Page 6 of The Mistress, the Monster and the Marquess

“Thank you, Benedict. You may leave whenever you like.”

He stilled. Was she dismissing him? Disappointment hit him hard, followed by a heavy dose of anger. He did not enjoy the feeling of being used and tossed aside.

“Took enough, did you?” he snapped.

Her eyes narrowed at his tone.

He couldn’t prevent the growl that escaped from his throat.

Her eyes widened again before she moved to sweep her hair up into a sophisticated style, simply ignoring his question.

He didn’t appreciate being ignored. “Don’t you want more blood?” he pressed.

Lina stopped thrusting pins through her luscious hair and turned, staring at him with a mix of shock and wariness in her eyes. “I’m sure I don’t know what you are talking about.”

He smiled, lifting his hand and wiping his shoulder, but no blood remained. How had it healed already? The sudden lack of evidence made him stop for a moment. Should he question his own sanity? No. He wasn’t wrong, he was certain of it. “You drank my blood when we came. How often do you require it?”

He could see the internal struggle going on within her, in the stiffness of her posture and the haunted look in her eyes.

“I didn’t drink your blood, Benedict. Don’t be absurd.”

He laughed, but the sound held little humor as he pulled on his shirt. He staggered a little, still on a post orgasm high. A part of his brain knew he should be afraid of her, but he wasn’t for some unknown reason. He was too furious with her for treating him like a fool to worry about his safety.

“Lina, you did. I saw my blood on your mouth, and now you look healthier, more vibrant. I even experienced some strange vision of an old man with long white hair while you were feeding on me.”

She moved so quickly he didn’t even see her. She went from being across the room, to standing right in front of him. Her blue eyes were wide as she moved around him slowly now, stalking him like a predator would do its prey. She looked shocked, wary, and curious.

“What did you just say?” she asked.

He swallowed, his bravado failing him for a moment. She was fast and if gossip was to be believed, she would be impossibly strong too. She wouldn’t hurt me, would she? “Like I said, I saw an old man.”

Lina shivered and leaned forward exposing her very real fangs.

Benedict jumped back, fear pulsing through him at the sight of the long white animal-like teeth. Then he stepped forward, inexplicably unable to keep his distance from her. She was still as beautiful as ever, and he was more than a little in awe of what she was. Did she want to feed on him again? Perhaps...

Some sort of perverse interest made him want to see it happen this time. So, he leaned into her and tilted his head away, exposing the source she so obviously craved. He couldn’t stop the tremble in his muscles, but he held himself perfectly still. Pain coursed through him, again, and then the vision of her with the old man pierced his brain for the second time. The old man enfolded Lina in his arms now.

He gasped and jerked away, his head spinning with a strange and intoxicating pleasure.

Lina’s mouth dripped with his blood, yet she didn’t seem to be enjoying what she had taken from him. Her whole focus was centered on him. “What did you see?”

Benedict put his hand to the place where he expected to find proof of her feeding, but instead found a spot of blood against his skin, but no puncture wound. “How?” he breathed in wonder.

She shrugged, seemingly impatient with his line of questioning. “I secrete a healing fluid as I drink. Now answer me, Benedict.”

Benedict shrugged also, imitating his beautiful lover, trying to fake a calm he didn’t feel. She really is a vampire. Questions whirled in his mind. How old is she? How often did she need to feed? How strong was she?

“I saw you with the same man, again. Both of you were wearing purple robes.”

Lina hissed a foreign word and flew across the room. She landed on a wooden pallet against the wall in a crouched position, defying the laws of nature, her hands trembling as she held them aloft from her body—just staring at them.

“I knew you were special,” she uttered. “I never bring humans down here. But I couldn’t help myself with you.” She looked like a caged animal, worry, and fear surrounding her like a prison.

Any residual anger in Benedict’s expression faded in the face of his lover’s distress. He sighed; his feelings now secondary as his need to help her overruled them. He walked over to her side, squatted down in front of her, and cupped her exquisite face in his hands. “What’s wrong, Lina? What does this mean?”

She swallowed audibly; her eyes uncertain. “I have heard stories of this. It happens when a vampire finds a human whose scent and blood is sweeter than any other they have ever tasted. If that human is their perfect match, they will not forget the bite as all others do. They will see the vampire’s lived memories. In this case—my memories.”

Benedict smiled awkwardly, wanting to soothe her worry. Inside, his stomach knotted in fear. Why was she talking like he was made for her? They had literally just met. She can’t possibly feel this way. “So? Why the sad face, then?”

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