Page 9 of Make Me Bleed

Arrangement. “Such as?”

For the first time since I’m paying attention, Julian’s gaze dips. His eyes train on the cleavage revealed by the top of my dress. “Let me feed you,” he murmurs, “from my vein. As for what you’ll give me in return… I’m sure we can figure something out.”

And there it is. Did I honestly think it could be anything else? As though Julian is treating me like I treated all my males on my countless dinner dates, he’ll feed me—but I have to do something for him in return.

Only Julian won’t want to feed from me. It would be too reckless. In order to trigger a mate bond between a vampire and their chosen lover, there must be a dual blood exchange. When I’m ready to claim my beloved—either my fated partner, or the one I’m willing to spend the rest of my immortal life with—I’ll bite them, then I’ll allow them to make me bleed. Then we’ll fuck, and the tie that developed during the second exchange will be finalized.

All vampires learn that when they become sexually mature. A one-way exchange is fine. That’s just feeding. But when you’re vulnerable and feed your male, then give him your body? The bond is unbreakable.

If Julian takes my blood after giving me his, sex would forge a connection between us I could never escape. The blood is such a crucial part of a vampire’s mating. Unlike shifters, who focus on the actually fucking part and are more often than not virginswhen they claim their forever mates, vampires can sleep with whoever they want without worry… so long as only one of us bleed.

He’ll feed me his blood to quell my thirst. And if he does, he’ll expect me in his bed as soon as I’ve taken my fangs from his skin so that he could plunge his cock inside of me instead.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had a male vampire proposition me in this way. To be fair, my situation with Peter is proof that it isn’t the first time I’ve had a human male in the know about supes who was eager to feed me so that I’d fuck him in return. It’s another quirk of vampire society. Like I once told Bridget, it’s considered uncouth to repeatedly feed off of a human donor of the sex you’re attracted to without introducing other pleasures of the flesh.

Julian’s human donor is a woman; I’ve scented her on him. If he’s looking at me with eyes that are currently undressing me on the spot, he’s at least somewhat attracted to females. He’ll be sleeping with her, I’m sure, but it would just be another arrangement to him unless she’s his beloved.

And because a mated vampire would never offer to feed another female, she’s not… which means he would see no problem entering into an arrangement withme.

He doesn’t.

Ido.

It’s not just about my body, either. I’ve been sexually active since the lure of hot human blood made me reckless as a freshly mature forty-year-old vampire. I was a late bloomer—coddled and protected by my parents as a born vamp—but in the thirty-four years since I started fucking a select number of my donors, I’ve gone through plenty. I only stopped when Peter wouldn’t give up, and I chose to swap out my dinner dates to keep another human from getting too attached… and to stop Peterfrom stalking the males who fed me, warning them away from ‘his’ vampire.

His vampire. While wearing Delilah’s fang on a chain around his neck, he dared refer to me ashis…

I am Elise van Duren. I belong to no one else butme.

“I appreciate the offer and your concern, but I’ll be fine. Thank you anyway.”

“Are you sure?” He’s still amused, and also insistent. “Because, as lovely as you are, Elise, you don’t look fine.”

I clench my jaw. If he thinks saying something like that is going to make me change my mind? He couldn’t be more wrong. I’ve never wanted to drink from another male less than I do the smug Julian.

Where has this sudden desire to worry about me come from? I’ve spoken to him maybe twice since my arrival in Dyea, and both times I’ve gotten the idea that he was sizing me up and finding me severely lacking.

Maybe he should remember that.

I grin, making it as dazzling as I can, content in the knowledge that he can proposition me all he wants, but there’s no way he can make me agree.

“If I get desperate enough to reconsider, I’ll make sure you know.”

Julian lashes his hand out, wrapping his long, spindly fingers around my wrist. It’s a gentle hold, though he moves so quickly, I get the impression of a rattlesnake. Like he’s showing me how fast he can strike, and though he shifts his hold so he can caress his thumb along my palm before releasing me, he could do something else if he chose to.

And then he gives me a smile that’s warm, while his icy blue eyes stay cold.

“Please do, Elise.”

I know in an instant, I was right. He’s definitely the sort of vampire to be wary of. He’s elegant, yes—but he’ll burn down the town if it gets him what he wants… and, to my despair, it seems as if Julian has set his sights on me.

Luckily, Bridget isn’t just a fire witch. As she’s explained to me, she’s actually an elemental witch now. She discovered the true extent of her powers when Linda Green attacked Bridge and Conall. Sure, she’s a whizz when it comes to wielding her flames, but she also has control over wind, water, and earth.

Let Julian try to burn down Dyea. She’ll stop him, and knowing my own strengths, I’ll stand by and watch her.

Matching his expression, I remove my hand from his and lift it, tucking a stray strand of ruby-red hair out of my face. “Of course.”

CHAPTER 3

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