She lay back down, a smile in her eyes, and slid her arms
around him. She buried her face against his shoulder, and he could feel her teeth nipping lightly at his skin.
He kissed her, hard and deep, and she pulled at him, her hands restless. Hurry, she whispered. No foreplay? he teased.
Ive been thinking about you for the last two hours. Thats foreplay enough.
He laughed, rolling her beneath him, pushing into her. Her back arched, and he could feel the first tremor of her orgasm tighten around him. She knew how to pull back, contain it so she wouldnt make him lose control. Their rhythms were perfectly matched, an elegant dance that culminated in a shock of pleasure.
This was faintly different. He sensed her urgency, when they usually took all the time they wanted. Why the hurry, love? he whispered.
She didnt answer for a moment, and he could see the shadow of an old pain in her beautiful eyes. Im afraid well run out of time, she said finally, her voice so low he could barely hear her.
Never, he said. Stop thinking.
Her smile was faint, lovely, one of the most erotic things about her. Now, she whispered.
He didnt hesitate. His fangs slid down and sank into her neck, finding the sweet spot he knew so well. The blood was thick, rich in his mouth, and he felt the spasms begin to take over, felt her own helpless response as his wings unfurled. He rolled onto his side, taking her with him, his teeth never leaving the gently throbbing vein, his cock deep inside her as his wings clamped around them both, locking them together as he gave himself over to the only kind of death hed ever know.
CHAPTER TEN
IOPENED MY EYES AND GROANED. I was lying sideways across a big, rumpled bed, still fully clothedand I was alone.
I had a really annoying habit of waking up instantly, cheerfully, with no need for coffee or a hushed silence to prepare for the day. It was sheer luck that Id survived my college yearsmore than one roommate had been ready to beat me to death over my tendency to prattle in the morning.
Today I could have used a little fogginess.
I had actually slept in that mans bed, though I wasnt quite sure how Id got there. Last thing I remembered was falling asleep in the living room, and here I was stretched out on his sheets, feeling physically cozy and mentally freaked-out. I wasnt used to men carting me off to bed and then doing nothing about it. Actually, I wasnt used to men carting me off to bed at all.
Except he wasnt a man, was he? He was some kind of monster, or mythical beast, or a bizarre mix of both, but he was definitely not human. And I held the firm belief that interspecies dating was never a good idea.
I checked my neck, just to make certain, but there were no mysterious puncture wounds; and far from feeling dizzy from blood loss, I was feeling positively energetic, more than my usual morning bounce. The unthinkable had happened, the worst thing imaginable. It had been no surreal nightmare. I was dead and living with a bunch of vampires who seemed to have emerged from Old Testament Apocrypha. It was little wonder I was feeling disoriented. What I couldnt figure out was why I was cheerful.
The good thing about total disasterat least there was nowhere to go but up. Maybe it was that simple.
Or maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with the mandamn, I couldnt stop thinking of him that waywhod brought me here. Not that he was any too pleased to be saddled with my unwanted presence. Tough shitit was his fault Id ended up in this cross between Valhalla and Anne Rice territory.
The good thing was, Raziel appeared to have no interest in my far-from-irresistible charms, sexual, social, or otherwise. For all I knew, Raziels people were impotent. After all, no one seemed able to procreate.
That seemed unlikely. The heat between Azazel and his wife had been palpable, despite the disparity in their ages. Maybe Raziel simply wasnt interested in women. Or, more likely, not interested in mehe would hardly be the first whod failed to appreciate my particular brand of charisma.
Id fallen asleep on the living room floor and he must have been kind enough to carry me in to bed, though so far kindness hadnt been a major part of his personality. Hed left me sexually and hematologically untouched, thank God. What more proof did I need of his lack of interest.
I had more important things to consider. I needed a bathroom; I needed a shower. Last night I hadnt stopped to think about the dead or undead having actual bodily functions. All I knew was that I certainly did.
I rolled out of the huge bed, landing barefoot on the cool marble floor. The room was dim, the shades pulled against
the bright sunlight. There was a door off to one side, and I headed for it. Eureka! A bathroom with a huge tub, a shower made for giants, thick towels, and even a toilet. If the afterlife contained a bathroom like this, it couldnt be that awful.
I followed the coffee aroma to a small kitchen, bracing myself to confront Raziel, but the place was deserted. There was coffee in a white carafe, and I filled one of the mugs, looking around me with fresh curiosity. Things didnt seem nearly so bizarre as they had yesterdayamazing what a good nights sleep would do for you.