Darkness Everlasting (Guardians of Eternity #3)(39)

Styx buried his face in the sweet curve of her neck. "By the gods, you are lethal," he rasped, silently adding that he would kill any man she touched in such an intimate way.

There didn't seem to be any need to trouble her pacifist soul with that thought.

"I did warn you," she breathed.

She had. But her warning hadn't included her lips brushing his ni**les, his sternum, the small depression running between his abs, and then shockingly she was on her knees and her mouth closed over the tip of his erection.

His fingers threaded through her soft curls as she impatiently tugged down his pants and her hands cupped him with a knee-buckling touch.

"Bloody hell, angel."

Ignoring his strangled words, thank the gods. Darcy pulled him deeper into her mouth. His eyes closed and his fangs fully extended at the feel of her tongue tracing over the head of his cock.

Nothing had ever been meant to feel so good.

So damnably good he was certain he could die in that moment with a smile on his lips.

Groaning as she squeezed and licked him with an enthusiasm that threatened to bring a swift end to his shocking pleasure, Styx struggled to keep the climax at bay.

He had claimed that danger made him feel truly alive.

It was nothing—nothing—compared to this.

And he wanted it to last more than a handful of blissful strokes.

"Angel . . . enough," he groaned, lowering himself until he was on his knees before her.

She smiled with smug pleasure at the sight of his extended fangs and darkened eyes.

"You don't like?" she teased.

"I like too much," he breathed, his hands running down the curve of her back until he could grasp the bottom of her sweatshirt. With one smooth motion he ranked it over her head. "Now, it's your turn."

He could hear her breath catch as he tugged free her bra and at last cupped the soft mounds of her br**sts. Thank the gods he didn't have to worry to breathe, he acknowledged as heat burst through his body. How could a man remember such tedious things when confronted with such beauty?

With tender care his thumbs brushed over the tight peaks of her ni**les, his fingers savoring the curve of her br**sts. He had touched countless humans before, but never had he been so intrigued by the texture of mere skin.

Just like warm silk, he realized in fascination. Warm silk with a faint tingle of pulsing life that made his every instinct roar with need.

Perhaps sensing his odd bemusement, Darcy slid her hands up his bare arms to his shoulders.

"Styx?" she questioned softly. "Is something wrong?"

He leaned his head down to press his forehead to hers. "Each moment you are near, I forget everything but you," he confessed in a husky tone. "If I could lock the doors and keep out the world for the rest of eternity 1 would, just so we could be alone."

Her fingers slid over his shoulders and down his back. "And that troubles you?"

He groaned, his lips skimming down her slender nose and brushing over her mouth.

"Not nearly as much as it should."

Unwilling to brood on his strange obsession with this woman, Styx claimed her mouth in a hungry kiss, his tongue slipping between her lips. In this moment he was ready and willing to forget about the world, and the responsibilities awaiting him outside the door.

His duty would find him sooner or later.

He wanted it to be later.

Much, much later.

Cradling Darcy in his arms he propelled her backward, laying her on the matted floor before covering her with his body. Her nails dug into his back as he kissed his way down the curve of her neck and lingered on the line of her collarbone.

"You taste of spring," he murmured as he trailed his tongue down to the tip of her nipple.

Darcy moaned as she arched her back in silent invitation. "What does spring taste like?" she demanded.

His fangs pierced her skin to taste of her sweetness.

"Honey," he whispered, his tongue continuing to tease the hard nub, "and nectar, and sunshine."

Her eyes squeezed shut at his insistent caresses. "Cripes."

"I've only started, angel," he promised, his hands following the slender lines of her waist.

With a minimum of fuss he had her pants undone. Pulling them downward, he tugged them off, along with her shoes. Then, as long as he was down there, he nibbled the tender arch of her foot and sucked her toes into his mouth.

She gave a soft cry as he slowly meandered up her calf, pausing to tease the back of her knee. He hadn't lied. She did taste of nectar. Sweet enough to cloud the mind of any vampire.

Dragging his tongue up the tempting vein of her inner thigh, Styx shuddered with longing. This time was for Darcy, but soon he intended to return to this precise spot and taste her as only a vampire could.

Giving her the lightest of nips, he worked his way upward, spreading her legs to seek out her most sensitive flesh.

"Styx." Her fingers clenched in his hair as he stroked his tongue through the moist heat. "Oh ..."

He smiled as she nearly pulled his hair out by its roots. The pain was a small price to pay for her husky moans of desire.

Dipping his tongue deep into her, Styx pleasured her with a steady rhythm. Her hips writhed as her moans became breathless pants. She was close. He could taste it on his lips.

With a last, loving stroke Styx pressed himself upward, claiming her mouth in a fierce kiss. Her legs wrapped instinctively around his waist as he lifted his hips and with one smooth thrust buried himself deep inside her.