Read Online Bloodlust Denied by Christina Phillips - Free Book Online

not see how much he wanted her, his erection throbbed between his thighs. He wrapped his hand around her throat, momentarily enthralled by the erratic beat of her pulse beneath his fingers, by the sensation of her blood pounding through her fragile veins. How easy it would be to slake his thirst, to appease his hunger. Perhaps, then, she would no longer haunt his barren hours with memories of her lips and eyes and sensuous dance.
    Her defiant glare stoked his lust and even as his need screamed through his twisting guts, he knew he wouldn’t take her yet. Despite everything, she still entranced him and he wanted to keep her, no matter how insane the want.
    “Sleep.” He breathed the word into her face and wasn’t surprised when she fought against his intrusion. But he maintained eye contact, invading her mind with his subliminal demand and finally her lashes flickered as unconsciousness claimed her body.
    He lifted her. She sank against him as if she belonged there, in his arms, and he gritted his teeth against the overpowering urge to claim her lifeblood and end this farce now, before they reached his estate.
    With a strange tenderness, he lowered her onto the upholstered seat. How serene she looked, with her black hair framing her angelic face.
    How deceptive appearances could be.
    And yet it was more than her appearance that ensnared him, that tempted him to go against his most base instincts. More than her face, more even than the mind-wrenching ecstasy he found within her lush body, was the fascination with her bold nature, clear fearlessness of him and her damned contradictory tongue.
    It took more effort than he cared to admit to tear his gaze from her. But unless he wished to risk the real possibility of ripping out her throat before this night was over, he needed to feed.
    And fast.
     
    Morana stirred, a gnawing ache in her belly shredding the veils of sleep that shrouded her mind. Warmth and softness enfolded her and she luxuriated as the sensual satins caressed her skin. Where was she?
    “Thanatos?” She turned on her side, and a sharp tug on her wrist shocked her eyes open.
    A damask tester filled her vision above and matching curtains adorned the four carved timber posts of the massive bed. Disbelief gripped her and she twisted her head and confirmed her horrified suspicion.
    Her wrists were swathed in silk, and tied securely to the head of the bed.
    This was madness. How had she allowed the duke to enslave her so? This wasn’t part of her plan. She tugged uselessly at her bonds, knowing they wouldn’t loosen, yet unwilling to admit she truly was a prisoner of her own unbridled lust.
    “Struggle all you wish.” The duke’s languid voice, tinged with a touch of amusement, invaded her panicked mind. “You aren’t going anywhere without my express permission.”
    He lounged on a carved chair by the foot of the bed, and the self-satisfied smirk on his aristocratic face was clearly defined in the light of the numerous candles that illuminated the lavishly decorated room.
    She dragged in a calming breath, but it didn’t calm her because never before in her long existence had she been in so precarious a situation.
    Never had she been without Thanatos by her side. And now she had no idea where she was, how far from him the duke had taken her, or the faintest notion of how to contact him.
    “You said you weren’t kidnapping me.” Gods, was that the best she could do? But she had already tried to break her bonds and she could no longer delude herself. Her preternatural strength had diminished since the duke had forced her to her knees.
    The memory of what he had demanded of her as she knelt between his thighs, caused heat to flood her face and liquid warmth to bathe her treacherous pussy. Even now, she still wanted him.
    “I lied.” The duke shrugged. He clearly believed her naïve not to have known that already. “We still have unfinished business, Morana. If you please me well enough, you will remain