Love at Stake (Entangled Covet)(24)

His harsh breathing filled her ears. They were unequal in so many ways except when they touched. She couldn’t match his strength or his speed, but she could certainly match his passion.

His finger brushed along the strip of skin above the waistband of her skirt. The questing fingertips glided gently along her spine, sending delicious shivers through her body.

Abbey threw her head back, closing her eyes to block out the world. Without her sight, every sensation was heightened. His light, teasing caresses forced a moan from her throat. His movements were slow, careful, as if he knew exactly how to reduce her to a puddle of need. And she had no complaints.

His lips trailed up her neck, pausing to kiss the tender skin above her pulse. Fangs raked over her throat, sending adrenaline spiking through her body.

“Don’t you dare,” she breathed.

He smiled against her skin. “I won’t,” he promised. “But God knows I want to.”

The knowledge that he was holding himself back for her only fanned her desire higher. Lucian wasn’t like any other lover she’d ever had. Danger accented every kiss and yet she trusted him not to hurt her. It might be a naive belief, but it didn’t change the fact that here and now, she’d risk his fangs for a chance to taste him once more.

Abbey threaded her fingers through his hair, feeling the silky strands fall across her palms. She dipped her head to capture his mouth hungrily. His touch was infuriatingly gently and she wanted more. The lust driving her demanded she push him back against the couch and rip the shirt from his body. She’d press her mouth to his chiseled chest. Trace the contours of his muscle with the tip of her tongue. Abbey nearly shook with a need stronger than anything she’d experienced before.

Because no man in her past even came close to Lucian. He had no competition.

Unable to help herself, she rocked against his erection. Her lover’s growl of pleasure filled her ears as she undulated against his hard body.

They’d be so good together. The sex would be explosive.

Ice water crashed over her at the thought. What was she doing? Any more of this and she was going to screw a vampire in his living room. Happily. Desperately.

“Stop,” she said even as her body protested her words.

“Never.” The husky cadence of his voice did nothing to calm the desire throbbing between her legs.

“Lucian.”

“Finally,” he said, his fingers rising to the buttons of her shirt. “I like my name on your lips.”

If he undid just a few more buttons she’d be enjoying his lips on a far different part of her anatomy.

“No,” she moaned. “We can’t.”

“On the contrary, I’m more than happy to prove we can.”

Abbey arched from the couch as he rubbed his thigh between her legs. Would it be so bad to spend one night making the best mistake of her life? It was only her self-respect that would be harmed and really, wasn’t it a fair trade?

But she remembered the smiling faces of her coworkers. Everyone was counting on her to see this project through. If she buckled now, she had no doubt Lucian would move on and forget her. She had to hold him off. Keep him interested in Fated Match while her clothes stayed firmly in place.

“I can’t sleep with you.”

“Trust me, darling, I have no intention of sleeping.”

“You know what I mean.” Flattening her palms against his chest, she pushed him back.

The man looking back at her was a far cry from the sophisticated man who’d gone out to dinner. His hair was messy, his clothing mussed, and most intriguing of all, his eyes wild. There was very little left of his tightly held control. Instead, the man pressed intimately against her was far more vampire than she’d ever seen.

“You want me,” he said, his voice rough. “You can’t hide from that now.”

“It changes nothing. You’re still a vampire.”

“I’m going to prove to you, darling, how very little that matters to you before our time is up.”

She swallowed hard. “Not tonight you’re not.”

His intense gaze studied her before inclining his head. “Soon.”

“Never.” She pushed off him, tugging her skirt back into place. She was reasonably sure her hair was a lost cause but would deal with that problem later.

Lucian came to his feet with easy grace. “You’re going to run away again, aren’t you?”

Abbey opened her mouth to refute the statement when she realized in that moment, he knew her better than she knew herself. “Yes.”

He nodded, unsurprised by her decision. Before she could snake by him, however, he tugged her back into his arms.

“Listen to me well, darling,” he said, bending to brush her ear with his lips. “Sooner or later, we will end up in bed, and when we do, I promise you’ll leave with no complaints.”