I could live like this.
I could die like this.
She could control me with just one drop. I'm utterly captive to my need for her and wouldn't have it any other way.
"Silas," Maven breathes finally, the soft rasp of her voice cutting into my frenzied state of heaven-struck bloodlust.
I force myself to unlatch from her neck, lapping gently at the puncture marks left behind as I try to catch my breath. I can barely speak.
"Godsdamn you."
"They already have, but what is it for this time?" she laughs breathlessly.
I groan and continue licking and kissing down her neck. Feeding has never aroused me before, but my cock is throbbing in my pants as I try to come down from that overwhelming experience.
"Why would you reward me for hurting you by allowing me to hurt you further?" I demand, finally looking up at her.
But there's no sign of hurt or even discomfort on my blood blossom's face. Instead, she looks nearly blissed out. For vampires, pleasure feeding is typical, but it occurs very rarely in blood fae. We feed for magic, which is usually very painful for anyone we bite.
Yet, in some cases…
I lick my lips of all traces of her, needing every last taste. "It didn't hurt?"
Maven's smile is wicked. "Maybe slightly. But I prefer it that way."
Then her expression sobers, and I immediately realize I've been all over her without checking in to see if her aversion totouch was bothering her. I apologize and try to remove myself, but Maven wraps her arms around me and shakes her head.
"I was just thinking. How can we fix your curse?"
"There's no cure." Aside from breaking my curse by binding my heart to hers…but hers is in the Nether.
She seems thoughtful for a long moment before tipping her head. "Would Baelfire's dragon scales help somehow? Is that why you wanted them so badly?"
The reminder of how terribly I'm failing at getting those scales makes me sigh. I move to lay beside my keeper, pulling her close again. It's selfish, considering everything that just happened, but I need her close.
"No. The dragon scales aren't for me. I want them for two things."
She waits expectantly.
I study her and sigh. "The main reason, I'm not at liberty to say. I promised to keep it a secret."
But Maven is exceptionally sharp, so it only takes her a moment of thought. "You have no close family left. The closest person in your life is most likely…the Garnet Wizard, your mentor. Are the scales for him?"
I can't say a word, but I can nod.
"His quintet died," she goes on. "I overheard that weeks ago when I was studying in the library, and two faculty members mentioned him in passing. So, if his keeper is dead, then his curse returned. It must be a nasty curse since he's believed to be very powerful. Do you want scales to help him with easing his curse?"
I nod again. "I'm running out of time to help. He's been my only semblance of family for ten years, and his last letter read like a goodbye. If I don't get scales to him soon, he—" My voice cuts off as my fae promise keeps me from saying anything elseabout it, and I sigh. "By the way, you would make a decent detective."
"Just as you make adecentcaster," she snarks, the same insult she used after seeing me fight for the first time.
I narrow my eyes at her, trying not to smile at her playfulness. "Minx."
"I take it you promised him not to tell a soul, which must be why you resorted to betting on my pussy just to get what you want from Baelfire."
I flinch. Fucking hell, I've been the worst match in the world to her, haven't I?
"I'm sorry for that. I'llalwaysbe sorry for that."
