She didn’t look at him as she slid under the covers, her skin pressing against the sheets.
Eventually the mattress dipped.
Thalia stared at the wall, willing the tension to leave. Willing the pressure in her throat to disappear. She shifted again and let out another hiss, her arm smarting.
“Let me see it.” Cassius’s gruff voice broke through the pounding of the rain outside their room.
“It’s fine.” Thalia shifted off her hurt arm, facing him.
Cassius’s eyes roved over her face before settling on her hair, which splayed around her bare shoulders.
“You’ll get blood on the sheets. Let me help you.” His words had roughened.
Thalia swallowed. She needed to say no. Because whatever flame was rekindling between them would only burn out in the end. They couldn’t be together, not if her vow was meant to be fulfilled. Not if her mission was meant to succeed.
When she said nothing, he scooted closer, pulling her arm out from under the sheets. The scrape gleamed against the shadows of the fire. It wasn’t deep, but ruby droplets welled like beads of dew.
She cursed, looking for something she could swipe the blood with, but Cassius shifted even closer.
She froze, heart pounding as his glowing eyes met hers. “Do you trust me?”
Thalia stared at him, unsure what he was asking, only knowing that something else pulsed in his irises, something a part of her ached to discover.
Did she trust him?
Thalia gave the briefest dip of her chin.
Cassius took her wrist in his hand, raising her arm slightly. His thumb brushed along the sensitive inside of her wrist.
Then he dipped his head.
“What are you doing?” Thalia’s breath hitched.
Cassius flicked his gaze up, face rippling slightly. “I’m not going to bite you,” he said low, a faint hint of fangs showing.
“Then what are you doing?”
“Taking care of that.”
A droplet of blood slid down Thalia’s arm.
He waited, eyes searching hers. Maybe she’d gone a bit mad, because she gave another nod.
Cassius seemed to shudder as he bent his head once more, his tongue landing on the crimson streak down her arm.
Thalia’s fingers curled in the sheets, her heart pounding as Cassius’s tongue swept up her arm, following the trail until he got to the cut.
She watched in rapt fascination as his mouth skimmed the wound. She shivered, and Cassius’s grip tightened slightly on herwrist. The sharpness of his jaw gleamed, his throat working as he lapped up the small stain of blood on her bicep.
She thought she stopped breathing when he finally lifted his head. His pupils were blown out, a hint of red staining his lips.
“What did it taste like?” Thalia whispered, heat flooding her body.
Cassius took a moment to focus on her. “Like heaven.”
A shiver ran down her spine, and she looked away, not able to face the intensity in his face.
She looked down at her arm and gasped. The scrape was gone; only new skin looked back at her. “How did you do that?”
