To Honor: Vampire Assassin League #22 by Jackie Ivie Read Free Book Online Page B

fingers slid up his belly, trailing absolute fire that licked at flesh, before reaching bone. It tantalized. Excited. Addicted. He sucked in a breath that matched hers. He gave the same exhalation, too.
    “You are not listening.”
    She flashed an amused smile at him. His entire frame pulsed in place.
    “Oh, yes. I am. Right here. Listening.”
    “B-but...you are not hearing. Or I am woefully poor with words, watashi no ai. ”
    Somehow she moved closer. Her hand reached his throat, snaked about his neck, tipped his head toward her. Takeshi glanced down at the display of cleavage at the neckline of her yukata . Torment stole his reason. Sanity. Escaping hell sounded easier than containing the rush of emotion that swelled within him. His muscles bunched into knots. Grew painful.
    “You keep calling me that...and you shouldn’t. We just met.”
    “Yes. Thankfully.”
    “What?”
    “You are watashi no ai, Christine. I recognized you instantly.”
    “Well...I think you need to get out more.”
    She went on tiptoes, going close enough that each panted breath flashed across his lips. Her eyes were half-closed, too. Sparking green daggers right at him. Easily reaching his heart. And getting embedded there. The bestial energy he was holding back flexed with such power, he started shaking. It wasn’t from exertion anymore but from a harsher emotion: fear.
    “Takeshi?”
    His head dipped until his chin nearly touched his chest. He licked his lips. His tongue got nicked. He sucked on it for another moment while the entire planet seemed to wait. And then he told her the truth.
    “My heart started beating the moment we met. I took my first breath. Felt chill again. Warmth. Emotion. You are my mate, Christine. My one. And only. That is why I call you my love. Because it is true.”
    “Oh. Wow. I thought you woefully poor with words.”
    “And I truly must warn you...while I still can.”
    “About what?”
    “I haven’t told you everything. There is more. I have a dark side. A...blackness beyond explanation.”
    “Okay. I think you just went from incredibly sexy to super hot.”
    If she glanced toward his mouth she couldn’t fail to see his fangs. There was no hiding them now. They’d gone to a puncturing sharpness and throbbed with thirst. But she didn’t alter her gaze. And nothing about its power on him weakened.
    “You’re also just a bit dense.”
    His brows rose.
    “Don’t give me that look. I don’t know why I’m acting like this, either. I’m normally frigid. Aloof. Trust me. This is totally against my nature. But – like I keep saying – you’re incredibly sexy, uh...you have the hottest body I’ve ever seen, and um. Well. What else can I say? That looks like a really nice bed over there.”
    “You must listen to me first. I am a vamp—!”
    His words cut off as she lifted on tip-toes and touched her lips to his. He thought he’d readied but there was no preparing for this. He didn’t have the vampiric side under control. He barely had it leashed. Her kiss was too perfect. Too beatific. Too unbelievable. His fangs sliced her lip flesh. The first taste of their comingled fluid sent the world right off its axis, tilting the stone they stood on. Takeshi shifted his feet, tightened his legs muscles, and strove to maintain balance.
    Time stopped. Fireworks went off behind his eyelids. His body took a plunge into the deepest, coldest ice-water bath. Before being shot through an inferno. Launched into the sky. To soar among the clouds.
    The power within him roared to dominance. Overtaking. Consuming. Turning him into a creature of passion and intensity. Takeshi grabbed her to him, blended his groan with her moan, and a moment later they slammed into the mattress. The landing unlatched their kiss. And he replaced it with a plunge of his fangs into her throat.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Something wild took charge. Something massive. Intense. Overpowering. It grabbed. Demanded participation. And then it emboldened. To