She cried out as his tongue swirled over the sensitized tip, teasing it until her back was arched in delight. Freaking hell. It felt so good. So terrifyingly good.

"Dear goddess," she moaned, shivering as his lips traced the curve between the mounds of her breasts before moving to torment her neglected nipple.

Her fingers impatiently tugged at the clasp holding back his hair, allowing the heavy curtain to spill over her in a fragrant cloud. The satin strands brushed her skin, heightening the heat that poured through her blood.

Breathe, Shay, breathe, she fiercely reminded herself, as his hands outlined the curve of her hips and down her thighs. His touch was cool, but she was melting beneath the heat flowing through her veins.

Tugging at her nipple with the edge of his teeth Viper eased his band between her legs and sought the moist heat between them.

Her hands shifted to his shoulders, her fingers unwittingly digging into his flesh as his finger stroked over the sweet spot of her pleasure. She was falling into a whirlpool of sensations that were almost overwhelming.

"Viper."

Easily sensing the faint edge of panic in her voice Viper lifted his head to nuzzle his lips just below her ear.

"Sssh... pet," be softly soothed. "I will not hurt you."

"I'm not afraid of being hurt," she rasped.

"Then what do you fear?"

She shivered as her hips instinctively lifted to press more firmly to his caressing finger.

"I don't know."

He lifted onto his elbow and peered deep into her wide eyes. "Trust me, Shay."

For a long moment she merely gazed into his beautiful face. With his silver hair tumbled over his shoulders and the muted light playing over his elegant features he looked like a decadent angel who had fallen from heaven.

Don't do it, Shay, a warning voice whispered in the back of her mind. You can't trust a vampire. Not ever.

Her lips parted, but no was not what tumbled from her lips. Instead her lashes floated downward and her arms encircled his neck in a tight grip.

"Yes."

His mouth covered hers as his hand shifted and his finger pierced her. He swallowed her cry of pleasure as her hips left the mattress and she nearly strangled him with her arms.

He was not her first lover, but nothing could have prepared her for this. Not for the smooth expertise of his talented fingers or the demanding pressure of his mouth.

She was burning from within and she couldn't make herself care. For this one fragile moment she wanted to be consumed. She wanted to be held in the arms of a man and feel what a woman was supposed to feel.

Thrusting his tongue between her willing lips Viper stroked her with an increasing intensity. Shay clutched at him as the building pressure deep inside arched her back.

She was close. So very close.

"Viper."

"I know, pet," he muttered against her mouth, his body pressing against her side until she could feel the hard thrust of his erection against her hip. "Don't fight it."

Her breath came in short gasps as the pleasure tightened and narrowed to one shimmering point. His finger pressed deep within her and at the same moment his thumb caressed over that nub of pleasure and the pressure hit a critical point.

Her entire body tightened and hovered a breathless moment out of time. And then with the force of a small explosion the bliss shattered through her and she was trembling from the unexpected force.

They lay in stunned silence for a long moment, Viper's still hard body pressed against her own. Shay felt as if she were floating. As if she had been tossed into a sea of warm water and been left to gently drift to the shore.

At her side Viper shifted to cradle her face as if she were some fragile treasure he feared to break, his lips brushing soft kisses over her cheek.

Unable to move Shay at last managed to suck in a deep breath as she gathered her shaken thoughts.

"Oh... freaking... hell..."

Viper didn't know why he was smiling as he watched Shay seated across the table from him.

No man in his right mind would be smiling when his body was hard and aching. And when he was facing the distinct possibility his frustrated need was going to be an unwelcome companion. At least for the next few hours, perhaps even days.

But even with his body in rigid protest he couldn't halt the smile curving his lips. Perhaps it was the sight of Shay's slender form so lovingly caressed by the crimson silk of her robe.

With her raven hair tumbling down her back and bronzed skin glowing against the rich material, she looked like an exotic butterfly.

Or maybe it was the amusement at the three bowls of beef stew she had managed to consume in less time than it took for him to drain his bottle of blood.

Or maybe it was the knowledge that for all of his aching frustration he had managed to breech a wall that she had surrounded about herself. She might have scuttled back behind her defenses, but he now knew that she was not invulnerable.

He had found her weakness and he wasn't about to hesitate in using it to claim her as his own.

His.

An unnerving flare of possessive satisfaction raced through him even as he wondered what the hell was the matter with him.

Devil's balls. He had clearly lost his mind, and he didn't have enough sense left to care.

Glancing up from her now empty bowl of soup Shay sent him a wary frown. "I wish you would quit doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Watching me like I'm dinner."

Viper leaned back in his seat, his gaze traveling over the length of her crimson gown.

"I wouldn't mind a bite or two."

She abruptly stilled, no doubt sensing the hunger that pulsed through his body. A hunger he no longer attempted to disguise.

"We have a bargain. No recreational blood."

"I wasn't thinking about blood."

A swift heat touched her cheeks. Viper's smile widened with a hint of male smugness. She couldn't entirety pretend to forget she had shivered her climax in his arms.

"It's almost dawn, shouldn't you be in your coffin?" she demanded.

He gave a laugh. "It has been several centuries since I was bound to the night. Although I cannot bear the sunlight, I am capable of remaining awake when I choose."

"How old are you?"

"Surely you must know that vampires rarely reveal their age?" he demanded with a lift of his brows. "It is nearly as well guarded a secret as his lair."

She shrugged as she pushed aside her empty bowl. "I've never understood why. When you're immortal it hardly matters how old you are."

"A vampire's power grows with each passing year. To know his age is to know his power."

"So the older you are the more powerful?"

Viper shrugged. He supposed he shouldn't be overly surprised with her lack of knowledge regarding vampires. Her mother had obviously attempted to keep her isolated from the world of demons.

"In theory, although we are like any other race. There will always be those who possess more strength, or even more intelligence than others, regardless of their age."

Her tongue peeked out to touch her lips. Viper swallowed a groan. He could think of several intimate places he would like that tongue to explore.

"Vampires like you?"

Viper struggled to smother the renegade images. He was suffering enough without adding to his misery.

"Yes, vampires like me."

Her features were carefully expressionless. "And that's why you're a clan chief?"

He measured his words. He sensed that any boast of overwhelming power was not going to impress this woman. Not when she was for all practical purposes completely in his control.

"In part."

"What's the other part?"

He smiled blandly. "My charming personality?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not freaking likely."

He regarded her for a long moment. "Shalotts are quite similar to vampires. Do they not choose their leader with a trial by combat?"

"I don't have the least idea." Her voice was casual, but there was a tightness to her expression that Viper didn't miss. "For all I know they pluck them out of thin air."

"Surely your parents must have told you something of your heritage?"

"I was raised as a human. My mother thought the less I was . . . exposed to the demon world the better. After my father's death I wasn't even allowed to mention the word Shalott."

Viper frowned. It was little wonder the poor woman considered herself a mongrel. Her mother had made certain of that.

"A rather narrow-minded view."

She bristled at the implied criticism. "She wanted to protect me."

"Understandable, but to deny you the history of your people was to deny you a part of yourself. Surely you must have possessed some curiosity?"

"Why should I? Having demon blood has caused me nothing but grief."

"The Shalotts are a proud and much respected race," he insisted. "Before following the dark prince in his departure from this world, they were known as the most feared assassins among demons. Even vampires feared their skills."

"That's hardly something I take comfort in"