Everlasting Kiss by Amanda Ashley

stake a vampire, but she couldn’t muster the courage to surrender to the look in this man’s eyes, a look that promised pleasure unlike anything she had ever known, if she could just summon the nerve. But she couldn’t, at least not at the moment.
    He read the answer in her eyes before she spoke her refusal aloud.
    “Perhaps another night,” he said, “when you’re feeling braver.”
    Daisy frowned. How did he know what she was feeling, thinking? Maybe those deep dark eyes really could see into her heart and soul. Heaven knew this wasn’t the first time he had voiced what she had been thinking.
    There was a brief silence as the song ended, and then the strains of a slow ballad filled the air. Daisy had thought they would return to the bar, but Erik didn’t let her go. Content to be in his arms, she rested her head against his shoulder. She had never danced with anyone so light on his feet. He moved like liquid silk, every movement smooth, unruffled, unhurried. The look in his eyes made her feel beautiful, the intensity of his gaze made her feel like she was the most important thing in his life. What would it be like to go home with him, to run her hands over his broad chest and flat belly, to feel his hands moving in her hair, caressing her bare flesh…
    His voice, soft and sultry, sounded in her ear. “Are you sure you won’t change your mind and come home with me?”
    “Quite sure.” Lifting her head, she took a deep breath. “I think I’d better go.”
    “Let me walk you to your car.”
    She didn’t think that was a good idea. She needed to put some distance between them, but it seemed rude to refuse.
    She was acutely aware of him as he followed her around the edge of the dance floor toward the exit. He was tall and broad, but it was more than his imposing stature that she was aware of. Erik Delacourt radiated power and authority. Men with his confidence and self-assurance were usually CEOs of large companies who were accustomed to making decisions and giving orders. But Erik wasn’t a businessman or a tycoon. By his own account, he was a man who spent his time doing what pleased him.
    And she pleased him.
    She slowed her steps as some inner sense of self-preservation warned her not to let him think she was afraid of him. Afraid of him? Where had that thought come from? She wasn’t afraid of him. Was she?
    In the parking lot, she pulled her keys from her skirt pocket and unlocked her car door, slid behind the wheel, and rolled down the window. “Good night.”
    “What?” He lifted one brow. “No good-night kiss?”
    The prospect of having his mouth on hers sent a frisson of heat straight to the pit of her stomach. Before she could refuse, he leaned down and claimed her lips with his. She had thought his kisses on the beach were the ultimate aphrodisiac, but this kiss was deeper, hotter, more persuasive. It was like Christmas morning and Fourth of July skyrockets all rolled into one. She moaned softly when his hand caressed her nape, then slid up to cup the back of her head as his tongue plundered the depths of her mouth. It made her toes curl inside her shoes.
    She felt hot all over when he took his mouth from hers.
    “Good night, little flower,” he said, his lips curved in a knowing grin. “Sweet dreams.”
    Sweet dreams, indeed, she thought as she drove home. She could only imagine what kind of dreams his kisses would inspire. Something sexy and X-rated, no doubt. Lordy, the man’s kisses should come with warning labels. Just thinking about being alone with him made her skin feel tight and her heart pound with anticipation. Where had he learned to kiss like that? She had been kissed lots of times. It was a pleasurable experience, but no other man had ever made her feel the way Erik did. His kisses urged her to throw caution to the wind and the consequences be damned. She fanned herself with her hand. No doubt about it. Erik Delacourt and his kisses were a volatile combination, dangerous in