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“Arrogant alpha,” I said, and to my surprise, he laughed.

“If you’re afraid it’ll turn sexual or whatever you once told me, it doesn’t have to be from my neck, does it?”

“No, that’s just the best place.”

He drew in a breath.

“But I will not bite you.”

“When you first said that, you were afraid you’d infect me. Now you have no excuse, and you need this. Can you drink from my wrist?”

I pressed my lips together and narrowed my eyes at him. “Your wrist? One of the erogenous zones for a lycan? The same spot that had me almost mewling like a damn animal just before my Heat? No, thank you.”

His chuckle thrummed through me. “Yes, that wrist. But I’m not in Heat, and it’s a bite, not a kiss. I doubt it’d have the same effect on me. Those fangs look painful.”

“Don’t underestimate vampire venom. Trust me.”

“Aura, we’re wasting time arguing,” he said.

“We’re not arguing!” I shouted, and he shushed me.

He gestured toward a large boulder nestled between two trees. “Injection, drink, then we go. No funny business.” Sylvan moved toward the boulder first, opening his pack and withdrawing my kit. “Trousers off,” he said.

I folded my arms and stared at him.

He sighed and pasted on a painful smile. “Please, your royal pain in the assness?”

I sealed my lips to keep from laughing as I hooked my thumbs into the waistband. I tugged them down to expose my thighs, suddenly becoming overly aware of the bite scar. Looking away from Sylvan, I prepared for the sting of the needle. It was strange having someone do this for me again. “I can do it myself,” I blurted as his hand closed around the front of my thigh.

“I know you can. You can do pretty much everything on your own. But you don’t have to.”

I scoffed. “Sentimental lycan.”

He grinned, and the needle pierced my thigh while I was still staring at him. I grimaced, and he disposed of it in the box, his thumb stroking over the spot he’d just injected. I shivered from the tingle that ran through me. As I straightened, he tugged my trousers back up while I continued to stare at him, then he slapped me lightly on the ass.

I growled at him, and he only grinned.

“Alright,” he said once he packed everything away. He started to roll up his sleeve, and I stared at the muscles flexing in his forearm. “Do your worst, wolfsbane.”

I rolled my eyes. My heart rate picked up as I took his arm in my hands, his skin so warm compared to mine. When in my thirty-two years had I last done this? I truly couldn’t remember. The thrum of his blood was strong in my palms. I lifted it to my mouth and my fangs lengthened, but I paused, anxiety rushing through me. “Don’t look at me,” I told him.

“What? You’re getting stage fright? Come on.”

I kept my stare blank, and he sighed before looking away. Taking a deep breath, I sank my fangs into his flesh. The first gulp was clumsy, sloppy, but soon his blood flooded my tongue. Gods, it was as sweet as it had smelled. More delectable than anything I’d ever tasted.

My eyes practically rolled to the back of my head as I took another pull. I listened for his heart rate, remembering that if it slowed too much, it was a sign that I was draining him. But it raced instead, and the scent of desire flooded my nostrils. I took another long pull and reminded myself I had to stop. I’d taken as much as I needed.

Stop, I shouted internally. One more gulp. Desire pulsed through me, drifting down into my stomach. I withdrew my fangs, my tongue catching the last few drops, the wound starting to close. Sylvan sucked in a breath, and I met his hazy gaze. He exhaled slowly, his face inching closer. I felt the pull, the magnetism.

“It’s the venom,” I whispered to him. “It’s⁠—”

“I don’t care.” He paused just inches from my lips. “Unless you⁠—”

“No.”

His lips brushed over mine, soft and tender, unlike most of the other times we’d kissed. It was unhurried, as if we had all the time in the world and people weren’t after me. As if my days—my hours—weren’t numbered. I opened for him and his tongue swept along mine, igniting something in my belly. I wrapped my arms around him, my fingers slipping into his curls.

It felt so right being in his arms. I pulled back, my fingers pressed against my lips. It wasn’t safe. It was fucking dangerous. “Actually, we shouldn’t,” I said.