The Vampire's Bride (Atlantis #4)(24)

"And I demand you take your hands off me before you lose them." The warning escaped automatically, but her mind screamed a denial: Don't let go. Hold me. Want me the way I want you.

"I will hurt you if I must, Delilah."

Once again, her name on those sensual lips was wholly erotic, somehow a curse, as well as a caress. Again she shivered. Her nipples pearled, reaching for him, abrading the leather top she wore. "Do it, then. Hurt me." She tilted her chin, knowing she was the picture of stubbornness.

What would he do, this warrior who had managed to sneak up on her? How would he react to her challenge?

His nostrils flared. The light in his eyes grew in intensity, casting an azure shadow over his wickedly eerie face. He stared at her mouth. For a moment, she thought he meant to kiss her. A bruising, punishing kiss. Please... But a minute ticked by, and he did nothing but glare.

Tired of waiting, she yanked one of her hands free, reached up and sifted strands of his hair through her fingers. "Soft," she whispered.

"Let go."

"No."

"Let go!"

"Make me."

With another growl, he snapped away from her hold. Away from her, severing any hint of connection. He perched at the end of the branch, his gaze tracing her tattoos with...longing?

No, he wasn't perched, she realized. He hovered, floating in place. When he realized he was perusing the war designs her commander had gifted her with each time she had proved invaluable in battle, his focus rose to her face, hatred once again gleaming in his eyes, a piercing red lance aimed directly at her.

Strange that it seemed to cut all the way to her soul.

"Do not touch me again."

"Then do not lie on top of me." Slowly she sat up, her gaze never leaving him. "Next time, I might not be so gentle with you."

"Next time, you'll be dead before you realize I'm nearby."

She tsked under her tongue, though his words struck deep. "I'm prepared now. You won't get this close again."

"We shall see."

Gods, his arrogance aroused her. Nothing he said was an idle boast. Anything he claimed he could do, well, she knew he possessed the power to do it. She admired that about him. Unfortunately, he admired nothing about her.

What about her upset him so? From the stories she'd heard, he treated only the dragons and their allies with anger. To everyone else, he was polite if distant. No, not true, she thought, playing some of those stories through her head. He loved the nymph king, Valerian, as a brother and had fought beside him on many occasions.

If she gave herself to Layel - don't think like that, dangerous, you can't, it'd be the same as before - would his face soften? Would he look at her with admiration? Mirth?

"Why do you hate me?" she asked him curiously.

His head tilted to the side as he studied her. "Why do you care?"

Argh. "Why don't you fly away and leave me alone?"

"Why don't you run from me?"

"Why haven't you kissed me?" The last escaped un-bidden, but once said, she did not want to take the words back.

His fangs elongated as he glared at her, vibrant eyes following her tongue as she ran it over her lips, then dipping to her neck.

"Thinking about biting me?" she taunted, unsure why she did so. She had been bitten by a vampire before, a rogue who'd been starving and had ambushed her while she'd been training a group of younger Amazons, and it had not been pleasant. But the thought of Layel's teeth inside her vein...She shivered at the deliciousness.

His pupils dilated, his gaze dropping again and remaining on her chest. "Your nipples are hard."

Were they still? She didn't want to look away from him and was afraid to touch them. They tingled, they ached. For him, only him. "Thank you for noticing."

A muscle in his jaw twitched. "Incorrigible wench." He sighed. "A friend of mine taught me the power of bargaining," he said, "and now I will bargain with you. While we are here, I will stay away from you and, in turn, you will stay away from me. Agreed?"

She tamped down a wave of disappointment. "Decided not to try and kill me after all, then?"

"For now."

"Can't stand the thought of being without me?"

"Do you agree?" he insisted, ignoring her question.

"No." She didn't hesitate with her answer. "I never bargain."

One of his brows arched. "Never?"

"Never. Not for anything." Bargaining meant that she wasn't strong enough to take what she really wanted, and Delilah refused to show weakness. Well, she refused to show any more. "Now, I'm done playing. Leave, and I won't hurt you."

He was in her face in the next instant. "That sounds like a bargain to me."

His breath was warm, sweetly scented. His parted lips were close to hers...so wonderfully close. His pale skin glowed, nearly translucent in the light of those electric blues.

All of her body tingled, just like her nipples. Her stomach fluttered with a drugging, almost agonizing heat. She hadn't ever felt like this, not even with Vorik. She ran her tongue along the seam of her mouth again, this time imagining Layel's tongue in its place. Gods, she craved a taste of him. Just a small taste. Perhaps then her obsession would end. Curiosity only kept him centered in her mind.