His eyes raked down my body, and I remembered I was standing in nothing more than a towel.
“I should change–” I only got halfway through my plan when he scooped me off my feet and threw me over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” I demanded as he carried me inside, slamming the door behind us.
“Helping you decide, pet.” Then, he carried me into my room and threw me on the bed.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
JULIAN
There was barely room to move in her bedroom. But I only needed the bed. I dropped her onto it and her towel fell open in the process, treating me to a glimpse of the body that had occupied my every waking thought since the moment we met. A primal instinct rose, seeping out in a low growl.
Thea’s eyes widened, and she tugged the towel back around her to cover up.
“Don’t,” I said as I reached to unbutton my shirt. “I want to see you, pet.”
Her hands continued to clutch the towel, but she nibbled on her lower lip. “I haven’t forgiven you yet, remember?”
“Then let me apologize.” I shrugged out of my shirt and let it fall to the floor. Her gaze swept down me appreciatively, causing another surge of feral desire to swell within me, barreling straight down to my dick. Thea’s eyes paused on the fly of my trousers, staring. The longer she looked at my erection, the harder I got. Which was precisely why my pants had to stay on.
She seemed to know what I was thinking. “Why am I the only one expected to get naked?”
“Because,” I said, sinking to my knees at the edge of her bed, “I’m here to apologize to you.”
“You don’t need me naked for that.” She wasn’t going to make this easy.
I placed a hand on each of her knees, feeling the warmth of her skin through my calfskin driving gloves. “I’m sorry,” I said in a low voice, earning a shiver from her. “I never intended to make you feel unwanted.”
Thea remained quiet for a moment before she nodded. Her eyes were bright, shining with unshed tears, and I knew just how spectacularly I’d fucked up before. We needed to talk. I needed to reestablish some important boundaries, even if it meant revealing vampire secrets I was sworn never to discuss. I wouldn’t hurt her again–not to protect old laws.
“I’m sorry I asked you to bite me,” she whispered.
My eyes flashed, and I sat back on my heels to put some physical distance between us.
“You warned me not to offer a vampire my blood,” she continued.
“And you did anyway.” I barely contained a smile. I shouldn’t like her defiance, not if it put her in danger. But there was something about it that grabbed ahold of me. Maybe it was because she was so fragile, but I would never have expected to find such fire in this tiny human female.
“I just…” She took a deep breath. “I suppose I thought it might be different if we were already…intimate.”
“Let me be clear on something. Refusing to drink your blood is because I respect you, but it is also to protect you,” I admitted. “A vampire in the throes of blood-lust can’t always stop. You have a precious talent. I won’t take that from the world.”
Her mouth formed a tiny O, but her eyes were unreadable. Finally, she managed a grin. “I’ll try to help you keep your fangs off me.”
I was relieved to hear her make a joke, but I needed to be clear on how dangerous her request had been. “It is difficult enough for me to resist you. Tempting me is forbidden. Are we clear?”
“What if I forget when…you know…?” Her whole body flushed, and the air around me filled with the inviting scent of violets mixed with sugar and almonds. And there was a new aroma, as well: honey drizzled on juicy, sun-ripened melons. I’d learned from experience that I might not have drank her blood, but I couldn’t get enough of her taste.
“If you forget, I will remind you,” I said meaningfully.
“How?” She sounded suspicious. Good, that meant she was paying attention.
“What happens to disobedient pets?” I pressed a kiss to her soft thigh, and she shuddered.
“I don’t understand,” she said, sounding slightly strained. “You don’t mean…”
“I will teach you a lesson,” I continued.
“I thought you already had.” Her words sounded thick and crowded on her tongue. More notes of ripe melon filled the air. I was losing her attention to her growing desire–and running out of room in my pants.
“That was a lesson in pleasure, meant as a reward,” I explained. I pushed onto my knees to see her whole face as I delivered the critical bit of this lecture. “If you test the boundaries I’ve placed for your protection, I’ll be forced to give you a lesson–a punishment.”
Her eyes, which had been half-closed in greedy anticipation, flew open. “You wouldn’t!”
“I promise you I will do whatever it takes to ensure your safety,” I said firmly. “Don’t look alarmed. I suspect you will enjoy our lesson just as much as the others I’ve given you.”
“What does that mean? That you’ll ground me?”
“No, Thea.” Now I understood her reaction. She was envisioning some modern form of punishment dreamed up by enlightened mortals. “It means I’ll spank you.”
Her breath hitched, and the honeyed-melon scent overpowered the violets entirely. Thea squirmed under my gaze. She licked her lower lip. “I’m not sure how to feel about that.”
Her body told another story. I wasn’t entirely sure punishment would make my limits stick. “Is that because the thought of punishment arouses you?”
“I…what…no…” Her response was as flustered as her need was growing. “Why would you think that?”
“I smelled it,” I explained to her. “Your scent changed when I mentioned spanking. Would you like that, pet? Would you like me to bend you over my knee and turn your ass the same lovely shade as your cheeks are now?”
