I seize her shoulders with my claws. Warm liquid pools around my sharpened nails. I feel the rhythm of her heartbeat in my fingers. Yet she doesn’t react. That would be the bond numbing whatever pain might be surfacing.
Thunderous is the growl that vibrates my lips. Sheshouldfeel pain. She should be made to feel every offense that I’ve experienced since her arrival here. Her poor manners, improper posture, inappropriate behavior, and hideous ignorance of court customs would have put anyone else on the outskirts.
Yet my brother cares not for her insolence. He welcomes her with open arms and laughs with her. He allows her to roam the grounds freely without supervision. What a magnificent mistake to make.
The mistake would have been greater if she had truly been lying.
It’s unnecessary to keep drinking from her. One sip usually does the trick. Lies and treachery are easy to detect—and with her, she wears her emotions on her sleeves.
I shouldn’t keep drinking. I must stop.
My claws dig deeper.
This is for the kingdom.
A greater sip produces more information. Such a foolish creature has likely fallen prey to many traps in her short lifetime. Impurities typically run amok in human blood.
But her? She’s free of most filthy things. Even her thoughts seem relatively tame.
Her hips, however, are another story.
Whatever the little viper thinks is subtle is far from it. Her heart pushes her enticing lifeforce into my mouth to a lustful beat. Each layer unfolds as I retract my claws and cradle her to my chest, precious in her smallness and frailty. A dreadful combination, really. So susceptible to harm.
At least I don’t have my brother’s thirst.
That’s what truly sets me in motion. I’m not my brother. I’m not held to the same standards. No one is here to see anything.
My teeth retreat.What the hell are you thinking, Darius? There are rules and regulations for this. Don’t get sucked into it just because—
“Why did you stop?” Her voice is tiny, sweet, free of the venom from two minutes ago. Her fingers curl around the lapels of my blazer. She tugs me forward.
I’m reluctant yet invested. She’s just a human, abloodbag.There’s no reason for her to have any kind of pull over me. Her blood isn’t spelled. She has no access to charm and she’s not a descendant of any magical creature.
She’s human through and through. She’s merely Tessa’s sister.
My eyes widen.There’s no logical reason for me to succumb.
What reason would I have for being unable to stop a feeding? I’m not my brother. I’m nothing close to the recklessness he embodies. I have full command of my faculties. Even though I chose the route of studying history, I could have an army at my command in a matter of minutes. Any one of those vampire soldiers would be at my whim just the same as my very own limbs.
Andyet—
Words fail me as I return to her neck. She arches to expose more of her pliant body, rubbing against my thigh like it’s a brand-new toy. Heat floods my leg and inspires my fingers to trail along her side, north, toward the straps holding up her flowing top.
I’m no longer sucking her blood at this point. I’m merely allowing it to dribble into my mouth. She tangles her fingers into my hair and grips hard, urging me closer. But how much closer? She’s already humping my leg.
Like a harlot.
Does this behavior work for her? Ignorance only seems to grow stronger with this one. I could ignore the humping. I could just as easily cast her aside.
Heat radiates from my thigh through the rest of my body. Flush warmth of the arousing variety, a dangerous combination of things that awakens a beast slumbering too long.
And I hate how much I like it.
She’s Tessa’s sister. She probably has the same ulterior motives. Nobody could have predicted Tessa’s deceit.
The same can happen here.
No impurities, of course. But every ounce of disgust is present. Amber hates me. With her blood. With her very being.