Page 87 of A Dawn Of Blood

Her eyes narrow. “Is that right?” she drawls.

Then she gives me that smile, my eyes fix on her mouth, and all of a sudden, a very dangerous idea is popping into my head.

The vampire’s kiss.

I’d need to keep my composure, but if I gave those lips just one little bite, I’d enter her mind, expose any and all weaknesses that would otherwise remain hidden, and use them all to my advantage.

Before I know it, I’m taking her by the waist and crushing my mouth to hers. She freezes, but she doesn’t resist me. Of course she doesn’t. She’s probably thinking she’s won.

But I’m putting all my focus into preventing any of it from getting to me — her scent, the curve of her waist under my hand, the feel of her lips…

Just as I’m about to bite her, she wraps her arms around my shoulders and leans into me, parting her lips and making mine part of their own volition.

And the moment her tongue touches mine, my control slips, I let all the sensations overwhelm me all at once, until I’m nothing but a pounding heart in desperate need for more.

The next thing I know, instead ofmeenteringhermind,she’senteringmine.

Ifeelher reaction to what she sees, I feel it in my bones. And it’s the worst one I could’ve gotten — pity.

Anger flooding me, I push her out of my mind, break the kiss and tear myself away from her.

“No, wait,” she calls out when I start marching out of the forest.

It’s only once we’re in front of the castle that she catches up.

“Ah of course,” I drawl, fighting to keep my composure, “you want what you’re owed.”

She throws me an incredulous look. “No, you didn’t even need tobargainfor this, for crying out loud. I would’ve given it to youanyway. After all this time, is it reallysohard for you to believe that Igenuinelycare about you, Cain?”

“Yeah right,” I spit out, having a harder time looking at her with each second that passes by. “Those symbols you’re trying to translate, they’re not logograms, they’re syllabic signs. There, now I’ve kept my word and I owenothingto you,witch.”

The Elevator appears, I turn my back to her and I jump in.

Chapter 60

Devastated, I rush after him, determined to at least not let the collar stop him from doing whatever he needs to do.

It’s straight to his room that he goes, slamming the door behind him. My mind buzzing, I slow to a stop and remain standing in the hallway for a minute, considering knocking and trying to fix things.

It takes a whole lot of effort not to do it. Instead, I resign myself to going to my room and using the information he gave me to finish translating.

But when I get into bed with the book and my notes in my lap, it’s all I can do to stop myself from crying.

Up until this moment, I could at least console myself with the fact that he doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know my true intentions.

But now? How do I explain him resisting me even after he’s literally seen into my mind?

My eyes fixed on the unlocked door separating us, my mind fills with the images of his past that I’ve seen while kissing him.

He didn’t want me to see any of that, but I’ve seen it nevertheless. And it’s much bleaker than I imagined.

What I imagined was a life of rigorous training, sure, but of privilege as well. Turns out it was zero comfort and a lifetime of brutal training interspersed with traumatic events, everything from torturing to being tortured.

But possibly the saddest thing of all… So far, I haven’t entered many minds, but even de Groot’s memories were populated with people, and she’s the biggest lone wolf I’ve encountered.

Cain’s?

There wasno onethere except for enemies and subordinates. It was an absolute wasteland.

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