We both kick off our shoes, never breaking the kiss. I unbutton his dress shirt with ease. His pants are next. He helps me out of my tight dress, taking a moment to appreciate my body. I do the same, admiring his ropes of lean, hard muscles and broad shoulders, the swells of his biceps and the ripples of his abs. I float my fingertips over the curved mounds of his chest.
“That tickles,” he says with a smile.
I laugh. I know it doesn’t.
I trail my fingertips down the center of his torso, committing every inch of his ripped body to memory. Before, with my human eyes, I saw him as a sort of god—too perfect for words. Now I see him as a man. My man.
I brush the back of my knuckles over the trail of coarse hairs that starts below his navel and ends above his thick, pulsing manhood.
His body jerks as I wrap my fingers around it, appreciating its perfection. He groans and closes his eyes, rocking his hips. It’s good to know all of his equipment still works, even if his heart is cold.
Suddenly, he takes me in his arms, and faster than I can process, he has me on the bed beneath him. His mouth is on mine, and my arms are pinned over my head.
All I can say is that this is not like before. He’s rough and demanding, and it’s exactly what my vampire body craves.
His soft lips glide down my sensitive neck, and he bites down at the very moment he enters me.
Oh wow! I wasn’t expecting that, but it feels incredible. My head pushes back into the pillow, and my body floods with pulses of ecstasy that make my toes curl. I feel weightless and on fire, but in a good way. And the sensation of him inside me is so intense I almost can’t take it. It’s too good. Without a doubt, this new body’s heightened awareness is a plus in the sack!
With each thrust and grind, I have to bite down on my lips to keep from screaming out his name and waking Stella.
The heat grows more intense as we move faster. The tension in my core begins to build, and I’m almost afraid. The pleasure is already too powerful. What will happen when we climax?
My heart’s going to stop, I think. Then I laugh. I’m worrying about having too much fun? My body is nearly indestructible!
I let go and embrace the moment, the feeling of our bodies taking and giving.
As we move together, he lifts his head and stares into my eyes. He doesn’t have to say what he’s feeling, because I’m in his head and he’s in mine. I’ve never felt the bond like I do in this moment, like something links our souls.
Then it hits us. I feel myself disappear, melting into the hard waves of sinful ecstasy. I don’t know where I end and he begins, but it feels so, so, sooo good.
His deep groan vibrates in my ears, and then he collapses on top of me.
“I’m panting.” I laugh. “I’m actually panting.” It takes a lot to make me winded now.
“That was incredible, Miriam.”
I blink up at the ceiling. “Did you just say my name?”
He’s quiet for a long moment. “So I did.”
I push him off me and sit up so I can see his face. “Say it again.”
“Miriam.”
“What’s your daughter’s name?” I ask excitedly.
“Stella.”
Ohmygod! He’s back! “How do you feel?”
He sits up and stares at my face. “I feel…I feel…good.”
I throw my arms around him and start to weep. “You’re back! You’re back!”
“I should’ve known,” he says.
“Known what?” I pull away.
“That you were the key to making me whole again. Clive was the one who taught me how to shut off my emotions for battle. He told me to always leave a thread behind, something to pull on to help find my way back.” He flashes a sly little smile, and his eyes light up. It takes my breath away. “It was your hot librarian body.”
I know it wasn’t my body that did the trick. It was us, our unbreakable connection that brought him back. And the way he’s looking at me right now, I know he loves me. I can see it in his eyes. I can feel it through our bond. My heart swells with relief and joy, filling in the dark hole that’s been there since we lost each other.
I push him back on the bed. “I’m so glad you’re back, but let’s make sure you don’t have a relapse.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Michael
I spend the night making love to Miriam, and I cannot recall ever feeling quite like this. Completely and utterly happy. Everything is brighter, my heartbeat feels unstoppable, and my emotions are more intense.
“I wonder if it is because of you,” I say to Miriam as she brushes her teeth, and we prepare to return to headquarters the next morning. I already ran out and got the girls some toiletries and a few clean outfits from a small drugstore just down the road. All they had were gray sweats and rain boots.
Miriam pulls her toothbrush from her mouth, soft waves of blonde hair cascading around her oval face. She still manages to look as sexy as ever in her baggy clothes. “Because of me, what?”
“Feeling like I am on steroids. Not that I have ever taken them.”
Miriam bobs her head and then leans forward to rinse her mouth in the sink. When she comes up for air, she smiles at me in the mirror. My heart glows brighter.
“Do you think it is because of you? Our connection?” I ask.
“I don’t know; it’s all new to me, so…”
“It’s interesting.”
“Will you miss it?” she asks. “Being a vampire?”
I look down, mulling a bit. I am not used to having to sort through my mind to find my thoughts. Everything’s swimming together. “I suppose I will miss some things, but I have been like this for four hundred years. My
