Page 45 of The Pureblood Daughter
“I’ve been careful,” he whispers, drawing his face closer to hers, his breath tickling her ear, “not to allow myself to do anything... untoward.” He pinches her nipple, and she gasps. “But you’re making itverydifficult.”
Adelina opens her eyes and holds his gaze unwaveringly as she takes his hand and guides it beneath the bathwater, along her stomach, between her legs...
She discovered at a young age the pleasure to be had in touching herself, but she’s never been seen, let alonetouched, by anyone else. Theodore makes her feel safe, and she yearns to venture into the unknown with him.
Theodore tips his head back, regarding her with narrowed eyes as his fingers trail over her skin tantalizingly. Moving slowly, he begins to explore her folds. He parts her lips with two fingers, the sensation sending her gasping for breath, then teases her entrance with a fingertip.
“Look at me,” he growls, and she obeys.
The moment her eyes find his, he plunges one finger into her, and she settles her head back against the tub, her eyes closing once more.
“I said”— he draws his finger back out only to find that sensitive place that throbs with her desire—“look at me.”
So she does, and she holds his gaze, her fingers scrabbling at the smooth sides of the tub as he presses his fingers against her, moving in agonizingly slow circles. Her breath comes faster now, the beat of her heart erratic beneath her heaving breasts. His fingers slide in and out of her, expanding her, then rub against her in a way that makes her bite her lip to keep from crying out.
Touching herself has never felt this good.
Her knees knock against the sides of the tub as her legs open wide, and she finally finds purchase along the rim of the basin. Gripping the metal tight, she takes one final breath, holds it in her lungs as his wet fingers rub the throbbing spot beneath her lips, and then she’s tumbling into ecstasy, moaning and pulsing as his fingers plunge into her again and again, harder this time. She presses onto her toes and draws her knees toward her chest, tightening herself about him, wishing to feel his length inside her, filling her, caressing her.
But too soon he’s pulling away, leaving her gasping for breath, her body trembling in the now-tepid bathwater.
“Theodore,” she whispers, her voice edging into a whine.
He pushes his dry hand through her damp hair, cupping the back of her head as she leans against the side of the tub.
“Get some sleep,” he tells her, and then his lips are on her forehead, and she swears she can feel incisors just beneath his skin. He stands from beside the tub, his jacket sleeve soaked up to the elbow, and she reaches out to catch the fabric before he can turn away.
“Wait.” Adelina clings to him, her release ebbing, and tears come to her eyes. “I don’t want to be alone...” She casts her gaze up at his still-hungry face, and a beat of silence passes, a moment in which he seems to deliberate before offering her a single nod.
“Very well.”
They lie in bed, her head resting upon his chest, and take turns plucking grapes and cheese from the tray the maids brought up earlier. Overhead, the candles in the chandelier move in a mesmerizing dance, sending shadows writhing across the walls.
“So... you eat?” she finally brings herself to ask after the viscount bites into a plump purple grape. His laughter is sudden and airy, and it lifts her spirits to see the smile that spreads so easily across his face.
“We certainly do. Food doesn’t sustain us in the way blood does, but life would hardly be worth living without the pleasure of wine and cheese.”
Theodore takes a slice of cheddar and holds it up to Adelina’s lips. She opens her mouth, and as he places it on her tongue, she closes her lips, delighting in the wolfish look that crosses his face as she sucks lightly on his fingertip.
“You do torment me,” he says, stealing his finger back from her mouth and shifting his hips upon the mattress with a dissatisfied groan.
Adelia glances at the tightness in his trousers, then looks back to him, brow furrowed in confusion. “Earlier, why didn’t you...?” She’d fully expected him to sweep her from the bath and take the only innocence she has left, but he didn’t.
He sighs. “I didn’t want to hurt you,” he says softly, gaze on the ceiling. He stripped out of his jacket and waistcoat before they lay down, and his white linen shirt is unbuttoned at the top, exposing his neck and part of his broad chest.
“Hurt me?” She sits up, her dark hair hanging about her shoulders, and Theodore reaches over to tuck it behind her ear. Adelina leans into the touch, her eyes fluttering closed for a brief moment.
“You’re still weak. Fragile.” His gaze shifts momentarily to the bedside table, where the glass of blood from earlier has now gone bad. “If you refuse to drink, you’ll not gain strength, and if I lose control for even a moment...” He trails his hand down her arm, and his fingers wrap around her wrist, completely encircling the bird-thin bones. “I’d break you.”
The thought of it, of beingbrokenby this man, makes her tremble longingly beneath his touch.
His grip loosens, his fingertips brushing over the back of her hand. Atop hers, his hand is large, and his forearms, exposed where his sleeves are rolled back, are lined with taut muscle. She traces a finger over the inside of his forearm gently, and he sighs beneath her touch.
“I don’t—” Adelina bites her lip, fighting not to let her eyes fill with tears. “I don’t know if I can do it. Are you sure I’m... not human?” She has to force the words to leave her lips, unnatural as they sound. “What happened in the carriage, that could simply have been a fit of passion.” She gazes at him with hope, longing to discover this has all been some terrible mistake, but his lips pull into a frown, a crease forming between his dark brows.
Theodore pulls away from her. Leaning over the side of the bed, he reaches into his tall black boot and from it pulls a slim sharp-edged blade. The dagger glints in the candlelight, and Adelina’s heart thrums.
“There’s only one way to find out,” he whispers, then draws the blade quickly across his exposed wrist.
