Surprised, he turned his head to her, but said nothing.

She didn't know why she felt compelled to correct his misconception, but she did. Perhaps his tenderness and the understanding that he had shown while in her former cell had done something to her. Or maybe she was just getting soft.

"We were never raped."

Surprise lit up his eyes. "But the vampires . . . the bite. You must have experienced the arousal. And with somebody as beautiful as you . . . "

He thought she was beautiful?

"I'm sorry to say, but I don't see what vampire could resist. I didn't mean to pry, and it doesn't matter that you don't want to tell me. I had no right to mention it. Just forget it."

He appeared embarra.s.sed. And so utterly human.

"I know about the s.e.xual arousal, I've been through it so many times, but the guards, they made sure the leeches never touched us that way. It would have reduced the potency of our blood, they said."

"What?" Confusion tainted his voice.

"They claimed that if a girl experienced s.e.xual gratification, it would negate the drugging effect her blood had. That's why they never raped us. They weren't going to blemish the merchandise. That's also why we were shackled to our beds at daytime. So we couldn't touch ourselves."

Oliver's mouth dropped open as the news sank in.

Ursula nodded slowly, remembering the sleepless hours during which she'd fought her s.e.xual urges. "And during nighttime, they used mind control on us so we wouldn't try to m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.e when we were alone."

"You mean . . . ?" He stopped himself.

She looked away, suddenly embarra.s.sed that she'd been so frank. She didn't have to tell him about this part of her ordeal, but for some reason, she wanted him to understand what she'd been through. "I haven't had an o.r.g.a.s.m since they captured me three years ago."

At her admission, she heard him exhale sharply. "Oh my G.o.d!"

She felt heat suffuse her cheeks.

"But you're so full of pa.s.sion." He reached for her hand, making her look at him.

"I wish I could make it up to you." Instantly he seemed to realize what he'd said. "Oh G.o.d, no, that's not what I meant. I meant . . . "

She knew exactly what he meant. It should make her recoil, yet it didn't. Even though Oliver was a vampire, over the last few hours she'd seen another side of him. He cared. He'd listened and put his disbelief aside. He'd made an effort to help her. And the way he'd behaved when she'd been afraid to enter her former prison cell was downright sensitive. As if he could sense what she felt. Was it so wrong to want to lean against him for support? For some warmth?

"Maybe you can . . . " Her voice trembled slightly when she continued, "I crave to be touched." Touched by him. By the vampire who had rescued her.

Oliver reached for her, his hand cupping her cheek. "You want me to touch you?"

Ursula closed her eyes and leaned into his palm. "Would it be such a hardship?"

She felt him shake his head. "Do you really think I'm cute, I mean, for a vampire?"

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. Cute? It didn't even begin to describe what she felt. "Cute was maybe not the right word."

"What's the right word then?" he asked and inched closer.

Her gaze dropped to his parted lips. "What would you do if I said I found you . . . hot?"

Oliver groaned. "Are you playing with me, Ursula? Because if you are, you should stop, or I'll do something you might not want me to."

She scooted closer to him. "And what would that be?"

No, she wasn't playing with him. She wanted him. And she was sure now that it wasn't the residual arousal from the vampire's bite. Too many hours had pa.s.sed since. No, what she felt right now was different. She wanted Oliver. And she wanted to forget.

"I thought you hated vampires," he deflected.

"I do." But she couldn't conjure up that same feeling for Oliver.

"Then why would you want to sleep with me?"

She brushed her index finger over his lower lip. "When you kissed me in your house, you made me want more." So much more than she'd hoped for in the last three years.

"That simple?"

Ursula gave a short shake of her head. "No. Nothing is simple. But I want to feel alive again. Can you do that for me? Can you help me feel alive?"

Oliver's face came closer, and his lips approached her mouth until they were only an inch from hers. "Anything you want, baby."

18.

Oliver slanted his lips over hers and took her mouth in a kiss, first gently and softly in case she changed her mind, but when she didn't, he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.

He couldn't believe this turn of events. From the moment Ursula had entered the abandoned building, he'd instinctively known that she was telling the truth. He'd sensed her fear. Finding the wallet from a client of the blood brothela"as he would call ita"was confirmation enough for him that he could trust her.

But finding out that she hadn't been raped, that none of those despicable vampires had laid their dirty paws on her, made him rejoice. At the same time he cursed them for denying her any sort of carnal pleasure.

He severed the kiss and looked at her. "Let's go home." Then he would take her to his bed and make sure she got the release she needed.

To his surprise Ursula shook her head. "I can't wait. Please." She eyed the bench in the back of the van.

Oliver's heart skipped a beat. "Now? Here? In the van?"

More blood pumped into his c.o.c.k, making him harder than a crow bar. At the same time hunger surged through him. He had to feed, and soon, or he wouldn't be master of his own actions anymore.

"Yes," she murmured and slid her hand onto his thigh, then moved it upwards.

When her fingers reached the outline of his hard-on, he groaned, his hunger instantly forgotten. "Get in the back."

He locked the doors, then followed her. When he saw her hand opening the top b.u.t.ton of her jeans, he stopped her. She stared at him in surprise.

"If you think I'm going to rush this, you're wrong."

"Buta""

He smiled. "No but. If you want to sleep with me, then we're going through all the motions: the kissing, the touching, the seduction. I'm not going to pa.s.s up an opportunity to make love to the most beautiful girl I've ever seen and just f.u.c.k her like an animal."

Her expression softened, and her cheeks colored in a pretty pink, while her eyelids fluttered. "You want to make love to me?"

Oliver moved closer and shelved her chin on his palm. "And I want to make you come so hard that you think the world is exploding around you. Isn't that what you want?"

Her lashes swung up, almost touching her eyebrows. Her eyes shimmered. "Oliver?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you so good to me?"

"Because you need somebody who's good to you." And more than anything, he wanted to be that person.

"Are we gonna talk all night, or are you going to kiss me?"

He chuckled. Ah, how he loved an eager woman! "In my mind I've never stopped kissing you."

She moved closer, her mouth less than an inch from his now. "Make it reality then."

When he took her mouth again, the world around him blended into the background. Soft lips pressed against him, her hands pulled him closer, urging him to drag her body against his. With one movement, he pulled her onto his lap, so she straddled him. His hand on her lower back, he pressed her to him.

"That's better," he murmured.

Oliver captured her lips again and delved into the warm caverns of her mouth. He stroked and licked, tasted and explored. Her response was just as eager: with strong strokes, she played with his tongue. l.u.s.t surged through him, sending hot bolts of fire through his core and into the tip of his c.o.c.k.

He moaned into her mouth, an action she echoed a few seconds later. Slanting his head, he sought a deeper connection, a fiercer kiss. Her hands dug into his shoulders as if she was holding on for dear life, and her response to him became even more pa.s.sionate.

Then he suddenly felt her lick along his teeth. Shock catapulted through him when he felt a corresponding itching in his gums. He knew what this meant: his fangs were about to descend.

Ursula licked again. He severed the kiss, holding her a few inches away from him, breathing hard.

"Don't!"

Startled, she stared at him, apprehension spreading over her face. "What's wrong?"

He dropped his lids. G.o.d, how could he explain this to her without reminding her of what he was and what she was potentially unleashing in him?

"Please, am I doing something wrong?" Her voice cracked.

No, he couldn't disappoint her, couldn't let her cry again. But he had to be honest with her. When he raised his eyes to meet hers, he swallowed hard.

"When you lick my teeth like that, I can feel my fangs descend."

Her breath hitched.

"Fangs are the most erogenous zones in a vampire. They want to feel you licking them. But I can't allow that, because if I do . . . " He hesitated, searching her face for signs of fear.

"What'll happen?"

Oliver's gaze dropped to the pulsing vein at her neck. "Once my fangs are out, it won't take long until I can't hold back my hunger for blood. I would bite you."

She sucked in a quick gulp of air.

Seeing that she was withdrawing from him, he quickly added, "But I won't. I promise you. I won't do that to you. You've been through enough. Please give me a chance. If we're careful . . . "

He hoped he wasn't lying. Could he truly hold back his hunger for the next hour so he could make love to her without subjecting her to the one thing she hated most: being bitten by a vampire?

"Careful, how?" she asked and approached slowly, her head dipping to the crook between his neck and shoulder. "Like this?" She pressed a gentle kiss on his skin, then another one.

Oliver closed his eyes, allowing the tender caress to sweep him away. "Perfect."

Her hands tugged on his T-shirt, pulling it from his jeans.

"Take it off," she whispered into his ear.

He did as she demanded, welcoming the cool air that touched his heated skin. But the relief didn't last, because a second later, her hands were on his chest, caressing him. His head fell back against the headrest. Wasn't he supposed to be the one seducing her, not the other way around? Clearly, things weren't going exactly as planned, not that he was complaining.

However, he'd made her a promise: to give her s.e.xual pleasure. And he would not break his promise. It was time to take back the reins.

Oliver reached for her T-shirt, pulling it from her jeans. "Lift your arms."

She didn't hesitate and let him strip her of her T-shirt, exposing her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s to him.

"Beautiful."

Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were small, but perfectly formed, round and firm. He cupped one and squeezed lightly, then dipped his head to suck her nipple into his mouth. The little rosebud was already hard when he swiped his tongue over it. Her skin tasted of citrus fruits, pure and young. Innocent. The thought suddenly threw up a question.

"Are you a virgin?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Good," he murmured against her soft skin. "Because I would hate for you to feel pain when I'm inside you." No matter how short-lived that pain would be.

He returned to teasing her nipple, then paid her other breast the same attention, all the while listening and watching for her reactions so he could figure out what she liked most. He worked his way down to her stomach then shifted her with one move, placing her with her back down on the bench, so he could bend over her.

While his lips were blazing a trail down to her navel, his hands were already opening her jeans and lowering the zipper. When he pulled on her pants and looked up, he noticed her watching him, her lips parted, her breaths uneven. Desire shone from her eyes, and her cheeks were as flushed as her entire torso.

"I haven't done this in so long," she said, her voice low and almost apologetic.

He chuckled softly. "It's like riding a bike." Only tonight she would ride him. The thought sent another wave of heat through his body, igniting him even further.

He freed her of her jeans and panties, pulling off her shoes in the process, then let the items fall to the floor. She lay in front of him in the nude. He was glad for his vampire vision which allowed him so see her in her full glory despite the dim light.