“Arm.” She held her hand out without looking at me.
“‘Please, Silas. Thank you, Silas. How are you, Silas? You look so handsome today, Silas,’” I teased, rolling up my sleeve and putting my arm in her hand.
Alina’s touch was always cold. Do not misunderstand, it was a pleasant sensation, but I thought I ran too hot, temperature-wise. Even hotter after feeding. Her fingers on my skin were like ice, a simple chill to calm my ever-heated nerves. I often imagined them touching places that ranhotterthan the rest, but I kept those images to myself.
She wasted no time, an efficient little bee she was. The tourniquet was tied and looped around my arm, and her long, nimble fingers pushed the curved needle under my skin. This part always excited me, possibly because I knew I got to feed after. She got quicker every time she did it.
“Oh, a present for you.” I hastily pulled a flask from my pocket and slapped it on the table.
“I don’t need booze right now, though I may take you up on it later.” Her eyes dialed in on my arm and the apparatus, though I saw a small tug at the corner of her lips.
“I wish it were liquor. No, it is saliva.” I gave her my cockiest grin.
She looked at me, then at the flask. “You filled an entire flask with your spit?”
“I didn’t have anything else to put it in. You asked for it last time, and I took a bite of you without asking. So I decided to give you the extra sample you asked for. We are even now.”
“You don’t get to decide when we are even.” She tore her eyes from me and lifted the full flask. “But fine, we are even,” she mumbled.
She almost seemed impressed as she picked up the flask. It took a while to fill. It was admittedly the oddest thing I had given her, and that was saying quite a lot. The difference was that she actually wanted this oddity.
She pulled the needle from my arm and wiped the puncture. My stomach fluttered from her touches—but mostly because I was hungry.Sohungry. I’d stopped eating anything else once I sunk my teeth into her. She was the only one I wanted to....
“Alina!”
Who in the living hell wasthat?
A tall, dark-haired man with the most foolish wire glasses rushed down the stairs, elated at the sight ofmyshadow.
She was smiling at him. So bright and full of life. I could even see a small tint of pink dust over those ivory cheeks. I only now realized how much geniality she kept far from me. She only reserved her coldest for our time together.
Looking at her, I could feel something inside me snap—or maybe it was a tooth cracking from clenching my jaw.
I hated it.
I wanted to crush her in my palm like a lightning bug and watch the light go out.
The man approached. His body went rigid, those dark eyes clocking me.
“Silas, this is Viktor! I told you about him the other day,” shesaid, an accusatory look in her eyes as if to add,The one I told you not to kill, remember?
Her voice was muffled by the sound of my blood rushing. I could only see red.
“Yes, I remember.” I stood up and circled the desk, holding my hand out to him. “Silas Forbes.”
“Viktor Kaskov.” He gripped my hand.
Mr. Kaskov stood about my height, our eyes level. His demeanor was friendly, but my spine itched at the contact. I might be biased, but I alreadyhatedhim. His energy didn’t match. His scent was metallic, like wet brass, the smell of warm wood and spicy leather attempting to overpower it. What did she see in this fool?
Alina picked up the apparatus and moved it to the back of the lab, away from the two of us. It was a mistake to leave us alone.
“How do you know Miss Lis?” Viktor asked, leaning against the opposite desk to watch me like I was some thief in a bakery. While he appeared cordial and friendly, there was an unmistakable accusation in his tone.
“Courtship,” I said, my eyes tracking Alina across the room.
“So she is?—”
“My intended,” I said flatly, looking over at him. “Why so many questions?”
