“Lance . . . ” Kat said.
The big knight looked back at her. “Yeah?”
“Thank you for riding to the rescue.”
He shrugged. “Hey, you’re my daughter.”
She gave him the first genuine smile she’d had for him. “Yeah, that I am.” Kat listened to the fire crackle as it shed a golden glow over Ridge’s gloriously naked body. He lay sprawled on the huge fur throw she’d conjured in front of the fireplace, his skin contrasting with the dark, shimmering mink.
Selecting a strawberry from the silver tray at her elbow, she took a tart, juicy bite, then another sip from her champagne glass. “I could get used to this magic thing.” Ridge’s long fingers curled around his own glass, lids dipping lazily over brilliant green eyes. “It does have its appeal.” He wasn’t talking about the champagne, either. She could feel the sexual heat humming through him as he admired the full curve of her br**sts and the line of her long legs.
Kat smiled at him and chose another strawberry. Took a slow, taunting bite. His rumble of male hunger made her grin.
For the first time in her life, she felt beautiful. Struck by the thought, Kat considered it. She’d always known she was reasonably attractive—she’d been hit on often enough, though she’d never really felt comfortable with male admiration. Maybe because she’d never really trusted any of those men.
She trusted Ridge. Would have trusted him even without the Truebond.
He smiled at her, sensuous and lazy. I trust you too, babe.
“Good, because you’re stuck with me.” She hesitated, a new and vulnerable thought flashing through her mind. Does he mind? We’re connected now. We couldn’t break the Truebond if we wanted to.
Of course, Ridge read that flash of insecurity. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” His green eyes met hers in the fire-light, serious and intent. “Kat, I love you.” And he meant it. She could feel the love in his mind, a pure, warm glow.
She smiled in delight, basking in that lovely sensation. “And I love you, Ridge Champion.” He sat up, put his glass aside, and reached for her. Kat fell into his arms with a soft moan, quickly muffled by his kiss.
Ridge tasted of champagne and his own distinct male heat. His tongue entered her mouth, a slow, tempting slide, rich with seduction. His body pressed against hers, all hard, hair-roughened muscle. She let her fingers drift over him, exploring the warm ridges of definition, the shape of his back, his broad shoulders, his strong throat. He purred in pleasure against her fingertips, a delightful male rumble. And began to explore her in turn, finding curves and hollows, tracing the contours of a jutting nipple until she quivered at the arousing, velvet sensations.
Each sensation had a lovely, shimmering echo as he experienced what she did, returning the pleasure in a sweet feedback loop. Making love to Ridge had always been amazing, but the Truebond gave passion an entirely new dimension. For one thing, she could feel what felt best to him, could zero in on precisely the right pressure, the right combination of nail and fingertip and tongue and tooth to drive the delight even higher.
Somehow that rising passion quickly turned into a sensual contest there on the thick fur throw, as each sought to drive the other crazy.
Ridge won by simply lifting her onto her knees, spreading her legs, and pinning her astride his face with a hand on each of her thighs. All her helpless squirming did her no good at all against his vampire strength.
“No fair!” Kat gasped, and moaned as he dragged his tongue the length of her sex.
His only answer was a wicked little chuckle as he settled down to lick swirling circles around her clit.
God, the sensations were mind-blowing. Ridge’s mouth felt so hot, so perfect, as he used his tongue in tiny, delicate little flicks. Even as she gasped, he reached up her body to find one nipple. His fingers strummed and plucked the furled bud, creating jolt after sweet burning jolt of delight, like a series of delicious electric shocks.
But Kat wasn’t so easily overwhelmed. She twisted with the agility of a natural athlete, reached back, and found his cock. Big as it was, it made an easy target. A smile of satisfaction curling her mouth, she began stroking her fingers along the hard, sensitive shaft, tracing the long, snaking veins, the plump head and fat, furry balls.
He growled at her from between her thighs. She had no trouble translating the sound, even without the Truebond. Keep that up, and this will be over too soon.
Then you’ll just have to exert a little self-control, won’t you?
He punished her with a particularly long, evil stroke of his tongue that ripped a gasp of pleasure from her mouth. Writhing, she returned the favor with a stroke of her fingers from the base of his c**k to its head, smearing the silken drop of pr**cum over the sensitive curve.
The sensations were so intense, their mutual arousal was so hot, neither of them could hold out long.
Soon Ridge tumbled her onto her back, rose over her like a hot-eyed wave, and spread her wide.
Kat gasped as he positioned his thick organ at her opening and drove home in one hard lunge. The sensation of being so utterly filled blended with his sensation of filling her. The mental reverberation seemed to make their very bones vibrate. They yowled in chorus.
Ridge started thrusting. Kat rolled her hips to meet him, grinding hard, desperate for every bit of friction, hungry for the hot release of climax.
Even as he powered into her, thrust rolling into thrust, Ridge tipped up her chin. Knowing what he wanted, she gave him her throat.
The sweet, piercing pain of his bite edged the hot pleasure of entry and retreat. Kat screamed out, overwhelmed by the complex brew of sensations. Ridge bellowed in reply, shooting into climax at her heels, in a whirling, dizzy detonation.
Afterward, they collapsed together in a limp, boneless pile, breathing hard in happy exhaustion. “I don’t think I can move,” Kat moaned.
“You don’t need to move,” Ridge murmured, sounding thoroughly sated. “We’ll just lay right here and pant.”
Kat smiled, watching sparks of magic swirl dizzily around them, as if dancing on the air currents they’d stirred up. She followed one particular bit of glittering green with her eyes. Something about it reminded her of something she hadn’t thought about in years. “I’ve got this memory. I must have been really young.”
Ridge turned his head to look at her, surprised at the remembered image in her thoughts. “A Christmas tree? I didn’t think you had any good memories of Christmas trees.”