Page 44 of Blood Match

Oh, God, Rowan! You need to stop!

I shouldn’t be doing this. I know I shouldn’t. But I can’t stop. Not now. Not when I’m chasing a sensation that feels so damned close.

His lips leave a burning trail along my throat as his fingers continue their maddening dance. My body moves against his, twisting and writhing. The sharp points of his fangs graze my skin, and my breath catches.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmurs, as if he’s the one under a spell.

I tilt my head to the side, baring my throat in silent invitation. I want him like I’ve never wanted anything else before. He’s working my clit with an expertise that seems like he’s always known my body; the rhythm is perfect, the tempo just right. I widen my thighs to give him more access, choking on a gasp as he slips a finger into me and then another.

“Tell me what you need…” His lips move against my sensitive skin, and I shudder yet again.

“I need… I need…” I gasp, the words sticking because I can’t say it out loud. What I need is so wrong. Impossible on every level. And still, I need it. “I need you,” I choke out.

His fangs pierce my skin, and a rush of pure ecstasy washes over me. Everything narrows to this: the sharp sting of his bite, the sweet slide of his fingers inside me. And then his mouth draws down; I hear him swallow deeply as he thrusts his fingers deep…and I shatter.

Pure pleasure explodes within me. My knees buckle, and the world tilts as I cry out. Stars burst behind my closed eyelids, and I feel like I’m falling…

Falling…

Falling…

I jolt awake.

My breath comes in short gasps, the sheets are tangled around my legs, damp with sweat. My chest heaves as I struggle to regain my bearings. The room is dark, fluttering curtains casting shadows on the walls.

A dream. It was all just a dream!

I clench my eyes shut, willing my heart to slow. The feel of his lips on my skin, the sound of his voice in my ear – it had all felt so real. Too real.

With a trembling hand, I push the hair from my face and stare up at the ceiling. The dream had been so vivid, so intense. I can still feel his hands on me. The phantom sensation of his fangs piercing my skin makes me shiver.

“Stupid,” I mutter, tightening my grip on the bedsheets.

But even as I chastise myself, a part of me longs to fall back asleep and continue the dream where it left off. To feel those lips on my skin again. To get lost in the haze of ecstasy where nothing else matters except the two of us.

“He’s a vampire, Rowan!” My words seem loud in the silence of the room.

A vampire. I’m fantasizing about a vampire.

God, what is going on with me?

With a heavy sigh, I force myself to roll out of bed. No more dreams. No more fantasies. Not when there’s so much at stake. I pad over to the window, gazing up at the night sky. The moon is a sliver of silver, surrounded by a sea of stars. The beauty of it catches me off guard, and for a moment, I forget about everything except the quiet peace of this moment.

“Clear your head, Rowan,” I whisper to my reflection in the glass of the window. “You have things to sort out. You can’t be letting dreams derail you.”

I rub my eyes, pushing a wave of hair from my face and rolling my shoulders. And that’s when I see it, faintly in the window.

Two crimson puncture marks in the curve of my neck.

15

Chapter 15

Darick

My surroundings blur as I stare up at the ceiling. I’ve been lying like this for half an hour, trying to figure out what feels different.

I blink, my eyes adjusting to the darkness of my underground bedroom. Something feels…different. My body tingles with an unfamiliar energy.

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