“I swear, if Eliza or anyone else interrupts us, I’m setting the entire camp on fire,” she muttered.
“Deal,” I rumbled.
She dragged me back into the kiss before I could utter another word. God, I loved it when she was like this. Hungry and desperate for me. I loved it because I felt the same way about her. Like I could never get enough.
I spun her, pressing her back to the warm stone wall of the tower, caging her in with my hands braced on either side of her head. She arched into me, gasping when my lips found her neck, her collarbone, the hollow between. Without hesitation, she tilted her head back to give me better access—ever generous, my girl.
I ran my nose along her jaw, my voice low and rough. “You’re playing with fire.”
“Good thing I’m fireproof then,” she quipped.
She grabbed my tunic and yanked me back to her mouth, kissing me hard. It was fierce and biting and full of a hunger that had nothing to do with survival. This was pure and simple need. The kind that came from knowing you might not get another tomorrow. It was a truth we all lived in this place. There were no guarantees in Hell, and Lily and I knew that better than most.
I pulled her flush against me, let one hand slip beneath the hem of her shirt to trace up her spine. She shuddered, a soft sound escaping her lips—nearly a moan, but not quite.
She pulled back just far enough to meet my eyes. Her breathing was ragged, and her pupils blown wide.
Then, slowly, deliberately, she turned her head and exposed her throat to me.
“You didn’t eat tonight,” she said. “So I’ll make you a deal.”
A deal? I leaned back just enough to meet her gaze. “I’m listening.”
“You get your fill of blood…” Her mouth curved in a wicked smile. “And then I want you to feast properly.”
Heat instantly shot through me. I knew exactly what she meant, and my mouth started to water at the thought of buryingmy face between her thighs and tasting every damn inch of her. Every inch of her was mine. I didn’t waste time pretending otherwise.
I reached for her shirt. She lifted her arms as I peeled the fabric away and tossed it aside, revealing smooth, pale breasts. We’d all scrubbed off the worst of the grime after today’s chaos, using the baby wipes we’d brought from Earth, and she must have skipped the restrictive scrap of fabric she called a bra. Did that mean she had nothing on beneath her pants?
A vampire could hope.
I kissed her once—slow and possessive—before sinking to my knees at her feet.
She watched me without moving.
I reached for one foot and pulled off her boot, then moved to the other. Next, I hooked my fingers into her waistband and dragged her pants down in one fluid motion. She stepped out of them easily and stood before me, fully bare.
I leaned close and kissed the inside of her left thigh.
She still didn’t move, but I caught the soft catch of her breath.
I kissed her again, just above the first mark. Usually, I fed at her throat while lost in the throes of passion. But tonight, I wanted something different. And her “deal” had given me the idea.
I opened my mouth and bit.
She gasped, but not from pain. I was careful never to hurt her.
Her blood filled my mouth like wildfire—hot, potent, familiar. Every drop of her tasted like power. Magic. A dark, addictive storm that crashed through my body and made me feel more alive than I ever had any right to. I drank slowly, carefully, letting her taste linger on my tongue, drawing out every second until her knees started to tremble and she steadied herself with a hand in my hair.
“Rath…” she moaned.
I almost smiled, wanting to tease her. She said she never moaned. But I’d proved her wrong.
Once I had my fill, I smoothed my tongue over the two puncture wounds, knowing they’d seal quickly. As a celestial, Lily healed incredibly fast. Fast enough that I knew the holes would be closed by the time I repositioned us.
And it wasdefinitelytime for that.
I slid my hands up the backs of her thighs, made sure to brace her against the wall, then easily lifted her. Without a word, she draped her legs over my shoulders.
