Read Why These Two for Free Online Page A

spread slightly with the move, looking more than feminine, and then God help him, she pulled her legs up and crossed them, pooling the violet-shaded gown into the well of space she’d created.
    Shit .
    Darryl jerked his eyes away, fixing somewhere over her head. Forced his vision to focus on the wall behind her. The stonework. The logs. The oil painting of a rustic cabin somewhere in the Alps. Anything but her.
    He was losing. He just didn’t know how badly. Maybe she didn’t either.
    “What do you want to talk about?” he asked the painting.
    “Mating.”
    His entire form lurched at least an inch off the bed before dropping back. The jolt of his spine hurt. Not enough. He felt a flush spread all through him, starting at his chest and moving outward. Heating him as it went. Sending physical signs that he couldn’t control. Mating. The word was primal-sounding. Territorial. Primitive. Barbaric. And incredibly rousing.
    He’d never dealt with such lust. Craving. Need. He put a hand atop his cock beneath the quilt and just held it there, keeping the information to himself.
    “In particular…true mates.”
    “True mates?” His voice warbled. Maybe she wouldn’t know why.
    “Yes. It’s a phenomenon some species get to experience. They mate for life. Eagles, for instance.”
    “Eagles.”
    He moved his eyes back to hers. It wasn’t purposefully. It was like she was a magnet and he was steel. She had spectacular eyes. Deep. Light violet shaded. Mysterious. Pools of purple liquid. Filled with desire. His dick pulsed at his palm. He pressed back.
    “I’m not explaining it well…but I never believed it. Not until now.”
    “Believed what?”
    “The mating thing. Two beings destined and meant for each other. Through eternity.”
    Holy shit . His brain was reacting in absolute horror and denial, but his rod just was not connected, or something. That portion of his anatomy was getting antsy, and even harder. Darryl licked his lips. Spoke. Sounded like a truck backfiring.
    “You think…I’m your mate?”
    Sweet. He could actually make a sentence. And it wasn’t nonsensical gibberish.
    She nodded.
    “How can a dead thing have a mate? I mean…you are dead, right?”
    “I was.”
    “Was?”
    Good. That only required one word. And it came out intelligible. It was the best he could do. His body wasn’t obeying. It couldn’t. It was gripped in what had to be lust. Craven, mind-blowing lust. Carnal pleasure lust. Rock hard and red-hot lust. Grab her and shove that piece of material she wore up, and bury deep into her, lust. And she just sat there, watching him with unblinking, perfectly shaped, purple eyes. Darryl pursed his lips as though deep in thought and pressed a little harder on his groin.
    “I’ve been a vampire for a long time. We’re cursed. You know what that means?”
    “Well, yeah. I’ve…seen movies.”
    Lame, Darryl .
    “I don’t mean that. I mean – immortality isn’t living forever. It’s more a state resembling real death. Or…animated death. It’s cold and emotionless. There aren’t any physical sensations. No emotions. No feelings. No…um. Passions.”
    Passions .
    The word came out with just enough volume to keep it above a whisper. She lowered her eyes and dusted her cheeks with her lashes as if embarrassed to say it, too. And damn it all. The word sent fuel right to his dick, as if it was a sensor for catching vibes, and incapable of being censored by the rest of him.
    “I was told this immortality came with a codicil. I was young. I didn’t understand.”
    “Codicil?”
    She blushed. His entire groin reacted, pumping his cock against his hand, while his body shuddered with the restriction he placed on it. He was not reaching for her. He was not moving an inch of that fabric aside. He was not moving. He refused. He was staying right here and avoiding contact with her. Eleven years of discipline and training were the only things holding him back. Every muscle on his body was a