Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94582 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“I know what you think of me—what all the Kindred would think of me if they met me,” Sky snapped, shrugging his hand off her shoulder. “Why do you think my mother moved us here? She knew I’d be an outcast—a freak—if we stayed on Tranq Prime.”
“Well, Tranq Prime is a fairly uptight planet,” Torin said thoughtfully. “But I don’t think anyone else would judge you. You’d be fine on the Mother Ship.”
“Why would I go there in the first place?” Sky demanded. “At least here on Portex Three, I have access to blood whenever and wherever I need it. How would I quench my thirst if I went there?”
“Well, I…guess you could find a donor?” Torin offered uncertainly.
Sky barked a laugh.
“Why, what a good idea, Commander Torin! Are you offering me your vein?”
She deliberately bared her fangs at him, letting him see how sharp they were. In fact, they somehow seemed sharper since she’d met him—they almost felt long and sharp enough for her to pierce the neck-scales of a Serpentine. She should have tried that—would have if she hadn’t been in such desperate need. The blood flowed so much faster coming from the big vein in the neck.
Sky expected the giant Kindred to shrink back in disgust at her display, so she was surprised when he simply stood there, looking down at her.
“What you are doesn’t bother me,” he rumbled. “I’m a Hybrid myself—I know what it’s like to feel like an outcast. I was just surprised, that’s all. But I’m sorry if I offended you.”
Sky frowned and crossed her arms over her breasts.
“All right—apology accepted,” she said briefly.
“And for the record, Darlin’—I do still find you extremely fucking attractive,” he added, his eyes raking over her body. “But that’s neither here nor there—not when we have a murder to solve.”
Then he turned and started walking down the street.
Sky felt she had little choice but to follow him.
NINE
TORIN
To say Torin been surprised to see her drinking blood was an understatement. Not that it disgusted him—it just shocked him, that was all.
The Pitch Blood Kindred gene was a mutation that afflicted a very few Blood Kindred Males. They were pitied by the other Blood Kindred—mainly because unless they found their Fated Mate, which was incredibly rare—they couldn’t give pleasure with their bite.
A regular Blood Kindred didn’t need blood to live and his fangs produced a pale blue liquid called “essence” which gave instant orgasms when he bit the female of his choice. However, a Pitch Blood was unable to bite for pleasure when he was taking blood, which meant he had to hurt the female he loved to feed from her.
Since giving pain or injury to a female was anathema to the Kindred, Pitch Blood males were often ostracized and outcast. But as sad as that was, it was also unusual—only about one in five thousand Blood Kindred warriors was a Pitch Blood. Torin had never heard of a female Pitch Blood before—for that matter, he’d never heard of a female Kindred with fangs. Sky’lar really was unique.
Some males might have been put off by her need for blood and her long, curving fangs, but Torin had been telling the truth when he told her he still found her attractive. She was damn sexy with her curvy figure and self-confident bearing. And it was intriguing to think he might have found a chink in her armor—her need for blood was clearly a weakness.
Maybe it’s just that she’s living on Serpentine blood and it’s not strong enough to sustain her, he mused.
Unbidden, an image popped into his brain—he saw Sky’lar biting for blood but not a Serpentine—no, the male in his fantasy was Torin himself. He saw himself baring his throat for her, waiting to feel those sharp, white fangs sink into his flesh. He didn’t think he’d mind those white spikes piercing his throat, he’d always been partial to a little pain with his pleasure…
Torin pushed the thought away.
Don’t be stupid—that’s not going to happen!
Biting, whether to take blood or to inject essence, was an intensely sexual thing among the Blood Kindred and Sky’lar had already indicated she wasn’t interested in him that way.
And how can you even think of such a thing at a time like this? There’s a murder to solve—several murders! And Ambassador WinterBright is only the latest in a long line of females who must be avenged.
He swore to himself he would see to that vengeance personally. Whoever was doing these killings was going to pay.
TEN
SKY
“This is horrible…incomprehensible.” Captain Thal’nx stared with wide eyes, her tongue flickering, at the images of the crime scene. “I don’t understand—why would anyone do this?”
“Commander Torin thinks it has to do with the Mammalian male sex drive,” Sky said crisply. The images being projected on the viewscreen in the Captain’s office were horrible but she was feeling stronger since she’d had fresh blood.