Page 113 of The Vampire's Mercy

“Who was he?” I asked, a cracked timbre in my voice.

He pushed himself off the doorframe, slowly striding toward me. “I couldn’t see his face.” Closer, closer, tracing the back of his hand across his abs. “And he didn’t tell me his name. But I knew him. I know him.”

“Oh,” I whispered, backing into the mirror. “You saw nothing else?”

“No. Does this mean your power lingers inside me? That it’s working without you singing?”

I bit my lip for a moment. “Erm, yeah. It might. Which would be good, right?”

Slowly, seductively, he nodded his head. “Yes.”

Please don’t come any closer…

“I heard what you said earlier,” he practically purred.

“I…” I cleared the squeak from my throat. “I thought you might have.”

He wiped the side of his mouth with his thumb, eyes raking my body. “It wasn’t anything I didn’t know already.”

My pulse quickened, skin alight with hungry sparks. “I…what…fuck.”

The vampire king came right up to me, his lips pausing within kissing distance of mine.

More like biting distance.

A gasp escaped me, his proximity excruciating, exhilarating. I ran my tongue over my bottom lip, so tempted to press my lips to his.

I watched him smile, his fangs out. “Is this too close, Paris Raine?”

Yes.

No.

Fuck.

Dick so hard it might burst its way out of my jeans, I turned my head away. “Yeah. You’re too close.”

Man, I’d never been this flustered in my life.

He chuckled, stepping back and folding his big arms. “Do you have any theories on who this golden-haired man might be?”

I clutched the base of my throat. “No idea.” Whoa, it was hot in here. I fanned myself with my hand, sidestepping out of his closeness. “Sorry.”

“You’re not sorry.”

“No, I’m not.” That felt good to say.

He looked too amused for his own good. “Is this torture for you yet?”

“Yet?” His abs were a real attention grabber. “It’s pure hell.”

“Doesn’t seem that way,” he countered. “In fact, you have an easy life here, considering you’re a murderer.”

Good. I liked this side of him. It worked wonders on the boner, reminding me of the hate between us.

“Takes one to know one,” I countered, which wasn’t my best retort.

“Indeed.” He looked me over again. “Memories, eh?”