She nodded, and he followed her up the frontstairs, where he waited while she unlocked the door. She held itopen, and they stepped into the main hallway. It smelled of thepotpourri sachets left on the table near the front door. Thelandlady who lived on the first floor, with her two teenage sons,changed the sachets every week.
They walked up the stairs together andstopped outside her door. When she turned to talk to him, shenearly crashed into his chest. She staggered back, and he graspedher arms to steady her.
The strength and power in his hands sent ashiver down her spine the second their skin connected. Then, hisfingers slid down a little and gave her back a small caress thatcaused her mouth to go dry.
Kyle couldn’t stop himself from touching her.Her skin was soft as silk beneath his fingers. He had to leave forwork, but he couldn’t step away from her. Instead, he movedcloser.
Her breasts brushed his chest as she drew ina quick breath and bit her bottom lip. It was one of the mostenticing lips he’d ever seen.
When she released her lip, he ran his thumbacross it and relished the feel of her warm breath. The increasedbeat of her heart thudded in his ears. Despite having fed earlier,the allure of her blood caused his fangs to tingle, and he resistedletting them lengthen. He moved his thumb to her cheek as he leaneddown to kiss her.
The second his lips met hers, she stiffened,but then she relaxed against him and her body melded to his. Hewrapped his arms around her and placed one hand on the small of herback as he drew her closer. She fit perfectly against him.
She tasted like she smelled… of wilderness,freedom, and the hope of a dawning spring. Unable to get enough ofher, he savored the taste of her as he kissed her deeply. Steppingforward, he kept her close as he pressed her back against thedoor.
Melanie gripped his biceps and tried not toswoon beneath the onslaught of his kiss. She’d never been kissed sodeeply, fully, or demandingly before. She couldn’t think, couldn’tbreathe, and she didn’t care.
Who needed air when he was kissing her intoastounding oblivion?
She lost herself to him and this gloriousmoment. When she felt the rigid evidence of his arousal lengtheningagainst her belly, she tried to get closer, but it was impossiblewhile they were still wearing clothes.
In his arms, she felt sheltered and protectedin a way she’d never experienced before. Her entire life was filledwith uncertainty and insanity, but she didn’t experience that whenshe was with him.
All she felt was a rightness that made herforget about her unhappy childhood and the insanity of her preteenand teen years.
When the door suddenly opened behind her, thetwo of them staggered back a step. Kyle suppressed a growl as hesteadied them.
“Oh shit!” Lucy blurted. “I’m sorry. I didn’tknow you were here; I was going to get lunch. Carry on.”
She tried to close the door, but they wereblocking it. Kyle pulled Melanie back a step, and Lucy threw thedoor shut.
Melanie bowed her head and rested herforehead against Kyle’s chest. For a minute, she struggled tobreathe, and then she started to laugh.
Though his initial instinct was to killwhoever interrupted them, he laughed with her.
CHAPTER 9
“I take it things wentwell today,” Lucy said when Melanie closed the door behind her.
Melanie leaned against the door and tried notto sigh like some helpless schoolgirl in the throes of her firstcrush. Stepping away from the door, she didn’t reply to Lucy as shecrossed the living room and entered her bedroom.
She knelt on her full-sized bed and crepttoward the window on her knees. She pulled down a slat in theblinds and watched as Kyle exited the house and strolled down thestreet. Women turned to watch him pass, but he didn’t notice any ofthem.
She couldn’t help admiring his firm ass as hewalked. When he vanished around the corner, she lowered the slatand turned to find Lucy standing in the doorway, smirking ather.
“So, it went well?” Lucy asked.
Melanie flopped back on her bed. “Toowell.”
“There’s no such thing.”
“Lucy, you, of all people, know arelationship is a bad idea for us.”
“Bullshit. Yes, it will probably require somelies, but it can happen.”
“Any relationship built on lies is going tofail.”
“Not true. You’re not lying because you’reevil, or toying with him, or trying to make things better foryou. You’re lying because it’s necessary. I know, I soundlike I’m saying this to justify something that no one should do,but we deserve happiness too. We especiallydeserveit aftereverything we’ve been through, and if we have to tell a few lies tokeep our partners safe, then so be it.”
