Page 81 of Forged in Blood

Malachi laughs and joins our internal conversation.At the table or on the table?

On!Xavier answers for me.Fuck, I want to spread you open and show this entire school who owns your hot pussy, Cupcake.

That would be so fucking hot to watch. And then it would be my turn.I devour her mouth, stealing the breath from her lungs and wishing my head was buried between her thighs.

You can’t, she says.

Pretty sure we can,I retort.

She tries to pull back and break our kiss, but I don’t let her. I hold her in place and pierce the inside of her lip with my fangs. The faintest hint of her blood on my tongue has my own blood racing through my body like wildfire.

I’d rather we just enjoy our date though, she says, her voice breathless even in my head.

Dammit, she’s right. This date is supposed to be about her, not us. Reluctantly, I drag my mouth from hers, already missing the sweet taste of her on my tongue. “You are getting fucked hard as soon as we get home, princess.”

She gasps, her heart racing faster and her pupils blown so wide that her blue eyes look black.

Malachi grunts. “I second that.”

“Not before I eat.” Xavier takes the spoon and scoops up a glob of cherry sundae before holding it out to Ophelia. “But first our girl is gonna enjoy every second of our date, and that includes eating this ice cream sundae that’s as big as her head.”

She rolls her eyes, and I flex my palm on the table, resisting the urge to spank her, kiss her again, or do anything that involves having my hands all over her in any way. Because I am hanging by a thread. Then she parts her lips and accepts the spoon from Xavier’s outstretched hand. I swear, the way she purrs like a kitten when she tastes the ice cream is intended to fire us up.

It’s sure fucking working.

Ophelia rests her chin on her hand. “So, do you guys do stuff like this often? Date stuff?”

“Can’t remember the last time I took anyone out on a date,” Xavier says.

I shake my head. “Me neither.”

“Last date I had was about six years ago,” Malachi answers.

Her pretty face scrunches in confusion. “So you don’t date? Like ever?”

Female attention has never been a problem for any of us. We could bite and fuck our way through about ninety percent of the female population at Montridge if we chose to—probably a quarter of the guys too. But I don’t tell Ophelia that. Instead, I give her a casual shrug. “Never really had to, princess.”

“Never really wanted to.” Xavier grunts.

“But…” She opens and closes her mouth. “You were always surrounded by girls.”

Xavier takes her hand in his and presses a kiss on her knuckles. “Whatever we’ve done with those girls is completely different from dating, Cupcake.”

She swallows hard. “And this… between us all? What exactly are we doing?” Her voice is little more than a whisper.

I tilt my head, basking in her nervous anxiety while she waits for our reply. I guess a part of me can still feel a thrill of excitement from her pain, perhaps because I know her anxiety is baseless and that I’m gonna feel that warm rush of happiness in a few seconds when she realizes what she means to us.

Malachi tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “We already told you we love you, sweet girl.”

I narrow my eyes, watching every micro expression on her face and feeling the sparks of hope and happiness igniting in her heart. “This isn’t close to dating or fucking or anything we’ve ever done before.”

Xavier rubs the pad of his thumb over the back of her hand. “We’re bonded for life, Cupcake. Do you have any idea what that actually means?”

She frowns. “A little, I guess. It’s like youhaveto be with me and love me, right? Not necessarily that you choose to?”

Wow. That she actually thinks that our bond works like that hurts me more than I thought it would. I shake my head. “You have it all fucking wrong, Ophelia. A life bond isn’t some chance occurrence. They happen for a reason. Only souls who were meant to be together form a life bond as strong as ours with you.”

“But you bonded to me because of my blood, right? Wouldn’t any vampire who bites me feel the same way?”