Page 66 of Bound in Blood

I arch an eyebrow at him. “I would not let either of them hear you even joke about that, Xavier.”

He laughs quietly to himself.

Malachi pushes back his chair. “Seeing as we probably can’t hide out here forever, I say we enjoy it while it lasts.” He holds his hand out to Ophelia. “Fancy a moonlight walk on the beach, sweet girl?”

She nods excitedly, gives me a brief kiss, and then scrambles off my lap. I cannot help myself from swatting her ass when she stands. She is irresistible. I want to take her to bed, but it is selfish of me to keep her to myself. Besides, I have something, or someone, else to take care of first.

Axl jumps up and tosses his napkin onto the table. “If that walk is likely to end in me fucking one or both of you, then I’m in too.”

Xavier is quick to express his desire to join them, but before he can walk out of the kitchen, I am on my feet and blocking his path. “Not you. Not yet. I believe we have some new ground rules to discuss.”

Axl tuts and shakes his head. “Naughty pup.”

Xavier flips him the bird and mouths,Fuck you. Then the three of them leave, and Xavier and I are alone in the kitchen.

Cupping his jaw with one hand, I press him against the wall. Desire ripples down my spine. “Do you think because there has been a change in our relationship that I would somehow overlook your insolence, Xavier?”

He swipes his tongue over his full bottom lip and stares at me, his eyes sparking with defiance. “No.”

“So what was that earlier?”

“I always talk to you like that, Professor.”

That is most definitely true. He has always been adept at pushing me to my limits, never quite doing enough to incur any serious punishment. But that was before the idea of punishing him was so appealing to me. I bring my face closer to his until his heated breath dusts over my lips. His pupils blow wide, his pulse spikes, and he is already hard. But then, so am I.

I swipe my thumb over his full lips. “You will watch your tone when you address me, pup.”

His eyes bore into mine. “Yes. Sir.”

I am certain he said that to goad me into doing exactly what it is I am about to do, but I am too blinded by desire to care. I sink my fangs into his throat, and his rich blood fills my mouth.

“Fuck,” he whimpers, wrapping his arms around my neck and digging his fingers into my scalp.

Will you remember who you are speaking to in the future?I sink my fangs deeper, offering him a little pain to go along with his pleasure.

He grinds himself against me and moans.

I slip my hand inside his jeans and grip the base of his rigid length with a hard squeeze.I did not hear you.

“Yes!” he cries out. “Yes, I’ll remember.”

I stop feeding and trail my teeth along his jawline to his mouth, smiling against his lips as I slide my hand free from his jeans. “Let us go and join the others on their moonlit stroll.” His surprise is acute, his sudden despair almost enough to make me reconsider, but then that would be no lesson at all. “Surely you did not think I was going to fuck you as a reward for your insolence, Xavier?”

He glowers at me, eyes blazing with fire and defiance. My hand still gripping his jaw, I pull him to me and kiss him. My tongue is granted easy access to his willing mouth.If you are a good boy, I may fuck you later.

His muscles tense, but his mouth softens, and there is no fight in him at all. But I am certain the brat in him aches to tell me go to hell.

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

ALEXANDROS

The shade is cool underneath the vast shadow cast by Anikêtos. It has been three days since he and Ophelia rescued me from Giorgios’s prison, and I have already grown accustomed to his presence. After a millennium without him in my life, I cannot deny the joy I feel each day he and Elpis choose to remain in the mortal realm.

He stands to his full height, looming over me, and shakes his scales from nose to tail, thus creating a mini sandstorm. I brush the golden grains from my hair.Where is Elpis?

He glances out across the ocean.Taking her midafternoon flight. She is taking her fill of the energy from the mortal realm whilst she can.

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