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enough.
Her gaze turned inward, and he knew she was remembering the times they d had, the
sweet flush of first love, the tender yearnings and the hot, impassioned ardor of their youth.
One hand reached out and rested against his chest. You& Her unseeing eyes focused
on him, clarity in their depths. You loved me. You couldn t have left me. So why --?
The Collector 6: Love Cure 53
Because I d turned into a vampire. The anguished words poured out of him. His hand
came up to clasp hers, pressing her small hand against his chest, her heat penetrating his shirt
to brand his flesh. All our hopes and plans turned to dust. What kind of future could I have
given you? It was better for me to let you go, release you to find a better man to spend the
rest of your life with, one who could give you children, one who could enjoy the sunrise
with you, appreciate the dinners you cooked for him, one who could be there beside you
during the day as well as --
He couldn t go on, for thoughts of Marianne in bed with another man were tearing him
apart.
Marianne didn t know why he d stopped speaking, but she welcomed the silence. She
didn t know if she could take any more of the twisting hurt that was spreading throughout
her body, pain that was mixed with the sweet torment of his words. Sobs racked her frame.
I m a fool. She threw herself at him, because she couldn t resist doing so. Shame welled up
from deep within her, shame that she had thought the worst of him, shame that she hadn t
trusted him enough. I didn t know& I didn t know, she cried, tears dripping down her
cheeks. You should ve come to me, explained& instead of letting me think all sorts of
things. How was I to know what happened to you? There was no report of an accident, no
dead bodies, nothing. You just disappeared one night, nobody knew where you went,
nobody knew where to reach you. You didn t answer your phone, you never went back to
your house -- how was I to know!
I m sorry, so sorry. His voice was filled with a deep regret. His arms came around her
slowly before tightening into a solid hug.
We could ve faced it together, instead of letting you go through it alone --
I sort of lost my mind after I woke up and realized I wasn t& human.
Don t you ever leave me again! She thumped her fist on his chest.
54 Kai Andersen
No, never again, he agreed hoarsely.
She hiccupped. She didn t wonder why she could accept his being a vampire so easily.
Vampires existed on the fringes of their society. As long as they didn t seek trouble with
humans, the human government allowed them to do as they pleased. Of course, having a
vampire council to oversee vampiric society also helped imbue everyone with a sense of
peace.
She caressed his cheek, his features blurry through her tears. Oh, my poor darling.
Was it tough? She knew she didn t have to spell everything out; they d always been on the
same wavelength.
It would ve been tougher without the Collector. He was the one who took care of me
when I was first turned. He kept me from burning myself alive, or else I wouldn t have seen
you again.
She snuggled against him, her arms tightening involuntarily about his waist. She didn t
want to let him go ever again, and if she could keep him by her side this way forever, she
would. We owe him a lot.
We do. He drew in a ragged breath. Marianne, it s -- it s so good, holding you like
this.
I know. Her nostrils were filled with his clean, male scent. I ve missed you, your
touch, your body lying beside mine. I ve missed our conversations together, the pretend
arguments that we used to have& I -- I -- Her eyes misted with tears again. I love you. I ve
never stopped loving you. Even when I hated you, deep inside, I still loved you.
Marianne. He groaned.
She lifted her head to see him looking down at her with a tortured expression. She
leaned back a little. Kiss me, Nick. I want to -- I want to -- She bit her lips.
The Collector 6: Love Cure 55
He released a tormented moan before dipping his head and capturing her lips with his.
His mobile mouth covered hers in a rapacious kiss, hard and passionate and demanding, as if
to make up for lost time.
She responded eagerly, lips moving beneath his, taking as much as she gave. This was
Nick, her one and only love. He was the same, and yet, not the same. The same lips, yet
made urgent by the years of loss. The same arms held her, yet he was holding her tighter,
squeezing her as though he couldn t believe she was standing before him and he was kissing
her.
Nicholas knew this must be a miracle. Never in his seven years of existence as a
vampire had he ever thought he could hold her again in his arms, like this, drinking from the
sweet honey of her lips, cupping her breast in his palm and welcoming the prodding
insistence of her hard nipple. He wanted to lay her down on the bed and thrust into the
warmth of her body, be gripped between the punishing walls of her hot pussy. He ached to
possess her and be possessed by her in turn. He wanted to reaffirm their love and brand her,
mark her as his. His cock, which had been stirring since she pressed against him, raged into a
full-blown erection, making his previously comfortable jeans an uncomfortably tight fit.
He broke off the kiss and trailed his lips across Marianne s face, lighting on her eyes,
then her nose. He grazed her cheek and nibbled on her ear, teasing the soft lobe between his
teeth. Though he wanted to jump her, he controlled his urges instead. He wanted their first
time together in seven years to be slow and memorable for her, to give her as much pleasure
as he could. He reached under her shirt, nudged aside her bra and thrummed her nipple with
his thumb, rolling the tight bud between his fingers and was gratified to hear the soft purr of
her satisfaction. Her breast was fuller, heavier, a warm weight on his palm. Her body must
have undergone some changes after her pregnancy with her son. Good changes, if he had
anything to say about -- Her son --
56 Kai Andersen
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