Thank God Laila hadnt realized the truth. And wasnt the other princess a shocker? Short, squat and foaming-at-the-mouth-rabies mean. Seriously. If the Wicked Witch of the West had slept with Hannibal Lecter, and the two of them had a baby, that childs name would be Laila.
Pay attention to whats happening around you, Parker!
Right. Jane focused. She watched, flabbergasted, as one of the guards cleaned Nicolai from head to toe and the other oiled him.
She placed the book on the nightstand, considered protesting what was being done to him, but wasnt sure Odette would do such a thing. Therefore, she held her tongue. Through it all, Nicolai remained silent, his expression blank, but his gaze, oh, his gaze was glued to her. His pupils were huge, his irises still sparkling withdesire.
For her, or for her blood? His fangs were sharp and long, revealing the depths of his hunger.
Just then, he was the poster child for bondage, blood and a badass fetish. He was chained, yes, but he would be in control. He was strong, in body and in mind, and he exuded something, pheromones, perhaps, that drew slavelike desires from her. Every cell in her body ached, frantic to know his touch. He was the most physically perfect being shed ever encountered.
Seeing such a proud, strong man bound like that, lying atop a bed of pink lace and ruffles, being readied for her use, should have caused her stomach to churn with sickness. But she only wanted him more.
Her mind had pictured him before shed ever met him, yes, but her mind had not done him justice. He was tall, at least six foot four, with wide muscled shoulders, a stomach roped and corded, and skin as smooth as cream mixed with coffee. He had shoulder-length hair as dark as midnight, and eyes the color of moonlight glinting off snow, silvery yet threaded with gold.
She didnt see her death in those eyes, as the book had promised. She saw her seduction. How many times had she had to stop herself from reaching out, letting him mark her, whatever that meant, just to feel his skin against hers? Too many. Thats why shed jumped away from him when hed reached for her. Shed feared her reaction, afraid of an increase in the desire she felt. Already being near him was becoming a need as necessary as breathing.
The same force that had brought her here had to be responsible for what she was feeling.
Though he was cut and bruised, with dried blood caked along his arms and legs, he had not a single scar. In fact, he did not have a flaw, period. The closest thing to an imperfection he had was the thin trail of dark hair traveling from his navel to the waist of his loinclothand that wasnt an imperfection so much as a roadway to heaven.
Speaking of the final destination of that naughty roadwaydown in the cell, hed been aroused by her, and he hadnt tried to hide it. Hed boasted about it, drawing attention to his groin. With very good reason. Besides her dreams and single fantasy about him, she had been with only one man. And that man could not compare. She doubted any man could. Big was an understatement in Nicolais case.
When hed touched himself, running his fingers up and down his length, her body had ached. Shed forgotten her circumstances and imagined dropping to her knees. Tonguing him, drinking him in.
Mind, stop dipping your toes in the gutter pool!
Finally the guards finished and strode toward the door. Her shouted command, Leave the key, stopped both men.
The shorter of the two faced her and bowed. You have the key to these restraints, princess.
Oh. Odette would have known that. Well, she said, swallowing, the fallfrom the cliffsyou heard about the cliffs, right?must have caused me to forget. You can, uh, leave us. She waved toward the door, as princessy as possible. God, acting like someone other than who she waslike someone shed never metwas not fun.
The door shut with a soft clink.
She rounded on her prisoner, closing the distance between them, stopping only when the edge of the bed forced her. Again, she wanted to touch him, but she couldnt allow herself the luxury. Those teeth He could take her jugular as a souvenir.
The key is in the drawer of the nightstand, Nicolai said, breaking the silence first. Use it.
Even his voice was a delight. A sensual feast of tones and nuances. Raspy, husky, a wisp of smoke. She shivered, licked her lips. You might have summoned me or whatever, but you are not in charge. So listen up. Ill get the keyafter you tell me more about whats going on.
You and your afters. He glared at her, the long length of his lashes fused together and shielding the uniqueness of his dual-colored irises. This is blackmail. As irritated as he appeared, he also seemedproud.
Why proud? In and out she breathed, luxuriating in the scent of sandalwood. Far stronger now than when shed dreamed or read the book. Yes, its blackmail, and I wont back down.
Cruel of her, but she suspected the moment she released him, hed feed first, then race out the door, leaving her behind without giving her a single answer. He had the look of a cornered panther, ready to bite and bolt. Plus, he hadnt wanted to talk to her in the dungeon and wouldnt have, if she hadnt pressed him. Therefore, she would continue to press him.
Apparently, Im risking a whipping by being here with you, she added. You kind of owe me.
You wouldnt understand, he gritted.
Shed graduated high school at the age of fifteen. Acquired her masters at eighteen. Then, while working toward her doctorate, shed joined a highly classified branch of the government to research unexplainable abilities and phenomenon, as well as find ways to accomplish the unexplainable. The only reason shed quit and changed the focus of her studies to health sciences was to move back home and help her mother, who had just been diagnosed with breast cancer.
I think I can keep up, she said dryly. She anchored her hands on her hips, the material pulling tight over her chest.
His gaze lowered to her breasts, and his lips stretched taut over his teeth. Very well. Well talk. After you straddle me.
She blinked at the sensual request, even as her body responded to him, readying for penetration. Whatwhy?
You get what you want, I get what I want.
Blackmail? she parroted, not nearly as controlled as she sounded. Blood rushed through her veins at an alarming rate.
Yes.
Tempting. So tempting. And probably meant to cow her. Well, Im not caving. One of them had to keep things on a business level.
Are you wet?
Breath caught in her throat. Clearly that someone was not Nicolai. Really, what kind of question was that? II dont even know you, of course Im not I cant bewhat you asked.
Jane. I saw the way you looked at my cock. You can be. So. Are you wet?
Yes, she whispered, blushing. Shed done that a lot today. And just as clearly, she wasnt that someone, either.
Im hard for you.
I know. I sooo know. That doesnt matter. Oh, God, that mattered. She wanted to introduce herself to that hardness properly. Meaning, a nice, firm handshake. I mean, uh, are you planning to hurt me like you hurt the real Odette?
A beat of silence. Odette, I hated. Jane, I crave.
Such sweet, intoxicating words, all the more potent because she couldnt accuse him of only lusting for what was available. Laila, too, had wanted him in a bad, bad way, but he hadnt wanted the princess at all. So, logically, Jane had to believe he was as attracted to her as she was to him. Yeah, logically. And not just because she was trembling and desperately wanted it to be true.
He could simply be trying to soften her up.
Oh, great. The upsetting thought poked its way from an ugly place inside her. A place that never wanted her to be happy. A place that felt she didnt deserve to be happy. Theyd been butting heads for months; more and more, she won the battles. Today, she might not.
If I hurt you, you would not help me, he said in a silky tone. I want you to help me, and I am not a foolish man.
No, he was a sexy one. Youre a violent man. I know you are.
Yes.
His honesty deflated her upcoming argument before she could start.
Do you fear me, little Jane?
Maybe. What if you bite me? Or do that marking thing?
Youll like it, the bite and the marking, but I wont do either until you beg. You have my word. Now. Straddle me, he repeated. Im also capable of giving pleasure. Giving and taking. Thats what well do here and now. Give and take pleasure while we talk.
Beg Sweet heaven, she just might. Because deep inside, at the core of her femininity, she wanted to be with him. As if shed been born for him, and him alone. Or bespelled. But even the thought of magic couldnt dull her desire for this man. The desire was somehow as familiar as his scent.
Im not taking off my robe. Or my panties. We just met. That would be, uh, tacky. Idiot. Im trusting you to keep your word. And Im only doing this for answers, she lied.
Dont care why. Just want to feel you.
Slowly, unsure, she climbed on top of him, placing a knee on each side of his waist. Her robe hiked up, revealing the length of her thighs. Just as slowly, she lowered her body until her female core brushed his erection. She gasped at the contact. He moaned.
This was better than her fantasy. He was hot, so hot. Hard, so hard.
Talk, she said, flattening her palms on his chest. Before she did what shed said she wouldnt and stripped out of her panties.
He arched up, pressing more firmly against her. They moaned in unison, his heart drumming as erratically as hers. She liked that.
A moment passed. You said you enjoy puzzles, he mentioned huskily. His gaze settled on her neck.
Her pulse fluttered, as though happy to have gained his notice. Yes.
We fit together very nicely, dont you think?
Yes. God. How moronic she sounded. Yes this, and yes that. It was just, hed fried her circuits. She was on top of him, poised over his cock. And she ached. Ached like a drug addict in need of a fix. Why else would she have practically thrown herself at a vampire?
He waited. When she said no more, he arched his hips again. What did you want to know, Jane?
She rubbed against him. An accident, she told herself, and just once, but enough to leave her sweating. I wantto knowabout you. About why you summoned me to free you? There. Shed found her voice, without panting like she was climbing a mountain. Or a well-endowed man.
You never said, she continued. Do I look like Princess Odette or something? If so, Odette and Laila must have been an odd sight. The blond giant and the brunette toddler. Jealous? I mean, you told me that, in everyone elses mind, Im their princess. She rubbed again, harder, but slow, so slow, and impossible to label as accidental. Need drove her. But when I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw, well, myself.
Little beads of perspiration formed on his brow as he met her, moving with her. You look nothing like her. Yes, keep doing that.
Then how does your magic work? The tip of his erection brushed her most sensitive spot, and she moaned. Why does everyone assume Im her?
When I summoned you, I also shifted my ability to cast illusions to you, projecting Odettes image. His chains rattled as he attempted to lower his arms. When he realized he couldnt, he scowled. To everyone around you, with the exception of me, you look and sound like her. But gods, you smell divine.
So do you. Hed spoken of intrinsic power. So very, very gooduh, interesting. Getting answers had never been this wonderfully agonizing in class. Can you remove the illusion?
The leather of his loincloth was soft between her legs, a startling contrast to his erection, creating a dizzying friction. Her heart hammered against her ribs with so much force, she feared the bones would crack.
She needed to slow down, or she would explode before the conversation ended.
No, I cannot. Not while were together. My powerthey did something to me. Bound my abilities in some way, as surely as they bound my body. He licked his lips, revealing and hiding his fangs. So sharp, so deadly. Do you like this, Jane? Do I please you?
So much it scared her. Yes.
Lean down. Kiss me.
Another urge to obey She stilled instead. Yes. She wanted to kiss him. Yet she knew that if she leaned down, if she kissed the breath out of his lungs as she wanted him to do to her, they would have sex. They wouldnt be able to help themselves. Look how close she was to begging for it already!
She couldnt have sex with him. They were strangers. Worse, he was a vampire, a drinker of blood, and shed studied his kind for research. Oh, God. Talk about a mood killer. If he ever found out, the mood wasnt the only thing that would be killed.
He wouldnt find out, she assured herself before she could panic. Wasnt like shed tell him, and who else knew? No one. Although he might wonder why she knew more about his physiology than she should. Like the fact that he was alive, and not dead, with the same basic organ alignment as a human.
Besides, she would return home at some point. She hoped. More than that, they were in danger and under a time crunch. She needed answers from him, not pleasure. Not kisses.
Reluctantly she crawled off him and stood beside the bed. Her knees almost buckled. Amazing that she was able to maintain her balance, since her muscles had the consistency of Jell-O.
Jane?
She couldnt look at him. She would cave. He was just so damn beautiful, those eyes so hungry. For her. Plain Jane, as the kids at school had once called her. Already she was tempted to fling herself back on top of him, rubbing her way to ecstasy. The scent of him clung to her. Sandalwood. Delicious. Every time she inhaled, she smelled him, weakening her resolve.
Can someone else remove the illusion? she asked, keeping her profile to him. While were together?
Why did you leave me?
I wasnt concentrating. I was only
Thinking of me. And sex.
Her cheeks heated as she nodded.
He uttered a low growl. If you will not take pleasure from me, at least sit beside me. I would rather have part of you than none of you.