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Transfixed, Liam exhaled a shuddering breath, rocking his hips between her thighs. “Take more,” he commanded.

She grasped his wrist, drew his thumb into the heat of her mouth, and sucked. His tempting flavor hit her palate, and she moaned, grinding her slick folds against his erection. Liam’s blood—far better than Dante’s herbs—was the sweetest of aphrodisiacs. His essence took her back to her youth, to the woman she was before she’d taken a monster into her bed.

Liam tasted of sultry, smoke-filled nights. Bright lights, adoring crowds. Young love and a world full of endless possibilities.

“Holy shit,” he groaned, his eyes glazed, pupils dilated. “Swear it feels just like you’re sucking my cock.”

At his crass words, she snorted, releasing him with a playful pop. Liam’s heated gaze turned primal. He pulled her against his chest and cupped the back of her head, guiding her face to his throat. “Go on, do it.”

She nuzzled her nose beneath his chin. “My darling. This is a bad idea.” For a vampire, what he proposed was the exact opposite of safe sex. Dangerous, life-altering things could happen when you mixed feeding with sex. Even in her inebriated state, she knew this.

She drew a deep breath, filling her lungs with the scent of Dante’s glorious candles and Liam’s tantalizing musk. Tingles of euphoria sang through her veins. Lust drove every cautious thought from her head. This was a night made for living in the moment, for not holding back. For throwing caution to the wind. She couldn’t remember when she’d last felt this way. She never wanted it to end.

For so long, she’d been hollow, empty. Liam could satisfy both needs. Her stomach clenched, and her fangs burned. His pulse beat against her chest. Her heart skipped, matching the rhythm. Their rhythm. Hers and Liam’s. Some whisper of a rational thought warned this was something she should avoid.

Eyes glazed, Liam stared at her exposed fangs with blatant need. With one look, she was lost. “Want you feeding from me as you fuck me, Viv,” he demanded, pressing his hand to the small of her back. His massive erection aligned with her throbbing core.

Hearing those words put her over the edge, taking her to a place with zero restraint. She set her hands on his chest and leaned in. More than eager, he turned his head, baring his throat.

Lost to the moment, she tapped his vein at the same time she drove her sex down on his shaft. Liam’s shout rang in her ears. His essence danced over her tongue, a rich, heady wine. He filled every part of her, washing away the emptiness.

She thrust her hips, riding him harder, faster. Her orgasm ripped through her. Sparked up her spine. Fractured her mind. She whispered words against his flesh. Endearments, nonsense that tumbled past her lips without thought, without restraint. She sealed the bite with a glide of her tongue.

Before she could even think of catching her breath, Liam twisted, and she found herself on her back, knees hauled up, and he was deep inside of her again.

“Tell me you want this, Viv,” he panted against her neck while at the same time pounding into her.

In that moment, she had no desire to bind his hands, knowing instinctively this male would never harm her. With Liam, she was safe.

“Yes, don’t stop,” she cried, her orgasm building again. She loved his heavy weight bearing down on her. Loved the powerful thrust of his hips. Loved the dark hunger she sensed rising in him. His rough hands on her flesh. She’d done this. Driven him to the point of madness. To a place where neither of them had any control.

“Not leaving you behind. Taking you with me, Viv.”

“I’m with you,” she panted. And she was. Right there. Her second orgasm washed over her, just as intense as the first. Sparks twinkled in her vision, electricity rolling up her spine. She sank her fingers into his shoulders.

“That’s it,” he groaned. “Feeling you...”

She held tight to him while he drove into her, reveling in the immense power that was Liam. Every muscle in his massive body seemed strained to its limit. He thrust harder, pounding her sex. Then planted himself deep, roaring his pleasure. The intensity of his climax sent new ripples of bliss shooting through her system.

Before she could form a coherent thought, he was kissing her mindless again. He blazed a trail of heat to her jaw, down the column of her throat to her breast. When he took her nipple into his mouth, warmth pooled between her legs. She arched her back, mind clouded with a lust-filled haze. “Mon coeur,” she purred. “Again?”

Against her neck, he growled, “I’ll never get enough of you, Viv.”

Her heart sang.

Nineteen

Vivian pressedher palm to her throbbing forehead and groaned. Cotton packed the space between her ears. Her body woke, one aching inch at a time. She cracked a blurry eye open and surveyed her surroundings. Colorful swaths of silk floated over the canopy bed that was not her own. Suspended from the ceiling, a wide-leafed fan stirred a lazy breeze, cooling her bare flesh. Hand-carved serrations textured the surface of the stone walls. That’s right. She was in Pyrrhos. Dante’s honored guest.

The thick arm thrown over her shoulders she identified as Liam’s. Praise the Goddess. Waking to a stranger—or Dante—in her bed was the last thing she wanted. Liam’s massive frame was curled around her body. Hot. Heavy. While sound asleep, he’d surrounded her like a protective shield. He stood between her and anything that might cause her harm. Perhaps that was why she felt so rested. Last night, she’d had the deepest, most dreamless sleep she’d experienced in decades.

Despite feeling rested, her body ached in many strange and delightful ways. Memories flitted through her brain. She squeezed her thighs together, and a smile curled her lips. Her sex ached with a delicious throb.Liam, you beast.Images of their sweat-slicked bodies flicked through her mind. Primal, animalistic images. If only she could remember.

Curse those fragrant herbs.

She could recount every detail leading up to the lap dance she’d given Liam, or rather—Dante and Liam. Then her memory grew fuzzy, bits and pieces twisting around in her head. Despite her pounding temples, she couldn’t summon an ounce of regret.

Last night, dancing for a cheering crowd. Feeling their energy, basking in their admiration. It was something she thought she’d lost.