Heart and Soul (6 page)

He covered her mouth with his, pushing past the barrier of her lips with his tongue. She heated around him, her cooler body warming from his, and her hands tightened around his shoulders, her nails biting into his skin. Her mouth was sweet and ripe, her fangs sliding down from their sheaths. He pulled back a little, nipping at her lower lip before he lifted his head to stare down at her.

She tightened one hand at his shoulder, the other moving to cup the back of his head and drag his mouth back to hers. One fang grazed his lip, and the taste of blood flooded their mouths. Leandra made a small, hungry sound in her throat, and she began to shudder under him. The slick, wet tissues of her pussy tightened around him even more, and she began to spasm, those sweet little milking sensations caressing his cock.

Her body arched her against his, taut, sleekly strong, her hands demanding, her mouth ravenous. Mike wanted to eat her alive. He could stay like this, locked in her body forever. He felt her mouth suckle hungrily on his lip, licking away each drop of blood until the tiny wound began to stop bleeding. She bucked under him, and he felt the delicate tissues of her sheath clenching, her body tightening as climax approached.

His head was roaring; he could feel his own climax building, but he lashed it down, beating the need into submission. Rearing up onto his elbows, he flicked sweaty hair out of his eyes and stared down at her. He slowed the pace of his thrusts as he said her name. “Look at me.”

Her lashes lifted slowly and she stared at him with wide, unfocused eyes.

“Tell me I’m right,” he whispered, sliding one hand down her body and cupping her hip, slowing her frantic movements. “Tell me you know it means something.”

“Mike . . .” She sobbed out his name.

“Say it.” Mike pushed deep inside of her and held there, unmoving. His cock jerked and throbbed, and the rhythmic pulsations of her pussy had him scrambling for control. But he wanted to hear her say it.

Hunger erupted from her, a punch so damn powerful he could feel it caressing his body. It flooded the room, tightening the air all around them. The hunger was no longer just inside of them; it pulsed all around them, hot and potent. Coming from her—the vampire’s call. A heady, sensual magick all vampires had, one that increased with age and power.

It made his skin grow tighter, like it was two sizes too small. It began to whisper in his blood,
Take take take . . .

But he had to hear it from her first. “Say it,” he growled, gripping his hand in her hair, forcing her to look at him.

Raggedly, she said, “It means something.”

Crushing his mouth to hers, he gave into the driving, raging need, exploding inside her as she climaxed under him.

 

 

LEANDRA AWOKE A COUPLE OF HOURS BEFORE DAWN. For the past four years, she’d had an internal clock telling her when the sun would rise, when it would set. She was safest inside, away from the sun. There would come a time, if she lived long enough, when she wouldn’t have to fear the sun, whether she used magick to shield herself or not.

Right now, she could tolerate a few minutes of early or late sun unprotected, or she could go outside using her magick to shield her if the sun was burning high in the sky. It was instinct that made her wary, not a true fear.

Still, she rested better during the day now, and it was less stress on her nerves to avoid daylight when she could.

So she did.

Dawn wouldn’t force her to leave just yet.

But her tightly strung nerves would.

As she lay on her side, she could feel the warmth and weight of Mike’s body pressed against her back. His chest rose and fell with slow, steady breaths, and he had one arm locked tight around her waist. Like he had no intention of letting go, even while he slept.

She had absolutely no answer.

She’d lost her mind, there was no question of that. Not just because of the sex, either. It was the nightmare, damn it. She was used to them; she should have been able to keep from breaking down in front of him.

Her cheeks flushed as she recalled just how completely she’d broken down—crying, hysterical. But he just held her through her tears. And when that didn’t help . . . a soft rush of breath escaped her.

She’d lost her mind. Plain and simple. Of course, she hadn’t been completely responsible for her mental breakdown. If he hadn’t touched her . . .

“You think too hard.”

She jolted in his arms, her face flaming as she realized he had woken without her realizing it. Puckering her brow, she rolled over to face him, pushing up on her elbow. “I think too hard?”

He smiled at her, his gray eyes warm on her face. Golden blond hair framed a face so handsome, it made her want to sigh. When he smiled up at her, his teeth flashed white against the mellow gold of his skin. “Yeah. You always think too hard, kitten.”

Instead of trying to dissect that comment, she focused on the last word, scowling at him. “Kitten?” she muttered.

His thumb rubbed her lower lip. Just that light touch, and she was already aching inside for him. After last night, she shouldn’t need him like this, not just yet. But she did. His voice was a low, husky rumble as he said, “Kitten—you’ve always reminded me of a cat, sleek, sexy . . . and you purr when I stroke you.”

As though to prove his point, he skimmed his hand down her back, and Leandra arched into his touch with a sigh. One that, to her displeasure, actually sounded a little like a purr. She shrugged his hand away and sat up, embarrassed.
Kitten
. . . it sounded too sweet, too gentle. Too
not
her.

“I have to go,” she said, her voice stilted and tight. He’d gotten what he wanted. Now she had to run before he realized she needed so much more. It was bad enough that he had seen her at her weakest. If she didn’t get out of here soon, she didn’t know if she’d be able to walk away from him.

“Why?” he murmured, pressing his lips against her spine.

Glancing toward the window, she took the convenient escape. “Sunrise.”

Mike chuckled. “Still a few hours before that—and you only need seconds to go from here to the house.” She arched as he kissed her again, his tongue sliding out in a quick caress before he moved to kiss another spot on her back. “Besides, early sunrise doesn’t present a problem for you.”

Pursing her lips, she tossed her braids out of the way and glared at him over her shoulder as he sat up and met her eyes. “And what do you know?”

He smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his lap. Her lids drooped at the feel of his cock cuddled against her ass. Those hot little touches last night had almost driven her insane. And he hadn’t given her the
more
she’d begged him for.

Begged . . . Leandra’s cheeks flushed painfully red as she remembered the harsh, demanding sounds of her begging him to fuck her there. Normally, sex was little more than an itch to scratch when it became too annoying, and she usually just handled the needs on her own. Other than Mike, she’d had sex with two other men her entire life. And she’d never begged them for anything, much less what she’d begged Mike for.

His voice interrupted her thoughts as he said, “About you?” He laughed softly, rubbing his chin against her shoulder. “A lot more than you think. But nowhere near as much as I want to know. I want to know everything . . .”

As he eased away, Leandra lowered her eyes. She should go—get out of here before this could go any farther. But she hesitated too long. He stood in front of her, stroking her hair back from her face, staring down at her with impossibly gentle eyes.

She looked down, away from that soul-searching gaze, but that was a mistake, too. Instead of his eyes, she was now staring at the scar on his side.

It didn’t matter that she’d known the shot wouldn’t kill him. Leandra had used the hollowed-out bullets with ease and familiarity. She’d pegged him as strong enough to survive the bullet and the poison before she’d pulled the trigger.

She’d known he wouldn’t die. But it didn’t matter. She’d made him suffer . . .

Swallowing, she backed away from him, staring at the scar with tears burning her eyes. “Mike, this is insane,” she choked out.

The tears blinded her, and she couldn’t evade his hands in time.

She was strung too tight, from the nightmare, from how he handled her afterward . . . from him. Leandra could practically hear the threads of her control snap as he tried to pull her against him, and she struck out. “Damn it, let me go! I put that on you!” she hissed.

“Yes, you did. And I don’t give a damn!” he said, struggling to catch her hands.

She tried to squirm away, but he was too damned fast, and he had her pinned under his body on the unyielding mattress, staring down into her face. “You don’t give a damn,” she repeated, shaking her head. “You could have died—one of your friends did. Have you forgotten that?”

“I never forget friends, Leandra,” he whispered gently, lowering his head, trying to kiss her.

She turned her head away as tears burned their way down her cheeks.

“Then how can you do this? Because of me, because of what I was, your friend is dead.”

“Not because of you—because of them,” he said flatly. “Damn it, I know what they did to you. You were just a kid, a terrified girl all alone. They brainwashed you. Had you convinced you were something you’re not. I can’t blame you for what they did to that terrified girl.”

Clenching her jaw, she waited until she knew she wouldn’t sob, and then she said, “I haven’t been a child for a long time, Mike.”

He laughed, lowering his head to nuzzle the valley between her breasts. She shivered as he murmured against her flesh, “Oh, believe me. I know that. But you made every choice based on every lie they told you as a kid, baby. Once you saw past the lies, you stopped being what they wanted. No, I don’t blame you.”

“They died because of me, Mike. Whether I was a foolish kid or not, people are dead because of me. A friend of yours.”

“And what of your friends? How many did you lose?”

Turning her head, she stared into his eyes. Starkly, she said, “I had no friends. You cannot lose what you do not have.”

A tight smile curved his lips, and he cupped her cheek in his hand. “No friends—there is so much sadness inside you, so much loneliness, it breaks my heart. All I want to do is make it all go away.”

When he lowered his mouth to hers, Leandra held still. As he kissed her gently, she whispered forlornly, “I don’t deserve this.”

Mike sighed, the touch of his breath warm on her face. “How long will you punish yourself, kitten? Just stop thinking; let me love you.”

Those soft, gently uttered words made something hot, shaky, and sweet move through her. The black knot of despair that always seemed to lurk deep inside her seemed to fade just a little as Mike ran his hands over her, staring at her with something akin to worship.

This was more than just desire he felt.

“I’ve dreamed of touching you,” Mike whispered as he eased her back on the pillows. His hands came up, working through her braids and fanning her hair out on the pillow. “Every time I see you, every time I smell the sweet scent of your skin.”

He trailed his fingers down the curve of her cheek, down her neck, sliding down the center of her chest. As he circled his fingers around her belly, she shifted a little, squirming. He glanced up at her, a grin curving his lips upward. “You’re ticklish,” he mused.

“No, I am not.” But she couldn’t even lie without giggling as he started to stroke the sensitive area of her sides. He watched with amusement as she tried to squirm away.

Mike chuckled. Lowering his head, he pressed a kiss to her belly. “I wouldn’t have guessed—although I should have.” His breath teased her skin as he moved upward, pressing a kiss to her chest, just above her heart. “You hide so much behind that tough mask of yours.”

Now she blushed, turning her head aside and closing her eyes as he leaned over her, staring down at her. He laughed softly, pressing his lips to her cheek. “Don’t worry . . . I won’t tell.”

He pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth, cupping her cheek and turning her face to his. He licked along the seam of her lips, and Leandra opened her mouth to his. As he pushed his tongue inside her mouth, he covered her body. His cock cuddled into her belly, and she moaned weakly.

How can I still ache like this
? she wondered. He’d taken her time after time throughout the night. She was sore, but she still wanted him again.

Again.

And again. Sliding her hands along his arms, she dug her fingers into his muscles before sliding up his shoulders and curving over his neck. She could feel the pulse of life throbbing just under the surface of his skin, and her mouth watered, her fangs pulsing.

Curling her hands into fists, she moved away from his neck. The hair at the nape of his neck was silky soft, and as she ran her hands through it, the golden brown strands curled around her fingers.

He shifted away, pushing onto his elbows and staring down at her. He held her gaze as he settled between her thighs, pressing against her.

Heat and need rolled through her, and she closed her eyes and arched her back, trying to raise her hips and take him inside her. As he slid just a little inside, she forced her lashes to lift, staring up at him.

“You’re tight,” he groaned, lowering his brow and pressing it to hers.

The warm gray of his eyes shifted, swirling and pinwheeling from gray to near black. “Are you sore?”

She didn’t answer, instead lifting her legs and wrapping her thighs around his hips, hooking her heels just above the hard, powerful curve of his ass.

“Hell.” Mike gave into her demanding body and sank completely inside her.

Leandra shuddered, gasping for air.