Just when I think things are going well, Tristen blinks, the shadows press in and suddenly feel like hands. How did he do that?
Titus grabs my hand and puts it on his thigh. The shadows slither back. As Titus holds my hand, warmth surges up my arm and into my chest. My mouth dries, but other parts of me react oppositely.
“I can drink,” Titus counters. “It’s just that the taste is awful. Don’t worry, I can get by. I’m not picky when it comes to food.” He nods, but doesn’t look me in the eye.
I glance at Tristen. “Is he telling me the truth?”
“Yes and no. Once mated, we can drink blood that isn’t our mate, but most vampires can’t swallow the taste. Why would they? Mated blood makes you much more powerful.”
“But I am fae.”
“Bonds change everything.” Titus reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear, allowing his fingertip to trace the curve of my pointed ear. His face takes on a glow of pride that makes me feel too much. “You’re no longer toxic to me, Selene.”
I wish you were right. I fear I’m still a poison, just in a different form.
“So you’ll need to drink from me.” My thighs press tightly together. “I’ve never been bitten,” I whisper.
Titus’s magic roars and purrs, and flames engulf our joined hands. I don’t flinch; my mind fully trusts my mate. I amaroused by the notion of him biting me and feeding from me. It’s like running down a hill at full speed. Exhilarating, a little scary because one off-balance step and you’ll tumble down.
I don’t want him to drink human blood. I want him to drink from me! He’s mine. Mine.
Oh no… that chant will lock me in the holds of insanity until I give in.
I thrust my wrist out as if it were a tray of cookies. “Drink. We’re hidden. Now is your chance to charge your magic.”
Titus stares at my pulse, his pupils widening as his throat moves.
Tristen recoils. “Absolutely not!” He shoves my wrist away.
Titus bares his fangs at his brother. “Do not touch her.” His voice reaches deeper depths as he peers at my pulse.
“You need to drink,” I encourage.
“You’re playing with a fire that will burn you, Selene,” Tristen rumbles. “If he drinks from you, a mark will surely appear.”
Titus’s fangs sink into his lower lip. “He’s right.” He lowers my wrist, but this time, he places it on my lap.
I want your mark.I want your lips sucking my neck. I want you. “You need your magic in this den of vipers.” I shake my wrist like it’s a bone willing to risk the mark. Galen knows better than to try to seduce me now.
“Neither of you is thinking clearly. Stop touching!” Tristen moves quickly, trying to push us away from each other.
Clarity once again enters my mind. I lower my eyes in shame. Tristen is going to think I’m like my twin, ready to sleep around no matter the results. “It was the bond talking,” I admit.
A strong, tender hand lifts my chin. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Titus’s eyes follow his hand, filled with longing. “I can drink the others’ blood until we are free from this palace.” He drops his hand and keeps a small space between us so the bond doesn't take over. “Bonded mates are feared for a reason.Our magic will be enhanced, which means Everett’s magic will be stronger. I still need to understand it.”
More magic sounds like a good thing. Why didn’t Everett want us to be stronger at the start? Why must we wait until everything crumbles? What am I not seeing?
“I don’t want you to worry. I’ll tolerate the other blood for as long as I can. Then,” his eyes float from my lips, to my neck, down my chest till my nipples harden, my abs tighten and my core throbs. “I shall drink from you. I’ll make you mine.”
Darkness mixes with the lust in his eyes. Titus wouldn’t just sink his teeth into me; he’d spread me open wide, claim and mark every inch of me. I’d take it, wear it with pride, as one does a crown. I’d show the world my mate mark.
But I’m a fighter too. I’d claim a piece of him, and unlike an insecure man, Titus would let me take that piece and wear it proudly. No dress could hide the glow of having a mate. Galen would sense it right away.
My stomach plummets and then churns. Acid thickens my throat. I look at Tristen. “I know why Everett didn’t warn us about the bond.”
Tristan’s gaze intensifies, and his shadows grow darker.
Titus would have devised a way to get me out, and I would have fled to my mate. “I was never meant to leave Blackthorn,” I declare.
