“I like the smell of you when I sleep.”
“What?” she cried in horror.
“And the feel of you,” he continued.
She rolled her eyes toward her forehead and muttered, “Oh my God. It just gets worse and worse.”
He ignored her verbal non-prayer and called, “Leah.” Her eyes snapped back to his face and she was back to glaring. “I’ll be here every night.”
Her nose wrinkled before she mumbled, “Yep. Gets worse and worse.”
Lucien decided he was done and it was time to move on. Therefore he did so.
“Now, you have three choices,” he informed her.
Her head tilted and her jaw clenched before she gritted from between her teeth, “And those are?”
“You can share a drink with me while I have dinner, yours being non-alcoholic.”
“Next,” she snapped.
“You can get changed into your nightgown, get into bed and read.”
“That sounds doable.”
“I’ll be joining you.”
“Next,” she demanded immediately.
“Last, you can begin your next lesson.”
“And that would be?”
“I’ll be teaching you how I like to be kissed.”
Her face paled and her body froze.
After a long moment, she whispered, “I’ll pick door number two.”
He lost his annoyance and his impatience instantly for that was his choice. Although his choice was actually number three but he knew she wasn’t ready for that yet.
His fingers unclenched in her hair and his hand cupped the back of her head, bringing her face closer to his.
“I said I picked door number two, Lucien,” she breathed, pushing her head against his hand.
He pressed her ever forward until her mouth was a breath away from his.
“Get changed. I need food, a word with Edwina and I’ll meet you in bed.”
“Righty ho, oh Great Master.”
At her words, Lucien changed his mind and decided her next lesson would be right now. And that lesson would be that you always respect a vampire.
He brought her head forward a breath so her lips were light on his.
“This is your only warning, pet. If you call me ‘oh Great Master’ again, I’ll be forced to punish you.”
She held his gaze defiantly, her mouth soft against his, her head pressing against his hand.
Seconds slid by.
Then, Lucien was disheartened to see, she stopped her struggles and he watched her eyelids slowly drop in defeat.
A scant second later, her lids lifted, her eyes flared and she whispered passionately against his mouth, “God, I hate you.”
He smiled against her lips.
Yes, he was right, she was utterly enchanting.
Chapter Six
The Kiss
My eyes opened to a wall of sleek skin over the hard muscle of a massive chest.
I stared at it, confused.
Justin had chest hair. Did he shave his chest?
And was he working out, like, a lot?
Then I remembered that this wasn’t Justin. Justin was long gone. Four months gone.
This was Lucien.
Lucien who had left me last night to get food and have a word with Edwina. Lucien who had come back half an hour later carrying an expensive looking, black leather bag that appeared full. Lucien who had disappeared into the bathroom and come out ten minutes later wearing nothing but a pair of black, drawstring pajama bottoms, giving me the first-ever view of his bulging biceps, sinewy forearms, broad shoulders, defined collarbone and honed chest which narrowed into a six pack.
No kidding, he was perfect from the top of his head to his waist. Every inch.
I quit breathing and tried not to drool.
He totally sensed my reaction. I knew this because his eyes went hooded and he grinned.
My first reaction was to pant when his eyes went all vampire sexy like that.
My second reaction was vastly different. I resisted (barely) the urge to throw my book at him.
He got in bed beside me. I ignored him, turning my back to him and concentrating on my book, one page of which I read fifteen times before it sunk in.
I didn’t know what Lucien did. I didn’t look. I think he read because I heard pages turning. He didn’t touch me though and finally I turned out my light and tried to sleep.
He didn’t. He kept doing whatever it was he was doing for a good long while keeping his light on.
Eventually this forced me to ask irritably, “Are you ever going to turn out your light?”
“In a minute, my pet.”
God, I hated it when he called me his “pet”. It was way too close to the bone.
“I can’t get to sleep with the light on,” I informed him waspishly, still with my back to him, speaking to the opposite wall.
“You’ll learn,” he replied casually.
I clamped my mouth shut. Then I lay there and seethed. Lucien took his time which I thought was incredibly inconsiderate. Finally, he turned out his light.