His voice, thicker with desire, made warmth course through me.

"Take me to bed." Not very original, but I couldn't seem to say anything else. Really, the last two words were redundant anyway.

In a blink, he was in front of me, his hands on my hips. They massaged me with slow circles as his mouth went to my neck. His tongue at my pulse shivered me, as did the brush of his fangs, then he went past my collarbone, dragging his lips down farther. Finally he settled on my breast, licking the peak before sucking it through the material.

The chafe of silk and his mouth grew while his hands explored my curves. He didn't raise the slip but used the fabric to his advantage as he dragged it along my body. I gripped his head, feeling dangerously weak when his mouth descended on my other breast.

"Take me to bed now," I managed to say, glad it hadn't come out as another, more explicit demand.

A strong suction had me arching my back to press closer to him. My nipples throbbed when he lifted his head. His eyes met mine, and they were scalding green.

His arms coiled around me, lifting me though his head stayed near my breasts, kissing the valley between them. The staircase didn't even creak with his quick steps, and he went straight to my bedroom. He could probably smell which one I'd slept in.

Bones set me on the bed, but I pushed him back when he began to stretch out next to me.

"Take off your clothes."

He stopped me when I began to undo his buttons. "Not yet."

"Yes. I want to touch you."

A groan came out of him. "Later, luv. I'm barely clinging to my control as it is, and I have plans for you."

That wasn't what I wanted, no matter how great it would feel. "Forget your control. I want you, not your willpower."

"Willpower?" He chuckled, smoothing the nightgown up my leg. "You're very wrong. I don't have any with you."

I stopped his hand. "If your clothes stay on, so do mine."

He began unbuttoning his shirt. I slid my palms along his chest when it was revealed. His skin felt incredible, so sleek and tight. When his shirt came off, he started on his pants. I slid closer to him, kissing his neck. His other hand climbed higher up my thigh.

My breath caught at the intimate stroke of his fingers. His touch was gentle, finding and then teasing the most sensitive parts of me. I opened my legs, gasping, and he began to suck on my throat. Not breaking the skin, just capturing my pulse in his mouth and tonguing it.

I pushed his pants down his legs. Two small thuds on the floor were his shoes, then finally he was naked. I couldn't stop touching him, reveling in the hum of power under his skin, his muscles, and all the familiar ridges and valleys of his body. Feeling them again aroused me almost as much as his seeking fingers. When I reached down to close my hand around him, he caught it.

"Let me look at you." Lust deepened his voice. His fangs were also out and his eyes were green fire. He dragged my nightgown up and over my head before letting it fall to the side. When he spoke again, his voice was throatier. "Sometimes I think I've dreamt you. Or that I've died and you're my heaven."

I stroked his cheek. "Or your hell, but I don't want to debate. I want you inside me."

"Yes." It was a hiss.

His body covered mine, pressing me back. My legs cradled his hips as he took my hands, stretching my arms over my head. Then the hard, thick feel of him grazed me.

I strained against him, impatient, wanting to grab him and feel him cleave into me. "Now, Bones."

His eyes glowed brighter at my panted words. "Not... yet."

He slid down, his mouth settling between my legs. A long, slow lick tore a cry from me, then additional, sensual delves left me burning with need.

"So sweet," he growled. "You taste like crushed flowers, and I must have more."

His tongue went deeper, almost convulsing me. Bands of pleasure yanked together in my belly, my heart thumped, and every inch of me felt on fire.

"Bones, now!"

A high-pitched demand he responded to by pulling my thighs over his shoulders, continuing his erotic assault. I clutched his head, all my words replaced by moans. He tasted every millimeter of me until I rocked against him in ecstasy. Everything inside me tensed when he began to suck on my clitoris, his fangs rubbing instead of piercing. Those strong pulls detonated the fireball in me, that inner throb erupting so fast I didn't even have time to scream. Bones moaned, caressing my thighs as I shuddered from my climax.

Then languorous warmth filled me, making me sound drowsy though I was far, far from sleepy. "Your mouth is deadly, you know that?"

A laugh tickled me and he gave a last lick before answering. "I enjoyed that so much I almost came with you."

I kissed him when he slid up, winding my arms around his neck. "Not yet," I breathed as he grasped my hips and moved between them.

"No?" he asked, stilling. "Too soon afterward?"

I pushed him away enough to maneuver. "No, but first..."

My head was at his stomach when he stopped me with a steel grip.

"Don't."

The flat refusal in his voice surprised me. "Why not?"

Something lurked in his eyes, gone in an instant, but I still caught it. If I hadn't known him so well, I wouldn't have.

"Not now." He moved me up and smiled. "My control is thin, and I want to take my time. Not be disgracefully quick like in the car."

"Bones." I held his gaze. "I'm not asking, and don't stop me again."

I slid lower on the bed, and he held himself absolutely still. It pierced me, because I'd seen in that glimpse what the real problem was. Raw, guilty shame had flashed in his eyes. The memory of what I'd overheard with Cannelle bothered him as much as it did me, it seemed.

I rubbed my cheek on his stomach while handling him with soft touches. "I love your skin. It's like a drug. I have to feel you when I'm near you, and when I'm near you, I want to taste you..."

I flicked my tongue into the crease of his thigh and his tenseness eased a notch. He couldn't see it, but I smiled. In this, I was confident. Long ago he had taught me all his weaknesses.

I licked along both creases of his thighs, only letting my breath fall on the hard length that throbbed against my cheek. Then my tongue grazed the sensitive skin of his sack, and he shuddered.

He sat up, reaching for me. "Catherine, let me-"

"No." I batted his hands away. "Just you."

He laughed somewhat unsteadily. "Why do I feel as though I'm in trouble?"

I met his eyes, giving a single, long lick along the length of his shaft. "Because you are."

Several minutes later, he came with a shout that would have caused someone to call the police if we'd been back in that bar parking lot.

"You think that my mouth is deadly?" His voice was strained as he pulled me up to him. "You've shown me to be a rank amateur."

My laugh was throaty. "If you're just being polite, you have only yourself to blame. You taught me what to do."

"Then well done to me." Bones captured my mouth with a long, deep kiss that excited me almost as much as hearing his shout of pleasure.

I slid on top of him, straddling him. "Too soon afterward?" I teased.

Hard flesh pierced me, replacing my laughter with an extended moan. Oh, the feel of him! Moving slowly but powerfully, swaying me to his pace. I balanced with my hands on his shoulders until he sat up, gripping me close. Then his mouth went to my breast, sucking with erotic intensity before his fangs penetrated the tip.

It wasn't a deep bite. Just enough to send throbs of pleasure through me from the juice in his fangs. My nipple felt seared, and when he sucked and bit the other one, all my defenses fell away.

"I love you." It was a gasp I couldn't hold back even though logic said it was too soon. My reason had just flatlined, however, leaving only my emotions in control.

Bones's mouth left my breasts and he froze like I'd flipped a switch.

Suddenly, I was nervous. "I meant, I love this-"

"Don't you dare." His hands left my body to hold my face. "Say that again."

"I don't want you to... to feel obligated-"

"Never say that to me again."

He was still inside me but not moving anymore. Back at the compound, I'd admitted to Bones that I loved him but hadn't said it since. Now, however, the intimacy of our joined bodies was too powerful, forcing out the words that fear wanted to hold back.

"I love you, Bones. I love you so much. God, so very, very much."

"Do you know how that makes me feel?" he whispered. "I've been many things these past two centuries, but I haven't known real happiness until this moment. I don't know if these are old emotions or new ones, and I don't care anymore. Please, Catherine. Please. Say that again."

He kissed me with the longing of someone starved, then began making love to me with an intensity that had tears coursing down my cheeks. I forgot that he was running on no sleep. Forgot Annette's advice on what tricks to try. I forgot everything except his last request, and I told him that I loved him with almost every gasping breath.

Author's note: This is the end of the deleted alternate "middle" of Destined for an Early Grave. The rest of the story would have gone on pretty much as the published version, with Cat turning into a vampire and Gregor kidnapping and then forcibly changing over her mother. I had planned to have Bones regain his memory during the climactic fight scene with Gregor at the end. In that, Gregor would have used a knife secretly filled with his blood, intending to kill Bones in those vulnerable moments when his memories came crashing back. Cat's reaction would have been the same: blowing Gregor's head off when she realized that Bones was about to die. Cat would have gotten away with interfering in their duel the same way she did in the published version: Veritas would have examined the knife and found the secret device on it, confirming that Gregor had cheated. Cat's confirmation that Bones's memory had returned would have come right afterward, the first time he called her Kitten again.

Thank You for Reading.

I hope that you enjoyed Outtakes from the Grave! Continue reading for a peek into Jeaniene's other best-selling series.

The Night Prince series:.

Once Burned.

Twice Tempted.

Bound By Flames.

Into The Fire.

She's a mortal cursed with dark power. He's the prince of night...

After a tragic accident left Leila with a terrifying ability to channel electricity and to see a person's darkest secrets through a single touch, she is doomed to a life of solitude. Then creatures of the night kidnap Leila, forcing her to reach out to the world's most infamous vampire. Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all, and his ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but whatever you do, don't call him Dracula.

Teaser for Once Burned, book one in the Night Prince series: "Why didn't you tell me there was a catch to drinking your blood? Maximus said that doing it made me, ah..."

"Mine." Vlad finished my sentence without hesitation.

My temper rose at his complete self-assuredness. "I didn't agree to that, so forget it."

He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down, setting his arms on either side of my face. "You think my blood is the only tie between us?"

His voice was low, yet edged with palpable hunger. It seemed to rub me in places I'd only ever touched before, making my anger fade under a flash of desire. Vlad was so close that his hair was a shadowy veil all around me, and when he began to caress my face with light, sure strokes, it was all I could do not to close my eyes in bliss.

"This is our true tie," he whispered, his breath falling hotly onto my lips. "You're meant for me, and I will have you."

Praise for the Night Prince series:.

"There are many Draculas out there, but only one Vlad, and you owe it to yourself to meet him."-#1 New York Times best-selling author Ilona Andrews.

"I always open a Frost book with happy anticipation."-#1 New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris.

"I loved this book! A must-read for Jeaniene Frost fans."-Fresh Fiction.

"One of the most riveting books that I have read this year."-Romance Junkies.

"A taut, intriguing paranormal romantic suspense that keeps the pages turning from the very first paragraph."-Kirkus Reviews.

To learn more, watch the book trailer, and read the first twenty percent, go here: http://jeanienefrost.com/night-prince-books/.

The Broken Destiny series:.

The Beautiful Ashes.

The Sweetest Burn.

The Brightest Embers.

Sometimes falling in love really is the end of the world....

Ivy has always seen things she cannot explain. But when her sister goes missing, Ivy discovers that the truth is worse-her hallucinations are real, and the one person who can help her is the dangerously attractive guy bound by an ancient legacy to betray her.

The fate Adrian fought to escape is here, but he never expected the desire he feels for Ivy. Adrian knows what Ivy doesn't-the truth about her destiny and a war that could doom the world.

Teaser from The Beautiful Ashes, book one in the Broken Destiny series: "I'm warning you, Ivy. Don't push me."

"Or what?" I flared. "You have nothing to threaten me with! The only reason I can stand to keep going is because I don't have anything to lose, so pushing you doesn't scare me-"

I didn't see Adrian's hands flash out, but suddenly they were in my hair as he yanked me to him, his mouth scorching mine.

My shock vanished. So did my questions. Desire hijacked my emotions, leaving nothing except a surge of need. Hints of alcohol flavored his kiss, but beneath that was his taste, infinitely more intoxicating, and I responded as if it was my drug of choice. I moaned as my head tilted back. Then he pulled me across the seats until I was on top of him.