“I dropped her off at her parents’ house. She couldn’t wait to tell them the good news. She’s pregnant!”
Megan had expected Daisy to look happy; instead, a sudden sadness flitted through her eyes.
“That’s wonderful,” Daisy murmured. “It’ll be nice to have a baby in the family.”
Megan frowned, puzzled by Daisy’s reaction. And then she understood. Daisy was a vampire. She would never have a child of her own.
When the awkward moment passed, Rhys, Erik, Daisy, and Alex tossed around ideas on how best to protect Megan and destroy Villagrande.
“Does he know you’re here?” Alex asked.
Rhys shook his head. “I don’t know. But he’s tasted my blood. He shouldn’t have any troubling finding us.”
Alex grunted softly. “I’d like to have seen that spell you mentioned in action.” He looked at Erik. “Where’d you find it?”
“In an ancient grimoire.”
“How’d you know it would work?”
“I didn’t. I layered it into another spell, just in case. I think it was the combination of the two that caused the damage Megan told us about.”
Alex chuckled. “I’m all in favor of anything that’ll repel vampires. Present company excepted, of course,” he added with a wry grin.
“Of course,” Rhys muttered.
“So, Erik,” Alex said, “maybe if you ramped up that hellfire spell, it would destroy Villagrande.”
“Maybe,” Erik replied. “And maybe it would destroy Rhys, as well.”
“I’d like to avoid that, if possible,” Rhys said.
Alex yawned behind his hand. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. I’m gonna go get my wife, take her home, and make love to her all night long. My wife,” he repeated with a grin. “I like the sound of that.” Rising, he kissed Daisy on the cheek, cuffed Erik on the shoulder. “I’ll talk to you guys tomorrow night. If I come up with anything before that, I’ll give Megan a call.”
Rhys sat on the foot of the bed, watching Megan sleep. She seemed to grow more beautiful with every passing day, or maybe it was just that he loved her more every time he saw her. And she loved him. That was the most remarkable part. In spite of the fact that he had not only complicated her life but put her in danger, she still wanted to be with him.
“Rhys?”
“I thought you were asleep.”
“I was. Come to bed. It’s lonesome without you.” She turned the light on when he started to undress.
He paused in the act of removing his shirt, one brow arched as he looked at her. “What are you doing?”
“Watching you.”
“You’ve seen me undress before.”
“So, sue me. I like to watch.”
With a shake of his head, he shrugged out of his shirt and tossed it on a chair and then, ever so slowly, he unbuckled his belt and let it fall to the floor. With his gaze locked on hers, he toed off his boots and kicked them aside.
Megan sat up, grinning, as he pulled off his socks and threw them at her, one by one.
“Are you watching?” he asked, his voice dripping with sexual innuendo.
She nodded, her grin fading as he unfastened his jeans, then made a production of slowly lowering the zipper, sliding the jeans down over his hips, kicking them out of the way.
Clad in nothing but a pair of black silk briefs, he moved toward the bed. His feet made no sound on the hardwood floor as he stalked toward her, lithe and dangerous as a jungle cat.
She laughed when he growled low in his throat.
“Jungle cat, eh?” he mused.
“Stop reading my mind. It isn’t fair!”
He slid under the covers beside her and drew her into his arms. “Are you sure you want me to stop? If I did, I wouldn’t know how much you like it when I touch you here…” His hand caressed the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. “Or kiss you there…” Bending his head, he brushed his lips across her breast.
Megan sighed as the heat of his mouth warmed her skin.
“You’re overdressed,” he murmured, and in a blur of movement, he removed her nightgown and tossed it on the floor. “That’s better.”
She looked up at him, marveling anew at how remarkable he was. He was a man like no other she had ever known, a creature of myth and legend, and she loved him more than life itself. Wanted him beyond words. Locking her arms around his neck, she whispered, “What am I thinking now?”
“Shall I tell you?” He nuzzled her breast. “Or show you?”
“Haven’t you heard?” She slid her hand down his hard, flat belly, her fingertips tracing the narrow line of hair that disappeared beneath his briefs. “Actions speak louder than words.”
Chuckling softly, he wrapped his arms around her. “Ah, fair lady, my only purpose in life is to fulfill your every wish, your every desire.”
“I wish you’d stop talking and kiss me.”
The words had scarcely left her lips when his mouth covered hers. He kissed her slow and deep and then, with a low growl, he rained kisses along her neck and the valley between her br**sts before returning to her mouth. His tongue sought hers, an intimate caress that spread through her like lightning.
He kissed her until she could hardly catch her breath and then he drew back, a wicked grin curving his lips. “You’re not going to faint on me, are you?”
“Don’t be silly,” she retorted, and then she frowned. “Don’t tell me you’ve actually made women swoon?”
“Shall I show you?”
“No, thank you,” she said primly.
“We’re not going to stop now, are we?”
“I hope not.” She tugged at the waistband of his briefs. “Who’s overdressed now?”
He was out of them in an instant, boldly displaying the evidence of his desire. “What now, my lady?”
“Do I have to tell you everything?” With an exaggerated sigh, she flung her arms out to her sides, a smile playing over her lips. “Just do what you do best.”
His gaze moved quickly to the pulse throbbing in the hollow of her throat.
“I give you leave to taste,” she said, her voice a whisper. “But only a taste.”
“Aye, my lady. I will do my best to obey.” Gathering her into his arms, he kissed her again, his mouth hot against her skin as he caressed her, his hands and lips arousing her until her whole body thrummed with need.