massaging it. How could she argue when it felt so good? "Okay. Ask your next question." He sat there, quietly rubbing her foot while he considered. "Do ye want children?" That surprised her. "Yes." He removed his belt and sword and slid them down the table to the pile of clothes. "That's it?" she asked. "One lousy belt?" "'Twas an easy question for you." "Do you want children?" She knew the answer wouldn't be easy for him. He could never have
children if he married a Vamp. "If I ever have children, I would consider myself greatly blessed." "That's a bit evasive. But still nice." She uncinched her brown leather belt, and her wooden stakes
clattered onto the table. He stood and shoved the stakes across the table, so that they tumbled onto the floor. "A bit sensitive about those, aren't you?" "Aye." He plucked the feathered cap off her head and tossed it onto the pile of clothing. "What are you doing?" "Ye asked a question, and I answered it. In fact, I just answered another one." He tugged at the
lacings on her green elfin tunic.
"Stop that." She swatted his hand away. "Those questions didn't count. That was normal
conversation. Now ask an official question, please."
"Verra well." He sat back down in his chair and studied her. "What do ye want most in life?"
"That's a big one. You'll have to remove five articles of clothing for that answer."
"Four."
"All right, four. But I get to choose which ones."
He smiled. "Agreed."
What did she want the most? "Every morning, I start my day with four affirmations. I guess you
could say they're what I want most in life. Or what I want to believe the most. The first one is I
deserve to be happy."
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"Aye, ye do."
She slid off the table. "I'm taking your boots." She yanked them off and smiled at his argyle socks. So Scottish. "Yer second affirmation?" he asked. "I will accomplish my goals." He nodded. "Ye have worthy goals." She unbuttoned his red velvet jacket. "Take it off, Santa." He tossed the jacket on the table, along with the small pillow that had masqueraded as a belly. "Go
on." "Number three is I will achieve something meaningful with my life." "That is important. That's why I fight the Malcontents." He stood when she tugged on his white T
-shirt. He pulled it over his head and tossed it aside. She eyed his bare chest. The patch of black, curly hair, the strong pecs, the six-pack abs. His red
velvet pants were tied at his hips by a white drawstring. She took the end of the white cord in her fingers and gently pulled. "And the fourth affirmation?" She glanced up at his face. "It's always been the hardest one for me to believe." And the hardest to
confess. Her eyes stung with tears. "I am worthy to be loved." "Lass." He smoothed back her hair. "I have never met anyone more worthy of love than you." "Ian." She touched his face. "That's what I think about you." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She kissed him back with all the passion that had
grown inside her for days. He slanted his mouth over hers and invaded her with his tongue. Her knees grew weak. There was such hunger in his kiss. It made her feel desperate. Feverish.
She raked her hands down his smooth, bare back. "I want you." "Ye have me." He wadded her green elfin tunic in his fists and pulled it up and over her head. Her long-sleeved red T-shirt soon followed. Before she could lower her arms, he had her bra unclasped.
"You're very quick."
"Aye." He flung her bra aside. "Like you, I intend to accomplish my goals." He cupped one of her br**sts. Her ni**les hardened under the gaze of his red, glowing eyes. She squeezed her thighs together.
"What is your goal?" "To make ye moan." He rubbed his thumb over a tight nipple, and she did moan. "To make ye
shudder and scream." He leaned over to take her nipple into his mouth. He suckled, teased her with his tongue, then gently tugged. She shuddered and leaned back in his arms.
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"I want to feast on you." He gave his attention to her other breast.
Through a haze of sensual pleasure, she recalled that word feast. He was tormenting her nipple with his tongue. Were his fangs next? "You want to bite me?" He lifted his head and gave her a look of admonishment. "I'm no' doing this for food." "But you said feast." His mouth quirked. "I was referring to o**l s*x. Do ye have any objection to letting me kiss and
suck on you?" She gulped. "No, that would be fine." He slid his fingers underneath the waistband of her red tights and slowly tugged them down. "And
ye'll no' be shy about getting all juicy when ye come on my face?" "No," she squeaked. He smiled as his hands curved over her bare rump, dragging her tights down further. "Naughty
lass, ye're no' wearing undies."
"I learned that from you." She smoothed her hands over his biceps, then over his shoulders and onto his chest. "You're the most beautiful man." He snorted. With her tights rolled halfway down her thighs, he grabbed her at the waist and set her
on the table. Then he grasped her tights and finished dragging them down her legs. "I've been wanting to touch yer legs for days." He lifted them and rested her ankles on his
shoulders. "So long and golden, kissed by the sun." He slid his hands down to her thighs and turned his head to kiss her calf. Toni squirmed on her bare rump, becoming more and more aware of the slow, throbbing need
between her legs. He moved forward, coming closer to her core, kissing the inside of her knee, her
thigh. The red glow of his eyes in the dark sent a thrill through her. God, she wanted him. "Please." She fell back onto the table. She hooked her feet around the back of his neck to pull him closer.
He stroked his fingers across her belly, and she trembled. "By all the saints, I can smell yer scent.
It's so sweet. I canna resist tasting you." His words struck a primeval need inside her, making her even more wet. And ready. She opened her thighs to him.
His eyes burned red. He dragged his fingers into her curls, then leaned forward. "I want to see yer
face when I touch you for the first time." She focused on his red eyes, then gasped when his fingers slid between her legs. She shuddered as he stroked her gently, easing his way between her sensitive folds. She saw a flash of white teeth as he smiled.
"Ye're so verra wet." He inserted a finger inside her. "And verra warm." "Yes." She pushed against him.
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"Och, puir lass." He waggled his finger inside her. "Ye're in sore need of attention." With his other hand, he tweaked her clitoris. She squeaked. He pressed against her, and she pushed back.
She dug her fingernails into the table. "Please, hurry." He removed his finger. "We'll take it slow next time." He sat in a chair and rolled it up to the table. Meanwhile, he cupped her bottom and pulled her up to his face.
"This, sweetheart, is what I mean by a feast." He pounced on her, dragging his tongue over her
engorged skin, probing, tasting, licking. Toni squirmed, and he held her steady. She panted, closing her eyes as all sensation centered on her hot skin and his glorious mouth. He tickled her clitoris, then sucked on it gently. She cried out. Her legs tensed. His tongue flitted.
She screamed. A heart-stopping, delicious shudder crashed over her, then swelled up to crash over her again and again. "Och, Toni." He stood and pulled at the drawstring on his red velvet pants. "I'm dying for you." He stopped suddenly, tilting his head and frowning. "What is it?" She struggled to sit up. Her body was a melted heap of frazzled nerve endings. "Bloody hell," he muttered. "The alarm has gone off."
Chapter Twenty
Ian cursed again as he threw on his Santa coat. With vampire speed, he buttoned it up and yanked
on his boots. What bloody awful timing. He would have been tempted to let Connor or Angus deal with this, but the alarm had been triggered by an emergency psychic call for help from Phineas. Ian had taught the young Vamp how to fence. He had to be there for Phineas, no matter how much he wanted Toni. And God, he wanted her.
She was leaning over to pull on her red tights. Her long blonde hair fell forward, partially hiding her flushed face. She straightened, flipping her hair back as she wiggled the tights over her hips. By all the saints, he'd never realized that putting clothes on could be so sexy.