“I need to talk to you,” she pressed out.

“Talk, huh?” He gave a quick shake of his head. “It doesn’t look to me like you’re here to talk.” He gave her outfit a meaningful look. If she wanted to talk, she was wearing the wrong clothes. No man with a pulse would be able to listen to anything she had to say, while his eyes were busy devouring the tempting curves beneath the flimsy fabric.

“Why are you treating me like this?”

“How am I treating you?”

Faye turned her head to the side as if she couldn’t bear to look at him. “You know then. He told you.” An audible breath left her chest. “I wanted to be the one to explain it to you before you heard it from somebody else. That’s why I’m here.”

“Then explain.” Cain released the stake to shelve her chin and turn her face to him. God, she was beautiful, her face as flawless as a precious doll. “And look at me when you do.”

“My entire world shattered when you died. Every day I prayed for a miracle, I prayed to wake up from this nightmare. But you were gone.”

A wet sheen formed on her eyes, and Cain had to refrain from comforting her and kissing her to wipe away her sadness.

“My love for you never died.” Her hand came up, but before she could stroke his cheek, he’d grabbed her wrist and pinned her arm down.

“Yet you gave yourself to my brother! So you could be queen!” Cain ground out. “Your time of mourning wasn’t even over yet, and already you were with him! As if I’d never existed! How do you think that makes me feel, Faye?”

White hot jealousy radiated through his entire body. His fangs itched for a bite, and he didn’t stop them from descending.

Faye flinched. “I don’t love him. I could never love another man but you.”

He wished he could believe her words. But he didn’t know Faye, had no idea what she was capable of, how far she would go to get what she wanted.

“God damn it, Faye! So if you don’t love him, then why would you want to marry him?” He dropped his lids, disappointed. Some of the anger left his voice. He wanted to understand her, to find out why she’d chosen Abel. “Just so you could be queen?” He shook his head, his heart aching now, his voice cracking. “Is that all you want? Is that why you’re here now? Because you know that Abel won’t be king now? Because I’m king? Is that why you want me back?”

A single pink tear ran down her cheek, while she pressed her lips together. On her next breath, a sob tore from her chest. “You’ve stopped loving me.”

He couldn’t bear seeing her like this. Her tears broke his heart in two. “God damn it!” he cursed and sank his lips onto hers before he could stop himself.

Cain swallowed her surprised gasp and dove between her parted lips. Faye tasted as sinful as she looked. He knew instantly that she was everything he’d ever dreamt of. Her lips were soft and yielding to his demands, her body beneath him pressing against him with a voiceless plea. So much hunger and need emanated from her. The thought of her desires being directed at him made the vampire in him want to roar and beat his chest like an ape displaying his superiority.

With a growl, he deepened his kiss, lashing his tongue against her in a show of dominance, while his hands released her wrists to explore her body. His fingers trailed up to her shoulders, then swept down to her chest, lightly caressing her sides, not daring to touch her breasts yet, for fear he’d start something he couldn’t pull himself back from. But her soft moans tempted him to throw caution to the wind, to take what she was so clearly offering.

As if to underscore her willingness to submit to him, Faye’s legs spread wider, and he suddenly found himself sliding into the space between them. The hard outline of his cock rubbed against her center with only his boxer briefs and her thin negligee providing a barrier. A barrier that didn’t prevent him from feeling her heat and the wetness that covered her sex.

Instinctively he thrust against her center of pleasure, rubbing his erection over it with unerring precision.

A gasp issued from her mouth as her hips arched in an effort to increase the friction he was providing. What he was doing was crazy, but he couldn’t stop. The thought of driving her to ecstasy was too tempting to resist, the need to make her submit to him in every way too urgent. The desire to make the woman in his arms shudder with pleasure guided his next action.

His tongue swiped over her teeth, licking them. Faye’s response was immediate. Her fangs elongated, extending to their full length, and her fingernails dug into his back, pulling him closer, while her legs wrapped around him, her ankles crossing behind his back.