Can I get you anything?”