Maybe this mission isn’t as doomed as it appears.
When Draven’s hands loosen their grip, his skin paling, I decide to give the asshole a hand. I grab the knife he dropped and slice into my own vein before moving in close.
“Come on, beautiful,” I whisper. “You know you want to find out what I taste like.”
She rips from Draven to hiss at me, the territorial need to defend her meal overtaking her thirst the moment I invade her space.
“You need more, so take it.” I tilt my head to one side, watching her eyes latch onto the blood.
“Silas…”
I shoot Vane a look that shuts him up, but the damage is done. Evelyn’s eyes flick toward him, fangs bared.
His protective, big-brother attitude might be sweet sometimes, but I need Evelyn focused on me.
“Come on,” I coo. “More blood, right here. Come take it.”
The impact is like a truck hitting me straight on.
She tackles me to the ground with so much force that the wind is knocked from my lungs. Evelyn’s fangs sink into my neck and I can’t help but groan.
Fuck.
I want inside her. My cock springs to attention, my whole brain going foggy with need as my body primes itself for her.
The older the vampire, the stronger the venom, and Evelyn isancient. She isn’t holding back with it either. It’s all I can do to keep my body frozen and not act on the urge to grind into her like I so desperately want to.
I am not taking advantage of her. No way.
Fuck, being the good guy is hard.
Literally.
I wrap my arms around her—ignoring her growl—and stroke her back, the platonic action keeping my hands occupied as dizziness threatens.
She’s ripped from my arms without warning. The sudden, cold, loss of her taking several seconds to register through the fog.
“Bite me,” Vane dares, pinning Evelyn against the wall.
Watching her sink her fangs into my brother is almost as hot as feeling them in my own neck.
Gideon extends a hand and pulls me to my feet, but his attention isn’t really on me. His dark brown, angular eyes are locked on the two battling for dominance against the wall. It looks like his hopes about Vane’s hybrid strength being enough to keep Evelyn under control might just pay off. She’s bucking against him, trying to pin him like she did me, but Vane keeps her pressed against the wall with ease.
Which means, as alpha, Gideon might be strong enough to keep her from hurting anyone as well.
Our alpha approaches the two slowly, bringing his own knife to his neck. Blood flows, creating a perfect scarlet line against his olive skin that makes her nostrils flare as he draws even closer.
Evelyn pushes Vane away before he gets there. This time my brother lets her, and it takes a second for me to realise why.
Pure terror suffuses her features. A heart-rending mix of insanity, grief, and fear that should never appear on a woman under our protection.
“No!”
She dives for the door, but Gideon is faster. The alpha just stands there, between her and freedom, as she scratches and claws at him.
“Let me go! Let me out!”
“Evelyn, calm down.” I try to hold my hands out in a placating gesture, but she just hisses at me.
