Page 41 of Heir of Blood and Moonlight

Behind me, Gavin moved in close. “Blood only,” he said, sliding one arm around my waist to press his hand against my abdomen while the other braced me across my chest, capturing my hands and locking them against my breasts.

I pushed against his restraining hold. “Gavin . . . ”

“Blood only,” he repeated, his voice low and unwavering.

Surrendering to his hold, I leaned back against him, craning my neck so I could see his face. “This isn’t necessary,” I told him. I wasn’t a rabid, sex-starved beast. “I do havesomeself-control.”

“Do you?” he murmured, his eyebrows rising. “You must have misplaced it this afternoon when you nearly killed yourself binding the shifter.”

Cheeks heating, I pressed my lips together and huffed out a breath through my nose. But I didn’t argue because he wasn’t wrong. I had known better than to bind Bastian, but I had done it, anyway. I glared at Gavin on principle, but I couldn’t hold on to the annoyance, not when I was so nervous and eager to taste Thane.

The insides of Thane’s legs pressed against the outsides of mine, his warmth seeping into me through his jeans, and his thumbs swept back and forth along the outer edges of my belly, a delicate tease through the silk of my tunic.

“Take what you need,” he said as he tilted his head to the side, offering me his neck.

I licked my lips and leaned in, Gavin’s restraining hold keeping me from reaching for Thane or pressing the front of my body against his. My lips hovered a hair’s breadth from the crook of Thane’s neck, and his scent washed over me. He smelled rich and spicy but in a very different way from Gavin. I brushed my lips over his skin, feeling his pulse jump in response. His tension practically vibrated the air between us.

I bit down, gradually digging my teeth into his flesh, and he hissed in a breath and tightened his grip on my hips. The instant my teeth broke the skin, he let out a shivering sigh.

Thane’s hot, thick blood exploded into my mouth. He tasted sweet and spicy, reminding me of the molasses cookies Javier used to make every year for the winter solstice. The first swallow electrified my senses, and sigils flared to life on the walls reflected in the mirror behind Thane. Desire raged through me, and I strained against Gavin’s hold, seeking friction against my most intimate of places.

But Gavin’s arms remained unyielding. The hand he pressed firmly against my lower abdomen only amplified the pulse of need throbbing between my legs, and with the way he had my arms pinned, I couldn’t even touch myself to relieve the ache.

Gavin leaned in until his lips brushed the shell of my ear. “Not this time, Sophie,” he whispered. “Consider this punishment for disregarding my warning.”

Growling in frustration, I drank deeper.

Thane groaned and leaned his head forward, resting his forehead on my shoulder.

Each swallow pushed me closer to the edge. At this rate, I wouldn’t need any contact at all to reach a physical release. A few more pulls of Thane’s blood might just do the trick.

“That’s enough,” Gavin said, stepping back and dragging me with him.

My lips unsealed from Thane’s shoulder with a wetpop, and I whimpered. I had been so close.

Thane’s hands fell away from my hips, and he hung his head, his broad shoulders rising and falling with each quick, heavy breath. Blood seeped from the bite mark on his neck, staining the collar of his dark T-shirt, but the wound was already closing.

“Leave us,” Gavin said, his voice quiet and authoritative.

Practically panting with need, I watched Thane pull a washcloth from those artfully rolled and stacked in the cubby under the counter, wet it with water from the faucet, and wipe the blood from his neck. He glanced at me, an inferno of desire blazing in his dark eyes.

“Next time,” he said, his voice dripping with promise. He opened the door, stepped out into the hallway, and pulled the door shut, leaving me alone with Gavin.

My bound vampire stared at me in the mirror, his irises illuminated with silver moonlight. The hard length of his erection pressed into my lower back, and tension coiled his muscles, making his arms tremble. He was struggling against the urge to yank down my leggings, bend me over the counter, and fuck me. I knew it—not as a gut instinct, but something more, bleeding into me through our bond.

I rubbed my ass against Gavin, hoping to coax him into action.

His arms tightened around me, restricting my breath. “Do that again,” he hissed, “and I will leave you to walk out of here in this state.”

I froze, my entire body shivering with unfulfilled need.

Gavin bunched up the front of my tunic and dipped the tips of his fingers into the waistline of my leggings. Shifting his other arm, he covered my mouth with his large hand, muffling the needy sounds clawing up my throat. His eyes locked with mine in the mirror’s reflection. “Next time you will heed my warning,” he murmured.

Whimpering, I nodded. In my present state, I would have agreed to anything to get him to shift his hand lower.

“Next time you endanger yourself so recklessly, I will personally ensure you don’t come for a week,” he promised, his breath hot against my ear. And then he shoved his hand deeper into my pants, his fingers gliding over my slick sex.

He pinched my swollen clit between two fingers, and I cried out against his palm, shattering as pleasure exploded from my core. My body spasmed under the onslaught of the crashing, agonizing waves of ecstasy. It didn’t drag on, as it would have done were I actively drinking immortal blood, but for once, I was glad of the orgasm’s brevity, sharp and violent as it was. Much more of that brutal pleasure, and I feared I would pass out.

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