“Do you think Jilly will ever feel comfortable around me again?”
“In time.”
Staring at the flames, she said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do about Christmas. I always go home.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
Tessa sighed. “I was looking forward to seeing my folks. And eating my mom’s pumpkin pie.” She glanced up at Andrei, bit down on her lower lip when she saw his face. His eyes were dark with guilt, his jaw clenched. “I don’t have any regrets,” she said quickly. “Honest! I love the new bond between us. I know now there was really no other way for us to truly be together. It’s just . . .”
“You don’t have to explain,” he said. “I’ve been where you are.”
“We haven’t talked about our future,” Tessa said tentatively. “Maybe you don’t feel the same way about me anymore.”
“You’re worried about that now? Seriously? I love you, Tess. Nothing will ever change that.” Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her.
There was something different about his kisses. It took her a moment to realize that, in the past, he had always been careful not to hold her too tightly for fear of hurting her. His kisses were deeper now, more intense. She was surprised to realize he had also kept her from reading his more intimate thoughts.
Lost in his kisses, basking in his caress, she surrendered to the magic that was Andrei. Somehow, she found herself lying on the rug in front of the hearth, wrapped in his arms, their bodies pressed intimately together, so close she couldn’t tell where she ended and he began.
His hands were cool against her heated flesh. For the first time, she let herself caress him in places she had not dared touch before. He groaned softly, a wordless plea she could no longer resist.
Tessa ran her hands up and down Andrei’s back. She loved the feel of his skin beneath her palms. Because of the bond between them, she knew what he was feeling, thinking, knew he was keeping a tight rein on his own desires, determined to let her go as far as she wished. Her vampire senses heightened the intensity of every need, every desire, overpowering every other emotion she had ever known.
She wanted him, wanted him desperately. Always before, she had been able to draw the line before things went too far, wanting to take Jilly’s advice and wait until her wedding night. But tonight there was no turning back.
She was lost, drowning in a world of sensual desire that would not be denied. Their clothing disappeared as if by magic and for the first time, she knew what it was like to feel the wonder of bare male skin against her own. It was a feeling beyond description, like silk brushing silk. All her inhibitions fell away under the touch of his hands. She couldn’t stop looking at him, touching him. He was beautiful, his shoulders broad, his chest solid, his arms and legs firm and well muscled. He was, she thought in a rare moment of lucidity, a study in sheer masculine perfection.
She writhed beneath him, her hands restless as they skated up and down his back.
He whispered to her in a language she didn’t understand, but it didn’t matter. His husky tone, the fire blazing in his dark eyes, told her everything she needed to know.
His mind brushed hers, a question looking for an answer, and she raised her hips in silent invitation.
There was no pain as his body melded with hers, only indescribable pleasure as he moved deep within her. She cried his name, desperately yearning for something that hovered just out of reach, then exploded within her, leaving her breathless and feeling oh so complete.
* * *
Andrei rose on one elbow, his hand brushing a wisp of sweat-dampened hair from her cheek. “No regrets, dragostea mea?”
His tone was light, but Tessa saw the worry in his eyes, the fear that now, no longer caught up in the heat of the moment, she would wish they had waited. “How could I be sorry when you’re such an incredible lover?” she asked, trying, and failing, to stifle a grin.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” he said, flashing a wicked grin of his own. “I took it easy on you because this was your first time.”
“Oh, my!” she exclaimed, widening her eyes in mock horror. “I am so afraid. Maybe you should do it again and get it over with.”
“As always,” he said, his eyes growing hot as his body covered hers, “your wish is my command.”
* * *
Tessa sighed as Andrei washed her back. It was a night of firsts, she thought, because she had never showered with a man before. The feel of his soapy hands aroused her in new and exciting ways. Apparently, it was having the same effect on him, she mused, catching sight of their reflection in the glass.