“That’s it,” he murmured, his voice ragged. “I want to feel every part of you.”
His pace quickened, his hips surging upward while his hands kept me pinned in place. I lowered my head and kissed him, hungrily devouring his mouth. Lucien adjusted his grip, one hand splayed over my lower back, the other cradling my neck as he moved within me. Pressure began building inside me again, slowly at first, curling tighter and tighter with every thrust.
We held onto each other through it all—through the mounting rhythm and the inevitable climb toward bliss. And when I fell apart in his arms for the second time, it felt different, more intimate somehow.
Lucien followed me a heartbeat later, groaning low in my ear, his arms locking around me as his body tensed beneath mine. We held each other through the aftershocks, neither of us moving, the only sound that of our breathing, still jagged and uneven.
Eventually, we collapsed on the couch, both of us boneless and dazed, my cheek pressed to the curve of his shoulder. His hands ran gently up and down my back, soothing and steady.
“Izzy,” he murmured, brushing a kiss into my hair.
“Mm?”
But he didn’t say another word. He just held me tighter.
Eventually, Lucien rose from the couch, still holding me, and carried me up the stairs. Normally, I would protest. But seeing as how I couldn’t feel my legs, it seemed pointless to tell him I could walk.
He took me to the bathroom, where together, we cleaned up. Then he held my hand and led me toward his bedroom. I barely noticed what it looked like before he led me toward the bed and drew down the covers. We climbed in together and he gathered me into his arms before pulling the blanket over us.
I rested my head on his chest and closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his fingers running up and down my back and side.
This was the life I wanted. For once, I didn’t feel empty or unwanted. Instead, I felt free, loved, and safe.
And I never wanted that to change.
Chapter
Twenty-Four
ISADORA
The sound of muffled ringing woke me. It echoed from somewhere below, shattering the house’s silence.
Lucien’s arm was still curled around my waist, his palm resting low on my belly. His fingers moved in a slow, lazy pattern, even in his sleep. We lay tangled in the bedsheets, and the room still smelled faintly of sex and bloodwine. I wasn’t sure how much sleep we’d managed between our various—and pleasurable—activities, but it certainly didn’t feel like enough.
When neither of us moved, the ringing started again.
I groaned and burrowed deeper under the covers, reveling in the delightful feel of his warm, hard body pressed against mine.
“Is that your phone?” I mumbled to him. It had to be. No one knew my number except the man currently spooning me.
“More like a cursed object sent to ruin my life,” Lucien mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.
Yet another ring. Then another. Someone was persistent.
Lucien swore under his breath. “My clothes are all downstairs.”
“I remember,” I said, smiling into the pillow. “Along with mine.”
His fingers flexed against my stomach, and for one tantalizing second, I thought he might ignore the infernal device and kiss me instead. But the phone continued to ring.
With a resigned groan, Lucien finally pulled away from me and sat up. I immediately missed the feel of him. I turned over just as the blanket fell to his hips, and I memorized the sight of my very naked, very sexy vampire lover.
He caught me staring and groaned. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“And how, sir, am I looking at you?” I teased, biting my lip coyly.
Heat flashed in Lucien’s eyes. In a blink, he leaned down and captured my mouth in a kiss that made my toes curl. I wound my arms around his neck and clung to him, hoping I could keep him here with me.
