Page 117 of Blood as Sweet as Roses

And I come again, a heaving, desperate flare of pleasure that sweeps me up and holds me tight. I exist only in this one, tender, throbbing moment…a vessel for her, belonging to her completely…

I hear her echoed orgasm sync with mine as she thrusts inside me one final time.

Then she comes to her hand and knees over me, pushing my hair from my face to sprinkle kisses across my cheeks…

“Oh, Paige…” she whispers, tenderly.

And I come down from the intense experience, drifting pleasantly into her embrace.

I don’t remember coming back down to the suite. The next thing I recall is the cool, firm touch of smooth skin under my cheek.

My eyes open, but I’m surrounded by a penetrating, complete darkness. For a second, I’m afraid, until a soft voice reaches out.

“It’s all right, Paige,” Crimson whispers. “You’re safe. No one can harm us here.”

In the blackness, I can see her eyes shimmering. My head is nestled in the crook of her arm, and my body is pressed up against her’s. It’s a little chilly, but I’m covered by a plush blanket.

For a moment, it feels like we’re in a dream.

“Are we in your coffin?” I ask.

“Yes,” she answers. Her voice sounds a little heavier than usual. She speaks slowly and deliberately, her words almost slurred. “I’m sorry I had to bring you here. I didn’t want to leave you alone after our time in the club, but I couldn’t stay in our main suite safely once the sun came up.”

A wonderful warmth blossoms in my chest.

“I’m happy you brought me here,” I sigh. “I like getting to sleep beside you.”

“I kept the lid open so there’s airflow,” she says. “But you’ll have to tell me if it’s too stuffy. I won’t be able to tell.”

“It’s perfect.”

I snuggle closer to her, burying my face in her chest. But the movement alerts me to a tender soreness in my hips, and I let out a surprised moan.

“Hurting, sweet one?” Crimson croons, her voice poised between concerned and teasing. Her fingers travel down my body, caressing me tenderly. “Would you like some of my blood, to ease the pain?”

“No, thank you, my king,” I reply happily. “I like how it aches. It brings back the memory.”

She leans down, and kisses me on the forehead, her chilly lips smooth and firm.

“You’re perfect, Paige,” she whispers.

I glow in the light of her compliment. She says it to me a lot, although I guess it’s an unusual phrase.

A strange thought crosses my mind, as she pulls me closer and strokes my hair.

When she says “You’re perfect,” it almost sounds like “I love you…”

But that couldn’t be what she means. It’s too much to wish for. She couldn’t feel the same way about me as I do about her.

Could she?

CHAPTER 41: THE STORY'S TOLD

Crimson

“And then she said, ‘I’m your daddy now,’ and she reached down andcut his cock offwith her dagger!”

Celine and Damien howl with laughter. Blood sloshes out of Damien’s wineglass and onto the floor of Celine’s office.