Page 77 of Over the Emerald Valley
Solon frowned. He couldn’t picture Temaj with that brute of a guard.
Temaj grinned. “You’re jealous. You don’t have to be. You could turn me. We could be partners.”
“And you’re manipulative,” said Solon, but not harshly. “Using my emotions to further your own goals.”
Temaj cast his gaze downward. “I’m not sure if I can help it. Habit. I’m sorry. I don’t know another way to be, but I can learn. You could teach me.” He peered up through fluttering lashes.
Solon chuckled despite the serious topic. “Actually, that’s still quite manipulative.”
“Is it? Yes, I guess it is. I might be a lost cause.” Temaj shrugged. “Your lost cause?” At least he had the decency to blush. “You’ll do it, won’t you, Solon? You’ll turn me? I want to leave with you, but not as we are. Not with you all powerful and me all weak and vulnerable. I want us to be equals.”
Solon sat next to him. “We are equals in every way that matters. My strength is yours whenever you need it.”
“Is that so? I’ll take it, but I want my own strength. Why can’t you see that?”
He was beginning to, though reluctance still sat heavy in his gut. What if it was a mistake? There would be no second chances.
Temaj massaged his temples.
Solon hated to see him hurting. “Here, rest your head in my lap. Let me soothe the pain.”
Instead of laying his head on Solon’s thighs, Temaj straddled his lap, brushed his hair aside, and offered his neck. “Please.”
Saliva pooled in Solon’s mouth. His fangs itched to pierce the skin, throbbing in his jaw. Beneath the delicate pale column of Temaj’s tempting throat, blue veins sprawled, pulsing with fresh blood.
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“It will.”
Such confidence from the concubine, while Solon, an army general…former army general, felt none. His mind was full of doubt, but his appetite roared to life. He wanted nothing more than to take what Temaj offered. To drink his blood, offer his own in return, and drag another soul into the unknown with him.
But…
Temaj pressed in close, tilting his head farther to the side.
But…
Temaj let out a sweet whimper of longing.
But…
Temaj’s hands fisted in his hair and drew Solon’s lips to his skin.
Solon licked a path from collarbone to ear, the rich, salty taste of him such a tease for what he really wanted.
“Do it,” Temaj commanded. “Solon, I want it. Please.”
He could resist no longer. Solon bit.
CHAPTER26
Temaj
A pinch of pain.
A grateful gasp.
A bite that promised a world of pleasure with soft, wet lips and sharp, stinging ecstasy.
