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She walked away without saying another word, and I was left alone, starving, and feeling empty after unleashing my wrath on the only person that had shown me true kindness here.
Eoin
Chapter Thirteen
Ineeded to feed.
The hunger was settled in my gut, a pained ache that pulled at my beast with every hour that passed. I knew I couldn’t wait much longer. I typically fed every night, but since Ottavia, I’d hungered for more. And since I’d decided to take Declan’s advice to give the feisty woman time to adjust to her new home for the indefinite future,I needed to use a donor.
The thought alone made my lip curl.
And also reminded me that a willing donor already waited for me in my parlor downstairs. With a sigh, I pushed back from my desk and made my way out of the room. The house was bright despite it being close to midnight. The smell of food being prepped in the kitchen had my eyes flicking down the hall that led to the underground chambers where Ottavia was currently locked away. Although no one had said it, I knew the cooks and housemaids were delighted to have someone living in the house, because it meant they could do their jobs again—especially the cooks who typically only were able to prepare meals during festivals.
Pain gnawed at my gut and I forced my feet to move, shoes tapping along the wooden staircase as I made my way toward my dinner. With a slight push, I opened the parlor door, my gaze locked on the doe-eyed blonde who waited for me. Small in stature with curves full enough to rival a swimwear model, she was attractive. But something about her greatly lacked the same appeal the dark-haired,murderous,La Rosa woman exuded.
With the door shut at my back, I beckoned the woman toward me with my fingers. Lifting from her seat she moved toward me, her heartbeat steady and her movements sure. Typically, the donors I used needed a bit of compulsion to put them in such a state.
Her small hand slid to my chest, her smile tilted up toward my face, “My name is Leslie.”
A brow raised, and a sharp pain jolted through my gut, reminding me I was starved. The way Leslie held herself I found almost to be an annoyance. “Ye’ve donated?”
She nodded, soft, billowy yellow-gold hair shifting with the movement. “I have. Many times, actually. I often donate to the guards here on the estate. I live in the servants’ quarters.”
Ah, so that explained why she didn’t fear me then.
Another sharp ache ripped through my gut and I grimaced, grabbing her by the arm and tugging her closer to my chest. She let out a surprised squeak but quickly schooled her features. “I’m a wee bit hungry, doll.”
She smiled up at me, offering me her wrist. I knew that was how most of the men fed, but I preferred more intimacy, and at the moment, my beast demanded nothing less than getting fed straight from the jugular. Lightly knocking her arm aside, my fingers tangled in her hair, tilting her head for me. She didn’t protest, even though I felt her nervous energy fill the room—my beast lit up at the sudden shock of emotion. She wasn’t used to being manhandled without pheromones I would guess, and her unease spurred an answering response from my beast. I kept a tight leash on my pheromones as my lips ran along the column of the blonde’s throat, feeling my fangs begin to ache.
Her heart started to pitter-patter, a feeling I both heard and felt below my fingertips. It sent a thrill along my spine, white-hot excitement that tingled at the base of it. In the back of my mind, I knew I should rein myself in, but I couldn’t fight the endorphins that rushed into my skull at the hint of fear that drifted up from the prey beneath me. My tongue went flat over her skin, licking a path from her jugular to her jaw, causing her to shudder beneath me.
Without pheromones, my fangs sunk into her warm, soft flesh, inducing a soft cry of pain to ring in my ears. Her hands fisted the sides of my suit jacket, a sharp pang of fear floating to greet me as I sucked in deep. That voice inside told me to calm her, to let her feel pleasure, but I ignored it, my dick hard and swollen as I drank more, relishing the soft whines that left her lips. The same hands that gripped me moments before tried to push me away, her fight only spurring me on, encouraging me to bite down harder.
A real cry bellowed from her lips, her body stiff and uncomfortable as I held her in place, her fear driving me forward, unintentionally encouraging me to keep going, to keep drinking. Her body grew heavy in my arms, her heart slowing with each deep mouthful of blood I sucked down, but I didn’t stop. Icouldn’tstop. I was wholly at the mercy of my beast as I drained her.
There was a stillness in the air when her body went limp, my teeth pulling from her skin. I let her drop to the floor at my feet, her eyes wide and mouth gaping. Hunger satiated, my beast withdrew, leaving me to deal with the aftermath alone.
Feck me.
This was Ottavia’s fault.
There was a knock on the door before I felt Declan open it, but I didn’t look up from the dead woman at my feet.
“Ah feck, ye killed Leslie? She was one o’ tha men’s favorites.”
My gaze finally flicked up to his. “It would seem I’ve been ’aving a wee bit o’ trouble feedin’ since Ottavia.”
His head shook and a look that was equally a mix of surprised, annoyed, and knowing crossed his features. “Well, it’s good ye’ve eaten ’cause tha’ woman is currently throwin’ a tantrum in ’er room.”
My body shifted to face him more fully, a brow raised. “Different than all tha ot’er times?”
His big shoulders lifted in a shrug, “Eh. She t’rew ’er sandwich at Sable. Refusin’ ta eat.”
“She did what na?” My head shook, moving toward the door. For all that Ottavia had going for her, she sure knew how to ruin that with that entitled princess attitude. An attitude I was getting rather tired of dealing with. My eyes met his as I passed him, annoyance roiling from my skin. “I’ll deal wit’ her.”
Ottavia
Chapter Fourteen
