Page 73 of Taste of Fate

He swallowed thickly, gaze searing into mine. “You’re all that I want, Tavi, and your blood is the only taste I crave.”

Despite the elated thrumming in my veins and swooping of my stomach, I stayed firm. “I need to know that you won’t push me away again. That you won’t intentionally hurt me to create distance. I’ll be there for you during low periods, but I will not tolerate having my emotions played with.”

“Fuck.” Cyan ground out the curse through his teeth, shaking his head in distress. “I was a fucking bastard to do that to you. If you are really blessing me with this chance, I swear to Temkra I’ll never say another word to hurt you. And I’ll spend the rest of my days making up for treating you that way. I’m so sorry, Tavi.”

This vampire, on his knees in front me with his hands in my lap, had no idea he owned my heart already. I was so close to letting go, to leaving all the hurt and confusion in the past and starting anew. But I needed to know beyond any doubt that the past would not be repeated.

“I need you to trust me. To be open like this and talk to me,” I continued. “I need you to not shut me out. That’s how we make this work, Cyan.”

He nodded, fingers lacing with mine and gripping tightly. “I’ve told you my deepest shame and you’re still here. I still don’t know what you see in me, but if you really want me as I am…”

“I do,” I said when he trailed off. “I want the Cyan who helps me make wine and teaches me how to fight with a dagger. The one who came to save me and offered to help us rebuild. Who…” My voice choked, but I forced the words out. “Who offered my best friend a second life because I can’t bear to lose her.”

More tears fell, all of them caught by the pads of his thumbs. “I will do everything in my power to see you happy and fulfilled. It’s not just your blood that sustains me, but the excitement in your voice, and the way your eyes light up. When you are falling apart, I will hold the pieces of you together for as long as you need to heal. I’m no substitute for Amy and I’ll never feel truly worthy of you, but I want to be a safe place for you to retreat. I want to be exactly what you need when you need it.”

That was when I felt the fear melt away, and the love I’d been too afraid to acknowledge bloomed in full force. From this moment on, I would trust him fully. Deeply. It was on him to trust me too, to be honest and vulnerable in ways he likely never had been before. I had to believe he would choose me every time, and after everything that happened today, and what he’d just told me with all this raw emotion, I was prepared to do that.

“I want you to feel safe with me too,” I said. “You are worthy, Cyan. Exactly as you are.”

His forehead rocked gently from side to side against mine. “I was such a fucking fool for treating you as I did.”

My chin lifted, bringing my nose to brush against his. “You know what I need right now?”

His eyes dilated and I saw the tips of his fangs reach past his lips as he said, “Tell me.”

Chapter 27

Cyan

Ididn’t move an inch. Tavi’s breaths ghosted over my lips, her pulse elevating steadily and pounding in time with mine. My fangs ached as she drew closer, the nearness of her, the safety of her calling to me more than any lust-based impulses.

Her kiss came hesitantly at first, a shy brushing of lips with barely any pressure. I remained still, not moving even when her mouth grazed my left fang. Only when her tongue darted out to trace it, gliding up the length until the extended tooth disappeared under my lip did I allow myself to tug at her plump lower lip.

Tavi let out a sharp inhale of breath that shuddered through her, and then all shyness was gone. She was in my lap, on the floor with me, arms around my neck and kissing me like she needed me to breathe. If that were ever truly the case, then I would always be her air.

I eased back, giving her enough room to straddle me before I plundered her mouth with the same ferocity. Only the shafts of my fangs touched her mouth, not the points. The last thing she needed was for me to take anything from her now. I needed to give. Give her comfort, air, orgasms, anything and all she desired.

On that thought, Tavi’s plea came in the rushed, ragged breaths between each kiss. “Take my blood,” she said. “Drink from me.”

She spoke to my most base instincts with those words. My fangs ached with the pulse of her racing heart. It didn’t matter that I was still satiated from the last time I fed from her. Just the offer, the willingness, made my thirst come alive.

My desire to give in wasn’t for sustenance or even her taste. There was simply no closer physical connection between blood mates than my fangs inside her and her flavor pouring over my tongue. Only being inside her at the same time would bring us closer together.

But my desires mattered none right now.

“No.” I nipped at her with my blunt teeth, careful to keep my fangs away. “You’ve lost blood from the attack. You still need to heal.”

“Please, Cyan.” Her begging was sweet on my lips, and I knew she was craving that blood mate connection too.

We had turned a new page, made it to this new place of trust and openness after overcoming obstacles both in our minds and in the physical world. What better way to seal this new era of our lives than with blood?

But it could wait.

“If I feed on you, I could slow your recovery.” I wrapped a hand around her nape, applying gentle pressure to the pulses on the sides of her neck. “I’m taking proper care of you now and I won’t be fucking around with your health.”

“Just take a little?” she pressed. “It feels so good when you do it.”

“Tavi,” I growled. My pulse pounded everywhere—my chest, my fangs, my cock.

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