Lara Adrian M

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breaking loose. His own was roaring up on him fast as well, his shaft surging,
leaping, ready to blow. The second Tess came, Dante surrendered to his own
release. The orgasm crashed into him, laying him low, wringing him out. He was
lost to it, unable to stop the fierce pulsations that seemed to go on
endlessly as Tess settled on top of him in a sated, heavy
sleep.
After a while, Dante unclamped his hands from the headboard and brought them
down gently on Tess
s slack body. He wanted to be inside her, needed it like he needed air to
breathe, but she was vulnerable right now and he would not use her. Now that
she was out of danger, there would be other times for them to be together like
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this, better times.
God, there had to be.
CHAPTER Thirty-one
T
ess came awake gently, her face breaking through the surface of a warm, dark
wave that floated her body toward a welcoming shore. She took a breath and
felt cool, cleansing air rush into her lungs. Her eyes blinked open, once,
twice, the lids feeling heavy as though she d been asleep for days.
Hello, angel, said a deep, familiar voice very near her face.
Tess lifted her gaze until she saw him Dante, looking down on her, his eyes
sober but smiling. He stroked her forehead, smoothing damp strands of hair out
of her face.
How do you feel?
Okay. She felt better than okay, her body resting on a soft mattress,
cocooned in black silk sheets and the strong shelter of Dante s arms. Where
are we?
Someplace safe. This is where I live, Tess. Nothing can harm you here.
She registered his assurances with a pang of confusion, something shadowy and
cold hovering at the edges of her consciousness. Fear. She didn t feel it now,
not for him, but the feeling lingered like a mist clinging to her skin,
chilling her.
She had been afraid a short while ago deathly afraid.
Tess reached a hand up to her neck. Her fingers made contact there with a
patch of inflamed, tender skin. Like a sudden flash of lightning, a memory
ripped through her mind: a hideous face, with eyes as bright as lit coals, a
mouth opened wide in a terrifying hiss, baring huge sharp teeth.
I was attacked, she murmured, the words forming even before the memory took
full root. They came up to me on the street and they... attacked me. Two of
them dragged me off the street and they
I know, Dante said, carefully removing her hand from her neck. But you re
all right, Tess. It s over, and you don t have to be afraid now.
In a blur of recollection, the night s events played in fast-forward through
her mind. She relived it all, from her walk past Ben s apartment and the
realization that someone other than him was inside the place, to the shocking
sight of seeing the large men if they even were men at all leaping down from
the balcony to the street below and chasing after her. She saw their terrible
faces, felt the bruising strength of the hands that seized her and pulled her
into the dark where the real brutality was to begin.
She could still feel the terror of that moment, when one man held her arms and
the other pinned her down with the weight of his huge muscular body. She d
thought she would be raped, probably beaten as well, but her attackers intent
was only slightly less horrific.
They had bitten her.
The two savage monsters held her down like felled prey on the floor of a dark,
dilapidated shed. Then they bit her at the neck and wrist and began to drink
her blood.
She had been certain she was going to die there, but then something miraculous
happened. Dante happened. He had killed them both, a fact Tess had not so much
seen as felt. Lying on the rough plywood floor of the shed, the smell of her
own blood choking her senses, she had felt Dante s presence.
She had felt his rage fill the small space like a tempest of black heat.
You... you were there too, Dante. Tess sat up, her body seeming miraculously
strong, no lingering aches from her ordeal. Now that her mind was clearing,
she felt energized and refreshed, like she had just awoken from a deep,
rejuvenating sleep. You found me there. You saved me, Dante.
His smile seemed haunted, as if he wasn t sure he agreed and didn t feel
comfortable with her gratitude. But he wrapped his arms around her and
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pressed a tender kiss to her lips. You re alive, and that s all that
matters.
Tess held him close, feeling almost a part of him in some strange way. His
heartbeat echoed in the cadence of her own, his body s warmth seeming to seep
through her skin and bones to warm her from within. She felt connected to him
now in a very visceral way. The sensation was extraordinary, so powerful it
took her aback.
Now that you re awake, Dante murmured against her ear, there s someone
waiting in the other room who d like to see you.
Before she could respond, Dante got off the big bed and walked toward the
adjacent living room.
From behind him, Tess couldn t help admiring the masculine prowl of his body,
the sexy network of multicolored tattoos over his back and shoulders
shifting gracefully with every rolling stride. He disappeared into the
other room, and Tess heard a soft animal whine that she recognized at once.
Harvard! she exclaimed as Dante came back into the bedroom, carrying the
squirming, adorable little terrier in his arms. You saved him too?
Dante shook his head. I saw him running loose before I found you and brought
you here. Once I
knew you were safe, I sent someone back out to get him.
He set the dog down on the bed, and Tess was immediately tackled by the perky
furball. Harvard licked her hands and face as she hoisted him up for a hug,
overjoyed to see him after thinking she d lost him on the street outside Ben s
apartment.
Thank you, she said, smiling through a sudden mist of tears as the happy
reunion continued. I have to confess, I think I m totally in love with this
little beast.
Lucky dog, Dante drawled. He sat down on the edge of the bed, watching as
Tess s chin got a thorough, enthusiastic washing. His expression was too
carefully schooled, too grave when her eyes met his. There are... things we
need to talk about, Tess. I had hoped you might never really be part of it,
but
I keep dragging you further in. After tonight, you need to understand what
happened, and why.
Nodding in silence, she let go of Harvard and looked at Dante s bleak gaze.
Part of her already knew where the conversation was going uncharted territory,
for sure, but after what she d seen tonight, Tess knew that things she had
long taken for granted as normal and real were somehow thrown off kilter.
What were they, Dante? Those men who attacked me they weren t normal men.
Were they?
His head shook vaguely. No, they weren t men. They were dangerous creatures,
blood addicts. We call them Rogues.
Blood addicts, she said, her stomach lurching at the very idea. She looked
down at her wrist, where a bite mark glowed red, but healing, on her skin. My
God. That s what they were doing, drinking my blood? I don t believe this.
There s only one name for that kind of psychotic behavior, and it s vampire.
Dante s piercing, unwavering stare wasn t even close to a refutation.
Vampires don t exist, she told him firmly. This is reality we re talking
about, after all. They can t really exist. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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