Salvation of the Damned Read Free Page B

Afraid he might give in to the need that sliced through him.
    But the moment their lips touched, he was the one carved in two. The fire of her split through him, branding him with her essence.
    Together they were ice and heat. No wonder there was steam. Her kiss became more insistent, demanding he open his mouth, the slick heat of her tongue pressing like a red-hot ember to his lips.
    But he didn’t dare.
    The venom that had flooded his system the moment he’d sniffed her out was already pulsing, aching for freedom under his marble-like skin. Vampires might be immune to nearly everything, but need was not one of them.
    And he needed her. Like the blood that sustained him, but more. The spark within her, the essence that was Isabeau, Eva, reached in like a blazing light in the darkness, making it easy to forget the monster he had been for too long.
    Perhaps death with her was better than an eternity of damnation? Perhaps if he changed her, she would bring that light with her. But could she transform him?
    Her long fingers threaded through his hair, fisting in the long strands, holding him there. He could not let the venom loose, but he could pleasure her all the same before she was no longer his.
    The thought struck deeper and sharper than any stake. All he had with her was this moment. And then this fragile bit of light would be lost to him again, perhaps this time, for all eternity.
    He carefully pulled her to him. His hand skimmed over the bare hot silk of her skin, following her spine. She shivered, and his heightened senses heard every tiny hair lift on her skin, felt the shift in the air as her body shuddered in his arms. The soft, wet lushness of her mouth pressed against his skin, firing him from the inside out.
    “Why won’t you kiss me?” Her whisper so alive with her heat, it formed a caress along his jaw and cheek, her hands branding his chest as they moved beneath his shirt.
    He chuckled, driven to focus on her, her pleasure, while he restrained the bloodlust beating inside him from harming her. “I am kissing you.” He caressed her shoulder and her head fell back, exposing the throbbing creamy pink skin of her neck, each pulse an invitation to indulge himself. He inhaled, immersing himself in her scent as he trailed kisses from the tip of her chin down to the pulse that screamed at him for release.
    Every hard fiber of his being fought for control. Alive and ultimately aware for the first time in eons.
    Eva moved closer, pressing herself still closer against the solidness of his chest and arms. His magical fingers released the zipper and miniscule hooks that fastened her gown and strapless black bra, slipping in between her and the fabric to caress her sides and trace the curve of her breasts.
    His cool touch, so smooth it felt like someone sliding cold satin over her bare skin, a direct contradiction to the liquid heat filling her, made Eva gasp, made her pulse and ache to feel his touch.
    “I need…” But he was already there, the pad of his thumb brushing against her tightened peaks before she had said the words. As if he had read her thoughts.
    Which made Eva’s imagination take flight, as he caressed and kneaded her buttocks with strong, sure hands, bringing her across him to straddle his lap. The heat of his tongue, warmer than his touch, swirling over her breast drew points of light shimmering from all parts of her to focus on the sensation. She growled, deep and low in her throat, unable to stop the intense pleasure he released in her.
    She rocked her hips back against him, aware of the hard ridge pressed intimately against her wet heat, then bent and bit at the skin of his neck.
    He bucked beneath her, blowing out a harsh, rattled sound. The sound of a man fighting for ultimate control. “Careful Eva. Otherwise you may end up not having a dress when we get to the party.”
    She wriggled over the ridge, pressing down on it to sooth the pulsing need. “And why would that be?”
    He locked his