“That simple?”

Ursula gave a short shake of her head. “No. Nothing is simple. But I want to feel alive again. Can you do that for me? Can you help me feel alive?”

Oliver’s face came closer, and his lips approached her mouth until they were only an inch from hers. “Anything you want, baby.”

18

Oliver slanted his lips over hers and took her mouth in a kiss, first gently and softly in case she changed her mind, but when she didn’t, he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.

He couldn’t believe this turn of events. From the moment Ursula had entered the abandoned building, he’d instinctively known that she was telling the truth. He’d sensed her fear. Finding the wallet from a client of the blood brothel—as he would call it—was confirmation enough for him that he could trust her.

But finding out that she hadn’t been raped, that none of those despicable vampires had laid their dirty paws on her, made him rejoice. At the same time he cursed them for denying her any sort of carnal pleasure.

He severed the kiss and looked at her. “Let’s go home.” Then he would take her to his bed and make sure she got the release she needed.

To his surprise Ursula shook her head. “I can’t wait. Please.” She eyed the bench in the back of the van.

Oliver’s heart skipped a beat. “Now? Here? In the van?”

More blood pumped into his cock, making him harder than a crow bar. At the same time hunger surged through him. He had to feed, and soon, or he wouldn’t be master of his own actions anymore.

“Yes,” she murmured and slid her hand onto his thigh, then moved it upwards.

When her fingers reached the outline of his hard-on, he groaned, his hunger instantly forgotten. “Get in the back.”

He locked the doors, then followed her. When he saw her hand opening the top button of her jeans, he stopped her. She stared at him in surprise.

“If you think I’m going to rush this, you’re wrong.”

“But—”

He smiled. “No but. If you want to sleep with me, then we’re going through all the motions: the kissing, the touching, the seduction. I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to make love to the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen and just fuck her like an animal.”

Her expression softened, and her cheeks colored in a pretty pink, while her eyelids fluttered. “You want to make love to me?”

Oliver moved closer and shelved her chin on his palm. “And I want to make you come so hard that you think the world is exploding around you. Isn’t that what you want?”

Her lashes swung up, almost touching her eyebrows. Her eyes shimmered. “Oliver?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you so good to me?”

“Because you need somebody who’s good to you.” And more than anything, he wanted to be that person.

“Are we gonna talk all night, or are you going to kiss me?”

He chuckled. Ah, how he loved an eager woman! “In my mind I’ve never stopped kissing you.”

She moved closer, her mouth less than an inch from his now. “Make it reality then.”

When he took her mouth again, the world around him blended into the background. Soft lips pressed against him, her hands pulled him closer, urging him to drag her body against his. With one movement, he pulled her onto his lap, so she straddled him. His hand on her lower back, he pressed her to him.

“That’s better,” he murmured.

Oliver captured her lips again and delved into the warm caverns of her mouth. He stroked and licked, tasted and explored. Her response was just as eager: with strong strokes, she played with his tongue. Lust surged through him, sending hot bolts of fire through his core and into the tip of his cock.

He moaned into her mouth, an action she echoed a few seconds later. Slanting his head, he sought a deeper connection, a fiercer kiss. Her hands dug into his shoulders as if she was holding on for dear life, and her response to him became even more passionate.

Then he suddenly felt her lick along his teeth. Shock catapulted through him when he felt a corresponding itching in his gums. He knew what this meant: his fangs were about to descend.

Ursula licked again. He severed the kiss, holding her a few inches away from him, breathing hard.

“Don’t!”

Startled, she stared at him, apprehension spreading over her face. “What’s wrong?”

He dropped his lids. God, how could he explain this to her without reminding her of what he was and what she was potentially unleashing in him?

“Please, am I doing something wrong?” Her voice cracked.