Page 81 of Claimed By Blood

Leaving Gideon and me alone.

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

EVELYN

“Evelyn…”Gideon says, eyes narrowing. “What were you two talking about?”

There’s a rough demand in his words, one I choose to ignore.

I sigh, shake out my hair, and head after the others. “Before I tell you, I want you to know that if I’d known Noha was taking us somewhere with a lot of other vampires, I would’ve stopped her. I didn’t mean for all of this to happen, and I’m sorry for my part in it.”

Better to get our argument over with before I broach the bigger one.

Thankfully, Gideon doesn’t drag it out. “Apology accepted,” he grunts, as we enter the hotel and pass the sleepy-looking receptionist. “But Noha has some questions to answer.”

“I don’t think it was purposeful,” I mutter. “I could be wrong, but she seemed genuinely confused and upset when we wanted to leave.”

He grunts, pulling me to a stop in front of a door and swiping the key card in the lock.

The moment we’re inside the darkened room, he shuts the door and rounds on me.

“Now, what were you and Finley plotting?”

I sigh, crossing over to the window as I consider how to broach the subject. It’s a clean room, if a little dated, and I can’t help glancing at the bed as I pass it. At least there’s an en suite.

“Finn says the reason you’re struggling with your control is that you won’t have sex with him.”

“That’s a vast oversimplification of the situation,” he retorts, already on the defensive. “Did Finn also tell you how his old pack used him like a fuck-toy, ignored his needs, and almost destroyed him?”

No, but I file that information away for later. “I’m not here to tell you to fuck Finn.”

He leans back against the door, crossing his arms. “Then where are you going with this?”

I take a deep breath. “I have no problems with rough sex. I prefer it, actually. I have no triggers, no history, and to be frank, I’m perfectly capable of getting myself off after you finish if I need to.” I did that with more than a few old bedmates who weren’t what they promised to be.

He rolls his eyes, then freezes as my words sink in. “You’re not saying…”

“I’m saying, I’ll submit to you.” The look of shock on his face would’ve been funny if I wasn’t so serious. “Butonlyin the bedroom.Onlyfor this. In return, you’ll go back to normal—well, hopefully, better than normal. Once you no longer have to worry about becoming fixated, you can put your efforts into making sure Finn knows you love him.”

He scoffs. “He knows I love him. Just likeIknow I don’t deserve him.”

“No. You don’t deserve him,” I retort. “But he loves you, and he deserves to feel like more than a tool you use to regulate your emotions and punish yourself with.”

“Every part of my life is planned so I don’thaveto use him like that,” Gideon objects. “He should only be a last resort—”

“Which is not howanyonewants to be viewed by their lover,” I point out. “I’m offering you someone to fuck who doesn’t care how rough it gets, and in return, you use the time you would’ve wasted planning your life down to the second to make him feel treasured and adored. Like he deserves. Andnotlike a last resort.”

He’s staring at me like he’s trying to find some ulterior motive. The silence between us is unnerving, but I’m prepared to wait it out until a different thought occurs to me.

“Unless you don’twanta romantic relationship with him. In which case, man up, apologise andtell himthat.” Better Finn’s heart be broken with honesty, and cleanly, than he be strung along by a coward who can’t vocalise his feelings. “Either way, my offer still stands.”

Gideon shakes his head, finally pushing away from the door and stalking over to me.

“Do you even know what you’re asking for?” he demands. “There will be days when I’m so out of control, there won’t be time for foreplay. You’ll be lucky if I can find the will to hold off long enough to finger you. And when I fuck you, there’s no sass. No room for arguing. I tell you to kneel, you kneel. I tell you to suck, you do it. If I tell you to take your clothes off, bend over the dresser, and spread your legs, you don’t hesitate.”

I nod, my mouth going dry. He doesn’t realise it, but his words and the images they’ve conjured are turning me on. The alpha keeps going, moving closer and closer until he’s within reach.

“I’ll give you a safe word,” he mutters, reaching out to stroke my hair out of my face. “You use it and this whole experiment is over. I go back to what I know works—routine, careful planning, and a strict schedule.” He shakes his head, as if to clear it. “Why am I even considering this?”

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