Scarlet Heat (Born to Darkness) by Evangeline Anderson Page B

was the reason I had said yes to Corbin’s
crazy proposal—not the fifty thousand I owed him. But just because she looked
at me like that. God…
    Forgetting that I was supposed to keep my
distance, I reached out to stroke a silky strand of hair out of her face. I
tucked it behind her ear and Taylor murmured something in her sleep and
suddenly cuddled closer to me.
    The motion caused the white t-shirt she was
wearing to ride up, showing the slope of her hip and the softly rounded curve
of her bare ass.
    Whoa… Okay, this wasn’t good. I was
naked myself and having her so close was really affecting me. I tried pushing
her gently away but Taylor only cuddled closer, pressing her body to mine and
nuzzling her face against my chest like a kitten that wanted to be stroked. I
could feel the soft globes of her breasts pressing against me through the thin
cotton of the t-shirt and the warmth of her soft little pussy mound lower down,
almost against my cock. Her feminine scent with that delicious thread of scarlet
heat running through it teased my nose, making me nearly crazy with desire.
    Damn, I wanted her! I had to get away .
    “Taylor,” I said aloud, still trying to extricate
myself from her embrace. “Wake up, sweetheart. I, uh, need to get up now.”
    Actually, I needed to go to the bathroom and jerk
off but I wasn’t about to advertise that. Who could have guessed that I would
be so damn attracted to a vampire?
    “Taylor,” I said again, more urgently. I tried to
push her away again but she pressed closer and rubbed her cheek against my
chest.
    “Yes,” she murmured, her eyes still firmly
closed. “So good…feels so good.”
    “Won’t be good for long if you keep this up,” I
growled, pulling away from her. “Come on, baby—you need to let go. Need to—”
    Suddenly, Taylor’s eyes flew open and she sat
straight up in bed.
    “What…where am I?” She looked at me uncertainly
and then recognition flooded her eyes. “What are you doing here? Where’s the
wolf?”
    “He’s here.” I thumped my chest. “I changed
back.”
    Her eyes flicked over my naked body, no doubt
taking in my cock, which was standing at attention for her.
    “Uh, sorry,” I muttered, shifting to try and hide
it. I wanted to pull the covers over my hip but we were sleeping on top of the
spread for some reason.
    A look of fear crossed her face and she scooted
suddenly away from me, putting distance between us.
    “What have you been doing to me since you changed
back?”
    “Nothing.” I held up my hands in a “don’t shoot”
gesture. “I swear.”
    “I don’t believe you,” she snapped. “I thought…I
thought I felt your hands. We were both naked and you…you were touching me.”
    “Look at yourself, sweetheart,” I said, not
bothering to hide the sarcasm in my voice. “You’re still dressed—well, sort of.
And I’m only naked because I just changed back. You must have had a dream.”
    “But…but why would I dream about that?” Her voice quivered. “I don’t even
like that. I never want to ever again. I don’t—”
    “Taylor—” I started but she shook her head.
    “No, leave me alone. I just…I can’t.” Swiftly she
jumped off the bed and ran out of the bedroom.
    “Watch out for the sun,” I shouted after her.
“It’s three in the afternoon and this is the only light-tight room in the
house.”
    The words were barely out of my mouth when I
heard a scream from the kitchen. Damn it,
now what? Grabbing a pair of sweat pants from the closet, I ran after her.
    Taylor was standing in the center of the kitchen,
surrounded by a brilliant flood of late afternoon sunlight. She must have been
running blind and ended up there by accident but it was the absolute worst spot
in the house for her to be. Because of the L-shape of the room and the large
windows I had installed, the entire place was flooded with light—all but one
small spot in the center directly opposite the wall where the large oven range
and