Free Nightshifters by Tamelia Tumlin

her
clothes and his vanished. She watched unashamed as he stood au naturale in the candlelight, pure male with an aura of supernatural power, his desire
for her evident in his pulsating manhood. His body, hard and taut, settled over
hers. She welcomed him with warmth and moisture as he glided into her
effortlessly. She quivered as he filled her. Electricity charged the air around
them. Her eyes locked with his. Rana gasped inwardly. No longer was Alexandru
just a creature of the night. He was her Alexandru. The man she loved.
Rana tightened around him, basking in the throbbing sensation inside her. She
pulled him closer, her fingernails scraping his back. He groaned and began the
mating dance. With each rhythmical thrust, she matched his passion as he
unleashed his primal urges bringing them both to the edge of insanity.
     
    Alexandru lay spent beside Rana on the couch, his arm slung
casually around her shoulders while her head rested against his chest.
Burnished-gold hair fanned out around her. He sighed inwardly, his hunger
finally quenched. For now. He eyed the woman lying in his arms and his body
hardened. Heat surged through him like an electrical current. He wouldn’t be
satiated for long. Guilt drop-kicked him in the stomach. Rana deserved better
than this. Better than him. How could he have taken her so selfishly? Knowing
he didn’t deserve her. His jaw tightened. She would hate him even more if she
ever realized that he didn’t…
    Rana shifted, leaned over and reached for her pile of
clothes on the floor.
    “Don’t.” He trailed his finger down her back. “Not yet.”
    He wasn’t ready for her to go. He knew she would never be
back.
    “Alexandru, I must get home. It’s getting late.”
    “Not yet.”
    “Why did you bring me here tonight?”
    Alexandru’s hand stilled on her back. Did she already regret
their lovemaking? Or did she remember? His stomach clenched. “To protect you.”
    “From what?” Rana arched a brow suspiciously.
    Alexandru paused. Then, “From another vampire.”
    “I don’t follow.”
    “When we were on the sidewalk outside your bookstore I
sensed another presence.”
    “Who?” Rana sat up and slid into the thin wisp of her white
lace thong. She pulled on her jeans, zipped them up and snapped them.
    “It’s not important.”
    Rana jerked her head around and glared at him. “It was
important enough to whisk me off to your…” She looked around the room and
wrinkled her nose. “Your lair. Now, tell me who, Alexandru.”
    He blew a long breath between his lips and sat up beside
her. “Vladmir Gustovez.”
    Rana’s hand flew to her throat. “No!”
    “He’s been following you. Watching you. I picked up his
scent when we were at your car tonight and when—”
    “When what?” Rana yanked her shirt over her head, pulled it
down and narrowed her eyes.
    “When I escorted you home.”
    “Escorted me home?” She knitted her brow; then as if
realizing what he meant, she tightened her chin. “It was you. In my car.
Outside my window.”
    Alexandru winced at the accusation. “Yes. I had to make sure
you arrived home safely.”
    Rana’s shoulders deflated. “What does Vladmir want this
time?”
    Another long pause. Then, “You.”
    “H-how do you know that?”
    “I just know. Let’s leave it at that.” Alexandru dressed,
then sat back down on the couch.
    “He must have seen me in The Voodoo Den.” She lifted her
chin. “Well, I’m not available.”
    “No. You’re not.” It sounded more like a command rather than
an agreement.
    Rana’s eyes widened. “Please take me home. I can take care of
myself.”
    Alexandru swallowed a grin. Always Miss Independent. He’d take her home, but he’d also keep an eye on her. Just in case. He nodded
and reached for her hand.
    A worried look passed over her. “Uh — we — uh, didn’t use
anything.”
    A muscle throbbed in his chin. “What do you mean?”
    Rana’s face reddened. “When we — uh — made love. We