Page 8 of Vampire Blood

The mark on the dagger matched mine. Perfectly.

I reached up, tracing the shape under my collarbone. It tingled now, like it had been waiting to be noticed. A part of me wanted to deny it. I wanted to tear away the connection, to pretend it wasn’t real. But I couldn’t.

“Annika.”

I turned, and Lucas was closer than I expected, his dark eyes locked on me. “You can’t let this change you.”

“It already has.”

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. He just stepped closer, and suddenly his hands were on my face, holding me like I might disappear.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he told me. “You’re staying here. With me.”

I wanted to promise him that. But the words stuck in my throat.

I pressed my hands against his chest, feeling the steady thrum of his heart. “What if this isn’t just about me?”

“It is about you.”

“No,” I said, louder this time. “If what Kael said is true, this isn’t just about me. It’s about all of us. All of them.” I gestured toward the window, to the forest and the town beyond it. “We can’t just hide and hope it goes away.”

His grip tightened, but he didn’t speak.

“We need him,” I said softly.

Lucas flinched. “Kael?”

“He knows things we don’t. And you know it.”

His eyes burned into mine, sharp and unrelenting. But after a long, heavy moment, he stepped back.

“He stays,” Lucas said. “For now.”

Relief and dread tangled in my chest. I didn’t trust Kael either, but I trusted the truth. And it was staring at us from the table, sharp and undeniable.

Lucas turned away again, but his voice came at me low and dark. “If he so much as breathes wrong, I’ll kill him.”

I didn’t doubt that. I hung my arms around his neck, locking eyes with him. I loved it when he was possessive and protective. All I could think about now was having him inside of me.

In what seemed to be one motion, he pulled me closer, our lips almost touching. He could read my mind so easily. He was smiling, in that way I loved so much. But he didn’t say anything.

He swept me off the floor and I leaned into him, giggling. I always felt like a feather in his arms, light as air. He crossed the room in two easy strides, laying me down on the sofa.

“Lucas…” I whispered his name. “I want you…”

He hovered over me, his eyes dark and deep, unfathomable. I grabbed him by the shirt, in an effort to pull him even closer, but he captured both my wrists with just one hand. He was grinning now.

My blood was pumping hard, my ears drumming with sheer desire. He knew what he was doing to me, and he liked it. In fact, we both liked it.

I straightened my back, my breasts straining against the thin fabric of my t-shirt. I knew he could see my pebbled nipples through it. I wanted him to see, to touch them. I wanted to feel his tongue playing with them.

I moaned loudly just thinking about his tongue on my body.

“Touch me…” I pleaded when I saw that he was waiting, biding his time.

His gaze traveled down my body. I spready my legs, my hand slowly caressing down my body. I knew that it wouldn’t take him long. He always tried to control himself, but I knew how to break that focus, that control.

I lifted my t-shirt, showing him my breasts, licking fingers and playing with my nipple.

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