Nikolai looked up from his position between Lauren’s glorious thighs, watching her back arch as she cried out, and bucked and squirmed on the bed as she came. But watching her come wasn’t the only thing capturing his attention. Her arms and hands had taken on the same luminescence as he’d seen before.

His cock throbbed between his thighs, his balls hot and heavy. He needed to bury himself in her sweet pussy and release all his desire inside her. The light looked beautiful on her, making her into some kind of ethereal creature. She didn’t seem to be in pain, or frightened, and he had to admit, he wondered what was going to happen when she came with him buried balls-deep inside her.

He lifted his face from her pussy and wiped his forearm across his mouth. Her eyes were shut, and she was breathing hard, her tits lifting and falling with every breath. Though he wanted nothing more than to be inside her, he leaned over her beautiful body and wrapped his tongue around one nipple, laving it into a peak, and then moved on to the next. Her heartbeat began to slow, and the strange light died from her fingers.

She was wet, so wet, both from his saliva and her own cream. Nikolai crawled over her body and settled himself between her thighs. Her eyes opened, and he found himself staring into their dark depths. She looked a little spaced out, as though she didn’t quite understand what had happened, and so he kissed her, gently at first, but then more forcefully, building her up for him again.

Lauren didn’t push him away. Instead, her legs wrapped around his hips, her heels digging into his ass, as she lifted her hips up to meet him.

Nikolai let out a groan as he pushed his cock inside her, sliding deep with the first stroke. She felt burning hot against his cool skin, the contrast only serving to overwhelm his mind with sensation. He pulled out again and thrust, his movements slow but forceful, loving how her pussy held him tight as he slid in and out of her folds.

One hand tangled in her hair, the other on her hip. He kissed her deeply, and then moved his kisses from her mouth, across her jaw, and down her throat. Beneath her skin, he felt the pulse of her blood, a fast, trippy beat that called to him. So badly, he wanted to taste her, wanted to sink his fangs into her throat as he pounded into her. Just the thought caused his fangs to descend, but, with more self-control than he’d ever exerted in his entire existence, he held himself back. The time would come for that, but he needed to take things slowly if he didn’t want to scare her off. Fucking and feeding from her within hours of them first meeting would be too much.

Their movements became faster, building into a frenzy. His hips pistoned, and she matched his every stroke. Ragged breaths and moans of pleasure filled the room. The heady scent of sweat and sex. Her skin was like heaven beneath his tongue, her pussy the epitome of pleasure. Never before had he experienced what it was like to truly connect with someone, to share a pleasure that meant more than just the physical.

As he felt her orgasm rising higher, he knotted his fingers in her hair and pulled her head back, so her chin lifted and they were face to face. Their eyes met, and he saw the same wonder in hers as he felt himself.

Nikolai came hard, hot jets streaming inside her. It didn’t matter—it wasn’t as though he could carry or catch anything, and a vampire couldn’t get a human woman pregnant. She screamed his name, and he silenced her with his mouth over hers.

They slowly came down, their chests heaving as they collapsed together on the bed.

She looked down and lifted her hands to her face. A golden light danced between her fingers, like tiny lightning bolts shooting from finger to finger. Her eyes widened at the sight.

“What is this, Nikolai?”

He gazed at the spectacle in wonder. “I have no idea. I wish I knew.”

Nikolai lifted his hand and reached out to her. When he touched his fingers to hers, the light arced over to the tips, and then vanished.

“Does it hurt to touch it?” she asked him.

He shook his head. “No, does it hurt you?”

She frowned slightly, her teeth digging into her lower lip, which still looked swollen from their kissing. “No, not hurt, but I can feel it. It’s like pins and needles in the tips of my fingers.”

The longer they waited, the more the light began to fade away again.

“You think this has something to do with me being part fae, like the werewolves said?”

He nodded. “Yes, I think so. As long as it doesn’t hurt you, I don’t think it’s something we need to worry about.”

There was something they did need to worry about, however. He could feel the approaching dawn creeping in on them. He could watch over her during the night, could protect her, but in the day, he needed to sleep. If only he were an ancient vampire who could walk during the light, but he wasn’t. He was still relatively young, and he had no choice but to sleep during the day.

He twisted to look into her face.

“Listen to me, Lauren. The people from The Directive who are coming to help us won’t be here until tonight. But I have to sleep in the day. I have no choice in that matter.”

Lauren nodded. “That’s okay. I’m exhausted, too. I could sleep like the dead.” She gave a wry smile. “Or the undead.”

“What I’m trying to say is I won’t be awake until nightfall. I don’t want to try to tell you what to do, but there’s a vampire, and most likely a bunch of werewolves who are out there, dying to get their hands on you, and if I’m asleep, I won’t be able to protect you.”

She regarded him. “You’re telling me not to leave this place.”

“Yes. Even if someone rings the buzzer and gives you an excuse to let them up, you mustn’t allow it. The wolves have the ability to walk in daylight, which I don’t, and they could easily snatch you again.”

“What about this?” she asked, lifting up her arm and wiggling her fingers so that tendrils of light danced between them. “What am I supposed to do about this?”

It had faded since her orgasm, but there was no denying it was there.

He pressed his lips together. “Nothing, for the moment. I’m hoping whoever they send from The Directive will know what it is, but I assume it has something to do with your fae blood.”

“It’s never happened before,” she said. “Not even when I’ve ...” She trailed off as though she didn’t want to say the words, as though admitting she’d had sex before them meeting was tantamount to cheating. He had to admit, the thought of her with someone else was like a fist wringing out his heart, but he had a past as well. There was no point trying to act as though neither of them existed before they met.

“It must be something to do with us meeting,” he said. “Perhaps it’s awakened something inside you that you’ve always kept buried before.”

She frowned slightly, but nodded. “You mean how I can sometimes hear your thoughts, too.”

“Yes. It must all be connected. We’ll find out more when The Directive arrives. They’ve been around far longer than me.”

She traced a finger down his chest. “How old are you, Nikolai?”

“Me?” He gave a chuckle. “I’m still a baby in vampire years. I was twenty-eight when I was turned, and I’ve been a vampire for a little over fifty years now.”

She pulled a face. “So I’m sleeping with an eighty-year-old?”

He laughed. “But a very fit eighty-year-old.”

Lauren returned his laugh. “Okay, I’ll give you that much.”

They snuggled down into his bed together, her with her face pressed against his naked chest. It felt so good to finally have her in his arms, to hold her. His soul felt more at ease than ever, not only since The Thirst had struck, but since he’d turned.

“What were you like as a man?” she asked. “What did you do for a living? The same as you do now?”

He shook his head. “No, not at all. It isn’t a very good story, I’m afraid.”

She lifted her head, her dark eyes alive with interest. “No? I want to hear it anyway.”

“My family was into organised crime. I’m afraid I come from a long line of criminals. I was killed by a rival family. They thought I was becoming ... how do you say it?” He sought his memory for the expression. “Too big for my boots.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “So they tried to kill you?”

“They succeeded, too. If it hadn’t been for Ivan coming across me as I lay dying, I wouldn’t be here today.”

“Wow.” She looked at him curiously. “Do you think you’d ever go back to Russia?”

He shook his head. “No. There’s nothing there for me now. I wouldn’t want what remains of my family to have to deal with me reappearing as a vampire. It’s better that they don’t know.”

“I think they’d rather know you were a vampire than think you’re dead.”

He shrugged. “Things were different back then, especially in Russia. Humans were less accepting of what we were. I would never have wanted to cause them any trouble.”

“But what happened to the man who tried to kill you? Isn’t he still out there? Weren’t you worried he might try to harm the rest of your family if you were out of the way?”

“Before I left Russia, I took care of him. No one there was going to hurt my family.” His arm twisted around her waist, pulling her flush against him. “And you’re my family now, Lauren, and no one is ever going to hurt you.”