Free Kiss of the Night by Sylvia Day Page B

would rip him apart to say goodbye to her. But he’d suffer the pain gladly if it kept her and her family alive.
    * * * * *
    “Ugh! Get off,” Bree complained. “You’re crushing me.”
    James rolled to his back beside her on the padded mat. “We should continue this another time, Mistress. You are too distracted to fight properly.”
    “I am not distracted.”
    “You have yet to knock me down and we have been sparring for hours.” He stood and held out his hand to her.
    She blew the hair out of her eyes and then brushed the strands away that clung to her sweaty skin. Alex. Alex. Alex. He was all she could think about and it was affecting everything, including her ability to concentrate.
    “I’m just not used to fighting in artificial gravity,” she muttered, using his proffered help to pull up to her feet. “That’s all.”
    “Your excuse is dreadful,” he scoffed.
    “Bite me.”
    “That’s a pleasure I reserve for myself,” Alex said behind her. Startled, Bree spun swiftly to face him.
    He lounged in the doorway with his arms crossed, the picture of seductive leisure in his sapphire-colored vest, loose trousers and bare feet. He looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, which he had. Since she started sharing his quarters a week ago, she’d learned another thing about vamps—they slept like the dead. He hadn’t moved a muscle when she’d slipped out of his cabin earlier.
    His dark eyes never left hers. “Send that thing away. I’ll spar with you if you like.”
    She snorted. Alex was never going to accept James. He’d been furious to discover she’d reactivated her droid and it had taken a hefty dose of carnal persuasion to cheer up her vamp again. “Sparring with you won’t help me. You have abilities I can’t compete with.”
    “Then send it away and we’ll get our exercise in more pleasurable ways.” He pushed off the doorjamb and came toward her with a sultry stride she knew. Let’s fuck , it said, and she always responded immediately.
    “You’re a menace,” she grumbled as her body shivered in anticipation, her breasts growing heavy, the nipples beading up tight. She’d wanted hot sex and orgasms with a gorgeous guy and that’s exactly what he gave her. But she hadn’t expected Alexei Night to be so tender. She hadn’t known he would want to be with her as often as possible, that he would want to feed her by hand, wash and brush her hair, hold her close while sleeping…
    What did you expect? His voice, low and throbbing with something that made her sweat, curled in her mind and the way he looked at her made her breath catch. Did you think I’d only pay attention to you in bed?
    “You said you didn’t have to be charming.”
    He arched a brow and came to a stop before her. Lifting his hand, he brushed the backs of his fingers across her damp cheek. “I don’t have to be anything, sweetness. But I choose to be everything for you.”
    “Why?”
    “Because it gives me pleasure to do so.” His firm lips brushed along her eyebrow. The sex appeal so innate to his kind was magnified in Alexei. She could almost breathe it in, almost taste it.
    Bree lifted her face for his kiss, but he licked the corner of her mouth and then moved away.
    She groaned in frustration. “Why won’t you ever kiss me?”
    His hands circled her waist and he stared down at her with a smile. “I thought you wanted to fight?”
    “No,” she said slowly. “I want you to kiss me.”
    “Can I choose where?”
    “On the lips.”
    “My thoughts exactly.” The wicked glint in his eyes told her they weren’t thinking about the same lips.
    Shoving out of his embrace, she turned away. “Go walk on the ceiling or something, Alex, and leave me in peace.” She was so sick of the tight control he kept himself under. It wasn’t natural, and they both knew it. Every time they made love—and it was definitely making love—he restrained his baser instincts. Every time they ate, he suffered through stored