Page 47 of Ryder’s Storm

Ryder leaned in and kissed her gently on the cheek when he noticed how hot her skin was. He touched her cheeks and forehead with the back of his hand. “You’re burning up.”

“I’m fine.”

“I’ll get my mother. She’s a physician. She can check you out.”

“No!” Scarlet shot up from his lap. “I’m not sick! I wish everybody would just stop treating me like an invalid!”

“I’m not. I’m concerned, because you seem to be running a fever. Mom can give you something for it.”

“It won’t work,” Scarlet said.

“But—”

“There’s only one thing that works.”

“Tell me, and I’ll get it for you.”

She hesitated.

“Please, Scarlet, what can I do?”

“Have sex with me.”

23

“You wanna have sex?” Ryder asked, stunned. He’d expected Scarlet to say she needed to drink something cold, or rest, but not sex.

“Please don’t say no…”

Involuntarily he smiled. “I love the way you pout…” He kissed her gently.

“I don’t pout.”

“Yes, you do. And it’s incredibly sexy. How could I ever say no to you?”

He pulled her head to his and slanted his mouth over hers, kissing her. Scarlet instantly put her arms around him, shifting and wiggling on his lap until she was straddling him. With surprising strength, she pressed him back to lean against the sofa’s backrest. Ryder gripped her hips and jerked her pelvis toward his so her pussy aligned with his cocks.

Even through her jeans and his pants, Ryder felt Scarlet’s heat and wetness. The aroma of her arousal rose into his nostrils, making him even harder than he already was. And another scent drifted to him: the sweet scent of her blood. It made his fangs itch with the need to descend and taste her. But he resisted this urge, knowing that he couldn’t allow himself to give in to his need, when Scarlet wasn’t ready for it.

One step at a time, he cautioned himself.

Scarlet’s kiss was different this time, more heated, more intense. Hungrier. He welcomed her passion that matched his own. With eager hands she tugged at his shirt, pushing it up, so she could put her hands on his naked skin. Her touch was scorching like lava, her hands hot like a blacksmith’s iron, stoking the fire inside him higher, sending flames through his body.

For a brief moment, he released her lips, and pulled his shirt over his head. Scarlet let out a moan, before she dipped her face to his neck and kissed him where his carotid artery pulsed. He knew then with absolute certainty that a blood-bond with her was inevitable. He wanted her to drink his blood so they became one.

Breathing raggedly, Ryder grabbed the seam of her T-shirt and ripped it down the middle. Scarlet yelped in surprise and reared back, but there was no admonishment in her gaze. Instead, she hurriedly freed her arms from the ripped shirt, and thrust her naked breasts toward him.

“Fuck!” he cursed and brought his lips to her bosom, covering her supple flesh with kisses. He held on to her waist, and Scarlet arched back, her pussy grinding against his cocks, and her breasts offered like a sacrifice. He took what she gave him so willingly, using his hands to draw her closer to his groin, while he captured one breast with his mouth, licking over her hard nipple until her gasps and moans drowned out the world around him.

“Ryder,” she begged, “please fuck me.”

He lifted his head from her breasts, and looked at her. The desire he saw in her beautiful blue eyes made his cocks twitch in anticipation of what was to come.

“With both my cocks this time?” he asked, though he already knew the answer. But he wanted to hear her say it.

A flicker of excitement flashed in Scarlet’s eyes, and her heart now beat so loudly, his vampire senses had no trouble picking up the thrilled drumming of her pulse.

“Yes, I want both of them.”