Blood and Destiny Read Online Free PDF Page B

his.
    By the time Marcus sealed the wounds made by his teeth with a long drag of his tongue, we were both panting as if we had run a marathon. He stared at me for a moment before swooping down to kiss my mouth with the same fervor his hands had worked on my body.
    I met his rush with my own, pushing up on tiptoe in my eagerness for that kiss. The months I had put between us washed away under the metallic taste of my blood on my tongue. The lioness inside me jumped up to join in, causing my own magic to flood into the charged atmosphere created by the feeding.
    Suddenly, we were standing in the middle of a powder keg of possibilities. If I let him, we’d become lovers again. With this much magic, the sex would be explosive. The temptation almost made me forget my resolve.
    Without consciously intending to, I pushed away from him and stumbled back a few paces. To the vampire’s credit, he let me go. I opened my eyes and stared at the world in hyperfocus. The colors were vivid, but it was more than that. Colorful waves of magic danced on the moonlight washing in through the window. Reds, blues and greens from every hue imaginable tempted me to cross that tiny distance, and the magic that released them onto the world pulsed with it.

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    “No.” The breathy tone gave the word a distinctively insincere note. If he pushed, I’d give in. I think he knew it as well as I did.
    Marcus’s face showed a momentary flash of temper, but he closed his eyes and got a handle on it.
    Can’t say I blamed him, really. It’s hard to go from all systems blazing forward to full stop in a heartbeat. Settling my voice from the breathy quality of desire was easier after that first word.
    Gently, I went on hoping he understood and wouldn’t push me.
    If he decided to seduce me, it wouldn’t take very much to change my mind.
    “Nothing’s changed. I can’t do this. If I fall back into bed with you, you’ll still carry on with your other mistresses and I’ll still hate myself for going along with it. I need something…more.”
    He didn’t speak for a moment. The tension built over the silence. Finally, he opened his eyes and let his breath out in a long rush of exasperation. I could see the knowledge of my precarious resolve lurking in his gaze. I expected him to plead his case, but he surprised me.
    “Okay. I understand your point and respect you enough to let it rest for now.”
    For now, the man said. It was a temporary reprieve, but better than nothing. He turned and opened the cabinet that held my glasses. After removing two wineglasses, he reached up to one of the storage cabinets I never put things in because it was too high for me. He pulled out a bottle of wine I hadn’t known was there. The label was in Italian. I wondered how long it had been gathering dust.
    He must have hidden it as one of those surprises he mentioned.
    Marcus plucked the corkscrew from the canister of utensils on the counter and set about opening the wine. The ease in which he moved about my kitchen reminded me of how domestic he could be and that sent a shiver of unease through me. I didn’t want to be reminded how close he was to my ideal man since he couldn’t seem to embrace the idea of monogamy.
    The lioness in me didn’t mind sharing, but she liked companionship, too. To have a mate who wouldn’t be faithful but was a good companion was one thing. Being a woman on a string was quite another. Neither of us liked that. The morality the nuns had beat into me was always at odds with my nature. It was one of those battles with myself that I faced on a regular basis.
    “Maybe you should go.”
    His hands froze over the wine bottle. Without turning, he resumed twisting the corkscrew into the wine cork.
    “No car,” he reminded me.
    Oh, right. He had sent the driver to find out news of the new vampire in town. Criminy. I latched on to the next solution.
    “When did you tell