I shook my head. “I don’t want any wine right now.”
Rhazien’s gaze hardened. “I wasn't offering wine.”
My curiosity was piqued but my words were flat and lifeless. “What then?”
Ivory fangs slid into view and Rhazien raised his finger to meet the tip of his protruding canine. He pressed the pad of his index finger until the skin broke open. My eyes focused on the bead he balanced atop the small wound.
My gaze bounced between his stare and his offering. When I’d first met him and had ‘just a drop’ of blood mixed in my wine, it had sent me into a state of blind lust. He’d resisted me then and I’d appreciated it. But now, I wouldn’t want him to hold back.
“You’ll stay with me?” I look at him with pleading eyes.
“Of course.” He nodded. I adjusted myself, sitting up a bit straighter. He withdrew his finger and cautioned, “You know what this means, right? You understand how your body will react?”
I did. And maybe if I weren’t an empty shell of myself, I would be more worried about the way I began to salivate at the sight of his crimson lifeforce.
“Reyva,” he said my name like he was tugging at a leash, commanding my attention. “I need you to say you understand because I want to court you properly, but fighting my nature takes a great deal of willpower. And I’ve been losing that battle since I met you.”
An echo of a familiar heat rose and fell against the nothingness, a fervor reflected in his gaze.
I lifted my hand to his wrist, slowly pulled it toward my mouth, whispered, “I understand,” and wrapped my lips around the tip of his finger.
The blood was a medley of flavor. At first, the familiar tang of iron, but then a sour flare, finished with a heated sweetness. Like the cinnamon candies Cova loved.
A low rumble vibrated through Rhazien’s chest as I took his finger, sucking harder from the cut. My sleeping senses stretched and yawned from beneath the blanket of the shade’s despair.
“Not too much,” Rhazien cautioned and I gasped as he pulled his finger from my mouth. Like a quick-acting poison, Rhazien’s blood rushed through me, waking up each of my nerve endings with more precision and speed than it had when it was mixed in my wine.
The flames from the tapered candles around my chambers sang a low-pitched hum of a fire song. They bent and swayed, trying to get the best view of the vampire regent and his human prospect.
I looked down at the immortal man beneath me, my lips parted. Rhazien ran his thumb over my bottom lip, leaving a sizzling sensation in its wake. Heat rose in my cheeks, a welcome change to the nothingness. His touch was like the first rays of sunrise defrosting the evening dew.
“How are you feeling now?” he asked, cupping my face in his hand.
“Like I’m kindling to a wildfire.” I gestured down at my gown. “And…this dress is too hot, too heavy.”
“Hmm.” Under two knitted brows, he inspected the glittering garment. “Well, let’s get rid of it, then.”
It’s exactly what I wanted him to say.
“Thank you,” I whispered as he guided me to stand with him.
He was capable of speed, I’d seen it. From him. From Dommik. But now, Rhazien moved with a calculated slowness.
Hook by hook, he unlatched the fabric from its constraints. Each release of tension from the material encasing my skin gave way to a swell of primal hope.
The blood had its own agenda, but beneath its desire, I missed being touched. I wanted fingertips to explore me, lips to claim me. And I wanted that affection and intimacy without the cost of guilt and regret.
The gown sang a short song as the beads collided in a heap on the floor. I stood tall and unembarrassed with my undergarments revealed to the royal immortal. He huffed at the sight of my skin decorated in the gifted black lace lingerie.
I exhaled, letting my heavy lids fall closed briefly. “That’s better.”
“I agree.” He traced the bare skin of my back above my panties as he circled me. My breath hitched as his fingers found my navel.
Our eyes locked and my want was reflected in the emerald gaze staring back at me.
Rhazien pulled me flush to his chest and I hummed at the touch. This is what I wanted. Not a forbidden affair, a connection free of remorse. Being in his arms felt…right.
Hewantedto be here with me. Iwantedhim here too. Iwantedto feel more.
