“Actually,” I said, licking my lips, “I wouldn’t mind that.”
“Fates, I’m about to cry,” Pops muttered in emotional agony. “Pleasestop talking to each other.”
“Sorry, Pops.” I gave him a sheepish grin.
Zuko tackled me, the mat reverberating as we hit the ground in a blur of fang and heat. I let him think he was in control, and I allowed him to press close as he went to pin me down.
Then, I licked his jaw with a numbing venom.
His fingers slipped.
I twisted and pinned him flat instead with my strength.
My venom may not have worked well on him, but it still hit his system for a few seconds. That was all I needed.
“Give up,” I whispered, straddling him. “And I’ll let you do whatever you want to me tonight.”
His smirk was feral. “I give.”
Pops’s slow clap echoed like a gavel. “Rune wins.” His gaze cut sharp to me. “But please remember thatIam here, Rune.Please.”
Zuko winced. “Sorry, Professor Bloodwyne.”
“I’m sorry, Pops. But I won.” I grinned sheepishly, un-straddling Zuko and helping him up.
“Being bitten by you would be an honor,” Slater announced solemnly.
I cocked my head, giggling. “If I said I wanted to sink my fangs into you, would you take it as a compliment or a warning?”
“Compliment.Obviously.”
rune
. . .
“You saidif I gave up, I could do whatever I wanted to you.” Zuko pinned me against the counter. His body heat seeped into me.
I’d just gotten out of bed and trudged to the kitchen to get water. After our Dimitri-mandated study session, I went to my room and passed the fuck out before I had the chance to talk to Zuko.
I bit my lip and looked up at him through my lashes. “Ididsay that.”
His chuckle was low, and his breath fanned over me. “Then don’t act surprised.” He pressed closer, his lips grazing my jaw. He dipped his head, his fangs dragging slowly along the edge of my throat.
My knees weakened, and the counter bit into my lower back. “Who said I was?—”
He sank his fangs into the spot where my shoulder and neck met, flooding my veins with his venom.
The moan that ripped out of me was uncontrollable. My head tipped back, and my eyes fluttered shut.
A sharp inhale and the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg filled the kitchen, mixing with Zuko’s burnt sugar scent.
My eyes flew open.“Dimitri?”
Dimitri stood in the doorway, fists clenched at his sides. His gaze burned red and unflinching. His aura was filled with both hunger and irritation.
Zuko pulled his fangs from my flesh, making me cry out, and two thin trickles of blood slid down my collarbone. One drop rolled lower until it disappeared between my breasts.
My breath caught. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Dimitri, not when his pupils blew wide at the sight of my blood. His jaw worked, sharp fangs sliding down from his gums, and he looked to be physically holding himself back.
