Page 107 of Black Bird

“Good, you made it out. I was gonna call—”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at home. You don’t have to freak out.”

“I’m glad you’re safe, but that’s not why I’m calling.”

“Are you okay? You sound … off.”

“I’m not sure how to answer that, Sarah. I need to see you. Right now. Can I come by?”

“Umm … yeah, I guess. I really hope this isn’t some kind of—”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes. We need to talk. It’s really important.”

“… okay. There’s cops downstairs. I’ll let them know. Just come on up.”

“Alright.”

He hung up and sped around the curve of the long, gated driveway.

“She should have checked in by now. I should have known better than this. She’s too much like me,” Dahlia said as she paced her office down the hall from the raging club.

“She’ll be back, mi’lady. Have faith,” Decclan offered. She paused her steps, turning slowly and sneering at him from beneath her thick lashes.

“Have faith?”She snarled. “Interesting, Decclan. And here I thought I had fucked the humanity clean out of you.” He bristled, and her lips curled around her lengthening canines. “Don’t ever say anything like that to me again.”

“Apologies, ma’am.” He bowed his head.

“Get out. Don’t come back until you’ve brought me either news, or my little protege.” She started pacing again and Decclan left the office. Patrick stood by in the corner, and she approached him slowly. She was pleased to notice he no longer flinched when she neared him. “If I had given you the blood instead of her … would you have tried to escape me?” she asked, running a long, red fingernail down the front of his black button-up.

“I don’t think I’d dare to, ma’am,” he gently replied.

Dahlia grabbed him by the underside of his chin, forcefully enough that his cheeks puckered around his mouth. He surprisingly took it in stride and remained still. “Careful words, pet. You seem as if you’re trying to hide the fact that you’d want to.”

“I wouldn’t hide it from you, mi’lady. I’ve already been honest about how I feel. I do miss my family. I can’t say it wouldn’t have crossed my mind.”

She released his face and rolled her eyes, turning away from him. “I’ll never understand for the life of me why you men are never satisfied. I suppose I appreciate your honesty.”

“Could I ask you something?” Patrick asked. She didn’t turn around.

“Go ahead.”

“I’m only curious, but … what is it that satisfiesyou?” For once in her very long life, Dahlia was at a loss for words. Shocked really. She wasn’t sure if it was the question itself that rendered her speechless—rather … she had no honest answer—or if it was the fact that this young vampire who was shamelessly transparent, actually seemed to genuinely care about her response. She turned to face him.

“Why are you asking me this?” A strange feeling started in her gut—one she’d never felt before. She couldn’t help but wonder why she had such a soft spot for thischild. Had it been any other person she would have likely snatched their heart out already and found a new toy. But that face … the pretty blue eyes. She was intoxicated by his youth, and how much he reminded her of—

“Maybe if I knew … I could … find a way to be better about giving it to you?” He shrugged with a slight smirk. Dahlia returned it, stepping toward him.

“Let me show you something.” She raised her wrist to her mouth, biting into it and letting her blood pool. Patrick watched; his expression more curious than intimidated. She offered it to him. “Drink.” He obeyed and the pull of their connection as he fed from her ignited a fire between her legs. Her head fell back, and she closed her eyes, a sharp moan freeing itself from her throat. “Enough, Patrick,” she whispered. He promptly released her, breathing heavily. She nearly melted at the sight of her blood on his mouth. She unbuttoned his shirt and spread it open to reveal his bare chest. “Now … place a hand over your heart.”

Patrick slowly obeyed; his eyes locked onto hers. She watched his pupils dilate until the blue in them was a mere sliver around the edges. She leaned in and slid her tongue over his bottom lip. “Dig your fingers into your skin until I tell you to stop.” The look he had in those eyes turned into a sickening worry, but without an ounce of hesitation he obeyed that command as well. Blood trickled down his chest and abdomen and he winced and groaned as he carved a way into his own chest cavity. His breathing became a broken rasp. “Close your hand around your heart, Patrick.” He did, his groans of pain becoming louder. She breathed against his mouth. “If I told you to rip it out of yourself … you’d have no choice but to obey me.”

He blinked, as if in a silent plea for mercy. “What would satisfy me, pet … is if I could find one person that didn’t have to be told what to do. One person that found pleasure in spending an eternity beside me.” She grazed her long claws over the back of his wrist that was still half-hidden inside his body. “Let go, and button your shirt,” she ordered, swiping her fingertip through his blood and stepping backward as she sucked her finger into her mouth.

Once he’d fulfilled her demand, he stared at her blankly. “Do I have permission to offer you my thoughts?” he softly asked, still in obvious pain from her torture.

“Consider me interested in them enough to allow it.”

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