His thumb brushed her cheek. Eventually they would have to discuss the child she was protecting. And of course, the Oracles who were still a threat (and who might very well castrate him when they discovered he’d kept a Jinn mongrel hidden), but one problem at a time.
For now he had to make certain she didn’t slip away on some wild goose chase for the promise of a mother, who more than likely was a trap waiting to happen.
“A powerful mage can create any number of illusions with a wave of his hand. It would be easy to fool you.”
Her hand landed against his chest with enough force to have broken a rib if he weren’t a vampire.
“So now I’m stupid as well as impulsive?”
He scrambled for damage control.
Dammit. For centuries he’d chosen women who wanted one thing from him. And it didn’t include charm.
He shifted his hand to cup her chin, holding her gaze as he leaned down to brush his lips over her mouth.
“You haven’t learned not to care,” he husked. “A dangerous weakness that others will eagerly exploit.”
She shivered, her lips melting in ready response, but she firmly pushed against his chest, her eyes dark with a concern he sensed she didn’t want to feel.
“How does Uriel intend to discover if she’s real or not?”
Happy to offer a distraction from her troubles, Tane stroked his lips down the line of her jaw.
“Juliet cast some sort of spell over the scrying bowl that allowed Uriel to catch the female’s scent. Once he’s close enough, he’ll find her.”
The hand that pressed against his chest softened, exploring the rigid line of his muscles as his tongue discovered the sensitive spot at the base of her throat.
“And what of Marika and the mage?” she managed to husk.
“Victor has his finest warriors searching for them, but I doubt they’ll find more than smoke and mirrors. The damned mage will be able to cover his escape with magic.” He lifted his head, studying her pale face with a brooding gaze. “They’ll be looking for you.”
“They’ve been looking for me for a long time. And they aren’t alone.” She sent him a deliberate frown. “I could lead a freaking demon parade down Fifth Avenue.”
The truth of her words stirred his temper.
Logically he understood.
She was a dangerous mongrel that had been banned by the Commission. She was harboring some mysterious child that held the blood of the Dark Lord and the potential to bring the world to a crashing halt.
On top of it, she was a gorgeous, sensually alluring female who would cause every unmated demon in her vicinity to trail after her like dogs in heat.
Yeah, he got the whole parade thing, but it royally pissed him off.
“They can’t have you.” His hand stroked down her back, pressing her against his hardening cock in a display of blatant male possession. “You’re mine now.”
Her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits, then, with one smooth motion she rolled him onto his back so she could perch on top of him.
“Yours?”
His hands clamped on her hips, potent heat spreading through him at her brazen challenge. “Mine.”
Deliberately she rubbed her sex along the granite length of his erection, smiling as a groan was wrenched from his throat. His fingers dug into her flesh. He’d never seen anything so beautiful as the sight of her poised above him, her cheeks flushed with desire and her expression one of defiance.
“Even in England the feudal system is long gone,” she warned, shifting until the tip of him barely penetrated her hot, slick channel. “Females are no longer property to be purchased and traded among the men folk.”
His hand skimmed up the arch of her back, urging her down so he could suckle one of her puckered nipples. A voice in the back of his mind was whispering a warning at his endless craving for this female.
It was a voice that was easily drowned by the tidal wave of exquisite pleasure as she slowly impaled herself on his aching erection. Scorching heat blasted through him and his eyes rolled into the back of his head.
Shit.
Nothing should ever feel this good.
“Human laws have no meaning for a vampire,” he muttered, lashing the tip of her nipple with his tongue, careful not to break her skin with his fully erect fangs.
That business of claiming her as his own …
That was a little too close to the whole mating thing.
And while he might be deeply in lust, he wasn’t stupid enough to risk becoming permanently entangled with any woman, let alone one that was destined to get herself, and anyone standing next to her, in a shitload of trouble.
She rolled her hips, taking him even deeper. “What about the laws of common decency?”
He moaned, his hands shifting to frame her face so he could capture her lips in a branding kiss.
“I prefer indecency.”
She laughed softly, obviously pleased with her sexual power over him.