I remembered what he had told me. It was something to be enjoyed. But I couldn’t think about that right now.
“It’s—blagh”—the gags were coming more frequently now—“fine—egh, whatever we can do—agh to stop the bleeding—blagh.” I pressed my hand to my mouth. He looked at me as if I were some sort of toddler, and his patience was wearing thin from my antics. I shook my head as I tried to gather my senses.
“You’ll have to bite me in a place that no one will be able to see.” Not even Elsie could see this. If anyone saw the marks of a vampire on me, then Alaric’s illusion would certainly come to fruition. Ithought about the most ideal place and cringed as it came to me. Elsie helped me bathe on occasion, but she dressed me everyday. The inner thigh could be easily concealed, and I wanted to collapse in on myself at the thought.
He watched my face as I thought through this, came to the resolution, fought with the resolution, and then gave in to it. His eyes slid to my hands as I began gathering up my skirts.
“Charlotte.” Though still weak, his tone darkened.
“It’s the only place I could easily be able to hide.” I paused to swallow through another gag. “Just make sure you bite on the ... inner portion.” I cringed. The urge to fold into myself raging now. “Let’s just hurry so we can get the hell out of here.”
The crushing silence of the woods only amplified this moment further. Every rustle of fabric, every breath I took, the debris shifting as he moved. I laid myself down on the soft earth. A shiver ran through me, though I had long forgotten the chill in the air. I raised my skirts up to my undergarments, as high as I was willing to go, which was just a few inches from the apex of my thighs. I waited for him, feeling like a slab of meat before a wolf.
My breath hitched as he slid his hand behind my knee, lifting my leg up. He settled between my legs, and I kept my eyes on the naked canopy above. The spindled branches intertwined, greedy fingertips tapping together, awaiting what roamed unaware beneath them. I failed to keep my attention away from his soft skin against mine, how his large hand nearly wrapped around my leg, how he loomed over me. Something coursed through me at the sight. Something that tingled and settled deep within my belly. I tried to relax into the warm waters that whirled around my head.
“Charlotte, are you sure about this?” His usual tightly controlled tone grew sleepy.
“Yes.”
“I have your permission to feed from you?” His words stunned me for a fleeting moment. Of all the things I had thought would happen in my life, allowing a vampire to feed from me was not one of them. I supposed I was never normal anyway.
“Yes.”
He leaned forward, and a breath escaped me as he ran his nose along my inner thigh, grazing the skin softly, lazily, despite the literal life or death situation. His velvet soft lips followed. He inhaled deeply, and his grip behind my knee tightened. His rough fingers dug into my soft flesh. He was so close to my center. Waves of heat lapped through me. Maybe this was a bad idea because I suddenly craved for him to go higher. I gasped as his tongue glided along my skin. He did it a few more times as if he were caring for the spot before the pain that was sure to come.
Then his mouth opened. His hot breath veiled over my skin, and I could feel the sharp points of his fangs, eliciting a shudder that rolled through me.
And they sank in.
A deep groan spilled from his throat, pouring over me like a sweet syrup.
And a strangled gasp escaped me. There was no pain, not what would have been expected with sharp objects puncturing skin. What could only be described as sparks igniting across every part of me. And then the sparks went deeper. A field of wildflowers bloomed within me, each one unfurling towards the delicious rays of heat that reigned down upon me. Euphoric waves of color churned at my center, pulling me under, writhing as they ignited every nerve.
My full attention went to his tongue that lapped at my skin, his hand that still held my leg tightly, and his other hand pressing down into my hip. His thumb circling the sensitive area of my lower stomach felt electric. It built, and I needed more. I wanted him on me. I needed to feel his skin against mine. I couldn’t keep the moanfrom slipping past my lips as my center began to tighten. I reached for him, though my fingers could only graze his silken hair. I was panting and squirming, and I needed to feel his weight. I needed friction.
Both of his hands were beneath my knees now, pushing my legs forward towards the ground, stilling me. I was fully bared to him, save for my thin undergarment.
“Please,” I panted. I couldn’t take it anymore. My nerves were on fire, each one awakened.
A moan tore through me as his nose grazed up my aching center over the thin barrier of fabric, and then his tongue followed. And as his mouth clamped over my clit and sucked, I finally shattered. I shuddered violently, writhing with the waves of pleasure that overtook me. He lapped at my bloodied thigh as I continued to see stars. Once each one winked out, I fell flat, sprawled out and panting, muscles melting into the cold soil. He licked my thigh once more. The last one long, drawn out, languid, reigniting sparks through me, warming my center once more. Another moan spilled from my lips. He sat up, leaning over me, his hands bracing himself at either side of my head. Our eyes met. His already black irises darkened. He had just fed, but he was still hungry.
He leaned in closer. His disheveled hair fell across his eyes, making him appear like the delinquent son of the devil. His plush lips stained a faint red. I wanted them on me. I wanted him to come even closer. There was a fire behind the glass, behind the hunger. His control was slipping. What was once tightly secured came undone. And I realized he was trembling. And I felt I should run. The instinct primal. But I couldn’t. I didn’t want to.
I lifted my legs, grazing my inner thighs along his hips. He stilled, and the darkness behind his eyes dipped into unhinged territory. I squeezed my thighs, feeling the pressure, the friction. I lifted my hips, grinding against his erection, feeling the thick length of himalong my center. A deep moan came from me, and it was enough to make me pause. What the hell was I doing? I dropped my hips to the ground, going limp. He remained over me, and it seemed as if he were barely breathing. I had never seen him lose his composure like this. And I had to do something. I had to break this spell.
“Do you feel better?” My voice was hoarse, my throat raw. Had I been screaming?
He finally let out a breath, and I wondered how long he had been holding it. His rigid posture began to soften. I looked at his neck, which was no longer bleeding. The skin stitched itself together before my eyes. I had never seen anything like it. I watched in awe as his body repaired itself. Before I could stop myself, I brushed my fingertips around the area, not wanting to touch what was still healing but feeling overtaken by fascination, like I had to feel how it felt. I looked back at him, and his eyes had never left mine.
“Yes.” His silken tone was back along with his control.
By the time he sat up, the wound had completely healed. Not the slightest trace of a mark was left behind. I sat up, awkwardly rearranging my skirts and pulling them back down. He stood, and I tried to follow, but my legs felt like jelly. I teeter-tottered, rolling from hip to hip, trying to find purchase, the most stable leg. He watched me with his usual blank stare, though a slight frown started to furrow his brow. His giant hands wrapped around my arms pulling me up from the ground like I was a sack of oats. He kept his hands firmly planted, eyeing me to ensure I was stable, before letting go.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
He stood before me for a moment, staring at the ground. His eyes finally met mine. “I apologize for losing control, Charlotte.”
“I think we both lost control.” And I wanted to hide the thought, bury it deep, that I wanted him to lose control. I saw a piece of him fracture, and I wanted more. I wanted him to fall apart around me. Iwanted to taunt the beast, just to see what he could do. Some sort of sick curiosity bloomed within me, and I didn’t know how to pluck it out.
