Page 2 of Feeding Frenzy

“If I say no?” I finally whispered after a few breaths, because it hurt to try to talk past the thickness in my throat.

Red bled through his irises, and his lip curled up. He grabbed the back of my neck, drawing me to his face while he leaned down to look into my eyes. His fingernails felt like claws prickling my skin and I winced. His gaze returned to normal and his hold softened.

“Catalina.” His sharp incisors flashed and he paused, closing his eyes. “Let us untangle her webs. We are yours. Just give us time.”

Time? I clenched my teeth. Okay, if I took a step back and observed this like an outsider, I understood the need for time. They thought she was dead, for God’s sake. On top of that, she’d been held captive and by the looks of it, tortured. But understanding didn’t make it hurt any less.

“It doesn’t sound like I have much of an option.” Did I sound a little pissy? Yes, but I could only be so graceful about the situation. His nostrils flared with an audible inhale.

“Blood.” He gripped my forearm and dragged the sweater down to unveil the bandage. Blood seeped through the thin wrap I’d found under his sink. He held my arm in a hard grip that continued to tighten. By the look of his moving jawline, he wasgritting his teeth. He looked pissed. He ripped the bandage off my arm to look at what lay underneath it.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” His fangs flashed with his chastising words. They extended from his gums. “Sorry, Pet, you smell so good that I can’t control them.” A genuine smile perked the corner of my lips. The first one sincethe event. Lifting my arm, he brought it to his mouth to slide his tongue over the jagged wounds. He licked the dried blood clean off. I closed my eyes, sighing from the relief of his tongue spreading his healing saliva across the punctures. “Fucking Tobias never should have asked you to feed her,” he snapped. “She shredded your precious skin.”

“I was the only human around,” I said in defense of Tobias, but I didn’t sound convincing even to my ears. Asher raised a single blond eyebrow at me, not even a little in agreement. A ticklish sensation spread across my wrist. The wound looked the same, no, it was smaller. So freaking weird. I focused on Asher’s tight expression. He continued fussing over my wrist and muttering under his breath.

They were choosing me, or at least most of them were—I wouldn’t lose them. He continued staring down at my ticklish bite marks with eyebrows furrowed. His concern seemed so poignant and real. Warmth crawled through my veins. I tossed my arms around his neck, pressing my lips to his.

He grunted, taking my full weight to the chest. I clung to him, angling my head to slip my tongue into his mouth. He softened under my touch, arms sliding around my waist to band me tight to him. I flicked my tongue against the inner side of his fang.

Asher groaned, fingers flexing into my waist and in a whirlwind of motion he was on his knees with me hoisted against him, clasping me against his chest. His cock shoved against my belly and lips against mine. My God, he tasted so good.

“I want.” Kiss. “To take.” Lick. “A shower.” Nibble.

“MyÄlskadegets what she wants,” he said gruffly against my mouth.

His fang pierced my lip, and he sucked on it. I gasped. Pleasure bloomed from the wound with each of his sucks. My eyes closed.

He hoisted me high enough for me to wrap my legs around his waist. He was moving, but I wouldn’t be able to tell up from down. The shower sputtered to life. Asher’s hand slid to my ass, and he lifted me a little higher. Water sprayed my back, plastering my shirt to my body.

“Asher,” I gasped, pulling away from his mouth. He chuckled, turning to shield me from the spray, set me down, and started pulling the clothes off me with a sharp tug. “What is it with you vampires and ripping clothes?”

The tattered bits of fabric plopped on the shower floor with a wet splat.

“Makes getting to your delicious body faster,” he whispered against my ear, eliciting a shiver. “And you know how much I love it.”

I jolted from the word. He said it so flippantly, as if it held no meaning. He clasped my face in both hands and tipped my face up. His blue eyes searched mine.

“You are all that matters to us.”

Again, with the ‘us’.

I hummed.

“What, you don’t believe me?” His eyebrow twitched. I said nothing and pursed my lips. “Looks like I’ll have to prove it to you,” he purred. Asher dropped to his knees in a smooth glide.

“What are you doing?” The spray of water pelted my chest and his shoulders. He wrapped his hand around my calf. “Asher, I’m going to fall—” My complaint turned into a squeak. He hooked my leg over his shoulder, while simultaneouslycorralling me against the side. My shoulders hit the tile of the shower’s wall.

“Trust me, Catalina,” he purred. “I’ll never let you fall.” There was a promise in his vow that made my heart take a staggering leap. His blond hair was plastered to his shoulders as he lowered his head, burying his mouth at the apex of my thighs. He dragged his tongue up my slit. I gasped, my hips twitching up.

He repeated the motion, then rolled his tongue around my clit at the apex of my pussy. He was painfully good at teasing. Asher peeked up at me through wet lashes, a playful look in his blue eyes. Dangerous vampire. I could only imagine him as a human. Just as unrepentant as he was right now. He dragged his front teeth along my clit. I gasped, my head thumping against the tile.

Hoisting me up a little higher, he widened the gap between my thighs. Asher grazed his blunt teeth on the bundle of nerves again. I jolted as if electrocuted.

He chuckled and the sudden invasion of his fingers sliding into my core shocked me so much I stiffened.

“Relax,” he murmured against my sex.

At the order, my body listened, my legs becoming limp around his shoulders. I caught the slightest smirk on Asher’s lips, and then his mouth covered my sex, sliding his tongue under my clit to flick it expertly.

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