Vampire in Atlantis

have seen every inch of you,” he said, amused and entranced in equal measure.
    “No, but I’m afraid . . . I’m afraid my feet smell bad!”
    It took a beat, but then they simultaneously burst into laughter.
    “Evil vampires and witches and malfunctioning magical gems, and you’re worried about stinky feet?” He shook his head, still grinning. “You really are a princess.”
    “Maybe, but even a princess can worry about stinky feet,” she said haughtily, and he laughed again and then removed her sock before she could protest. He pulled her decidedly non-stinky foot into his lap and began to massage it and her leg.
    “You—oh—I—oh. Oh ,” she said, almost moaning by the second or third “oh.” “Oh, that feels so good. My poor feet are much abused by my first outing into the world.”
    He grinned and applied gentle pressure to her calf. “This is not exactly what I had in mind when I thought of you moaning for me.”
    Serai put her hands over her eyes. “I refuse to let you embarrass me after the things we did to each other in that hotel.”
    “Then why are your cheeks so becomingly pink?”
    Her eyes flew open. “You can’t even see what color my cheeks are, it’s dark.”
    “I have excellent night vision,” he informed her, switching to the other leg and beginning the same gentle massage.
    “That’s not all you have that’s excellent,” she murmured.
    “I heard that.”
    “A gentleman would be kissing me now,” she said.
    “I’ m not a—Wait. Oh, yeah. I’m definitely a gentleman,” he said, releasing her leg and lying back down next to her.
    He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, a long, deep, slow kiss that threatened to blow the top of his skull off by the time he was done.
    “Definitely a gentleman, but finding it a little hard to breathe right now,” he said. “Maybe you should take the lead this time.”

     
    Serai didn’t hesitate. She twined her fingers through his silken hair and feathered kisses across those seductive lips of his. She might not have long to live, and she was determined to make the most of every second of it. His scent of woods and musk and man wrapped itself around her and enticed her into kissing his neck and then daring to touch her tongue to the edge of his ear.
    He groaned, a long, heartfelt sound, and she jerked back a little, afraid she’d done something wrong, until his arms tightened around her. He pulled her so close that she could feel that intriguing hardness again, pushing up against the juncture of her thighs.
    She knew what it meant. He found her desirable. He wanted her. She wanted him, too, oh, by all the gods she wanted him so much, but for some reason she hesitated. Held back. She wanted him. His kisses drove her to the brink of aching, hungry madness, but this was just . . .
    “This isn’t what I dreamed about,” she blurted out.
    He took a deep breath and blew it out before answering her, but he didn’t move his hands from her back and bottom, holding her in place against him. Part of her wanted to wriggle around and see what happened.
    And part of her realized they were lying on a couple of thin blankets on a dirt floor in a cave.
    “Dreamed?” He stared at her, and she was pleased to see his eyes were a little unfocused.
    “This. Us. Here.” She gestured around them, blushing furiously but determined to explain. “I know it’s a silly romantic fantasy, but I had not dreamed of giving up my maidenhood in such a place.”
    He blinked and opened his mouth, then closed it. “I’m a damn fool,” he finally said. “I’m so sorry, Princess. Of course you deserve candles and flowers and silk sheets. I got carried away by the feel of finally holding you in my arms. You’re just so damn beautiful.”
    She smiled and kissed his cheek. “I don’t need candles or silk sheets, but a little romance and perhaps a little less dirt would not go unappreciated.”
    “You’re amazing,” he said, stroking the side of her face. “Even in the middle of all this danger, your sense of humor is still intact. How could I ever think I might deserve you?”
    “My father often informed me I was quite obstinate and annoying,” she told him. “Perhaps I am exactly who you deserve.”
    He grinned and rolled up to sit, then stood, pulling her up with him. “I don’t know about that. If—”
    But she stopped hearing his words after that. He was still speaking, but a voice on a very old and unused mental pathway in her mind