Page 29 of Sold to the Dark Vampire Prince

He inhaled her scent, let her taste slide over his tongue. Arousal thrummed in his veins, hot and aching to be relieved. He could have fed from her all night, was loath to relinquish the connection between them. But that was the monster within him talking, not the man.

Forcing his mouth away from her wrist, he sealed the puncture wounds with his venom. She’d fallen at what looked to be an uncomfortable angle. She was breathing, but her neck was twisted awkwardly on the divan. Though he’d promised not to touch her, surely ensuring her safety was a higher priority? He didn’t want to compromise her airway while she was unconscious.

Fetching a pillow from the bed, he carefully rearranged her so that she was lying more comfortably, her glossy blonde hair fanned out around her face. He pressed the backs of his knuckles to his lips, feeling his still-engorged fangs throb in time with his heartbeat.

He shouldn’t have fed from her.

And yet, somehow, he couldn’t regret it.

It had felt good.

Amazing even, if he were being honest.

But that was all in the past now. He would get Dani home, and they wouldn’t see each other again. It was how it had to be.

Pulling out his phone, he texted Henri.

Alexander: It’s done. Get the madam up here. And after that, I have a list of things I need you to take care of.

CHAPTER 6

THE FIRST THING DANI became aware of as consciousness slowly returned was a pounding headache. She groaned, fumbling for something to block the early pre-dawn light that was spilling in through the window, and vaguely registered the familiar smell of her own pillow.

Wait, that meant—

She blinked, the memory of the night before flooding back in a rush.

The auction house. The bidding war. Her terror as her dress was nearly torn from her back. And then—

Alex.

Her eyes flew open, which was when she noticed the three concerned faces peering down at her, two belonging to her sisters, and one to the family cat.

“You’re finally awake.” Evan always forgot the meaning of inside voice when she was worried, and was in rare form this morning. “We’ve been so worried.”

“Urgh.” Dani covered her face with the pillow. “If you love me at all, stop shouting. And please tell me someone has finally trained the cat to make tea?”

“I’ll get it,” Ava said helpfully, padding into the other room.

“Sera’s on the way,” Evan continued once Ava was out of earshot, mercifully lowering her voice. “You’ve never lost consciousness for this long with one of your attacks. The Prince of Fangs and Darkness swore he didn’t take that much blood from you.” She scoffed. “As if he actually expected me to trust him? You look white as a sheet.”

“Thanks, Ava.” Accepting the mug of tea, Dani grabbed her chunky plum-purple cardigan off the back of a chair. Shivering at the chill in the room, she threw off the quilts and headed out towards the kitchen. “So Ale—the prince was here?” she corrected, barely covering the slip in time. “He brought me home?”

And why didn’t he stay until I woke up?

Something in Evan’s expression darkened at the question, and Dani quickly looked away.

“He was called back to the castle,” Ava said in a hushed voice. “But not before Evan slapped him.”

Dani nearly dropped her mug, sloshing tea across the old wooden table. Hissing, Cinder leaped out of the way.

“You didn’t.”

“He brought my sister home unconscious and in someone else’s clothes,” Evan snarled. “He’s lucky all I did was slap him.”

“Evangeline Marie Girard.” Dani rubbed her temples. The headache she’d woken up with was getting worse by the minute. “You’re lucky we weren’t all arrested. I cannot believe you actually slapped the crown prince.”

“Can’t you?” Ava said dryly. “It’s so Evan.”