She gave a little huff of disbelief. “Duncan worries about you,” she disagreed. “He's worse than a mother hen."

"Yes, well,” Raphael said softly. “That's not quite the same thing, is it?"

Cyn studied him from across the room, and then shook her head in disgust. “Who am I kidding?” she muttered. She walked over to the desk, taking advantage of the natural sway given to her hips by the high heels. Raphael remained motionless, but his careful gaze followed every movement.

When she was close enough to touch, he said, “Don't you want to join Mirabelle's celebration?"

Cyn's mouth curved upward. “I'd rather celebrate with her master.” She reached out and took his injured arm in her hand, drawing it up to her mouth. Eyes never leaving his, she ran her tongue slowly up the full length of the wound, taking time to lick the soft skin of his wrist before closing her mouth over his pulse point with a gentle kiss.

A growl rumbled deep in Raphael's chest, and he reached out to pull her between his spread legs, his uninjured arm snaking around her back, fingers splayed over her butt to press her close. His lips danced along the bare skin of her neck and shoulders, following the line of her jaw before he took her mouth in a long, slow promise of a kiss. “This is a beautiful dress, my Cyn,” he whispered against her lips. “How quickly can we get you out of it?"

She laughed in delight, fingers twisting through his thick hair, reveling in the feel of his lips against her skin, every nerve hyper-alive as the blood she'd licked off his arm sped through her system. She leaned fully against him and his arms came around to hold her.

He stood suddenly, taking her with him. “Come,” he said.

She smiled against his soft lips. “Do you think it will be that easy, my lord?"

"Sweet Cyn,” Raphael purred. “I have no intention of making it easy at all."

Cyn shivered at the promise beneath his dark voice as he picked her up and carried her across the room. The hard edges of a bookcase brushed her back before he reached out and flicked an unseen switch. The shelves next to her began to move, swiveling around to reveal a hidden door.

"A secret room,” she teased. “How mysterious."

"An elevator,” he corrected and backed her inside, slamming her against the wall and covering her body with his as the small box began to move downward.

Chapter Forty-seven

Raphael's office was on the second floor, but Cyn couldn't have said how far down the elevator traveled. She had no thought for anything but the need to touch and be touched by Raphael. His mouth devoured hers hungrily, their lips locked in a searing kiss that she never wanted to end as their bodies molded to one another, nothing separating them but a thin layer of clothing. And still it wasn't enough. She needed to feel him, bare skin against bare skin, the glide of muscles, the chiming of nerves stimulated to an almost painful intensity.

She was aware they'd left the elevator only because there was a deep-pile carpet beneath her feet when she kicked off her shoes. Raphael's cool fingers glided down her back as he unzipped the green dress, sliding the sleeves off her shoulders until it skimmed down her body and pooled around her feet. He hummed with pleasure at the sight of the lace containing her breasts before it too fell to the carpet, exposing full mounds heavy with desire, rosy nipples hard and aching for his touch. Cyn cried out as his mouth tasted first one pearled nub, then the other, his teeth grazing along the tender flesh to send bolts of desire charging through her entire body until she could barely remain standing.

While Raphael's mouth brought glorious torment to her breasts, his hands roamed down her back, dipping beneath the narrow band of her thong and snapping it effortlessly, one more bit of lace added to the pile at her feet. Cyn moaned with the need to have him now, hard and fast, pounding between her legs. She tore his shirt away, buttons flying in her urgency. His belt was no obstacle, his zipper merely the gateway to his smooth shaft within. She slipped her hand beneath the fabric of his trousers and found him hard and ready, her stroking fingers dipping lower to caress his heavy sac.

She laid a row of kisses down his chest, following the line of silky hair down across the smooth flat expanse of his belly. She sank to her knees, sliding her hands down his hips to push his pants away and free his erection. Raphael hissed in surprise as she took him in her mouth, swirling her tongue around the head and teasing the thickness of his cock, taking him deeper until he struck the back of her throat as her fingers continued to stroke his balls. He gripped her hair, holding her in place and groaning with pleasure, before reaching down to pull her to her feet and throw her onto what seemed like an endless expanse of bed.

Raphael's eyes glowed silver, his gaze never leaving her as he stepped out of the rest of his clothes and stretched out above her. His head dipped to her neck and lower, suckling her breasts with sweet pain, sucking mouthfuls of the tender flesh between his teeth, his fangs leaving trails of blood that dripped over the plump mounds until he licked them clean with a low growl of hunger.

Cyn writhed under his sensuous assault, every nerve singing on the sharp edge of ecstasy, her heart swelling with the simple joy of being with him once again. She arched her back, offering herself, wanting more, crying out when his fangs sank into her flesh and shuddering with pleasure when his soothing tongue followed. She protested when he took his mouth away from her breasts, only to gasp with delight as he slid down between her legs and began to lap up the slick juices of her arousal. His fangs sank into the tender nub of her clit, throwing her into a climax of such exquisite intensity she thought she'd lose consciousness.

She fisted both hands in his short hair and tugged him back up the length of her body. “Fuck me, Raphael. Fuck me na—” Her demand turned into a groan of satisfaction as he obliged, driving his huge, hard cock deep between her legs in a single powerful thrust. She was wet and ready for him, trembling with need, and still he stretched her gloriously, burying his full length within her and holding it there, barely moving, gasping as her heat surrounded him. Her vision fogged with desire, Cyn watched him above her, his eyes closed with the effort of remaining still. She could feel his cock pulsing inside her, could see his chest moving with the beat of his heart, the bellow of his lungs. She reached up and ran her fingers softly over his brow, across the beautiful arch of his chiseled cheek bones and down to the fullness of his lips.

His eyes opened and met her gaze, gleaming in the low light as he began to thrust. Slowly at first, a smooth slide in and out as her juices lubricated the movement, as her inner walls adjusted to his thickness and welcomed his invasion. Faster as the hunger grew, as she rose to meet him, wrapping her long legs around his back and pulling herself onto his shaft. Her climax started deep inside, a flexing of her womb that shuddered outward until it was caressing his cock, as he pumped even faster, driving them both to the point of delirium and beyond.

Cyn screamed as the wave swept over her, bowing her back, seizing her muscles. She clung to Raphael, wanting this feeling, this joining of their bodies, to go on forever, hearing him roar when her climax rippled along his cock and triggered his own, milking him, draining him as his hot release filled her body.

He collapsed against her, rolling over slightly to cradle her in his arms, taking his weight off her while keeping himself firmly sheathed inside. Cyn lay in his embrace, feeling his cock still flexing deep within her, trembling with the aftermath of their joining. Raphael tightened his arms, holding her as if she was something precious to him, something he'd feared lost and, now found, would never let go again.

Cyn turned her face against his chest as the tears began to flow. “I missed you, too,” she whispered, not knowing if he'd hear.

Raphael kissed her forehead and then her cheeks, tasting the tears. He grew still. "Lubimaya?"

Cyn tried to control the terrible and foolish need to weep, embarrassed by her own naked emotion. “The dreams were nice, Raphael, but this was much better,” she managed to say, forcing a light laugh.

He said nothing for a moment, while Cyn silently begged him to let it go. When he chuckled, she relaxed, hooking her leg around his hip and rolling over on top, with him still buried deep between her thighs. Meeting his gaze, she began to move slowly, rocking back and forth on his responsive shaft, tightening the muscles of her core, cupping her breasts in offering. His gaze grew heated and he hardened once again. He reached behind her to cup her ass in both hands, holding her against him as he began a steady in and out movement, taking control away from her. Cyn gasped as he went far deeper, filling her completely. Her eyes closed and she dropped onto his chest, relishing the feel of his hard muscle and silky hair against the softness of her breasts. She lifted enough to kiss him, caressing his distended fangs with her tongue, feeling the slight sting as she drew her own blood.

Raphael growled her name, a rumble of sound low in his chest, vibrating through her bones. As her blood continued to flow, he gripped her tightly and flipped them both over, pounding now between her thighs, lifting her legs higher to delve deeper, driving into her with powerful thrusts that lifted her from the bed. Cyn whimpered softly, lost in the rush of sensation. She wrapped her arms ever more tightly around him, trapping him inside her, never wanting to let go. Another orgasm began a slow shudder through her body, and Raphael's mouth found the sweet vein in her neck. She trembled at the diamond hardness of his fangs against her skin, crying out when they pierced her vein, when she felt the pull of her blood as it slid down his throat. Every nerve in her body came alive at once, her soft cry of joy lost in the roar of Raphael's completion. His release shot deep inside her, and she convulsed in a searing orgasm, her nails opening bloody rows down his back, sending him into yet another climax, hard on the first.

* * * *

Cyn lay in Raphael's arms, panting for breath, stunned into stillness by the strength of her emotions, terrified she would wake up to discover it was nothing but another dream. Her heart sped even faster at the thought, and she tightened her hold on him, wishing never to wake up if it was a dream. As if sensing her fear, Raphael stroked a comforting hand down her back, kissing her sweat-dampened skin and licking the trails of blood from her neck.