Page 18 of Taste of Fate

She had barely finished talking, and startled when I slammed a notepad and pen in front of her.

“Make a list of all the supplies you’ll need. I’ll make sure you get everything.”

Everyone’s gaze fell on me, but hers was the only one I focused on.

“Cyan.” She breathed my name out so sweetly. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I know.” My index finger tapped down on the paper. “Start writing.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t read your mind and find out what goes into winemaking if you don’t write it down.”

“No, I mean,” she laughed, picking up the pen. “Why do you want to get me winemaking supplies?”

I shrugged. “Everyone needs hobbies.”

She needed something to do, something to stay busy in the day-to-day so she wouldn’t get bored or depressed. Better to make it something she already enjoyed than throwing random hobbies at her. That was what I told myself anyway, as I watched her write her list.

Dark eyelashes swept over the tops of her cheeks, and her blunt teeth sank into her lower lip as she focused. A lock of hair fell forward, covering more of her neck, and my hands itched to push it back, to let my fingertips trail over her pulse.

I jerked my gaze away with a clench of my fists. Laith’s red eyes met mine with a knowing smirk, and I shook my head at the implication.

Not fucking her. Not feeding from her. We’re just going to be friends. That’s it.

Once Tavi received her supplies, my new hobby would be keeping the hell away. With any luck, she’d be busy enough that we would barely run into each other. The newness of her would wear off and my curiosity would eventually disappear. It would be so much easier if only she would stop being so attractive. Interesting. Intoxicating.

But no matter how much of a temptation she was, I would never claim her. Whether romantic or platonic, there was an intimacy between blood pet and verakt, an expectation of openness and trust.

And I had no intention of letting Tavi find out what kind of person I really was.

Chapter 7

Tavia

“You sure that’s it?” Cyan loomed over me, eying my list as I wrote down the supplies I’d need to ferment some good quality alcohol.

“These are the basic essentials.” I capped the pen and slid the notepad across the counter to him. “Anything more would be fun to have, but is not necessary.”

“Like what?” Cyan barely glanced at the list before he flipped it around and slid it back to me. “You’ve got room at the bottom, add some fun stuff.”

“No, really. This is good.” I started to push the pad in his direction, but he stopped it in the middle of the counter with a slap of his palm.

“I want you to have everything you need, not the bare minimum.” He lowered his chin, but a smile tugged at his lips and his eyes were bright with mischief. “Don’t worry about cost or convenience, Tavi. I’m extremely resourceful.”

“You’re also pushy.”

The jab made his smile grow wider, like he was pleased. “For my blood pet to be content while she practices her art, absolutely.”

My whole body heated with that declaration, although I couldn’t explain why. We’d agreed for him to publicly claim me as a blood pet. He was just playing his role so that no other vampires would try to sink their fangs in me. Even so, there was a warm playfulness to Cyan. He looked at and smiled at only me. I could almost believe he was actually flirting with me, that I was the only woman he was interested in.

In the brief moment where I forgot that he was just pretending, the attention had actually felt nice.

“I don’t want to take advantage of your generosity,” I argued.

“I want you to,” he retorted, fangs poking through his smile. “You can take advantage of me all you want.”

My face grew even hotter. Jesus, was he trying to get me flustered? Even though he didn’t actually want to seduce me, he was good at it.

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