Sex, Lies, and Vampires

I jumped as the tip of the tooth pierced my tongue, blinking in surprise as Adrian stilled beneath me. Our mouths were still joined, but I knew I was bleeding. A roar of hunger swept through him, through me, screaming a demand that he couldn't deny. He suckled hard on my tongue, groaning deep in his throat as he sucked off the bead of blood.

I pulled my mouth from his, startled by the overwhelming desire that rocked him, feeling it as if it were my own. He stared at me, his eyes onyx now, and I knew what it was he wanted. Needed.

"You're hungry," I whispered, the background hum and clatter of the train all but obliterating the words. "You haven't… er…"

"Fed. No. There was no time before, and after, there was only you, and I couldn't…" He closed his eyes, his jaw tense. I was draped across him, careful not to put any pressure on his wound, the movement of the train rocking us together beneath the flimsy blanket made up of our coats. This close to him, I didn't have to open myself up to feel what he felt.

"Why couldn't you… er… feed off me?" I asked, turning my head so my lips brushed the bristled line of his jaw.

"We've already taken three steps of Joining." His voice was so raw it sent a shiver of desire down my back. "Four, if you count this. You could have left me to the hunters, but you didn't."

He touched his chest.

"I don't quite follow you on this whole step thing, but I know you need blood. You've lost a lot, and if your tank wasn't full to begin with, then you're really running on empty."

Midnight-blue eyes looked at me, a question in their depths, almost hidden by hopelessness and despair. It wrung my heart, my throat closing with tears as I accepted the pain that howled within him, my body shaking as I took his darkness and fought to make it light.

"Take it," I whispered, pulling his head toward me. "Feed."

"Nell." His lips brushed against the skin of my throat. "You don't know what you're saying."

"I know what I'm doing," I lied, tilting my head back. "Feed on me, Adrian."

Beneath my hands, his shoulders shuddered as he fought the red wave of hunger that swept through him. I knew, in a distant part of my mind, that I should be horrified, sickened by what I was offering, by what I craved him to do, but the truth was, I ached to have him feed off me.

Not feed… feast. The words echoed in my head just before his teeth pierced my flesh. I gasped and arched back, my eyes open but blind with the overwhelmingly erotic sensation of his mouth moving on my neck, his mind bound so tightly with mine that I could taste my own blood as it slipped down his throat. Within him the endless night that howled so cruelly faded a little, the torment easing as I gave myself up to the moment, trusting that he wouldn't harm me, locked in an embrace more arousing than anything I'd ever known. My body seemed to catch on fire as his lips caressed my flesh beneath the cover of my coat, his hand spread wide over my breast before it slid down over my belly. The carnal images in his mind drove the fire higher, hotter, until I was sure I was going to explode with the heat.

"Adrian," I warned softly, his hair like cool satin as it brush my jaw. "You can't. We can't!"

We can do anything we want, he answered, his fingers undoing the button on my jeans, pushing the zipper down until his hand could delve inside. Let me do this, Nell.

"I… oh, my God, someone will see you," I gasped, my hips lurching as his fingers slid along the satin line of my underwear, sliding beneath the delicate material to cup the most intimate part of me.

Let me pleasure you, he begged.

You pleasure me any more and I may just die. My body moved against him, belying my words. Little flicks of fire touched me where his fingers delved. I tensed, unable to draw a breath, my mind caught between his hunger and my own need, which he was driving higher and higher within me.

Now, Beloved. One finger slid into me, triggering an explosion of white heat that seemed to consume the universe. I dug my fingers into his shoulders, trying to merge myself with him so that there would be no him and no me, only us.

"Oh, God," I gasped what seemed like eons later as he pulled his head from my neck. His hand was withdrawing from me, zipping my jeans as I lay draped across him, my body quivering with little shocks of residual pleasure. "Now I know why women find vampires so sexy. You're the most amazing… that was the best… you are absolutely incredible!"

He said nothing, just pulled me down so I fit comfortably against his shoulder, but I felt his slow, sensual smile as it stole across my mind.

Chapter Six

"Get up, Nell."

"No. I am not getting off this train until you let me see your chest."