Page 25 of Blood Sugar

Silence stretched between us, and I peeked through my lashes at Rowen. He knelt beside the sofa, his chest level with my head.

“We both know you need blood.” His deep voice triggered goosebumps prickling across my skin.

“Well, I’m an idiot and didn’t feed last night, so I’m shit out of luck,” I said, refusing to acknowledge what he was getting at.

He made a harsh noise in his throat. “Bite me.” He held his wrist up, his relaxed fist hovering over my chest.

“Rowen, I can’t ask that of you,” I protested, knowing this was a losing battle.

Even though we both knew it was a bad idea, he wouldn’t give up. If I wanted to avoid this, I should have drank from Buck last night. Now I was desperate and weak, and Rowen smelled so damn good, like caramel and butter.

“Stop being so stubborn,” he growled.

My brows furrowed as I looked up at his determined expression.

“Sadie, this won’t endanger your job. It’s an outside arrangement, okay? Besides, this started between us before you worked for me.”

I had no argument for that. My fangs ached, and I could smell his scent drifting off his skin. I wanted my mouth on him so badly.

With shaking hands, I gripped his wrist, my thin fingers curling around his freckled skin. He was so warm and solid. He guided his wrist to my mouth.

“What if I hurt you? I’m starving, and I don’t want to drain you. What if I lose control?”

His throaty laugh jolted me out of my haze.

“Darling, your stomach can’t hold that much blood. You’ll get full long before I’m in any danger.”

“What?”

“It would take a very hungry vampire a lot bigger than you to pose any risk to me. The worst you can do is make me a little dizzy. I don’t know much about vampires, but I do know that.”

My mouth fell open, and Rowen took the opportunity to bring his wrist closer. Instinctively, I pressed my lips to his skin. My tongue darted out to taste his warmth and sweetness.

His breathing quickened, and I realized I was effectively French-kissing his wrist. A flush rose up my neck. Shoving my embarrassment aside, I touched my fangs to his skin. His forearm muscle flexed under my hold, but he didn’t move.

“Go ahead. I want you to.”

With an inhale, I pierced his skin, sealing my lips over the bite. The tingle in my gums told me I was dosing him with vampire venom.

Rowen leaned forward, his other hand splaying across my torso, fingers curling at my waist. His head dropped, magenta hair falling over his closed eyes.

“Damn, that feels so good,” he muttered. His breath was hot on my stomach through the thin fabric of my shirt.

My own eyes pressed closed, savoring the taste of him as his blood flowed into my mouth. I drank it down greedily.

Assuring myself he would be fine, I let myself drink freely. He was delicious, that fizzy raspberry taste of his magic filling up my veins with power. My venom wasn’t addictive, but his blood might be. No wonder I kept refusing to drink from anyone else. He tasted incredible, and my body flushed with oxytocin. I wanted to let him wrap me up in his arms and hold me until the end of time.

A feeling of satiety washed over me, and I dragged my tongue over the punctures, closing them up. Chest heaving, I let his wrist drop to rest on my ribcage, beside his head.

His other hand squeezed my waist as his head came up, honey eyes hazy with pleasure.

“Are you okay?” I asked, my voice raspy.

A beat passed, and his long lashes fluttered as he blinked once, twice. With a small shake of his head, his eyes focused on me again.

“Sadie, I don’t want you drinking from anyone else. Let me be your person.”

“I can’t agree to that,” I said. “It wouldn’t be fair to you.”