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“No.” My voice broke a little bit. I cleared my throat. “I just don’t like these games you’re playing.”
“Just wait. They get even better.” He chuckled. “Are you ready to prove your loyalty?”
“Bring it on,” I said, raising my chin to show him I wasn’t intimidated.
He took my hand and led me forward. We walked a few feet before he halted me. “Please sit.” His polite manner held an undertone of menace. He helped me lower into a chair with wooden arms. I’d just settled myself when I felt a cold metal cuff click over my right wrist. He quickly cuffed the other hand before I could react.
I struggled against the bonds, kicking out with my feet, but only hitting air. “You bastard!” I said. I strained against the cold metal, hoping my strength could break them. They didn’t even budge. The shackles must have had copper lining, which weakened my strength.
“Are you quite finished?” Clovis asked from behind me.
My breath puffed in and out harshly, making it hard to respond. “Why?” I managed to ask.
“It’s for your own protection, really,” he said. “If you fight me while I feed from you it will arouse my predatory instincts.”
My blood turned to ice, even though I’d already suspected what his test would entail. Again, I wondered how my grandmother could ask me to do this. She understood the gravity of allowing another vamp to take a vein. By letting Clovis do this, I was, in essence, saying he was now my master. The thought caused my stomach to clench.
I took a deep breath to quell the rising panic. The combination of blindfold and restraints was making me feel claustrophobic and my other instinct threatened to take over—survival.
“Take. Off. The. Blindfold.” I was gasping for air now, not caring that I was betraying a weakness.
Almost instantly, the cloth disappeared. I blinked against the dim light in the room as my eyes adjusted. I looked around, trying to get my bearings. The chamber was vast, with candle-lit sconces along the walls. My eyes shot to Clovis, who stood in front of me now, just out of kicking distance. He wore a long, black silk robe with a red dragon embroidered over his heart. He stood patiently, seeming content to let me finish my scan of the room.
To his right, about twenty feet away, stood the largest bed I’d ever seen. Carved ebony posts stood at the four corners with a red silk canopy balanced on top. The real kicker, though, was the yards and yards of black satin covering the mattress. The thing looked like something out of a Goth p**n film.
My eyes shot back to him. He smiled wide, showing his fangs for the first time since I’d met him. “Shall we begin?”
It was do-or-die time. If I balked or said no, it would destroy any chance of succeeding in my mission. But deep down, the primal part of me yearned to cry uncle and run away with my tail tucked between my legs. Not only did I not want to submit to Clovis, or anyone else for that matter, but I also didn’t like the idea of him taking some of my power along with my blood. He’d be taking part of me—the very life force that made me who I was. My grandmother’s words came to me then. I didn’t have the luxury of being squeamish. I had a job to do, and dammit, I was going to succeed.
I took a deep breath and nodded my acquiescence.
“Ah, Sabina,” he said. “Your strength continues to impress me. I can hardly wait to taste you.”
He moved forward. My hands curled into claws under the metal restraints. I struggled to sit still as he bent down. His breath caressed my throat. The invasion of personal space caused me to jerk back, but he grasped my jaw with one hand to hold me in place. I blinked rapidly as he ran his lips over my jugular. A memory of the vamp in the parking garage doing the same thing caused bile to rise in my throat. Before I could chase away the memory, Clovis’ fangs broke skin. Searing pain shot through my neck, causing me to gasp.
After a moment, the pull of his mouth on the vein was matched by a pulsing in regions further south. A new sensation of pleasure-pain pulsed through me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. My body yearned toward his. He sucked harder as if trying to swallow me whole. And Lilith help me, I wanted him to. I didn’t stop to think about why I suddenly wanted to give him my blood, I just did.
The whole ordeal lasted too long and not long enough. He pulled his fangs away, but came back for one final caress with his tongue. He murmured something, but I was too dazed to understand it.
His face came into view, blurry through the tears I hadn’t noticed falling. Inexplicably, his eyes glowed red in the dim light and a pair of small horns bulged from his forehead. They disappeared so quickly, I wondered if I was hallucinating. His mouth and chin glistened red when he smiled. “You’re mine now, Sabina Kane.”
My head felt like it was full of helium and my hands were shaking. At the same time, I was squirming with need. No one had ever told me it would be like that. It wasn’t so much that I gave him blood; it was more like he’d f**ked my vein. And now, inexplicably, I yearned for him to f**k other parts of me.
His eyes glowed in the dim light as he watched me. “You taste like sex and magic,” he said. “I can feel your power running through me.” Clovis stretched his arms out wide, expanding his chest. His robe gaped, exposing the hard planes of his pecs, which were sprinkled with droplets of my blood.
I shifted in my seat, hoping to ease the ache in my groin. Clovis seemed to notice my discomfort and smiled.
“How do you feel, Sabina?” he asked. His eyes showed me he knew exactly what was going on. But I’d be damned if I was going to beg.
“F-fine,” I lied. “Are we done yet?” I needed to get out of there or I was going to do something else I’d regret.
“We’re finished,” he said. “However …” He let the word hang in the air, as if he expected me to ask more questions. I didn’t give him the satisfaction. I was too busy trying to think unsexy thoughts.
“If you need assistance relieving some of the … side effects, I’d be happy to lend a hand.” He actually leered at me. By this point, I was tired of his dramatics. I just wanted out of there. Regret was starting to pour through me like acid. I didn’t know what he’d done to my mind to make me so pliable during the feeding, but it was wearing off. Plus, my neck was killing me.
“I really need to get going,” I said. “Could you please take off the cuffs?”
He looked disappointed. “If you insist.”
