by Donna Grant
Shite. She just had to say his name again. The sound of it falling from her lips was more erotic than anything he could’ve imagined. He wished he had the wherewithal to stand and walk out of the pub and forget her. But he knew it for the fantasy that it was.
“I warned you about what you said,” V told her.
“I’m not keeping us in this place. You are.”
He fisted his hands. “You doona understand how close I am to the edge.”
“The edge of what?” she asked innocently.
This time, he didn’t hold back his groan. It was a mix of pleasure and pain. She was driving him wild. His blood boiled with hunger, and there was only one woman on the menu.
She slowly ran her finger around the rim of the tumbler. “I want you. I came to tell you exactly that. I’m going to get up and walk out the door now. If you don’t come outside, then I’ll never bother you again.” She leaned forward once more and lowered her voice. “But don’t forget that I know the pleasure you felt at the loch. I felt your need. Your … craving. I’m yours for the taking.”
The words had barely penetrated his mind before she was on her feet. He watched her walk to the door. She didn’t look back at him before she took the final step out, and the door closed behind her.
V told himself to stay. He begged himself to remain. But it was a losing battle. She anchored him to this chaotic world in a way he couldn’t explain. Then there was the uncontrollable longing, the raging desire he had for her.
He stopped fighting it. V slid from the booth and strode to the door, ignoring everyone else.
Once outside, he looked around for her, but not even his dragon eyesight could find a trace of Claire or her car. The disappointment that filled him was immense.
“I knew you’d come.”
His head jerked to the side to find her leaning against the pub. She pushed away from the building and smiled. V walked to her and slid his arms around her body. He bent her backwards. She didn’t protest, simply leaned her head back to expose her long neck.
“You should’ve stayed away from me,” he murmured as he brushed his lips along her skin.
Her fingers tightened on his shoulders. “I couldn’t. I burn for you.”
“This is your last chance, lass. You doona want to get tangled up in my life.”
Her head lifted to meet his gaze. Then her fingers slid into his long hair and against his scalp. “I want to be tangled in your arms and in your life. I want all that your lips and body promised me beneath the moon.”
“Claire,” he begged.
She put a finger to his lips to quiet him. “You came out here for me. Any argument you might have had ended the moment you did that.”
As much as he hated to admit it, she was right.
And, somehow, in that second, all the fight went out of V. Or maybe his desire won. All he knew was that the woman he wanted was in his arms and willing.
“Where’s your car?” he asked.
COULD HE BE … THE ONE?
Who doesn’t love falling in love?
For anyone who doesn’t enjoy the rush of it, I have to wonder if you’re human. There are those who are in love with the idea of being in love.
And who can blame them?
The quiver in your stomach when the one who holds your affection is near. The anticipation of the first kiss. The desire that explodes with newly kindled attraction. The yearning to be close to them all the time.
There is nothing that can match falling in love.
We all seek it. Some are more aware of it than others. There’s no getting around love. It’s in books and magazines. It’s shown in the things we watch from ads to shows.
Romance is everywhere.
It’s ingrained in us from birth to seek out love, to find the other half of ourselves. Whether you call it soulmates, kindred spirits, or your true love, everyone is looking, searching … hoping.
Sometimes, we get hurt so many times by potential soulmates that we shut off our feelings. I’ve done it. It’s a way to protect ourselves and our fragile hearts. After all, there is only so much pain we can endure before we need to go off and lick our wounds.
And every once in a while, someone comes along that makes us think that all our hunting and seeking has paid off. Everything aligns perfectly.
He says all the right things.
He likes all the right things.
He does all the right things.
He has the looks and voice that send your heart skidding erratically.
He is, in fact, your perfect man.
At least, you think he is at the beginning. It isn’t long before he does or says something that makes you pause. It could be as simple as the sound of his laugh—not horrible, but not something that makes you want to join in.
Or it could be worse. He could treat a waiter or someone he perceives as lower than him badly.
If it’s the former, it’s something minor that you can get past. After all, there are things you’ll do that get on his nerves, as well. That’s called a relationship.
If it’s the latter—run like hell! He’s giving you a glimpse of a part of himself that he’s kept carefully hidden from you to pull you in. But people like that will always show their true colors eventually.
So. You found The One. You’ve been anxiously waiting and hoping for this day. You know all there is to know about dating and how to attract a guy’s attention, but you soon realize that you might not know all there is to know about being in a committed relationship.
I wish I had answers for you. The fact is, I don’t have a clue either. People call me a serial dater. I suppose I am, but it isn’t by choice.
When someone is set on a course like mine, you become an expert, of sorts. Since the goal is to find my person, I must be doing something wrong if my dates aren’t working out, right? I own a library—both physical and electronic—of articles, books, and audio on self-help topics, what a woman needs to do to find her significant other.
Do you know what I found? Every damn one of those books, articles, and recordings contradicts each other. It showed me that no one has the answer, because if they did, it would work! Everyone in the world would find their perfect match and be happy.
My one piece of advice, trust yourself. Ask friends who are in a happy relationship. And, more importantly, talk to your soulmate. Communication is everything, folks.
Be honest. Be open.
And for the rest of us still on the hunt, we will be happy for you while also being slightly jealous. But our turn is coming.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Claire couldn’t catch her breath. The anticipation of having V’s hands on her naked flesh kept her shaking from need.
It must have been apparent because V took her keys and put her in the passenger seat. He looked unruffled by their exchange. At least he did until his gaze met hers.
In the oncoming lights of a car, she saw the truth blazing in his ice blue eyes.
Her stomach clenched, and need rushed through her so intensely that she had to squeeze her legs together. She’d never wanted anyone like she did V. He was addictive. His voice, his body, his hands, and that mouth.
Oh, God, his mouth.
She closed her eyes and tried to swallow. Neither said a word. She kept her hands locked together in her lap while she imagined all the things V would do to her, which only made her hotter.
Claire hadn’t known if V would be at the pub tonight. She’d gotten dressed while thinking of him, of wanting to see him. If he hadn’t been at the bar, she’d intended to go to Dreagan.
She still wasn’t sure what had prompted her to visit the pub first. But the moment she saw V sitting at the bar, calm overtook her. She knew she was supposed to be there. That she was meant to show him what he could have, what was his if he wanted it.
When he blocked the man from coming to her, Claire had wanted to run to V and throw her arms around him. Instead, she’d remained at the table, waiting for him to come to her.
And he had!
She still couldn’t believe it’d worked. Or that he was going back to the house with her. Her thoughts came to a halt as he turned into her drive. Then the car was parked and the engine off.
V didn’t look her way as he got out of the car. She had to try twice before she could get her door open. He waited for her at the front of her vehicle, and when she reached him, he took her hand as they walked to the door together.
Her hands shook as she struggled to get the keys in the lock, but it wasn’t from nervousness. It was from anticipation.
Finally, she got it open. Then they were inside the house. She hadn’t taken two steps before V whirled her around and yanked her roughly against him. The kiss he gave her was … everything.
A current ran along her skin from the savagery of his kiss. In it, she felt the hunger that fought to break free. She sensed the passion that ran deeper than she could fathom. She recognized and welcomed the longing he kept hidden from others.
When he pulled back, she moaned and tried to kiss him once more, but he tangled his fingers in her hair and held her head in place as he searched her eyes.
“I doona want you regretting this later.”
She wanted to scream in frustration. Didn’t he realize that she wanted him so desperately that she had gone to extremes to get him? “I won’t.”
“Remember that.”
Claire frowned. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she knew his secret, but she held back. She didn’t want anything to ruin this night. “I will.”
He stared at her for another silent minute. Then his fingers loosened their hold on her hair. This time when she leaned in to put her lips on his, he didn’t stop her. V didn’t allow her control for long, however. In a heartbeat, he had her against the wall, his hard body pressed to hers while his fiery kiss took her breath and made her knees weak.
She ran her hands over his back, feeling the muscles she’d put to memory the other night. Her blood heated in her veins when his chest rubbed against hers, causing her nipples to harden.
It was so easy to sink into the passion that surrounded her and V. The pleasure consumed her. It sank into her skin, becoming a part of her. Every breath she took, every moan she made, the passion grew until she couldn’t tell where it started and she ended.
“I need you,” V whispered in her ear.
Chills raced over her skin, and her heart beat double-time from his breath that fanned her neck. And because of the raw need she heard in his raspy voice.
She opened her eyes to find him staring at her. “Don’t stop. Please, don’t ever stop.”
“Tell me what you want me to do.”
She swallowed, her mind going blank. He couldn’t be serious, surely.
His fingers caressed the side of her face. For some reason, he had put the brakes on, slowing them down considerably, and Claire wasn’t sure she liked it.
But he was allowing her to tell him what she needed. No one had ever asked her to do that before. She licked her lips. With someone else, she might not have had the courage to speak the words. But with V, she was different. That, combined with finding the woman she used to be, gave her the daring she wouldn’t otherwise have.
“I want you to dominate me.”
V’s smile was slow, approval shining in his eyes. “You set the limits, lass. Tell me when it’s too much.”
She nodded, but Claire knew that with V, it would never be too much.
He moved his hands to her waist beneath her blazer. Then, slowly, he ran them up her sides to her chest. He paused there, letting his thumbs brush against the undersides of her breasts.
The movement had scarcely registered before his fingers were on her arms under her jacket. With just a little shove, he had the blazer off her shoulders. Claire let her arms drop and arched her back, allowing the garment to fall to the floor.
“So sexy,” V murmured as he lightly ran his fingers up and down her arms.
Claire closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall. All her senses were overloaded—and it was the most amazing experience.
“Take your clothes off,” V ordered. “Slowly.”
Claire’s eyes snapped open. And when she saw that he was dead-serious, desire tightened low in her belly. This was exactly what she wanted, what she needed.
Claire slid from between V and the wall. She removed one shoe and then the other, never taking her eyes from him. Then she turned her back to him and walked to her bedroom.
She stopped when she reached the doorway and put her arms on the frame before looking over her shoulder at him. The desire that filled his gaze made her knees weak with longing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
She was so bloody sexy. V wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand watching Claire before he buried himself inside her. Every movement she made caused his blood to heat hotter and hotter until he felt as if he were burning from the inside out.
But he would sustain all manner of torture—both good and bad—for her.
Now that he had given in to his need, V couldn’t fathom what had kept him away. He knew the reasons, but they didn’t seem important anymore.
Nothing was more important than Claire.
Than having Claire.
The moment he’d given her the command, he saw the flash of delight in her eyes. She hesitated only a heartbeat before she moved away from him and slowly removed her heels. The soft thud as each shoe hit the floor was like the sound of the last of the walls he’d tried to put up crumbling to dust.
He watched Claire walk to her doorway. The look she shot him over her shoulder made his cock jump. Because on her face was hunger so stark and visceral, so genuine that it almost brought him to his knees.
“Remove your pants,” he told her.
Claire turned around in the doorway. She bit her lip and unbuttoned her pants before gradually sliding the zipper down. With both hands on the waist of the pants, she shimmied her hips until the material was down to her thighs.
He’d never seen someone remove a pair of pants so erotically before. She moved slowly, sensuously, and he waited with bated breath until first one lean leg and then the other was revealed.
It was a good thing he wasn’t beside her, or he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands from that gorgeous body of hers. When he caught sight of the nude lace panties, he swallowed thickly.
When she stood, waiting, V said, “Now your shirt.”
Claire crossed her arms and grabbed the hem of her shirt before slowly pulling it over her head. The way her arms lifted caused her torso to stretch and show off more of the curves he craved.
She shook out her hair and then dropped the shirt as she stood in her nude bra and panties for him to look his fill. And did he ever take his time.
“Turn around,” he ordered.
She did as he instructed. The moment his gaze caught on the back of her panties that had a section cut out with thin strips of material crisscrossing her ass, he took two steps toward her before he got control of himself again.
He called her name. When she looked at him, he crooked a finger at her, beckoning her to him. Once she stood before him, he knew he was a glutton for punishment. Why else would he put himself so close to her in the state he was in?
“Remove my clothes.”
Her eyes lit up. “With pleasure,” she all but purred.
The moment her hands touched his chest, V knew it would be the ultimate test if he could keep himself from reaching for her, from claiming her body as he’d done in his dreams so many times.
One button at a time, she opened his shirt. Only when the last fastener was undone did she place her palms on his chest and push outward, moving the material over his shoulders and down his arms until the garment landed on the floor.
He could remove the rest of his clothes with magic, but he liked watching her face as she undressed him. He wasn’t sure who enjoyed it more. Not that it mattered. Both of them were getting pleasure from the
action.
V bit back a groan when she dropped to her knees and looked up at him, waiting for him to give her his foot. When he did, she wasted no time removing one boot and then the other. She got to her feet again and met his gaze before her fingers slid into the waistband of his jeans.
He sucked in a breath when her fingers brushed the tip of his arousal. Her eyes widened, and her lips parted as her breaths came faster.
They stared at each other, lost in the passion for a moment. Then Claire opened his pants. The moment air hit his aching rod, it was over. V yanked off his pants and then grabbed her.
He held her against him as he walked into her bedroom. V stopped beside the bed and kissed her. Her hands moved over his back and down to his hips.
V pushed her down onto the bed. Then he grabbed her ankles and pulled her bum to the edge. Her chest heaved, and her eyes were heavy-lidded as he kneeled on the floor in front of her. His hands smoothed up her legs and then back down again.
The next time he caressed upward, he ran his hands along the inside of her thighs, stopping just short of touching her sex before he removed her bra and panties. He leaned forward and softly blew on her bare skin.
She groaned breathlessly and scraped her nails on the covers as she wound them in her palms. But V was just getting started with her. He continued to lightly run his hands along her thighs before moving to the seams of her legs. The closer he got to her sex, the louder her breathing became.
“P-please,” she begged as she tried to shift her hips so his fingers could meet her aching flesh.
V took pity on her and flicked his tongue over her swollen clit. Her back arched, thrusting her breasts upward. He dipped a finger just inside her to feel her wetness. Then it was his turn to groan.
“Vlad,” she cried out softly in need.
He slid his finger deeper as his tongue began to leisurely swirl around her clit. If he thought he could tease her for just a moment, he underestimated his control. One taste of her and he was lost.
V added a second finger and began to softly thrust his digits in and out of her as he licked her. Her cries grew louder. He didn’t stop until her body tensed before contracting around his fingers as she climaxed.