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“Good, you’re waking up. How are you feeling?”
She turned and saw Lucian sitting beside her. She lay on a bed of some kind in a small room with very bland beige furniture and white walls.
He held her hand, a comforting gesture given the situation. “I’m okay except for the hammers pounding on the inside of my skull.”
At that, Lucian’s lips curved. “That’s funny. And unexpected.”
“I’m not much of a weeper, just thought you should know.” She closed her eyes again. “I believe I hate altered flight.”
“It can be a real bitch for humans.”
The chain at her neck vibrated softly. As she opened her eyes and once more turned to look at him, the depth of his physical need struck her. According to Rumy, he’d been deprived for a long time, at least a year. “Oh, God, Lucian, I’m sorry. Let’s get you taken care of. So how do we do this?”
She tried to sit up, but he shook his head. “Just lie still. I thought, if it’s all right with you, I’d take from your wrist. It’s much less invasive, and you can keep resting.”
“Okay. Do whatever it is you need to do. Yes, lying prone for a little while longer will be better.”
Rumy had made it clear what being chain-bound to Lucian would mean, so Claire had known this moment would come. But as he angled his shoulders, then leaned over her arm, her heart started pounding. She couldn’t believe this was happening. A vampire would soon bite her and take her blood.
She watched his fangs descend as he hovered above the collection of veins at her wrist.
He glanced up at her, his gray eyes darkening with need. “I’ll do this as gently and as quickly as I can.”
“That sounds good.” What else could she say?
She turned her head, wincing in anticipation, but she felt only the slightest prick, then his lips surrounded the wound.
Claire looked back as Lucian began to suck.
The sensual, steady draw on her wrist made her lips part. She’d dreaded donating to Lucian, but now that he took from her, nursing at her wrist, the room started warming up. The soft suckling sound began to remind her of other things.
The first wave of desire flowed over her like the rush of a wave on the seashore. She drew a long breath, as her gaze became focused on the muscled slope of Lucian’s shoulders and back. She felt an impulse to cover his neck with her hand and caress him as he took from her.
She gave herself a shake, trying to repress the sudden desire that had taken hold of her, when suddenly, while still drawing her blood, he looked up and met her gaze. You taste of the sweetest herbs, Claire, though I think I said that before.
His voice in her head didn’t help, either, but sparked her sudden need. You did.
His gray eyes were dark with what she knew was a desire that matched her own. She found it hard to breathe and put a hand to her chest.
Thank you for this, Claire. I’m feeling much better. Stronger. And thank you for bringing me out of captivity. I owe you.
“You’re welcome.” She spoke the words aloud, but her voice sounded hoarse.
Worse, because of the blood-chains, she could feel how aroused he was. The vampire hadn’t had sex in a long time. He was very male and would have needs. Even Rumy had told her that much, trying to prepare her.
But her own case wasn’t much different. She hadn’t been with a man in over two years because of her imprisonment in Florida.
Yet what troubled her wasn’t so much that she might end up ha**ng s*x with the vampire she’d just rescued, but how much she suspected she was going to like it.
A shiver ran through her.
Claire? As he continued to draw her blood into his mouth, he stroked the length of her forearm. His touch was so warm, even gentle against her skin. She didn’t mistake the invitation for what it was.
She felt tempted as she never had before and nearly offered up what right now had become an almost painful longing the entire length of her body. But it was way too soon. She looked away from him. “I’m trying to gain my bearings.”
Just as you should.
She didn’t look at him again while he fed. Instead, she looked anywhere else, trying to ignore what she really wanted to be doing.
The first thing she noticed was that someone had taken her shoes off. Then her eye was drawn to the ceiling, which she realized was quite beautiful despite the bland surroundings. A wave of what looked like light blue granite ran the entire length, but carved and polished to resemble a flow of water.
Good. She had something to focus on besides the fact that she was feeding a vampire and really liking it.
When he finished at last, he released her wrist, licking the small apertures at the same time.
She drew her arm close, looking down at the skin, expecting to see a wound. Instead the puncture marks were gone, and only a slight redness to the skin told her what he’d been doing. “This is amazing.”
“We’ve had thousands of years to evolve. And I’ve released a serum into your bloodstream that will replace the supply quickly. You shouldn’t feel faint or anything.”
She shifted to look at him, startled all over again by the fact that she was here in such a strange new environment, sharing a room with a vampire, and that she was bound to him.
He sat back in his chair, definitely more relaxed. His color looked better, and his gray eyes had a brightness they’d lacked before. He was incredibly handsome, which wasn’t going to help her desire for him at all.
“I can see that you’re feeling better.”
He nodded. “Much better. The flight here seemed to help as well. Maybe just being away from that cell.”
She glanced down her arm once more, then back to him. “So what’s it like? Feeding, I mean.”
His brows rose. “I don’t know. Like breathing, I suppose. It’s just part of my life.”
“Of course it would be.” She stared at him for a long moment, wondering so many things. She took in his new wardrobe. “You found some clothes, I see.”
He gestured with a toss of his hand toward the wall at the foot of the bed, where a tall rack sat. “Rumy had clothes for both of us brought in.”
When she’d initially arrived two days earlier, Rumy had given her a few basic garments in addition to the clothes she’d had on. It looked as though he’d since added to her wardrobe. “I can see that.”
She glanced around and for the first time noticed the bed was a little different: The far side had what looked like a low steel bar running its length with some kind of cloth attached to it.
