Rhys awoke with hunger raging through him like wildfire. The scent of blood, so near, so sweet and tempting, made his upper lip curl, baring his fangs. As he moved forward to strike, a thought struck him. Since when had he awakened with a meal so close? His eyes snapped open and the sight of Vivian curled up beside him stole his breath.

The previous night and morning roared through his mind in a torrent of images and remembered sensations. He’d lain with her, taken her virginity, something he’d never intended on doing, yet something he’d been too weak to resist.

He’d fed from her as well, drank enough of her sweetness to make her dizzy. And yet his bloodthirst tore through his body with a fierceness he hadn’t experienced since he was a young vampire.

Rhys drew away from her and slowly made his way off the two cots he’d placed together so that he could hold her.

As his bare feet touched the cold stone of the cave’s floor, he realized that he was still naked. His gaze strayed to Vivian’s bare shoulder and the memories of her smooth warm skin and her lush body entwined with his brought forth a different sort of hunger. God, he’d never made love to a woman the way he had with her. The experience transcended the carnal. It was nearly spiritual.

“Rhys?” Vivian murmured sleepily and leaned up on the bed. The blanket slipped down, baring her round, creamy breast.

The sight stirred his cock. Rhys forced himself to look away before he fell upon her in a frenzy of mad lust. He walked to the shelves where he kept his clothing and grabbed his trousers, tugging them on and tucking away his erection. “I must go out and hunt.”

“But you can—”

“No!” He tamped down the temptation at what she’d been about to offer. “You’d be weakened if I drink from you twice in a row.”

She flinched at his harsh tone and pulled the blanket over her breasts. “Oh. When will you return?”

“In an hour or two.” Rhys turned away and donned a shirt, pausing a moment when he noticed the fine stitching where Vivian had mended a tear in the sleeve. “I wish to bring you a hot meal.”

Her tone brightened. “That would be heavenly.”

The gratitude in her voice made a shroud of guilt press upon him with a leaden weight. He’d imprisoned her, subjected her to living conditions well below what she’d doubtless been accustomed to, destroyed her future and taken her virtue. Vivian may have offered herself to him, but he was supposed to have been the older, wiser party, who was well aware of the consequences.

“Rhys?” She said as he pulled on his boots. “Do you regret what happened last night... or rather, this morning?”

His chest tightened like it was clamped in a vice. “That’s a rather complex question, I’m afraid.”

Her indrawn breath tugged at his soul as she looked up at him with wounded eyes. “D-did I displease you? I know I’m inexperienced... and—”

“No! You pleased me more than any woman has before.” Despite his better wisdom, Rhys crossed the cave and grasped her shoulders, bending down so they were face to face. “I do not regret making love with you. What I regret is the fact that I had no right to do so. I was supposed to leave you untouched.”

Vivian’s lips, swollen from his kisses, drew downward in a pout. “You speak as if I had no say in the matter. I asked you to touch me. It’s what I wanted, and I have no regrets.” She gripped his forearms and fixed him with a pleading gaze. “Please do not wallow in undeserved remorse because you think you’ve ruined me in some way. As I said before, I was already compromised, and I was already intending to remain unwed. Rather than taking from me, you’ve given me a gift. Moments of pleasure I could not have fathomed. I will cherish the memory forever, and welcome new ones this night if you are inclined to indulge me.”

Rhys’s resolve crumbled under her impassioned words. He claimed her lips with a kiss that transfused all his longing and despair. The sound of her heartbeat beckoned him like a forbidden melody. Before he gave into the siren’s song of her embrace, he released her. “I have to go now.”

Before she could protest, he grabbed his coat and fled the cave.

The cold, salty air did little to cool the heat in his blood. What he’d shared with Vivian had been more than mere coupling. When he’d joined his body with hers, he’d felt as if they’d become one. Magic had been wrought between them. Somehow, either inside her slick heat, the melding of their lips, or the hot rush of her blood on his tongue, Vivian had bound him to her with invisible threads that pulled taut with every step he took away from her.

Eager to return to her as soon as possible, Rhys ran in a blur, cresting hills and dodging trees, until he reached Southport. Normally, he avoided areas so close to his cave so that the vampires of villages near the no-man’s land did not take notice of him, but he needed to feed and wanted to find a hot meal for Vivian. He came to a hotel and made his way to the restaurant, full of humans dining on their own suppers, but thankfully no other vampires.

Instead of finding a patron to slake his thirst, Rhys stole into the kitchen, mesmerizing the first servant to see him before the lad could cry out.

When he’d drunk his fill from the kitchen boy, he turned his attention to Vivian’s meal, gathering fruit, cheese, and a hot roll. These he stuffed into his pockets before he encountered the cook. He froze the man with his gaze and stole a capon and wrapped the roasted bird in a handkerchief before tucking it under his arm to keep it warm. As he dashed out of the kitchen, some of the hot juices soaked through into his sleeve.

He’d made a spectacle of himself, but hopefully not a significant one. Mortals had a way of dismissing things that were out of the ordinary.

When he returned to the cave, he realized that for the first time, he’d left the door unlocked. Vivian could have escaped, yet here she remained. The welcoming light in her eyes when he entered the cave pierced his soul. No longer naked, she was dressed in a plain gray gown from the trunk of clothing he’d stolen. Yet she remained just as desirable as when she’d been bare before him.

“What is that delicious smell?” she asked.

He presented her with the capon. “I’ve also brought you an orange, some cheese, and a roll.”

She tore into the capon with her white, even teeth, occasionally pausing to lick her fingers, making soft, blissful noised that forced him to smile at her delight. When the bird was reduced to bones, she devoured the bread and then made short work of the orange. The cheese she set aside in the small larder he’d accumulated for her before she washed her hands in a barrel of salt water.

While watching Vivian enjoy the sort of meal that she’d long been denied, Rhys once more warred between guilt at what he’d taken away from her and elation at what he’d been able to give her. When she returned to her cot, still joined with his, he studied her with a mixture of awe and confusion.

He may have abducted her, but she’d stolen his heart. Why had she given herself to him? Was it simply a matter of convenience and proximity since she didn’t believe she’d have an opportunity to be with another man? Was it some sort of subversive reaction to her captivity? An attempt to gain some control over the situation? Or could she possibly feel the same way he did about her?

The last thought made his heart swell with mingled hope and despair. It was best that he never learn about her true feelings, because a future for them was impossible. However, Rhys had to know, for some self-punishing reason.

“I left the door unlocked. You could have run away,” Rhys said. “Why didn’t you?”

“Because I support your cause to save your family.” Vivian said, eyeing him as if he’d lost his senses. “And I want to stay with you.”

Rhys shook his head with disbelief. Had captivity driven her mad, or had last night borne the same effect on her? “I cannot comprehend why you would wish to do so.”

She reached for his hand and threaded her fingers through his. “My time with you has been a revelation of excitement and freedom.”

“Freedom?” he echoed with a disbelieving frown. “I’ve kept you a prisoner for nearly a fortnight.”

“Look at my hands.” Vivian pulled their intertwined hands towards him. “I haven’t had to wear gloves. You cannot fathom how liberating that has been.” Her lips curved in a coy smile and she peered at him beneath her long lashes. “I’m also not wearing stays.”

Rhys’s gaze raked across her body and his mouth went dry. “You are driving me mad with such talk.” He looked away from her tempting figure and pulled his hands away. There was only one way to know what was in her heart. And only way to appease his conscience. “I should release you. My honor demands it. I broke the agreement with your uncle when I took you.”

He rose from their makeshift bed where they’d slept in each other’s arms and tried to ignore the stabbing pain in his heart. He opened the cave door. If she left, he’d lose the ransom money and have nothing but a broken heart. But at least he’d have done something honorable. He couldn’t hold the woman he loved against her will, no matter the cost.

He spoke through the lump in his throat. “You are free to go.”

Vivian blinked at him. “I told you, I wish to stay with you. And to hell with my uncle. He made no agreement. He made that clear when he refused to pay the ransom in the first place.”

“But—” He broke off his feeble protest as the selfish imp within danced with triumph. She wished to remain with him, of her own free will.

She rose and strode from the bed to the door and slammed it shut before he could react. “You need that money, Rhys. And I need a few more memories to cherish before we are parted.” She took a deep, shuddering breath, and a sudden vulnerability flooded her eyes. “Unless, you don’t want me anymore?”

Her words crumbled the walls around his heart. He pulled her into his arms and buried his face in her silken hair. “I want you more than I’ve wanted anything in my long life.” He trembled in her embrace as the confession held locked in his heart tumbled from his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Vivian whispered, stroking his back. “I wish—”

He silenced her with a kiss, unable to venture down the road to tragedy. “Wishes are never granted. We only have now.”

Her arms tightened around him as she rose up on her toes to silently beg for another kiss. Rhys indulged her, feeding at her mouth, reveling at her taste of fruit and honey. Even through the fabric separating their flesh, the feel of her breasts pressed to his chest gave him a thrill of delight.

Vivian broke the kiss only to brush her lips across his neck. “I am so glad you don’t wear a cravat.” The breath of her whisper made his flesh tingle. “Could we... go to the bed?”

His cock stiffened further. If he hadn’t deflowered her only last night, he would have hiked up her skirts and taken her against the wall. However, she was probably still sore and required gentler treatment.

In answer to her request, Rhys lifted her and carried her to the joined bunks. As they kissed and caressed, slowly their clothing was cast away until Vivian’s body glistened naked in the firelight.

Just like the first time, the sight of her beauty stole his breath. Rhys took his time licking and nibbling every inch of her, from her delicate neck to her lush breasts, across her belly, and at last to the place he so desperately wanted to taste.

“May I kiss you there?” he asked.

She bit her lip and nodded, her cheeks rosy with delightful blushes. Rhys lowered his head and inhaled the tantalizing fragrance of her arousal. When his mouth closed over her mound, her hips arched up and she gasped. He slipped his tongue between her nether lips and reveled in her feminine cry of delight.

Rhys circled her swollen bud, holding her thighs down as she bucked and wiggled, not so much to restrain her, but so he didn’t risk grazing her with his fangs. Vivian moaned with every movement of his tongue. With his lips and fingers, he played her like a fine musical instrument, bringing her cries and shudders like an ethereal symphony. The sweet taste of her nectar filled his mouth like a forbidden elixir, nearly as addicting as her blood.

Vivian screamed his name as she climaxed. The sound was music to his ears. Rhys tightened his grip on her hips as she thrashed beneath him, relentless as he continued his ministrations.

When she fell back against the pillows, limp and trembling, Rhys released her. He moved up on the bunk and pulled her against his chest.

“My goodness,” she gasped. “I had no idea that it could be so...” A light laugh escaped her. “I don’t have the words.”

“You’re stoking my pride so much that I may burst with it.” Rhys glanced down ruefully. “Of course, that wasn’t the only thing in danger of bursting.”

Vivian caught his quick look and frowned. “But what about your satisfaction? Do you want to take me again?”

“Very much, but you are still sore from the previous night, so I think it best for me to refrain.” Especially with the state he was in. Rhys very much feared that he’d lose control and take her too roughly.

Her fingers wrapped around his shaft, making him suck in a breath. “Then perhaps I should pleasure you as you have with me.”

“You would truly wish to do that?” Rhys stared at her in astonishment. He never imagined a well-born lady would willingly touch a man’s anatomy in such a way. Hell, his wife had only been a fisherman’s daughter and she’d told him that if he wanted his knob polished, he could go find a whore at the docks.

Vivian squeezed him, eliciting another gasp from him and peered up at him with a blush. “You did the same for me.”

She moved down, placing feathery kisses along his chest and stomach before leaning over his throbbing erection. Her warm breath over his swollen head brought goosebumps all over his body. The unabashed fascination in her eyes as she regarded his hard cock filled him with primal satisfaction.

All thoughts fled when her lips closed over his tip. Rhys groaned with pure bliss as her tongue swirled around the sensitive flesh. She explored him with her mouth and fingers, tentatively at first, then with increasing confidence at his pleasured noises and muttered words of encouragement. He tangled his fingers in her hair and guided her lightly, but not forcefully.

His pleasure at her ministrations built until he thought he’d go mad from it. “Vivian,” he growled through gritted teeth. “For God’s sake, please stop, or I’ll spend.”

She lifted her head and regarded him with a sinful smile. Her grey eyes were dilated with lust. She tossed his words back at him. “I want to taste you.”

Then her mouth locked over him and she took him deeper, sucking his length with erotic pressure. Rhys exploded, his fist bunching in her hair, his hips bucking beneath her. Vivian drank down every drop, sending pulses of pure ecstasy through his body. At last, she withdrew and licked her lips.

“It was salty,” she said and moved back up on the cot to nuzzle against his chest. “But not at all unpleasant. Why didn’t you want me to finish?”

“Many women find it disgusting,” he replied, stroking her back.

She frowned and shook her head. “Many women are fools then.”

A combination of wonder and melancholy swirled through Rhys’s heart. How could he have found such a perfect woman only to be destined to lose her?