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“No.” She brushed back her hair. “But I think in other things.” Walking back to the door, she locked it, then turned to him. “I want you to take me to bed.”

He blinked as otherwise he might have goggled. “What?”

“There’s not a thing wrong with your hearing, so you heard me well enough. I want to lie with you. I thought I might try being coy or seductive, but then it seemed to me you’d have more respect for plain speaking.”

The snakes coiled inside him began to writhe. And bite. “Here’s plain speaking. Get out.”

“I see I’ve surprised you.” She wandered, running a finger over a stack of books. “That’s not easy to do, so as Blair would say, points for me.” She turned again, smiled again. “I’m green at this, so tell me, why would a man be angry to have a woman want to lie with him?”

“I’m not a man.”

“Ah.” She lifted a finger to acknowledge his point. “But still, you have needs, desires. You’ve desired me.”

“A man will put his hand on nearly any female.”

“You’re not a man,” she shot back, then grinned. “More points for me. You’re not keeping up.”

“If you’ve been drinking again—”

“I haven’t. You know I haven’t. But I’ve been thinking. I’m going to war, into battle. I may not live through it. None of us may. Good men died today, in mud and blood, and left broken hearts behind them.”

“And sex reaffirms life. I know the psychology of it.”

“That, aye that, true enough. And on a more personal level, I’m damned—I swear it—if I’ll die a virgin. I want to know what it is. I want to feel it.”

“Then order up a subject for stud, Majesty. I’m not interested.”

“I don’t want anyone else. I never wanted anyone before you, and haven’t wanted any but you since I first saw you. It shocked me, that I could have any such feelings for you, knowing what you are. But they’re inside me, and they won’t leave. I have needs, like anyone. And wiles enough, I think, to overcome your resistance if need be—though you may no longer be a randy young man.”

“Found your feet, haven’t you?” he muttered.

“Oh, I’ve always had them. I’m just careful where I step.” Watching him, measuring him, she trailed a hand down one of the bedposts. “Tell me, what difference would it make to you? An hour or two. You haven’t had a woman in some time, I’m thinking.”

He felt like an idiot. Stiff and foolish and needy. “That wouldn’t be your concern.”

“It might be. I’ve read that when a man’s been denied, we’ll say, for a while, it can affect his performance. But you shouldn’t worry about that, as I’ve nothing to compare it to.”

“Isn’t that lucky for me? Or would be if I wanted you.”

Her head cocked, and all he could see on her face was curiosity and confidence.

“You think you can insult me away. I wager—any price you name—that you’re hard as stone right now.” She moved toward him. “I want so much, Cian, for you to touch me. I’m tired of dreaming of it, and want to feel it.”

The ground was crumbling under his feet. Had been, he knew, since the moment she’d walked in. “You don’t know what you’re asking, what you’re risking. The consequences are beyond you.”

“A vampire can lie with a human. You won’t hurt me.” She reached up, drew the cross over her head, set it aside on the table.

“Trusting soul.” He tried for sarcasm, but the gesture had moved him.

“Confident. I don’t need or want a shield against you. Why do you never say my name?”

“What? Of course, I do.”

“No, you don’t. You refer to me, but you never look at me and say my name.” Her eyes were smoke now, and full of knowledge. “Names have power, taken or given. Are you afraid of what I might take from you?”

“There’s nothing for you to take.”

“Then say my name.”


Tags: Nora Roberts Circle Trilogy Paranormal