Page 340 of Halfblood Deceived

“Thank you,” Aella said, looking up to see that Zeydan had already placed a thermos of blood by her elbow.

She smiled at him and turned the lid. The scent that reached her nose was pleasant enough to make her mouth water. She took a tentative sip and couldn’t hold back a moan.

“Good?” Zeydan asked.

Aella licked her lips. “Good. I can taste turmeric, a bit of ginger, black pepper, thyme, and something else…”

“Tangerine zest,” Zeydan said, looking pleased.

Aella blinked. “Wait. Did you spice this?”

He grinned. “Yes.”

Gabby sniffed, something flashed in her eyes and she arched a brow at Zeydan.

He shrugged.

Luce also sniffed appreciatively. “It smells… familiar.”

“It’s not as good as mine,” Sebastian said.

Aiko nudged her thermos toward Aella with a curious, questioning look.

Aella sniffed obligingly—white pepper, oregano, and nutmeg.

“And?” Sebastian asked.

“Delicious. But I think I prefer Zeydan’s,” Aella said earnestly.

“Oh, I think you do,” Gabby said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Aella wasn’t sure why she looked so amused, but she flushed.

She distracted herself by drinking more of the blood Zeydan had prepared for her. It was strange, but the taste was vaguely familiar. She hadn’t had spiced blood before, so why did she find it familiar? A connection formed in her mind. She gulped, and almost choked, eyes widening as she realized Zeydan had spiced the blood so it tasted similar to his.

Zeydan rubbed circles on Aella’s back and gave her one of those knowing half smiles that played merry havoc with her hormones.

The tight, hungered demand in the center of her stomach returned. Aella bit the inside of her cheek. Bad time to let your mind go to the gutter; she scolded herself.

Doing her best to avoid looking at Zeydan, she set her thermos down and cut a small slice of medium-rare steak. Her mouth watered, and her stomach didn’t clench, so she took the bite into her mouth. Her eyes half closed in bliss.

“Ha! You can’t beat me at cooking steaks,” Sebastian said smugly.

Zeydan shrugged. “Give me two weeks.”

“Oh, it’s a full-blown cock-measuring contest now, I see,” Mari commented.

Aella chuckled.

“Language!” Gabby scolded, giving Mari a meaningful look and tilting her head toward Aiko.

Luce placed an arm around Aiko’s shoulders. “We’ve heard much worse, haven’t we?”

Aiko nodded. “We have. I don’t mind.”

“I’m still not sure if we’re terrible examples,” Lex commented.

“You are definitely not,” Diana said, her blue eyes serious. “Believe me.”

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