Dark Admirer by Charlotte Featherstone Page A

him. But like this, sin ravaged, he could do nothing but allow her to sleep and allow himself the pleasure of his face pressed against hers; and his fingers, the liberty of running through her long hair.
    Sleep claimed her fully, and he lay her back, against his arm until she was nestled in the crook of his arm and her breasts where pressed up against the wall of his chest. His hand hovered over her, unsure of whether he should touch her. She was too good, too good to be tainted by his hand, the hands that had committed every sin possible. The hand that had touched legions of women.
    But you have never just held a woman in your arms. Never provided shelter from the cold, or the safety of your arms.
    No, he hadn’t. That was the truth of it. He’d never offered a woman more than anything but his cock and his skills. But this woman, he wanted to offer her more than just sex.
    He wanted to keep her warm and safe. He wanted to feed her. Wanted to touch her. Wanted to speak to her.
    With a silent command, his wings unfurled and came up and around so that the woman was wrapped up, enveloped by his massive wings. Nothing of the outside world could get to her. Right now, there was nothing but him and her.
    The fire was dying, the shadows the light had cast were slowly fading, casting the room into darkness. It would be cold soon, but the woman would not feel the chill, or the dampness of the air. His body would keep her warm, and his wings would keep her safe—would keep her cherished within a cocoon no human male ever could.
    His head lowered, until his chin rested atop her head. He quieted his thoughts, until all he could her was the rhythm of her heart. All he could feel was the rise and fall of her breasts. Beyond the window, some place in the city, fireworks went off, signalling the end of a year and the birth of a new one. Soon dawn would come, and the time when he would have to leave her. He didn’t want to think of that, that moment when he would pull away from her and leave her while she slept. He knew he’d never be able to leave without looking back over his shoulder and regretting the loss of her. He knew he’d never forget her, the feel of her. He would carry her inside him for eternity. And eternity was one hell of a long time to hunger for something you could never have.
    She snuggled up tighter against him and sighed deeply, like a well fed cat. He smiled and looked down at her sleeping face, liking the way she looked like this, rumpled and dreamy. His hand skimmed down along her hip, to her shapely thigh, then down and across the zipper of her jeans where the flat of his hand rested over her mons. He fought the temptation to turn his fingers to skim down over her to the cleft between her thighs. She’d be hot there, the denim no barrier for his skilled hands. It would be a violation, and he couldn’t do that. So instead, he moved his hand upwards, up over the metal button of her jeans and beneath the hem of her camisole where his palm rested over her soft belly.
    He would not sleep this night. He would stay awake and watch her. Watch her and dream of things that could never be.
    Chapter Five

    Eve had never slept so deep, nor so peacefully. Yawning, she buried her chin deeper into the woollen blanket, snuggling in, refusing to wake up.
    She wanted to get back to that dream, the one that starred her handsome stranger and his magical hands.
    The clicking of nails rasping against the hardwood floors was followed by the cool wetness of Lizzy’s tongue on her cheek.
    “Not now, Liz,” Eve grumbled. “I’ve got to go back to sleep to find out what happens.”
    The spaniel whined playfully and nudged Eve’s shoulder with her muzzle.
    “Use the pet door, then,” Eve commanded as she pulled the blanket up higher on her shoulder.
    The damn dog took a corner of the blanket between her teeth and pulled it off Eve, carrying it far out of Eve’s grasping range.
    “What’s gotten into you—” Eve sat up and