Heart of a Warrior by Theodora Lane Read Free Book Online Page A

from him, she looked into his eyes. “Say it.”
    His amber eyes burned, but he didn’t speak.
    She growled and pushed Ivan down against the pillows. He held back, resisting her. She could wait. After all, she had forever.
    •
    Ivan watched her slide up and down on his shaft, fascinated by its disappearance inside her. At that moment, he couldn’t imagine being inside anyone else. The thought of Annie being with another man— mortal or vampire—was too painful for him to admit to himself, much less to her.
    Watching her face, he could tell she was close to coming but not there yet. He dropped his hand from her hip and found her mound. With his fingers, he parted her folds and located her clit. She gasped, moaned, and closed her eyes. Thumbing her clit, he worked the swollen nub. Her breath hitched and she leaned forward, her hands on his chest to brace her body.
    Ivan felt the first contraction of her orgasm squeeze his shaft. She moaned as it shook her. Each of her contractions brought him closer, and he opened himself to all his feelings and emotions. They flooded in, building his orgasm until it exploded as he spilled into her, filling her hot core in powerful spurts with his seed.
    His roar drowned out her moans as they rode a blended wave of ecstasy. At the last, she shuddered, released him from her inner grasp, slipped off, and lay down across his chest. He wrapped his arms around her to hold her close, treasuring her touch. Her body’s perfume and the scent of her woman’s juices mixed with his semen intoxicated him, and he drifted on a haze of sated desire.
    Annie rested her cheek against his chest as Ivan stroked her face with his fingertips. Asking the Elders for help might be tricky. They were dangerous. Possibly lethal. He’d made a point of staying out of their sight for a very long time. He’d learned long ago to not make any waves. Right now, all his instincts warned him away from them.
    Better to let the assassins go.
    Shit. That was no good. Eventually, they’d find him. And when they found him, they’d find Annie. When that happened, someone was going to die.
    — • —
    Following the man in black into the house, Fiona warned herself not to let her guard down. Not around this man. Especially not around him. He’d proven himself a skilled fighter, and she no longer had a sword. For a moment, she cursed herself for leaving it behind.
    He held out his arm, and the lizard moved onto the branch of a large potted tree. Then he walked over to the wall, and with a sort of reverence, placed his sword and scabbard on its rack. From its size and look, she could tell the rack was expensive and custom-made.
    She followed him into the kitchen. After pulling off his jacket, he slung it over the back of a chair. He opened the glass-fronted Sub-Zero refrigerator, pulled out a beer, and twisted off the cap.
    “Want one?” He held it out.
    “No, just something to eat.” She stood, arms folded, on the other side of the black granite counter and watched him. Now that they weren’t hacking and slashing their way around a dark crypt, she took a good look at him. Damn, he was handsome and tall. If he kissed her, would he bend down or lift her up? She shook those dangerous thoughts from her head.
    “How about a couple of steaks? I’m always in the mood for meat after a good session.”
    “Sure, steak is fine.”
    He pulled out two steaks wrapped in butcher paper, opened them, and seasoned them with a little salt and cracked pepper. At the stove, he turned the dial, and the center grill caught fire. He slapped the steaks on. The aroma of the meat sizzling filled her nostrils, and her mouth watered. She must have been hungrier than she realized.
    “The dishes are in that cabinet if you want to help,” he said over his shoulder.
    Fiona rummaged through the cabinets. She found a set of pewter plates and took down two, selected two nice, white cloth napkins from one drawer, and knives and forks from another drawer