Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89379 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 447(@200wpm)___ 358(@250wpm)___ 298(@300wpm)
I glanced down, stilling when I saw Mack, Vincent, and several other vampires heading directly for my cell. I watched as they discovered it empty. Vincent kicked one of the bars in frustration, and I sucked in a trembling breath. They were looking for me. More than likely, Mack had decided to take advantage of the chaos to seek revenge.
As far as she was concerned, I’d been bestowed Sarasin’s Gift when it was meant for her. Clearly, she was eager for payback since she’d woken up during the day just to catch me unawares, the element of surprise on her side. The only advantage I would’ve had if I’d been in my cell was that it was daylight, and Mack and her vampires had to keep to the shadows.
She looked left, then right, and just when she was about to look up, I backed out of view. I kept backing away until my legs collided with Vasilios’s knees, and I tripped, falling right onto his lap. He caught me in his arms, and then everything went to hell. My terror at what Mack had planned to do to me mingled with my hunger, and my control snapped. Suddenly, my mouth had captured his fingers, licking away the blood from when he touched his cut. He was frozen in place, that sparkle of fascination in his eyes again. The next thing I knew, my mouth was at his temple, licking away the blood there, too. I was a woman possessed.
“Darya,” he rasped, and I felt a shudder go through him. The part of me that was enslaved to blood took over. At that moment, I had no embarrassment that I was essentially licking his forehead. All I knew was I felt like I might die if I didn’t.
I was so enraptured by the blood that I barely noticed anything else. I was vaguely aware of Vasilios speaking in Oreylian and his hands drifting over my hips. I was lost in a fugue. My vision was all in red. Then the mist cleared, and I came to my senses. What on earth am I doing?! I opened my eyes and found Vasilios staring at me with a hooded gaze. His eyes lingered on my lips and throat, and a faint butterfly flitted through me.
No. That was wrong. Very wrong.
16.
I dashed to the other end of the cell, as far away as I could get from him. My breathing was erratic, and I could still taste his blood in my mouth. It was so incredibly delicious I could hardly stand it. Why couldn’t he taste sour and terrible like the demons from my realm?
Embarrassment flooded in. How mortifying that I was locked in with him. I couldn’t even leave and escape the awful shame of what I’d just done.
“I’m sorry. I lost control. I shouldn’t have done that,” I said in a strained voice, unable to meet his eyes.
Vasilios cleared his throat. “You don’t need to apologise. I know you’re hungry.” He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was quiet. “Besides, I didn’t exactly not enjoy that.”
The statement hung in the air. My eyes shifted to his as he fought a smirk. I looked away, wishing for the floor to swallow me whole.
“Oh, God. Shut up. I’m so embarrassed,” I groaned, bashing my head against the metal bars. Down below, Mack and her vampires were gone from my cell. Now, I just had to worry about when they might strike next.
I sensed movement behind me, and suddenly Vasilios was there, his hands on my shoulders as he pulled me away from the bars. “Don’t be embarrassed. That might be the most fascinating thing that’s ever happened to me.”
“Please, stop. Let’s never talk of it again.”
“Darya, will you just look at me for a second?”
“No,” I whined. “In fact, I might never be able to look you in the eye ever again.”
He gave a low, amused chuckle, and I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. I’d sat in his lap, licking his forehead like an eager kitten. I sucked the blood from his fingertips! If that wasn’t the most humiliating thing I’d ever done, then I didn’t know what was.
His fingers met my chin, forcing my gaze up. “Look at me,” he ordered.
I finally brought my eyes to his, my expression sullen. “What?”
“You need to feed from me, properly this time.”
“I can’t—”
“Listen, if you want to avoid losing control again, you’ll have to feed from someone. I’m in front of you and willing, and we’re stuck in this cell until the prison guards decide to let us back out, so why not use this time wisely.”
The small taste I’d had did little to satiate my thirst. It only functioned to heighten my hunger. Vasilios was offering me relief, but it just felt like one more step toward losing my entire purpose. I’d entered the prison to make sure Vasilios and Sven never got the opportunity to escape, but with every day that passed, I grew closer to him. I felt like we were no longer on opposing sides but instead on the same team.