Her heart sped up. Tanya made a noise of refusal. Brant leaned forward and clasped her by the waist and carefully slid her onto his thighs.
“No. Hey stop! I really don’t think that this—” she ended the sentence on a sound of frustration. The female squirmed but didn’t try to move away. “I’m too heavy to be—”
“Bullshit, you weigh no more than a delicate flower.” He left his hands encased around her waist.
She blushed. The pink complemented her wine stained lips perfectly.
“I realize that humans don’t have great senses, so it would help if you put your nose into my neck.”
“No way.”
“If you were to scent me, you would understand what it is I need to explain to you.” He moved his head to the side and gestured to his neck.
“I really…” She stammered.
“Do it.”
She obeyed. Her hot breath fanned against his skin. A lesser man would’ve reacted by pressing her to him, by having Xavier stop the vehicle so that he could take her. Against a tree, on the soft earth. It wouldn’t matter just as long as he was inside her.
He may be a vampire, but that didn’t make him an animal. She squirmed some more but his hands held her firmly in place. If she moved just a little bit higher she’d know exactly how she was affecting him.
“And?” he raised his eyebrows as he spoke.
Her pulse raced. Her breathing was uneven. The scent of arousal filled the confines of the vehicle.
“And what?” her voice was shaky.
“Do you like the way I smell?”
“You smell…fine.” The scent of arousal kicked up another notch. His driver turned up the fan on the air conditioner.
Brant chuckled. “My turn.” He buried his face into the soft skin at the base of her neck and inhaled deeply. Tanya moaned. His cock hardened up a whole lot more. He ached with the need to bury himself in her. “Fucking delicious.”
She tensed. He hadn’t meant to say that.
“Please don’t eat me.”
“I promise that when I…eat you, you’ll love every minute.” He pulled back catching her look of shock as her cheeks flushed.
Part of him wanted to apologize, but she was here as his soon to be mate. His chosen female. If he were to follow tradition, he would bed her immediately. Seal the deal as soon as they made it back to the manor house, but some traditions could be altered. Brant would give her a chance to come to terms with her circumstances first before making her his.
“Okay, if you can’t admit what your senses are telling you, I’ll be honest then for the both of us.”
She tried to look away, so he took hold of her chin. “I love your scent, I will even begin to crave it once we are mated. Of all the other females at the ceremony today, I picked you because I could scent that we would be sexually compatible. On a baser, instinctual level, you will feel the same way about me. I will not have to force you to my bed just as Zane will not have to force his female.” Brant had known the second he’d stepped onto the platform that this human was the one. He hadn’t zoned in on her immediately for fear of Zane choosing her out of spite. He wouldn’t put such a move past a bastard like him.
That lush ripe lip went back between her teeth.
“Stop that.”
She gasped, “Stop what?”
“You keep biting on your lip. It’s distracting me, makes me want to kiss you.”
Tanya’s eyes widened and she pursed her lips instead. This was going to be a very long few days. He wanted a relationship born out of mutual respect. If that meant taking it slow then so be it. Brant would not push her into anything she wasn’t ready for.
“Oh my,” she gasped.
They had driven through the main gates and were rounding the bend. The manor house had come into view in all of its magnificent glory.
“Is this where your people live?”
He tried to suppress a laugh, but failed. “No, I live here. The grounds are vast, no need to share.”
“Just you?”
He nodded, “And my staff.”
“Where does Zane live?”
****
Brant turned to stone beneath her. His hands tightened on her waist almost to the point of pain.
“Why do you want to know so much about him?” His dark gaze held hers.
If she didn’t know better she would think he was jealous. “I’m interested and I don’t want to hear that girl’s screams.”
His eyes narrowed. “Any screams you would hear would be screams of pleasure. I assure you. Unless…” he paused. “Never mind. Zane does not live here. We are birth enemies. You will not see him again.”
“Birth enemies? What does that mean?”