Perhaps he should be thankful for his dreams. At least there, he could have some sort of relief, although making love to a mysterious dream woman was an almost empty pleasure. When he was awake, he didn’t think of her as much.
Kelsey, though, she was a different story. Flesh and blood, living, breathing, haunting his thoughts, even his dreams on the rare occasion the other woman didn’t invade. At times, the dreams even blurred together until he could barely separate one woman from the other.
Hunger started to pulse inside of him, his cock pounding under the jeans he wore. As his hunger grew, the air around them began to heat, and he knew the moment Kelsey felt the change.
Soft pink lips parted as she inhaled slowly, and her lashes drooped low over her eyes. A soft flush stained her cheeks, but even without that visible sign, he could sense the telltale reaction of her body. She wanted him; whether she liked it or not, she wanted him.
Him—not because of the blasted vampire magick, either. His shields were up. Kelsey’s shields were up, as well. He could feel them. There was no way the call was affecting her.
Even after what he’d nearly done, she still wanted him. Distantly, he knew she was still speaking, but he had no idea what she had said. All he could focus on were the signs he could read from her body. The increase in her heart rate, the unsteady rhythm of her breaths, the unmistakable scent of a woman’s hunger rising in the air.
She did want him. No matter how much she ignored him, she wanted him.
“You aren’t even listening to a damn thing I say.”
Malachi blinked and refocused on her face, staring at her grimly. Her eyes had gotten dark, and they glinted with frustration as she glared at him. As she held his gaze, her flush deepened, and he heard the erratic change in her breathing. A slow, bitter smile curled his lips as he stared at her.
“Oh, I heard you, love. The Council needs me. I know they’ve been looking for me. And if I wanted to go back, I would have already done so. I have no desire to go back to soddin’ old England right now.”
Her eyes narrowed on his face, and she planted her hands on her hips. That didn’t help any. It drew her shirt tight across her breasts, and he found himself staring at those soft, subtle curves as she said sarcastically, “And heaven knows that Malachi does only what he desires. Screw his responsibilities.”
Tearing his eyes from hers, Malachi shifted his gaze to stare at the ceiling. “You try answering to the Council for as long as I have, and then you can speak to me of responsibilities.” Then he grinned wickedly and looked back at her. “And I’d be very careful speaking to me of desires, Kelsey. One of these days, I just might act on the strongest one, and you’d end up burning me into a pile of ash. Maybe you should just do it and be done with it, sweet. Save us both.”
Her heartbeat kicked up even more; he could hear it. The scent of her body grew stronger as her flesh heated. Her hair, fiery golden-red locks, curled around her shoulders, framing the delicate oval of her face, spilling down over the soft curves of her breasts, and halfway down her back. His fingers itched. Malachi wanted to bury his hands in that hair, wind it around his fingers as he tilted her head back and kissed her senseless.
Looking at her, thinking what he was thinking, wasn’t doing a damn thing to cool the fire she caused in him. His cock swelled and began to pound in rhythm with his pulse. The ache spread throughout his body, and Mal knew from experience it would last for long after Kelsey had left. It was like a cancer that ate at him, this damned need he had for her.
“It’s time to come back, Malachi.”
Startled out of his daze, Malachi jerked his eyes back to her face. “No, it’s not,” he said slowly.
Her eyes narrowed a little, and she lifted her chin mutinously. “You can’t mean to stay away forever.”
Pushing away from the mantel, he strolled over to the couch and dropped down on it. He took his time as he settled down on the couch and stretched out his legs in front of him, crossing them at the ankle. He could feel her watching him. The devil in him had him wondering what she’d say if he told her he’d do anything she wanted, even come back to the Council for as long as they desired, in exchange for fifteen or twenty minutes with her naked.
He’d rather have days, but he could make do with much less time. Hell, he could make do with five minutes. Malachi had wanted her for too damn long, and if he ever got his hands on her, it would be like setting flame to a bucket of gasoline.
She groaned, and he looked up to find her staring at him in frustration, her hands on her hips, her eyes hot and annoyed. “I don’t know what in the hell is going on in your head, but can you pay attention to me for five minutes?”
Damn it, she was so damned adorable. The thought popped into his brain as a smile spread across his face. He wanted to get up and go over there, kiss that glare off of her face, strip her naked, watch her face as she came, listen to hear if she screamed or moaned.
What would she do this time if he touched her? Would she throw fire at him, like the first time? Would she turn to fire in his arms? She burned hot. He knew just how hot. And he wasn’t thinking of the actual fire she had lobbed at him the first time.
There had been one time when she had seemed to welcome his touch.
Malachi had tortured himself with the memories of that one time. Those moments at Eli’s when she had wrapped her arms around him, trying to ease the pain of Nessa’s passing, that had been the closest to paradise he had been in years.
Decades.
Centuries.
Quite possibly ever. At least outside his dreams.
The hunger inside him threatened to burn out of control. It felt like a fiery monster had settled under his skin, burning him from the inside out. It felt too big for his body to contain, and it spilled out, burning through his shields, heating the air around them. As his hunger grew, the air around them began to heat, affecting Kelsey as well.
Her soft pink lips parted as she inhaled slowly, and her lashes drooped low over her eyes. She reached up, scrubbing her hands over her face. When she looked back at him, her warm hazel-gold eyes were fogged by desire.
“Damn it, Malachi, don’t you get it? We need you,” she said, forcing the words out. Her voice was hesitant and husky.
Kelsey was getting damned tired of arguing with the stubborn vampire. Why in the hell had she been sent, anyway? She was getting absolutely nowhere.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true. She was getting extremely turned on. Malachi was making no attempt to mask the lust she could feel rolling from him, and even through her shields, the heat was getting to her. Scalding her. Burning her. It was intoxicating, and it was quickly turning her into a hot, mindless puddle of need.
If she didn’t get through to him soon, she was going to have to get out of here. Either that or strip down naked and beg him to put his hands on her. And she really didn’t want to do that. Damned if she’d become one of the dozens he’d left sexually satisfied and emotionally drained in his wake.
Said stubborn vampire merely cocked a dark red brow at her and smiled slightly as he mockingly drawled, “Damn it, Kelsey, don’t you get it? I don’t give a bloody damn.”
Spinning away, Kelsey fisted her hands in her hair, tempted to jerk some of it out by the roots to try to relieve some of her frustration.
Malachi said, “Just go on back to Brendain like a good little witch. They can do whatever it is without me. The Council doesn’t need me as badly as they think.”
“Malachi . . .”
Before she could figure out what she wanted to say, he closed his eyes and murmured, “Just go. I’m tired of all of this, Kelsey. So damned tired.” He stood up and moved away from her, crossing the room. She thought he was going to walk out, but he just stopped, facing the wall with his back to her.
As she watched, he sighed, reaching up to rub at the base of his neck.
Touching him was a bad idea. She knew that, even before she did it. Any time she touched him, it was like touching
lightning: burning, electrifying. He had a weird effect on her, something that went deeper than just plain lust.
But she had to do something. Kelsey took one step, then another, moving until she could slide her arms around his waist. He held himself still and rigid. Kelsey started to stroke the taut line of his back with her hands.
She felt the soft brush of his breath against her temple as the tense muscles of his body relaxed. Her hands fell to her sides as he lifted his, rubbing his palms lightly up and down the outside of her arms. “Oh, Kelsey, you really shouldn’t have come here,” he muttered. “Not now.”
His lips brushed over her cheek, leaving a burning trail of sensation behind. As he bussed her mouth with his, Kelsey had to stifle a whimper in her throat.
Oh, yeah, this was a bad idea.
His arms came around her. One big, hard hand pressed at her lower back, bringing her into full contact with his body. Against her belly, she could feel him; he was hard and full, throbbing against her.
From between her thighs came an answering throb. Heat suffused her skin, and the clothes she wore felt too thick, too heavy, too confining. She wanted to be naked, wanted to feel the long lines of his body against hers.
He hasn’t even kissed me. That inane thought ran through her mind as his fingers threaded through her hair. Hadn’t even kissed her, and she was ready to strip out of her clothes, lie down, and pull him to her.
Or strip out of her clothes, tear his away, and push him to his back. She licked her lips as that image formed in her mind. Climbing astride that long, powerful body, taking him inside, staring down into his face as she rode him. A series of long, slow pulses started low in her belly, rippling through her body. Heat spread through her, and she clenched her thighs together in effort to ease the ache inside.
Her mind, that soft sane little voice, seemed even fainter than normal as it whispered, Better stop now before it’s too late.
“Let me go, Mal,” she whispered.
“Why?” As he asked, he lowered his mouth to her neck. Her knees quivered and her breath left her lungs in a rush as he bit her lightly. His fangs didn’t break through her skin, just a soft, almost gentle nip that had her craving something more. As he paused at the pulse in her throat, Kelsey had to bite back a moan, but he didn’t do anything more than nuzzle her neck.
She needed more.
A deeper, harder penetration.
“Why, Kelsey?” he asked again. She realized she hadn’t answered his question, and for the life of her, she couldn’t think of a reason why he should let her go. There was one, she was sure of it. She’d come here for a reason.
But she had no clue what it was.
Hell. It was already too late.
Her breasts ached. And she was so damned wet and empty, she wanted to scream.
One big hand tangled in her hair, and Malachi arched her head back, staring into her eyes. He held her gaze as he covered her mouth with his, and Kelsey was helpless to move away. It was as though he held her captive with the power of his eyes and the soft caress of his lips against hers.
Malachi didn’t rush when he was kissing. He showed the lazy, feline grace in kissing as clearly as he did in pretty much damned near everything else. He traced the outline of her lips leisurely, as though he would be perfectly satisfied doing nothing but that for hours and hours. He caught the bottom curve of her lip and bit gently, laving the small hurt with his tongue.
It wasn’t until Kelsey groaned and rose up on her toes, pressing against him, that he took the kiss any deeper. Kelsey felt her knees buckle as he slowly entered her mouth, his tongue tangling with hers in a slow, erotic dance that made a fine sweat break out over her skin.
He tasted—magickal. Kelsey couldn’t think of any other way to describe the spicy, hot male tang that flooded her senses. Against her breasts, she could feel the pounding of his heart, quick and steady. Her own heart skipped a couple of beats as she realized what that fast, steady rhythm meant.
The heartbeat of a vampire was slow. A few beats a minute, or less with the older ones. The only time a vampire had a heartbeat close to that of a human was in times of great emotion. Anger, fear . . . passion.
He growled low in his throat, and the deep, rough sound of a hungry man made her knees weak. She squeezed her thighs together in effort to ease the ache in her sex, but it only made it worse. Kelsey slid her hands up his arms, over his shoulders. At the nape of his neck, she grabbed the thong that held his hair confined, and she jerked it free. The thick, deep red strands fell around them like a cloak, and Kelsey fisted her hands in it.
The room started to spin, and Kelsey clung to him, dizzy and lightheaded. But then she realized they were moving. Wrapping one arm around her waist, Malachi had lifted and spun her around, pressing her back against the wall. Hard hands closed around her hips as he lifted her feet from the ground. Automatically, Kelsey wrapped her legs around his waist, her thighs tightening around his hips as he pressed against her.
Kelsey gasped. Ohhhhh . . . she moaned, but he swallowed the sound down and all that escaped was a weak whimper. Slow and purposeful, he moved against her, the friction of it dragging the rough denim of her jeans back and forth over her wet folds. The silken material of her panties was wet, so thin, it might as well not even be there. Through the sturdy denim of her jeans she could feel him, the pillar of flesh pulsating and so hard, she already felt bruised from him.
Then he was pulling away. She reached for him, but he caught her hands and urged them down, pressing them back against the wall. He paused, staring down into her eyes for a moment before he let go and reached for the hem of her sweater.
Kelsey held her breath as he stripped it away and then lowered her gaze, watching as he cupped her breasts through the silk of her bra.
What am I doing?
Malachi lowered his head, and she shivered a little at the chill of his mouth as he took one nipple between his lips. At the same time, he slid one hand down and cupped her. As he started to grind the heel of his palm lightly against her sex, Kelsey moaned.
It sounded unusually loud, almost echoing in the room. The reality of what she was doing suddenly hit her square between the eyes, and she had to force herself to think beyond the need that pulsed through her veins.
Damn it, you didn’t come here for this!
No, but she dreamed of it. Still . . . she reached up, closing a hand over one thick wrist and squeezing. “Malachi, this isn’t what I came for.”
“I don’ care,” he rasped, his brogue so thick she could hardly understand him. “’Tis what we both want.”
He stripped away her bra, his hands moving quicker now. He bent down, capturing one nipple in his mouth, sucking hard and deep. “You’ve no idea how long I have wanted to do this,” he muttered as he pulled back and sank down on his knees in front of her.
Kelsey gave in to the urge to tangle her hands in his hair and tried to pull him closer, but he stayed where he was. Malachi stared at her naked breasts, and the look in his eyes was one of pure, naked desire.
Mal slid a hand up her side, cupping a breast in his hand. It seemed to fascinate him, the sight of his hands on her flesh. The way he focused on her was enough to bring a hot flush to her cheeks. He flicked his thumb over her nipple.
Kelsey felt the touch deep inside.
It set off a burning in her gut, the need to feel more, the need to feel his body pressing against hers as he came inside her, the need to have him feed from her. Using her grip on his hair, she pulled again, and this time, he came closer, nuzzling the valley between her breasts, his palms closing over her waist.
She sank down against him, and Mal shifted, guiding her as he settled back on his heels and brought her down astride him. A ragged gasp escaped her as it brought her into full contact with the steely length between his thighs. He cupped a hand at the back of her head, arching it to the side and exposing her neck.
The scrape of his fangs over her neck sent fire spiraling through her. Her mout
h fell open as she gasped, and she squirmed against him, trying to pull him closer. Malachi bit her lightly, but he didn’t break the skin, didn’t bury his fangs in her flesh, didn’t feed.
Instead, he rocked forward and spilled her onto her back, pushing up onto his knees to crouch between her thighs. He laid the palms of his hands low on her thighs as he lifted his gaze to hers. She shivered a little at the look in his eyes. That look went beyond hunger, beyond lust.
“Can’t get nervous now, Kelsey,” Malachi murmured as he stroked his hands up her thighs until his thumbs met in the middle, right over the covered mound of her sex. He pressed down, stroking her clit through the denim, watching with hooded eyes as she arched into his touch with a moan. “Too late for that.”
His hands left her, moving to the waistband of her jeans. Her hips jerked. Denim tore under his hands as he shredded her jeans. He tossed the scraps of denim to the side and sprawled between her thighs, lowering his face to the swatch of bronze silk that spanned her hips and ran between her thighs.
Through the damp cloth, he nuzzled her. She felt the cool kiss of his breath, then the hard, unyielding strength of his fingers as he moved her thong aside and pushed inside her. His tongue stroked against her clit, and she wailed, arching up to meet him.
Silk tore. As the scraps fell to the ground around her hips, he caught her thigh in his hand and lifted it, draping it over his shoulder. Then he spread the folds of her sex open and lowered his head. His tongue pushed inside, and Kelsey screamed.
He alternated between licking her clit and fucking his tongue in and out of her sex, drawing her closer and closer to the peak but backing off just before she came.
Sweat bloomed on her flesh. Malachi’s hard body no longer felt so cool. His breath was hot, and as he lifted his head, staring at her over the length of her body, red flags of color rode high on his cheeks. His eyes glittered, dark and intent.
Malachi shoved onto his knees, reaching for the hem of his shirt. He stripped it away, revealing the hard, muscled lines of his torso. His flesh was pale as snow and flawless. The muscles in his abdomen rippled as he tossed the shirt aside. Kelsey felt her breath lodge in her chest as he reached for the button on his jeans and released it slowly. The rasp of his zipper sounded loud and harsh, almost as loud as her ragged breathing.
Heart and Soul Page 16