Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97188 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Except that’s not the truth, is it? Not with the ache in my chest and the knowledge that I’m running out of time.
Whenever despair threatens to take hold, I call on the memory of Lizzie’s fingers digging into my chin. It should infuriate me that she touched me so harshly without permission, but the truth is that she grounded me when I needed it the most. The memory continues to do so, not fading in the least as the hours tick on.
By the second night, I’m going out of my skin wondering when she’ll need to feed. I’ve seen what that looks like, or at least the aftermath. Poet certainly seemed pleased with the results. How will it feel to have her teeth pierce my skin, her mouth draw the very blood from my body? The question drives me from sleep over and over again. I’ve never been particularly careless when it comes to choosing bed partners. There were a few in Viedna as I reached adulthood, exploration and experimentation that faded to friendship over time. I’ve indulged with sailors a handful of times, but the warnings of my grandmother and mother played too heavily in my mind to ever fully let go. We might not be actively hunted for our pelts in current times, but the community in Viedna has a long memory, and the fear that we’ll go back to the bad old days lingers. So I was careful . . . until Bronagh.
And look how that turned out.
“Maeve.”
I startle and the rudder slips from my grasp. It’s just as well. We have the wind guiding us in the direction we need to go, so I’m mostly hanging on to it to keep my hands busy. But without that to focus on, there’s only Lizzie. She sits on the bench across from me, her elbows propped on her knees, her posture perfectly relaxed. The intensity of her gaze gives lie to that relaxation, though. She never truly unwinds.
I’m slightly ashamed that I notice at all. “What?”
“You said three days. We’re on day three and I don’t see land in sight.”
I might have slightly underestimated the time it will take to get to Khollu. I was picked up only a day off the coast of Viedna last time, so I hadn’t had a chance to realize that when sailors say it takes three days to get from one island to the other, they are talking about in the massive ships with a full crew. Thankfully, the food I have stashed is enough to last upward of a week, but that doesn’t help Lizzie. “We might have another day or two.”
She pinches the bridge of her nose. “I’ll need to feed in the next day or two. I should have done it already, but I’ve been taking smaller bites to keep things cordial with the crew on the Audacity.”
It takes everything I have to maintain a neutral expression and keep my anticipation buried deep. Smaller bites, more frequent feedings. “So you’ll feed on me.”
Lizzie pauses, the moment flavored with hesitation. She doesn’t look unsure, more like she’s considering the best angle to approach this conversation from. “It might be helpful if you understood what that entails.”
“You bite me. You drink my blood.” I aim for irreverence, but I don’t quite manage it. My voice is a little too breathy, pitched a little too high. We’ll have to get close for her to bite me. Her mouth is going to be on my skin.
Her lips shift into something almost like a smile. “Yes, but there is a side effect to my bite. If you’re not prepared for the experience, you might find it . . . disconcerting.”
She’s usually so direct, it makes me suspicious that she’s dancing around this subject. I can’t tell if she’s teasing me or if she’s playing the part of a hunter circling her prey. I clear my throat. “I saw Poet after your . . . feeding. I think I’ve got the gist of it. I’ll enjoy the bite. Simple enough.”
Her deep brown eyes flare red, but her expression remains neutral. “Does it make you nervous?”
Of course it makes me nervous. Obviously I would prefer to have a pleasurable bite rather than a painful one, but at least pain would override my senses and drown out the reality that Lizzie will have to press against my body to get access to my blood. I’ve been very careful to keep a decent amount of distance between us, to not touch her by accident. Which is telling in and of itself, but I’m not ready to examine that yet.
Lizzie straightens and takes a moment to glare at the sun overhead as if it’s personally insulted her. “It’s not just pleasure, Maeve. When I bite you, it will make you orgasm. All bloodline vampires have that side effect, but it’s particularly potent because of the powers of the Bianchi family. My family. It’s an involuntary physical reaction, and you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”