And To Hold: Vampire Assassin League #20 by Jackie Ivie Read Free Book Online

Grown heavy with some strange power she’d love to conjure and package. The rose-colored haze covering the floor had swelled in response. Then it had started swirling, moving not only smoke, but the array of gauze panels hanging all about the room. He wouldn’t know the haze came from a plethora of candles, and the motion from hidden fans, timed to respond to temperature. She wasn’t going to tell him, either. Wizardry couldn’t be relied on. She’d learned that much over the past five centuries, if nothing else.
    The air was still moving about, in a slow whirlpool fashion, stirring her hair, dampening her dress. It did the same to his skin, making it glisten, as if beckoning a touch. A taste.
    Oh. My. My.
    Her mate was a complete pleasure to view. Especially in thigh-length briefs that stretched to accommodate and define. Zachariah had looked very well-endowed, and extremely interested in what was happening.
    He still did.
    She had him on his back, arms spread, so his hands could be tied to slats in the headboard. That position put every inch of him on display. He wasn’t blindfolded. She needed eye connection. Besides, the way his eyes followed her was addictive. Exhilarating. Exciting. Fascinating. He had such gorgeous eyes. Surrounded with lush lashes that matched his hair. He didn’t move his gaze as she lowered the shoulders of her gown and let it fall to her ankles. He didn’t even blink, although his jaw hardened. Everything else on him lurched upwards. The mattress swayed. The bed frame creaked. And those briefs of his looked constrictive and uncomfortable with how that portion of him responded, as well.
    Ruxanna watched, with wide eyes and canines that fought her control. She approached the bed slowly, enjoying every bit of how the garters flexed against her thighs, the corset strained with each breath, the silk of her chemise slid along her nipples, raising them to sensitive darts of irritation.
    Then she was atop the mattress, right beside him; knees a hairsbreadth of space from his side; her hands hovering atop his chest. She didn’t even know how she’d gotten there. Being near him was risky. Volatile. And tremendously exciting. He was perfection. Ridges of muscle and skin. Taut muscle. Lightly tanned skin.
    And his veins were thick with blood...
    Oh dear. Oh my
.
    Zachariah was large. Well-defined. Perfect. She didn’t know where to start. He was breathing hard, and each breath dragged hers with it. Every inch of him called to her. Her hands shook. Her entire body pulled taut. His matched. She watched ridges of muscle harden throughout his chest. Belly. Abdomen. The skin silently begged a touch. A caress.
Oh.
This was dangerous. Just looking him over sparked a bonfire into existence. It sent heat licking through her veins, awakened any errant undead cells, strained against any restraint. Need mounted. Pressured. It was massive. Nearly uncontrollable.
    Not yet...
    She’d start with a finger. Just one. Perhaps an index finger. Left hand, since it was closest. She’d run it along his arm, following the vascularity on display. She envisioned skimming her touch down his arm, along a bicep, over the ribbon knotted at his wrist...lacing her fingers through his.
    Clasping hands.
    Her entire form pulsated at the visual. She almost made it reality. But to do that would lower her near him. She wouldn’t be able to keep from touching. Her skin against his...her breasts crushed...
    No! Not yet.
The hunger within flexed against its cage, making the bed lurch violently. His eyes narrowed, his lips parted, sending harsh breaths onto both of them. And hers were a perfect match.
    Perhaps, she should straddle him. Press her moistness against the ropes beneath the skin of his belly. Feel his heat. She envisioned her thighs spread apart on his belly. Her knees clenched to his sides. Her cavern closing in on him. Her tongue slid onto her lower lip, wetting it, and slicing along a canine. Damn it. She was trying to