“You haven’t had your tea yet.”
Thomas raised his eyebrows as Inez suddenly blurted that statement, then she was hurrying away across the room. He immediately followed, her scent making it impossible for him not to stalk her. She was a doe on the run, and he was the wolf, instinct sending him after his prey. Thomas allowed her to think she was fleeing toward freedom until she was out of the bedroom. Her anxiety level dropped a great deal the moment she was out of sight of the bed and that’s when he caught her arm and drew her back around.
Inez gasped in surprise and opened her mouth to speak as Thomas swung her back to face him, but she never got the chance to say the words of confusion burbling on the edge of her mind. Her mouth was suddenly covered by his, his lips and tongue moving over her. She caught at his arms to keep her balance and stiffened under the onslaught, her mind a confused jumble, but then his arms closed around her. He pressed her body against his with one hand firm on her backside even as his other hand slid into the wild mane of curls at her head and tilted it to a better position as he kissed her.
Inez moaned as her resistance melted away. He was overwhelming her senses. She was breathing in his scent through her nose, tasting him on her tongue and her body, was soaking up the touch of his like an eager sponge.
Groaning deep in her throat, Inez slid her own hands up around his shoulders, allowing the fingers of one hand to dive into his soft, dark hair, and curl closed around a handful of it. She then held on for dear life.
Inez had never had this strong or swift a response to a man before. Her body was tingling everywhere, liquid desire already pooling low in her belly.
Normally cautious and constantly assessing every situation, Inez was incapable of it this time. She didn’t care that this was her boss’s cousin, or that she could be involving herself in something that might be ultimately damaging to her career. Her body was humming, her mind bouncing around inside her skull like a useless rubber ball as he slid a thigh between both of hers and rubbed it against her core.
When Thomas broke the kiss, she moaned her disappointment and then gasped as his hand on her behind lifted her slightly so that her thigh pressed against the hardness between his legs even as she rode his own. Then his lips slid across her cheek and tarried briefly at her ear before dropping down over her throat. Inez groaned and let her head drop back and to the side, her eyes blinking briefly open.
A flash of surprise slid through her as she found herself peering straight through the open bathroom door and at their reflected image. They stood sideways to the mirror, and there was something erotic about seeing their bodies entwined. Inez just wished she could see more of Thomas’s face as his lips moved down her throat. A shudder went through her as his teeth scraped over her sensitive flesh and Inez let her eyes drift closed as passion washed through her, and then she stiffened and clutched at him with surprise as a needle-sharp pain struck her neck. Before Inez could quite grasp that pain or respond to it, the unpleasant sensation was gone, replaced by a wellspring of pleasure and passion that exploded in her mind, blanketing every thought.
Inez was aware she was panting, could hear a soft keening and knew it was her own as her body shuddered and writhed in his embrace. She wanted to tug at his hair and pull his face back to kiss her again, but couldn’t seem to move. Like a kitten picked up by the scruff of the neck, she was paralyzed in his arms, her body able only to experience the pleasure trembling through her.
It was only the ringing of the phone that roused her from the fever passion. Blinking her eyes open with confusion, Inez found herself peering at their reflected image in the mirror again. The sight of their embracing bodies ratcheted her need up another notch despite the annoying sound of the phone, and then Thomas eased his hold on her and began to pull away. His mouth was open as he lifted his head, and for one brief second she caught a glimpse of two, long, blood-stained fangs protruding from that open mouth and then they seemed to slide away and disappear and he closed his lips. Her eyes shifted immediately to her own throat, but his mouth had been working on the side of her throat away from the mirror. She couldn’t see it, and then Thomas was easing her back to her feet on the floor and shifting his hands to either side of her head, holding her still as his gaze focused on her face.
No, not her face, Inez realized with confusion. He seemed to be staring at a spot in the middle of her forehead, as if he could see into her mind. She’d barely had that thought when he began to frown. Thomas gave his head a shake, and refocused his attention on her forehead again, but she could tell by his expression that something was wrong. Not that she cared what he thought was wrong. Now that he was no longer embracing her, her mind was beginning to function again and it was going a little wild. She had seen fangs. Like a Vampire’s fangs. Bloody fangs. Her blood? Was Thomas Argeneau a vampire?