Her eyes locked on mine. The scent of candied violets filled the air around us, her body beckoning me to claim it. What was it about her that was so irresistible? I had to find out. And it wasn’t as if I could leave her here. This building wasn’t safe against petty criminals. It could never stand up to a vampire. The more I thought about leaving Thea, the less I felt I should. She needed my protection, and I needed to satisfy the craving I felt for her one way or the other.
“You should invite me in,” I murmured, lowering my face toward hers.
“I don’t know if that’s–”
My lips closed over hers before she could find another excuse. There was only one way to make Thea see this my way. I had to show her.
Her mouth parted, welcoming me to deepen the kiss. I slid my tongue into her mouth, drawing hers to mine. She responded with a moan that sent a rallying cry directly to my dick. I pulled back, scratching a fang over her lower lip just enough to make her gasp.
“Invite me in.”
Thea swallowed, her hand fumbling for the knob behind us. She’d begun to shake, her arousal overwhelming her and flooding the air around me with her scent. I was about three seconds away from ripping the door off its hinges and carrying her to bed when it finally swung open to a dark living room.
She glanced shyly at me. “Come in.”
I didn’t need a second invitation. Lifting her into my arms, I spun us inside and kicked the door closed behind us. Thea grabbed my shoulders, her whole being now trembling.
“Which way?” I asked.
She tilted her head toward the hall. “First one on the left.”
There were a million reasons that I shouldn’t be doing this. I should walk out the door, find someone to compel her, and forget this pretty little mortal existed. But somehow I knew I would never be satisfied if I left now. I found her lips as I carried her to bed, ignoring the fact that I was breaking more than one rule by doing so. I could only think of stripping her out of her poorly fitted dress and then sating the hunger growing inside me.
Her room was more like a closet, and the mattress shoved in the corner hardly counted as a bed, but it would do for now.
Dropping Thea on her feet, I reached for her zipper and moved to kiss her.
But she placed a hand on my chest. “Wait, Julian,” she murmured, “there’s something you should know.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THEA
My heart pounded so hard that I was sure he could hear it. Apparently, lust mixed with nerves was a potent combo. I’d never invited a man into my room. I’d never wanted to, and, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why I’d chosen Julian to be the first.
Sure, he was unnaturally hot, but that probably had a lot to do with the whole being a vampire thing. He was also bossy and rude, which should have counteracted his looks. But for some reason, I couldn’t stop kissing him. It was like I’d unlocked some secret cache of hormones that I didn’t know were inside me.
He placed me gently on my feet, his fingers finding my zipper.
Oh my god, was I actually doing this?
I needed a minute to think My body was speeding forward before my brain could catch up. Julian leaned to kiss me, and I stopped him.
“Wait, Julian, there’s something you should know.”
His response was immediate. Julian stepped back and waited. He might have passed for nonplussed if it weren’t for his eyes. The electric blue that had struck me from across the room earlier tonight had disappeared. Now his eyes were black. I trembled, reminded of how the other vampire had looked as he fed.
It was clear Julian wanted to sleep with me. But did he plan to take more than my body?
Julian straightened and squared his shoulders before I could sift through how I felt about it. His eyes began to return to their breathtaking shade of blue. “Perhaps, this was a bad–”
“I’m a virgin,” I blurted out before I lost my nerve. Instantly, I wished I could take it back. My stomach clenched, humiliation finally trumping horniness.
“You’re a what?” He blinked rapidly as if I’d smacked him.
He was going to make me repeat the single most embarrassing moment of my life? No way. I would own this. I hadn’t been alive for a million years. It didn’t matter if I was a virgin or a hooker, I’d never catch up to his experience.
“A virgin,” I said firmly. “Is that a problem?”
He stared at me.
“I thought you should know before…um…well, you know.”
Yep, I was absolutely killing this moment.
“I don’t understand,” he said slowly.
“What do I have to do? Draw you a diagram?” I crossed my arms and hoped he thought my red face was due to anger, not mortification. “You do know what a virgin is?”
His eyes narrowed to slits. “I know what a virgin is,” he said dryly. “I just didn’t expect…”
I arched an eyebrow as he trailed away.
“You seemed…” He stopped and shook his head. “Actually, never mind.”
I’d clearly freaked him out. “It’s not a big deal. I just didn’t want to surprise you if–”
“Thea,” he interrupted me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “I’ve been alive for nearly a thousand years, and I can say, with absolute certainty, that it’s always a big deal.”
