Sherrilyn Kenyon - Night Pleasures

Amanda went stock-still as her back connected fully with his chest and a wave of misplaced desire tore through her. The heat of him warmed her and that raw, masculine aura of power overwhelmed her. Even more disturbing, his welcoming scent of leather and sandalwood invaded her head.

She wanted this man.

What are you, nuts? The man's a vampire!

Yeah, but he's a really, really sexy one .

Kyrian couldn't breathe with her so close to him. His heightened senses felt her all the way through his entire body. He heard her heartbeat speed up, felt the dryness of her throat, but even worse, he could taste her desire.

It whetted his appetite for her even more. And it reminded him why he had made it his habit to avoid being around women as much as possible.

Damn you, Desiderius.

Because right then it was hard to remember he couldn't have her. And even harder to forget the way she smelled. The way she moved—like a confident dancer. Her lithe body was a symphony of grace and all too easily he could imagine her sitting on top of him as he showed her a sexual pleasure he was quite certain no other man had ever given her.

His loins tightened to the point of pain. He couldn't even remember the last time he had been this hard for a woman. And it took all his willpower not to kiss her. Not to bury his lips against her throat and inhale her warm sweetness as he…

Kyrian flexed his hand on her shoulder as he realized all he had to do was lower his hand three inches and he would be cupping her breast.

Just three tiny inches…

Suddenly, the sound of a walkie-talkie broke the silence.

"It's a construction worker," she whispered, bolting to a window.

Kyrian hissed as she pulled him into the sunlight. He jerked her back into the darkness.

"Sorry," she whispered. She edged closer to the window, making sure to keep him out of the sun.

"Hey!" Amanda called as she saw the man a few feet away, poking around an old tractor.

The construction worker looked up at her and did a double-take. Scowling, he walked over to the window and looked inside. His eyes narrowed on them. "What are you doing in there? This area is off-limits to the public."

"It's a long story," Amanda said. "The short version is I got left here. You wouldn't happen to have a cell phone I could borrow, would you?"

Still scowling, he handed his cell phone to her through the open window.

Hunter immediately took it from her hand.

"Hey!" she snapped, reaching for it.

Moving it out of her reach, he ignored her while he dialed a number.

"Where are we?" Hunter asked the construction worker as he placed the phone to his ear.

"The old Olson Plant."

"In Slidell?"

Amanda arched a brow that the Dark-Hunter would recognize it. She'd lived in New Orleans all her life and had no idea this place existed.

"Yeah," the worker said.

Hunter nodded.

"Hey," he said into the phone,"it's me. I'm at the Olson Plant in Slidell. Do you know where it is?"

He paused as he listened to whoever was on the other end.

Amanda watched him closely. It amazed her that he was able to talk without showing his fangs, but he disguised them well.

And now that she thought about it, how could a vampire be so tanned and warm? How could he have a pulse and a heartbeat?

Weren't vampires supposed to be the cold, pale undead?

"Yes," Hunter said. "I need a ride out of here, preferably before the sun gets any higher."

The Dark-Hunter turned the phone off and tossed it out the window to the construction worker.

"Hey!" she snapped, reaching out of the window to reclaim the phone. "I need that."

"Who are you going to call?" Hunter asked menacingly.

"None of your damn business."

Hunter took the phone out of her hand. "As long as we're attached, it is my business."

She narrowed her eyes on him as she grabbed the phone. "Mess with me, buster, and I'll take another two steps to my right."

His heated glare sent a shiver over her. "Don't you dare call your sister."

The seething look on his face made her rethink pushing her luck. She handed the phone back to the worker. "Thanks," she said.

The construction worker clipped the phone to his belt and gave them a chiding stare. "You know, you two need to get out of there. This b—"

The Dark-Hunter held his hand up and the man's eyes went blank, empty. "There's no one in the building. Go do whatever you need to do."

The man walked off without another word.

Mind control? Amanda gaped at Hunter.

Of course he had mind control. He was a vampire.

"You better not use that on me," Amanda said.

"Don't worry. You're too strong-willed for it to work."

"Good."

"Not from where I'm standing, it isn't."

Though the words were edged, there was an amused light in the depths of his eyes that said he wasn't as peeved as he sounded.

She looked askance at him. He was leaning nonchalantly against a post with his eyes closed, and yet she had the distinct impression that he was alert to everything around them, both inside the building and out.

"Why did you become a vampire?" she asked before she could think better of it. "Did someone turn you against your will?"

He opened his eyes and cocked a brow at that. "No one becomes a Dark-Hunter unless they are willing."

"And you were willing to…" Her voice trailed off as she expectantly waited for him to explain.

"To sacrifice a nosy little human if she doesn't stop pestering me."

She should be frightened of him and yet she kept hearing Desiderius's words in her mind telling her that he would never harm a human.

Was it true?

She ran her gaze over his scrumptious body wishing she knew for certain.

They stood without speaking for quite a bit, until Amanda couldn't stand it any longer.

"So," she said, trying to break the awkward silence. "How long do you think we'll have to wait?"

"I don't know."

"Who did you call?" she tried again.

"No one."

Amanda took a deep breath and fought the urge to strangle him. "You don't like to answer questions, do you?"

"Honestly? I don't like to talk at all. I'd rather just stand here in silence."

"And brood?"

"Yes."

She blew her hair out of her face. "Well, I happen to be bored and if I have to stand here waiting for your ride, I'd like to do something to pass the time."

His gaze dropped to her lips, then slid slowly down to her breasts and hips. He shuttered his eyes, but even so she saw the raw hunger in the midnight depths. She felt it, hot and demanding.

"I can think of one way to pass time…"

She widened her eyes. "You're not going to bite me, are you?"

He smiled wickedly. "I don't want to bite you, agapee-menee . I want to nibble every inch of your bare flesh, especially your bre—"

She reached up and stopped his words by placing her hand over his lips. The softness of them contrasting with his whiskers stunned her. And the sensation of his skin under her hand jolted her with electricity. Swallowing hard, she dropped her hand. "I didn't think vampires could have sex."

He arched a taunting brow at her. "Why don't you and I conduct a little experiment and see?"

Amanda knew she should be offended. She should be angry. She should be anything other than turned on by his words.

But the idea actually appealed to her as she ran her gaze down his lean, perfect body.

Kyrian felt her confusion. She was actually considering his offer. Had the fire in his groin not been so fierce, he would have laughed. But as it was, he wasn't sure whether or not he was toying with her, or truly propositioning her.

All he knew was that the sight of her parted lips tempted him in a way he'd never been tempted before.