He stared at her in absolute disbelief. "I beg your pardon?"

"Food. Do you want to eat at the table or on the sofa? We could watch the next stupid spaceship wizard movie."

Never mind that. "You believe I'm not, and I quote… ‘into’ you?"

He tried to think back over their short acquaintance, and wondered what could possibly have made her believe that. Even Greer had seen it in instants, for heaven's sake.

She wrinkled her nose. "You know. Take the first night we met. You didn't even spare me a glance. I'm used to guys drooling over me. You don't. It's fine, I don't mind at all. Don't get me wrong, I know you like me; we get along. You treat me like one of the guys. There's just no attraction. We all have different tastes, right?"

He laughed. But it made sense; having spent all of her teenage and adult years around the Elder Pack boys who'd been obvious and vocal about their desire for her, she wouldn't have had any cause to pick up more subtle cues.

He couldn't stop looking at her. Her mouth, her eyes, her endless legs, and her delightful curves. He delighted in touching her, doing it as soon and often as he could get away with it. He felt the need to be near her, or at the very least in the same house. She'd implanted herself under his skin.

He considered telling her all that.

But instead, Alexius opted for showing her. He closed the space between them, advancing with a slow determination, and stopping right in front of her, giving her plenty of time to push him back.

When she didn't, he lowered his mouth to hers and finally got the taste he so desperately craved.

Out of This World

He took his time, savoring her lips with slow and careful attention, ever so leisurely, breathing her in. It was just as well, because Avani stayed there, feet rooted to the spot, completely stunned into immobility.

He was kissing her. Alexius Helsing, the hot, smart, careless, powerful vampire elder she adored was kissing her. Voluntarily. No one seemed to be forcing him. Either they’d entered another dimension, or maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe he wasn’t so indifferent to her after all.

His hand clasped her waist, pulling her closer to him, and she got a whiff of his heady scent as she drew closer. That worked like an electric shock, awakening every single part of her. All that mattered was his touch, his lips, his tongue, the feel of his hardness against her belly. She needed more. Her next breath didn’t matter as much as his hands on her ass did.

Avani moaned in his mouth, deepening the kiss and sliding her fingers through his soft curls. Alexius grunted, leaning into her, before letting go and taking a step back. She opened her mouth to demand why he’d stopped, but one look at him and she closed it again. His eyes were bright, like a fire was burning inside him, and all his intensity was focused right on her.

“Food,” was all he said.

Avani shook her head. “Food?”

He bit his lip, and nodded. “Why, yes. You went to all this effort to cook for me. Let us eat. You will need your energy.”

She considered protesting, but her stomach grumbled, inconveniently on cue. Maybe he had a point. Avani pulled two spoons out of the cutlery drawer, handed him one, and concentrated all of her energy on the meal she couldn’t even taste, given the speed at which she wolfed it down.

“In a hurry?” he asked, a playful grin on his face.

His fangs poked out under his lips, betraying his thirst.

“Should you drink some blood?” Avani asked.

He’d drunk about once an hour, from what she’d noticed, and it had been about two hours since he’d come home today.

His gaze lowered to her throat, and again, his eyes turned from their stormy blue to an intense blood red. “I just might.”

Fully aware of the fact that she was playing with fire, she lifted her hand to her neck and pushed her hair out of the way, bringing it to one side. Quickly, she braided it over her right shoulder, exposing her throat in a way that should have made the dominant wolf bristle, but this wasn’t submission. It was testing. Teasing. Taunting.

It worked.

She laughed as he leaned forward, abandoning his risotto, the full weight of his attention on her. He merely smelled her neck before snatching her up front the breakfast bar and lifting her. She only had time to hold on to his neck; a moment later, he was moving, faster than an arrow. She could only see a blur of movement around her, and feel wind on her hair. Then they’d entered his room.

Avani knew where they were before her surroundings came into focus again; his scent—her favorite smell in the world—engulfed her, only serving to increase her arousal.

She looked around as Alexius gently set her down. Though vast enough to be fit for a king, the room was unexpectedly sparse. Almost everything was black; the enormous bed, the chesterfield bench at the foot, the woven rug on the waxed wooden floor, the egg nest armchair next to bookshelves. The exceptions were gold accents on the light, bedside tables, and a plant pot, a white ceiling, and a blood-red abstract painting. It might just have been her current mood, but she found it all dark and sensual, just like its owner.

“Nice place.”

“It’ll look considerably better with your clothes on the floor.”

She chuckled, turning back to face him. “A thousand years, and that’s the best pick-up line you can come up with?”

His lips drew closer to her neck. She tensed, expecting a bite, as she felt his breath on her sensitive skin. Instead, his mouth went to her ear. “Come here often?”

She giggled, all nervousness leaving her, even as his lips pressed along her artery, down to her collarbone.

“Oh God,” she whispered, her stomach tensing as his teeth touched her right there.

“No, wait, I have one. If I flip a coin, what are my chances of getting head?”

Now she barked out a laugh. “Who knew you were such a dork?”

“No one. Literally. And if you give me away, I might have to punish you quite severely.”

Damn him and his panty-melting voice. Damn him and his eyes, his mouth, his scent. His maddening light kisses were going to drive her insane. Incapable of taking more teasing, she pushed him with all her might. He must have let her, because he was pinned against a dark wall, grinning down at her.

“I’d say your chances have just improved considerably.”

He tilted his head, confused. Without a word, she kneeled in front of him, undid his leather belt, and slid down the zipper of his chinos, letting them fall in a heap on the floor. He breathed in, eyes red again. She grinned, freeing his cock.

Damn. That thing should be used as a model for dildos. His cock was at least eight inches long and thick enough for her to wonder if it’d fit in her mouth.

Only one way to find out. One hand holding the base, she licked along its length before wrapping her mouth around the tip. So far so good. She hoped she wouldn’t choke on it. Avani pumped it once as she took it in her mouth, slowly getting deeper, breathing through her nose. She increased her speed, lifting her other hand to Alexius’s butt, and squeezing the cheek.

“Holy fuck. I’m…God!” Alexius grabbed her head, bringing her deeper still, then thought better of it. He let her go.

She grabbed his wrist and put his hand right back where it had been, encouraging him to show her what rhythm he liked.

His fist tightened in her hair and he moved her head gently, though increasingly faster. She let go of his shaft, bringing her second palm on his delightful ass and concentrating on blowing him. Avani felt his muscles contract under her touch; he groaned, moaned, and his thick thighs convulsed. He let go of her head, inviting her to move away, but she took his cock further down her throat as he came with a low scream.

Alexius stared at her, stunned, his gaze hooded. Then his hand returned to her neck, and he pulled her to her feet before plastering his mouth on hers, kissing her long, hard, and deep.

She felt his cock harden again against her. Avani leaped in the air, and wrapped her legs around his waist. Feeling the hot steel shaft right against her slit, she ground against it as their tongues battled for dominion.

Suddenly they were moving at his unnatural speed again; they never stopped kissing until he’d carried them to the bed, laying her down gently. One hand dipped to the side of her hips and slid under her blouse, seeking her breast. He circled her nipple with his thumb, drawing a long, low moan from her. Fuck, she could already tell he was wonderful with his hands.

He took his time, exploring her slowly, which was all well and good, but she needed him now. Hard.

She pulled her head back. “If you’re going to start treating me with kid gloves, we’ll have a problem, handsome. Do what you want. I can take it.”

He kissed her neck and bit at her earlobe teasingly. “You have no idea what you’re saying.”

Taunting him wasn’t wise—she knew that. She didn’t care. Avani grinned. “I guess I can always get my vibrator to do the job, if you’re not up for it.”

He growled against her mouth, so very wild she might have thought he was a wolf if she didn’t know better. The next instant, he’d flipped her on all fours, and pulled her jeggings off her legs. She gasped, feeling his tongue lap at her, and two dexterous fingers enter her as he pressed on her clit.

She could only moan in delight. Then his mouth moved from her labia, heading up to the crease between her ass cheeks. She only had time to gasp; his tongue had licked her there. And holy fuck, she didn’t hate it. At all. She didn’t have time to protest, because his tongue was back on her pussy, and teasing her clit the next moment.

Avani stopped trying to make sense of what was happening; it was impossible to figure out where he was touching her. He was everything, doing every single thing hundreds of years of experience had taught him. She could only moan, beg for more, then the next moment, for less, praying for mercy, as heat built up, and up, and up again. She had zero control of her own body; if she’d wanted to, she couldn’t have stopped herself from clasping around his fingers and coming, so hard she stopped breathing and blanked out.