Immortals After Dark 12 - Lothaire

her heart racing, could scent her arousal. But the hunger in her expression nearly felled him.
    Everything you need, Elizabeth.

49
    E llie could hear the hypnotic pounding of Lothaire’s heart, could perceive it speeding up as he gazed down at her face.
    “So beautiful. Elizabeth, you’ve amply rewarded my long wait.” Never releasing her hand, he traced her to his safe, tossing the ring inside. “It’s done now.” He led her to their bed. “Tonight we start our lives anew.”
    Already she throbbed all over—her sex dampened in the heat of her panties, her nipples strained against her top, her . . . fangs lanced her tongue.
    That brief sample of his blood had tasted like a homecoming .
    And yet she was so infuriated with him she could choke on it. “I-I didn’t want this.” These feelings were so intense, too much so. Frightening.
    “You’re angry. But this will pass.”
    She said nothing, just tried to keep her focus.
    “After tonight, I will show you how much pleasure is yours for the taking, and you will forgive me.”
    She shook her head. “I’ve ruined your endgame—don’t you want to forsake me? Disown me?”
    He merely grinned, that sensual curl of his lips. “With you by my side, who knows what I can win? Together we will be invincible. Besides, I’veno time for revenge at present. I must teach my Bride to trace, to feed . To know her own strength and control it.” He drew her close. “But first, I must coax her to admit that I am her male and she loves me, so she’ll accept it herself.”
    The satisfaction she sensed in him was heady. He seemed to be thrumming with it, even as she could tell how much he ached to claim her.
    “I never told you that I loved you.”
    “You must,” he said in a patronizing tone. “And now that you’re of my kind, you’ll feel even more bound to me.” He cupped her nape, bringing her close to brush his lips along her neck. When his tongue flicked out, sensation bombarded her until she sagged against him.
    “Want you naked, Bride.” In the space of one of her gasps, he’d torn off all her clothes, piling them at her feet. “Take off my shirt,” he rasped at her ear. “I want to feel those nipples rubbing against my chest.”
    Oh, God, so did she! With a moan, she reached for his shirt. The material seemed to fall away under her fingers.
    “The strength is intoxicating, is it not?”
    She’d ripped it to threads? Exactly how strong was she . . . ?
    Her thoughts drifted, her gaze locking on his bared chest, on her bite mark. Why had she never fully appreciated the beauty of his flesh, the smooth skin that tempted her to bite once more?
    Tempted her to sate this hunger . . .
    He made her grasp his leather belt, gazing down into her eyes. “Pull this free if you want more of me.”
    She couldn’t have stopped this even if she’d wanted to. Her body pulsated like a plucked guitar string.
    She barely tugged. The leather ripped in two. “Empty,” she murmured, yanking at his jeans. “Hungry.” His clothes were no match for her frantic fingers, and soon he stood naked before her. “Lothaire . . . what’s happening to me?”

    “I’m going to take care of you. All will be well, if you trust me.” He took Elizabeth’s small hands, laying them against his chest. Of their own volition, her claws dug into his muscles, securing what she desired, trapping him close.
    As if I’d ever leave her side.
    “Tonight you’ll become acquainted with your body all over again. As will I.”
    Her appearance had changed, but thankfully not too much. Though she had no tan lines, her skin was fully golden, as it had been when he’d seen her at nineteen. The long mane cascading over her shoulders was even richer in color, silkier. Her irises shimmered from glowing gray to jet black, her fangs sharpening before his eyes.
    Seeing these vampiric traits in her made his own long-denied instincts rage to the fore. For weeks, he’d kept himself from pinning her against anything.
    No shoving her front against the mattress as he railed into her from behind.
    No forcing her knees to her shoulders, driving more of his inches inside her.
    Now he maneuvered her back against the wall, his hand caging her throat as he kissed her ear, her cheek, her bottom lip. He licked the blood from it, tasting himself on her. “You’re infinitely more powerful now.” But compared to his age-old strength, she remained delicate to him.
    “Then you won’t have to hold