Page 48 of Caged By Dance and Desire

“You're not an animal, Andrei.” I paused, uncertain of the truth of that statement. “How are you supposed to scent mark me? The only method I know of involves puppies and trees.”

Holding my gaze, he covered one of my hands with his, and lowered it down his body, his muscles flexing wherever I touched him, down, until?—

He held my palm still over him, hovering but not touching.

“Touch me,” he said.

I nodded, and he lowered my hand to the hard length confined by his pants. Confined, but not concealed.

He leaned his head back, eyes closing as I caressed him over his clothing, watching his face to adjust the pressure.

Watching his face and experiencing my own increasing arousal as power flushed under his skin, a thin slit of faceted teal peeking from under his inky lashes.

His relaxed mouth was an untold temptation and I leaned forward, kissing him. Licking and nibbling the soft satin skin. He didn't move, pliant under me, allowing me to do as I wanted.

It struck me what he meant by marking me with his scent.

“Andrei. . .that’s savage.” I almost scrambled off his lap, but his arms tightened.

The High Lord lifted his head slowly. “I told you, you hadn't even begun to see the beginning of insane yet.” His voice sounded normal except for a slight rasp at the edges. “Give me something, Anah. Give me something or the next man who so much as looks at you, I’ll tear his head off his shoulders and drop it at your feet. We did that sort of thing in the ancient days.”

Please. They did that sort of thing now. Larry could attest to that. Or rather, he couldn’t.

I sat in the lap of an unabashed predator watching me with stillness that felt closer to a swarm of red ants crawling on my skin, waiting for me to decide what would happen tonight.

A little sex, or a lot of blood.

“I'm not letting you come all over me in some kind of Fae scent ritual,” I said. “What's the other option?”

Severaloptionsflitted behind his eyes as he lowered his gaze to my neck, then fluttered back up, a question there.

“I thought the whole vampire thing was a rumor.”

I didn’t knowwhyI’d thought it was a rumor—hello, fangs. Not all the Fae had them, but I doubted the ones who did used them for decoration. Why waste a perfectly good natural weapon?

The corner of Andrei’s mouth curled.

It's a rare inherited trait. My bloodline traces back to a branch of a Juhainan branch. It’s been mostly bred out.

I had no idea what that meant. This time, my eyes were glued to his mouth and his lips didn't move at all, but I heard him. I took a deep breath, warning myself not to panic. Now was the wrong time for panic.

“Is telepathy a part of this bonding process?”

For some. I'm a Sahakian-Casakraine. It's almost guaranteed in my bloodline.His hand, still cupping the back of my head, smoothed my hair.There's nothing to fear. Mostly.

“I'm not afraid. This is all new, that's all.”

The fierce, hungry look in his eyes gentled. “I know it is, my Anah.”

I cleared my throat. “So you want to bite me.”

“Oh, I want to do so much more than bite you. But a little bitty bite will do for now.”

Nói d?i. Little bitty, my— “I don't understand how that's supposed to be a mark. Other than the bruising.”

“My reputation somewhat precedes me. It’s known I wouldn't do it without your consent. For you to consent is a statement that you're willingly mine and I don’t have to use force to subdue you.”

That sound like a lot of fancy fast talk to convince me to let him bite me. “You keep wrapping us in these bindings and there are things you need to know that would change everything. When you do know—” I shook my head. “You’re leaving yourself no way out other than. . .my death.”

---