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That glow in his eyes came up so fast I pulled back. He tore his gaze away. “You don’t mean that, and teasing is cruel. You don’t strike me as cruel.”
“It’s simple, right? Just a basic transaction.”
Kase drew a deep breath. “Trust me. It wouldn’t be so simple, not with you.”
“What does that mean?”
“It meansyouare not just a donor, and there is no way I could stay unaffected.”
I stared at him, trying to breathe past the sudden heat in me. Even without him saying outright what he meant, I could read between the lines.
And that he could be so intense even with broken bones spoke volumes about how much stamina he’d have when at his best.
“I don’t want you hurting all day when you don’t need to.” I folded my legs and turned toward him. “We’re adults, Kase.”
He offered me an indulgent look. “I can tell by your tone you know how you’ll react to it. My bite will affect you like an aphrodisiac. Maybe that isn’t such a good idea.”
“You like to be tight-lipped about everything except this, huh? You won’t give me a straight answer anywhere else, but now you want to get into every little detail?” It was easier to attack than admit to the fact that, at that moment, I reallywantedhim to bite me. I wanted to experience that thrill, that desire, and I sure as hell didn’t need to discuss it first.
“I’m secretive when I need to be, but not about this. If you offer, I need to make sure you fully understand what it means.”
I stared at him, my lips pressed together, as if I could outlast him. Part of me was ready to tell him to shove my offer, that I’d been trying to be nice and if he wanted to be difficult, he could sleep all day with his broken ribs.
Except, I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to experience this, and the more I worked on this case, the more I was reminded how short human lives were. “I understand what I’m offering,” I told him. “And I’m still offering it.”
He nodded then reached out, that same slow motion he did when he didn’t want to startle me. His fingers were chilled when he brushed my cheek. His skin was room temperature, but I’d imagine it was my expecting him to be warmer that made me notice he was cold.
He stroked my cheek, then down over my pulse. “You’re sure? I don’t want you to make a rash choice you might later regret.”
“Would you please stop asking? You’re ruining the moment.”
He leaned in, and I expected a quick bite, that he’d strike immediately. Instead, he brushed his lips over my pulse as he had before. It reminded me of how I smelled my food before trying it, except this time, I had an entirely different reaction.
Lust simmered inside me. Was that similar to what Conner had felt? Did they somehow trick their prey into falling for them before they even used that freaky saliva thing? It probably made getting a meal easier if the meal came so willingly.
And Ireallywas ready to come willingly…
I reached for him, but he caught my wrists and held them together. The grip was firm but not tight enough to hurt, a reminder of his strength.
“It’s a little early for bondage, isn’t it?” My words came out breathy and quiet.
“A bite can hurt at first, and I’d rather you not jostle my injuries by fighting. It’s safer if I restrain you.”
Restrain.
Why was that so damn sexy? Maybe because he was perfectly capable of it. Kase didn’t need ropes to keep me still, and for some reason, that worked for me.
“Is that okay?” He rubbed his finger along my wrist, a gentle caress. “Is this okay? You know I won’t hurt you, right?” The way he pressed, that he asked to make sure he hadn’t bothered me, it warmed me. The grasp of his hands didn’t feel confining but strangely safe.
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
“Good.” He moved, and even though it had to hurt his injuries, he shifted me until my back was to him. He tugged my arms so they crossed in front of me, and he could pin them with one arm around me. It didn’t let me see him, but that didn’t matter because of just how much of him I could feel. He pressed gentle kisses to my throat and over my shoulder. “I’ve thought about this for so long,” he whispered. “Ever since that first I saw you at the shop, when you looked me up and down and turned your back on me.”
“So you like people who are mean to you? It surprises me, since you seem to like to be the one in charge. Didn’t figure you for someone with a humiliation kink.”
“Isawyou, Ava. After we left, no one else even recalled you but I saw you. The marks on your arms, the ones you don’t talk about, that make it so easy to pass you over, but I havealwaysseen you.”
His words reminded me yet again that for everything I didn’t seem to know, others already had the answers. The tattoos, the ones I’d worn yet been ignorant about, even Kase had known what they’d been. I’d never discussed them and yet he’d known the whole time.
