Kiss of the Vampire(65)

She put the mirror down and turned to face him again. “So my eyes are yellow. It happens when I get angry. Do you honestly expect me to never ever get mad?”

“Of course not.” His expression softened. “But that’s all I seem to bring out in you, Nix. Anger. No, not anger. Rage.”

That stopped her in her tracks. He thought this was his fault. Maybe it was, to a certain extent, but it was something she had to deal with on a daily basis. Something she had learned to live with. “This is who I am, Tobias. I’m part demon, and it comes out to play when my emotions are aroused. Good or bad,” she stressed. “It’s not going to go away, and I’ve learned to deal with it.” She hesitated then added, “And anger isn’t the only thing you bring out in me.”

He grimaced. “Yeah, there’s also irritation, frustration, aggravation—”

“Just…” She stared at him. The burning in her gut lessened as she calmed down. “Just tell me why you left.”

He moved closer. His eyes had returned to normal, a beautiful stormy gray. “The more we were together, the more violent you got. In attitude and action. I heal quickly, it wasn’t that. I was afraid you’d…”

“You thought I’d take a walk on the crazy side and not come back.” She sighed and dropped onto the sofa. She linked her fingers and stared at them a moment and then, looking up at him, she asked, “Why didn’t you say something?”

He sat beside her and took her hands in his. The feel of his strong fingers curled around hers made her want to weep. “I did, Nix. I warned you over and over about what you were doing. How you were acting.”

She cast her mind back over the year they’d spent together. Memories flooded in. She looked at him a bit shamefacedly. “I told you I didn’t need a father.” In her defense she added, “You were kinda autocratic about it.”

“So my manner was a bit off-putting. I was still right.” He didn’t sound happy about it. He let go of her hands and shifted to slouch against the sofa.

“Maybe you were.” And with that statement, much of the anger she’d held on to for so long faded away. If they’d stayed together, would she have come to the conclusion she needed to control the demon? Or would she have continued enjoying the strength of her nonhuman side and allowed herself to slip closer and closer to madness? She just wished he’d gone about it differently. “But that was then. What about now?”

He met her gaze. “What about now?” he asked, his voice gruff. The gruffness didn’t fool her. She could see in his eyes that he still wanted her. The pheromones came off him in rich, dark waves that went straight to her head, to her core.

“I’m not asking for forever,” she whispered. She unclipped her holster from her belt and set both gun and holster on the end table. Then she moved to straddle him, settling her heat onto his lap. She cupped her hands on either side of his neck, her thumbs stroking across his ear lobes. “We were good together.”

“Yes, we were.” His eyes searched her face. “Nothing has changed, honey.”

“Yes, it has. I’ve changed. I’m not the same girl you left behind five years ago, Tobias. I’m older. Wiser. Better able to deal with my demon half.” She leaned forward, thrilling to the feel of the hard ridge beneath his jeans. His hands came up to clasp her hips. “Let me prove it.” She dropped her mouth onto his.

His lips parted. Nix took advantage and swept her tongue inside to tangle with his. He tasted like pinot noir with a hint of the tang of copper. He must have just had a glass of wine with a kick. She rubbed gently over his fangs. His aroused gasp and the surge of his hips against her brought an answering dance of arousal down her spine. Pheromones rushed from him in a tide of lust so primal she shivered in response. A wet rush of arousal between her thighs made her moan, the sound swallowed by his mouth.

She kissed her way down his neck, lingering on the strong bump of his Adam’s apple and the dip at the base of his throat. With a groan he ripped his T-shirt over his head. “Touch me,” he demanded, and she eagerly complied, running her hands over his strong shoulders to grip his biceps, testing his strength with her fingers.

When she swiped her thumbs across his nipples his hips bucked and a throaty growl left him. With one smooth move he lifted and laid her on the sofa, coming down over her, bracing his weight on one elbow while he stared down into her face. “Are you sure about this, honey?” He brushed hair away from her cheek.

“More sure than I’ve ever been in my life.” This would either be a new start for them or it would be the final chapter in the story of their love. A beginning or an ending, it didn’t matter. She wanted him. “Trust me, Tobias. I can handle this.”