He laid her on the sheets and released her mouth. A disappointed mewl came over her lips, and she pulled him back with a hand on his nape.

“Don’t stop,” she murmured.

He brushed a blond lock from her forehead and gazed into her heated face. “I won’t stop until you and I are both completely satisfied, trust me on that.” Nothing less would do. But he also wanted to establish one thing first. “But I’m not going to rush this.”

He pulled back a little farther, shifting on the bed so he wasn’t crushing her with his weight, and let his gaze travel down her torso. She wore a long-sleeved tightly-fitting jersey top with buttons down the front. Beneath the soft fabric, the outline of her bra showed. When he lifted his eyes back to her face, he noticed that she was pulling her lower lip between her teeth, sucking in a breath.

Not breaking eye contact, he moved his hand lower, letting his fingers slowly trail down her front until he reached the peak of her left breast. There he stopped and began to circle her nipple. A sharp intake of breath confirmed that his touch had the desired reaction.

“Yes!” she let out.

Male pride blooming, he captured her breast in his hand and squeezed the responsive flesh, feeling her hard nipple brush against his palm. If she responded with such enthusiasm to this tame touch, she’d be screaming in ecstasy as soon as he laid her bare and was caressing her in earnest.

Now he was even gladder that he’d sent Ryder away with the hybrids. What was about to happen in this room wasn’t suitable for the ears of impressionable teenage boys. Their sensitive hybrid hearing—as sensitive as that of a vampire—would pick up every sound. And he didn’t want or need anybody witnessing him making love to Lilo. This was just for the two of them. Private and intimate.

“I’m going to undress you now.” He wanted her to know what he was doing at every turn. There would be no misunderstandings between them, not when it came to making love. “Are you sure you want this?”

God help him if she said no. Because even if she did, he wouldn’t be able to release her now. Already, his cock was pumped full with blood, aching for release. If they weren’t both still dressed, he would already be inside her, thrusting toward his first orgasm. But he had to think of Lilo, her needs, her desires. And she didn’t need fast and hard. She needed gentle and loving. She needed a dream, one that would make reality easier to bear. He read it in her eyes. In her tears.

“Blake…” She lifted her leg and curled it around his upper thigh, pulling him closer. “I want you.”

“Oh, you’ve got me, Lilo.”

What that meant she couldn’t possibly begin to imagine. Nor could he explain it to her, because he barely understood it himself. But he knew that if he took her now, there would be no going back. He wouldn’t be the old Blake anymore. He would change irrevocably because of the woman in his arms. He’d never before believed in fate or that things happened for a reason. But he knew now that even his car accident four years ago had happened so that he could meet Lilo.

“You have all of me, baby,” he repeated and sank his mouth onto her parted lips, soaking in her intoxicating scent as if Lilo were the only nourishment he needed. And perhaps one day she would be…

Slowly he began to open the buttons of her top. With each button that popped open, more of her skin was revealed, until he could finally peel the top away from her torso, then pull it off her completely. He swept his eyes over her then, drinking in the beauty of her glistening skin, her firm stomach muscles and her lush breasts. Her hard nipples pushed through the black lace bra, inviting him to come closer.

He dipped his head to lick over the protrusion under the fabric, wringing a stifled moan from Lilo’s lips.

“You’ve seen nothing yet,” he promised, and got to work on the front clasp of her bra.

When it snapped open, he peeled back the cups and let her breasts spill into his waiting hands. “Oh, baby.”

He buried his face in her bosom, reveling in the softness of her warm skin. He inhaled deeply and felt his fangs itch in response. Oh God, this was worse than he’d thought. He would have to use every ounce of his strength to fight against his transformation. He had to keep the beast in check and make sure it didn’t slip past his defenses. The vampire in him would find no satisfaction tonight, because the man in him needed Lilo to trust him.

Blake lifted his face and slid his lips around one hard nipple, sucking it deep into his mouth. The temptation to sink his fangs into her soft flesh and taste her blood was strong, but he pushed it back. Instead he licked the hard bud with his tongue, swiping over it again and again, enjoying how Lilo writhed beneath him in obvious delight.

Her hand on his nape clawed into him, and he welcomed her fingernails digging into him, sending shivers down his spine and into his tailbone. A corresponding bolt of adrenaline shot into his balls and his cock, making him grind out a curse. Fuck, he should have more control than this! Why was his body reacting as if he’d never been touched by a woman?

“Oh, Blake, that’s good,” Lilo murmured, her other hand sliding to his butt to grip him there.

Instinctively he thrust his pelvis, rubbing his iron-hard erection against her center.

Lilo gasped, the sound so thrilling that he couldn’t help himself and thrust once more, while sucking harder on her nipple.

He lifted his head and met her gaze. “You want that inside you?”

“Yes.” Her voice was a mere echo, but it sent a tantalizing shudder through his body.

“Soon…”

Carefully, he now peeled her out of her bra, tossing the garment to the foot of the bed. Then he continued caressing her breasts, exploring every inch of her torso, the deep ridge between her breasts, the high peaks crowned with rosy, hard nipples, and everything in between: the valley of her navel and the curves where her waist tapered before flaring out to her hips again.

Such perfection. Such beauty. He couldn’t get enough of touching her, of listening to her heartbeat as it began to gallop toward the inevitable climax, of smelling her blood as it raced through her veins like a torrent following the carved-out path of a stony river.

All the while, his own blood was thundering in his body, taking sides in the silent war that raged inside him: the battle between man and vampire. For now, the man was winning.

Blake caressed Lilo’s breasts, kissed and sucked and licked every exposed inch of her delectable skin, but it wasn’t enough. He slid one hand down her body, heading for the waistband of her pants.