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God, there was no denying his desire for her.
"I cannot offer you anything more than this moment, Nikki.” Not the words he should have said, by any stretch of the imagination. He might have been a three-hundred-year-old vampire, but in some ways, he was still very human. Something he could not deny with her so close. Her dark amber gaze met his, and he knew that she wanted nothing more than this moment, that all she cared about was time without Jasper's intrusion in her thoughts. It hurt somehow, though God knew it shouldn't have. She was only using him in the same manner he'd used a score of other woman during his life.
At least he would have the memory of loving her in the long nights of loneliness left ahead.
"Good.” Though her voice was light, there was an edge that made him wonder if she'd heard his thoughts. “If you had stopped right now, I would've killed you." He touched her lips, then ran his finger lightly down her neck to her breast. “The only thing likely to stop me now is a change of heart from you."
"Then stop talking,” she murmured.
Power shivered between them, a gossamer touch that tugged his jeans slowly from his body. He laughed against her lips, then pulled away slightly. Using his own kinetic abilities, he eased the shirt up and over her head, then tossed it across the room.
"Now I know what the romance books mean when they say he undressed her with his mind." Though her smile was easy, fear flickered deep in her eyes. He kissed her, savoring the sweetness of her lips as he drew her close. Their minds entwined in a gentle dance of fire, sharing each sensation, each emotion.
The chains of the link between them were drawing tighter, but right then, he didn't care. He had this moment, and he had Nikki in his arms. That was a damn sight more than he'd had in a very long time.
"I need you,” he whispered and held her tightly, breathing in the scent of her hair as he battled the urgency pounding through his body, his heart.
"Then take me,” she murmured, her lips trailing fire where they touched. The gentle dance of their minds grew heated, wildfire ready to explode. God, she felt so good, so right. How in the hell was he going to walk away from the emotions underlying the heat of all this? How could he deny the harmony of their minds? How could either of them?
Nikki ran a hand through the dark silk of his hair. “Hush, Michael. Just love me. Let tomorrow worry about itself."
Give me one night without fear, one night to remember when Jasper is gone, and you walk away. Pain flickered through her heart, but she ignored it. She had no time, no wish, to do anything more than respond to the heat of his touch, the warmth of his thoughts. Lord, it felt as if she had known him all his life, had been responding to him for the three hundred years he had mentioned—as though his touch and his kiss and his warmth were as vital as air. As vital as the blood that thundered through his heart and hers.
Maybe they were. But that was something she'd worry about tomorrow. She had this moment and time without Jasper in her mind. She had to make the most of it.
* * * *
Michael gently caressed Nikki's thigh. Lord, it felt so good, lying here beside her in the warm aftermath of their lovemaking. Her thoughts were as quiet as the gentle rhythm of her heart. In a few minutes she'd be asleep. But as much as he wanted Nikki to rest, he couldn't let her, not just yet.
"Nikki, we need to talk,” he said softly.
She stirred and murmured something he couldn't quite catch. He reached out, brushing silken strands of hair away from her face. “Nikki?"
Her eyes opened, and a smile twitched the corners of her mouth. Only the sudden wisp of wariness in her thoughts made him resist the impulse to kiss her.
"I gather vampires are immune to the make-love-then-collapse syndrome that seems to affect so many men."
He smiled. “No, they're not.” He would have liked nothing more than to fall to sleep with her in his arms. But Jasper was out there. “We have to talk."
"What about?” A flicker of guilt ran through her thoughts, and he wondered if she were already regretting their lovemaking.
"About Tommy."
It was not what she'd expected, and her thoughts were suddenly chaotic. “Why?"
"Jasper's using your fear against you, Nikki. He's using past demons to grind down your resistance." She tensed. “What do you mean?"
She knew what he meant. He could see the images in her mind, skittering like scared rabbits. “I mean it's time you faced the past, time for you to let go of the guilt." She was silent for a long moment. Michael held her quietly, listening to the beat of her heart, a rhythm filled with fear.
"Tommy has nothing to do with any of this,” she muttered finally. Heat crept through her cheeks as she looked away. “You've no right to know, no right to ask."
And no right to care. It was a thought that tasted bitter. But one way or another, she had to face the guilt centered around that part of her past, or she would have very little hope of resisting Jasper's final call. In many ways, Jasper represented the darker side of human existence, and guilt was part of that darkness. It drew her into Jasper's sphere of influence, made it all that much easier for him to attack her.
"Jasper wouldn't use Tommy's memory if he didn't think it would help break your spirit, Nikki. It's time you told someone what happened."
Her face was as pale as the tangled sheets beneath them. “If I tell you, will you promise never to bring the subject up again?"
"Yes.” It was an easy thing to promise, given he had no intention of staying around. He might have the desire to stay, but desire was something he rarely gave in to. She stared at her feet. “I met Tommy several months after my parents’ death. I was pretty messed up at the time, and on the run. The authorities wanted to place me with my grandparents, who I'd never met.”
