Finally, only thirty minutes till sunrise, Romeo caught a trace of him. “This way.”
“Hurry. Hurry.” She wanted to scream in relief, in frustration, in agony. But when Romeo led them back to her house, she did scream. “Damn it! Why did you bring us here? He’s—” She gasped as her gaze snagged on the man standing on her porch.
“Genevieve,” he said starkly.
“Hunter? Hunter!” With a cry, she raced to him.
Eight
Hunter opened his arms and welcomed Genevieve as she threw herself at him. He twirled her around, reveling in her luscious female scent, the soft curves of her body.
“Where have you been?” she demanded. “You stupid, stupid man. I’ve been so worried about you. You didn’t hurt me out there, okay? You didn’t hurt me. You stopped in time.”
“I
Tears streamed down her face. “Why are you here, then? Why?” “I talked to Barnabas. His creator hated and feared blood like me, so he took something called a blood-appetite suppressant. I didn’t think it’d work, but I took it and my cravings went away. I won’t hurt you now. I know it sounds too good to be true,” he rushed on, “but it’s true. Trust me not to hurt you. Please. I want to be with you.”
“Why do you want to be with me?” she interjected. In that moment, her relief and joy overflowed, but she needed to hear the words.
His expression became tender. “I kept picturing your face and I began to realize that even in death, you would haunt me. I began to realize that leaving you would be more vile than drinking from you. I began to realize that I couldn’t leave you again. You’re my reason for being. You’re my everything.”
She blinked through her tears, barely daring to breathe.
“Will you have me, Genevieve Tawdry? Vampire that I am?”
“With all of my heart.” Laughing, she kissed him over and over again. Loving kisses, happy kisses. Relieved kisses.
Hunter hugged her fiercely. That laugh of hers . . . glorious, uninhibited, he would never get enough of it. “I want you. I want you naked.”
“Uh, Genevieve,” came a female voice.
Genevieve’s cheeks reddened, and she pressed her lips together. She’d forgotten about their audience, he realized with satisfaction, just as he had.
“Hunter, you know my sisters.”
He nodded in their direction, but his eyes were only for Genevieve. “Godiva. Glory. Nice to see you again.” His fingers played with the silky soft hair at the base of Genevieve’s neck. He couldn’t stop touching her. He still didn’t like the fact that he was a vampire. He still didn’t like that he had to drink blood, even though the cravings could be controlled. But he would put up with anything to be with his Genevieve.
“You, too,” they said simultaneously.
“The man with Godiva is Romeo,” she said breathlessly. Her eyes closed and a look of rapture blanketed her expression. “You can meet him later.”
Romeo nodded in acknowledgment. He placed a protective arm around Godiva, as if Hunter might leap off the porch and attack at any moment. Hunter tried not to take offense. He had better get used to people fearing him.
“Hunter and I are going to my room,” Genevieve said. “To, uh, talk.”
“Dirty,” Glory added.
He allowed Genevieve to take his hand and lead him inside, down a hallway and into her room. It was a neat, tidy space with everything color-coded and organized. The bed was made for sin, however. Black silks, crimson pillows. Cerulean velvets. “You want to talk?” he asked with a chuckle.
Her lips lifted in a sensual grin that caused his stomach to clench. She hurriedly secured all of the drapes over the windows so that when the sun rose, it wouldn’t hurt him. “We can talk while you’re inside me.” She raced to him and tugged at his clothes. “I need you so desperately.”
He slipped her shirt over her head, then pushed her pants to her ankles. She stepped out of them, completely naked. The sight of her naked beauty almost made him come, right then, right there. Supple curves, ripe nipples, milky skin. The long length of her dark hair provided a mesmerizing contrast.
“I can’t wait,” he said raggedly.
“No waiting,” she agreed.
He took her quickly, with all the urgency he felt inside. Filled as he was with blood and the suppressant, he didn’t have the slightest urge to bite her—except in pleasure. They rolled atop the bed, panting, growling, straining. Her breasts filled his hands. Her legs anchored around him as he pounded in and out.
“Hunter,” she screamed as a sharp peak tore through her. He felt every spasm and it fueled his own.
He spilled inside her with a loud roar.
Someone banged at the wall. “Enough already,” he heard one of her sisters say. Glory, most likely. Godiva was probably otherwise occupied. He chuckled into Genevieve’s neck. Nope. He still didn’t want to bite her. Relief consumed him.
Playfully she bit his collarbone. “I love you so much.”
Her words filled his mind as surely as he’d filled her body. Even his heart stopped beating—or maybe it had never started up again after his death. Women had said those words to him before, but he’d never felt them in his bones. Even Genevieve had said them before. He’d never returned them.
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”
She sucked in a slight intake of breath. “Do you really?”
“I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you.”
“Then why did you push me away for so long?” she asked with a frown. “You never really answered that question.”
He placed a sweet kiss on her temple. “Sweetheart, the answer doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s just—”
“Please. Tell me.”
Unable to deny her anything, he explained. As he spoke, she paled. Tremors reverberated through her by the time he finished. “You should have told me the truth years ago,” she said. “I would have left you alone.”
“I know, and that’s exactly why I didn’t tell you. I didn’t want you to leave me alone. I loved you too damn much.”
“What a pair we make, hmm? The dead man and the witch.”
He chuckled. Life—or death, rather—was ripe with promise. He was happier than he’d ever been and he owed it all to the sweet, sweet witch in his arms. “I’m looking forward to spending eternity with you.”
Slowly she smiled. “Eternity with Hunter Knight. Now that’s something I can look forward to.”
CANDY COX AND THE BIG BAD (WERE)WOLF
P. C. Cast
