The Zombie Billionaire's Virgin Witch (Zombie Category Romance)
Page 15
He cut in, “Remy’s is yours per our agreement. You wouldn’t have me go back on my word now, would you?”
He shifted backwards, managing to lounge on the uncomfortable counter like it was a throne. He’d left the top two buttons undone on his shirt, bearing bronzed skin and a sprinkling of chest hair. It was all she could do not to bury her face against him and inhale his spicy scent.
“Of course you might be too busy with your new duties at the Academy to run the restaurant like it deserves. Maybe you could use a little help now and then from a… How did you say it? A pigheaded alphahole?”
Giving into temptation, she stepped close enough to drop her hand onto his jean-clad thigh. “Perhaps slightly more alpha than asshole.”
“Progress, then.” He sighed, shifting closer to the edge of the counter—forcing her hand to glide just a little higher. “I’m trying to be very good and let you decide whether you’re going to kiss me or not, but it’s all I can do not to drag you into my arms and kiss you senseless.”
The raw need roughening in his voice drew her to stand between his thighs, though she didn’t dare touch him more. “I’m afraid it won’t be the same.”
“It’ll be better,” he promised, giving her that soul-searing dark glare that made her smile despite her misgivings. “I’ll make it so.”
“How can you improve on what we shared that night?”
“I love you, Clare. I’d like to spend the rest of my life making sure you feel exactly how much I love you.”
Her heart was trying to climb up her throat, choking her. Or maybe that was the tears threatening. She leaned in slowly, afraid and yet bursting with hope that maybe he was right. Maybe they didn’t have to have magic flaring between them. Maybe he could stop flinging money around like that would solve all their problems. Maybe…
Her lips touched his. She had a hard time understanding how something so soft could exist on such a hard, masculine exterior. His thighs flexed beneath her hands as he levered his body closer to hers. So much muscle and strength at her fingertips.
She traced his bottom lip with her tongue, tasting the chocolate he’d just eaten. He kept his mouth soft and open, letting her suck his lip into her mouth. She tugged gently with her teeth and he groaned deep in his throat.
Smiling against his mouth, she released his lip. “Maybe you should give me your tongue instead.”
The counter creaked beneath his grip but he willingly slipped his tongue into her mouth. She took him deep, wrapping her tongue around his. Heat pooled in her abdomen and her breasts ached for his hands, those elegant, teasing fingers, the urgent demand of his body. Need rose in her, burning hotter. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and the touch of his bare skin fanned the flames into a bonfire.
When he lifted his head, they were both breathing hard, but he’d never put his hands on her nor taken control of the kiss. “Well?”
“I think we need a little more experimentation to be sure.”
He smiled and reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “I wanted to wake up with you beside me so I could kiss you awake and make slow, sweet love to you again.”
“I couldn’t bear to stay. Not when I felt so… defeated. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to take care of me just because I broke the curse.”
“I’d like nothing better than to take care of you in every way possible, whatever you need. Not because you need me to, but because I love you. I can fix a lot of things with my money, Clare, but none of it matters if you’re not there with me. It makes me happy to buy you things.”
“No restaurants,” she warned, settling her hips against his.
“Duly noted, Ms. Remy. Would you consider jewelry?”
She played with his shirt, unbuttoning another one so she could get her hand onto his chest. “That depends, Mr. Michelopoulos.”
He reached into his back jeans pocket and pulled something out, keeping it hidden in his hand. “Close your eyes and give me your right hand.”
She hesitated only a moment. Her right, not her left? She’d assumed he meant to give her an engagement ring, but perhaps that’d been presumptuous of her. He certainly hadn’t come right out and proposed. Maybe he was having second thoughts. Between the Academy and Remy’s she’d certainly be too busy to tour around with him, smiling and waving like a vapid little doll to the paparazzi.
Cool metal slid onto her finger and a dam exploded inside her. That massive wall of boulders that separated her from her magic crumbled beneath a massive outpouring of power. So much. She didn’t know if she could hold it all. She felt like a leaf tossed about on wave after wave of a killer tsunami.
She didn’t know how long the magic surge lasted. Slowly, she became aware of his arms around her. His heart beat strong and steady against her ear and his hand smoothed her hair, over and over. She tried to speak, but her tongue didn’t want to work.
“I’ve got you baby. Are you all right?”
“What was that?”
“Look for yourself.”
He held her hand up for her, and her father’s signet glinted on her finger.
“Ms. Kettlewich restored it. I don’t know how much you know about what she did…”
Clare sighed. “I’m sorry you got caught up her schemes.”
He tipped her chin up, his fingers digging into her skin with his determination. “I’m not.”
Pressing his mouth to hers, he kissed her deep and long, taking her breath, claiming every inch of her mouth, while her magic danced and sang in her veins. But more, desire flickered back and forth between them, not amplified by the magic. Just simple overwhelming human need.
He hopped down off the counter, turned her so she leaned against it for support, and then knelt before her on one knee. “Maybe, or yes?”
Now she couldn’t stop crying.
“Ms. Remy, if you will give me the great honor of consenting to marry me, I promise no wedding in Greece. We’ll get married right here if you want with all the wizards and witches you care to invite.”
“Yes.” She cupped his cheek in her right hand, loving the way magic sparked across their skin. “But I never said no to Greece.”
He dug another ring out of his pocket and held it up for her inspection. She’d expected the richest tycoon she knew to give her an ostentatious diamond so heavy that she needed a wheelbarrow to drag her hand around for her. Instead, it was a simple antique band with a single, tasteful brilliant stone. “My mother’s ring, and my grandmother’s before her.”
Her heart felt so full and light that she could almost fly away. “I love it.”
Before he slipped the ring on her left hand, he said, “I have one more stipulation to specify in this agreement, Ms. Remy.”
Trying to tame the wide grin on her face, she nodded. “I’m listening, Mr. Michelopoulos.”
“I’ll give you whatever you want. Remy’s, cursed rings, even a dinner party with crazy old witches who cursed me. The only thing I ask in return is that you make me a Death By Chocolate Cake at least once a week.”
She laughed. “Think of the calories! In a few years, you’ll hate me, or I’ll hate you because you’ve gotten so fat and lazy. If we agree to this contract, we’ll be stuck with each other.”
“God, I hope so,” he breathed fervently. “Not the fat and lazy part, of course. I need my chocolate fix, but I need my luscious kitchen witch more.”
Holding her breath, she leaned down to brush her lips against his. “Someday, or now?”
He pushed up to his feet, snagging her in his arms in the process. “Now and forever, Clare. This is our fairytale, and I’m going to make all your dreams come true.”
Other books by Joely Sue Burkhart
Dare to peek beneath the mask
JoelySueBurkhart.com
Current Series and Upcoming Releases
Zombie Category Romance
THE ZOMBIE BILLIONAIRE’S VIRGIN WITCH, October 2012
The Maya Bloodgates, paranormal ro
mance from Carina Press
BLOODGATE, a free read prequel
THE BLOODGATE GUARDIAN, June 14, 2010
THE BLOODGATE WARRIOR, August 6, 2012
A Jane Austen Space Opera, SF erotic romance (BDSM) from Samhain Publishing
LADY WYRE’S REGRET, free read prequel
LADY DOCTOR WYRE, March 29, 2011
LORD REGRET’S PRICE, tbd
HER GRACE’S STABLE, tbd
DEATHRIGHT, tbd
The Connaghers, contemporary erotic romance (BDSM) from Samhain Publishing
LETTERS, TAKE ME, LIE TO YOU, free read prequels
Conn, DEAR SIR, I’M YOURS, June 2009
Victor, HURT ME SO GOOD, October 2010
Vicki, YOURS TO TAKE, May 2012
Mal, MINE TO BREAK, tbd
Historical Fantasy Erotica (BDSM) based on Imperial China from Carina Press
GOLDEN, August 29, 2011
Blood & Shadows, erotic romantic fantasy (BDSM), re-releasing December 2011
THE HORSE MASTER OF SHANHASSON, free read prequel
THE ROSE OF SHANHASSON
THE ROAD TO SHANHASSON
RETURN TO SHANHASSON
SURVIVE MY FIRE
THE FIRE WITHIN, 2012
GIVEN IN FIRE, tbd