Her eyes widened, but it wasn’t fear that flared in the midnight depths. He smiled as her ready arousal filled the air with a heady perfume.
“No, Tane,” she breathed. “We can’t.”
“We’ve already proven we can,” he said, his voice deepening, thick with need. “With spectacular results.”
Around him he sensed Victor’s clan bustling through the manor house, no doubt discussing the best strategy of dealing with the traitorous Lady Havassy and her mage sidekick. Not to mention the threat of a looming apocalypse.
Discussions Tane should be a part of.
Instead he was wholly focused on the woman who challenged him on every level.
He needed … what?
To prove his dominance? To mark his territory? To reassure himself that she was unharmed and back in his arms where she belonged?
Something knotted in his chest.
Something that was too dangerous to contemplate.
As if battling her own inner demons, Laylah lifted her hands to knot her fingers in his hair, attempting to hide the raw need he could sense spreading through her body.
“I have …” She caught the betraying words. “Things I have to do.”
His lips twisted. Would she ever trust him with her secrets? “Collecting the child?”
Her breath caught at his blunt question. “How did you know?”
“Levet was urged to confess what happened after you snuck away.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Urged or forced?”
He shrugged, his fingers skimming along the lacy line of her bra before headed down the warm satin of her stomach. Pure male satisfaction raced through him as he felt her muscles contract in pleasure beneath his light caress, even as he growled in frustration at the amulet that hung around her neck.
He could savor her delectable heat and her rising passion, but the unique aroma of fresh spring rain was hidden by the witch’s spell.
For reasons he couldn’t explain, he wanted to be wrapped in her distinctive smell.
“I’ve made preparations for our return to the States,” he assured her, his fingers making short work of the button fly so he could tug off her jeans. With a toss they landed next to the sweatshirt.
Her eyes flashed with annoyance, but she made no effort to halt the soft brush of his hand over her bare thigh.
“I don’t need you making my travel plans. I’ll return the same way I came.”
“Brave talk, but you forget that we’re bound together.” He leaned down to nip at the lobe of her ear, not bothering to mention his awareness of her had nothing to do with her magical powers, and everything to do with a male fascinated with a particular woman. “I can feel your lingering weakness.”
She stiffened, as if troubled by the knowledge he could so easily detect her vulnerabilities.
“I’m not powerless.”
“No,” he was swift to agree, his lips tasting a path down the temptation of her throat. Laylah was fragile. Not only had she exhausted herself fighting off the bitch vampire and mage, but she was mentally traumatized by her introduction to her supposed family from hell. Tane, however, understood her need to appear strong. It was a part of who she was. And for all his sins, he would never crush her spirit. “Never powerless, but you’re drained and in need of rest.”
She stirred as his fingers found the edge of her panties, her hip pressing against the thickening length of his erection as her lips parted on a soft moan of anticipation.
Still, she struggled against her body’s need.
“I don’t have the luxury of resting. If those freaks get their hands on the baby …”
“Laylah, Victor has a fleet of private jets at his disposal,” he interrupted in rough tones, abruptly rolling to press her into the mattress. He didn’t want her able to think when he was seducing her. He wanted her consumed by her lust. Consumed by him. He buried his face in the tender curve where her neck met her shoulder. “One is currently being prepared for us.”
She gripped his shoulders, arching in silent invitation as he jerked off his khakis before settling between her legs.
“Vampires fly?” she husked.
He lightly scraped his fangs down her collarbone, using his centuries of experience to unhook her lacy bra and pull it away without her realizing it was missing.
“Only on planes that are built to protect us and with loyal servants that can stand guard,” he absently answered, his attention fully intent on the soft mounds of her breasts that were crested with dusky pink nipples already beaded in anticipation. “We’ll be in Chicago within a matter of hours.”
“Fine …”
Her words ended in a breathy sigh as he took one of the nipples in his mouth, a groan of approval rumbling through him as her hands skimmed down his back, filling an aching need deep inside him.
Gods, he was a vampire not a Were.
Why the hell did he crave her touch with such intensity?
“Of course, it will be another hour before it’s ready to depart,” he said, tracing the underside of her breast with his tongue before heading lower.
So far as he was concerned the private plane could wait an eternity.
She lifted herself onto her elbows, a flush of desire staining her ivory skin as she watched him kiss his way down the curve of her hip, pulling her tiny panties out of his path.
“I need to speak with Victor,” she said, her voice a strangled gasp.