Sleeping Beauty and the Demon by Marina Myles

over again. “Yes, I am. But I don’t know if my feelings for you are real .”
    With a slow, sultry motion, Drago leaned in and began to kiss away her hot tears. “Your feelings are very real, Rose.”
    Her eyelids grew heavy and her eyes fluttered shut against his touch.
    “They’re real because I love you in return. And I’ll never let you go.”
    “You still haven’t given me an answer,” she said hoarsely.
    “If I did hypnotize you, do you want me to lift my spell?”
    His warmth enveloped her—and because she knew deep down that she would never feel alive without him, all she could do was answer honestly. “No.”
    Apparently, that was what he needed to hear. Urging her head upward, he covered her mouth with his. Body aflame, she parted her lips and let his tongue glide forward. Its sweet taste intoxicated her—and as his hand dropped from the curve of her neck to the roundness of her breast, she pressed against it to make his grasp firmer.
    In a single scoop, Drago lifted her off the divan and carried her into his bedroom. After he laid her on the bed, he lowered the gas lamp’s flame to a dim glow. Then he stood to remove his shirt and when he joined her on the mattress, another surge of desire shot through her.
    “My rosebud. I want you more than any other woman I’ve ever known. Without you, food has no taste, music holds no gaiety, and life has no meaning. Will you let me show you how much I love you?”
    She could only whimper a response. A slip of air separated them and she could smell his masculine scent sweep forward. Reeling with anxiousness, she reached for him and he caressed her lips with his again. Rose put a hand to the angle of his jaw and felt it clench and unclench as his experienced tongue rolled in and out of her mouth. She never knew a kiss could offer so much satisfaction. What carnal delights awaited her when she was finally naked in Drago’s arms?
    Naked? My God! Reality rushed over her. What on earth was she doing in this apartment, with this man who was so much older and more experienced than she?
    As if he’d read her thoughts, Drago said. “Don’t worry, Rose. This will be our little secret.”
    Before she knew it, he was unbuttoning her lace blouse. As his deft fingers moved over the fabric, he continued to devour her with hot kisses. Meanwhile, Rose’s desire for him made her throw her cares to the wind, fueling her willingness.
    That sense of empowerment stopped her from freezing with self-consciousness when he exposed her breast.
    “Christ,” he said gruffly at the sight. “You’re so damned beautiful.”
    She blushed and looked away.
    “As you’ve guessed by now, I’m a bad man,” he murmured, just as gruffly. “A man who wants to make love to you hotly. Wickedly.”
    The words couldn’t have enflamed Rose more. As he took her peach-colored nipple in his mouth and teased it with his tongue, she suspected that she’d lose her virginity this very day. And she could think of nothing more pleasurable.
    She stared at Drago’s face as he worked his magic on her flesh. His lips were moist and supple and his dark skin glimmered in the light.
    Releasing his mouth from her nipple, Drago hungrily eased her other breast free of the thin camisole. Then, with a flick of his fingers across both nipples, he made them rise. The sight caused him to moan louder. And by gathering both of her breasts in one hand, he was able to lap his tongue back and forth over her stiff buds while she writhed beneath him anxiously.
    After a moment, he glanced up at her and she felt herself melt under his smoldering gaze. “Don’t be nervous, Rose,” he urged. “I won’t hurt you.”
    When he slid one hand beneath the folds of her skirt, he found the creaminess between her thighs. She, in turn, felt his thick staff surge forward against her leg. Her heart thundered in her chest but she didn’t dare look down at the bulge in his trousers. She was inexperienced, to say the least, but with