Page 97 of Only Flames Remain

She swallowed hard, her bi-colored gaze holding mine for one long, interminable moment. Her head nodded ever so slightly. I breathed through my nose as I moved my hand to cup the back of her neck, bringing her closer to me.

She was pressed fully against my chest now, her breasts trapped between us. Her skirts pooled around her hips as she ground into mine in anticipation. I groaned against her skin, knowing exactly what she felt trapped between us now that our bodies were pressed flush together. My lips met her skin in earnest, and she shivered, a nervous laugh escaping her. I allowed her a moment to adjust to the sensation of my fangs scraping against her skin.

“Are you trying to torture me? Get it over with already,” she said, fear and discontent clear in her voice.

“Relax,” I told her, hand steady against her back.

She did as I asked, settling against my lap and allowing her muscles to loosen. Her entire body unclenched as she fell against me. I couldn’t imagine the taste of her—that she would allow me this.

Aveline was the match, and I was the flame.

She didn’t know what this meant…not like this. This was no regular feeding. This was something much, much more.

With one last breath, she sighed against me. She let out a soft, enticing gasp as my tongue darted out of my mouth to taste her skin. I imagined one last time what I thought her blood might taste like before it flooded my mouth.

I allowed my halfling fangs to brush against her before biting down into her soft flesh and losing myself to ecstasy.

CHAPTER 28

Aveline

Since the moment I saw Sorin’s feeder that first night, I had wondered what it might feel like. To be bitten.

I had secretly wanted to experience it for myself, the euphoric rush so many of the humans gossiped about. A Vireth bite was both bitter and sweet.

I had never thought a reasonable opportunity would present itself. This was life and death, after all. But why was I trying to save the prince I was destined to kill?

Sorin’s fangs punctured my flesh, and I cried out, a sting of sharp pain biting the skin where my neck met my shoulder. The pain only lasted a moment before it was replaced by something else entirely. My body fell limply against him as euphoria flooded me, desire sharp as I ground my hips against him. I had never experienced anything so all-encompassing before.

No poison or drug had ever altered me so.

Sorin groaned against me, his thick, hard length trapped between us. I shamelessly sought friction as he took and took, my blood filling his mouth, his sharp fangs buried deep in my flesh. His hand pressed against my back, pressing me fully against him as he cupped the back of my head with his other hand and drank.

A gasp escaped me as I found the friction I so desperately sought in his lap. I had never imagined him like this before—his lithe, muscular body settled between my thighs. My hands braced against his shoulders as I rode against him, a pleasure I had never known singing through my blood as he lapped against my skin with his tongue.

The hand not wound in the nape of my hair fell to my thigh, clenching so tightly his fingers would bruise. I would wear the mark of him tomorrow.

In this moment, I wanted to erase every shred of clothing trapped between us. I wanted him to rip this dress he had so thoughtfully picked out, exposing my breasts to his sinful mouth so that he could taste them next.

I wanted to feel his thick length inside of me, pumping in and out in agonizing slowness as he filled himself with the taste of me.

I cried out in pleasure as he held me against him, but it wasn’t close enough. I wanted him to feel my peaked nipples against his bare chest, my own mouth tasting his skin.

It was over as quickly as it had started, his fangs retreating from my skin as he sat back against the high-backed chair, head limp with satisfaction. My blood ran down his chin and his wicked tongue darted out to taste it one last time.

A flush heated my cheeks as I sat back, stunned.

Why had he stopped?

Why hadn’t I wanted him to stop?

As if reading the expression on my face, he spoke. “You told me to only take as much as I needed.”

I never imagined I would be regretting those words.

As the endorphins from his bite ebbed, embarrassment washed over me like a torrent. I turned, shielding my gaze from him.

He sat up straight, his gaze serious. “There is nothing to be embarrassed about, Aveline. The bite releases venom into your blood stream. What you felt…it is only natural.”