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reason I stayed in the Pennines."
I stared up at him, at a face I thought I knew, at a man I thought I knew. I wish
you'd told me this seven years ago."
"Would you have listened?"
"Probably not. I tried another smile, and this one was more successful. Just
think, though. I could have left Fallyn and run away with you."
"You'd never have left him, Carver said.
"You sound very sure of that, I said, despite knowing he was right.
"I am. Your integrity is one of the most beautiful things about you. I'm not sure
I'd have had these feelings for so long about a woman who'd up and leave her husband
for a vampire mercenary."
I didn't ask what those feelings were. It was pretty obvious to me. Plus if I asked,
and he told me, I'd have to confront how I felt about him. And I wasn't sure I could do
that yet.
So I kissed him. I touched my mouth to his, and fell into the passion and joy he
was kissing into me. Such a simple delight, to kiss without inhibitions. To wrap my
arms around his naked body and press myself against him. To feel his heat and strength
and know that whatever I did with him, he'd accept it and enjoy it.
I broke the kiss and rubbed my thigh over his hip. I want to put my mouth on
you, I said, and felt no embarrassment at the confession. I want to taste a man who's
not afraid to make love with me."
Cat Masters Empire 1: After The Fall 58
Carver closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and said, You really
ought to warn me before you say things like that. He shifted, and I felt how hard he'd
suddenly become.
"You might have to give me pointers, I said. I've never done any of this
before. I started kissing his neck, stubble rough against my lips. Fallyn had always
been scrupulously clean-shaven, and Carver felt wild and feral in contrast.
"That part you did yesterday, he said, breath coming a little faster.
"Yes, but beyond this is alien territory. Virgin, as it were."
He groaned, and I felt the vibration in his throat. Don't say things like that, he
repeated raggedly, and I smiled and moved to his shoulder.
There was a dip below the shoulder bone and I poked my tongue into it before
continuing down his arm, stroking the surprisingly smooth skin and unsurprisingly
hard muscle. Not an ounce of fat on him. Muscle and bone, like the wild animal he was.
I shivered deliciously and pushed him onto his back, the better to explore him.
Carver lay below me, watching as I surveyed him, allowing me to do what I wanted.
When I picked up his bionic arm and traced my fingers over his palm, his fingers curled
around and held me there.
"Your hand is real, I said, turning it over and examining the hairs on the back of
it. When I blew gently on them, they stood up in reaction.
"Well, it ain't made out of chocolate, he replied, and I sucked his middle finger
into my mouth just to make sure. From Carver's reaction, it was the right thing to do.
I touched the steel rods and wires that made up his forearm, disappearing at
both ends into a sheath of skin. They looked vaguely like an anatomical model, albeit
one made with the wrong materials. Here I could see the rod functioning as the ulna,
and there the radius. Flexible cords functioned as muscles, wires as nerves and veins,
sending impulses up and down his arm to his hand.
"This was made by a doctor, I said, frowning, not a technician."
Carver nodded. Patched me up with what he had. Bits of other people's
bionics."
Cat Masters Empire 1: After The Fall 59
I wanted to ask what had happened to cause his whole arm to be replaced with
bits of tech, but kneeling over his naked body didn't seem the right time to do it. I
turned his hand over and kissed the palm, then pressed it to my breast. Carver curled
his hand around my soft flesh, running his thumb over the nipple, and I smiled even as
I caught my breath.
I dropped my head to his chest, using hands and mouth to map the territory.
Dozens of smaller scars became apparent, each of them testimony to someone's real and
earnest wish to kill him. I kissed each one I found, and when my explorations brought
me closer to his nipple, I kissed that too. It hardened under my lips, and I flicked my
tongue across it, enjoying this new sensation.
Candlelight played over his body, lending his skin a warm hue. He was never
cold, I realized, not as cold as I'd have expected a vampire to be. Resting my head on his
chest, I listened to his heartbeat, felt the thump of his life echo through my own body.
Carver had one hand on the back of my neck, and his fingers slid up into my
hair, stroking and playing with it.
"How does a mercenary taste, my lady? he asked.
I raised my head and met his gaze with my own. Like a good man, I replied,
and slid my hand down his stomach to grasp his swollen shaft. My eyes on his, I ran my
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