Page 53 of The Sorcerer of Shadowholde

Livia had been kind enough to bring her food and drink and she tried to leave her room as little as possible. She lay in bed after picking at her dinner, curled in a ball in a poor attempt to assuage the cramps. She was grateful for small mercies; resting was far better than having to suffer through like she did while working for the Praetor.

Suddenly there was a knock, so light she thought she may have imagined it. But no, it was not her mind playing tricks.

As the door creaked open, Renatus entered, casually glancing around the small space.

“You haven’t left your room much in the past few days.” He was quiet, his gaze lingering on the vase of wilting roses.

“I don’t feel well,” Vita explained.

“Oh?” He turned to her, red eyes aflame. “Are you ill?”

“No.” She pushed herself up to a seated position, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Injured?”

“No.”

His mouth quirked into a slight smile, aknowingsmile, and her eyes widened.

“How did you know?” she asked, both confused and mortified that the High Consul was aware she was on her blood.

“How do you think, darling?” he chuckled, stepping closer to the bed. “I can make you feel better, clean you up, if you’d like.”

Now her heart raced in earnest, a sweat breaking out on her brow. “You consume…thatkind of blood?”

He hummed as he sat on the bed, placing a hand on her thigh.

“Fresh from the artery is preferred, of course, butblood is blood.”

Though the blanket and her underclothes separated their skin, Vita could still sense his cold embrace as he ran his hand up and down her leg. She understood his offer, and though it shocked her, it stimulated the burning in her core, overwhelming the aching cramp.

A woman’s moon cycle was private, not something to beshared, something to derive pleasure from. And yet…

“You won’tbite me, will you?” she asked quietly.

Silly, perhaps, but she did not understand the level of control he—or any vampire—had, thrall or not. And though the thought of his bite intrigued her, she wanted no more pain in this moment, her blood doing that well enough on its own.

Renatus gave her a devilish grin. “Not unless that is your wish.”

Well, she supposed she should be relieved to hear that.

Slowly, he pulled the blanket down, revealing her underclothes. He grasped the bottom hem and slid it up, grazing icy fingers along her bare legs as he exposed her.

Vita sighed a deep breath when he pulled her undergarments down, cloth pad and all, planting a kiss on her inner thigh.

He inhaled deeply, his eyes hooding as he settled himself between her splayed thighs. A lick of his lips sent tremors through her body.

“Your scent is intoxicating. It was… difficult to stay away.”

“Where have you been? You left me alone again. After the courtyard…” she trailed off, unsure what she was asking.

Unsure that she wanted to know.

“I’ve been busy, darling. Iamthe High Consul, which requires work, no matter how much I am loath to do it.”

Not the entire truth, not with the way his lips tightened into a line, the way his voice cracked ever so slightly.

All coherent arguments left her mind as he ran the flat of his tongue across her entrance, a spark of tension igniting in her core. He kept his eyes on her with each gentle stroke, and it took everything in her power to hold his gaze, to not look away.

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