Free Mating Fever by Crymsyn Hart Page A

but I can see the wheels already turning in your brain. The cogs starting to get caught as you think about the prospect of love. Of someone breaking your curse and coming to rescue you. You can’t believe in a happy ending. Don’t let yourself think. What do you feel? What did you feel when I came to you as a bare shadow and pleasured you?” He kissed my neck.
    Keaton was right. I did think too much. Way too much for my own good. I thought back to earlier when he had me on the bed. My body flushed with heat. The pleasure of the recent memory overwhelmed me. I had wanted all of him. I had desired to hold him. I needed him buried inside of me. But I wanted him forever. I was ready to accept everything that he was. If I did, then I knew that I loved him even if my brain hadn’t completely processed it yet. My heart already had. He continued to place soft kisses along my throat, but didn’t advance toward my breasts or any other body part. I sensed he was waiting for me to tell him it was okay.
    “I enjoyed the experience.”
    “Exquisite torture wasn’t it?”
    I nodded. “No one has ever done that before. Not that they could. I loved it. I want more of it. I want more of you.”
    “Good. That’s all you need to listen to. Know I would protect you with my life.”
    I nodded and got up. Stephania’s warning came back to me. I went into the other room and grabbed the salt. I started pouring it on the windowsills. Keaton grabbed my hand.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Stephania said I should put this around any entrance to a room tonight because there was evil afoot. I’m sorry. I should’ve asked. I just had a feeling it was something I had to do.”
    “No. It won’t bother me. She is a wise friend to have. Let me go and tell Ivan not to come in until tomorrow when we can clean this up. Salt is protection and will keep evil at bay. Not that Ivan is evil, but the troll in him is repelled by the salt. Even us vampires. We can enter a domain, but if there was salt across the threshold it would even hold us out if we meant evil intent.”
    “It’s a strange world that you exist in.”
    He laughed and released my wrist. “It certainly is. One I really hope you can experience with me. I’ll go tell Ivan about the salt.”
    I caught Keaton’s hand before he went out of my reach and pulled him to me. A confused look ran across his face. I conformed my body to his. My brain said to stop, but I pushed that away. Keaton told me to feel, so I was just going with what I felt. I pressed my lips to him and nipped down his throat until my mouth covered his Adam’s apple. I flicked my tongue across it and sucked on it. I raked my fingers along his chest and began to unbutton his shirt. Keaton moaned and backed away.
    “We should do this later.”
    “Don’t you want to?”
    “You know I do, but you want to finish this and I need to tell Ivan about the salt so he just doesn’t walk into it. I don’t want you to jump into anything.”
    He was right. Keaton was giving me more time to make up my mind. He brushed a kiss across my forehead and then left the room. I continued to lay the line of salt across all the openings, the door, windows, and even the fireplace. The stairs creaked, so I knew Keaton was coming back up. Done, I set the salt on the nightstand and sat on the bed. His body depressed the mattress. He snuggled up against me drawing me closer. Nothing was said between us. That didn’t matter. The only thing that was more important was that he was there for me. Some of the darkness surrounding my soul evaporated.
     
     

 
    Chapter Seven
     
    The next morning I was glad it was Friday, and I had the day off anyway. Keaton had stayed with me most of the night. Nightmares plagued me, but Keaton had woken me during them and said soothing words until I calmed enough to sleep again. I cleaned up the salt and hoped that the remnants wouldn’t hurt Ivan. After I dressed, I found the half troll downstairs cooking