After The Kiss copyright Michele Hauf 2009

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One

One hour ago, I, Belladonna Reynolds, married a werewolf.

I said, “I do” to a man I had fallen head over heels in love with months earlier as the fall leaves were gently covered with snow.

I said, “I do” to a man who is sometimes a real animal—he shifts shape into wolf form.

And I said, “I do” to a man who, during the full moon, is half-man, half-beast, and can frighten me as much as he seduces me.

His name is Stephan Severo. He’s close to a hundred years old.

I kissed him to seal our vows. Severo’s kisses are like this: Tender whispers of flesh upon flesh; lashes of tongue capable of buckling my knees; deep, delving dances with my soul; moan-worthy connection I wished to not cease.

He’s staring at me now. Eyes like shadowed whiskey owned me. We stood upon the threshold before Severo’s mansion, a home we’ve shared since October. It’s April, but I’m not cold. I’m shivering because I’m actually nervous. Tonight we consummate our vows.

It won’t be the first time we’ve made love, but I intended to make it feel like it.

Would he give me the one thing I needed more than air tonight?

Swept into his arms, the long red skirt of my wedding gown schushed across the stiff white dress shirt I’d made him wear to the courthouse. Severo was most happy in casual jeans and sweaters. He’d cleaned up nicely. So much so, I couldn’t figure what was different about him tonight.

But something was.

He carried me through the open front door. Severo kicked the door shut. The muscles in his arms tensed against my back. So powerful, my husband. I feel safe with him, and honored that he chose me to be his mate. The one woman he intended to spend the rest of his life with.

“Lover,” I said on a sigh and nudged my head against the stubble on his neck. “I do.”

“As do I, my Bella.”

His full beard was soft beneath my exploring fingers. He keeps it trimmed short and the fine hairs swept his neck to the thick lustrous hair on his chest. I could sometimes get lost in the sensual reverie of stroking it.

He’s mine.

Almost.

There’s a piece still missing. Part of Severo does not yet belong to me.

I want it. I must have it. The craving for it doubles me up in bed alongside him some nights while he sleeps. I want to lean over and take it from him—without permission.

He denies me. He’s denied me for months. I understood his reluctance. His staunch need to keep a dark part of his history from surfacing. Memory tormented him. He has suffered so much.

Understanding something didn’t make it easier to accept.

I cannot accept it.

“Hungry?” he asked as he walked through the dark kitchen; I was still cradled in his strong arms.

“You know I’m not.” I would never be hungry for food. “You?”

“Only for you, sweet.”

I kissed him under the jaw and touched the tip of my tongue to the stubble. Severo tilted his head like a cat encouraging its master’s touch. But he was no tame feline; this man was of a wild breed that defied taming.

I snuck up and kissed him on the mouth. He answered with a wanting open-mouthed kiss. All the way to my toes, I felt the connection. His kisses rendered me boneless.

Navigating the house in the darkness, he’d strode this path many a time and with me in his arms. The bedroom was just down the hall.

My heart beat a little faster. Anticipation. Only truth within the quiet sanctuary where we bared ourselves to one another flesh and soul. We entered the masculine room lined with blue fabric walls. The long navy drapes, drawn shut, made the room even darker.

I caught my fingers beneath the lamp and Severo dipped to allow me to flick it on.

A soft glow glinted across his shoulder-length brown hair but I couldn’t see his eyes as he dove to nuzzle between my breasts. His tongue slipped behind my dress and lashed my nipple. Hot and wet, it claimed me, melted me. I arched my back, pushing my flesh deeper into his mouth.

“That feels so good,” I whispered. “Take all of me.”

Yet would he let me take all of him?

We landed the bed with chuckles as the awkward landing tangled my fingers in his hair and Severo lost his footing and crushed my torso with his powerful build.

“I want to tear this from your skin and eat every part of you,” he whispered. Fabric cleaved from the stitches at my shoulder. “I’ll buy you a new one, Bella, promise.”

“It’s my wedding dress,” I protested, tugging the fabric from his grasp.

I didn’t care about the dress. I wanted to be naked and under him. Wrapped within his regard. Swimming in his presence, his masterful kisses, his slickery tongue and exploring fingers.

“The zipper is down the side. You might like to see me in this again some time.”

“If you insist.”

He obliged and the dress went flying. Air caressed my bare skin, followed by Severo’s hands, gliding, finding their way along territory he’s explored many times, yet each journey felt new to me. It might take him a lifetime to master my nuances. I looked forward to his studies.

He paused only to unbutton and discard his shirt and pants. Boxer briefs were tugged down and tossed. I’ve found clothing on the curtain rods and behind chairs in the morning. Spontaneity rocks.

“Mm, you purr sweetly when I lick you, Bella. Spread your legs. So hot and wet for me.”

This man has taught me that dirty talk turns me on. I used to be reserved and say all the polite things. Names for sexual parts were a no-no. I’m still shy with some of it.

“Put your fingers inside me.”

But I have learned to ask for what I want.

“You belong to me now,” he said in a growly tone that made my nipples rock hard. “That paper we signed says so.”
“I’ve always been yours. I don’t need a stupid piece of paper. Ohh...”

On the verge of coming, I tensed my body to heighten the sensation. He stroked his bearded chin across my nipples. My muscles flexed tightly with the simmering urge to release. I clutched the sheets. Climax teased. Maybe now or maybe not. Relax, Bella. Soon. So close.

I cried out and he entered me with his hard shaft to experience the pulsing grip of my ecstasy. Severo came immediately after I did. We two have learned it was best to surrender right away, and save the rest of the night for long and lingering lovemaking.

Poised above me, this man, this creature of another realm, his muscles taut and like steel—he was mine. All mine.

Almost.

Greedy desire shimmered through my system in the wake of orgasm. It warmed my mouth and the now familiar tingle in my canines did not alert so much as stir my hunger.

If there were ever a time for this—what I most desired—it was now. On the night we’d said, “I do”. The night I had given my promise to love, honor and obey.

Surfing Severo’s hard bicep with my teeth, my tongue tasted salty flesh slicked with perspiration. Sliding my leg along his thigh prompted him to roll to his back at my unspoken command. Still breathing heavily from the climax, he was lost in a mindless afterglow.

God, he smelled delicious. All man, sex and strength. I needed that smell all over my body. I wanted all of him inside me. More than his erection. More than his kisses and masterful fingers.

I needed—

“Bella!”

On hands and knees, I crouched over him, the huntress startled from the hunt for sustenance—for the ultimate bond.

“What, lover?”

“No.” He moved from under me, sliding his legs over the side of the bed. Bare back to me, he sat and flexed his shoulders. “Not your bite. Not… I need time yet. Please.”

Crash. Heartbeats thudded. My teeth slid up in their sockets. I winced at the abrupt retreat from passion.

Did I mention? A few months after little ole mortal me met Severo, his enemy—some vampire bitch with an Elvira complex—decided the best way to get back at him would be to change me into the one thing he hated most in this world.

A vampire.

And while he’s learned to accept what he cannot change, and I know he does genuinely love me, he still refused to let me bite him.

It is what I needed to finally fuse the connection between us. I want Severo’s blood inside me, coursing through my system, claiming me. Binding the two of us.

We two would become one as our heartbeats synched.

“Sorry.” He stood and wandered toward the bathroom. Muscles tensed across his delts. I loved his sexy, bow-legged walk. He limped, favoring his left leg after being caught in a wolf trap decades ago. My handsome, wounded lover.

Husband. Who still rejects you.

I rolled to my back, stretching my arms out across the sheets and stared at the ceiling. My fingers strayed onto a warm area on Severo’s side, but it faded so quickly it might have been imagination.

Always he said, “Give me time.”

How much time did he require? I needed him body and blood. Would he ever relent, and in doing so, relent willingly? Could this marriage between a werewolf and a vampire last?

“What have I done?”

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