Zakkai said nothing, just went to the fridge and began warming another packet of blood.
It only took a few minutes. By the time he handed it to me, I was already salivating again, confirming his theory that this was somehow related to my pending trial.
I sucked it down while considering everything he’d said.
It was an intelligent prediction on his part, one I really hoped didn’t come true.
He took the bag from me as I finished and tossed it away. Then he returned and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear before tracing the pointed tip. His ears were rounded like the other Midnight Fae. The touch almost made me want to jokingly ask if my points would disappear as a result of choosing his kind over my own.
But I wasn’t ready to joke yet.
Instead, I focused on his eyes and the tenderness radiating from their depths.
“Thank you,” I said, expressing my gratitude to him for telling me about his suspicion. Then I met Shade’s pretty eyes and repeated the words, making sure they knew I was thankful to both of them for taking care of me.
We’d all come quite a long way in our relationships. It was night and day compared to my first days at Midnight Fae Academy.
The forbidden bite.
My enrollment.
Being trapped in a suite with Kols.
The rivalries.
Looking between Shade and Zakkai now, I couldn’t help my smile. They appeared so relaxed and content in the kitchen, something I doubted would have happened two months ago.
“What put that grin on your face?” Zakkai asked, his silver-blue eyes gleaming in the moonlight streaming in through the glass doors of the dining area.
“Just thinking about how much I love you all.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Even me?”
“Even you,” I replied, going to my toes to brush a kiss against his lips.
“Shade?” he said against my mouth. “Be sure to take notes. Blood is how we provoke emotion from Aflora.”
“That’s definitely not the only way,” my Death Blood mate drawled as he slid up behind me to gently nibble the back of my neck.
I shivered, their touch doing things to me that it probably shouldn’t after spending so many hours playing with Kols and Zeph.
But these men made me insatiable.
For both sex and blood.
Zakkai hummed in approval against my mouth, his tongue tracing the seam before sliding inside to engage me in a deep, sensual embrace underlined in passion and adoration. I moaned, curling into him and losing myself to his touch as Shade drew his teeth to my pulse. Rather than bite down, he sucked on my skin until my knees threatened to give out beneath me.
My palms went to Zakkai’s shoulders, my nails digging into his muscles as I fought to remain standing.
He growled, the sound hypnotic and taking away my breath.
I expected him to grab me, hoist me up onto the counter, and rip the clothes off me.
But he pulled his mouth away from me instead and stared down at the wolf standing just inside the door. “What?” he demanded.
I realized then that his growl hadn’t been meant for me… but Zimney.
Zakkai studied the creature, then released me to walk over and kneel before him. “What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice gentler as he reached for the arctic white beast. “What’s in your mouth, Zimney?”