Page 29 of Blood Owed (Blood Mafia 1)
Don’t say it, Demi. Keep your stupid, foolish mouth shut before you get yourself killed.
“You don’t want a taste?”
It’s official, I’m an idiot.
Colt narrows his eyes. “Do you want me to taste you, little fighter?”
I bite my lip and glance down at the blood that dripped onto his fingers. The knife was a lot sharper than I expected, and it cut deeper than I intended.
“No.” I breathe out a sigh of relief when he shoves me away.
He lifts his hand to his mouth and uses his tongue to clean my blood from his skin. Colt groans and squeezes his eyes shut. A slight tremor runs over his body.
Crap.
I may finally die, and it’s my own fault. Taunting a vampire with blood. I’m ridiculous. I take a step back and trip over myself when Colt snaps his eyes open. They’ve turned nearly full black, and he works his jaw as he scowls at me. I’m trying to scramble away but he’s incredibly fast. Colt grabs me by the waist and throws me toward the couch.
A terrified scream escapes me. Before I can crash against it, he’s snatching me from the air and settling me onto the couch. It’s still rough, but a lot gentler than being thrown into the cushions would have been. He covers me with his body, using one hand to hold his top half up.
His lips are hot and wet as he pulls my finger into his mouth. The moan he releases rumbles over my skin and makes my stomach flip. I’m trembling, stuck underneath him, and the knife is too far away to be any help. His feral black eyes bore into mine.
I’m lost in a sea of his darkness and violence. I feel his anger rippling over me. His hate for me burrows into my marrow and sinks into my veins as he works the wound with his tongue to release more blood.
When he shifts and slowly drags his lips away from my finger, I let out a surprised breath. He stares at the now clean appendage, and I follow his gaze. The wound is stitching itself back together.
“How?” I ask with a shaky voice.
“My saliva can temporarily transmit supernatural healing properties to human injuries.”
I scrunch my eyebrows together. “Does that impact feeding?”
Colt moves his attention from my finger, which is fully healed now, to my face. He studies me for a moment as his eyes fade from black to green. “The wounds only start to heal when we’ve stopped feeding. The fresh air triggers the healing.”
We stare at each other for a few more seconds. I watch as Colt darts his tongue out to lick his lips. Another rumble of appreciation comes from this strange vampire.
He’s tasting me.
Savoring me.
Why does this make me so happy?
“What do I taste like?”
My question crashes through our moment, and he jerks away from me and moves across the room in the flitting way vampires can move.
Colt doesn’t look at me as he says, “It’s time. Let’s go.”
“What?” I ask, hoping he isn’t going to say what I know he’s about to say.
“We’re delivering you to the Santa Cruz pack today.”
“You mean you’re killing me today.”
He shrugs, making it seem as though he doesn’t care, but he still can’t meet my gaze.
“Colt.” My voice breaks over his name. I hate this weak, pathetic side of myself. “You don’t have to give me to them.”
“The deal has already been made, Demi. You killed the enforcer.” He finally looks at me. There’s no emotion on his face. He feels nothing.
