But there are other sensations as well. Tiny zaps across my nerve endings that melt into something pleasant and achy.
I sip shallow breaths, my soft chest heaving against his hard one. His fingers stroke the base of both my spine and my skull, soothing me.
That familiar tingle warms my hairline, glowing hotter as he gulps down my blood. His voice materializes in my mind, low and sultry.
That’s it. Good, Charlotte. Just a little more. You tastesofucking?—
He abruptly retracts his fangs and pulls me against his chest, his heart drumming madly as he rests his chin atop my head. I try to pull back, to look into his eyes, to read what he’s thinking.
Because old Charlottedesperatelywants to know how he was going to finish that sentence.
But he’s gripping me too tightly, won’t allow it. Whatever he thinks I might be able to read in his gaze, he’s not willing to share it yet.
I stifle my ridiculous disappointment. What does it matter?
I am notforhim.
After what feels like an eternity, he takes a step back, his long-fingered hands coasting up to my shoulders as his eyes search mine. “Are you alright? Did I hurt you?”
I shake my head, releasing a trail of wetness down my neck. It’s almost certainly staining my white silk shirt. Vesper will be furious. I can imagine her squeaky,Food. Bloody food.
Come to think of it, she might prefer the shirt this way.
I chuckle, and the corner of Lachlan’s mouth kicks up. “What’s funny?” His silver hoop glints in the light from the leaf-shaped sconce on the wall.
My chipmunk brain latches onto my earlier curiosity about the light source, and I’m not sure if I actually care or if I’m just trying to distract myself from the relentlesswantpounding through my body when I ask, “What kind of light is in those lamps? It doesn’t dance like a flame.”
“Could be from any number of celestial sources,” he murmurs, wiping his thumb through the blood on my neck and pulling me toward the bathing chamber. “Sometimes, it’s debris from shooting star trails. Other times, sections of moonbeams or spears of sunlight. There are craftsmen throughout each territory who make them. They’re called shardlights.”
He explains that the energy from celestial light can be used for all sorts of magic, and I am so fascinated that until he finishes, I don’t realize I am seated on a stool with a soft bandage wrapped around my throat. There’s a coolness underneath, as if he’s rubbed an ointment over my wound.
I pry a finger under the cloth, but he clucks his tongue and pulls my hand away while helping me off the stool. “Don’t touch.It should be healed enough by morning that you can remove the bandage. There should be no scabs or bruising.”
I nod. I’m not sure what else to say. Lachlan seems at a loss as well. So, we just stare at each other, me holding my arm at my side to keep from futzing with the bandage.
After several charged seconds, his voice unfurls in my mind, louder and clearer than before.I’ll be right next door. If you need anything, anything at all, just call for me.
How?
Say my name in your mind. It might take a few tries. Thediamhránwill connect us more quickly if you’re feeling a powerful emotion.
What kind of emotions?
“Fear, distress, anger,” he says out loud. “If I sense those, I’ll come for you immediately.”
I cock my head. “What about other powerful emotions? Those on the more joyous end of the spectrum?”
He smirks. “I’ll be able to sense those as well. But I’ll check with you before I come barreling in to spoil your fun. It is a courting Season, after all.”
Whatwouldbe the harm, really? To have a tryst with any willing suitors while I’m here? Desmond said a human and a faerie cannot produce children, so I know I can’t get pregnant. And one of the dukes will make me his queen, after all. Desmond himself is absurdly handsome. We can probably do better than yesterday’s farewell kiss. Not exactly the toe-curling encounter I’d anticipated when I first saw him.
Certainly nothing compared to the life-altering bite I just received.
“Am I limited to my suitors?”
God, where didthatquestion come from? Sleep. I need to go to sleep.
But there’s no judgment on Lachlan’s face. If anything, he looks … intrigued.
