Page 147 of Plug and Drain

He drew her down to lie on top of him, rolling so they lay on their sides facing each other. He was still inside her, warming himself. Her eyes were shut, an adorable, serene smile on her face.

Arken stroked her face, her arms, her waist, smiling at the way she shivered at his touch even now. She nestled closer. He nuzzled his face into her hair.

This…had almost been perfect.

If he could have told her just how much he loved her, it would have been.

Their breathing calmed.

Reality was waiting. He hoped it would not come too soon.

He waited for Susie to open her eyes. To ask him a question.

She would not understand why, but ever since she’d jokingly shushed him, Arken had been bound to silence.

He could not speak. Not a word.

Chapter 36

In Love?

Susie

Susie lay content in Arken’s arms.

Had it been this good with him the other times? It must have. Or, it could have been if circumstances had been different. If he hadn’t been the Headmaster of Volmasque Academy. If wolves had equal rights to vampires.

So many ‘ifs’. And yet, they had all led to this perfect moment. Lying beside Arken, her face pressed against his chest, listening to his heart beating. His face was buried in her hair, his soft breaths warming her scalp. He was in a state of undress, his trousers open but barely slung beneath his hips, and his shirt untucked with only the top button of his shirt undone. It was criminal that she’d only undone one. She should have removed it. She’d felt the hard muscle underneath and a layer of softness at the waist that she found healthy and attractive.

She wanted to see him. She should sit up, undo the long line of buttons, and peel his shirt off. But she couldn’t compel herself to move. Everything felt warm and perfect, and she basked in the heat of him.

Her mind wandered as she toyed with the collar of his shirt. There was more they could do together. She wanted him to feed on her.

Would he if she asked? She was not timid, but maybe Arken assumed she was. Would he mind?

Wolves marked their mating partners by biting them between the shoulder and neck. Enough to bruise and break the skin, but not enough to cause permanent harm.

Arken was not a wolf.

But he was capable of biting her without bruising, and he was capable of so much more. She was overcome with the desire to feel his teeth on her neck, to give more of herself to him, to strengthen their connection. And vampires were capable of sharing their thoughts with those they fed on. Maybe he would let her in.

“I want you to bite me,” she blurted out, tilting her back to look at him. “Will you? Bite me?”

Arken looked contemplative as he stroked her neck with long, slender fingers. Hunger bloomed in his eyes, but it was not cloudy. He was alert.

It was more than could be said for her. She was high on pheromones and enveloped in a blissful haze. But that didn’t mean her gut instincts were wrong. She wanted Arken. She trusted him.

It defied logic. She hadn’t known him long at all.

Maybe she was making a huge mistake.

Maybe she was only reaching out to him because he was the first person she’d experienced anything romantic with, the first person who’d taken her to bed and truly been kind.

Maybe, maybe, maybe…

Arken cared for her, that much was plain to see. But did his affections run as deep as hers? Because she cared. Too much.

Logic seemed irrelevant when her pulse raced, her heart aching to solidify their connection. She had spent all of her life keeping her heart closely guarded, stifling her wolf instincts so they wouldn’t interfere with her decision-making.