“Water hog,” she complained halfheartedly.

“Says the woman who’s all shiny clean,” he commented, then backed up a step, pulling her under the spray with him. Emma sputtered briefly before burying her face against his chest.

“You’re getting me dirty,” she muttered, but she wrapped her arms around his narrow waist, running her hands over the firm muscles of his back. He was like a work of art, every muscle perfectly defined and flowing elegantly over tendons and bones.

Duncan tipped his head back into the spray as she’d done earlier, letting the water run through his long, blond hair. She reached behind him and grabbed the shampoo. He was too tall for her to wash his hair comfortably, so she settled for squirting a fair amount of the gel on his wet hair, then standing back to admire the play of muscles in his arms and shoulders as he scrubbed the mud away.

“God, this feels good,” he said, rinsing his hair clean.

“Being clean?” Emma asked.

“No.” He opened his eyes and gave her a slow smile. “Being naked with you.” His hands came down to grip her hips, and he backed her against the tile wall. “Having my hands on you.” His hands dropped to her butt and he lifted her effortlessly, pressing forward until her legs wrapped around his narrow hips. She could feel his erection, hard and heavy against her thigh, as he rubbed against her gently, teasing her.

“Duncan,” she whispered, pleading. But he wasn’t ready to give in to her pleas. Not yet. One hand came up between them to cover her breast, his thumb playing over her nipple until it was full and hard. He bent his head to nip lightly at the plump flesh.

“I worried about you, Emmaline,” he murmured, lapping at the same nipple he’d just bitten, and then biting harder until she cried out, her legs tightening around his hips as her sex clenched in need.

“Me, too,” she gasped, grabbing a handful of his wet hair and tugging. “For you, I mean.”

“Ouch.” Duncan looked up and grinned, his hips never ceasing their maddening thrusting motion, letting her feel the length of his cock, so close, but not where she wanted it, not where she needed it.

“Duncan, so help me, if you don’t—”

She cried out as, without warning, he plunged his full length deep between her legs, stretching her wide despite her readiness, slamming forward until their hips met with a slap of wet flesh. He waited then, watching her as she struggled to catch her breath, as her body softened to accommodate him.

“If I don’t what?” he asked silkily.

Emma pulled his head forward, tugging him into a breathless kiss. It was warm and wet and soft, a slow caress of lips and tongue while below, her inner muscles flexed around his shaft with the same rhythm. Duncan hissed as his cock jerked in response, and Emma lifted her head slowly, licking her tongue along the curve of his mouth before whispering, “I love you, Duncan.”

Duncan met her gaze, his expression completely serious as he began a slow, steady movement, the tight muscles of his ass clenching as his hips thrust forward and back between her legs, his erection a shaft of warm stone sheathed in satin as he repeatedly withdrew until only the very tip remained inside her, then slid deep into her body once more, a long, smooth glide of flesh into flesh. Emma crossed her ankles over his butt, trapping him between her thighs. Her arms were around his neck, her fingers threaded through his hair. Duncan’s mouth moved over her face, kissing her eyes, her jaw and down to her neck. His tongue was cool against her overheated flesh as he licked the sweat and water from her skin, as he sucked hard over her jugular vein. Emma smiled to herself, thinking she’d have a hickey in the morning. She hadn’t had one of those in—

She groaned with arousal as his fangs pierced her vein, as the first powerful orgasm rocketed through her body, clenching her womb and tightening her breasts. Every stroke of Duncan’s rigid length produced a fresh jolt of incredible sensation, wave after wave of pleasure, as if her nerves were bare and his cock a brush of silk against them. Emma began thrusting in time with his movements, wanting him to join her, wanting to feel that moment when he lost control and tumbled over the edge with her.

His fangs still buried in her neck, Duncan groaned. The sound vibrated against her skin and raced through her veins, rumbling over her breasts and down between her legs to shiver along the length of his cock. He lifted his head, and his tongue lapped quickly at the small puncture wounds before he crushed his mouth over hers, sharing the taste of her blood. Emma met his kiss hungrily, biting as she fought to get closer to him, licking his lips in apology when she felt the warm flow of his blood, but relishing the rush of heat that came with it.

Duncan growled and began fucking her, pounding her against the wet tile, protecting her with his arms around her back as he slammed forward harder and harder, until Emma thought the tiles would surely crack under the strain. Snarling hungrily, he lifted her higher, changing the angle of his penetration, going even deeper than before, his thickness tormenting the sensitive flesh of her inner walls until her body was trembling with arousal and begging for release. Duncan slid the fingers of one hand along the crease of her ass, caressing the strip of skin stretched taut with his penetration, before dipping his finger into the tight pucker of her star. Emma gasped as a second orgasm screamed along her nerves, jumping like lightening from the touch of his hand to the thrust of his cock and up to her swollen breasts, which were crushed against his powerful chest. She bit down on his shoulder, trying to swallow the scream that surged up her throat, overwhelmed by the sensations storming every inch of her body. Her sex clamped down on Duncan’s cock as he began to buck against her, his hot release coating her womb as her teeth broke the skin of his shoulder, and he lifted his head to howl his climax.

* * *

Duncan leaned heavily against Emma, holding her up as much with the press of his body as the grip of his hands on her sweet ass. She’d wrung him dry. Or maybe it was the hot shower that was still drumming against his back, matching the heat of Emma against his chest. Her arms were loose over his shoulders, her ankles still locked around his hips, while her eager little tongue continued to lap the blood from his shoulder. He rested a hand gently against the back of her head, encouraging her. The more of his blood she took, the tighter the bond would be between them. His shoulder pulsed as he remembered the feel of her teeth in his flesh, and he grinned. She was a wildcat, his Emma. And she was his.

As unlikely as it seemed, he’d fallen in love again. He’d loved his wife dearly, though the memory was so old and distant, it was as if it had happened to someone else. But he could still recall the scent of her powder, the touch of her hand as she rubbed his shoulders after a hard day. She’d been a good woman who deserved better than he’d been able to give her. And far better than the end he’d brought her to.

But he wasn’t that man anymore. No one, man or vampire, would touch his woman ever again. Emma was his, and he would fight to the death to protect her. Of course, Emma would probably bite him again if she knew his thoughts. She wasn’t a shy flower to stand behind and let someone else fight her battles. No, she’d want to stand at his side and fight their enemies together. And that was better. Because the world was a terrible and treacherous place, and it comforted him to know Emma would be there to face it with him when he woke every night.

Emma gave his shoulder a final lick and lifted her head. “What are you thinking so hard about?” she murmured, kissing the bite she’d been suckling so eagerly.

“Only that I love you, Emmaline.” He rubbed his chin against her wet hair. “Will you stay?”

She grew still. “Stay?” she asked, her breath warm on his torn flesh. “You mean tonight?”

“I mean forever.”

Emma lifted her head to look at him, her eyes filling with tears. “Duncan?”

He met her gaze evenly. “Stay with me, Emma,” he repeated. “Be mine.”

She nodded wordlessly, tears running down her cheeks. “Okay,” she whispered, then blew out a frustrated breath. “That wasn’t very poetic of me.”

“Poetry is overrated,” Duncan commented. He stepped back and lowered her slowly, letting her slide down his body until her feet were firmly on the floor.

Emma sighed, resting her forehead against his chest. The two of them stood there, listening to each other breathe, until Emma said, laughing, “I think I need a shower.”

“Yes, well,” he tugged her under the water which was still running, although noticeably cooler than it had been. “I was trying to shower when you molested me.”

“Me? You started it,” she murmured absently, running her hands over his abdomen, which clenched automatically beneath her fingers. She looked up at him and winked.

Duncan groaned. “Let me at least finish washing up. If I’d have known you were this insatiable, I’d have—”

“What?”

“Fucked you into unconsciousness before I showered,” he whispered against her ear.

“Duncan!” she gasped, but she didn’t pull away.

It was a quick shower, but only because Emma declined his offer to wash away the remnants of their lovemaking between her legs. “We’ll never get out of here, if you do that,” she said, slapping away his hands. “I’ll be a prune.”

“A most attractive prune, however,” he said gallantly. But he stepped out of the shower and began to dry off while Emma finished. He had pulled on a pair of sweats and was waiting with a big towel when she emerged a few moments later. Wrapping it around her, he scooped her off her feet and carried her into the bedroom. She lifted her arms to circle his neck, then sighed wearily and rested her head against his shoulder.

Duncan had already pulled the covers back and now laid her down on the fresh sheets. Placing one knee on the mattress next to her, he finished drying her naked body, then pulled the covers up and leaned in to kiss her tenderly. “Sleep, Emma. I’ll be near.”

She grabbed his hand when he went to stand, her eyes already half closed in sleep. “Where will you sleep today, Duncan?”