Page 44 of Until the Heart Stops
“Shhh,” she murmured low. “Drink.”
I shook my head, but she was tipping the bottle up, wine splashing over my mouth and chin. Again, she shushed me in croons as I coughed up the wine even as more poured down my throat. The room spun as I was forced to drink, Raya taking small pauses to wipe my chin with the sleeve of her robe. Her lashes were thick and fanned out across her round cheeks with each blink.
Such thick lashes, like feathers. Like the quills Callum had gifted me. A giggle bubbled up from my lips. My hand lifted sluggishly and, though she caught my wrist, she allowed me to brush a pad across her lashes once before she moved my hand back to my lap.
Heat curled at the back of my neck and I shifted, brows pulling together. The fabric of my gown slid against my skin and I was faintly aware of Callum’s release dried across my thighs.Goddess,Callum. I wished he was here. The heat at the back of my neck slithered down my spine to pool at my sex and I squeezed my legs together tightly as Raya lifted the bottle again to my lips.
“That’s it, cherub,” she praised as I drank obediently.
Another spark pulsed and I fought the urge to slip my hand beneath my skirts. My core throbbed. A soft whine hummed from my throat and the female vampire shushedme again with a nod as she pulled away the now empty bottle. “I know, I know.”
Tenderly, she helped me to my feet. The room swayed. Silk slid across my arms and I sighed with relief as cool air hit my skin. I took a deep breath as my corset was unlaced and unbuckled. I couldn’t help but smooth a hand across my belly and up between my breasts. They were so heavy, my nipples peaked and needy. I squeezed my thighs together again, thinking of Callum and his fangs in my skin, my blood in his mouth.
“Arms up, dearest,” Raya murmured.
Goddess, Raya was so pretty. So pretty and kind, I could see it in her eyes as she tugged the gauzy sheer gown over my head and belted it around my waist. I touched a lock of her thick black hair, rubbing it between my fingers. Her gaze dipped to me and she smiled indulgently, eyes skimming my face, down my chest, and pausing on my breasts.
She froze, attention fixed on the round curves and the crescent-shaped scar and then the ruby stone from the silver chain. Tentatively, she took a step closer, breathing in deep. I blushed even as her eyes widened and her hands trembled.
“Goddess forgive me,” she whispered.
“Is she ready?”
I swung my head in the direction of the deep voice, frowning as the floor tilted. A male I thought I recognized prowled forward, but it wasn’t Callum. The hair was too white, the face too smooth, but I thought I’d seen him recently. I wished it was Callum though, especially as Raya answered him in a stilted voice and placed a shaking hand on my waist.
The male moved closer, gesturing toward the table behind me. I opened my mouth to speak but my tonguewas too thick. Raya lifted me with ease onto the stone with her back to the immortal male.
“Ah, yes, she’s ready,” he murmured, inspecting me over her shoulder.
Raya cleared her throat. “Shall I call the others?”
“No, this is not for the coven,” the immortal answered as he glided toward another alcove set with a small table.
The coven. I frowned again, slipping onto my backside. My limbs tingled and I blinked, trying to focus on the male. No…onMael.I knew this immortal, of course I did. But my limbs were heavy, even as my heart picked up speed, and I reached for the dagger in my corset only to find thin fabric covering my chest.
The female’s hand covered mine, squeezing once. Her eyes widened a fraction and she shook her head the barest amount, lips moving silently:
Pretend.
I frowned, the last few minutes swimming back to me as if in a dream. Whatever was in the wine had already burned up in my system, but she wanted me to pretend it hadn’t. She released me as Mael made his way toward us and I forced my body to relax and my lids to half close.
“Lay her down.”
Raya guided me onto my back and I didn’t fight her even though every instinct in my body roared against it. My bond with Callum flared and his anger was tangible, like another being within our connection. He pushed his strength through our bond and it burned away the remaining sluggishness. With another burst of his magic, my own stores replenished until it hummed beneath my skin.
“Leave us,” Mael commanded.
Raya slipped her hand into mine, squeezed once before letting go and spinning on her heel. I expected her tovanish through the double doors at the opposite end of the room, but her hand flashed out toward the ancient blood drinker. In another instant she was on the ground, gasping, her hands clawing at her chest.
“Pathetic,” he spat.
A squelch pulled my attention to his fist, skin painted a deep red and dripping with tissue. Raya gasped again, jerking against the marble, eyes wide. Her body stilled and gaze slid to me before the light died in her eyes. I waited for the blood to stop, for her chest to rise, for her to blink, but she did not.
“Horrifying, isn’t it? To know such a powerful creature can be felled in such a way.”
He stared at me and my mouth opened, agape in the horror he’d just spoken of. I scrambled back, but he caught me before I could move more than an inch, gripping me by the hair.
“You are the most horrifying thing here,” I grit out, eyes sparkling with tears as he pulled.
