Not the kind of lust I’m struggling with.“Humor me.”
“Okay.” The corners of his mouth quirked up. “I struggled with excitement. I would get so stoked about being alive and getting out of my struggles as a human, I would go on runs to work off the energy.”
“What kind of struggles?”
His eyes shifted, breaking our eye contact and with it, the intensity of desire that tried to swallow me whole.A second longer, I would’ve dry humped the poor vampire.
He cleared his throat. “Another time, yeah? Let’s get back to it.”
I scrambled off him, grabbing his hand to help him up. “I’m sorry about that.”
We went back to work, but as I continued sneaking glances at him, I noticed a deep-seated pain in his eyes I hadn’t seen before. I wanted to know what had happened to him and if I could do something to help ease the burden weighing on him—which was ridiculous because I barely knew him.
“How’d she do?” Thaddeus asked Kai as we came into the dining room from just finishing our lesson.
“I sure as hell didn’t have that kind of control when I was new,” he answered with a smile my way.
I grinned. “Thaddeus told me to redirect my attention.”
One minute, I’m thinking of tearing into the blood bag, and the other, I’m thinking of tearing into Kai.
Blaise snorted, and I narrowed my eyes at him as we took a seat at the fancy marble dining table.
I bounced a little at the cushioned chair. You could definitely tell the guys were the only ones who lived here because it didn’t have anyfeminine touchat all.
“The Order of the Void has made a decision,” Thaddeus started.
“You’re to be trained by us, and then you will go in front of the Order to be evaluated on what you have learned,” Blaise said, a small smile threatening the corners of his mouth. “We have until the next full moon.”
“That soon?” My heart thumped.I would be able to see my family again as long as I passed their tests.
“We have three weeks,” Kai said.
“That’s not all.” Thaddeus cleared his throat. “They were oddly...satisfied with Lilith being turned.” Worry lines creased his forehead.
“Why do I have a feeling that’s a bad thing?”
“Being satisfied isn’t their usual emotion.” Blaise said as silence settled over the table.
“Who cooked?” I asked, drooling over the chicken and mashed potatoes with a glass of blood sitting beside the plate.
“I did,” Thaddeus answered, not glancing up at me as he grabbed his glass of blood and drank it. His Adam’s apple moved with each gulp, and I noticed the slight stubble along his jaw. He looked deliciously rough, and I wanted to run my lips over the scruff.
What’s wrong with me?I’d never been so in tune with my sexual desires before. It had to be a vampire thing.
I blinked, focusing my attention back toward the food. Different smells invaded my nose, and I closed my eyes to determine what I was smelling. Blood, garlic, salt, pepper, and a hint of thyme hung around us.
“Garlic?” I snorted, and the guys chuckled.
“You know, vampires made that lie up to get hunters off our back in the sixteenth century,” Blaise said, stabbing a piece of chicken.
“Thank goodness for that because I freaking love garlic.” I took a bite of the garlic mashed potatoes, and the flavor exploded at a molecular level in my mouth.
“I guess she passed your tests today, Kai?” Blaise drank his blood in a few big gulps before placing it back on the table.
“No, actually.” Kai’s knee bumped against mine as he downed his blood. “But I’d say she passed now.”
“Why?” I sat my fork down. Their stares were relentless. “Also, don’t stare at a girl while she eats. It’s super uncomfortable.”
