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at her. There was something about his eyes that she found so compelling that she barely noticed that his face kept growing closer to hers.
    Her mind warned her, back up! But her body just wouldn’t obey. She stood watching as he grew closer and closer, unable to make herself move away from him.
    Why? Why couldn’t she bring herself to step back? Her mind kept screaming at her to move her feet, but her slippers seemed glued to the floor.
    She’d never believed it when she read about the electric shock, the fireworks behind eyelids when a woman kissed a man in almost all of the romance novels she read. Sure, it was a lovely concept, but she had never experienced it, and Cherie had certainly kissed her share of men. However, when Hunter pressed his lips against hers, she saw them. She felt it the moment Hunter kissed her.
    She refused to close her eyes. She watched him as his eyes closed and he groaned. What was it about this man that made it so impossible to stop him from kissing her? Cherie’s eyes opened wider when her lips parted, seemingly of their own volition.
    As soon as her mouth opened, Hunter took advantage, thrusting his tongue past her teeth to tangle with her own before charting a course over her teeth as though counting each and every one.
    Shivers slid along her spine and warmth settled in her middle. Even though her mind still protested, she didn’t fight him when he pulled her tight against him, molding her body to his. She could feel every hard inch of him and, she thought with no small degree of clarity, some parts were harder than others. Still, though she feared the worst, that she was in the hotel room of the man who had actually kidnapped her and planned to assault her, she couldn’t force herself to push him away.
    Finally closing her eyes, she gave in to the kiss, hoping this was nothing more than a dream. If this really was happening, she prayed that he would stop before she helped him take advantage of her.
    Nothing could compare to the feel of his warm, experienced lips sliding against hers. This was no clumsy kiss of a boy suffering from heightened hormones. No. This was the kiss of a man who knew exactly what he was doing. Of its own volition, her body relaxed even more against him. She reached up, her arms sliding around his neck, drawing him closer to deepen the kiss.
    Whatever the reason for her body’s betrayal, she could never live with herself if she allowed this kiss to go any further than the press of his body against hers. She whimpered when his hand slipped beneath her t-shirt and he cupped her lace-covered breast.
    Tears slid down her face as she realized this was real and he wasn’t about to stop this thing happening between them. If anything, his erection that he held pressed so tightly against her grew larger by the moment.
    Slowly, Hunter withdrew his hand from under her shirt, slid his hands up her arms to her shoulders and raised his head. Stepping back, he looked down into her eyes.
    “Don’t cry, little one.” He bent to press a kiss against her forehead. “I won’t hurt you. This was just an experiment.”
    “An experiment?” She stepped back, pulling from his grasp. “What do you mean, this was just an experiment?” What was he, some kind of sadist or something? Did he want to see her in pain? If so, she’d rather he just slapped her so she could kick him in the crotch and leave.
    “I needed to see if I could control you.”
    “ What ?” What in the world was he talking about? She looked up at him and tried to catch her breath.
    “I’m a vampire. I can control you. I could make you take off every stitch of clothing you wear, even if you didn’t want to.” He stared down at her as though waiting for something. “I made you kiss me, even though your mind kept screaming at you to stop.”
    “You son of a bitch!” The loud crack of her hand hitting his cheek was loud and she smiled at the sound. He deserved more than that, if what he said was