She shook her head. “You amaze me, Lucian, how little you ask for yourself.”
He laughed then, a soft sound of love. “I would never give you up, Jaxon. You are everything to me. You are the only thing that matters now. Believe me, my love, I am no saint, no martyr. I would no longer ask for your presence in my life, I would demand it.”
His gaze was suddenly hot, a dark intensity centering solely on her. It made her feel hot and achy, a curling excitement blossoming deep within her.
Jaxon shoved impatiently at her hair, the action lifting her breasts beneath the thin material of her blouse. “Why have I so easily accepted our relationship when before I would never allow anyone close to me?”
“Even before you were converted to our blood, your heart and soul were still the other half of mine. Once I spoke the ritual words, we were finally bound together as one.” He turned up her hand to kiss her knuckles in a tribute. His tongue licked the inside of her wrist. It was sexy and intimate. “We belong. We are complete now. You are the light to my darkness. I am the predator, and you are compassion. I need you just to be able to feel emotion, to see the colors in the world, to enjoy each day and night. You need me to protect and cherish you, to be certain of your happiness. It is not exactly the same relationship as that of humans; it is more intense and continues to grow so as the years go by.” His gaze burned over her possessively, his fingers sliding along her thigh, massaging her knotted muscles.
“You believe that? That we were destined to be together even before birth? That I am really the only woman in all the centuries you existed who was for you? That there is only you for me?” Jaxon could barely breathe, could barely get the words out, all too aware of his palm sliding between her legs, pushing against the core of her right through the fabric of her jeans.
His black eyes smoldered at her, a sexy, brooding look that melted her insides. “Do you?” He pushed harder, rubbed, caressed until a soft moan escaped her throat.
She thought about the question for a few minutes, turning it over in her mind before answering. Did she believe they were meant to be together? She couldn’t imagine her life without him. She, who had never shared her life with another human being, wanted to never leave his side. She wanted to share his mind, his memories; she wanted the feeling of belonging always. And when she touched his mind, she found an intensity burning there, a need of her as elemental as breathing. He thought only of her, no other woman. She had touched no memories of another woman. She was his life. Very slowly she nodded. “It must be your bad influence on me, but I can’t imagine life without you anymore.”
“It is a good thing, angel, so do not say it as if it is a fate worse than death.” He bent his head, his teeth nibbling at her shoulder. “Take off your blouse, Jaxon. I’m so hard and hot, I think I may explode.” He leaned closer, his mouth against her ear. “I want to taste you, wet and wild and hot for me. You are—I feel it.”
Jaxon loved him hot and hard for her. Loved hearing him admit it, that soft hitch in his voice, a slightly husky note that caught at her insides. She slipped her top off obediently and tossed aside the lacy scrap of bra, spilling her breasts out under the heat of his gaze. She watched his shirt follow her bra and helplessly leaned over to taste a small bead of sweat on his skin. His body trembled.
“Lie back, honey, and stretch your hands over your head.” He gave the instructions softly, but there was nothing soft in the way his black gaze moved over her.
Jaxon’s heart leaped, but she lay back along the flat rock, her arms stretching past her ears until her hand connected with a long, thick stick. She wrapped her fingers around it and held on, knowing it was what he wanted. It left her breathless, stretched out under his hot gaze, her body an offering for him. Little beads of sweat were running along her rounded breasts, into the valley between them.