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“My blood,” he said with a sexy growl. He got that look in his eye again—that twinkly, beckoning look—and nodded his chin away from the dorm. You’d think he was merely suggesting we sneak around back to make out like real teenagers would.
I crossed my arms at my chest, closed for business. “Not until you explain this. Do other Acari have bonds like this? Why can’t anyone find out? Is it permanent?”
“Perhaps. Because. And not necessarily. ” He snatched my hand and began to walk. “Now come. Your peevishness is wearing. ”
I dug in my heels and snatched away my hand. “If you’re not going to answer my questions, then it looks like we’ve got nothing to talk about. I’m going inside. ”
Anger flashed in his eyes, sharp and crystalline. Adrenaline dumped into my body as I saw what rage smoldered beneath that carefree surface. “You’re a foolish child to deny me,” he snarled. “To deny yourself. It was foolish what you did to us. Now, more so, what you continue to do. ”
Terror sent my heart galloping. I’d gotten too relaxed with him. With all of our flirty banter, I’d forgotten—this was a vampire. He might be easy, sexy, devil-may-care Carden, but he was a creature who could turn on me in an instant, flaying me. Sucking me dry, if he chose.
He was ancient, with the strength of ages.
I wouldn’t forget again.
“You only want me because of the bond,” I said, trying to sound reasonable. “Not because of me. ”
“Just let me take care of you,” he said through gritted teeth.
But I didn’t want to feel like I needed a vampire. Especially not this vampire. Until I figured out why Alcántara seemed to have it out for Carden, the last thing I needed was for the Directorate to think I was with him.
“I can’t go with you,” I said quietly. Technically, I didn’t have to agree to go with him. I supposed he could just take me. Grab me, throw me over his shoulder, and do what he would. The way he stepped closer made me think for a second that he might.
“Then I have two things to say to you. ” His jaw was clenched, as though he was restraining himself from doing something bad. “First, Tracer Ronan is correct. Stay in your room. There is a killer out there, and no, it’s not me. ”
I mustered my willpower. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done. Putting space between me and Carden felt like walking away from an ice-cold glass of water while dying of thirst. But I swallowed hard and made myself say, “And the second thing?”
“The second thing,” he announced, biting out the words in a glacial tone. “Stay away from me. If you won’t accept me, it is the only way. ”
Maybe I was stubborn, or afraid, or cautious, or just a romantic hoping for more. …Whatever my reasons, I hadn’t wanted to go with him. But now that he forbade me, well, that was a different story. It felt so final. I laughed nervously. “I thought I was your wee dove. ”
His eyes narrowed, his desire grown fierce. The quiver I’d felt in my belly shot through my whole body, heating me, weakening me, until my knees went shaky. He wanted me, and it was a heady thing.
“I grow hungry,” he said, his voice hoarse, “and yet you wish to sever our bond. To be this close is to be too tempted. ”
This was the most he’d ever said about the bond, and it gave me strength. “You can break a blood bond?”
“With effort,” he said through gritted teeth. “But there must be distance. ”
He leaned down, and I froze. His lips were perilously close to my neck. “You’re catnip, you know. ” The air tickled across my neck as he inhaled. “I was your first kiss. It’s not too late for me to be your second, too. ”
I flinched back. “How’d you know you were my first kiss?”
“I know many things. ” He lightly swept the back of his hand down my arm, leaving a ripple of goose bumps in its wake.
How easy it would be to let him scoop me up and carry me away. How much I wanted him to.
But I also knew I didn’t trust the bond. If we could sever it, we had to try. My reaction to Carden was too powerful, and I didn’t believe it was real. I didn’t know him, but in our short acquaintance, I’d sensed the tension between him and Alcántara. What was Carden’s history with the Directorate? Until I understood this island more, I wasn’t ready to hitch my wagon to any vampire.
“No. ” I took a step back. “So is that it? If we stay away from each other, we can break the bond?” My voice came out sounding more bereft than I’d intended.
His eyes lingered on me. Finally he turned from me.
It felt like saying good-bye to a lover. Carden was my first and only kiss, so I supposed I was saying good-bye to a lover.
He spoke over his shoulder, his voice cold. “This will be difficult for you. You must steal extra doses of the blood. But for now it’s late. Curfew is soon. Get inside, Acari Drew. And watch your back. ”
CHAPTER SEVEN
