My laughter surprised him. “You can’t make me do shit,” I said. “Now, do you want the cookies?”
He lunged for me, so fast he almost caught me. I zipped out of the way, stopping in the kitchen. “If you do that again, you forfeit your cookies.”
“I don’t give a fuck about the cookies,” he snarled.
“Pssh. Lies.”
He lunged for me again. I cackled as I moved again. Ethan was lightning fast even for a shifter, but I was a vampire. For the most part.
“Godsdammit. Tell me what’s happening to me.”
“You’ll figure it out.” I stayed still when he went for me again. Our bodies slammed together so hard, we cracked the drywall. The air rushed out of my lungs when my back hit the wall.
I needed blood. Every time I moved, my energy flagged, and that wasn’t normal. I’d gone for much longer before this, choosing to fill up every couple of months on human donor blood, only realizing recently I needed magical blood to keep up my energy and magic stores.
I hadn’t fed in almost a month, and I was beginning to feel the first signs of fatigue. Ethan pressed in close, his neck close to my nose.
He smelled of pine and the woods, of cool breezes and the moon. I inhaled deeply.
The Lord went still. “Your eyes are glowing,” he murmured.
“Because I’m hungry,” I said quietly. “You might want to step back.”
Ethan snorted. “I’m not worried about your sharp little teeth, vampire.”
“Moira,” I snapped. “My name is Moira.”
“Fine, Moira. If you’re hungry, I’ll let you go hunt as soon as you answer my questions.”
The way he said my name made my stomach tighten. Our eyes met and held. Ethan was smashed against me. My breasts were pressed against his chest, and his hips lay snug against my abdomen.
I chuckled. “Looks like you rushed right into a choice you didn’t think through. Let me go and don’t get your answers. Keep me here and things might get a little heated.”
I leaned forward and pressed my nose into the crook where his neck met his shoulders. Inhaling his scent, I ran my hands up his back, sliding my fingers through his hair.
Ethan’s eyes closed. A shudder racked his body.
My fangs slid down. I closed my mouth and willed them to disappear. I could not bite him. I would not bite him.
With a sound of disgust, Ethan shoved against me and backed away.
“I would never desire you,” he hissed. “Why would I when there is a woman at home I love more than life itself?”
Even knowing he was under a spell, the words stung.
“Then leave,” I said. “And remember when things become clear, who you need to go to.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened. “You aren’t lying about everything,” he said quietly. “But I know I would never be friends with the likes of you.”
He strode away, slamming the door behind him.
I slumped against the wall, my chin dipping to my chest.
My mom deserved to die for a lot of reasons, but breaking my heart all over again might be number one.
Chapter
Twenty-One
