The Feeder by E.M Reders Page B

breathlessly, looking everywhere but at me.
    “Come on, sweetheart. You can ask me anything.”
    Taking a deep breath, peeking up at me from beneath long, dark lashes, she forced out the words. “Do you think that maybe we could stay up here? I mean, there was a noise, I swear, and I really want you to hear it. So maybe if you stayed up here with me, you might hear it too.”
    There was one problem with her thinking – not necessarily a problem for me, in fact, I loved the thought of it – to hear the noise I would have to be in here with her, and there wasn’t enough room on the floor for me to sleep. If I were to stay here with her, in her room, we would need to share. “But where will I sleep?” I asked with a smile.
    “Well…I was hoping… in the bed with me?”

 
    Eve
    “Try and get some sleep, sweetheart. I'll keep an ear out.” 
    We had been laid in bed together for the past hour in silence in the hope of hearing the noise that had sent me fleeing from the room. So far we’d heard nothing. “No, it's okay; I'll stay up with you.”
    “Now that's just silly. You need your rest.”
    “And so do you. You’re a vampire; you should be sleeping now.” And here I was keeping him from that sleep with my silliness. It was just a noise. It didn't mean that the stalker was here. Did it?
    “I can survive on less,” he smiled, rolling onto his side and gazing down at me, concern etched on his face. “You, on the other hand, haven't been getting enough lately. I'm here, Eve. You’re safe with me.” The plea for me to believe his words clear in his voice.
    “I know,” I whispered. I knew that now, knew that he would never hurt me. I could trust him. Though, it still shocked me that within a matter of a few short weeks I had gone from keeping myself at a distance from all vampires – other than Gideon – to truly enjoying the company of them. And in the case of Thayne, trusting one. 
    “You do?” he breathed lowering his head, inching his lips closer to mine.
    “Yes, I really do.”
    Feeling his breath on my lips, I knew that this was it. This was my last and only chance to pull away, to put an end to what was happening between us before things went too far, before I got hurt – which was a very real possibility – but I didn't want to.
    It was stupid. It was dangerous. But it was what I wanted more than anything in the world. I just had to make sure he understood that my blood was off limits.
    Placing my finger against his lips, I postponed the complete descent of his kiss a moment longer. His desire filled eyes lifted to meet mine in an instant. “You can't bite me. You can't feed on me. Promise?”
    For a moment, panic rose within me. What if he promised and then broke that promise? What if he refused and went straight for my neck the moment my guard was down? 
    No! This is Thayne. Haven’t we just decided that I can trust him?
    Shaking the negative thoughts from my head, forcing the panic back, I focused on Thayne and the words coming out of his mouth. “Never without your permission, I swear.” 
    That was all I needed to hear.
    The moment his lips touched mine, everything about the danger of getting involved with him, the creep stalking me and the high chance that they had been here just a few hours ago vanished from my mind. The soft press of his lips, the smooth swipe of his tongue as he coaxed me to open to him, left me feeling like I was floating on air. It was a slow kiss, a gentle meeting of mouths and tongues.
    His hands pulled me closer, my body flush with his. As the kiss turned and became more demanding, my hands began to roam over his body. I wanted closer. Even though we were laid in bed together, nothing but my night clothes and the pair of sweats he wore between us, it wasn’t close enough.
    Moving my hands to my nightshirt, I began to pull frantically at the buttons holding it closed. I wanted to feel him skin to skin, for my breasts to be pressed up against his hard,