Page 75 of How to Entice a Fiend

A group of women walk past, laughing and eager for their trip. My eyes lock on the vampire in the group as I’m drawn after her. Just… a little taste. Maybe if I explain myself, I could take just a little taste…

Fuck.

With a start, I realize I’d been following them. Hastily turning around, I slam into another vampire and jerk back.

“Sorry,” he mutters, barely looking up. I bet he’d taste…

No, no. Nope.

I hurry over to a little alcove with vending machines and push myself back into the corner where I can’t stare at the vampires moving past. I’m just going to become friends with this vending machine…

And then what? Get stuck on a plane with vampires packed around me?

Why did I get burdened with this curse? This inability to keep complete control over myself is going to ruin me. I hear footsteps and tense, prepared to flee to another spot, when I discover they sound quite familiar.

“Is there something secretive back here?” Mads taunts as he moves closer to me. That smile is on his face and his rich blue eyes are watching me closely. He finally has some color to his cheeks from the blood he’s consumed, and I’m over here wanting to take it from him.

“No, stay away from me,” I snap.

“Why would I do that?” he asks as he walks up until he’s mere inches from me, boxing me in.

I twist my head, trying not to breathe him in. “Stop. If someone saw us… people would question things. If she caught us… she could fuck this whole thing up. And I’m not draining you again. You’re struggling to recover as it is.”

“I’ve consumed enough blood to feed a small village. I think I’ll be fine,” Mads murmurs as he drapes his arms around my neck. “I heard I taste delicious.”

“Stop,” I say as I try to push him back, but when he refuses, I find myself pressing my face against his neck. It’s like I’m hypnotized by this man, and I have no idea why. My brain is telling me that I need to stay closed off, that I need to keep him as far away from me as I can. I’ve always been able to do it before. I’ve always been able to drive a huge wedge between me and anyone who might want to be close to me, but Mads is proving hard to do that with.

“I can’t keep draining you. I’ll find someone else.”

“What if I don’t want you to find someone else? What if that’ll make me jealous?”

I scoff. “Why the fuck would you be jealous?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he asks as he presses a finger under my chin.

“Go back to flirting with that woman and leave me in my corner where it’s nice and peaceful.”

“Well, that’s foolish. Why would I flirt with her when I have you? Or… wait… don’t tell meyouwere jealous.” The look of delight on his face sours my mood. What nonsense is this man spouting?

“I will drain you and leave you here to fly alone,” I threaten as I try my best to force myself to walk away. All I have to do is walk away and then get on a plane packed with vampires full of blood and go home. All while this man sits close to me, leg brushing mine, hand trailing… fuck.

My eyes drift up to his as he watches me closely. Not wanting to deal with that knowing look, my eyes trail down to his lips and then to his neck and back up again. What the hell am I even doing thinking about any part of this? And why do I stand so still when he leans in and nips my neck? His sharp fangs barely catch the skin of my throat, but the way he nicks it makes me shiver.

“It’s just a drink,” he says. “It’s not a marriage proposal.”

“Knowing you, that’ll come next.”

Mads chuckles as he licks the spot he’d bitten. The way his tongue drifts over my throat sets me on edge. The only issue is that I should be pulling away, not turning my neck to give him more. And why would I even do that? Out of some sick twisted fantasy of a normal life? Because I’ve deprived myself of touch for so long? Or just because I’m fucking ravenous and the desire that comes with that is twisting my thoughts around?

“It’s just a little nibble,” he coaxes.

“You should be the one convincing me not to,” I mumble as I’m hypnotized by the way his fingers glide up my neck and over the spot he’d nipped.

“Maybe I like to live dangerously.”

“Maybe you just want to use me to take care of this nightmare of yours,” I say.

He hesitates, hand stopping its ascent, and I realize that I’m right. This was all just another ploy to use me. Unlike Abel, who used torture and psychological abuse to get me to do what he wanted, this man wants to use something much more intimate. It’s nowhere near as bad, so why am I still so pissed about it? Why does it infuriate me like this? I shouldn’t give a shit what he wants.

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