Page 46 of Wicked Heirs

“Angel blood… what it does to a vampire… it’s too dangerous. I might not be able to stop.”

“You’re not just a vampire.”

“Still. I have issues with my control.”

“Then I’ll stop you.”

“Even if you could summon your magic like that, you could be too weakened from the feed to be able to actually hurt me enough to get me to pull back.”

“That’s whyI’llbe here as well.”

We both spun to see Orpheus, the creeper, now suddenly leaning against a tree in the clearing eyeing us.

He was wearing a pair of black jeans and a purple long sleeve tee that matched the exact shade of his eyes. His stark white hair stood out in the darkness.

“What are you doing out here?” Xavier asked him with an obvious edge, clearly worried that he’d come out here to start something with me.

“I tracked you. I need to talk to you about Tal. It took me a lot to get him down for the night. He’s really worked up with…” He looked at me. “Everything.”

“Well, of course, he nearly got kicked out.”

Kicked out?

Orpheus waved his hand. “We’ll talk about it later. When we’re alone.” He gestured between me and Xavier. “For now, we’ll deal with this situation.”

He pushed off the tree and came to us, telling me, “You’re going to want to sit down. He’s a young and inexperienced vampire. When he feeds, the draw is intense and it’ll leave you lightheaded quickly.”

I slapped my hand to my chest dramatically. “Wow, your concern for my health is touching.” I glared at him. “I’ll be fine.”

“Have it your way, little angel.”

“I will, little prince.”

His lips quirked.

“Ore, are you sure you can pull me back?”

“I can, but it’ll hurt.”

“I don’t care about that. Just don’t let me hurther.”

“I won’t.”

“How can I be so sure with your attitude toward her, your fucking battle?”

“Because, brother, I know how much it would hurtyouif I didn’t stop you.”

That seemed to do it, because Xavier nodded and murmured, “Okay.”

He came to me then and closed the distance between us. “You’re sure about this?”

“I am. My blood will make a difference to you.”

“She’s right about that,” Orpheus confirmed. “It will tide you over for a long while.”

Xavier steeled himself, then let the demon take him, his features contorting, his fangs dropping. He still looked handsome, just in a different and darker way. A highly alluring way actually.

He must’ve sensed the effect it had on me, because he told me worriedly, “As interesting as your reaction is, beautiful, I can’t bring sexual desire into a feed. It impacts my control.”

---