He was just so damn gorgeous.

Wearing a heavy brocade dressing gown and the silken spill of silver hair framing his perfect face, he looked like some decadent fantasy come to life.

Her fantasy.

Coming to an abrupt halt he allowed his eyes to widen as they took a slow, extremely thorough survey of her barely clad body.

Shay hid a smile as she felt the air in the room begin to prickle with the passionate heat that Viper stirred with such ease. It didn't seem to matter how many times he held her in his arms, he was always hungry for more.

His eyes darkened as he paused long enough to ignite the dozens of candles left on the dresser before turning off the overhead light and moving to stand directly before her.

He stood for endless moments, drinking in the sight of her with an expression that was impossible to read. At last Shay heaved an impatient sigh.

"Well?" she prompted.

"Well what?" he demanded, his voice suitably thick.

What was the point in satin and lace if it didn't make a man struggle to speak?

She deliberately ran her hands over the smooth material. "You're supposed to tell me that you think my new gown is beautiful."

His fangs lengthened as he struggled not to simply haul her to the bed and let instinct take over. For all his elegant sophistication there were times when he was utterly male.

"Anything that you wear is beautiful," he murmured.

"I thought you would like it."

Her heart jolted with excitement as his arms slid around her, and she was tugged firmly against his body. The feel and scent of him was enough to make her blood rush and her stomach quiver with anticipation.

"I like it very much, but I'm not certain that it's worth the cost," he said as he dipped his head to gently nuzzle at her cheek.

"Don't tell me that you've become a penny-pincher in your old age?" she protested.

He gave her ear a light nip. "I could care less about the cost, it's the time that you took to shop for the gown that I regret."

Shay shivered as she allowed her arms to wrap around his neck. She knew quite well that Viper was pleased she was forging a friendship with Abby.

He better than anyone understood just how special a bond itwas to her.

"I was only gone five hours."

His tongue traced the length of her jaw sending a flare of raw heat racing through her body. Holy guacamole he was good at this.

"Entirely too long" he informed her.

Shay struggled to recall she had a brain. One that usually functioned quite well.

Not an easy task when his hands began to explore the sheer lace that covered her breasts.

"You obviously know nothing of the intricate rituals involved in shopping." she breathed.

His thumbs brushed her nipples, raising them to eager points. "Intricate rituals?"

She obligingly leaned back so he could more easily cover her aching nipples with his talented lips. A sigh slid from her lips as he suckled her with growing insistence.

"Abby is instructing me in the art. It's all very complicated, and very secret"

"Hmm " His tongue stroked the hard tip of her breast until her knees threatened to buckle. "It sounds far too tedious to waste your time upon. You have far more important matters to attend to."

She clutched at his shoulders. "And what matters would those be?"

"Let me see." Before she could sense his intention he had swept her off her feet and was heading toward the nearby bed. She found herself flat on the mattress with Viper on top of her before she could blink. Not that she minded. It was precisely where she had planned to end up. Although not necessarily with Viper on top. He regarded her with a ridiculously smug expression. "First you should always greet your mate with a kiss."

"Ah." She intended to put a swift end to the smug smile.

Cupping his face in her hands she lifted her head to place her lips against his. At first her touch was gentle. Featherlight kisses, and the brush of her tongue. Viper moaned but she refused to deepen her touch as she nibbled at the corner of his mouth.

She felt his body harden above her, his erection pressing into her thigh with a fierce insistence. Only then did she part his lips with her tongue and allow her restrained hunger to taste him as she desired.

He made a sound deep in his throat as his hands impatiently tugged at her expensive gown.

"Is that how I should kiss you?" she murmured.

"Oh, yes." he said as he wrestled her out of the satin. "That's precisely how you should do it."

"Anything else?"

"You should remove my robe." He smiled as she gave a lift of her brows. "Just to make sure I managed to wash all of the soap off."

"Yeah, right." She chuckled as she obligingly slipped the rich material off his body and tossed it onto the floor. She ran her hands over the rippling muscles of his back. "You wouldn't want any stray soap bubbles."

His eyes were as black as midnight and his hair had spilled like a silk curtain around her. With his fangs fully extended, he looked dangerous and exotic and wholly wicked.

"You really should search more carefully, pet."

"Really?" Angling her head she skimmed her lips down the length of his neck and over his collarbone. She lingered a moment to nibble at the cool, sinfully smooth skin before continuing down to tease his nipple as he had teased her own. "How's that?"

"Perfect" he moaned, his fingers sinking into her hair and tugging it from her tidy braid. "Shay."

With a sharp movement he had pulled her back up to meet his seeking lips. There was no more pretense of gentleness as he captured her mouth in a kiss that demanded full capitulation.

Shay readily parted her lips as his tongue stroked deeply into her mouth. At the same time his hands were roaming over her skin with an urgency that made her heart clench with excitement.

There was nothing quite so delicious as a fully aroused vampire.

Drinking deeply of her desire he scattered demanding kisses over her face before moving to caress the line of her neck. Shay caught her breath, expecting to feel the smooth thrust of his fangs.

The past weeks had taught her that there was nothing to fear in offering Viper the blood he craved. It was an intimate sharing that provided a pleasure beyond all imagination.

His fangs lightly scraped her skin, but he continued to move ever downward, planting a teasing kiss on her breast, her stomach, and the curve of her hip.

Shay's eyes rolled back in her head as he tugged her legs apart and settled himself between them. Oh, she liked this part.

With the patience only an immortal could invoke Viper trailed his lips over the curve of her thigh, his tongue teasing down to her leg to the tips of her toes before returning. Her hips arched off the bed in a silent plea.

"Please..." she whispered.

His tongue continued to stroke her inner thigh as he glanced up to meet her glittering gaze. With a deliberate motion he allowed his fangs to pierce the skin, and just as deliberately paused as he waited for her approval.

It was his means of assuring her that he would never take her blood against her will. That she would have the power to deny him at any time.

Her stomach clenched as she studied the sheer beauty of his face.

"If you bite me, I'll never last," she said.

The dark eyes shimmered with pure male satisfaction. She couldn't help but chuckle. He might be a vampire, but there was plenty of testosterone flowing through his body.

She gave a slow nod and gasped as his fangs sank deep into her flesh. Her gasp wasn't from pain. It was pure joy.

Grasping the covers beneath her, Shay rasped in a deep breath as she felt him feed deeply from her body. With every suck, her body writhed in building pleasure. He was touching nothing but her leg but her breath was coming in small pants, and her lower body was clenching with a familiar pressure.

She knew better than to fight the rapidly building climax.

It was as inevitable as a wave crashing against the shore.

"Viper."

Reaching down she tangled her fingers in his hair as the explosion rocked through her body.

Holy... freaking.., cow. Stars shot before her eyes. The earth moved. Time halted.

It was as it always was. Perfect.

Even if she lived an eternity she would never become accustomed to the sheer power of their passions.

With a heartfelt groan she sank into the mattress and with a smooth motion Viper was lifting himself and sliding into her with a fierce thrust.

She clutched at his shoulders, wrapping her legs about his waist as he rode her with swift strokes, his steady motion quickly reigniting her own desire.

"I love you, pet," he rasped as her nails raked down his back. "I love every beautiful inch of you."

Shay smiled as his soft words brushed her cheek. Who would have thought that she would ever hold a vampire in her arms? Or give him the heart she had thought buried forever?

And who would have thought that she would ever come to accept that being half Shalott and half human was a rather wonderful thing to be?

Tightening her grasp on the man who had so profoundly changed her life, Shay allowed the sweeping pleasure to reach its climax just as Viper gave a rasping cry and buried himself deeply inside her.