Page 136 of The Bonds of Indigo

“Keep dancing like that, Amarah, and you’ll find out just how much of a fool I am for you.”

As if daring me, she keeps swaying her hips, slow and deliberate, dragging seductively against me.

“I really can’t keep my heart in check with you around,” she murmurs, her voice far dreamier than it was moments ago. “Damn Vampire.”

I pull her hair to the opposite side before lowering my mouth to her neck. The puncture marks from my fangs sit right where I claimed what’s mine.

I brush my lips against her skin. “Is it just your heart? What about that tasty cunt of yours?”

It’s impossible to smell anything but sweat, bodies, and the Ashspyte toxin in the air, but I know she’s wet. If the way she’s grinding that perfect ass against me is any indication.

She tilts her head purposefully, exposing the curve of her neck even more. I thread my fingers through her soft white hair that gleams like pearls. My other hand slips under her arm, gripping her waist and pulling her fully against me.

Her head falls to my collarbone, eyes closed, breath coming soft and eager.

“Tell me, little slayer. Are we at super-soaker status yet?”

A soft snort, one she tries and fails to stifle, bubbles out with her laugh.

“Definitely.”

The music fades beneath the sound of her breathing and the steady, rising rhythm of her heartbeat. It’s beautiful. Fuck, she’s beautiful. Every sound she makes when I touch her, every smile I hadn’t realized I was starving for. All of it feels made for me.

I’m on the edge of losing myself, ready to sink my fangs into her, when a body appears in front of her.

My eyes lift to see a male Vampire—just a bit taller than Amarah—inch closer.

“Please, let me indulge with you. She smells delightful and clean.”

“No,” I snap. “Fuck off.”

“His eyes,” she whispers through the bond, just as her heartbeat quickens.

I saw it almost immediately. Blackened strands of Ashspyte are seeping from his irises. Like ink swirling into a bowl of milk, slowly spreading, ready to turn it completely black.

He stupidly steps toward us, just within arm’s reach of me and far too fucking close to what’s mine. “There’s enough to⁠—”

Blood splays upward, and I attempt to yank Amarah to the side to keep her from getting hit with the crimson liquid. His head launches into the crowd, vanishing into the wave of bodies still dancing as the next song begins. A second later, his body collapses to the ground at our feet, crumpling like a puppet with its strings cut.

I shake out my hand, now coated in blood.

“W-What…” she sputters. “What happened?!”

“I punched his head off.”

I run my fingers back through her hair as if we’re discussing the weather.

“How?!”

“With… my fist?”

“Do you know how much force that would take?!” She is honestly so cute when she’s surprised.

Correction: she’s always fucking cute.

“I’m happily fed.” It didn’t require much strength. Just a clean arc of centrifugal motion and enough power. The body can only withstand so much force. “I’m quite strong, little slayer. Now where was⁠—?”

Fuck Beyond—a scream explodes beside us, and I roll my head back.