Know Thine Enemy (29 page)

"
And . . . ."

"
You're not a groupie and you don't hate or fear me. You're not jaded, either, or convinced you're invincible because you're not human."

"'
Cause I am human."

He smiled.
"That helps, but you're unlike any woman I've met. You're strong and resilient, and you didn't break when no one would blame you if you did."

Izzie considered this, though admittedly her focus became foggier by the second.
"And you're sure?"

"
Sure I love you?"

"
Sure I'm not…
disgusting?
For wanting this after what happened there—"

"
You're lily white. I'd know it if it weren't true."

"
How?"

"
Been around a long time." He flicked his tongue over her nipple, gently easing his fingers out of her body. "Stretch your leg over my thigh."

Izzie felt uncertain, but did as he asked. In a blink, his cock was teasing her sopping folds with his velvety head.

"You're not disgusting, or bad, or wrong, or anything that ass of a father told you." He kissed the swell of her breast. "I honestly don't know what you are."

"
Ryker, please."

"
Except mine."

The amazing thing was she felt it. Through the way he touched her, the way he molded her against his body, the way the space between them felt electrified with something beyond sins of the flesh. Something had changed
—something vast and wonderful, and while her mind kept dragging her back to the words he'd spoken, she likewise held onto the promise, however remote, of the future.

He loved her. It still didn
't seem real.

And at the same time, strangely, nothing had ever felt quite
as
real.

"
Do you?" she heard herself ask.

"
What's that?"

"
You really do? Love me?"

"
Still don't believe me?" Ryker's arms curled around her, the head of his cock slipping inside her hot sheath, and he hissed against her neck. "Said it a few times now."

"
Doesn't seem real."

"
I'll make it real." His arms tightened around her and he fought off a contented purr. "Can I have you again? I'll be gentle."

Izzie mewled and nodded, and he sank balls-deep into her pussy. The world around her dissolved in bliss. Ryker growled and pressed his mouth to her shoulder, crushing her so tightly to his chest that he practically swallowed her. It just kept getting better. Their first time had been explosive, but there was simply no comparison to this.

"Flatten your back against me," he murmured.

"
I won't be able to see you."

He kissed her lips and grinned.
"You'll feel me. That's what matters."

Perhaps it was
. Even if she wanted to watch his face as he made love to her, feeling him showed her more than her eyes could ever absorb. She inhaled sharply and turned, pressing her back to his chest. Ryker kissed her shoulder again, his right hand finding her hand where it rested against her abdomen, and he laced his fingers through hers.

"
You feel me?"

She nodded. She wanted to never stop feeling him.

* * * * *

Izzie squeezed him so tight he nearly went cross-eyed with pleasure.

The companionable silence they'd shared after collapsing into an exhausted tangle of arms and legs had been the purest he'd experienced, and Ryker wasn't the kind of guy who enjoyed cuddling with his bedmates. It was usually more of a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am scenario. He seduced women for physical release and for blood, and while he made sure those females exited happy, he didn't crave intimacy. Not the sort of intimacy that counted. The sort of intimacy that came with holding someone he loved or respected, someone he knew beyond the lies they told each other on their way to the nearest mattress.

This was the difference. He knew that now. The line separating quick, emotionless sexual encounters and experiencing something that transcended the physical. He
'd heard there was a distinction between fucking and making love, and he'd laughed the notion off until now.

Until Izzie.

"Close your eyes." Ryker sucked at her throat. She tasted so sweet, and while the hum of her pulse taunted his fangs, he was both pleased and surprised when they failed to descend. He began moving slowly, peppering her skin with kisses as he fought back a predatory growl. Her silken walls drove him mad. God, she molded around him like no one else ever had. Like she was made for him.

Like she was his.

She is.

"
Do you have any idea how good you feel?" he murmured into her hair, cupping a breast. "I've never felt anything like this."

"
Really?" she asked.

She
started flexing her vaginal muscles around him, and he about lost it.

Before he could answer her, she continued,
"I've never . . . this is a new thing for me . . . ."

"
What?"

"
You. This."

"
What 'this'?"

"
I didn't know. How it could feel."

"
It?"

"
Sex."

Ryker grinned and squeezed her hand, increasing his pace so that his balls slapped against her with every thrust. While his body screamed to pound her into the mattress, the years had not permitted gentle loving behind closed doors. He
'd wanted to experience this with someone for so long, and she was arching and moaning against him, each drive into her pussy earning a sharp gasp, as though he touched something new every time.

"
Good," he purred into her ear. "I love hearing that I've given you at least one first." His fingers abandoned her breast with one last teasing pull to her nipple, sliding slowly down her abdomen.

"
More than one."

"
Oh yeah?" He captured her clit between his thumb and forefinger.

"
Yes, never . . . wasn't like this." Izzie moaned, thrusting her ass back against him and spreading her legs wider. "Oh my God."

The strain in her voice twisted his nerves, and he felt his own voice weaken in turn.

"Good." Ryker grinned and nipped at her earlobe, rubbing her clit tenderly.

"
Oh yes."

Ryker thrust hard into her now, the growls scratching at his throat becoming more pronounced. There was nothing about this he didn
't love. The raw slaps their bodies made as they moved together, the whimpers and moans that tumbled through her lips, the slippery feel of her clit between his fingers, the matchless warmth of her pussy, the way her wet tightness nearly made him pop. There were so many things about her he loved. So many things that he'd never had all at once—so many things he'd never had at all.

He wanted to bite her. He wanted to taste her blood as her
cunt clenched his cock, as his name tumbled through her lips. He wanted it so bad. He wanted it, but he didn't dare. Not without asking. Biting her was something his inner animal craved, and he was determined to be the man she deserved, if only for now. If only for this time he had with her before reality tumbling back.

Not when one more bite would put her closer to eternity.

Fuck, he loved the sound she made when she came. The way she cried out with a twisted gasp. The way her body trembled and convulsed around him. The way her muscles clamped around his cock, the way she squeezed his hand. The reverent breath of air that carried his name. He loved it all.

He just hoped she could love him back, and thus far, he had no idea.

The thought was too much. Too large. Too terrifying. He was drunk on her, and he couldn't think. He couldn't think right now. Ryker screwed his eyes shut and came violently, jolts of ecstasy tearing through his body. He pressed his mouth to her skin to stifle his moan of completion.

And when the haze settled and he opened his eyes, the thought remained.

He needed Izzie to love him back. He needed to know this was for her what it was for him.

He needed it, but he wouldn
't push her. Not now.

Now he welcomed the quiet.

Chapter Seventeen

It was still dark when Izzie awoke to Ryker
's lips on her brow. Her body felt well loved and tender. Muscles she didn't even know she had were sore from exertion. Strangely, though she had never once shared a bed with a man—she and Wright had retreated to their separate corners after their night together—nothing seemed forced or unnatural about blinking into Ryker's adoring eyes first thing after waking.

Izzie mumbled something even her ears couldn
't decipher, then cleared her throat. "How long was I asleep?"

"
About an hour."

"
Did you sleep?"

Ryker shook his head.
"Couldn't. Just kept looking at you."

"
That's kinda creepy."

"
If that's the creepiest thing I do, I'm a disgrace to my kind."

"
Yeah, yeah." Izzie made a face and stretched, every corner of her body whining. "What time is it?"

"
Almost sunrise." Ryker kissed her gently. God, she loved his kisses. "I'm gonna pop in the shower. Figure we might wanna head out after we rest."

"
Head out?"

"
We can't stay here forever."

Izzie frowned. Obviously, they couldn
't stay here forever. That was a given. Just yesterday, she'd felt restless and eager for the road. Yet now, the prospect of returning to the world outside these walls frightened her. At least in here she had some measure of control. No one could predict or control what happened out there.

This reality
—the one where she and Ryker remained together at the cabin—was fleeting. It had been a nice break. A nice detour from her life.

"
Go back to sleep," Ryker said as he edged out of bed. "We won't leave till sun sets. Might as well rest up."

Izzie tried to obey, she really did, but her body wouldn
't listen. Every time she stilled and willed the quiet to wash her over, a surge of panic seized her heart and rendered her wide-awake. After a few minutes, trying seemed futile. Especially with Ryker in the other room. With the haven they'd built standing on wobbly ground. He said he loved her, and she believed him, but what happened next? Did they run off together? Did she become a vampire? She wouldn't hunt anymore—that was for certain—because she was no one's executioner.

Where did that leave her?

The logical thing to do was talk about it with Ryker. It was easier said than done. She still didn't know what being loved entailed, or what he wanted from or with her. She just knew he loved her.

Izzie wet her lips and slipped out of bed. She didn
't bother dressing; even if Ryker thought she was malnourished, he maintained a healthy appreciation for her naked body. Also, clothing seemed counterproductive to joining a lover in the shower.

Women did that on television. During the day, she
'd catch occasional soap operas and the like—the glamorized lives of people very different from anyone she'd met. They would open shower doors and slip inside, always greeted with a smile and a kiss. Izzie had thought it bizarre that anyone would want company while cleansing, but now, with the clock running out, she wanted Ryker one more time.

Hell, she needed him one more time.

The bathroom door wasn't shut, and somehow he knew she was there before she could announce herself.

"
Couldn't sleep?"

"
No," Izzie replied. "I can go back if you want."

Ryker slid open the shower door, and if she thought he was handsome dry, he was absolutely stunning wet. Hard, defined muscles dripping with water, his dark hair plastered to his skin. Try as she might, she couldn
't keep from stealing a glance between his legs, where his cock rested half-erect.

"
Was hoping you'd join me, actually," he said.

"
You were?"

He nodded.
"We'll clean up and go back to bed together."

In a flash she was in his arms, water cascading down her back. She felt his fingers in her hair, massaging soap into her scalp and washing it off again. His hands lathered her body, paying particular attention to her breasts and the tender area between her legs, and when he pressed the soap against her palm she returned the favor without question.