Page 78 of Forever Touched

She hungrily eyed the picnic basket, nearly shaking in her eagerness. Sudden emotion surged through me, and I couldn’t help but say, “Do the Faircrofts not feed you?”

She glanced up at me, then quickly looked away, but not fastenough. “I know what you’re thinking, but they don’tstarveme. They’re just not used to feeding a mortal. Besides, I’m perfectly capable of feeding myself.”

“Adalyn, I’m not judging you. I just want to know if you’re being taken care of.”

At the softness in my voice, she sighed and looked up again. “I really do get paid for the work I do, if that’s what you’re asking. I just get busy and forget to eat sometimes.”

Her little mouse familiar scampered onto her thigh and loudly squeaked, sounding very much like she was scolding Adalyn.

“Well, I can’t tell him that,” she replied to whatever Pepper said. “And Idoeat. Just not as much as I want to.”

As they bickered, I opened the basket and started pulling out food. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, caesar salad, and buttery biscuits. I tried not to sneer at it all, but couldn’t quite manage it.

When the bickering abruptly stopped, I looked up to see Adalyn’s gaze glued to the food. So was Pepper’s. I might as well no longer exist. Smirking, I said, “Help yourself.”

Adalyn dove right in, dumping a bit of everything onto her plate. “Oh man, Pep. This is gonna be so good.” Grabbing a chicken leg, she took a huge bite before adding, “I can’t believe I get to have two huge meals in one day. A girl could get used to this.”

Once again, emotion heated my insides. The more I learned about her abysmal living conditions, the angrier I became. I wanted nothing more than to wrap her in my arms and carry her far away from here.

If it wasn’t for that bloody pactum, I’d have her out of here in a heartbeat.

As she ate, making sure to set aside tiny pieces of biscuit for Pepper, she failed to notice me watching her. Her entire focus wason rapidly consuming the food, as if afraid it would be taken from her at any moment. I wondered for the umpteenth time today if the Faircrofts punished her. If they withheld food when she displeased them. Or worse . . . if they physically beat her.

Just the thought of them touching her small breakable body made me see red.

“You okay?”

I quickly blinked the red away and saw that Adalyn had finally noticed me. Clearing my throat, I gruffly replied, “Yes.”

“Hmm,” she said, studying me thoughtfully. “You don’t like food much, do you?”

I smiled a little at her rhetorical question. “The longer a vampire lives, the less they enjoy food. My father doesn’t even eat food anymore.”

“Oh. So you’re not enjoying the picnic?”

“Quite the opposite. I might not be enjoying the food, but I’m enjoying the company just fine.”

My smile grew as I felt through our bond how pleased she was. And flustered.Veryflustered.

“Uh,” she said, reaching up to fiddle with her hair. “So I don’t know what the proper etiquette is for a picnic date with a vampire. Am I supposed to offer you my blood?”

My cock twitched again, the thought of feeding on her instantly arousing me. “Only if you’re offering it to me of your own volition. No strings attached.”

I heard her pulse quicken. So did mine.

“I mean, you know that I crave venom, so I’m not opposed to it. If you’re hungry, I can feed you.”

My cock hardened into a full-blown erection. I didn’t respond, the sudden lack of blood flow to my brain robbing me of speech.

“By the way, you never told me what the mating frenzy is,” she said, effectively adding fuel to the flames.

I swallowed a groan, fairly certain I was in the midst of the frenzy right now.

“I’m guessing it has something to do with mating,” she went on, making it hard for me to breathe. “And frenzy.”

“The mating frenzy happens shortly after a soulmate pair completes their bond through intercourse,” I ground out, hoping to quickly explain and direct the conversation to safer waters. “They feel a constant need to be close and to mate.”

She stared at me for a moment, then hesitantly said, “Oh. Is that . . . is that what you’re feeling right now? Do you need to have sex?”

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