Page 4 of Dark Gambit Reliance

"I do?" He cupped his hand over his mouth and exhaled. "Oh, I do. My bad. Max and I finished two bottles of whiskey last night." He lifted both hands with two fingers each. "Another perk of being immortal is incredible tolerance for alcohol. I can outdrink any human now."

Great. They had been celebrating while she'd been out of it.

"What happened?" She pulled away from him and fanned in front of her face to stave off the stench.

"Max was right. When he bit you, I lost my shit and wanted to attack him. Fortunately for him, my priority was to shield you from the toppling posts, so I pulled you under me, and he managed to escape." Eric lifted his arm and flexed. "I'm as strong as a gorilla now. I didn't expect that to happen so soon after my transition."

"Did Max see me naked?"

"He didn't see anything. I made sure of that. He returned to the bedroom to release me from the chains, but I was covering you."

She wasn't sure how that had worked while there had been wooden poles on top of him and he was naked, but it was healthier for both of them to pretend that Max hadn't seen anything.

"What about your back?"

"I'm immortal now, baby. Sticks and stones can't hurt me." He scratched at his side. "I'd better get up and wash the stink off. I want to kiss you and do other things to you."

Her lips curved in a smile, but the smile wilted as she imagined Eric and Max sitting in the living room and getting drunk while talking about her.

"What did you and Max talk about while you were imbibing all that whiskey?"

"This and that. Do you know that Dalhu made nude portraits of Amanda and that she had them hanging in their house? She only took them down after Evie was born."

"I didn't know that, but I wonder how you got to discuss Amanda's nudes. Were you talking about my nightgown?"

Eric's sheepish smile confirmed her suspicion. "Max said that immortals are not as prudish as humans and that nudity is not a big deal for them."

"I don't care." She tucked the hem under her knees. "Anyway, this thing's going into the trash because I'm never repeating this exercise. If I don't transition from Max's bite, we are waiting for you to grow fangs and venom."

The smile slid off his face. "I don't think I could go through that again either, but I need to know. Did you enjoy his bite?"

How to answer that? She enjoyed the effects of the venom. It had been an incredible trip, and the sense of physical well-being she felt now could most likely be attributed to the venom as well, but she hadn't enjoyed the bite itself.

"It hurt, but that wasn't the biggest issue. I wouldn't have minded if it were you. It felt wrong getting bitten by Max." She searched for better words, but every analogy she could think of didn't fit.

Max was a friend, and he was an attractive male, but she didn't want him.

"It just felt wrong. But then the venom hit me, and the effect was mind-blowing." She brushed a strand of hair off his forehead. "I have no doubt that it's going to be even better when it's you."

His smile was brilliant. "I'm positive that it will be the best you've ever had."

"Since Max's bite was the only other one, and it wasn't great, it's not such a big challenge to do better."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah." Darlene slapped Eric's arm playfully. "Just go brush your teeth already, so you can come back to bed." She pulled the nightgown over her head and handed it to him. "Put this in the trash bin, will you?"

His eyes blazed with an inner light. "Yes, ma'am."

4

SOFIA

Sofia yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "I think we have no choice. We need to get out of bed and get something to eat. I'm starving."

Smiling, Marcel caressed her bare back. "I can make a dash to the kitchen, raid the refrigerator, and bring the loot back here."

"Go for it." She cupped his cheek and pressed a kiss to his lips. "I'll take a shower while you're hunting for food to bring back to the cave."

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