With gentle insistence his tongue parted her lips to slip within. Her eyes slid shut and she tentatively allowed her tongue to tangle with his. Even worse, the hands she had lifted to ward him off now clutched at the heavy cloak, unthinkingly pulling his long frame to cover her own.
Since the moment she had encountered this vampire weeksago he had invaded her dreams and made her remember sensations better left forgotten. Now she was paying for her weakness in not having banished those treacherous desires.
His hands softly skimmed from her face down her neck. His touch was as light as a butterfly's wing. So light that she barely even noticed when his fingers trailed low enough to slip beneath the tiny harem top to cup her br**sts.
Not until his thumbs rubbed over the sensitive ni**les. A small cry was torn from her lips.
"Viper?"
He swept his mouth over her cheek, his fangs scraping her skin but never drawing blood.
"Shhh... I won't hurt you."
"Are you going to bite me?"
"I had something else in mind at the moment," he huffed.
She shivered in response. Growling low in his throat Viper allowed his body to press her own into the soft seat, his knee nudging her legs apart to allow him to settle against her with shocking intimacy.
It was the hungry joy at the feel of his erection pressing against her that at last jolted her out of the daze of sensual pleasure.
By the flames of hell, what was she doing?
She had barely been Viper's slave for an hour and here she was battling the urge to rip off his clothes and guide him into her.
She might be in this man's power, but that didn't mean she had to be a willing victim.
Did she have no pride at all?
Sucking in a deep breath she attempted to gather her lost senses.
"No," she at last rasped.
It was a mere thread of sound, but it was enough to make Viper stiffen above her.
"What did you say?" he demanded against her lips.
Her body shuddered in disappointment as she forced herself to press her hands against his chest in silent denial.
"I said no."
She was prepared for him to laugh at her weak protest. Or at the very least ignore it.
She was his slave and he was in a position to do whatever he wanted with her body.
Besides which, she had never met a man yet who didn't think that a no was just a yes waiting to happen.
Astonishingly, however, the elegant form was lifting off her with fluid ease. Shay blinked as she watched him settle back in his own seat with cool composure. There wasn't even the faintest tremor of his slender fingers as he picked up his wineglass and lifted it to his lips to reveal he had been at all affected by the last few moments.
"You..." Straightening Shay impatiently brushed away the handful of curls that had strayed from her braid. "Why did you stop?"
He regarded her over the rim of his glass. "You said no. I assumed that meant no, did it not?"
"It did, but..."
"I'm a vampire, not a monster."
"You say potato, I say potato..." she muttered.
"What?"
"Does it matter what I want? I'm your slave."
He abruptly set aside his glass. "But not my whore. Not ever."
Her eyes narrowed. He sounded sincere. But then, he was a vampire. Deception was perhaps their greatest skill.
If they couldn't enthrall you with their eyes, they would enthrall you with their gilded tongues.
"So all I have to do is say no?"
"That's all you have to do."
"I don't believe you."
The dark eyes flashed at her blunt accusation, but the ivory features remained unruffled.
"That is your choice, of course."
Her hand reached for her braid as she regarded him with wary distrust.
It was a trap. It had to be.
"If you don't intend to force yourself on me then why did you buy me?"
His lips twisted with sardonic humor. "Ah... the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question." Shay frowned but before she could probe him further, the car came to a silent halt. Viper held out his hand as the door to the limo was pulled open. "We have arrived. Shall we?"
Viper hid his amusement as Shay warily inspected the kitchen with its gleaming appliances and plain wood floor. Her gaze lingered on the gingham curtains and handwoven rugs before shifting to the copper pots that hung above the heavy butcher table.
The two-story cottage was beautiful, with what the real estate agent had claimed was a cozy warmth, but it could hardly compare to most of his residences.
When he had purchased the place his only interest had been in finding an estate that was secluded and easily defensible. After a handful of centuries every vampire needed a home where he could get away from it all and let down his hair.
Or more importantly his fangs.
Slowly turning to face him Shay frowned with obvious disbelief. "This is your home?"
Viper tossed aside the heavy cloak and followed it with the tailored jacket. He was left standing in a sheer linen shirt and leather pants.
He smothered another smile as Shay grudgingly allowed her gaze to stray over his body. Their time in the limo had revealed that she was not indifferent to his touch. And that she was as warm and passionate as any man could desire.
Soon he intended to have her warm and passionate beneath him.
And on top of him, to the side of him...
"One of them."
"How many do you have?"
He shrugged. "Does it matter?"
"I suppose not."
With slow measured steps he began to walk toward her, not at all surprised when she began backing away. She might be attracted to him but she would never allow an easy seduction.
It would be a tantalizing dance perfectly suited to entertain a jaded vampire.
"You were hoping for something a bit more grand?"
She grimaced at the thought. "God, no."
He continued to back her down until she came up against the refrigerator. "I have any number of mansions that I use to entertain, but this is my private retreat I prefer to be alone upon occasion."
"We're alone?"
His gaze deliberately swept over her tense features before lowering to the barely there outfit. When he had first seen Shay attired like a harem slave he had wanted to rip out Evor's heart.
In the privacy of his own home, however, he could not deny it held a certain appeal.
"There are guards upon the grounds and I have a human housekeeper that comes during the day, but for the most part we shall have the house to ourselves." His attention turned to the full curve of her mouth. "A delicious thought, is it not?"