Protector of the Light (Champion of the Sidhe urban fantasy series) by S. A. Archer, S. Ravynheart Page B

sensuality of his voice caressing her name like a lover. An easy game to play. A familiar one. One he'd mastered ages ago. As his mouth hovered ever so close to hers, Lugh's tongue dipped between her lips. The quick prick of his tongue against fang brought forth a mere trickle of blood. In the kiss that followed, Lugh barely tasted his own blood, as Selena hungrily consumed every drop. She moaned into his mouth and he returned the compliment. He wasn't the only one who'd honed the art of the kiss for centuries. Even after the slight wound ceased to bleed, neither of them ended the mutual appreciation abruptly, allowing the kiss to linger and subside naturally.
    Her gaze remained fixed upon his mouth for a thoughtful moment, savoring the memory, he imagined, and no doubt craving more. He prompted her, "About the earthborn Sidhe?"
    "The children of the Unseelie exiles who fled the Mounds over the last few decades."
    Lugh absorbed her explanation, still no closer to true understanding. Unseelie exiles? His spies in the Unseelie Court had made no mention of any such exiles. "The Sidhe do not sire offspring as swiftly as other races. Surely, these children are not true Sidhe."
    "Oh, but they are." Selena stared at his mouth almost obsessively. "Nothing else tastes like Sidhe."
    This much he knew. Magic laced the blood of the fey. Blood drinkers craved the fey above all other donors. And the Sidhe, with the purest and strongest natural magic, over the other races of fey. From what he'd gleaned, the scent of Sidhe blood could be detected through intact skin and at a short distance. Even a vampire who had never before sampled Sidhe blood instinctually salivated with feral desire at the mere whiff of a nearby Sidhe. "Where might I discover these earthborn Sidhe, that I might gaze upon them with my own eyes and know them for what they are?"
    With a lovely and thoughtful tilt of her head, Selena considered her answer, no doubt determining her price. "What brought you to my place? Not the search for the earthborns, but certainly something worth risking your neck." As Selena stroked over the flesh of his throat, Lugh felt the light drag of her fingernails along the pulse of his artery. No spent vein blood for this nightwalker. She craved the heart-fresh manna with the thickest concentration of magic. The woman knew how to feed from a Sidhe to the greatest intoxicating effect. Arteries dwelt deeper than veins, more challenging to pierce and potentially more deadly. Should she feed from him there he'd immediately suffer blood loss to the brain, impairing his judgment and reaction time.
    "I propose to offer you a trade." With a smile of seduction, Lugh gathered her closer. Never did he release her hair, trusting her not that far. Controlling her by her silken tresses, he arched her neck for him. The subtle brush of his nose traced her jaw and she rewarded him with a catch of her breath. With his lips feathering against her ear, he murmured, "I shall grant you the remainder of the evening in a private sharing of selves, in which you yield all command to me, in exchange for one item of my choosing. No questions or exceptions."
    Her fingers curled in the fabric of his shirt, demanding more of the attention that he lavished. "And for the location of the earthborns?"
    "I shall grant you the privilege of muscle blood." The least potent. He offered her not a vessel of any consequence, but the dregs which might be lapped from a flesh wound. If not for the Fade, he might have offered more, but he dare not waste even what magic laced his blood.
    Selena's deep, purring laughter chilled him with the delight of a predator. With an amused snarl, she pushed back from his embrace even as she tore open his shirt, scattering the buttons that popped free and baring the definition of his muscled chest for all to see. Abandoning the whisper of their conversation, she demanded, "And why shouldn't I just take what I want, Sidhe? Take you for my own and bleed you