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He swore again as she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes A moment later, he felt the dampness of her tears on his skin

Her trust routed the beast within him as effectively as if she had splashed holy water in his face

Drawing her closer, he kissed her cheek “Go to sleep, darlin’,” he whispered “There won’t be any bad dreaht”

“Make love to me, Rane”

“Savanah…”

“Please ”

He wasn’t surprised or shocked by her request It was corief or stress forthee toSavanah into his eentle She wrapped her ars around him, slid one hand behind his neck, and kissed him as if her life and her sanity depended on it And maybe they did, he mused, as he deepened the kiss

He trailed his hands over her body, his own absorbing her heat She was young, her skin sainst hiertips sliding up her calf, lightly h, her belly, the underside of one breast Her moan was one of pleasure and invitation

He rose over her, his nostrils flaring She smelled of toothpaste and soap, of woer still was the steady beat of her heart, the constant lure of her life’s blood flowing just beneath the surface of her heated flesh

He closed his eyes against the temptation to lower his head to her neck; instead he brushed a kiss across her cheek and tasted the salt of her tears

Rane swore softly He had done a lot of despicable things in his life, but he had never violated a woht want hiht, but she would hate him tomorrow, just as she would surely hate him when she knew the truth about his existence

“Savanah, you should get some rest”

“Don’t you want htly, provocatively

“Of course, but…” He groaned as her hand dropped lower, covering his arousal

“Then take me,” she whispered

And because it hat she wanted, because he wasn’t made of stone, he caressed her until she was on the brink and then he sheathed himself deep inside her

There was ahimself as he realized he was the firstdeep within hiht forever dead

And then she murmured his name, her voice whisper-soft, filled with love and need, and in that instant, he kneould willingly sacrifice his life and everything he possessed to protect the wo out the , a glass of expensive whiskey in one hand, his eyes narrowed as he watched her cross the room “Well, is it done?”

“Just like all the others,” she replied with a toss of her head

“Did you have any trouble getting into the house?”

She crossed her arms over her brsts and then, shoulders slu with tears “What do you think?” she asked, sniffling

He chuckled softly He defied any man, human or otherwise, to resist her when she looked so pathetic, so helpless “Ah, Tasha, I was a fool to doubt you”

She basked in his praise “I don’t understand you What do you hope to gain by this?”