Page 34 of The Vampire's Mate

They reached for a napkin—and wiped the wrong side of their mouth. God, they were adorable. “Other side.”

With flushed cheeks, they scrubbed at the spot, then looked at me inquisitively.

“Almost.”

They hesitated, then handed the napkin over in defeat. “Help?”

I took the napkin with a smirk and softly brushed the spot they had missed. Their skin was so soft, not like James’s rigid muscles at all. Realizing how close our faces were to each other, I hurriedly wiped the smudge away. “Was that your breakfast?”

They shrugged. “It’s no sticky bun, but it’ll do.”

I grabbed a lime and placed it on the cutting board. “What the hell is a sticky—ow!”

The blade missed the fruit and sliced clean down my finger instead. I cursed, grabbing the nearest towel to stem the flow of blood.

“Are you okay?” Shi asked, white as a ghost.

“Squeamish, Shi Baby?” I managed, though the cut hurt like hell.They glared at me, and I sobered. I peeked behind the towel. “I’ll be fine, but I need to clean it.”

“Should I go get James?”

“Absolutely not. I’ll clean this up, bandage it, and I’ll be right back.” I indicated the mess behind me on the bar top. “Don’t touch that. I’ll handle it.”

Shi nodded, and I went to the kitchen to grab the first aid kit, knowing that James would’ve smelled the blood before I even felt the pain. Sure enough, he was waiting for me. I sighed. “I’m fine. It just needs to be washed.”

“You’re right. I have something in my office that’ll help.” And something told me he didn’t mean antibiotic cream.

I didn’t bother protesting. James tugged me behind him, out of the kitchen, and across to his office. The door barely shut before he flung the towel to the floor and sucked my finger into his mouth. I suppressed an immediate moan, squirming on the spot. He pulled off, cursing when my finger still bled. With one hand, he reached back and undid his chain, letting it fall to the floor between us. On the second try, I bit down on my tongue, using the various sources of pain as a distraction from the erotic way James’s tongue swirled around the cut on my finger. When it still wasn’t healed to his liking on the second try, I tried to jerk my hand out of his grip.

“I’m going to come in my pants if you don’t stop.”

He sucked, hard, releasing my finger with a pop and finally the cut was sealed, already fading to a light pink. James peered up at me, crooking a brow. “Is there anything that doesn’t turn you on?”

“Not much.”

He gave me afilthylook, then went to his desk and produced a roll of dressing. “I’ll wrap it so no one gets suspicious. Why don’t you chill in here for a while? I think Shi and I can handle it.”

Skeptical, I cocked a brow at him. “You trying to get rid of me?”

“Just the opposite. I’m trying to keep you, which means I need you to stay sane—and in one piece.”

James was right: I was stressed to say the least. I had boyfriend stress, kid stress, and now my kid’s boyfriend stress. “The bar’s covered in blood.”

With a glint in his eye, James said, “A little blood doesn’t bother me, love.”

I still hesitated, my hand held tightly in his. My finger brushed an edge of the bandage that was sticking out. “You’re sure?”

“Yes, love. I promise I’ll come get you if it gets crazy.”

“Thank you.”

I went back to the bar to make sure I hadn’t left anything behind, only to find that the area had already been cleaned. Shiloh, green in the face, was sanitizing the bench. “You okay?” they asked.

“Think a little scratch is enough to take me out?” I teased. “I’m fine. Just taking some time to let it rest. Don’t miss me too much.” I accepted the kiss James pressed to my cheek and turned for the office.

“Oh, I’ll be happy to ignore you some more later.”

Two minutes later, I was settled into my corner of the couch withDraculain my lap—and I was still grinning.

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