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“But… I mean, I don’t mean to be rude but at your age… shouldn’t you have graduated by now?”
He gave my comment a strange, little smirk and then it dropped right off his mouth. “Some of us aren’t that lucky.” Although that made zero sense, I could tell he didn’t want me to continue prying so I left it alone. Before I could say another word, he continued, “To answer your question, I’ll ‘wet willy’ it. There’s too much blood to risk trying to lick it all off.”
All I could do was watch, dumbfounded, as Rook popped his thumb into his mouth, then brought the wet digit down onto my arm. An involuntary sigh of relief squeezed out of me before I could stop it. Anywhere his thumb touched, the pain receded. He had to repeat the process several times, stopping between each to clear his fingers of my blood. He seemed reluctant to taste even a drop, which made me think his control wasn’t as iron-clad as he wanted to pretend. He’d stopped breathing again.
“You’re holding your breath again,” I said quietly after the fifth time he’d scrubbed his fingers clean.
“You’re too close and we’re alone. If I smell you, I’ll want to taste you,” he said, voice dropping an octave as he held the jagged edges of my flesh closed. Some of the abrasions were small enough that they sealed with just a little help from his spit. The one on my right arm would need stitches, but with any luck, the rest of them would heal by morning.
“Oh,” I said, not really sure what else to say.
“I’m not Jack,” he continued. “I wouldn’t bite you. I’m better than that. But it’s been a long time since I’ve smelled witch blood. I forgot how much allure it has. Yours is very... fragrant. Spicy almost. It’s distracting.”
“Hmm,” I started.
“Don’t move around too much either. It makes the need worse.”
I reached up and dabbed at the cut on my temple. It hadn’t been as bad as it first looked. Head wounds always gushed, no matter how severe they actually were. The worst of the dizziness and nausea had cleared when we were safely away from Professor Valserak’s classroom. My index finger came away slick with blood, and I held it out to him.
“What are you doing?” he demanded, seeming irritated.
“Taste it,” I answered.
He frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“Consider it a thank you for what you’re doing for me,” I answered with a shrug. “I’d give you more but at the moment, I think everything I have remaining.”
He just stared at me. “You’re... you’re serious, aren’t you?”
“I got over my vampire phobia years ago. I don’t care if you have fangs. It’s the jerkass persona that usually goes along with fangfaces that bugs me.”
Rook’s eyes suddenly lit, bright and mischievous. Then before I even knew what he was doing, he swooped in, pressing his mouth gingerly to mine. I was so shocked, I couldn’t even make a sound. And before I could blink, he’d pulled away. I wasn’t even sure I would have termed it a kiss but it was sort of one. I mean… yes, it was definitely a kiss—it was his mouth on mine. But it was just so quick, I might have even considered it chaste if he hadn’t run his tongue over my split lip. A sound built in his throat, caught somewhere between a groan and a growl.
“You could have warned me,” I said, a little breathless as he seized the needle. I winced when he pulled it through my skin. It didn’t exactly hurt, but I could feel it—almost like pressure.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
“The fun is where I don’t hex you.”
“For stealing a kiss? I thought you said you’d give me a taste?”
“I didn’t mean… like that.”
“Well, that’s your fault for not explaining.”
I’d have smacked his bicep if he didn’t have a needle poised over my forearm. “You’re an ass, Checkers.”
“And don’t you forget it,” he said, finishing with a flourish. He tied the stitches off and snipped the remaining thread. “Now run back to your dorm, Ginger Spice, and stay there after dark from now on.”
I stood, lifted my chin, and crossed my arms over my chest. He stood as well, eyes dipping briefly to my cleavage. We’d been forced to unbutton the white blouse so he could get to a cut on my collarbone. And now the heat in his eyes made me swallow hard. There was something about this guy, this vampire, that just made me feel all hot and bothered inside. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was—yeah he was hot. But there were a lot of good-looking students at the school.
“And what will you do if I don’t?” I asked, trying my hand out at flirting.
Rook leaned toward me, and I immediately sucked in a sharp breath when he nipped my throat. His fangs scored small lines across my skin, and he cleared the beads of blood that welled in the grooves with a flick of his tongue. It sent a jolt of mixed fear and pleasure down my spine.
“The night classes are for night students,” he whispered against my ear as my heart pounded against my ribs and I realized with some irritation that I absolutely wanted him. I wanted him to turn his face back to mine and plant those lips back on mine.
“I know that,” I started.
