Page 9 of Immortal Bastard (The Order of Vampires)

“Not anymore. But…I don’t mind a little pain.”

His gaze was transfixed on the twin silver hoops. Gently, he traced the ring, moving the tiny ball and engorging her nipples all the more. She moaned and his hungry gaze flashed to hers. “Why would you do this to your body?”

“Because I like the way it looks and, well, they feel good.”

“How could this feel good?”

“The sensitivity makes me more responsive.”

His head tilted, and his attention snagged on her neck. He brushed her hair away from her shoulders and ran a fingertip up her throat and frowned. “What is this?”

Her hand lifted to her neck, cupping her skin to hide the tattoo. Damn young adult books! Although it was only two tiny dots with a trickle of crimson, it was one of her most regrettable tattoos. “That…is the mark of a childish phase.”

“Phase?”

She could explain that dumb tattoos happened and this was one of hers. The result of too much paranormal fiction, a bottle of rum, and the pressure of impressionable friends. “It’s a vampire bite,” she mumbled, embarrassed.

He stiffened. “I beg your pardon?”

Here she was, pierced tits and tattoos out while he used words like pardon. But she refused to pretend she was someone else. “I was drunk when I got it.”

He cupped her breast. “Who did this to you?”

“I got them pierced when we were in Florida for senior week. The place probably isn’t even there anymore.”

“Male or female?”

What did that matter? She had to think back to recall such irrelevant details. “It was a guy.”

He looked away, a low growl rumbling from his chest. “I want to see all of you.”

She hesitated. Was he planning on inspecting every inch of her the way he inspected her nipples? It was unsettling to have anyone look at her so closely.

He stood, catching her hand and pulling her to her feet. “Remove your dress.”

Tugged from the white leather chair, she hesitated. What kind of kink was this? She liked the edge of uncertainty but wasn’t sure about his endgame. “Why?”

“Because I asked.”

She cocked her head. He didn’t ask. He commanded. And he was going to have to give her something more.

“Your body’s a work of art, Delilah. It was designed for worship and I plan to honor every inch of you.”

Good enough. The dress fell from her chest, snagging at her hips.

“Keep going. I want to see all of you.”

His gentle command had her sex pulsing. The slow buzz of the zipper loosened the material as her insides clenched with desire. The dress fell to the floor, leaving her standing before him in nothing more than a thong, Mary Janes, and her painted skin.

His breath labored. No words in her vocabulary could describe the intense look on his face. Desire. Longing. Hunger. Lust. They all came up short. No one had ever looked at her that way.

“Men gave you these markings?”

Again, with the men. “Some were done by women.”

He circled her slowly, dragging a fingertip from her left shoulder to her right as he inspected every inch of her tattooed flesh. Chills raced down her spine as he outlined the tree of life. He caressed the swell of her hip, his touch dipping under the elastic of her panties. With a quick snap, the material fell to her ankles and her breath hitched.

He dropped to his haunches and kissed the spattering of monarch butterflies taking flight over her thigh, his face only inches from her sex. Her insides quivered as liquid fire pooled at her core.

Dragging his face to her stomach, his eyes closed as his nose tickled her flesh, lighter than a feather’s touch. “You’re so much more exotic than I ever imagined.”

He framed her hips reverently as if her body were a sacrament. His thumb traced the adorned silhouette of Mother Nature above her sex and drifted lower, pausing when he discovered another piercing peeking from beneath the soft hair at her apex.

He looked up at her, startled. “You have one here, too?” His words fanned over her flesh as his thumb gently grazed her clit.

She sucked in a sharp breath. “That one’s especially sensitive.”

Holding her stare, he leaned forward. She whimpered as his tongue traced over the piercing, sliding into her as his grip tightened on her hips.

Heart hammering, her nails dug into the thick muscle of his shoulders and she widened her stance, gasping when his tongue penetrated deeply. A metal tray clattered to the ground as he lifted her, depositing her once more on the chair.

His mouth dropped between her thighs as he pressed her legs wide, spreading her and making a feast of her body. She cried out in pleasure as his tongue stabbed into her sex. He touched her with animal-like instinct, growling as he tasted her. Holding her with vicious possession, he licked her clit and ate her pussy. The first wave of euphoria tumbled into something bigger. Pleasure ripped through her, fast and overwhelming, and she screamed in ecstasy.