Page 64 of Bad Demon

His nostrils flared. “You’ve never fed before?”

I shook my head and licked my dry lips, my eyes drawn to that thick vein in his throat. “I’ve had bouts of weakness on and off most of my life—anemia. I thought I knew why, but it’s not … the reason I thought. And because soul collectors don’t need to feed so often, not like vampires, and because I’m not a full soul collector, I guess I’ve gotten by without it.”

“But something changed?” he asked.

“The weakness, the tiredness has been getting worse, and I’m … I’m just so hungry, Relic. Sometimes, I can’t think straight.”

His chest expanded. “Then, let me feed you. Let me give that to you.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t, I offered.”

My mouth watered, and my stomach cramped. “What if I hurt you? What if I can’t stop?”

I knew how it felt to be on the receiving end of it—being lost to another being’s bloodlust—and I’d never wish that on anyone.

He grinned, tucking my hair behind my ear. “First, you’re not going to hurt me, and second, you don’t think I can stop a little pixie like you?”

“What if I drink too much? What if—”

“If I start getting dizzy, baby, I’ll stop you. But FYI, hounds regenerate at a fucking rapid rate. I’ll be making more blood as quickly as that pretty mouth is drinking it.” His thumb slid over my lower lip. “You don’t have to hold back, and you don’t have to restrict yourself. You can drink until you’re satisfied, Fern. As much as you want, whenever you want it.”

A groan slipped past my lips before I could stop it. I realized I was panting. My fangs were tingling, and the cramps in my stomach were growing more intense. The thump of Relic’s heart, the sound of his blood rushing through his veins, filled my head now.

“You’d let me do that?”

“You can do whatever the fuck you want to me, sweetness. Whatever you want, I’m yours.”

He meant it, and he was making it impossible for me to resist. And I didn’t want to, did I? That was why I’d told him those things—because I hungered for him so badly, because I knew he’d offer to feed me. I was still being a selfish bitch, but I couldn’t stop this, not now. If I didn’t taste his blood soon, I thought I might actually die. His vein throbbed, and I licked my lips.

“Bite me,” he said roughly.

The control that I’d been hanging on to by a thread snapped, and I moved with a speed I hadn’t known I was capable of. As I straddled his wide hips, my vision went hazy, tingeing red. A weird sound vibrated from my chest—a repetitive purring sound I didn’t know I could make.

“If I hurt you—”

“You won’t.”

“But if I do, promise me you’ll stop me. Promise me you’ll push me away.”

“I promise.”

His hands gripped my hips as I dragged my nose up his thick throat, breathing in his delectable scent. My tongue darted out for a taste, and I groaned again, then whimpered when I felt that thick vein, hot and pulsing.

“Do it, Fern. Bite me. I’m yours, baby.”

He was mine. The words filled my mind, and at that moment, I believed it. I wanted it to be true. Letting go—finally letting go of everything—I sank my fangs into his flesh. As his blood filled my mouth, sliding over my lips and tongue and coating my teeth, I felt whole for the first time in my entire life. His taste set my body, my nerves, my fucking soul on fire.

“Fuck,” Relic grunted, and his fingers dug into my hips, followed by a sound that was impossibly low and gravelly.

If he wanted me to stop, I couldn’t do it myself; he’d have to tear me off him because with every mouthful of blood I swallowed down, my body became more alive.

I didn’t realize I’d been so numb until, cell by cell, nerve by nerve, limb by limb, I came back to life. The warmth sliding down my throat heated me from the inside out, causing tingles to dance over my flesh. My blood felt hot in my veins, and the pulse between my thighs was deep and wild. As I drew harder on Relic’s vein, I felt his cock grow heavy beneath me. The vibrations from his chest—from the animal, the hound—blended with the ones coming from me.

My nipples were tight, and the ache had me pressing my chest against his.

“I got you,” he said as he rubbed my back with one hand. “Don’t you fucking stop. You drink until you’re full.”

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