Page 10 of The Duke’s Bloody Bargain

“Our. He beat Darius and me within an inch of our lives. He terrorised dozens of people. He hurt you. I haven’t forgiven him.”

The light touch stirred something in my chest. “You need to feed.”

“I do.” There was a strained note in his voice, and the bond tightened.

I frowned. “Are you ashamed?”

“I don’t want to weaken you. I can feed from Fiona⁠—”

“No!” I huffed.

I wasn’t jealous of Fiona. Maybe a bit. But she was a wili. We were sisters of sorts. But the biting was intimate and extremely pleasurable, and Alex didn’t need to feed frequently, barely once every two or three months. Granted he didn’t strain himself or get injured. He never drank too much. Half a cup was enough.

He pointed to the door. “I’ve met her in the corridor⁠—”

“No.” I folded my arms across my chest.

He held up a hand. “Fine, but you know feeding from her means nothing to me. There’s only you.”

The intensity with which he said that left no room for doubt.

I lay on the bed and started to lift my sleeve to offer him my wrist, but I had a change of heart. I opened the lapels of my dressing gown and exposed my neck and collarbone.

“Irene… It’s going to be more difficult for me to stop if I drink from your lovely neck. My fangs sink more deeply, and the scent of blood is stronger.” Despite his argument, his voice acquired that deep baritone that made me quiver.

“I insist. It’s my choice, and I’m not influenced by the bite or anything else.” My pulse spiked just because he stared at me with hunger. “And I trust you. You won’t hurt me.”

The tip of his tongue darted out to run over his bottom lip. His fangs lengthened, and the white in his silver-grey eyes turned a deep obsidian.

“Are you sure?” When he unleashed his vampire powers, his voice lowered, and his muscles swelled.

He looked massive and lethal. But underneath, he was sweet, caring, and so very afraid of not being good enough for me.

“Very.” I tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck further.

“A bite on the neck is going to be different from when I drink from your wrist. It’s more painful at first.”

“You won’t discourage me.” I sounded breathy already, and he hadn’t drunk from me yet.

“The blood rushes out more quickly.”

“I’ll live.” I was a spirit of vengeance, after all.

He dipped his head, and I caught a whiff of his delicious scent. His breath feathered over my skin, causing it to pebble. It was unfortunate that he wasn’t going to touch me as much as I wished. Not as I wanted. As we both did.

“Your scent drives me mad.” He trailed his tongue over my neck, and a moan caused my breath to catch. “I’m going to bite you now.”

My chest rose and fell with anticipation. I let out a gasp when his teeth broke my skin, but the pain lasted only a second because he started to suck immediately with gentle pulls.

The pleasure when he drank from my wrist was the most intense I’d ever experienced, but this surpassed it. Every inch of my body was tingling, humming, and aching. A throb pulsated between my legs in rhythm with his sips.

Wave after wave of pleasure poured through me. My back arched, and a sensual sound I hadn’t known I could produce slipped past my lips.

I rocked my hips and writhed, moaning shamelessly. My toes curled. It was all too intense, burning, all-consuming.

The tips of his curls caressed my neck, but aside from his mouth, he wasn’t touching me. I wanted his hands on my body, exploring and touching, and I wanted my hands on his body, too. Our bodies joined together. But he remained still while the ache grew and energy built up inside me.

He kept sucking gently, and the more he drank, the more my body begged for more.