Page 83 of Trapped By the Blood Ruby

“I know.” He gave a jerk of his head⁠—

A piercing ring split the silence. He slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling his phone free only to frown down at it before lifting it to his ear. “Zola!”

A long silence and then⁠—

“What?” His voice fractured. “All of them?”

A hesitance and then— “No. Stay there. I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

My lips parted with confusion and even…concern.

Laurent placed his phone in his pocket and looked up at me. “There has been… Never mind. Good night, Miss Shaw.”

I simply stared at the wall as he whooshed across the room. I felt his gaze on the back of my neck. Felt it when I shouldn’t have been able to. Then the door opened and closed and he was gone. A part of me felt like it had vanished with him.

22

Iwoke with a gasp, my chest rising and falling in bursts. Light perspiration coated my skin, turning it sticky. Embracing the urge to move, I ripped my covers back and climbed free of the bed. I’d been dreaming, but not of the witches. It would have been better if I had.

Laurent. Fucking Laurent.

My heart thudded as I rushed to the bathroom, stripping bare and slipping beneath the cold spray. It was jarring, but exactly what I needed as it raced over my heated skin. I was so thirsty.

I remained under the spray for as long as I could stand it. Then I turned off the water and stepped out, dripping all over the floor as I filled a glass at the sink. I drank and drank until my stomach was full, then braced my hands on the counter to look at my reflection. My cheeks were flushed, and the look in my eyes…

Pure hunger.

“My blood is yours for as long as you wish it.”

“No,” I breathed. “No!”

My throat ached. My chest itched. The place between my legs throbbed.

I needed.

“No,” I groaned again, eyeing the shower. My thoughts were disjointed. Scattered. Lacking their usual logic.

The minutes ticked by, punctuated by my heavy breathing. I was fighting a battle. One I was desperately losing.

I stood up, my shoulders pulled tight as my lips pressed into a firm line. Laurent Sarkas had taken everything from me. Everything. Perhaps it was time I took something from him.

Searching for a robe, I covered myself and slipped from my room. It wasn’t yet dawn, but I was unsurprised to find him in his study. His head was fixed on the door as I opened it, like he’d been expecting me. At the sight of my attire, his eyes widened. “Miss Shaw⁠—“

“I want it,” I said, shutting the door behind me. “Your blood.”

His lips parted as he gaped at me.

He wasn’t the only one caught off guard. I’d surprised myself, too. But I wasn’t a centuries old vampire. That gave me a mild sense of satisfaction.

“I’ll have it now, that is, if you meant what you said.”

He chuckled, a deep rumble that sent shivers over my skin as he leaned back to regard me. His moonlight hair was tied back at the nape of his neck, proudly showing his chisled jaw. He’d exchanged his rumpled shirt from earlier for one of the billowy white ones that reminded me of the bodice ripper covers I enjoyed so much.

After a heated silence he stood. “All right.”

“All right?” I licked my lips.

“Yes. All right.” His voice was calm. He walked around the front of his desk and leaned against it, slipping his hands into the pockets of his pants as he watched me.