Rana straightened her shoulders and concentrated while Lucian moved the sponge to her other breast. Football. A touchdown is worth six points and a field goal is worth one, but wait, the field goal could be worth three points if— All “good intention” thoughts fled when Lucian’s lips grazed her neck, causing her skin to pebble.
At her gasp of surprise, he immediately let go of the sponge to cup her breasts in his hands. Rana tried to lean forward, but he pulled her body flush with the back of the tub and nipped gently at her earlobe.
When he twisted her nipples between his fingers, heat curled in her belly and Rana moaned, arching her back instinctively, pressing her breasts into his hands. Her body screamed for her to give in to the passion Lucian offered. No, she couldn’t let him do this to her. He’d be like one bite of hot-molten chocolate cake, and she’d never in her life been able to stop at just one forkful.
Rana pulled his hands off and sat up in the tub, crossing her arms over her naked breasts. “I—I just can’t. Good night, Lucian.” After a long pause, he sighed deeply.
She refused to look at him when he finally said, “Good night, Rana,” before he closed the door behind him.
*
“Hmmm, you smell so good,” Lucian inhaled, whispering in her ear, his breath warm against her skin.
Lucian’s deep baritone skittered across her nerve endings, setting her on fire.
Rana arched her neck toward him, inching her body closer.
“Wake up, Rana.”
Rana opened her eyes. Lucian leaned over her; he held her wrists above her head, his body braced over hers. She met his intense gaze, noted his bare chest and felt the heat of his naked leg searing her hip as he sat beside her on the bed.
“This is no dream. I’m here in flesh and blood.” Lucian’s gaze raked down her flimsy nightgown, stopping on her nipples thrusting against the thin silky fabric. His nostrils flared when he returned his eyes to hers. “And I want you very much.”
Rana bit her lip. She knew she should tell him to leave, but instead gasped when she felt an invisible hand tweak her nipple, pulling it against the fabric. She arched into the sensations his mental touch elicited. When she started to speak, a warm, invisible mouth closed over that same nipple, sucking it deep. She whimpered as desire shot straight through her, making her body throb in unfulfilled need. Her gaze drifted to his mouth. God, she wanted this real moment.
Lucian’s lips canted in the corners as if he read her mind. He mentally slid his tongue down her abdomen where he planted a kiss on her mound. Rana clamped her legs closed, trying desperately to thwart his torturous onslaught. Lucian kissed her jaw at the same time he slid an invisible tongue against her swollen nub. Make him stop. Any way you can or you’ll pass the point of no return.
“Another vampire power, Lucian?” She gasped, trying to gather her thoughts. “I read that you’re supposed to ask permission—that a vampire can’t come into a person’s home unless he’s invited,” She panted the words as her body responded to his masterful manipulation. “This isn’t playing fair.”
He raised a dark eyebrow and gave her a rakish grin. “You’re in my home now, my sweet. I don’t have to ask permission.” His expression turned seductive. “But I will. Let me in, Rana.” He leaned close and slid an invisible tongue intimately around her throbbing nub just enough to make her breath hitch as he whispered in her ear, “I want to come into your home. Over and over.”
His lurid double meaning behind his husky words sent a thrill thrumming through her, making her ache to know what it felt like to have him inside her. Just once. Rana searched deep within herself to find the strength to resist his enticing offer. “Let me up, Lucian.”
Sighing, he released her wrists. Rana scrambled away, hopped off the bed, then turned her back to him. She couldn’t look at his perfect, naked body. It was too beautiful for words. She’d fallen asleep with the bedside lamp on, and now the bulb’s soft glow illuminated his broad, muscular shoulders and powerful arms. Dark hair slid into a vee at his navel, giving way to trim hips and thick, corded thighs.
She closed her eyes to squeeze out the mental image, but she immediately sucked in her breath when she felt his heat directly behind her. Lucian’s chest touched her back and he said against her neck, “I know you want me.” Inhaling, he continued, “You started to tell me so in your bath and I smell your arousal now. Your sweet scent tells me what you refuse to. Why Rana?” His lips grazed her neck and Rana let her head fall back against his chest.
It’s so hard to be good, she thought. I want to taste the passion.
Lucian turned her around. His smoky gaze locked with hers as he cupped a hand around her neck and pulled her closer until her breasts touched his hard chest.
“Surrender all your dreams to me. Let me love you,” he said in a low voice right before his lips met hers in a tender, searching kiss.
She sighed and melted into him, no longer able to resist his magnetic lure. Lucian smiled against her parted lips and slid his tongue inside, slanting his mouth over hers. Gripping his shoulders, Rana returned his kiss, stroke for delicious stroke.
Lucian groaned and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss, drawing her further under his provocative spell. His hands slid down her back and grasped her backside. Molding her soft curves to his hard body, he pressed the heat of his erection against her belly and whispered in her mind, No more dreams. No more vicarious sensations. I want to explore your body to the fullest, firsthand.
Rana shivered as she ran her hands up the corded muscles in his back. She reveled in the strength underneath her fingers and the power Lucian emanated. A mere look melted her. Just this once, I want to feel the desire between us and know it’s not a dream.
Lucian fisted his hand in her hair and tilted her head back while he ran his lips down her jaw to her throat. Rana shivered in delight as he nibbled on the sensitive curve between her neck and her shoulder.
“You taste so good,” he said in a raw rasp.
A sense of déjà vu brought on by his words caused a pleasant shudder to pass through her. Then she remembered where she’d heard him say those words before. He’d said them in her first dream about him. Cool air greeted her breasts as Lucian lowered the straps on her silk nightgown. The fabric whispered down her body and pooled around her feet on the soft carpet. He continued his kissing path down her chest, pausing to kiss each nipple, and then he moved on to her belly to tease her navel, before he bent down on one knee and slid her underwear down her legs.
Rana touched his head and thrilled at the feel of his silky hair between her fingers. Her heart pounded as she waited in anticipation for his next move.
Lucian grasped her ankles and drew her legs farther apart. He ordered gently, “Open to me, love. I want to touch all of you.”
She slid her feet farther apart, her breathing turning uneven while his hands made slow, methodical massaging trails up her legs until he reached her inner thighs. Lucian splayed his fingers around the muscles, leaned closer, and blazed a hot trail with his tongue from her lower inner thigh to the juncture at the top of her leg. His warm breath fanned her already heated skin as he made his way back down to her wet curls. Grasping her thighs, he pulled them apart and grazed her moist sensitive skin with a purposeful swipe of his tongue.
Rana’s moan turned into a startled gasp when Lucian made a low growling sound, then clasped her to him, lifting her off the floor. Yelping, she grasped his head for support as her entire body tilted backward toward the carpet.
She expected to land hard on the floor, but instead stopped an inch from the carpet, her fall cushioned by air. Slowly, her body lowered in a soft landing.
Her heart hammered at the strange, yet exciting experience. She laughed nervously. “Another vampire power you forgot to mention?”
He cast a wicked grin her way before he dipped his head and gave her another lap with his tongue, this time, deeper, harder and right against her swollen clitoris. Rana arched off the floor as a kee
ning sound of pleasure ripped from her throat.
Lucian lifted his head, his eyes reflecting banked passion. He pressed on her thighs. “Relax your legs.”
Rana did as he asked and let her legs fall to the floor, opening to him.
Smiling, he slid a finger straight down her over-sensitized flesh, making her whimper with need.
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you like that?”
She nodded.
Lucian shook his head, tsking, “No, Rana. Tell me. I want to hear the words.” He pressed on her throbbing bud.
She panted in tense expectation.
“You’re plump with desire.” He circled the sensitive bit of skin with his finger and then met her gaze once more. “Tell me,” he demanded.
“Yes,” she gasped at the steady pressure he applied, lifting her hips, seeking release from the building torment. “Don’t torture me any more, Lucian.”
A purely satisfied male smile tilted the corners of his lips and he thrust a finger deep into her. Her breath hitched, while sensations of pure pleasure rippled through her. He moved closer, leaning over her to capture a nipple in his mouth as he added another finger, slipping them both inside at the same time his thumb pressed against the responsive bud.
He kissed her breast tenderly and lifted his head to look into her eyes as his hand continued its masterful play over her body. “Come for me, Rana,” he said, plunging into her. Her breath escaped in short, unsteady pants while her hips canted to meet his rhythmic movement. She closed her eyes at the building sensations.
“Don’t close your eyes,” he demanded, his voice low, controlled. “I want to see your desire unfold.”
Rana bit her lip and then smiled at him. Gripping his shoulders, she arched once more when his thumb moved in smaller circles over her. “Lucian,” she breathed out his name as the first ripples of her climax built within her body, tensing her stomach, accelerating her heart rate.
“Say my name again. I’ve waited a long time to hear it,” he whispered, his expression intense.
With her body gripped in the throes of delicious climatic spasms, Rana screamed out his name as her moist, highly sensitized channel contracted again and again around his stroking fingers.
When her body stopped quivering, Lucian leaned closer, kissing her neck. He inhaled deeply, drinking in her scent. “You thoroughly seduce me,” he said in an unsteady tone.
Rana gave a throaty laugh and wrapped her arms around his neck while he nuzzled hers. “I think the opposite is true, since I’m the one who just climaxed.”
“I’m not done, yet, my love.” Lucian looked at her, his dark brow elevated, a sinful look on his face.
Rana smiled. “I hope not.”
He chuckled, lifted her in his arms, then walked toward a side door. Pulling it open, Lucian carried her to his bed. Rana’s heart filled with joy. It was a beautiful room. Even though Lucian had all the windows’ drapes pulled closed, there was hidden lighting in the ceiling that lit up the room as if it were daytime. The glowing light conveyed the warmth and feeling of true sunlight.
His elevated four-poster bed was made of a smooth honeyed wood, the posts thick and intricately carved. A pure white comforter covered the bed, matching the mostly white décor around the room. Certainly not what she expected from a creature of the night. While Lucian held her, Rana did the honors and pulled back the covers, gasping in surprise. The blood red silk sheets underneath were such a surprising contrast she looked up at him with eyebrows raised. “There’s either some major symbolism here or…”
Lucian gave her a predatory grin. “A man has to have his pleasures in life, something to look forward to.”
When Rana met his gaze and realized he wasn’t looking at the sheets, a shiver of excitement passed through her.
Lucian gently laid Rana on the bed and stared down at her. With her blonde hair spread out on his red sheets, her hazel green eyes filled with desire, she made a beautiful, tempting picture. His chest contracted with love. Before he could lie down beside her, Rana wrapped her warm fingers around his erection, a knowing smile on her face. Her small hand felt so good around him, he clenched his jaw to keep from losing it right then and there. Lucian clasped her wrist, intending to pull her hand away, but her comment stopped him.
“I’m feeling a bit guilty that all this has been about me.” She sat up and curled her legs under her. Lucian’s hold tightened when she leaned over and licked the moisture from the tip of his cock. “Mmm, you taste good.”
He groaned at his body’s instantaneous response to the slightest touch from her tongue. His stomach tensed, fisting into knots, and his balls tightened as he hardened even more. Every part of him throbbed and ached for her. Lucian had never been more aware of his desire for a woman in his entire life—only one woman. Elizabeth may have helped him find her, but Rana was his true mate.
As she stroked the full length of his cock with her mouth and talented tongue, he became acutely aware of each pulse of blood that flowed through his body. At the same time he heard Rana’s blood rushing through her veins, he smelled the scent of her arousal. He closed his eyes and let all his senses became heightened by the seductive combination.
He opened his eyes and pulled her up to her knees, his voice gritty and strained. “Enough, love.”
She met his gaze, disappointed. “But I want to…”
Rana didn’t get to finish her sentence before his lips captured hers in a possessive kiss. She laughed in delight when he pushed her back on the bed and knelt over her.
Placing her hands on his muscular shoulders, she slid her fingers over his hard biceps, then appreciated the dips and hollows of his chest. Lucian rested his body over hers. His pale gray gaze met hers and locked as he settled his thighs in the cradle of her hips, pressing against her heated entrance.
She smiled and spread her legs, welcoming his hard thrust as he slid into her. A fleeting thought occurred that they should be using protection. Why bother, I’m already dead. I may as well live while I can.
Rana moaned as her body stretched to accommodate his large size.
“God, your sweet heat is killing me,” he bit out, his body tense while he slowly guided himself into her.
She could tell he was holding back his desire to ram deep. Rana smiled. “Then we’d better do something about it.” Before he could respond, she wrapped her legs around his waist, lifted her hips upward, pulling him toward her.
He flashed a wicked smile at her invitation, then drove into her in one swift thrust. She flinched, then screamed, “Ohmygod,” as her body began to throb and constrict in rapid-fire pulses of pleasure.
Lucian called her name in a hushed tone. Rana opened her eyes and met his passionate ones as her body slowed its contractions. He held himself very still until all her tremors had stopped.
Giving her a tight smile, Lucian began to move in a slow, methodical rhythm to bring her to new heights. Rana enjoyed this slow burn, but she refused to let him hold back his own pleasure. He’d done so too many times for her. She arched her back, lifted her hips and met his driving force with counter ones of her own, upping the stakes, increasing the pace.
Sensations built, curling low in her belly. Her breasts and thighs tingled, her body begged for more friction, harder pressure. Lucian’s lips met hers, his ravishing kiss matching the fevered rhythmic pace of his grinding hips.
Rana gloried in their passionate lovemaking. Her breasts brushed his chest, her nipples tingling and sensitive against the hair-roughed surface. Lucian trailed his lips down her neck, his hot tongue tasting her with gentle swipes.
Her breathing became erratic as her body hummed and prepared for another climax. Rana craved another body-melting experience, but at the same time, she didn’t want it to end. She dug her fingers into his shoulders, begging, “Please, Lucian.”
As Lucian pistoned into her as deep as he could go, he clamped his teeth on her throat. Rana arched her back and tilted her head, crying out, “Lucian, yes! Yes!”
When the first shimmers of her orgasm started, Lucian relished the feel around his cock. Giving a deep guttural growl of satisfaction, he yanked her close and sank his teeth into her neck, taking her blood. Rana gasped in pleasure as the intense, erotic act heightened her climax, making the heart-stopping spasms seem to last forever.
Lucian reveled in Rana’s blood—untouched by another—pure and sweet. He drank like a vamp with his first taste of blood. She tasted so good, he had to stop himself before he took more than her body could recoup in a day. Regretfully, he withdrew his fangs and gently laved her neck, closing the wounds.
Rana’s hands moved slowly over his back. She seemed lost in a trance.
Apprehension gripped him. What if he’d accidentally taken too much of her blood? He grasped her shoulders and shook her slightly. “Are you okay, Rana?”
Her eyes came back into focus and she smiled. “Wonderful. Just tired, that’s all. I had no idea love making could be so intense and erotic.”
He cupped her face. “You’re okay with me taking your blood during lovemaking then?” His bright eyes searched hers. “When I’m holding you like this, tasting you is a necessity, not an option.”
She gave a tired smile. “It was beautiful and soulful and I loved it, but it can’t happen again…” she trailed off, her eyes closing in sheer exhaustion.
Lucian gathered her sleeping body against his chest, then pulled the covers over them. He knew she’d sleep for several hours. The first time was usually the most exhausting, but her last comment concerned him. She knew it took three encounters before she’d become a vampire. And once she became his mate, the exchange of blood during lovemaking was one of the most sensual aspects of being a vampire. Why would she not want that? Rana said she enjoyed their intimate act. The question plagued him before he finally succumbed to his own fatigue and fell into a deep sleep.
Love's First Bite: Bad Boys and Alpha Vampires Boxed Set (6 book bundle) Page 56