Catherine (Echoes of Ossiria #1) by Vivian Lane Page A

clenched
around him again in response.  
    She clung to him
as she arched off the bed, caught in the throes of orgasm and triggering
mine.   He vamped out, but didn’t bite
her.
    It was the first
time she saw his demon mask.   His eyes
were gold, as in the color of his irises had changed.   She lifted a hand to glide her fingertips
over his forehead, his eyes closing as they trailed over his cheek.
    He shook off the fangy look and softly kissed her.   “You alright?”
    “Better
than.”   She stretched beneath him.   “Are you…?”
    A shallow thrust
confirmed her discovery.   “Part of the
vampire package.”   He rolled them,
putting her on top.   “Not done with you,
yet.”
    “Oh!”
    Sitting on his lap
with him inside her put a whole new angle on things.   Her head tingled when she sat up straight,
making her feel drunk.   His strong hands
stayed on her waist until the dizziness passed.   “Don’t do that when I’m still woozy.”
    He grinned, a
thoroughly naughty expression.   “Blood
flowing elsewhere than your brain, love?”
    She tried to
scowl, though it came out looking more like a pout.   “’S your fault. What am I…?”   She gestured to the new position.
    “Anything you
like, baby, that’s the point…you’re in control.”
    She blushed.   “Oh.”  
    Logically knowing
what you read in a book, and applying it, were two different
things.   Luckily, she had a patient
teacher.
    He gripped her
hips and lifted her a fraction off his erection, then let her slide down
again.   Her eyes widened as he stroked
her internally at this new angle.   Up,
down; up, down; and every time was hitting this new place…
    “ Oh, god …”  
    She caught on and
moved on her own.   His hands coasted up
her sides to mold around her breasts now that she didn’t need his help.   He leaned up to kiss them again.   She was riding him fast, then he slowed the
pace, sitting up to wrap his arms around her.   She opened her eyes, coming back to where she was, and her brow furrowed
with the unspoken question.   He just
tilted his head and captured her lips, kissing all thought away…
    She came to on her
side in time to feel him enter her from behind.
    “OH, my god … William …”
    He placed a tender
kiss on her neck.   “Love how you say my
name like that,” he said with a measure of pride.   “You like this.”
    She whimpered as
he pushed in again.   “How’d…we
get…?”  
    “You passed out
for a minute. Personal best for me.”
    “Smug bastard.”
    He laughed and
pinched her nipple.   “My parents were
married, thank you.”
    “You keep this up;
I’m not going to be able to walk.”
    “Not seeing the
problem, love.”

 

Chapter Seven

 
    Catherine had
always guessed sex with William would be…well, more reflective of his vampiric status.  
    Instead, the
longer they were joined, the more tender and affectionate he was.   If there’d been any real feelings between
them, she would have called it making love.   Four hours after she’d last looked at the clock, they were finally sated
and exhausted.  
    She was curled up
against his side, her head pillowed on his shoulder and her leg tossed over his
thigh, the bed covers pulled up and tucked under her arm.   With dawn approaching, he was drifting off to
sleep, his unnecessary breaths becoming fewer and farther in between.
    She allowed
herself a couple hours to nap.
    Sandman’s Dust was
listed in a book on Cures and Treatments
for Common Ailments .   The day she
went shopping with Alicia, she’d had the great fortune to slip into a magic
shop unnoticed while Alicia harassed some clerk for Ferragamo shoes.   The vial was in plain sight on the shelf, and
the storeowner had no other customers at the time.
    “Trouble sleeping,
dear?”
    “Uh, no, it’s
actually…does this work on anyone? Really?”
    “I’ve never had a
dissatisfied customer.”
    “What about
someone who isn’t…exactly…human?” she