He stepped closer, not much, but enough that I could feel the warmth of his body and I wanted to rub myself all over him like a cat and bathe in his heat. I shook my head trying to dislodge the image of us naked, my body draped across his.

From his expression, I’d say he had a pretty good idea what direction my thoughts were traveling – straight down the gutter. “Why? Are you thinking terribly inappropriate things?”

If I could have blushed, I’d have been cherry red, but there was no reason for him to have to know how close to the mark he was. My jaw jutted out stubbornly and I replied coolly, “If you consider me thinking what an infuriating, irritating vampire you are inappropriate, then yes, I’m afraid I am.”

His laugh sent shudders of pleasure through my body touching parts of me that no amount of physical contact could have touched. “I’ll give you this – your lying abilities have vastly improved since you can no longer blush scarlet for me.” He almost looked disappointed, but he covered it quickly enough with a brilliant smile that showed perfectly white teeth. “Do you want to know how I know you’re lying?”

He’d moved even closer and somehow I hadn’t seen him do it. He was but a few inches from me and the intensity of his gaze had me mesmerized like a snake charmer with his snake. I swallowed past the lump that was nearly choking me. “How?” I asked, my voice low and almost unrecognizable with desire.

“Because the bond that was between us when you were human has been magnified a hundred times over with your transformation. You are my Blood Singer, Bella, and I know that you are feeling the same things I am feeling. I can barely breathe for want of you.” His words had lowered until they were mere whispers that caressed me, begged me to go to him and ease the deep ache in his very soul.

I was still trapped by his dazzling gaze, intrigued by his eyes that had slowly bled from a warm topaz color to a cold black of a moonless, starless night sky. “I do not know this term,” I admitted. I had to fight my body. My hands were balled in tight fists, my nails biting into my flesh in an effort to not throw myself into his arms and attack him with my lips.