“Then, why did you ask, little viper?”
Her heart quivers. The sound of it sets off the predator inside me, drawing me toward her like a moth to a flame. Too bright. Too enticing.
That’s her.
What’s her end game?I stare at her, so innocuous. Too innocuous. Suspicious.
I force myself to stop near the sewing machine. That’s close enough.
For now.
“Breakfast first,” she says. “I’ll do some sewing later.”
“You’re learning—good.”
She raises her eyebrows, swallows, and then stands with a nod. Her walk back to the table is shaky. Yes, she’s thick in certain places, the important parts, but it’s obvious she’s weak.
When she finally digs into her food, I notice the tension drip by the ounce from her body. Soon, she’s properly nourished and seated on the settee near the wide window overlooking the garden. Like the other mornings she’s been here, she understands what comes next after such a hardy meal. She’ll have a snack after as well.
Her fingers graze a swatch of teal fabric. “Here?”
“Wherever is most comfortable for you.”
She lowers her gaze and exposes her neck.
I shake my head.
Confusion streaks her face. “What?”
“You don’t prefer it that way, do you?”
Blush floods her cheeks. “No, I…”
“Don’t be afraid to tell me what you prefer. There should be comfort in our bond, Amber.”
More blush. A rush of emotions. It happens all at once like an asteroid breaking the outer layers of Earth’s crust. Hard plates crack under the weight of impact.
How odd to say such a thing seeing as there hasn’t been much comfort since our initial meeting.
She twirls her forefingers around each other. “I like to be…” She sucks air into her lungs, an energizing breath. “I like to be held.”
“How?”
“Like a baby.”
Oh, dear innocence. Darling sweetness. She’s an adult as much as her sister yet she retains a certain foolish charm and curiosity unlike the other bloodbags. Where they have been broken and enslaved, she remains strong and open.
It’s endearing. “Then, I shall hold you.”
Settling into the settee takes more effort than I anticipate. It’s different approaching this situation without the danger of the dungeon, the adrenaline of discovering someone wandering forbidden hallways. The lust of that hunt is gone, though I feel the remnants of it tickling my chest.
She straddles my lap tentatively, part of the danger returning in a magnificent and unexpected wave. “I slept wrong, so easy on my neck.”
“Of course, little viper.”
I am still suspicious of her. And call me old-fashioned, but it’s simply unnecessary to treat a lady with such disrespect to her form. Bloodbagsarejust food. But that doesn’t mean we should leave them out on the counter to rot.
My fangs spring forward without prompting. Already, her heartbeat beckons my mouth. I locate the artery in her throat, sticking to the front to avoid her slightly sore neck.