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He nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry that in our search for a solution to your problem we were nearly torn apart by bloodthirsty vampires.”
“That’s better.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, tracing my thumb over an old scar that ran across his knuckles. “We’re still alive, so I’d say the day was a success.”
“Your blood—”
I cringed at the memory. “If it had killed you, I’m not really sure what I would have done. I think I might have gone ballistic on Dr. Reynolds long before Lawrence got to him.” I searched his face. “Did the Nightshade do anything to you? Anything bad that you might not recover from?”
He shook his head. “I think its effects are fading.”
“Your human side was enough to counteract the poison.”
“Yeah, but—but it did something else to me. Something that really messed me up.”
“What?”
“It threw off the serum I’m on. It messed up my emotions. Made it fucking hard to think straight.”
I knew I’d seen emotion on his face before. This was the confirmation.
I grimaced. “How do you feel right now?”
“I thought it might be permanent, but I can feel it fading as we speak. I don’t think it was a cure for the permanent serum, just a glitch. Besides, the pain I felt when I was injected—not really something I want to experience again if I can help it.”
I studied his face. “So you’re back to normal?”
“Almost.” His brows drew together. “You said something earlier—about our experiment last night.”
This wasn’t a good time to talk about that. “Declan—”
“No, hear me out, Jill. You said that it wasn’t unpleasant for you to let me . . . do that.”
The memory of his mouth on me and his hands skimming my body played in my mind. “Not unpleasant is also a vast understatement for what I felt last night.”
“Yeah, but you also said you didn’t want me to touch you or kiss you again if I wasn’t feeling something in return.”
I swallowed. “That’s right.”
“That means I better do this now while I still have a window of opportunity.”
“What?”
He took my face between his hands and kissed me. This wasn’t a one-sided kiss, one that lacked true feeling on Declan’s part. Even with the salty taste of sweat and the faint copper tang of blood, this was incredible, amazing. Passionate. Real. The feel of his mouth against mine trumped any suit-wearing, perfect Declan in any stupid dream. A shiver of pleasure coursed through me.
When he finally pulled away, my cheeks were flushed and my entire body tingled. I stared at him with surprise, and he rewarded me with a grin.
“Was that better?” he asked.
I smiled back at him. “It was . . . not bad.”
His grin widened. “It was better than not bad.”
“Practice makes perfect.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” The smile faded. “Shit, I can feel it. The effects of my serum . . . it’s coming back fast. I’m sorry, Jill.”
I shook my head. “Don’t be sorry.”
I kissed him again, quickly, and already I felt it wasn’t the same as a moment ago. I’d have to keep that one passionate, incredible kiss firmly in my memory. If it had happened once, it could damn well happen again.
