Page 7 of Bleeding Love

I let the two smoldering stakes fall to the floor just as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. The servants had found her a dress, although it seemed a bit too snug on her body. She didn’t look bothered by her exposed neck, shoulders, and collarbones, but when my eyes lingered on the warm, inviting skin, I noticed her magic flaring as if ready to protect her.

“If I knew I’d be getting such a warm welcome, I would have come back earlier,” I said, closing the door behind me. The burned skin on my palms was already healing, but the fact that she managed to find—or create—weapons that could hurt me inside my own house was impressive. “Where did you get the blessed water?”

“I have my ways.” She smiled, but there was nothing remotely friendly in her expression. If anything, even without showing her teeth, she looked more dangerous than the stakes by my feet.

“Well, I hope you didn’t get attached to yourways, because they will be dead soon,” I said. I thought I saw a surprise flash in her eyes, but her expression didn’t change. She just shrugged like she couldn’t care less.

It was only when I stepped toward her that she tensed, letting her hands fall as if she wanted them free to protect herself. The thought was tempting, I had to admit, with her neck so deliciously exposed. I could have my teeth in her before she could even craft a spell. My fangs dug into my lips at the thought of it, saliva gathering in my mouth.

She hadn’t moved. She was ready to fight, but she wasn’t trying to restore the distance between us. I stopped next to her, just within touching distance, and still she didn’t move.

Brave little thing—or maybe foolish.

“Let’s have dinner, shall we?” I said, offering her my hand. She looked at it like I had just pointed a dagger at her, and she finally stepped back, light forming around her palm while the tendrils of her magic danced around her fingers.

“I’m not going to be your dinner,” she snarled, not even blinking as she held my gaze. “Try to touch me and I will set you on fire. It might not kill you, but it will hurt, I promise.”

My smile widened as I let my hand fall by my side.

“You’re welcome to try,” I said, striding past her. It was an effort to turn my back while she already had a spell on her fingertips, but showing I was apprehensive about her power was just going to make her bolder. “But for now, I meant actual dinner. Humans need to eat, don’t they?”

When she didn’t reply—or move—I turned to look over my shoulder. Her eyes were narrowed, but the light around her hand seemed dimmer, as if she was releasing her spell.

“Come along now, Celeste,” I said, and I could swear her heart raced faster when I said her name. “I won’t bite tonight. Not unless you ask, of course.”

She snorted, letting go of her powers before striding to my side. Her skirts brushed against my legs when she raised her head to look me in the eye. I stared at the vein that popped on her neck, almost going back on my word as her blood called me to lick, to taste, to feed. It was her eyes that stopped me.

“It will be a cold day in hell before I ask you to touch me, vampire,” she said in a voice dripping with venom. When I chuckled, she turned around, her long hair tickling my face as she stomped away.

“It’s Roman,” I said, and she paused, looking at me in confusion. “My name,” I explained. “You’ll need it for later when you beg me to bite you.”

She let out another snort, turning too fast for me to see her face, but she couldn’t hide her heart from me. And right now, it was racing like her blood already knew I’d win.

Chapter 4

Celeste

‘Whatisheupto? Why is he letting me roam freely? Why is he being…polite? Why is he feeding me?’The questions kept nagging me even as I watched the servants bring more and more dishes. Roman took one of the head seats, so I claimed the other, eager to keep as much distance between us as possible.

The food was served only on my side of the table—a whole roasted chicken garnered with potatoes and onions, a steak that smelled divine, and even an apple pie with a golden crust and soft, mouth-watering filling that hinted of cinnamon.

I narrowed my eyes at the food before looking back at the vampire. He sat with his back straight, not even pretending to look human with that unnatural stillness. His hand rested next to the goblet of blood one of the servants filled for him—from their own wrist—but he barely threw it at a glance before focusing his unnerving gaze on me.

He was a handsome creature, I had to give him that, with all those straight lines and dark eyes. If it wasn’t for our current predicament—and the fact that he had already tried to kill me—I would have gladly offered him a bite of me. And probably wouldn’t have stopped there. But that could only work if he was weaker than me. And with Roman…I wasn’t sure that was the case.

It was impossible to tell how old he was, and I doubted I had seen his full capability yet. So keeping my distance, despite the temptation, was the only viable course of action if I wanted to get out of there alive.

“You’re not eating,” he pointed out, lowering those dark, devouring eyes to the plates that were going cold in front of me. I said nothing. Playing along was one thing, playing stupid was another. He could have poisoned the food or…

“Poison is not how I kill people, darling.” He smiled, flashing me his sharp teeth. “And drugs only dull the senses. When I eat, I want them to feel everything.” His eyes slid to my neck, then lower. Something stirred inside of me, a need I had been ignoring for far too long, and I crossed my legs to shut it down.

If Roman noticed my desire surging for a moment, he didn’t show it. He raised his hand instead, and a servant appeared from one of the doors, stopping by his chair.

“Taste the food,” he told the man. “Every single dish.”

The human nodded, giving me a respectful bow as he halted by my side. He got a spare fork and a knife and started cutting small pieces of every vegetable and meat, even the pie, until he had tried them all. When he was done, he stepped back and stood there with his hands behind his back.

A minute passed, then two, then five. The tension in my chest uncoiled as I looked down at the food. My stomach chose that moment to grumble impatiently, and I wanted to punch it, but I didn’t want to give Roman the satisfaction of seeing how out of control my own body was.

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