Honeymoon Bite (Golden Vampire Legacy) by Sharon Hamilton

prefer this feeding to take place, my pet?” He was very close to her, just outside the café entrance.
    “Look, Marcus. I know you are trying hard. It bothers me when you call me pet. It feels inappropriate.”
    “I understand.”
    They did not touch, but the heat from his body was warm and intimate. Anne would have to say intoxicating. The sound of his voice was velvet. She had the urge to lean closer to him. His breathing was new to her, but becoming familiar the longer she stayed in his presence. She could pick out the unique resonant sounds deep within his chest of his inhalation and exhalation from a crowd of fifty men, at a distance across the parking lot. A group of teenage girls tittered as they scanned his large, looming frame bent over hers. He didn’t pay them any attention. A young couple waiting in line inside the store turned and looked back at them several times.
    “I will pick a place, then.”
    He led her to his car. The instant she sat down in the rich black leather upholstery his scent enveloped her. She caught a glimpse of him through the windshield as he made his way around the front of the car. And then he was inside.
    The area between her legs throbbed. Her panties felt moist. She was lost in this sensual pleasure, aware of the thin line between the two kinds of hunger, one for blood and one for sex. This male could satisfy both.
    His fingers grazed her cheek. His forefinger traced her lips. She parted her lips and let her tongue barely touch the tip of his finger. He moved his hand along her jaw line and turned her head to face him. He whispered, “Do not be afraid. Please trust me.” His eyes had that copper ring at the outsides of the irises, which pulsed to his heartbeat.
    She was at the edge of losing her consciousness.
    The roar of the car made her jump. The Olds was a beast, a living thing, demanding attention. Demanding to be driven. By a strong male. This male. This male who thought she was his female.
    Each time the car jerked forward, centrifugal force pressed her body back against the molded seat, and each time her head was jammed into the headrest she felt the thrust of a male inside her. Marcus didn’t try to drive carefully. His reflexes were perfect. He drove with confidence and command. Captain of her ship. Keeper of her soul. God help her, he was both.
    They drove up the freeway as other cars scrambled to distance themselves from the Ferrari’s powerful lunges. About twenty minutes later they had passed a town square surrounded by shops, and then turned left out into the valley floor, which was covered in vineyards, lush and verdant.
    “See, Anne, the grapes are still green.” He slowed down, leaned across her, and pointed out the window so she could see the clusters glowing in the early July sun. “Some of these will be deep burgundy in color within just a couple of weeks. The change happens fast.”
    She nodded her head. He pulled back his arm and she felt the airspace in front of her grow cool.
    “Everything changes, turns. The leaves turn colors. The grapes. The grasses in the fields. Even the sky turns from blue to gray to black, and then back to blue again.”
    She continued nodding, accepting the lesson.
    Teach me more. Her insides ached for a touch from him. She rested her hand on his as he maneuvered the gearshift lever. She felt the rumble of a groan emanating from his chest.
    “You touch me, female. You touch me.”
    “I couldn’t help it.”
    He pulled over to a gravel trail that led through a rusted gate he clicked open with the touch of a button on the dashboard. They climbed a small hill. He positioned the car so they could see the rows of vineyards stretched before them. The beautiful sight brought tears to her eyes. She was filled with emotion—both confusing and delicious.
    “I will kiss you now, my female.”
    She should resist, but found she couldn’t lift a finger to stop him. He leaned toward her face as she parted her lips. “Anne. Just say