Read on for an excerpt from the book:
The cool green on the walls and the bright blue on the bed were both immediately more welcoming than the stark white of the kitchen. Mallory felt herself relaxing as Victor closed the door behind them. Of course, that might have been the wine. She took another sip, pleased with the way it warmed her belly.
“Make yourself comfortable,” Victor whispered in her ear. “I have to wash off the sunblock. It won’t take more than a few minutes.”
He put his wine and the bottle on the bedside table and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Mallory to her own devices. The sound of running water came through the door, distant and indistinct. Mallory, for lack of anything better to do, wandered over to the window.
This was all new to her. Should she undress? They were going to have sex and they couldn’t do that with clothes on. There were just two problems. The first was hers. She just wasn’t comfortable naked. Even in her own apartment she always had clothes on. Always. She usually changed in the bathroom because she was so uncomfortable without clothes. Undressing and slipping beneath the covers…she didn’t think she could do it.
The second problem was related to the man she was about to sleep with. He was old. Two thousand years old. A little more than that, actually. He’d lived through many eras, most of which had the woman as submissive to the man. Perhaps he wouldn’t appreciate a woman who was too forward. Maybe he wouldn’t appreciate finding a naked woman in his bed.
That was stupid. What kind of man—human or vampire—wouldn’t want a naked woman in his bed? Unless he was gay. But Victor was surely not gay or she wouldn’t be here.
Maybe she was overthinking this. Making a decision, she kicked off her saddles, put her glass on the table near the windows, and sat on the bench at the foot of the bed. A compromise. Near the bed but not on it. Shoes off but not naked. Best of all worlds.
She was just getting comfortable when the bathroom door opened. Victor strolled back into the bedroom, naked from the waist up. He was still wearing the black jeans, but he’d removed his shoes and socks. On bare feet he came towards her, not making a sound on the silver carpet. He was beautiful and sexy and…hot, she realized. If she was going to lose her virginity, a totally hot vampire was not a bad choice for her first lover.
Her face flushed as he sat beside her and ran a knuckle across her cheek. When his lips touched hers, a bolt of electricity ran from her lips to her groin. Arousal was instant, so she raised her arms to pull him closer. Just when she felt his fangs press against her lips, he pulled back. Mallory groaned in frustration.
“Your eyes are truly green when you wear that shirt,” he whispered, lips brushing over her eyelids.
Mallory could barely get the breath to speak. “I know. Otherwise they’re a boring hazel.”
“Hazel, maybe.” His lips moved to her ear. “But never boring.”
Fangs trailed down her neck, arousing and frightening her all at the same time. She trembled but didn’t stop him. She’d already decided to let him do this. She would let him do this.
When he drew back to look at her, she nearly sagged in relief even as she trembled with desire.
“Hush,” he murmured against her lips. “I won’t bite. Not yet, anyway.”
That made her laugh, which only heightened her arousal.
“Now,” he continued, “the ground rules.”
“What rules?” She didn’t want to hear his rules. Not when her body was singing with need.
“Mallory, listen to me.” He stopped kissing her, waiting until those vibrant eyes were focused on him before he said what needed to be said. “I am a predator.”
“I know.”
But he shook his head. “You don’t understand. A predator searches for prey and kills it. I need you not to behave as if you are prey.”
There was a note if warning in his voice that made her take note of his words. “What do you mean?”
“If you become frightened, do not act it.” Catching her eyes with his, he tried to make her understand. “If you push against me, or scream, or do anything prey might do, my baser nature may take over. If you want me to stop, say the word and I will. But do not whimper or flee.”
Mallory didn’t believe he’d hurt her, but she nodded anyway. “Don’t push you away. But what about pulling you closer?”
Surprise registered in his eyes before she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to hers. Wanting to be closer still, she squirmed toward him until he lifted her onto his lap as his lips ravaged hers. Mallory felt a prick of pain as one of his fangs scratched her.
“Sorry,” he breathed against her cheek.
Mallory gifted him with a faltering smile. “I expected to shed a little blood if we were going to…you know.”
His hand moved to work at the buttons of her blouse. “If you can do it, you should be able to say it.”
He was right, she realized. She was nearly twenty-two, hardly a child anymore. If she could sit in a vampire’s lap, fully prepared to have sex with him, she should at least be able to utter the word.
“Say it,” he demanded as he tugged the blouse out of her skirt.
The green satin was sliding off her shoulders before she whispered, “Have sex.”
Now all that stood between his hands and her bare flesh was her embroidered green bra. She expected him to remove it, but instead he brought his lips back to her ear.
“I want to know if the panties match.”
Before she could answer him, she found herself standing in front of him. His expert fingers unzipped her skirt and it promptly fell to the floor. Standing before him in nothing but her underwear, Mallory couldn’t help but blush. She was just glad everything matched.
“Very pretty,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss her navel.
Pleasure shot through her body as his tongue explored her belly. She wrapped her arms around his head, pulling him closer as she moaned from pure sexual excitement. So caught up in desire was she that she barely noticed when his fangs nicked her skin. Barely.
Glancing down, she saw two scratches on her stomach, one on either side of her bellybutton.
“That one wasn’t an accident,” she stated.
“No.” Victor drew his tongue around her navel, catching the droplets of blood that had appeared on her skin. “This one was very deliberate.”
His tongue played about the wound, drawing little gasps of pleasure from Mallory’s throat. She held on to his head, praying he’d never stop.
But eventually he did pull away, gazing up at her with just a hint of blood on his lips. He stood so quickly she barely saw him move, but she certainly felt it when he pulled her against his chest.
“Last chance to walk away,” he growled. “This is the point of no return.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she promised as she snuggled into the warmth of his chest.
Letting out a satisfied chuckle, Victor swept her into his arms and headed for the bed.
