Free Caressed by Night by Amanda J. Greene Page A

doors open.
    “Wait!”
    Against his will, his body froze. “I should go.” She was off the bed. “No.”
    He closed his eyes, his senses spiraling out of control. He could feel her coming towards him. He could hear the breath leaving her lungs and the blood flowing through her veins. The scent of her arousal was so strong he could taste it. God, she was sweet.
    “You have been through enough today,” he said. “I do not want to take advantage of you.”
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    Her fingers brushed his shoulder. He shuddered and jerked away.
    “Don’t leave.” Her voice was low, sad, and filled with longing.
    Dimitri silently cursed and slowly turned back to her.
    “I must.” His words were denial, even as hunger glowed in his eyes and lust radiated from his body.
    She took a step forward. She could feel the heat coming off his chest. Her tongue ran over her upper lip, her eyes locked with his, and Dimitri groaned.
    “You’re a good man, Dimitri.”
    “I am a vampire,” he snapped, revealing his razor-like fangs.
    “You could have taken advantage of me earlier in the garage, but you didn’t. You have saved me twice and you could take my blood anytime you like, but you won’t.”
    Kerstyn closed the space between them, placing her palms on his pectorals, caressing the firm muscles of his chest. She raised herself up on her toes, her lips a breath away from his.
    “You make me feel things.” Her fingers moved up his neck, tracing his jaw. “You are absolutely mesmerizing. Captivating.” Her hands tunneled through his damp hair. “When you touch me, it feels as if my body is glowing and I’ve never felt this way before now.” Leaning forward, her breasts pressed against his chest while their lips remained a whisper apart. “I want you, Dimitri.”
    “Kerstyn,” he whispered painfully, achingly. His last attempt to refuse her, but God, he wanted this. He needed this. He needed her. He needed her love, her warmth, and her passion. He needed her to take the cold away, to melt the ice surrounding his dead heart.
    “I want you to take me.”
    Unable to resist her invitation, he crushed her to him, his mouth claiming hers. The world fell away and all that existed was the two of them. He devoured her sweetness, feeding on her desire.
    He gripped her hips and ground himself against her core. Her moan of pleasure pushed him even further. Wild, untamed passion 54

    boiled his blood. Her hands slipped to his shoulders, her nails digging into his muscles.
    Dimitri had her on the bed in a flash of movement, never releasing her lips or her hips. He held her captive beneath him, his hard chest pressing down on her.
    Kerstyn was bathed in heat. She needed to escape her clothing.
    She needed to feel his naked form against her. She tugged on the waistband of his shorts before Dimitri captured her fingers, drew her arms over her head, and imprisoned her wrists with one hand.
    Tearing his mouth from hers, he attacked her throat, kissing, nipping, and sucking his way down to her slender shoulders, her collarbone. His free hand slipped under her shirt, up her side to caress her breast, his palm teasing her hard nipple.
    “Take my shirt off,” she moaned.
    Obliging, Dimitri released her arms, lifted his torso, and peeled her shirt off revealing creamy mounds with rose-pink tips. Kerstyn cried out as his mouth closed over her nipple. With each strong pull of his lips, each stroke of his tongue, each gentle nip, there was an answering rush of liquid heat as her body beckoned him. She ran her fingers through his hair, before he caught her wrists again. She groaned in protest, then gasped when he captured her other nipple with his lips.
    Dimitri’s hold on his sanity was cracking. He wanted to feel her fingers skip across his skin, her nails run down his back, but he was too far-gone and he feared he would lose complete control if he allowed her access to his body.
    His touch was light as he drew his fingers back down to her hips, pressing