I went through the long list crowding my mind, topped by one that had weighed on me for weeks. Did I dare ask that one?
I gulped, then went for it. “Do you love Delphine?”
I’d met his lover/blood donor/favorite prostitute in Mallorca and liked her immediately, despite her taste in men.
A storm brewed in Henrik’s eyes.
“Don’t go there. I warn you.”
A warning I should have heeded, as it turned out, but I was too frustrated.
“Do you know she loves you?” I blurted. “Do you realize how she hangs on every word you utter and every move you make? Even if you don’t love her, you owe it to her to at least—”
His eyes flashed, and his teeth extended as he hissed, “I don’t owe her anything. I owe no one, especially not you.”
His fingernails lengthened, and his eyes turned to red points. I backed away, too shocked to speak. The bored, arrogant man of noble birth was gone, and a predator stood in his place.
I stepped toward the door, but he slammed a hand against it, blocking my escape.
“Afraid?” His eyes glittered with a hint of madness.
“Of you? No.” I stuck up my chin.
Bad idea, because his eyes went to my neck.
He’d moved into a clear beam of light, and yikes. It hadn’t been the stained glass making him appear pale. He really was extra pale — and gaunt.
My heart hammered as I moved toward the far door of the library.
Wham!The next thing I knew, Henrik had me shoved hard against the bookcase. The smell of leather and dry ink hit me as he wrapped a hand around my throat and squeezed.
I batted at him, but he pinned my arms against my chest with his free hand.
His lips curled into a spooky grin. “Give me your blood, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“Stop! Let me go!” I choked out, struggling.
“Just a little,” he murmured, leaning closer to sniff. So close, the tip of his nose brushed my neck.
And, shit. His eyes glazed over, and his voice took on a dreamy quality.
“Ah, so promising. So unique…”
I blanched, because that was probably true. My mixed supernatural ancestry would make metheexotic taste of the day to a vampire.
His eyes narrowed to pinpricks as he fell deeper into hunting mode.
I kicked and flailed, fighting for breath. “Henrik!”
“It would be so easy, you know,” he murmured, more to himself than me.
I twisted and jerked. “I will despise you forever if you do this.”
He chuckled. “Forever might not be too long.”
His skin was so pale, his veins showed, but no pulse beat.
I tried another tack, choking out, “You’ll despise yourself forever.”
