Single White Vampire (Argeneau #3)(76)

Lucern felt Kate sag against him as his pleasure overcame him. He cradled her against his chest as his body shuddered, then waited another moment for his strength to return. Pulling her back enough to peer into her face, he saw that she had fainted.

He wasn't terribly surprised. It had nothing to do with his bite. While he had sunk his teeth into her, his body was presently sated and he had not drunk. This faint was purely a result of what they had just experienced. It had happened in the past on those few occasions when he had poured all of his pleasure into the mind of his lover, and none of those times in the past had been as explosive as this one. He would have been more surprised had she not fainted.

Smiling, he pressed a kiss to her forehead, then again rested her against his chest. He had to regain his strength; the experience had hit him pretty hard, too. Lucern had never felt quite so weak yet satisfied in his life, and this woman in his arms was the reason. He rubbed her back with one hand, sifting the fingers of his other through her hair.

Finally, once he felt able again, he caught her under her bottom and lifted her from the dresser. He carried her like that to the bed, her legs and arms sagging but their bodies still joined. Yet by the time they reached the bed, he had once more grown hard within her. He was relieved when she murmured and opened her eyes. He knelt on the bed with her, then laid them both down.

"Luc?"

"Yes." He brushed the hair off her forehead and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose.

"That was…"

"Yes," he agreed solemnly. Shifting, he moved to one elbow to take some of his weight off of her. Kate's eyes went wide as she felt him move inside her; then she appeared disappointed.

Lucern didn't understand why until she said, "You didn't—"

"Yes, I did," he interrupted, unwilling to let her think for even a moment that she hadn't pleased him. "But you're intoxicating, and I want you again." He withdrew a little and slid back in as he spoke.

Kate's eyelids drooped to half-mast, leaving her looking sleepy and sexy and with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Oh, well, I do try to keep my writers happy, Luc," she said.

Then, before he could comment on her comment, she caught his head and drew him down for a kiss. She arched against him, pulling him into her body.



"Luc's out of books," Chris said.

"What? Already?" Kate turned away from the male cover model she had been talking to. The man was one of the most popular models around, his name and face selling books as much as any author's name. He was considering getting into the writing end as well, to make more money on his name and face. Unfortunately, from the sample chapters he had sent her several weeks ago, it was obvious he couldn't write worth a damn. Kate had been trying to convince him to use a ghost writer for the last two hours. Now she gave up on him and frowned at Chris.

They were at the Book Fair. There was no hospitality suite today; the book-signing was scheduled for ten a.m. to two p.m., and every single author in attendance was there signing books and talking to readers.

Kate and Lucern had arrived at 10:01. They had been a minute late, but would have been even later if Chris hadn't harassed them into hurrying by pounding on both their doors at 9:30 and shrieking, "Get up, get up! We have to go." Of course, Kate hadn't been in her room. She was grateful her coworker didn't know that. She and Lucern had made great inroads into using those condoms. It seemed vampires had much more stamina than the average human male. They were also terribly inventive, although Kate didn't know if that was a racial trait or just Lucern. She supposed that after six hundred years a man learned quite a few tricks. She had enjoyed every one.

"Yes. He's been very busy and the crowd just descended on him, grabbing his books up like crazy," Chris explained.

Kate glanced at her wristwatch. It was only noon. There were two hours left of the signing. "We brought extra boxes of his books. They're—"

"Gone," Chris announced. "He's been through all of those, too."

"We should have brought more." Kate sighed. "What's he doing now?"

"Just sitting there, talking to readers. Which is fine, but he complained he was kind of tired. He sent me to ask if he could catch a nap. Do you want me to walk him up?"

"No, I'll…" Kate paused.

She had been about to say that she would see him upstairs, but now had second thoughts. She had no doubt Lucern was tired. It had been a very wearing night, what with the attack and their lovemaking marathon. It had been early when they had first woken up, and they had fooled around for hours before Chris had interrupted to remind them of the signing. The poor vampire must be exhausted. If she went upstairs with him, though, he might be inclined to start up where they had left off—and Kate wasn't at all sure she had the willpower to be firm and refuse.

"What's wrong with your neck?" Chris asked suddenly. She had been rubbing it absently.

Kate removed her fingers. She had bite marks on her neck and on several other spots on her body.

She had expected Luc to bite her, of course. She had intended to help replenish him. She simply hadn't expected him to bite her quite so many times or in all the places he had. The man was an animal, and she couldn't get enough of him. Especially since she felt just great. She hadn't suffered any weakness or dizziness after his feeding off her. Well, she had fainted a couple of times at first, but that seemed a small price to pay for the pleasure she had enjoyed. He really had ruined her for all other men.