Runaway Vampire (Argeneau, #23)(77)
He covered her mouth with his then, but Mary was too stunned to respond at first, and quickly pushed him back slightly.
“Wait,” she said uncertainly. “When I lost the baby, they had to—”
“The nanos will repair whatever has been damaged, and replace whatever has been lost,” he interrupted solemnly, “covering pretty much everything up to and including a hysterectomy.”
He started to kiss her again and this time, Mary began to respond, but the moment he urged her lips apart, she broke the kiss and pulled back again. This time she was frowning as a myriad of thoughts assaulted her.
“Are you saying I could get pregnant right now?” she asked, actually alarmed at the prospect. It was wonderful to know she could give him children, but she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to do it right now, or nine months from now, she supposed. It didn’t seem like a good way to start a new relationship.
“Probably not,” Dante said, looking slightly quizzical that she seemed so alarmed at the prospect. “Do you not wish to have my child?”
“Well, sure. At least I think I do,” she added, trying to be levelheaded about this. They had just met, after all, and common sense and all her training told her she shouldn’t be jumping so wholeheartedly into this relationship. Sighing, she added, “But not right now. I mean, it would be nice to feel a little more settled in the relationship before we add a baby, don’t you think?”
“Oh. Yes,” he agreed, relaxing, and then grinned and urged Bailey away. Once the dog had shifted herself to the foot of the bed, he scooted closer, and drew her into his arms. “You are right. It is better to wait on having a baby. Especially since once we get Tomasso back I intend to keep you in bed for a good year or so. A baby would interfere with that. So we will wait a year or so.”
Mary relaxed and nodded with relief. That was definitely the smarter route, she thought, as he began to kiss her again. She kissed him back this time, her body coming alive at once, but when he broke their kiss to lean back and begin tugging at the blanket and sheets covering her, she asked, “So you have protection?”
Dante glanced to her with confusion, and his voice was distracted when he asked, “Protection?”
“A condom?” Mary explained as he turned his attention back to removing the coverings between them. She pointed out, “It’s not like I’m on birth control or anything.”
“Oh.” Dante murmured with a nod as he finally got the blankets and sheets out of the way.
Mary relaxed at his nod that he had protection, and smiled faintly as his gaze moved hungrily over her in the white cotton nightgown.
“We—” Dante began as he reached toward her breast, but whatever would have followed was pushed aside by a groan as his hand closed over the soft globe and he squeezed, sending shivers of pleasure through them both.
“We what?” Mary gasped, arching into the caress.
“Yes,” he muttered and covered her mouth with his again, his kiss almost violent with need.
Mary responded in kind, her body quickly melting beneath his touch and kiss. The man was fire to her tinder, sending her up in flames with just a touch. She had never experienced anything like it before. She’d thought her marital bed a satisfying one before she and Joe had had their problems, and after they’d sorted them. But he had never lifted her to these heights, even after loads of foreplay. Mary knew it had to be a chemical reaction, and most definitely a result of something to do with the nanos. It was the only explanation for this madness, she thought faintly, as Dante shifted to his knees, and lifted her to her own without breaking their kiss.
His hands were immediately everywhere. Sliding down her back to urge her forward until she knelt between his spread knees and they were chest to chest. His hands then slid down to cup her behind and squeeze eagerly, before gliding up and around to find her breasts.
Mary moaned, and arched and shifted into each touch and caress, then broke their kiss and cried out when his hands suddenly dropped again, this time to slip under her nightgown. One hand slid up to cup her between the legs, while the other slid around to cover both of her bare cheeks in his big hand so that he could urge her to move into his caress.
“God, Mary,” Dante muttered against her cheek, his fingers beginning to explore the damp heat that waited for him.
“I want your clothes off,” Mary moaned against his shoulder, and then gasped and began pulling at the cloth herself as he found her sweet spot. “Please.”
Cursing, Dante retrieved his hands and quickly tugged his T-shirt up and off over his head.
“Your pants,” Mary said breathlessly, when he started to reach for her again.
Dante was immediately off the bed, undoing and pushing his pants down.
“Where are the condoms?” she asked as he raised one foot and started to push the black denim off of it.
Turning, she opened the bed table drawer to see if there might be any there. There weren’t and she turned back to ask if they might be in his wallet, or one of the other drawers, but paused when she saw that he had frozen, standing exactly as she’d last seen him, on one foot, bent over to push the cloth off. Except for the confusion on his face, he looked like a stork.
“You do have a condom?” Mary asked with a frown.
Dante shook his head, his expression blank.
“But you said you did.” Mary said with accusation, and then her eyebrows drew together and she added, “At least, you nodded.”