Page 47 of A Clash of Moonlight

She pressed against him, only his clothing and her thin night slip between them. He ran one hand down her hip. It slipped under the silk to her naked ass. He squeezed. His skin was sensitive from the sun, but he could take her again, would take her if she would have him.

He pulled her closer, making sure she felt just how much he wanted her.

She broke their kiss, trailing her lips to his jaw, his neck. He closed his eyes. He wanted her body and her blood. He wanted her passion and allegiance. The latter was something too complicated to consider. He could not—

“Would my blood help?”

He needed to focus, not dream of things that could not happen.

She eased back. “Would it?”

He blinked. Had she spoken those words out loud? “Your blood?”

She nodded. “Would it help you?”

“I…” He cleared his throat. He was unaccustomed to hesitating, to practically stuttering. “It would, but—”

“Then the answer is yes.” Her amber eyes met his.

“Nora,” he breathed. His fangs ached. His blood rushed. His cock grew even harder, imagining sinking into her as he bit, making her come as he sucked on her neck. Drank her in.

“Nora,” he said again.

“I want it.”

He swallowed, and his next words were undeniable proof he had lost his mind. “No. Not like this. Not here in a bathroom. Not because I was as dim-witted as a newly turned vampire.”

Her eyebrows raised. “It’s dim-witted to be with me?”

“You made me lose track of dawn. You made me rush here to assure you were okay despite the fact that there could have been another wolf present. Despite the fact that a wolf could come any moment.”

Her mouth flattened. She looked pained.

“I know I cannot remain here. I have already called for someone to pick me up.”

She looked away. Pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. Nodded.

“There’s no one nearby, is there? You can communicate over that long a distance?”

“I can. Yes.”

She moved away from him. “The full moon is next week.” She said the words as if they were a deadline. As if they were the end.

“You never accepted the wager,” he said.

“You know this can’t last.”

“There are no rules against it.”

She threw him a skeptical look. “You know my father would kill you.”

He would. That had been the whole point of this, but somehow Nora had changed his endgame. He wanted to live for the first time in decades.

Something twisted in his chest. “Time is the one thing I have always had, and now it is not enough.” He stood so very still, watching her. He had just handed her a confession that could destroy him. But she had offered him blood. Did that not mean she felt something for him? Something other than the need to fuck?

She chewed on her lower lip. He had never seen her so uncertain before.

He stepped toward her but stopped when she stiffened.