13
Riley
When Declan tuckeda thick lock of hair behind her ear, she almost laughed. The gesture was so very human, and nothing else about this man felt human. He moved with such grace, no energy wasted, yet this felt…frivolous and carefree.
“You can change your mind,agra,”he said as his fingers brushed over her neck. “If you do not want me to feed. I can wait until tomorrow.”
“No.” Sitting up and drawing the duvet over her breasts, she met his gaze. His eyes were paler now, but still every bit as red. His skin looked almost sallow, and though she didn’t understand how, she could sense his weakness. His need. But doubts crept in. “Declan, I want this. But…after what happened with…” She couldn’t say the other vampire’s name. Didn’t want to think about that pain at all.
“You are no danger to me, Riley.” As if he could read her mind, he brushed his fingers over her neck. “Let me replace the memory of what those animals did to you.”
With a nod, she tried to relax, but her body wouldn’t listen to her. Declan eased against the headboard, then urged her into his arms. “It will hurt. But only for a moment. Then you will feel…pleasure, I hope.”
Her heart hammered in her chest, and Declan stroked his hand up and down her back. The slow, rhythmic motion helped calm her, and she blew out a breath. “I’m ready.”
He bared his fangs, and Riley angled her head. The first scrape against her skin made her gasp, but his low,shhhingsound helped ground her. Until he broke the skin. Crying out, she clutched at his arms, the pain spreading out from his bite like liquid fire. But just as quickly as it started, a pleasant warmth took its place, and she was floating.
The low rumble in Declan’s chest grew louder, and she could feel him strengthening by the second. With one, final pull, he pressed his lips to the wounds, holding them there as Riley rode a high she’d never imagined possible.
“You are unique in all the world, Riley,” he whispered when he finally drew back. His eyes had returned to their normal dark blue, and he scanned her face, then frowned. “I took too much.”
“I feel…fine,” she said, but then the room started to spin slightly. “Well, mostly…”
Declan brought his wrist to his mouth, then pressed it to hers. “Drink,agra.Just a sip or two. It will help.”
As his rich blood flowed over her tongue, her vision sharpened, and shecravedmore. Fear wrapped her heart in a vise. She shouldn’t want this. Shouldn’tneedit.
“Riley? Where did you go?” Declan cupped her cheek, the wounds on his wrist already sealed. When he smiled at her, she felt the warmth down to her toes.
“That was intense,” she whispered and snuggled closer to him, hoping to hide her dark thoughts and fears for a little while longer. Bringing her fingers to her neck, she relished the little sparks of electricity that ran through her body. “Are there…scars?”
“No. But your body will remember.” Declan brushed a kiss to the delicate skin, and she ached to have him inside her again. Would it be different? With her blood sustaining him?
As he slid off the bed, Riley caught his hand, surprised to find his skin almost warm. “Stay with me.”
“You need food.”
“I need you.” Getting to her knees, she let the duvet fall away. “In a few days, this will all end. I’ll have to go home, and I’ll…I’ll never see you again. I want one night. One perfect night.”
“As you wish.” Declan gathered her into his arms and laid her back against the pillows. “I hope you do not need your voice tomorrow,agra. I plan to make you scream. Many, many times.”
“Even if I couldn’t say a word, I think…you’d hear me.”
Declan’s eyes darkened, and for a brief moment, he looked almost…sad. But after a blink, all Riley could see was arousal. And maybe…something more. Something she’d given up on a long time ago.
* * *
Declan
His human laughed as the hot water ran down her back and Declan feathered kisses along the shell of her ear. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he nuzzled her neck from behind, and his fangs scraped the sensitive skin. “Hungry again?” Riley asked. “I suppose you did exert quite a bit of energy. Or do you just like the taste of me?”
The darkness he’d kept at bay for the past six hours draped over him like a blanket, and he jerked his head away. “Both.”
“You can feed.”
She turned, and Declan growled at the sight of her perfect breasts, the patch of dark curls over her mound. If he did not force distance between them—now—he might never let her go. Locking his emotions away, he wicked the water from his black hair, stepped out of the shower, and wrapped himself in a towel. “I cannot. Ever again.”
He felt her shock as he dried himself off, rushed to his closet, and threw on his clothes.
