tickling the backs of her knees. He’d nuzzled her rear and licked a path up her spine. And he’d told her numerous times how beautiful she was.
Then he’d rolled her over to explore the front side. When moisture had pooled between her legs, he’d growled softly.
He’d inserted two fingers inside her, and then he’d licked her juice off them.
Just remembering it made her wet again.
Howard growled softly behind her. “I love your scent.” He slid his hand to the curls between her legs.
She loved what he did to her. After sex in bed, they’d gone to the kitchen in search of food, and they’d had sex again on the table. When night had fallen, they’d taken a blanket outside to make love under the stars. That hadn’t worked out because too many animals came to see her. So they’d gone back to bed.
She stretched her legs. She was a bit sore. But still getting excited at the thought of another day with him. She rolled onto her back. “Good morning.”
“Good morning.” His hand slipped between her legs. “You smell so good. I could eat you for breakfast.”
More moisture seeped from her.
He threw the covers back and nipped at her thighs till she opened them wide, exposing herself. She clutched the sheets in her fists, dying with anticipation.
With his first lick, she shuddered.
“Relax.” He blew on her. “We have all day.”
She didn’t relax. Within five minutes, she was squirming and panting. He stroked her, tickled her, teased her, suckled her. With a scream, she climaxed.
She climaxed again when he plunged into her. The man was insatiable. And it was contagious.
Thirty minutes later, they were in the shower, soaping each other up.
She rubbed soap over his broad back and shoulders. “We never compared our family curse stories.”
He shrugged. “They’re the same, aren’t they? Three sisters, three guardians. The Guardian of the Forest made the berserkers to protect some village in Norway.”
“Wolf and bears.” She ran her soapy hands down his arms, then back to his shoulders. “But they lost control and started attacking the villagers.”
“And then she betrayed them,” he grumbled.
“Excuse me? They betrayed her.”
He turned to face her. “She told the villagers where to find the secret berserker lair in the forest. The berserkers were caught by surprise, and a few of them were killed before they could retaliate.”
“I never heard that.”
“She even betrayed the were-bear she was sleeping with.”
“What? She was having an affair with one of them?”
Howard gave her a wry look. “Your family has the PG-rated version?”
She snorted. “Why am I not surprised that your version has sex in it?”
“Ours is better, obviously.”
She shook her head. “All I know is that the guardian created the berserkers, and then they betrayed her.”
“After she betrayed them.”
“I think what they did was worse. They actually killed her.”
He shrugged. “She was a traitor.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you saying she deserved it?”
He raked a hand through his wet hair. “Am I getting myself in trouble?”
Her mouth twitched. “No. We need to stop taking it so personally. I’d like to think we’ve beaten the curse.”
“I agree.” He leaned into the spray to rinse off.
“So there are other shifters that aren’t berserkers? Like panthers?”
“Yes. And I’ve met some tigers and dolphins.”
“Dolphins?” She pressed a hand to her chest. “Wow. I wonder if my great-aunt Ula knows any of them.”
“You’ll have to ask.” He squirted liquid soap onto his hands and massaged her back.
She moaned. “That feels so good.”
His hands slipped around to fondle her breasts.
“So is Shanna a shifter, too?”
His hands stilled.
She turned to face him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m their guard. They trust me to keep their secrets.”
She bit her lip. It didn’t seem right for him to keep secrets from her. “What about Tino? Shanna said he was a hybrid.”
Howard nodded. “Half human. The human half came from Shanna.”
“Oh. So she’s a normal human?”
“Not anymore.” He nudged Elsa under the water nozzle to rinse off.
“Then what is she?” Elsa turned the water off and grabbed a towel. “She can teleport. She only comes out at night. She shifts into some kind of night creature?”
With a wince, Howard dried himself off.
“Doesn’t Shanna expect us to be together? If I’m going to live in your world, I should know what’s going on.”
Frowning, Howard wrapped the towel around his waist. “You have a point.”
“So tell me.” She pulled on a terry-cloth robe and belted it. “What exactly is Tino?”
“Half human, half”—Howard took a deep breath—“vampire.”
Elsa blinked. “What?”
“Vampire. Tino’s father, Roman, is a vampire. Shanna is, too, but she wasn’t when Tino was born. Vampire women can’t carry a baby to term, because they’re dead half the time. They could use a surrogate, I suppose —”
“What?” Elsa shook her head. “Shanna can’t be a vampire. They’re not real.”
Howard shrugged. “Berserkers and guardians are real. Why not vampires?”
“Because they’re . . . dead.”
“Undead,” he corrected her.
“Like that makes any sense.” Elsa recalled how pointy Shanna’s teeth were. “Shanna’s really a vampire?”
“Yes. She was mortal when she fell in love with Roman, and they had two children. But then she accidentally touched an angel of death and was about to die, so Roman had to change—”
“An angel of death?” Elsa asked.
“Yes. Marielle. She’s married to a vampire named Connor. She’s not really an angel anymore.”
“Right.” Elsa dragged a hand through her wet hair. Vampires? Angels of death? Maybe she shouldn’t have asked. “How do they eat? Do they go around biting people?”
“No. They drink synthetic blood from Romatech Industries. That’s Roman’s company. He invented synthetic blood.”
She grimaced. “So they drink blood every night.”
Howard nodded. “They get tired of the same meal every day, so Roman invented Vampire Fusion Cuisine. Stuff like Bleer, that’s half blood and half beer.”
She recalled the empty Bleer bottle in the convertible. Vampire food. “This is too weird.”
“Come on.” Howard escorted her to the kitchen. “You’ll feel better with some food inside you.”
She poured two glasses of orange juice they had made the night before from some frozen concentrate they’d found in the freezer.
Howard rummaged in the pantry. “Here’s some granola bars. And some graham crackers.”
“Is there any jelly or peanut butter?” She finished her juice and bit into a cracker. It was plain food, but at least it was food. She shuddered at the thought of having to live on bottled blood.
“A-ha!” Howard’s eyes lit up as he removed a plastic container from the pantry. It was shaped like a bear and
