Darkness Revealed (Guardians of Eternity #4)(74)

“I will do everything in my power to keep you close to me, querida,” he rasped, joining her on the bed and pulling her into his arms. He wanted to swear that he would never let her go. That the mating would ensure they would never be parted again. But so long as the Oracles considered her one of their own, he couldn’t make such promises. “You are, and always will be, my mate.”

His words seemed to comfort her and the hazel eyes flashed with something that might have been pleasure as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck.

“Does that mean you have to do everything I say?”

He gave the lobe of her ear a punishing nip. “I specifically said mate, not slave.”

She deliberately allowed her fingers to trail down his back. “A pity. I think you might enjoy obeying me on occasion.”

Cezar lifted his head to meet the sensuous gaze. His entire body hardened in reaction, the coldness that had held him captive since becoming a vampire melting beneath the heat of her searing hazel eyes.

“On occasion, eh?” he demanded, his voice already thick with need. “What sort of occasion?”

Her smile was slow and exquisitely wicked. “Like this occasion.”

His already hard erection gave a painful throb. Dios. He might be a five-century-old vampire, but this woman had the power to make him feel as if every touch, every searing sensation, was something that he had never, ever experienced before.

And perhaps it was.

Anna was his destined mate.

The one woman who was so intimately entwined with him that her slightest emotion, the very beat of her heart, was echoed in him.

Certainly he could feel her desire like a wave of longing that crashed through him with shocking force.

He groaned as he lowered his head to bury his face in her hair, filling himself with her delectable scent.

“I’m yours to command, querida,” he murmured.

Just for a moment she hesitated, and he smiled as he realized she was battling a flare of nerves. So far he had always taken control of their lovemaking. Now, she struggled to gather the courage to take matters in her own hands.

To take him into her hands.

He swallowed a low groan at the mere thought.

“Very well,” she at last managed to husk. “Roll on your back.”

Cezar readily followed her command, rolling until he was flat on his back. Anna paused another moment, then with a bold motion she sat up and before he could guess her intent, she was straddling his hips and gazing down at him with a tiny smile.

Cezar hissed, grasping the covers to prevent himself from jerking her downward and bringing a swift, explosive conclusion to the game.

If she was in the mood to play, then by God, they would play. And play. And play. And play.

Even if it killed him.

Easily feeling the tremors that shook his body, she held up a warning finger.

“Lie still.”

Cezar gritted his teeth, his fingers nearly ripping through the mattress as she calmly grabbed the edge of her tiny T-shirt and yanked it over her head. He didn’t need the candlelight to appreciate the beautiful thrust of her br**sts or the smooth curve of her waist, or the ivory perfection of her skin.

“Dios…” he groaned, his hips thrusting upward to rub his erection against the thin strip of satin that was all that covered her moist core. “You’re so bloody beautiful.”

“You once thought me a wallflower and a…shrew, wasn’t it?” she demanded, her hands shifting to his shirt and making swift work of his buttons.

He struggled to think as her fingers explored his bared chest, circling his ni**les before heading ever lower. It was the sweetest torture he had ever endured.

“I wanted you from the moment you entered that room, Anna Randal,” he growled, his hands shifting to run up her bare thighs. “You might be a shrew, but you’re my shrew.”

She chuckled softly as she slowly leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. “I watched you from the shadows, you know. You were so handsome, so exciting.” She gave his lower lip a teasing nip. “So far above me.” Her tongue trailed down his jaw, wrenching a groan from his throat. “And now I have you beneath me.”

He arched his back as a surge of pleasure raced through him. “You can keep me here as long as you want.”

“As long as I want?” Her lips skimmed down his throat, her hair spilling over his chest, the tips of her br**sts brushing his skin. “That’s a rather dangerous offer.”

“Not nearly so dangerous as teasing a vampire,” he growled, his hands skimming up so he could rip off the delicate underwear.

“Behave yourself.” She nipped at his stomach. “You’re supposed to be lying still.”

He hissed as her hands began tugging at the zipper of his pants. “I may be undead, but I’m not made of stone, querida.”

Tugging his pants down, Anna was forced to pause to yank off his shoes before she could complete her task. Once she had him bare she straddled his legs and began crawling back up his body, her gaze squarely on his straining erection.

“You may not be made of stone, but there’re some parts of you that are as hard as a rock.”

His arousal twitched, silently pleading for her touch, even as he ruthlessly sought to control the passion that was swiftly raging out of control.

The fire that burned inside him threatened to turn him to ash on the spot.