After the deliciously toe-curling kiss, he eased back a little until their lips were barely touching. The steamy puffs of their breaths mingling as she finally opened her intoxicated eyes. But before his glorious face could register in her blurry gaze, his tongue was buried inside her mouth again. Another deep, raw and spine tingling kiss followed. He continued tasting, sucking, and licking the inside of her mouth as though he could not get enough of her.

And as he feasted on her mouth, Evie could not do anything but feel the inexplicable pleasure that was threatening to blot out her consciousness. Something hot and sweet began to swell within her breast and stomach and between her thighs.

Another sweet moan escaped from her lips as her trembling hands move on their own and settled lightly against his naked chest. A sound of satisfaction rumbled in Gavriel's throat and his mouth was suddenly latched onto her jaw. He kissed and nibbled her there and then slowly travelled down the hollow of her neck, licking her as if he were tasting something divine. And it felt so good Evie could only writhe in response.

The sweet and hot sensation streaking down her breasts and experienced a sudden increase. And when he sucked hard on the sensitive skin of her neck, she quivered, and it was as if there were jolts of electricity zapping her all over her body.

A gasp escaped her mouth as she uttered words in what sounded like half moan and half whimper. "Gav… Gavriel… wa… wait…"

Suddenly, he went very still and then pulled away with startling abruptness.

The sudden loss of his solidness and warmth had a protest nearly slipping from Evie's throat. She did not mean for him to stop. She did not want him to stop. She wanted… more.

She gasped again at her own thought process, eyes wide with shock as she looked at him.

The muscles in Gavriel's jaw contracted and tightened at the sight of her expression. But he said nothing so the only sound that could be heard between them for a while was her gentle gasps of breaths and his deep and rapid inhalations and exhalations.

He closed his eyes and appeared to be struggling with some powerful emotions within himself before straightening and raking his hand through his hair. After a short moment, his jaws relaxed and he spoke softly, his eyes still intense but now controlled and restrained.

"Alright." he said in a low voice. "I'm going to take a bath, wife. You don't need to wait for me and go to bed now. Sleep well."

And without a warning, his lips crashed against her lips again before he abruptly tore them away. His back already facing her as he powerfully and purposefully strode towards the bathroom before Evie realized it. The door closed, cutting her view from his drool-worthy back and she finally found herself able to break free from the earlier paralysis.

Her mind was in a muddle, utterly disoriented and a little confused. She began to feel her body again and she was surprised that she did not crumple to the floor in a boneless heap.

Walking towards the bed on unsteady legs, Evie ran her palms over her still burning face. Her brain finally began to work normally again, and she buried her face against the pillow.

Her lips still felt tingly and her nipples too, she began to absentmindedly touch them. Oh my! She gasped upon realizing what she was doing, and she rose abruptly as if startled. She went and grabbed a glass of water and gulped it down.

She jumped back into bed again, afraid that he'd come back because she wouldn't know how to face him now. And she was certain the colour of her face was still red.

Forcing herself to fall asleep, Evie tossed and turned on her side of the bed.

After a long while of failed attempts to forcefully get herself to sleep and the impossible attempt of forgetting about the mind-blowing kiss, Evie heard the soft sound of a door opening and then closing. She went very still, feigning to be asleep.

She felt him drawing the thick curtains over the window she had pulled open when she was looking outside. The room suddenly plunged into darkness.

He climbed silently on the bed, and Evie felt the mattress on his side dip as she tried her best to stop her nervousness. She knew vampires had very sharp senses and perhaps, the thuds of her heart might be deafening to him. With great effort, Evie sighed silently multiple times and somehow, her heartbeat slowly quietened. Maybe because Gavriel never even made a single move anymore. He was, she noticed, utterly still.

Time passed and she finally had the courage to turn around so very slowly and peek at him. She moved as quietly as she could. It took her a long while just to lie on her back. Evie could not see him fully in the dark but she could see the outline of his shadow. Was he already asleep?

The fact that he never made a single move for a long while now made Evie thought that he was probably asleep especially since he hadn't slept for the past four days. She finally let out a quiet but very long sigh of relief. Her mind began to wander back to their kiss again until she herself eventually fell asleep.

When her breathing was finally even and steady, Gavriel's lashes flew open in the dark, eyes still as piercing as ever and not a hint of sleep could be seen clouding it. His head turned over and looked indulgingly at this wife of his. She was facing him, and her peaceful face was now in deep slumber.

A long drawn but quiet sigh escaped his lips as he lifted his hand and covered his eyes with the back of his palm. He was a little worried a while ago when he heard how nervous she was as he approached the bed. Her reactions made him unhappy and incredibly displeased because it seemed as if she was still uncomfortable and scared of him. But as he calmly thought about it, he understood why she'd feel uneasy and scared. He was a vampire after all. But when he recalled how she had responded to his kiss so beautifully, a slow smile curved on his lips that almost seemed a little wicked and he looked at her sleeping face again.

Before he knew it, his gaze was zoned in on her full lips. The delicious lips he had just recently and finally tasted. 'Goddamn,' he cursed within him when he realized his fingers were about to touch her slightly swollen lips. He rose and leaned against the headboard, pinching the skin between his brows lightly. It seemed he would not be able to restrain himself as easy as before anymore – now that he had finally tasted her.